Moving

We are currently in the process of selling our current home and purchasing a new one.

Instead of being limited to an 8'x 15' space with a low ceiling for a layout, the plan is for me to have between 900 and 1600 sq ft, dependent upon the home. My trackplan calls for about 1100 sq ft, including a crew lounge.

Due to the need to have the home ready for showings, all of my models and tools have been boxed up. Many of them are stored in my in-laws basement. God willing, we'll sell this home quite quickly and land in a new place early summer...reducing the duration of this unwanted hiatus. I hope to do a little bit with some models/kits and tools I have readily accessible, but there's no hope for me to get any resin casting done until we've sold our house or moved.

Odds & ends

Odds and ends are the order of the day so long as our latest edition remains unable to sleep on her own...and thence allows me more modeling time each evening.

My C&S caboose has been waiting for a few details and paint for some time. I added the grab irons to the interior and assembled the sinks quite recently amongst other little things. I can't really do anything else until I get an appropriate color for the interior (the top half of which was buff). I'll paint the bottom half an oxide red just as the recently found 1008 has. (I lacked some confidence in the paint used on C&S 1006 and 1009...but the 1008 was recently found in Los Angelos and had a more classic scheme...buff and red).


I've also been working a little bit on applying a surface to the roof on my first OR&L coach.

My Colorado Central lime car has finally received her truss rods...what an improvement! I need to add them to my stock car soon...


The most interesting project to me has been reworking my Waycar. The sides were bowed in (and were from initial assembly). It became on acceptable to me and so I cut out the old windows and added internal bracing. I also removed the fascia strips (sign boards) from the roof and attached them to the body. The new fixed window panes look quite a bit better imo. The removed parts are visible in that photo.


This photo shows the other new photos...assembled over a period of 15min this evening. You can also see the bracing I added to the car. Perhaps she'll also receive a new interior...but with a buff and green scheme rather than buff and oxide red... My next waycar will be straw yellow and then a long one in oxide red.

A temporary scale back

Since child #2 was born in January, the hobby has been far more difficult to partake in. With one child, it was easier to work it into the day. But now, I'm lucky to have any energy left when I get to my hour of free time (if I'm lucky). Additionally, it isn't a good idea to use solvents (glue) in the presence of a 2 month old. So, I'm now focusing on finishing up my various projects (new windows for my DSP&P way car, finishing up the various cars which are greater 90% of the way complete). Earlier this week, I managed to finish my C&S coal car and she is now resting on the layout...getting to my LHS to purchase some flat finish was far more difficult than in the past. Today, I'm hoping to make nice strides on my way car's new windows, the C&S caboose's interior (which I can't finish until I get an appropriate depot buff paint), finish the CC gondola sides, and either touch up my OR&L coach's paint or work on trussrods/brake rigging of my DSP&P stock car. My family is at grandma's today...so I have some freedom.

I might work a little on the pattern work for the DSP&P coaches and the OR&L combines/baggage cars, but they won't make it into full scale production until after things calm down around the house (and the newest addition learns how to go to bed in the evening without being held constantly).

Baggage doors and platform cars

Last night, I produced a standard Oahu Railway baggage door. This marks the first time since #2 was born that I've been able to produce a master. This standard door (the unpainted one) was common to all of the Oahu Railway's baggage cars and combines from what I've been able to tell (I haven't checked the arched roof combine). I haven't yet decided if she'll be a separate part from her frame or not (probably separate). To the right, for comparison, is an 1879 DSP&P baggage door.

In other news, my C&S coal car and CC platform car have received their red paint. The coal car has also been lettered. I haven't yet sealed the letter with a dull coat, so she's rather shiny right now. I like the finishes on both of these...and that color is my current favorite freight car red (I avoid painting all of my cars the same shade of red and I like to vary the level of weathering...uniform color shades and uniform heavy/light weathering are unrealistic).




I'll mare the lettering some before its finished.

And, the necessary comparison with the HOn3 version I built at age 17:

At age 17, I made two notable mistakes: the grab irons are flush with the sides preventing the Little Imaginary People from being able to use them and I painted the inside of the car. When I built the On3 version at age 26, I allowed clearance for the LIPs to wrap them hands around the grab irons. Similarly, at age 28, I've give the interior an unpainted wood finish.

