+- (https://bigbluetrains.com)
+-- Forum: Mainline (https://bigbluetrains.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=17)
+--- Forum: HO Modeling (https://bigbluetrains.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=21)
+--- Thread: GEC's Layout Progress (/showthread.php?tid=108)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - P5se Camelback - 12-28-2010
How interesting!
The A/C unit cover over the lead end cab of #910 is white (maybe a replacement?) while the A/C cover on the unit over the trailing cab is blue like the rest of the roof ... an interesting detail to model!
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 12-29-2010
ocalicreek Wrote:Painting those units would indeed be a challenge. Love the blue 5 chime horn!
The trick is to paint it before you put it together! right now, All i need to do is drill in the ditch lights, and i can paint on the basic paint scheme, of platinum mist, Amtrak Blue (whenever i figure what color that really is), and Gray. I can use decal striping for the red stripe on the bottom. All the additional equipment can be painted separately and installed later to simplify masking. The pantographs aren't hard to remove either.
P5se Camelback Wrote:How interesting!
The A/C unit cover over the lead end cab of #910 is white (maybe a replacement?) while the A/C cover on the unit over the trailing cab is blue like the rest of the roof ... an interesting detail to model!
Actually, I need to even pick up some of those Air conditioning units! the ones on the Atlas model actually don't even match the prototype ones, instead they match NJT ALP44 locomotives! luckily, i think BLMA sells these.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 01-01-2011
Well, I now have another NJ Transit Diesel (GP40FH-2) to add to the roster. Some of you have been following my EoY contest thread. Once again, disappointed with what I brought to the table, although, this time, it wasn't for nothing (the catenary i had up for the last contest was not the catenary i have up now).
However, I have made progress still on this engine- finished the decals short of a NJ state seal (they don't make those, but i have a friend who may be able to produce one). If i can get that, I'll add the American flags to the side as well. I either lost or broke my smaller drill bits, so i couldn't quite add my grab irons to the side, but i DID add the ladder. Luckily, I had pre-drilled the grab iron locations on the nose, so i installed them with A-line Grab irons. I also touched up the paint a little, though i'm going to have to mask off small areas to paint the "kick plates" accurately.
One more detail i overlooked, the rear markers on the GP40FH-2 are the same bug-eye markers as on the nose. I'll have to drill out the rear ones and use the spares from my nose kit to fill them in. not a big detail, but its the little things that add together to make a model look nice.
I wish i could have started with a new shell, but that wasn't ever going to happen.
here are the most recent pictures.
![[Image: gp40fh21011110.jpg]](http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7795/gp40fh21011110.jpg)
You can see the fan blades pretty good. this model is coming out nicer, i just need to dull cote it or something. that way, the finish will match up right. the shine is no good for this model.
![[Image: p1010070k.jpg]](http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5285/p1010070k.jpg)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 01-08-2011
Well, i aquired more junk, and made some modifications.
I have 12 TankTrain cars painted in Quakerstate green and yellow. these cars did travel up into Pennsylvania and New york, so the prototype is there.
I also completed a Stemman style pantograph. these double armed pantographs can be found on Arrow I and III commuter cars, as well as some Metroliners. they were less harsh on the wire than the Faively type (the kind you would find on Silverliners, E44s, and E60s).
The hardest part was getting the equalizer bar working, but last night i had an epiphany, and now its just fine. The stabilizer bar is necessary on "pentagon/diamond" pantographs (like the GG1, E33, etc.) because other wise, the pantograph will drag one way or the other very easily, and will not fold correctly. Essentially, the stabilizer bar helps the pantograph keep it's shape.
![[Image: p1070086.jpg]](http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9858/p1070086.jpg)
What i did, was mount 1/32 wire brackets to the arms, and then slip on a piece of brass strip with a short section of tube soldered onto it. i then slipped another section of tube on the other arm, and held the pantograph in proper position, then soldered the other end of the strip to this tube, cutting off the extra. That way, i didn't have to do any crazy measurements or precise parts, since "eye ball engineering" seems to yield good results. It only took me a few moments of adjustments to get it lined up properly.
