Color Is Everything

Finally got around to trying different approaches for coloring the ties.  I was going to post this almost two weeks ago when the painting was done, but decided that for a proper evaluation I also needed the contrast of the ballast.

The first three pictures are the ones I felt gave the best results:
First, Rustall #2 solution as suggested by Mike Cougill in his book,  Detailing Track
Second and third are a random combinations of Umber and Gray PanPastels plus a drop or two of India Ink turned into a wash with 91% ISO.  The darker ones are heaver on the gray PanPastel or India Ink and represent more recently replaced ties

For full disclosure, here are a few other options I tried:
First up is a spray paint approach using a Testor's Graphite Dust -- It ends up being too metallic looking
Next are some paint-pen trials, but despite being labeled brown, have far too much red in them

I think I'll stick with using the Rustall #2 as a base and then come in with some of the washes and randomly distribute a few darker ones to show some age variation.

I am pleased that the wood-grain distressing shows up nicely with this weathering method.

The ballast is an approximate 2/3, 1/6, 1/6 mix of medium, fine, and coarse sizes of Woodland Scenics Light Gray ballast.  Prototype photos below show varying sizes of rock, so I think mixing them while favoring the medium size provides that look.  If anything, I probably should up the contribution of the "fine" size.  In the future I might try some real rock products from, say, Arizona Rock and Mineral.

Look for a post later in December, hopefully with tie plates (from Jim Lincoln and Monster Model Works), rail and joint bars (still need to order those from Bill Brillinger's Precision Design Company!

Ties

The test track build continues.   This installment is a short one; just a couple pictures of the ties glued down.
I used standard yellow wood glue to attach the ties to the homasote.  Two ties were initially out of alignment and replaced, so that provided a nice contrast that highlights the distressing.

The ties were distressed first by dragging a fine-tooth hooby saw perpendicular to the ties to create a grain, further sliced up with the sharp end of a tiny screwdriver and finished with a hopefully random distribution of knife slices along the tie edges to smooth any perfectly square corners.

I first read about these distressing techniques in Mike Cougill's publication Detailing Track.  Also see Vol 7 of The Missing Conversation for additional discussions on track.   I also observed Trevor Marsall use similar techniques in his Roadshow series on Trainmasters.tv (paid site, but worth it).

Next up is staining and coloring followed by ballast.   Per Lance Mindheim, I'll look into the products offered by Arizona Rock & Mineral.

I also have the rail ready to go...Trying something new for this handlaying adventure: prototypical 39' sections of rail.  I understand that I could go the "easy route" and lay three-foot sections of rail and glue on joint bars every 39ft, but I'm trying to recreate that distinctive wiggle in industrial track that the individual pieces might provide.  We shall see.

Homasote Splines

I constructed the base for the test track out of Homasote Splines this evening.  The finished product seems like it will work well, but there were some rough spots getting here.

 First, while those knife-edge blades leave a very nice edge and generate a fraction of the dust that anything with teeth would, they seemed prone to wobble, especially as they warmed up.  This meant I constantly needed to make fine adjustments to the jigsaw attack angle and was prevented from using a guide like I had hoped.  The result is some slightly wavy cuts.

This makes for a tedious process with lots of long slow cuts, so I tried doubling and quadrupling the material.  Anything more than two and the blade would wander too far on the bottom piece and leave you with nothing but scrap.

Alas I got eight good two-foot long pieces that overlapped to form a three-foot long section.  I used a standard wood block plane to smooth down the top (track) surface and screwed on a left over piece to the bottom side to make up for the variations in piece height.  This is only necessary since this test section lives at the workbench.  Normally, the pieces will (should!) get cut closer to desired size and the bottom just screws onto the risers or other benchwork supports.


So, it might be that future spline production is done from full sheets on a table saw outside.  In mid-November, I'll be visiting a model railroad that uses this track support technique, so construction details will likely be some of my questions.


In other news...I ordered a full set of the tie rack jigs from Fast Tracks -- one of each spacing (20", 22", and 24").  My research trip did yield that the tie spacing was 20" -- at least on the remaining track where one could actually see the ties.  This was close to a turnout, so I didn't take it as gospel that the whole line used this standard.  Some variation, especially between more and less frequently used tracks will provide some visual appeal as well.

For this test track though, I doubt I'll wait until the jigs arrive.  Shouldn't be too hard to lay 3 feet of ties by hand.

Looking ahead to track laying, I'll close with some prototype photos.  It should be fun replicating track in this condition (and having it still operable)...

