Hay Shawn the OLD guys like Andy and Steve need the pictures because the words are to small for them to see. 
Shawn,
Didn’t you do a thread about that?
Bob C.
Bob Cope said:
Shawn, Didn’t you do a thread about that? Bob C.
I think I did but I have no clue were to look under. Ill search my pictures for one. Here is one. I have to replace the roof. It has gotten kicked too many times LOL
Shawn said:Slow down and have a beer with Rooster..... ;)
I think I did but I have no clue were to look under. Ill search my pictures for one.
Shawn said:
Looking good. A way to keep that switch stand safer is to put small a fence along the side or a small building that could be used as a saftey shelter during snowstorms or avalanches. I used an electric box in front of mine faced with wood to look like a shelter. The electric box is how I turn on the power to a siding. Plus its in the middle of a foot path. so it gets kicked often but the switch stand stays safe. Always love the updates.
Hey Shawn. That is a good idea. A traditional Tennessee small building that would work mighty well is the following:
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/outhouse-raccoon.jpg)
Might be good for avalanches of another kind. Doc Tom
I need to build about a dozen of those for my layout, including a couple two holers!
Great outhouse picture. That would be greaqt to get in a larger size and frame it. Outhouses are great. I got four total, still have a few more to make and they are very easy to make.
Doc Tom,
Have you melted out, yet? We’re starting to see ground. What a mess out there.
Ric Golding said:Hi Ric. Yes. We had snow on the layout Sunday (2-13-2011) in the AM and by that afternoon it was all gone. That's what a little Southern Sunshine and a temp to 60 will do. I was able to put that turnout in and snap the pictures above Sunday afternoon as well.
Doc Tom, Have you melted out, yet? We're starting to see ground. What a mess out there.
We really do not get much snow here but have quite a lot this winter. Looking forward to working on the garden RR more this week…how about y’all???
Doc TomGood news is almost all the ice has melted off my tracks except for the logging area. After todays cold and windy weather the temps suppose to hit 40-50 degrees. The line should be open for the weekend. The bad news is I still have over a foot of snow on the layout. All that shoveling after each storm has helped though.
Doc Tom asked - “We really do not get much snow here but have quite a lot this winter. Looking forward to working on the garden RR more this week…how about y’all???”
Officially, Spring starts around here right after the East Coast Large Scale Train Show. I did wade through the muck to day picking up twiggs and limbs doing a little burning. The drought and heat, last year, destroyed what grass the new pup didn’t. But all is well and we have gotten through the Club’s Winter Meet and now we start looking for things to do outside.
Ric Golding said:
Doc Tom asked - “We really do not get much snow here but have quite a lot this winter. Looking forward to working on the garden RR more this week…how about y’all???” Officially, Spring starts around here right after the East Coast Large Scale Train Show. I did wade through the muck to day picking up twiggs and limbs doing a little burning. The drought and heat, last year, destroyed what grass the new pup didn’t. But all is well and we have gotten through the Club’s Winter Meet and now we start looking for things to do outside.
Yes, thank goodness Spring is coming. Pretty soon we will see its beauty:
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/Spring.jpg)
Doc Tom
Tom Grabenstein said:
We really do not get much snow here but have quite a lot this winter. Looking forward to working on the garden RR more this week......how about y'all???Doc Tom</blockquote>With the warm-up and thaw the last couple of days, the snow is slowly disappearing, unfortunately with the thaw comes soft, squishy ground that turns to mud if ya try to do anything. It’ll be a few weeks before anything gets done on the layout.
Tom Grabenstein said:
Ric Golding said:
Doc Tom asked - “We really do not get much snow here but have quite a lot this winter. Looking forward to working on the garden RR more this week…how about y’all???” Officially, Spring starts around here right after the East Coast Large Scale Train Show. I did wade through the muck to day picking up twiggs and limbs doing a little burning. The drought and heat, last year, destroyed what grass the new pup didn’t. But all is well and we have gotten through the Club’s Winter Meet and now we start looking for things to do outside.Yes, thank goodness Spring is coming. Pretty soon we will see its beauty:
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/Spring.jpg)
Doc Tom
Great Picture!