![[Image: p1070083g.jpg]](http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/219/p1070083g.jpg)
I also rebuilt the pantographs found on Atlas's AEM7 Electric locomotives. These models feature the "original" pantograph style for these engines, but they have long since been replaced with single arm "Brecknell-Willis" pantographs. The bachmann acela pantograph is a good match, but it doesn't fit on the roof of the AEM7 without looking out of place.
The solution turned out to be simple. The original pantograph is held together by screws. Unscrewing the side screw (visible in the picture below), opens up the frame and allows me to remove the upper arm easily (just need to unhook it from its stabilizer bar). This way, the old pantograph remains intact.
At the same time, the bachmann pantograph is made out of stamped brass sheet, and the very base of it is flat. This allows me to attach a 1/32nd wire across the bottom, which fits perfectly into the atlas pivots. because the pantograph i used was a broken one, i had to make a new attachment on the top for the stabilizer bar, but otherwise it fits right in perfectly. The only other major modification is that you'd have to change the "Spring arms" on the base to match the atlas springs attached to the base. this pretty much requires you to either file down or cut the old appendages off, and replace them with a more appropriate hooked piece of wire.
![[Image: p1070079n.jpg]](http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/5554/p1070079n.jpg)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 02-06-2011
Well, This week has been a combination of cool and dissappointing.
Bad News-
My NWSL Stanton drive wore out quickly, and i need to send it back already. This was powering my Silverliner III. I didn't even have time to get a video of it rolling before its gears wore out!
I missed my chance (for now) for additional Silverliner IV electric multiple units (the Reading Commuter care I built earlier in the thread). The SEPTA store stocked a bunch of dummies, but they sold out before i got there! I had wanted to run more than a single car at my train club's open house, and with my Silverliner IIIs out of commission, its all i've got running in the form of electric Multiple units.
two more of my decoders became dead or damaged, totalling 5 out of service, two of them TCS, so i can send them back. the others are NCE and one digitrax. i'm not sure on their repair/return policy.
![[Image: lastweekofseptember2010t.jpg]](http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/2708/lastweekofseptember2010t.jpg)
Good News-
My PATCO decals arrived Yesterday. These have road numbers, logos, and destination signs. they use the old Delaware River Port Authority logo (a wavy line over two straight lines). I still need to get red striping and I'm determining the correct metal color so i can buy the appropriate Alclad Paints.
I got two new books, Conrail in the Reading Era Book One (i had Book 2 for a while), and "The Lindenwold Hi-Speed Line", appropriate given my current modelling project.
It turns out the Hi-speed line (AkA PATCO) was the best heavy rail transit operation in the country, and it has an interesting history.
![[Image: newpatcomodel121010003.jpg]](http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7903/newpatcomodel121010003.jpg)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 02-27-2011
I have two new books, and possibly a Light Rail Vehicle on the way.
" Pennsy's P5 Electrics", a book on the P5A boxcab electrics of the PRR,
"Trackside around the Delaware Valley 1960-1983" which covers the area around Philadelphia during the time where i model, including the tracks right by my house.
In fact, there is on picture in Moorestown New Jersey, of the old "golf ball" radar antenna. For anyone who has ever driven up I-295 between Moorestown and Mount Holly, or the New Jersey Turnpike between Exits 4 and 5, You can see a building that looks like a naval warship in the middle of nowhere. This is currently Lockheed Martin's Naval Radar research facility. Years ago, however, the building the "ship" is built on used to support a humongous white sphere that contained a powerful space-facing radar. During the Cuban missile crisis, It was the only radar powerful enough that could be made to face Cuba and detect a missile launch. For a short time, a direct line to the Oval Office was installed there, but removed since the civilian operators did not want that pressure. Apparently, NORAD's other radars only faced the Soviet Union, necessitating the need to use the Moorestown radar, which was usually used to track satellites in space.
In the book, the photo shows an old PRR/ PRSL Baldwin pulling a small freight past the facility. That area is SO different now that if i didn't know about the old golf ball (and didn't read the caption), i would have never guessed.
I may also get a new model, what i assume to be a boeing LRV. A new member at the club wanted to unload it, and figured i'd use the electric light rail vehicle. It might be a cool addition to my layout, if it works.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - e-paw - 02-27-2011
Nic stuff GEC.
