Latest project....

[cn nutbar]

Outstanding detail Doctor Wayne---all these hoppers belong in the "TH&B Hall of Fame".Hopefully I'll get a chance to see them in person one day.

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

....Is that a canvas sunshade on that engine?

Well- it's supposed to look like canvas, but it's actually made from brass shimstock - .003" thick, I think.  There's support frames holding them up, formed from Tichy's phosphor-bronze wire. 
I recently learned that the 8414 shouldn't use the far track passing in front of the Dunnville station, as the awnings hit the edge of the roof over the recently installed platforms.  

Wayne

[doctorwayne]

Well, I finally got the last three of the TH&B hoppers that I have on-hand, painted, lettered, and clear coated.

Here's the 1082, still with its split-K brake system and still riding on archbar trucks (I don't think these cars were ever used in interchange service, so even after the banning of archbars in interchange, they were perfectly legal on their home-road rails

   

I call this one the Four Aces, but it's just another hopper, with a non-powered stem-winder handbrake, outmoded brake gear and archbar trucks.  It's still capable of carrying 65 tons, though, not bad for a car built 25 years earlier...

   

I numbered this one as the Ten-Oh-Five, in a nod to the USWA Steelworkers Local to which I belonged when I worked for a living...

   

Here's an end-view (the exposure slightly adjusted to show a little more of the brake system under the slope sheet).  The last four cars, yet to be done, will be similar in style to these three...

   

Also note the top-mounted support brackets for the brakeman's platform.  I was initially at a loss for representing them, but a punch, intended for making holes in sheet metal, came to the rescue.  I used it to punch 17/64" holes in .030" black sheet styrene, then made boxed cuts around the hole, saving one arc from each corner of the box cut around the hole.  It's still not a totally correct match to the real ones, but possibly the closest rendition of it in HO....well, that's my hope, anyway.

Weathering will be next, but I've got a couple other projects in progress, too.  I haven't kept up with photos, but will likely add a few here when I have something presentable.

Wayne

[doctorwayne]

While the rest of the TH&B hoppers will have to wait, I haven't  stopped cleaning-up a few tasks that needed attention.  I'm still working on a brass Mikado for someone else, but hope to finish it in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, I finally got this shortened MDC Pullman Palace car mostly finished...

   

...although it still needs diaphragms and some riders, too...

   

This Branchline 12-1 Pullman was given to me by a friend (he had bought it at a train show, and never really inspected the contents of the original box).  When I finally got around to having a look, I discovered that all of the parts appeared to be there, except for the car's sides. 
Since Atlas had acquired Branchline, I contacted them and managed to get replacement sides. 

The Microscale decal sheet that I had for CNR passenger cars didn't have the car name that I wanted, and I didn't want to piece together that name, as I had already had the road name decals fall apart during application, so I opted for this, in a nod to my hometown.

   



This Athearn Blue Box reefer was a leftover from my son's short interest in model railroading, so I added a few details and decided that it would be a good fit with the Grand Valley's GVEX refrigerator line (Grand Valley Export Limited)...

   

Wayne

[Tyson Rayles]

Nice work Wayne!

[jim currie]

doc your prowess with the camera awes me wish I could do as well as you on photos , like you been trying to get some old projects finished , but what you have done is looking ultra good.
Jim

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Wayne

[doctorwayne]

Among these keep-myself-busy-so-I-don't-go-any-nuttier-than-I-already-am projects is a plan to populate my passenger cars, as passenger revenues are very low...actually non-existent.

Here's the Grand Valley's combine Willowpoint...

   


...and the Grand Valley's Willowglade (formerly a dining car)...

   

...along with the recently built Willowbend...

   

All three cars did have some interior detail, mostly seating, and in Willowglade, open baggage doors with some items in the baggage area.

Here are some views of the interiors...the first one is of Willowbend, and since there are no open baggage doors, this is about it for the details...

   

...the roof details on this car suggest that there's also a Baker heater (coal stove with a water circulating system for heat when train-line steam is not available), but I didn't bother modelling it.