The best way to begin scratch building?

I received two On3 C&S kits for Christmas. One of them was a C&S/RGS Reefer Hardware kit. While I build all of my own hardware, most modelers would consider starting with a hardware kit and plans to be "scratch building". Personally, I would consider it to be a craftsman kit since all that's missing is the material for the frame and siding (plus paint, decals, and glue). While I'm not planning to start it (or the other kit, a C&S stock car...both from Grandt Line) anytime soon, I opened it to verify that all the parts are present and share a photo here on my blog. If you've ever wanted to try scratch building, get this hardware kit and give it a shot. Since Grandt Line pulled their HOn3 models, there is no telling if this hardware kit will be available in a few years. Grandt Line's car kits are absolute gems, and this looks to be on par with their usual excellence.


Here are the parts. At bottom is the steel underframe, trucks, and draft gear (plus Grandt Line's couplers which I regard as the best value for a coupler: function, appearance, and price). Above the SUF is the brake parts. Above them are the C&S reefer specific parts (the C&S door latches are on the sprue with the corner irons, not the ones with the hinges). To the left of these are the ladders and stirrups (which are far faster and easier than bending wires as on the stock car, gondola, and box car...the reefer only requires a few grabs to be bent)

Here are the plans and info on the SUF:

I picked up a set of CDS Dry Transfers for these cars a few years back. I'm still a couple sets of C&S stock car decals short...


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My first 23' flat car kit has received all but its red paint. The deck is quite dark on the top and more brown (like the underframe) underneath. This version I am building with out the intermediate sills (I'll build an example gon with the int sills).


The deck


The underframe

Comparisons against a Grandt Line 30' C&S coal car:

First Colorado Central 23' flat car castings

I decided it was time to try preparing a 2-part mold using my new rubber. Since the passenger car parts are large and hence could waste a lot of material, I decided to create the molds for my 23' Colorado Central flatcar. Additionally, it gives me a ready-to-sell product in the event that a need a revenue stream prior to having the passenger cars ready. The first castings were rejects, but the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are good enough to use/sell. I've cleaned up two of these:


Here's a deck and frame sitting on a pair of incomplete trucks. Not shown are the two sets of levers that I'm including in the kits (one for power brakes, one for manual only).

Here's a view showing some of the details:


And the comparison shot against a DSP&P 26' flatcar.


The gondola sides are in the works, and the portion of the mold for the option intermediate sills was a bust. I'm in the process of building the first to kits to verify that scrubbing the parts is sufficient for removing the mold release residue...an issue I've had with some of the Oahu Railway coach parts which may not have been scrubbed. Once I'm happy with paint adhesion and assembly, I'll punch out a as many parts as the mold with give me, and then offer them for sale based off of the time and material each kit required to make (I'm hoping for $20-25 for the flat car, and $30-35 for the gondola version...both less trucks, couplers, decals, and probably brake wheels...all preference decisions which will vary from modeler to modeler).

Cleaning up windows

The majority of the time needed to create passenger car sides is spent on the windows. I'm cleaning up the 60 windows I cast to create the car sides. I need at least 28 double pane windows for the combine and baggage cars. I need 17 single pane windows for the chair cars. I'll take the best windows and use them in the masters, and then the rejects will likely go to a friend in Chicago who has previously generously helped other friends/South Park modelers.



Above the 17 windows needed for the chair car, I have a Barney & Smith coach side. The B&S coaches was within 2" of the chair cars in length, and so they are give a good feel for how the windows will be spaced. Similarly, I've put the 11 arched windows needed for one side of the combine (with a space left for the baggage door) next to an Oahu Railway coach side, which minus the corner moldings is 1'4" longer than the combine. In the middle are extra windows plus the four needed for the baggage car side. I'll clean up the remainder of the photos prior to assembling the sides.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that, as of today, we have a 1 week old daughter. Despite being off work for this splendid event, I haven't had any additional hobby time. I attempted to take our 2 year old son to the local Wonder of the World, an 80,000sq ft model railroad, but learned after we got there that they are closed Weds from January thru March. We made up for it by stopping by one of the dozen local railroad yards...the only one with passenger cars...and let him watch a little switching (he loves that sort of thing).