Some dull coat will do that GP 40 good. Keep them coming.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 02-27-2011
I haven't even touched that GP40FH-2 in a while. It still a little disappointing to me. The curve in the shell is unacceptable, but at least it can be bolted down so that it holds straight. I think adding heat might fix it (it fixed my Silverliner III bodies). The touch up marks on the paint are going to annoy me, but i might try and fix it up before i finish working on a model a friend sent to me for a paint job, while all my equipment is out. Hopefully, that model is still viable in the long run. I'd really like to have it working for show time next year.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 03-01-2011
CAB SMASH
Frustrating past few weeks. I haven't really updated this as i've been doing things (in fact, i only tend to post when i get new things, but this is more of a semi reccord for myself).
Basically, as part of the agreement for those Arrow III Married pairs i mentioned earlier, I had to paint some models. Long story short, i had to do a Metro North GP40, and the whole thing was a complete mess. I have it "good enough" at this point, but those who know me will know that i'm not happy with it. It looks like something I would have done 5 years ago, and doesn't seem to reflect my previous couple paint jobs, which came out extroadinarily well.
Speaking of Arrow IIIs and paints, i got tired of the fuzzy paint on my Arrow III single that i was assembling for the past 3 years now (all sorts of frustrations there). In the process however, i may have roughed up one side of the shell (i suspect the alcohol i was using to strip did this). I don't think its so damaged that i cannot still repaint it, as it seems some light sanding and polishing repairs it, but now i'm wondering if, due to the laquer nature of the paint, that perhaps i should try some lacquer thinner to see if the rough spots are really just VERY persistent paint.
If you go ALL the way back to the very first page of this thread, you can see the Arrow III with Testors Metalizer paints. I never stripped this off, just painted over it. I suspect that whats left of the testors is whats making the paint funny. Either way, its gonna need a pain staking polishing, but in the end, i can at least repaint it into the NJ DOT scheme, and hopefully put a better finish on it than i had.
If its less than perfect, so was the prototype at times! This dirty speciment was loaned to the Maryland Area Rail Commuter agency during the mid 1970s, and it clearly hasn't been through the wash rack in a while. The hope is that i can make my model look like that when its done.
![[Image: MARC%201326%20123110.jpg]](http://rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/46449/MARC%201326%20123110.jpg)
![[Image: MARC%201329%20123110.jpg]](http://rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/46449/MARC%201329%20123110.jpg)
For comparison, "clean" Arrow IIIs tended to look more like this- You can see a reflection in their fluted sides.
![[Image: NJT%201319,1473%2011-24-79.jpg]](http://rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/30670/NJT%201319,1473%2011-24-79.jpg)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 03-07-2011
There is a good chance i'll be getting an additional Silverliner III, and I'll likely be picking up another Silverliner IV during the summer. My SEPTA fleet is coming along quite nicely. If i didn't already have a bunch of Arrow IIIs, i'd almost consider jumping ship to Philadelphia.
These are neat MUs, and they are the last PRR passenger car order. In fact, they have a weird "left hand" engineer seating for planned (but never implemented) Pay as you go ticketing. I'll probably also paint this one in SEPTA/Penn Central pain, as well as maybe repaint the old brass Silverliner II MU cars i have to match.
This my my Current Pair of Silverliner IIIs. There were really only very few of these, even when they were new. There were always more Silverliner IIs, and later, MANY more Silverliner IVs in service around Philly. Three is probably the most you'd ever find in a row! Unless i find another Silverliner III at a VERY good price, i think i've got my fill of these units.
This new one will probably be #232. I was originally going to do 232, but i ended up doing 236 instead.
![[Image: trainclub122310014mediu.jpg]](http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1372/trainclub122310014mediu.jpg)
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - e-paw - 03-08-2011
Looks good GEC,
Is that the club layout? You got to talk those guys into having you put up some of that catenary up that you did such a nice job on. It'll give those pantographs something to do other than hold up the sky.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 03-09-2011
e-paw Wrote:Looks good GEC,
Thanks a bunch! I wish i could convince them to put up catenary. Some Reading Company catenary is VERY simple and low lying, but they don't want the hassle (that, and i'm the only guy who'd know how to work on it). I think there is one small area that i could install the catenary in, but i don't think they'll let me, since it would be RIGHT on the edge. In theory, the layout will have plastic shields to keep this area safe, but they are concerned that it would be too delicate and annoying to have to read around.
