NYC Modeler Magazine is Launched

Posted on August 2, 2011 by George Losse

I received an email today that NYC Modeler online magazine was launched today. I’m looking forward to more information about one of the Reading’s major interchange partners and their equipment.

This type of online publications talks mostly about HO and N scale models, but the prototype information that goes along with the model information, is the same for all scales.

The first issue looks good, I wish them lots of success.

“Developed and edited by members and friends of the New York Central System Historical Society, we are providing this free resource for anyone interested in creating acurrate models of New York Central railroad equipment and structures. The magazine is only available as a PDF file.”

The Website is at http://nycshs.org/nycentral_modeler.php

Reading N1sd/K1sd Domes

Posted on July 30, 2011 by George Losse

Last night, I started to experiment with cutting the sand domes for the K1’s and the N1’s. I plan to build two N1’s and a pair of Reading built K1’s. So I’ll need to make eight domes.

I’ll post more photos as I work out the process to make them.

Prototype: Reading RS-2 #583 Philadelphia, PA

Posted on July 4, 2011 by George Losse

One of the models on the progect list is the Baldwin AS-16’s with dynamic brakes.

Information on the short hood has been hard to come by. They spent most of their lives working were few photographers went. Also they were often MU’ed with short hoods together. He is a negative of Reading 583 later in life, looks like mid 60’s based on the green and yellow locomotive in the background.

While this isn’t the sharpest image in the world, it is another piece in the puzzle.

Multiple-Era Disorder

Posted on June 24, 2011 by George Losse

I saw this phrase posted on one of the boards today. A little voice rang out, “Yeah! I’m not alone!”

“Multiple-Era Disorder” can turn the average prototype modeler into a train collector quicker than anything else I can think of. You know the type with more boxes on the shelf than finished models on the layout. Life is way too short to waste time on modeling everything. I can only hope I have enough modeling time to build all the models I want for my ONE modeling period.

Discipline will set you free…

We all have friends go on and on about their new steam locomotive they just bought that was retired by 1948. Yet we know full well, he also has a set of diesels that didn’t hit the rails until 1972. Are you looking forward to seeing them run together? That works for them, that’s great, it’s just not my thing.

I don’t mean to pick on any one person about this, I used to be tempted by the newest releases of models outside of my modeling period. I’ve got a whole For Sale page on this site where I’m still trying to get rid of my models outside of my current modeling focus. So, I’ve suffered from this also, I’ve felt the pain.

It’s one thing if your models are meant for a display shelf, I just don’t have enough time or money to model in all the different eras.

I never said I don’t like the different eras. I just don’t have time to model them all!

Wheel Standards – part 2

Posted on June 20, 2011 by George Losse

Back in the Wheel Standards post, I started to take a look at how wide some of the currently produced O scale wheels are. What followed was the page NMRA S-4.2 O Scale Wheels Standards where I started to document how far from standard our wheels are. What I found was very disappointing, almost none of the products that were available were within the NMRA standard for wheels.

That opens a big question mark for me. I believe in standards, they are what will make the railroad run smoothly. What I was seeing was nothing close to standard.

On the ride back from Chicago I was able to have a long conversation with Matt Forsyth who was really stuck in the Jeep listening to me. He had been prodding me for a couple of months to thin down my standards, go to .135 wheel widths only to find out that the NMRA already went to .145. Here is an example of one of Matt’s Intermountain trucks with the thinned down .135 wheelsets.

Well as the conversation turned, I asked “you’re only .020 off of P48 widths, why not go back to p48 standards?” That lead to a long conversation about what’s important to each of us as modelers and what wasn’t. At the end of the conversation we were looking at trying proto48 standards with a 5 foot gauge. We each had our reasons for not just saying yes to Proto48 again.

We ordered in some wheelsets from Protocraft, boy did they look great! Matt quickly modified a set of wheelsets with a spacer installed behind the wheels to adjust the guage. The concept could work nicely. But is this the right direction? I stayed back on the fence a little, still not sure I wanted to commit to the concept. All the while those wheelsets kept sitting on the workbench screaming at me.

The data about the lack of standards for O scale kept piling up this Spring, some manufacturers had different tolerances on different runs of the same products.

When I made the choice to stop modeling in Proto48 back around 2000, I was headed in a different direction. I was a member of a club that really did not want proto48 in it, I had an ever increasing Steam Locomotive stable and didn’t have any real machining skills and there were not many products available for Proto48.

What I now realize, if you want standards, everything is a project to convert no matter what the gauge. If I used the new NMRA standard almost everything needs to be converted, if I go to proto48 standards, everything needs to be converted. On some projects in the queue to be built, it is actually more work to use the NMRA Standards than the p48 standards, mostly because of the products produced by Protocraft.

In this photo is a San Juan P48 USRA Andrews truck with San Juan plastic wheelsets, a San Juan truck with Protocraft wheelsets, and on the car another San Juan truck with PSC wheelsets. There is a difference. Here is a close up of the San Juan USRA Andrews truck with a Protocraft wheelset on the left and a PSC wheelset on the right.

Track Details in Shamokin Yard

Posted on May 14, 2011 by George Losse

How many times have we heard, “Don’t forget track is a model too?” So as I was walking through what was left of the yard in Shamokin, PA the other day, I took notice of some of the track details. Some of what I saw contradicted what all the experts tell us to do.

