WoW that's what makes model railroading so cool . You can walk away from it and clear your thoughts no matter how long it takes and then come back with fresh new ideas .
Dan's Layout
- Thread starter Dan85
- Start date
Hi all, please forgive the lack of replies + updates since it's the last week of classes and it's crunch time!
Anywho -
Bob - Thank you!
Josh - That is an amazing collection! I like GHQ as well - very nice kits. I have two lowboys - though one is missing the wheels - any suggestions for replacements? I've had it for 4 years and have yet to find a good replacement set. Kibri is a bit confusing, I have a small truck crane still in the box half assembled...lol
The cold planer was a real easy build, but it was expensive! I just saw the sticker on the box and realized I paid $58 for it! I can't believe I spent that much (bought it months ago)
Green Elite - Thanks!! Hey, check the for sale section I put two of them up, lol. I've been working on it for about 2 years now. I finally moved into my own apartment and one day after being out of RR'ing for a while I decided to pick up a kit and from there it was all down hill! In between I did a lot of 1/72 aircraft and 1/35 armor.
HO King - Very true. Can't tell you how many times it almost all went up on ebay...
AC - Thanks! Right now I'm pretty much maxed out. I could swing it into the kitchen but I think that might be a bit much for my lovely girlfriend to endure.
By the way, If I may speak about her - her family actually owns an old Depot along the Erie RR and have restored it. She's not crazy about my hobby, but she tolerates it. I even got her to build her own kit - a depot of her own!
Now she keeps insisting that it needs to go on the layout somewhere, but it doesn't really fit in..ya know? lol.
- Dan
Anywho -
Bob - Thank you!
Josh - That is an amazing collection! I like GHQ as well - very nice kits. I have two lowboys - though one is missing the wheels - any suggestions for replacements? I've had it for 4 years and have yet to find a good replacement set. Kibri is a bit confusing, I have a small truck crane still in the box half assembled...lol
The cold planer was a real easy build, but it was expensive! I just saw the sticker on the box and realized I paid $58 for it! I can't believe I spent that much (bought it months ago)
Green Elite - Thanks!! Hey, check the for sale section I put two of them up, lol. I've been working on it for about 2 years now. I finally moved into my own apartment and one day after being out of RR'ing for a while I decided to pick up a kit and from there it was all down hill! In between I did a lot of 1/72 aircraft and 1/35 armor.
HO King - Very true. Can't tell you how many times it almost all went up on ebay...
AC - Thanks! Right now I'm pretty much maxed out. I could swing it into the kitchen but I think that might be a bit much for my lovely girlfriend to endure.
By the way, If I may speak about her - her family actually owns an old Depot along the Erie RR and have restored it. She's not crazy about my hobby, but she tolerates it. I even got her to build her own kit - a depot of her own!
Now she keeps insisting that it needs to go on the layout somewhere, but it doesn't really fit in..ya know? lol.
- Dan
Thanks!! :mrgreen:
For the wheels, i would suggest getting some A-LINE's :thumb:
I know what you mean about the price of the cold planner, and i want to get like 3 of them
lol Thanks for the info on the easy assembly tho, thats a plus :mrgreen: Make sure you post some more pics of it on that lowboy when you get a chance :mrgreen: heheheHey....A thought just crossed my mind....(that happens every 2-3 years....) Modeling an urban scene is much more "believable" than, like me, trying to squeeze the New Mexico desert into a few square feet...
Thats one great layout..!! :thumb:
P.D. I don't know how old you are, but, believe me...You'd better find a place for her depot, or one day you'll find her with some of the coldest shoulders this side of Anchorage....
) Modeling an urban scene is much more "believable" than, like me, trying to squeeze the New Mexico desert into a few square feet...Thats one great layout..!! :thumb:
P.D. I don't know how old you are, but, believe me...You'd better find a place for her depot, or one day you'll find her with some of the coldest shoulders this side of Anchorage....
TruckLover - should have some more pictures tonight/tomorrow and I'll include the lowboy too!
Charlie - Thanks! I appreciate the kind words - should have some updates soon!
steamhead - Thanks! It's all about the camera angles - I just try to keep the wallpaper out of sight! lol. Also, I (23) showed my ladyfriend (22) your comment about "cold shoulders" - she thought it was pretty good! (Now I'll defintely have to find a spot for it!)
I guess for some sort of pseudo update I will post my airbrush setup. Just started airbrushing about a year ago and my god, what a life saver it has been. Quality and Quantity of painted materials for my hobbies have gone through the roof! Anyways, since I live in an apartment I can't have a compressor - even a small one. Tried one from Harbor Freight and it was too loud. So, with great reluctance I managed to get by on badger/testors canned air. Well that's fine and dandy until the air runs out saturday night and all the shops are closed on sunday!