In truth, its probably better to have it up close so if there is a problem, you don't have to do crazy maneuvering to get problems fixed. But thats not going to happen anytime soon. I'm thinking i'm going to have to build a demonstration section before i convince them to come around to it.
Anyways, that Silverliner III kit is now on its way. Three Silverliner IIIs isn't bad. still thinking about what to paint it.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Lester Perry - 03-17-2011
I have been looking this thread over for a while. I am amazed at your work. I am not a big fan of electric in real life. I like to hear the rumble of a diesel laboring. I think everyone here knows I am a little partial to big steam. But I remember oh probably 20 years ago. The first time I went on an open house tour, there was a guy in Delaware city,De. who had a really nice layout with catenary ( forgive spelling ) and I fell in love with it. I was fascinated with the detail. He also had a marine terminal with an aircraft carrier tied off that was supposedly to scale. He told me it was going to be all torn down in a few months as he was moving. Now there is another one just a few miles from me. This guy bought the layout from somebody and he has had nothing but trouble with it from day one. I guess I said all of that to say this. From modeling point of view I love it and maybe a little envious.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Green_Elite_Cab - 03-18-2011
Lester Perry Wrote:I have been looking this thread over for a while. I am amazed at your work. I am not a big fan of electric in real life. I like to hear the rumble of a diesel laboring. I think everyone here knows I am a little partial to big steam. But I remember oh probably 20 years ago. The first time I went on an open house tour, there was a guy in Delaware city,De. who had a really nice layout with catenary ( forgive spelling ) and I fell in love with it. I was fascinated with the detail. He also had a marine terminal with an aircraft carrier tied off that was supposedly to scale. He told me it was going to be all torn down in a few months as he was moving. Now there is another one just a few miles from me. This guy bought the layout from somebody and he has had nothing but trouble with it from day one. I guess I said all of that to say this. From modeling point of view I love it and maybe a little envious.
Thanks! Also, your spelling is right
. Its a shame that guy was tearing it all down, but i guess such is the eventual fate of all model railroads. It would be neat to see this layout the guy is having trouble with, maybe i know how to get that catenary working. Do you know what kind of stuff he is trying to run, or what the exact trouble is? some pieces, like the Acela Express and the HHP8s from bachmann have trouble with catenary wire because their pantograph shoes are flat metal, and they snag imperfections very easily. Actually, to be honest, this layout has been troubling me lately. I'm very proud of what i accomplished so far, but even from the start it was to small for me. The layout as shown in the book has a small geep and SW running the whole thing, using mostly 40' cars. While my GP15 and similar engines are certainly the right size, the more modern equipment i run is longer and it starts to add up. Even running passenger trains as small RDC/ EMU runs just doesn't seem to fit all that well. It looks fine in pictures, but its not all that fun to run anymore.
That, and i built this layout during my freshman year of high school, and so far i've had to replace or modify over 60% of the layout just so that it will run (and inevitably, i have to weed out the bugs all over again every time, and repaint all the track, which i still haven't done).
I feel like if I'm going to rip up the old, bad sectional track (some of which is steel and brass!, i should just change the whole thing. I have ideas on how to expand the layout and reconfigure areas to make more sense, but i have no idea how much longer I'll have this layout around, since as far as layouts go, there is a good chance I'll be moving out in the next few years, and i have no idea if the layout will be able to follow or if I'll be able to come back and work on it. I'll probably complete it enough to look nice, but as far as electrifying goes, I'm starting to think i should just stick to building modules to get the experience, and then maybe later i can incorporate them into something bigger.
There is a good chance I'll probably continue to build on my current layout (even the catenary), but i guess my enthusiasm for this particular layout has waned.
Re: GEC's Layout Progress - Lester Perry - 03-19-2011
Well maybe you should consider it a learning layout. Before I built my present layout I had one that I experimented on. I built a small helix, a hump yard, tried different types of switches/turnouts, tried different grades and radius's. made lift outs. I mean anything & everything I could think of. I had 2 yards to mess with, even a little scenery. I regularly tore stuff out and tried something different. I did this for about two years and had a blast.