Here's a view of Willowpoint's interior, the longest of the three, with a baggage area without open doors, so no added detail there.  However, in addition to the passenger section of the car, there's a men's smoking lounge located mid-car...

   

...this car also has a suggestion of a Baker heater, along with the coal stove across the aisle from where the Conductor is sitting.


Willowglade does have a baggage area with operating doors, and therefore some detail...

   

Here's the area for the passengers...

   

....note the Conductor across the aisle from the stove which heats the car in winter, when it's the last car in a freight train, a common practice on branch lines.  There's a second stove at the other end of the passenger area.

If you were standing trackside when Willowpoint passed by, this is what you'd see....or mostly not see

   

...and likewise for the shorter Willowbend...

   

Willowglade does a little better, with a view into the baggage area...

   

...and, despite the poor photos, passengers that are actually somewhat visible...

   

   

   

It's plain to me that the older style cars with fairly low main windows don't show much of the cars' interiors, especially when the cars are not lighted - I have no intention or interest in lighting anything on my layout, other than those illuminating the layout itself.

I'll likely leave those poor souls in their respective cars, but any new passengers will go in cars which offer better views for railfans, as well as those in the coaches. 
I believe that I have a hundred-or-so seated passengers to be painted, and even more LPPs that are standing or walking, also in need of paint.
I think that there's maybe only 10 or 12 passenger cars that need patrons, but most cars will be far from full, as the benefits aren't all that I had hoped they would be.

Wayne

[ezdays]

Really neat Wayne, like always, your attention to details is unrivaled. I think that smoking section would be used for Covid-19 isolation now.

[Tyson Rayles]

Beautiful cars Wayne! Good luck on getting your passengers to actually pay you for their tickets.

[doctorwayne]

Thanks Mike.

...Good luck on getting your passengers to actually pay you for their tickets.

Yeah, whadda bunch bums, after I put all that effort into painting their miserable little plastic bodies.

Wayne

[cn nutbar]

Great work Doc---is that Lumpy catching a ride in the Willowglade?

[doctorwayne]

This next entry, despite the subject matter, was my actual latest project, and I've included another one, done several years ago, as it's a very similar topic.

There are no step-by-step photos, or even a blow-by-blow description of the process, just the finished results.  I'll deal with the older project first...

Some years ago, my younger (adult) daughter asked if I could make a desk for her, and she had very specific requirements as to its functions and purpose, as she's a college-trained artist in several fields.  Here's what it looks like...

   

In addition to lots of storage space, it also  does double-duty for drawing and painting....

   

The desk can be broken down into three components, with the top removed from the two drawer towers - a useful feature, as it won't otherwise fit through most doors, and is too heavy for even two people to carry.

The most recent project was for another desk, also with good storage space and work surfaces for multiple tasks, including on-line schooling for her two young children, computer-related activity for herself, and for her sewing of Shanimals. 

   

...there's also a hidden roll-out feature with more large drawers...

   


   

Again, this one can be broken down, with both work surfaces removeable, and the roll-out drawer assembly also removeable from its housing.

The next project for me will be back to train stuff, although her older sister has asked for desks for her daughters, a project that will be tackled when the nice weather returns (the latest desk shown above was done partially outdoors and partially in my unheated detached garage...not a very nice place to work, as the broken concrete floor means that nothing sits level).  That's not surprising, though, as the building is supposedly 155 years old.

Back to trains next.

Wayne

[doctorwayne]

Great work Doc---is that Lumpy catching a ride in the Willowglade?

No, that guy's supposedly a competent baggage handler, and is freshly-painted, as you can see from his shiny pants.  Looking at him now, he must be pretty proud of his position, as he appears to have a swelled (swollen?) head. 
There are what appear to be some rather attractive women in those cars, too, but they won't withstand close scrutiny, either.

Wayne

[ezdays]

Wayne, I am totally impressed with your woodworking skills. It doesn't surprise me that you are as meticulous in that as you are in your modeling. Very attractive and functional desks.