While snow bound this winter I did try my hand at my first scratchbuilt flat car in 1:20.3. My friend Bill Nelson gave me a large quantity of strip wood and some old Bachmann flat cars from his Dad’s outdoor G scale layout. I had read on this site how the underpinnings and hardware from the smaller Bachmann flat could be used on a larger 1:20.3, 30 foot flat car…so I thought I would give it a try. I cut up the Bachmann flat and used the strip wood to build what I hope is a replica of a Little River wooden flat car. The only money I spent was about $7 for the Kadee couplers. Here is the LRRR prototype I was hoping to copy:
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/sidemountbrakewheel.jpg)
Here are my B&W photos that I hope capture “the feel” of these well worn logging flats:
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flat1.jpg)
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flat2.jpg)
Here are some color shots of the flat and the crew and a few spring wild flowers:
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flat3640.jpg)
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flat4.jpg)
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flat5640.jpg)
Thank you for looking. Doc Tom
nice work
Nice looking flat car Tom. How about telling us what you did? I have lots of old bachmann flat cars in my old storage chest.
Chuck
Chuck Inlow said:
Nice looking flat car Tom. How about telling us what you did? I have lots of old bachmann flat cars in my old storage chest. Chuck
Thanks for the kind words Chuck and Dave. I am really “the newbie here” as this is my first foray into large scale modeling after about 28 years in HO. I am a bit nervous trying to give a teaching tutorial on my rather crude techniques in this new scale…but I will give it a try. There are NO large scale modelers that I know of in my home town and I got all my ideas from this site and other large scale sites and reading everything I could get my hands on. If you flip over the wooden 1:20.3 30 foot flat car you can see how I used donor pieces from the Bachmann G scale " Big Hauler" flat cars to make the bolsters, wheel sets, truss rods and queen posts. Additional weight was made by using stacks of pennies sandwiched between the deck and the plastic pieces from the donor. These were secured using Liquid Nails for Projects.
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/Flatedu1.jpg)
Strip wood was used to widen the sides about a half inch each side. The strip wood and the donor pieces were put together with Liquid Nails for Projects glue. I did the best I could to keep everything square. Here is the “next donor victim” awaiting the razor saw.
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flatedu2.jpg)
I used a Dremel tool and the trusty razor saw to remove a strip of stake pockets from the donor flat. This strip was sectioned in to individual stake pockets and applied again using Liquid Nails. Fortunately the Little River only had four stake pockets per side on its wooden flats.
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flatedu3.jpg)
I built the side mounted brake wheel using strips of styrene, a metal rod and a plastic brake wheel assembled with ACC. You can see in this picture how I had to trim the Kadee draft gear box to allow for adequate wheel set movement.
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flatedu4.jpg)
Here is a shot of the “salvaged” hardware from the donor B.mann flat attached to the wooden model with ACC. I made the coupler lift lever from wire and bits of styrene.
(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/flatedu5.jpg)
I have a representative of the Bachmann Spectrum 1:20.3 flat car which is a very nice 30 foot model. I used this model to get the dimensions I used in this wooden knock off. When it snows again next year I will probably build another wooden Little River flat car. As for now , it is time to “play in the dirt” and grow the RR. Doc Tom
Tom you sound like myself and someothers as far as breaking into large scale. I use E6000, 3M automotive adhesive and J B weld for those mismatched material joints. The Liquid Nails( I think) isn’t made for outdoor use. But, we all learn from each other.
Dave Marconi said:Thanks for the heads up on the adhesives Dave. The decking on this flat car would rot out in the rain so I keep it indoors in the train shed. So even though it looks rough and tumble it really will only get out on the logging line on good days
Tom you sound like myself and someothers as far as breaking into large scale. I use E6000, 3M automotive adhesive and J B weld for those mismatched material joints. The Liquid Nails( I think) isn't made for outdoor use. But, we all learn from each other.
Hoping to learn more from you guys.
Doc Tom