So I tried a slightly different approach. I purchased a five gallon air tank from sears. Then I made a couple of trips to get the right plumbing. Then a trip to get a regulator/moisture trap from Harbor Frieght (GARBAGE). And eventually I pulled out the old bicyle pump to pressurize it. Lo and behold, I had myself a decent, unlimited air brush system!
I have an old tire compressor from home pops sent back to Buffalo with me. I also have access to a emglo air compressor at work, so supply is never a concern! The old base model badger air brush works pretty well for what I ask of it too. Recently I purchased an air filtration system (just a HEPA filter + blower) with an additional filters. I have a "dirty" filter I use to clean the air when I paint. Not perfect, but much better than nothing!
- Dan
Charlie - Thanks! I appreciate the kind words - should have some updates soon!
steamhead - Thanks! It's all about the camera angles - I just try to keep the wallpaper out of sight! lol. Also, I (23) showed my ladyfriend (22) your comment about "cold shoulders" - she thought it was pretty good! (Now I'll defintely have to find a spot for it!)
I guess for some sort of pseudo update I will post my airbrush setup. Just started airbrushing about a year ago and my god, what a life saver it has been. Quality and Quantity of painted materials for my hobbies have gone through the roof! Anyways, since I live in an apartment I can't have a compressor - even a small one. Tried one from Harbor Freight and it was too loud. So, with great reluctance I managed to get by on badger/testors canned air. Well that's fine and dandy until the air runs out saturday night and all the shops are closed on sunday!
So I tried a slightly different approach. I purchased a five gallon air tank from sears. Then I made a couple of trips to get the right plumbing. Then a trip to get a regulator/moisture trap from Harbor Frieght (GARBAGE). And eventually I pulled out the old bicyle pump to pressurize it. Lo and behold, I had myself a decent, unlimited air brush system!
I have an old tire compressor from home pops sent back to Buffalo with me. I also have access to a emglo air compressor at work, so supply is never a concern! The old base model badger air brush works pretty well for what I ask of it too. Recently I purchased an air filtration system (just a HEPA filter + blower) with an additional filters. I have a "dirty" filter I use to clean the air when I paint. Not perfect, but much better than nothing!
- Dan
I'm thinking about having my layout include a large amount of "street running", and I really like the look of your work. Awesome!
Bass - Thanks! Some forewarning though, working turnouts in is a PITA.
Few Updates, I've been working on my bridge. I had a Walther's single track bridge, but it needed a few modifications to allow traffic to pass underneath it. So I took some "engineering license" and redid the support structure and some columns. Not sure how I'm going to support the span - with those stone columns or with something else (possible similar piles)
And for trucklover, my coldplaner. Disregard the terrible peel and stick decals they provide, so terrible! Also my GHQ lowboy and KW I made several years ago. (note I forgot to paint the bumper, lol)
- Dan
Few Updates, I've been working on my bridge. I had a Walther's single track bridge, but it needed a few modifications to allow traffic to pass underneath it. So I took some "engineering license" and redid the support structure and some columns. Not sure how I'm going to support the span - with those stone columns or with something else (possible similar piles)
And for trucklover, my coldplaner. Disregard the terrible peel and stick decals they provide, so terrible! Also my GHQ lowboy and KW I made several years ago. (note I forgot to paint the bumper, lol)
- Dan
I cant beleave i missed this...... and all i got to say is WOW Dan. :thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:
The air tank and the bike pump to pressurize it is a great idea :thumb:.
Does the spur on the bridge lead anywhere or do you have the bridge just for the looks? I’d really like to see a trackplan of your layout to get a notion of how it all belongs together.
Does the spur on the bridge lead anywhere or do you have the bridge just for the looks? I’d really like to see a trackplan of your layout to get a notion of how it all belongs together.
Dan, WOW man, AWESOME work and progress!! The modifications on the bridge look GREAT, and i love the support columns :thumb: :thumb: that looks so COOL!! And your Cold Planner and lowboy truck look SWEET too. Love the weathering on it :thumb: :mrgreen: I know what you mean by the cheap ugly decals lol, but with your weathering, you really cant even tell :thumb: :mrgreen:
Dan, is the truss bridge long enough to span the 2 stone abutments that the truss and girder bridge are using for their respective ends? I'm thinking that the through girder bridge could reverse positions with the truss bridge. I think you could shorten the girder bridge, if needed to fit the space available. The truss bridge could be stretched by cutting and adding structural pieces in the center or you might make building a longer truss bridge a scratch building project. Those "wings & posts" function in the model world, but I suspect that they would not meet engineering standards in the real world.
This post is not criticism of your work, your layout looks great. I detected from your comments that you were not satisfied with the out come of those two bridges, but not sure how to fix it.
