Bill and Tom's EXCELLENT ADVENTURE in Logging and Mining

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
No longer purple.

I picked up some spray paint cans on my way from work and the M & N G passenger cars are not purple any more. they are slightly too glossy, I'll need to try hitting them up with a clear satin finish



Nelson
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
still not right, but st least not purple

These M & N G passenger cars are nor right yet, but at least they are not purple.


I photographed them in front of the State Line Union Terminal, in state Line Georgia, on the fourth level of my current railroad, behind some M & M G narrow gauge equipment that is closer to the desired color. I will have to get over to hobby lobby and hunt for a bottle of something closer in acrylics , but at least they are not purple any more.

in the next couple days I am going to crack open the Southern #722, and totally re wire the motor circuit, and see if I can get it rolling with the tsunami.


Bill Nelson
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Two irons in the fire. I got some blue paint, but it looks to be just a little too light, I might have to end up mixing colors , that way I'll be sure I'll never be able to match it



on another front I have torn down Sou 722. removing the wire to the motor I found a solder joint that separated when I pulled on it, and that might be the problem, How it worked 3 times when DC was applied through it, and pasted two continuity tests I will never know, unless the power provided by a dcc decoder is more finicky. One never knows when an intermittent will mess up your diagnosis attempts. In any case I think we may be on our way to operation. with old # 722


We may still have some programing issues, I wasn't able to get the light working after Tyler reset the tsumai to factory settings, but the digitrax systems have strange programing isues with soundtrax decoders. The folks on the Hon3 list say NCE systems are much more user friendly than the digitrax, and that a NCE power cab has enough cohones to program a soundtrax decoder. They say digitrax is ok for computer geeks, but the rest of us want to use NCE . I am toying with the idea of getting a NCE power cab for a portable HOn3 layout, and patching it in to portions of my home layout's narrow gauge system, and hooking it up to the club narrow gauge system from time to time.



I'm thinking If I could wire the turntable on the narrow gauge to work, and add a 16 or 17 inch radius return loop on both stubs of the switchback, there could be some operating fun to be had on the narrow gauge.
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Paint mixing

I'm still struggling to get the right color for M & N G Blue I did some paint mixing and got closer. the narrow gauge coach is about the right shade, it is slightly weathered and that is right too.

I got the electrical pick ups on the tender trucks adjusted, and am very close to the sweet spot between electrical pick up and low drag, so it is operable. I fitted the tender shell, now it needs a pilot beam and front coupler. the locomotive runs pretty well with it's new motor, I just have to work out a very minor bind, and it will run flawlessly.
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
I had mixed paint by taking the light blue, adding some of the manganese blue that gave me the horrible purple, and then adding in some gray to tone it down, it was close when freshly applied and dried even closer, the color changing as it dried has been a continuing story in this project, and worked in my favor for once.
 

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Z

Zathros

They look great!! I had to color match some fairing parts on my motorcycle, and after trying way too many Silvers, it turned out this generic silver sold at a local car paint supply store was absolutely perfect. It was so good, I may even repaint the rest of the bike..........nah, I'll just continue with the fairings lowers.

I don't know if you are familiar with the standard "Aluminum" case paint on most Honda Motorcycles. I was able to reproduce that aluminum effect by using High Temperature Aluminum Paint, and spraying a clear coat on top of it. It is an amazing transformation. Paint can be a real pain. These cars look awesome!! :)
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Thanks Zathros,,





I narrowly averted the vehicle restoration trap. My brother in law was trying to find a home for his Grandfathers 1912 T model. My dad had done the antique car thing several times, and had checked it out, and found it to be remarkably sound for a barn car.


My dad was ready to loan me the money to buy it, and borrow a truck and trailer, go to where ever the thing was and deliver it to me. At that time I did not have a garage, and just purchasing the car would have taped out my discretionary funds for several years.

After much grievous thought I decided that a a man of limited means did not need a 100 year old house and an 80 year old car; when both needed a lot of attention.

I do have a 1978 Toyota 4x4 and a 1978 Kubota 25 horse diesel tractor that I keep running, but that is about it. The Toyota has had many rounds of paint patches, and I have given up on matching the white exactly. If I ever have all of the rust spots tamed at once, and have some time to kill, I'd like to zebra stripe it.
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
As I finished this stage of work on these cars (they are likely to get interiors later) I stratrd to work on a little locomotive for the M & N G, which I had pulled out as a color match tester, since it had a blue cab.


I did some work on both the locomotive and the coaches, and the documentation was put over on my Logging in eastern TN on the DG CC & W RR thread, as all of the equipment is eventually intended for use on my home railroad, The passenger cars are going on loan to the Possum Hollow, as their natural home on my own RR (Georgia Staging on the fourth level , hanging from the ceiling, is a construction zone as I try to shoehorn a narrow gauge return loop in around the dual gauge staging yard).
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
another car project

I picked up three Train line Sinclair tank cars from the Walther's flier .

They would not disassemble easily so I toot the axles and couplers off, unhooked the hand rails and moved them out of position, so the tank can be painted with the hand rails out of the way. This will leave a little shadow of silver on the little platform by the turret , but that will probably get painted yellow later.


The body was silver, and the lettering was black. I thought I might have some coverage issue with the hunter green spray paint, so after the axles were out I masked the truck journals and spray painted the entire car with two coats of flat black, before giving them their final coat of spray paint , hunter green, which I have an acrilic paint that is a very close match, that can be use to touch up and counter paint around the lettering, as well as painting the parrot on the emblem.

