Fantastic...!!! The gondolas...the "mournful" whistle, the litlle 0-6-0....the trestles....The whole thing..!! Even that multi-turnout that caused the derailment....
Just one question....How did the caboose get turned around during the journey..??

Thank you very much for your "" ""!

Gus, this video contains the two parts of this journey - a westbound and a eastbound run. The end point of of west-bound train is a big yard and this were a clear switching and storage yard so that I did not made video sequences of this part of yourney. However it is of interest to read what for details will be found by the noninvolved visitors.
I can say that it was a great event to me again visiting this yearly meeting of US-FREMO in Unna, Germany and let to run my model trains!

Today the very last news of my gondola project - the loads are added.
And a new question before - how are looking rails coming fresh from the steel mill? Rusty or overcoated with a blue-gray tinder?

First a picture of "new" street car rails in a switch plant ...



... you will see well rusted rails with a few tinder leftovers.



So I painted the rails in a rusty color with a few nuances of darkness - than this was visible also at the originals!
This is definitively the end of the gondola project now. And never I will build five models of same type!

"And never I will build five models of same type!"

Never say never....I swore I wouldn't tackle another loco detailing project after doing the 2-8-2, and I'm already looking to see which engine might receive the same treatment....

This kind of thing is addictive...

Bernhard, I think the rails fresh from the smelter would be black like structural steel, at least today. I don't know what sort of protective coating may have been used in 1900.

Gus, Russ,
thanks for your answers and notions.

It will not be a gig problem to change the color of the rails. So I would like to get a few more info about the steel coming fresh from the steel-mill. However it could be that the rust coloring will not be the right tint. When I remember to different visits in steel wire converting plants - their raw material was all blue-grey colored.
I should reflect about this fact once again!

Nowadays, most freshly-made steel is the blue/grey colour which you noticed, Bernhard. Depending on the alloy and the finishing procedures, some will rust rather quickly, while other grades maintain that colour for quite some time. I'm guessing that in your 1900 era, though, that it wouldn't have been uncommon for more grades to form surface rust not long after being made.

Wayne

Doc Wayne, do the steel mills use any sort of phosphoric acid dip for fresh steel? The structural steel that we used to get at carrier seemed to have an iron phosphate coating on it.

I think that different grades are treated (or not) to suit their specific end use. The plant where I worked used hydrochloric acid in their pickle line, in which rolled coils (either recently made or sitting, sometimes for several weeks, on the ground outdoors) were fed (unrolled) through a hot acid bath which removed scale and other surface impurities. The steel was then tin plated, galvanised, or shipped clean, in boxcars, to another finishing plant or to end users. I can't see that rails would get any special coating or finishes, as first use would likely remove it from the railtops.
I don't have my steelmaking reference books on hand, so perhaps someone familiar with rolled shapes might be able to shed more light on the subject. Our plant produced rod and bar material, and flat rolled products, both plate and strip. They also made a grade on which the rust acted as a finished surface - it was/is used in both structural and decorative applications.

Wayne

Thank you all for your discussion of differend facts of rusting steel products.
I will see what I will do in next time when I have found a few more infos about fresh milled rails. It could be that I will add a few small blue-gray spots to rails using a permanent marker or similar pens. However this all will not more need a fast realization because the rail loads are seperate parts which I can remove without problems from the gondolas.
In next days I will have a railroad free time because a short traveling on a ship and after I will see what I will do. And the next detailing project is placed on my workbench already - pictures will follow after a few mor steps of progress.

Greetings!

Bernhard, I can hardly wait for the next project. In a time when so many modelers are afraid to tackle the most basic kit, your scratch builds are refreshing to say the least!

I look forward to seeing the new project!

The gondolas look excellent!

Michael

Hallo Russ, hallo Michael,

I have had a few vacation days and all modeling activities were stopped.
I think that I can write about the news in end of month. Thank you for your interest!

Michael, nice to read from you again!

Greetings ...

The colour of new rails:





Note the tip of the frog was factory painted grey. It indicates that this turnout "kit" is new.

Lutz