This post is not criticism of your work, your layout looks great. I detected from your comments that you were not satisfied with the out come of those two bridges, but not sure how to fix it.
railroader9731 - Thanks!
cnw1961 - Unforunately the spur that travels over the bridge is just a dead end - for now. Eventually I will draw up a track plan - if it ever stops changing, lol. Any suggestions for drawing it up? I have an autocad program, but not sure that's the best option.
TruckLover - Thanks man! I should have some more updates coming soon. I working on a new plow setup.
Russ Bellinis - Thanks for the input Russ. I do like the idea of increasing the length of the truss bridge but I don't think the replacement section would look quite right. I do agree with your thoughts on my supports; the configuration and size seem inadequate for the load. I was thinking of adding another set of columns so it would make a 'X' configuration with the existing ones.
- Dan
cnw1961 - Unforunately the spur that travels over the bridge is just a dead end - for now. Eventually I will draw up a track plan - if it ever stops changing, lol. Any suggestions for drawing it up? I have an autocad program, but not sure that's the best option.
TruckLover - Thanks man! I should have some more updates coming soon. I working on a new plow setup.
Russ Bellinis - Thanks for the input Russ. I do like the idea of increasing the length of the truss bridge but I don't think the replacement section would look quite right. I do agree with your thoughts on my supports; the configuration and size seem inadequate for the load. I was thinking of adding another set of columns so it would make a 'X' configuration with the existing ones.
- Dan
Sweet! looking forward to seeing the new plow setup :mrgreen:
As for the track drawing, what computer are you on? a PC or a Mac?
I'm on a PC, got something in mind?
Here's the latest piece I've been working on for my layout. It's a 1/87 GHQ kit and then I built a plow for it based upon a few different pictures I could find. Once I start to polish it up with some details it will look better. Any suggestions for plow color? I'm thinking orange.
I guess I need to consider building a city barn too!
- Dan
Here's the latest piece I've been working on for my layout. It's a 1/87 GHQ kit and then I built a plow for it based upon a few different pictures I could find. Once I start to polish it up with some details it will look better. Any suggestions for plow color? I'm thinking orange.
I guess I need to consider building a city barn too!
- Dan
Those are SWEET looking Dan!! Love them. I think orange for the whole tractor and plow would look pretty cool. Or white with an orange plow? :mrgreen:
As for the trackplanning program, im on a mac and i bought a program called Empire Express, thats what i did all my M&ET plans with. it was $40 and it was money well spent. There wasnt anything good for free with a mac lol
When i was on a PC, i used Atlas Freeware, i really liked it and it suited my needs. There is also XTRAKCAD, but i didnt like it all that much, I stuck with Atlas Freeware. Atlas also had a good library of track and buildings to use in the plans....
As for the trackplanning program, im on a mac and i bought a program called Empire Express, thats what i did all my M&ET plans with. it was $40 and it was money well spent. There wasnt anything good for free with a mac lol
When i was on a PC, i used Atlas Freeware, i really liked it and it suited my needs. There is also XTRAKCAD, but i didnt like it all that much, I stuck with Atlas Freeware. Atlas also had a good library of track and buildings to use in the plans....
Dan, Id like my plow to be red, thanks for asking!:mrgreen: AWESOME work! I just bought a Caterpillar 920 off ebay, but its in 1/50. Ill need to make a box and snow bucket for it.
The problem is that no matter how you do it, butt welding the beams to the bridge supports won't pass inspection. You need to raise the bridge enough to have the "X" pass under the entire bridge support system.
If you are concerned that you can't extend the truss bridge without the seams showing, you might use the existing set up as a temporary solution. Then build another truss bridge from scratch. I have thought that one soldered together out of K&S brass shapes would make a neat bridge.
TruckLover - That reminds me, I have that atlas freeware too, I'll have to dig that out and sketch up a layout.
Kevinkrey - Red? Hrmm..might not be happy with the outcome.. Can't wait to see your 920 project too!
Russ Bellinis - I see your point and I appreciate your input. Perhaps I need to rethink these supports. I can't really have beams underneath the bridge due to clearance. But I can't raise the bright either, or else I'll have an awkard grade. There must be a happy medium in there somewhere...
Anyways, flipped some paint onto the plow and grabbed a donor loader as the other one isn't done yet. Any suggestions for something to use as trip spring? Still need to run hydraulic lines and finish a few more details. I plan on getting back to working on the layout itself soon.
- Dan
Kevinkrey - Red? Hrmm..might not be happy with the outcome.. Can't wait to see your 920 project too!
Russ Bellinis - I see your point and I appreciate your input. Perhaps I need to rethink these supports. I can't really have beams underneath the bridge due to clearance. But I can't raise the bright either, or else I'll have an awkard grade. There must be a happy medium in there somewhere...
Anyways, flipped some paint onto the plow and grabbed a donor loader as the other one isn't done yet. Any suggestions for something to use as trip spring? Still need to run hydraulic lines and finish a few more details. I plan on getting back to working on the layout itself soon.
- Dan