Quick Update

I usually try to keep the project-related postings coming about once a month and in order to keep that frequency, here's a quick post about current plans.  The GBW 7080 project was moving along nicely, culminating in getting couplers mounted on it when I realized that in order to make any more progress, I'd have to have a test track in order to confirm coupler heights and finish work on the trucks. Since P:48 is new for me, many projects pause while waiting for the next internet order of supplies and tools and funds from the sale of unused HO scale equipment.

The plan is to create a two-foot test section of track both to try out some of the construction and detailing aspects and result in a functional test track.  I"ll build this on homasote splines.  To that end, supplies have been rolling in to get that test track going:

• Homasote (locally obtained from Menards in a convenient size)
• Knife-Edge Jigsaw Blades (on this advice from the Proto48 Yahoo Group)
• Scale Ties from Northeastern Scale Lumber
• Tie Plates from Jim Lincoln
• Code 100 rail from LHS
• Short Spikes (0.120") from Proto87 Stores
• Spiking pliers from MicroMark
• Track Gauges from Red Cliffs Minatures

While at Red Cliffs, I also ordered the parts to make a #8 turnout as well.  The corresponding kit from American Switch & Signal turnout castings are lined up for the next Protocraft order to compare.

Also, I have one more opportunity to visit the prototype here in the next week, albeit probably only briefly.
Chief research items are:

1. Length of switch points in the three remaining turnouts, including the one to the mainline if I can safely measure it.
2. Spacing between the cross ties.  This is branch line trackage and I'm trying to decide which -- if any -- of the Fast Tracks tie jigs can help me or if I should just roll my own.
3. Number of holes in the tie plates.   I'm assuming four-hole, as this was light density trackage.

Stay tuned for construction progress and photos.


Oh, and fun fact, this is post #50 since the beginning on 27 April 2013 (907 elapsed days [~2.5 years] and an average of one post every 18 days).

GBW 7080 - Part #3

This and successive postings of this title will follow the project to convert this 2-rail Atlas Trainman model of a ACF 50' boxcar lettered for the Green Bay & Western into a Proto:48 model.  See Part #1 and Part #2.

Couplers

With this installment, we continue with the change out of the couplers.  Fortunately, the grotesquely oversized Atlas coupler boxes are merely screwed on, making for easy removal.  After drilling and tapping new holes that line up the new Protocraft coupler boxes, they too mounted on with screws.

Just for comparison, here are the original (Atlas) and new (Protocraft) couplers side-by-side:

I decided to go with the Protocraft couplers on this build after the frustrations of trying to reliably assemble the San Juan couplers.  Their brass construction and reliable bottom-operating uncoupling mechanism were the main motivations and the fact that they come assembled sealed the deal for now.

Getting the couplers installed back on the underframe was painstakingly slow as I realized all of the tools I needed for this level of work and I didn't own.  Thankfully, "the internet" delivers relatively quickly.  :-)

A few shots follow to show the completed installation of the Protocraft couplers and wheels with narrowed bolsters from Lincoln P48 Engineering.  

I still have some work to do regarding the trucks.  The Protocraft wheels don't have the shaft length on them to still use the rotating roller bearings -- I need to try Jim Lincoln's replacements here.  There are some options here, but for now, at least it is back on the trucks.  Now I just need to build a test track so I can verify that the couplers are at the correct height.

Body Modifications

I've started on prep work for upping the detail on the body.  The plastic stirrups were clipped off in anticipation of building out the sill plate to the end and mounting new brass ones.  As mentioned before, part of the extra reinforced needs to be trimmed back to only be under the door.  Also begun was the process of removing the molded on ladders -- this will be a slow process and sure to result in the need for some repainting work.  Matching GBW yellow will make for an interesting project as well.

On The Ground Again

I had the opportunity to visit the Fairgrounds Branch again in mid-August 2015 and it was a good thing I did.

The former Safeway Bakery building was in the process of being covered with insulating panels meaning the exterior photos I recently captured will be the last ones anyone can get.

Prior to obtaining these photos, I had been thinking about the kinds of traffic and the car types that would've served this industry.  It isn't big enough to ship anything out, so rail service would've been limited to inbound raw materials.  That could include flour and sugar plus other commodities like boxes and such.  Pneumatic cars seemed out of the question until I spotted the small set of doors to the left of the rollup door and dock (upper right photo above).  This would've been a perfect place to store a hose and make connections to indoor piping.  The same could be said for the two side-by-side former doors in the upper left photo.  Also noticed was the supports for an awning that hung over the dock.

