I have made some progress building the turnout. My biggest issue so far has been remembering at what angle to drive the spike without moving the rail.
But my check gauge has vanished into the dimension of lost socks. Can’t find that thing anywhere. So I ordered another from Right-O-Way today. I think this project is going to be put on hold until it arrives.
I did notice that Jay at Right-O-Way had posted on Facebook that they have Proto48 Code 125 Non-Weathered Flex-track in stock again. That good news.
And I know it’s Friday, so why the WBW post? I’m thinking it’s about to morph into an any day workbench category.
I brought back one of the five projects that were on the workbench at the same time. It is much easier to work on one project without the other projects competing for attention or space to work.
I thought I’d try to remember how to build a turnout. It’s been way too long since I built my last one. It is amazing how much you forget.
Last Fall, I ordered some turnout blocks from Central & Western HomaRoad Supply. They are nice, dust free and a nice smooth surface to work on. I used one of Jim Cantner’s turnout templates to position the ties. Then I started building….. after a few starts and stops, I began to remember how much I’ve forgotten about building a turnout. Thankfully spikes can be pulled up and rail adjusted.
In the photo you can also see three new Trifecta Proto48 track gauges from Fast Tracks. They are a nice clean machined part and fit the Micro-Engineering railhead very well. I’m using American Switch and Signal castings for a number 8 turnout, which are now available through Right-O-Way and Micro Engineering code 125 rail for this build.
Progress has been much slower on this turnout than I would like. But it has been fun.
I know it’s not Wednesday but The biggest thing I have been working on recently is cleaning the workbench again. It’s taken a couple of weeks, but I finally got it clean. I had at least five projects going on at the same time on the workbook all fighting for space and attention.
But with the start of a new year, I thought it would be good to start the year with a clean workbench. There is snow in the forecast for the morning, so I’m hoping I get a chance to start to clutter it up again real soon.
Reading FT 256 at Tamaqua, PA. Photograph by Donald W. Furler, Center for Railroad Photography and Art.
This morning I was checking my email and looking at the few Facebook Groups I follow. I found an image embedded in a post on the of the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society. The photo that was embedded was part of a discussion about a location of of a different image.
But when I followed the link, I found a wonderful webpage.
The Center for Railroad Photography and Art has a page of 100 images of the Reading Railroad taken by Donald W. Furler. The images cover many different locations on the Reading Railroad from the early 1940’s into the mid-1950’s. A number of the images have appeared in print before in different publications.
Take a look, this is not your typical railman photography. I enjoyed exploring the page this morning. I hope other Reading fans will also.
Reading F3A 261 near Ringtown, PA, April 3, 1949. Photograph by Donald W. Furler, Center for Railroad Photography and Art.
It’s took a while to get some paint of the trucks. Then it took a while longer to get them back in the work line. Some of those freight car projects just go so much faster that it feels like you have actually finished something.
Anyway, these two pair of trucks have had new axels from Protocraft installed. Yes, they are now available from Right-O-Way but I’ve had mine on the shelf since they were a Protocraft product. I also installed ball bearing from Bearing Direct on the axels and also the FineScale 360 Weaver Chain Drive Replacement Kit.
I have to say that these are a pain in the ass to reassemble. Things seem to be moving in so many directions at the same time. It’s difficult to get them all to fit together without something moving. They are taking longer than I thought they would to reassemble.
And for anybody that might be questioning why I have a nice shinny black on the trucks instead of all kinds of weathered blacks/grays/rust. For my modeling period, the Summer of 1952, these units are less than a month old. I don’t think the railroad would have been happy if they had been delivered with well worn trucks.
I am back at work a couple of days a week until the end of the month. This has meant getting out at lunchtime to West Trenton Station. This week I got to see a CSX stack train head North through the station.
Some PRR hopper cars on the workbench getting lettered.
I’ve been working on some PRR GLa’s recently. These four are Precision Scale models imported back the early ’90’s. They are nice cars. I painted them a few years ago, just never got around to decorating the cars.
I’ve run out of the Yoder decals for the GLa’s. They were really nice to work with and I’m glad I saved the leftovers from what I had used in the past. I ended up using a combination of decals on these cars. I tried a Tichy set, and a set from K4 Decals. I can’t say I was excited by either of those sets. But they provided what was missing from my leftover Yoder decals for the GLa’s.
I am also finishing up an Overland PRR H32 Covered Hopper car for a friend. I did use a Tichy set for that car. I had a little trouble using Solvaset on the decals. The decals seemed to lift off the clear carrier film. A little Microscale’s Micro Sol setting solution applied to the letter together with a little pressure was able to get that under control.