We all have been told “the prototype NEVER lines up rail joint bars across the two rails.” They should be staggered. Well look at the above image on the far track.

Also the standard drawings I’ve seen clearly show that the joint bars should be set over two cross ties. Look at both the near rail and the far rail, both only are resting on just one cross tie.

We have also been told to keep the turnout throws on the outside of a pair of tracks or crossover. Look closely, both of the turnout in what was this crossover they are on the inside of the crossover.

Something seems to be missing, and again notice that the throw mechanism is between the two tracks….

You are supposed to lay your rail straight and avoid short kinks.

Also check out the siding on the left, the track ends with no bumpers, wheel stops, not even a pair of ties laid on top of the rails….. can’t do that, right?

All kidding aside, this was the track condition in what track was left of Shamokin yard. The last photo shows a heat kink that has thrown the main out of gauge. The left hand track is the old North bound main, a cross over is just on the other side of the bridge at the end of the yard. The turnouts in the photos are at the Southern end of the passing track in town.

In this current condition you could not get a train through the town on this day.

Filling in the Holes

Posted on May 14, 2011 by George Losse

The more research you do to “file in the holes” of what you know, the more questions it brings up. I was able to fill in a bunch of holes the other day with a trip to Shamokin.

I finally found out what kind of bridge was at the Southern end of the yard. I’ve been looking for photos and have not found any to date. It is a ballasted through concrete trough with steel girders under it. The adbuptments were poured concrete on top of stone foundations. It looked like the bridge had a built date of either 1948 or 1949 the diamond on the adbuptment was a little damaged.

Here are some detail images of the bridge.

Notice the yard lead starts just after the bridge, you can still see it in the ballast.

2011 Strasburg O Scale Show – April

Posted on April 10, 2011 by George Losse

Rich Yoder and John Dunn put on another O Scale Show in Strasburg on April 9, 2011. One of “My Favoriates” at the show was the EBT Fn3 Mikado from RY Models on display at the show. Everytime I see one of these locomotives I think about selling all the O scale and modeling the EBT with a pair of these models. I have to stay away from them. The light was showing off the nice Green of the locomotive as compaired to the Black on the hopper car.

It was a nice show, and well attended for an Eastern show. Turned out to be a nice day to catch up with some old friends. It always amazes me how long it takes to walk around this show even though it’s not as big as a mid-west show. There is someone to catch-up on the news with every few feet.

Here is a view of the second room as the show was winding down.

RY Models display of O scale trucks and other currently available models.

Mac (Michael Macewan) proto48’er and former president of Cherry Valley Model Railroad Club behind a table and not wanting to be photographed.

Michael Rahilly behind his table. He was nice enough again to give me some space on his table to move some extra things. And he didn’t complain when I stepped away from the table and didn’t seem to came back for a long time.

More of the folks enjoying the show. In all farness to John and Rich, I took these photos as the show was winding down. Some of the dealers had already made for the exit, that’s why there were a couple of empty tables in the photos. They did have dealers on them earlier but the crowd was to heavey to really see the room.

As I said it was a nice day to catch-up with some old friends, pick up some materials for some projects, and just enjoy the company of others that enjoy the hobby.

Model: Reading HTn 70476

Posted on April 8, 2011 by George Losse

Here is a model of a Reading HTn 70476.

I built this model about 10 years ago using an Intermountain USRA twin as the starting point. The second set of hoppers came from a donor car. The car sides between the bolster ribs were built up from styrene.

I was experimenting with this car using the magnetic air hoses. It got new formed brass stirrups at the same time. The experiment sort of worked OK. I have some new brass parts coming in shortly and there will be a new round of experiments with the magnetic air hoses. More on that later.

Layout Visit: David Crement, 2011 Chicago O Scale Show

Posted on March 22, 2011 by George Losse

David Crement’s EBT On3 layout was our fourth and final layout on this trip. The show’s Layout Tour Guide described the lay as: “Dave has added the #6 mine and the town of Woodvale. East Broad Top Railroad 2-8-2 Baldwin Narrow Gauge locomotives move freight, passenger, and COAL trains winding their way through the Pennsylvania mountain towns of Wood, Roberts, Cooks Rocky Ridge, Coles Valley and Kimmel siding.”

I’m not sure which were more entertaining Dave’s stories or his models. Both were outstanding. One of the more memorable was the story of the scout’s that built the company house shown in the below photos. Dave keeps images of the boys who built the models on the railroad mounted to the fascia.

I’m an EBT fan, I admit it. So, I was excited about going to see the railroad and it did not disappoint me one bit. I would have liked to see coal trains moving, they are my favorite freight cars, but what did move looked great and ran perfectly. The structure models on this railroad set it apart from others.

David has a great sense of humor and it shows in his models, I really like the view of the miners in the coal mine.

This layout started a conversation on the ride home the next day that is going to make for some changes in the future. No I’m not going to model the EBT, although it is very tempting, but the flanges that were running on the On3 equipment looked great and they go back to where I started in O scale, with Proto48. No I’m not going back to p48 but maybe their wheel standards.