The other remaining item that had been holding me back from building track was the turnout details.  American Switch & Signal makes great turnout kits for Proto:48 (link is to the Protocraft distribution of said parts) but I needed to know for sure which type of frog would've been in use.  I had assumed that the answer would be simple bolted frogs and the following detail photos confirm this:

I also walked this turnout again in the daytime to confirm that it had a frog angle of #8.  One farther down the track that started the spur into Schutte Lumber measured out to be a #7.  I"m realizing now that I forgot to walk off the distance of the switch points; all of the kits I've seen have 16' 6" points.

I'm impressed by this particular switch that almost has a diverging route on the normal alignment.  It is those types of track variances that I hope to recreate (and have the equipment actually operate...).

I also captured a few more shots of the switch throw mechanism in order to be able to compare to some the products available out there:

I'll be in Kansas City again in October 2015, but may not have an opportunity to get to "The Hill" as the primary purpose of the trip is a wedding.

GBW 7080 - Part #2

This and successive postings of this title will follow the project to convert this 2-rail Atlas Trainman model of a ACF 50' boxcar lettered for the Green Bay & Western into a Proto:48 model.  See Part #1.

The first two items up for change are the couplers and trucks.  Choices for the couplers mentioned in the first post included Type 'E' models in delrin from San Juan Car Company or in brass from Protocraft.  The trucks are easy to modify (narrow) with drop-in bolster replacements designed by Jim Lincoln and produced by Shapeways.

Couplers:
I ordered one of each type of coupler kit offered by San Juan, with the difference being the "scale shank" versus one that fits in a Kadee coupler box.

Unfortunately, that means it doesn't fit an Atlas coupler box.   Plus, they are difficult to assemble to a reliably operating state.  Of the two-and-a-half I've put together so far, the first was a dud because what looked lie flash was mistakenly trimmed off and this rendered the coupler unlockable.  After replacing this part, it now one works OK and holds under a moderate load against another coupler, but the other one doesn't remain locked either (for a different reason).

The "scale shank" ones yielded slightly better results.   Out of the package, they looked more cleanly molded and sharper.  Maybe because I knew more about what to do, they went together more smoothly, but some of the same operating reliability challenges were still there.   Perhaps after a dozen pair of these I could get the hang of it.

The couplers from Protocraft come assembled and work right out of the box.  There are few subtle differences between these and the SJCC version, with the Protocraft ones looking just a bit bigger.   They come with the bottom lift pin mechanism already in place.   I'll post more updates when I get these mounted on a freight car and hopefully operating with the lift bar.

Here's a rather poor comparison photo of all four couplers. From left to right, you have Atlas Original, SJCC "standard", SJCC scale, and Protocraft.

In summary, with the Protocraft couplers starting out reliable and coming with coupler boxes, I'm leaning in that direction for general usage.   They are about three times the price though.

Trucks:
The first 3D-printed parts arrived that I ordered arrived and the use of the "black strong-and-flexible" material seems to be a good choice.  They cut away from the sprues cleanly and the finish somewhat resembles what a rusty metal underframe would look like.  Of course, one does not see much of the bolster itself in a model siting on the tracks, so the point is: they don't distract.

However, I'm again waiting on more parts from Shapeways, as the first two I ordered were for the newer style Atlas trucks, whereas the model I have has the older style trucks.  According to Mr. Lincoln, the difference is the width of the sideframe: Newer ones are 1/8" and older ones are closer to 3/16".

I put the Protocraft wheels in one truck anyway just to see what they'd look like and I am impressed.  There's some slop in them but that is due to the sideframe difference noted earlier.

The inability to immediately assemble the trucks with the narrowed bolster prompted me to think about freight car trucks in general.  The Atlas ones are a rigid frame design and based on some Proto:87 experiences of another modeler I read about, it got me thinking that I should probably seek out a fully sprung truck to hopefully better navigate the track.

Now that's mostly forward thinking because I don't actually have any track yet to run this car on and at the rate things are going it'll be a close race between the cart and the horse -- maybe I'll get a test track section built before winter arrives.  Nor do I consider that one source a doomsday scenario -- but P:48 is the same proportions as P:87, so flange depth and tread width are important concerns -- and I want to model rickety industrial track.  I'll have mass on my side though; O scale equipment is easier to weight down.

The conversation on the sprung trucks comes from the 'p48_modeler' Yahoo group.  An interesting read if you have the time and interest.

Future:
The latest Model Railroader magazine contained an article on modeling left over dunnage and generally sprucing up the interior of a box car.   I think I will follow some of those recommendations for this model, since it already comes with movable doors.