To turn them into Parrot Oil cars, they get a white oval, and the yellow lettering . I started out using very fine paint brushes, but on some of Tyler's projects he has used wooden Tooth picks. I tried the tooth picks and really liked the control, I got lettering with them. the top photo shows my lettering with a brush, and the lower one shows the lettering with a tooth pick. I have gone back and re worked the first round of lettering with a tooth pick counter painting ( touching up with green, to clean up the lettering as much as possible ).

Next I will start on the parrot emblem, which starts with a green oval in the lower 2/3rds of the white oval, then I work in the head, beak and wing details, I'll try to demonstrate the process. I have done so many parrot emblems on tank cars , oil trucks , gas stations , storage tanks, and tow trucks I have the system rather formalized. I will outline the procedure for doing the emblem in the next post.


Bill Nelson
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
parot oil emblem

some progress, here is how it is done. I have the emblems done on the tank cars, I just need to do numbers now. this emblem just needs a little counter painting to smooth out the outside of the oval
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
tank cars done, working on storage tanks

I have the three parot oil cars done, and ready to go to the club, and started working on some Plastistruct storage tanks for the Possum Hollow Petroleum Co.
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
I got the replacement drivers in the Sou 2-8-0, so hopefully it has been fixed. I have been rebuilding and painting a badly built Atlas switch tower from the clubs junk pile to use as a tower near where the front peninsula's track loops back to the main yard. the narrow gauge crossing is near by, so I figured it warrants a tower for that location.


That location is a lot of fun when operating as it is eastbound in both directions, come to think of it it is west bound in both directions also, Maybe the guys in the tower won't be as confused as I am Tempted to call it the confusion point tower.


Bill
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
The tower is in place where the east and west leads to the big yard diverge, Tyler recommended that we call it the BF tower, BF standing for Befuddlement , as that section of the track plan is especially confusing when one is trying to operate , as both directions qualify as east or west.


This weeks project for me is reworking the Possum Hollow Utility district's water tower
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
water tower almost ready.

the water tower is almost ready, it's bulb was burnt out. I need to get another bulb or a LED, and it would be cool to find a way to make it flash.



Nelson
 

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Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Neat tower and LED source

the water tower is almost ready, it's bulb was burnt out. I need to get another bulb or a LED, and it would be cool to find a way to make it flash.



Nelson
Hi Bill,

Very nice tower. It will look great on layout.

Consider a peak at this site http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ledlights1.html

It has an amazing assortment of LEDs that are inexspensive and include flashing LEDs in any color you would like.

I used flashing red and green LEDs for the wing tips on the model plane I built for the museum. See below.

It is a good company.

Tom
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
we have been doing a lot at the club. folks have torn out the big yard, and the main nearby. we have simplified the main making it a one track main, rebuilt the yard with #6 switches to make it more operable, and added a long two track thru passenger station long enough for Tyler's 1935 Hiawatha.



We are using what was one of the main tracks going into the helix as an extended drill track, so we can switch that end of the yard without blocking the main. on the other end of the yard we can use the Possum Hollow railway as a drill track, so yard operations can stay off the main.


In anticipation of the creation of some engine facilities, Tyler picked up a Walther's round concrete coaling tower for me on his travels and I have started to build it.


Building the engine facilities will be a challenge, as we don't have the will or the space to built it to the scale needed for out largest steam power, so we have to make some serious compromises , so it will be interesting


#1 was the closest locomotive around when it came time to photograph the progress; am magnificently inappropriate locomotive to display with this tower, part ot\f the fun of model railroading
 

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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
painting parts

I am painting parts for the coaling tower, painting whole sprues to keep the process simple. I am using my technique of painting with a can of flat black and a can of red aouto body primer at the same time to mix the paints on the sprues to give me a rusty iron look.



I have been modifying this kit, which has the dump track elevated considerably. I do not want to go to the trouble of elevating the benchwork for it, and neither do I want to build a very low trestle, so I have sanded the bottom of the pit structure so some homasote roadbed from Homabed , laid n the homasote floor of the big yard, will bring the dump track up to the height needed, and made some modifications to the rest of the structure to get the fit between the two parts right.

weathering this structure is a real mental challenge, as the ones I have seen were derelict. oddly enough these things were probably dirtier when in use, due to the coal dust. I'm trying to do as much weathering as I can before I put all the details on. the next step is to but some rust stains under where the metal pieces fasten on. This is a lot of fun, Thank you Mack for dragging me out to the middle of nowhere Ga. to see these things in person .

included in the post is a recent photo from my front yard, to nice not to share somewhere, and with the R J Corman trestle keeps it marginally railroad related.
 

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Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Looking Good

Good job Bill. That coaling tower is going to be great.

I love the picture of C.ville with the setting sun. It is so good I had to show it to Kit who thought it looked like a beautiful painting. Very nicely done.

Tom
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
I have been working on a Union station for the big yard. I have a construction thread over in the scratching and bashing section called time to build union station.


http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?p=952898#post952898



I've started with a foamcore mock up I hope to cast some details, and the masonry will probably be carved foam applied directly to the foam core which will be painted on both sides and braced to help minimize warping.


there is a single track mainline hidden behind Tyler's Hiawatha. there will be a road in front of the station that will continue on a bridge across the newly rebuilt freight yard there will be a long covern platform between the station's two tracks, with stairs leading from the platforms up into the station building itself.


since I'm documenting the build in the scratching and bashing section, documentation here will be minimal, but I thought there ought to be a link.






Bill Nelson
 

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gbwdude

General Manager, W.R.Ry.
Bill,

I like the results so far. It's a little different than I imagined, but since I'm not an artist by any means I can't take my thoughts and put pencil to paper and draw out how I imagined. By the castings and this mock-up, you have my approval.

Tyler

PS: The best part about this picture is my Hiawatha :)
 
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