Current Projects

[cnrglen]

good work on the crane repaint. I have an IHC Crane and boom car to repaint for another modeller coming up on my to-do list

[LiveSteamer]

good work on the crane repaint. I have an IHC Crane and boom car to repaint for another modeller coming up on my to-do list

Thank you. I have the work train all together. Just need to order a few more decals and it will be ready to roll.

[LiveSteamer]

New project in the works and it is a former Pennsylvania Railroad N5C caboose. This is a fictitious caboose painted or the C&I. This will be caboose #57. I also have a former B&O bay window caboose that will be turned into a C&I caboose used for local runs between towns. This caboose will be #14.

   

[LiveSteamer]

The cabooses lined up on storage track #1. I'm waiting for decals to arrive in the mail to get the last two numbered and lettered. As for now, they will just chill out on the storage tracks until then. Don't mind the locomotives in the background and the frame of a future C&I engine tucked away behind the future transfer caboose.

Caboose #54
   

Caboose #56
   

Caboose #53
   

Transfer Caboose #46
   

[LiveSteamer]

I did change the numbers on the cabooses that were added to the roster. Yesterday I did paint another hopper car but this one in particular will be used for mow service. Even though I haven’t found any mow hopper cars in service on the C&I, I needed to have one for ballast service. Pictures of the hopper will be coming soon.

[Charlie B]

Matt, you are progressing very well.  
You can add this for variety.     
Charlie

[LiveSteamer]

Matt, you are progressing very well.  
You can add this for variety. 
Charlie

Thank you Charlie. I can definitely make that hopper. I just need to get another hopper car and I will start on that. It will be a fairly easy to paint and decal.

I was at the hobby shop today before I seen this post and bought some more knuckle couplers just to have and I also purchased a Mantua Caboose lettered for the ATSF but it will become C&I Inspection Car #41. It's not exactly like the inspection car, but I'm going to try my scratch building skills and get it as close as possible.

   

[jim currie]

nice find fyi it's a drovers' caboose from the days of shipping live cattle on the rails.
Jim

[LiveSteamer]

Well it has been awhile since I've done anything and now the first project that was up to get some work was my fiance's engine. We got this engine two years ago roughly and the rear platform was bent along with the steps being broke. This engine was her dad's engine and I wasn't about to just give up on it and not do anything with it. So now it was time to try my hand at rebuilding the steps and figuring out how to get the platform as straight as I could. Well I managed to do so and was happy with the end result. I went to hobby lobby and got polystyrene and cut new steps out. Granted they aren't like the front steps but once painted, you can't tell. It's even hard to tell if you get close to it. The platform is still slightly bent but I am very happy with the end result as it's not as bad as it was. Now I just have to clean the locomotive shell up and it will be ready to go.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

[jim currie]

nice save.
Jim

[LiveSteamer]

nice save.
Jim

Thank You Jim. It took a little bit of thinking but I managed to do it. I tried searching YouTube for videos on how to do it but could t find anything. So I sat and though about it for a week and that’s the best idea I could come up with.

[ngauger]

The only thing better would be to 3D print it! Looks Great!!!

[FiatFan]

Nice work, Matt. Job well done.

Tom

[tompm]

Good job. Looks nice.

Accidents happen in the prototype world and the repairs never match the orginal exactly thus your repair is prototypical.

[TMo]

Love your GP40 Matt! I had a similar situation with my Athearn SD40-2 shell. The front steps look to have sustained some heat damage. I did a little file work, but left them pretty much as is, not thinking a replacement with styrene might look much better!

It's great to save a locomotive with memories. I pitched my boyhood motive power many years ago, but there are times when I think maybe I ought to have resurrected a C-liner or a really bad AHM "GP18" or a Reading 2-axle switcher that are long since buried in a landfill. Then I think of how much money I might have sunk into them and I realize (for me) the money can get sunk into something I really want to see running on my layout.