An Overland PRR H32 Covered Hopper car making a trip through the Workbench getting some lettering applied for a friend.
Today was the Strasburg O Scale Show. The show was well attended. Besides the regular crowd, were even a pair of modelers up from Texas who stopped by and spoke with me at our table.
The show was well attended, there were a couple of dealers that did not show. Leaving the appearence open tables. I heard different whispers about health concerns for some of those individuals. I only hope that all are ok.
Rich Yoder did the honors of auctioning off the Nighthawks Cafe model. The model was built from a kit offered by Wit and Wisdom Models, Dave Vaughn’s company and built by Martin Brechbiel.
The proceeds benefit the Strasburg Fire Company where the show is hosted. We should all remember that they have had a rough year with the pandemic canceling the different shows and events that they normally host throughout the year.
This was a great opportunity to buy a very nice model and help a great organization.
There was a lot of buying going on during the show. I was glad to have sold the last of my Red Caboose GP9’s. They are wonderful models but were not built yet for my modeling period. I’m happy to say that all have found new homes.
For the Reading modeler, there were a few models in the show. I did see an Overland T-1 and an SGL G3 on the tables. I even saw a Reading Camelback painted as an LNE switcher go home with one of the guys from our group.
Paul Yanosik brought some new models to share with me. He is in the process of upgrading some of the details on his first CNJ Baldwin builds. He also brought along some photos from their construction. And he shared with me a cab which was in the process of being converted from an EMD F7 into a Baldwin cab. Thank you Paul.
I can’t believe I actualy wrote that headline. It’s great news!
Yarmouth Model Works has released their first O Scale resin rfeight car kit. It is a model of a PRR X31f boxcar. Owner Pierre Oliver hinted about the kit last Spring and now it’s here.
The kit features a one-piece resin body casting, a 3D printed roof pattern, laser cut running boards and 3D printed details. The kit sells for $165.
For those that are not familiar with Yarmouth Model Works. They are an HO manufacturer of resin freight car kits and detail parts. I hope we might see some O Scale detail parts offered in the future also.
I’ll let you know more about this kit when it arrives here in South Jersey.
The Strasburg O Scale Train Show was today. In past years, the August show was often the lightest attended of the three shows that John Dunn and Rich Yoder host each year. Not so this year. It was well attended and buying and selling was at a good pace throughout the show.
They had on display a model that will be auctioned off at the next Strasburg Show, on October 16th 2021. The proceeds will benefit the Strasburg Fire Company where the show is hosted. We should all remember that they have had a rough year with the pandemic canceling the different shows and events that they normally host throughout the year.
This will be a great opportunity to buy a very nice model and help a great organization. The model is built from a kit offered by Wit and Wisdom Models, Dave Vaughn’s company and built by Martin Brechbiel.
On the model front, there were a number of Reading models on the tables, I saw two Weaver Crusader sets with the locomotive on different tables. I also saw the SGL G-3 Pacific and set of five cars. Another dealer had the two car add-on set on their table, while a different vendor had the “Wall Street” add-on car.
As usual I shared a table with my friend Michael Rahilly. Here is a photo of Michael and his daughter Lauren.
One of the things I often hear at train shows is that people attend them now more to catch up with old friends then to buy a bunch of trains. I heard this from more than one attendee today. I was glad to have some time to catch up with a few of the guys that were in the local club back during my time there.
Michael MacEwan, who didn’t have a table at this show, but was hanging out at our table with Michael. As always the conversation always circled back to talking about PRR B6sb’s.
Another former club member was Dave Richter sitting at the end of his tables.
Here at the end of the show was Dave Vaughn talking with Rick Trinkle who was in from Colorado.
One last old fried was also on two different tables at the show. This was a book my brother and I put out back in the late 1980’s. It was a reprint of a Reading Company photo book on the Reading and CNJ 55 Ton Welded Steel hopper Cars.
Still working on the Weaver gearboxes for my GP7 project. I have to say, putting those little 2-56 nut on the screws that hold them together is a real pain. I know with all the Weaver models that have used them, they had to have come up with a way to easily put them together. Me I’m still trying to find an easy way to hold the nut and start threading it onto the screws. Haven come up with one yet that keeps the nuts from hitting the floor a half dozen times.
It also didn’t help that I was trying to use older gearboxes from an older donor Weaver drive for the second unit. It turned out getting them open was difficult. Someone had placed a drop of ACC on the treads and nut to keep them together.
Progress has been slow, but I still haven’t painted the trucks yet so it’s not really holding me up yet.
