GEC's Layout Progress

[eightyeightfan1]

Hey..You got a big spider on your table.
Nice looking layout.
I have one of those PanAm boxcars also.
Probably one of the best R-T-R cars I've gotten in a long time.

[Trucklover]

I like the pics with the new Tripod Chris!! Can you give us any ideas where to get one, and how much they are? Those are really neat and i wouldnt mind getting one of those to help take my pics too

[Green_Elite_Cab]

You can get the tripod at Best By, but be careful, they break easily where the legs meet the body I already have to get a new one. I just need to not bend it so much next time i guess

I will be posting some videos in a few minutes of my trains at my local model railroad club, the Burlington County Model Railroad Club. If you live near philadelphia, its a good idea go come check us out this weekend and next weekend.

We are located in the basement level of the Burlington County Footlighters Playhouse, 900 Pomona Rd, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077, and we are open 12-5PM. Its $3 for an adult to get in, kids under 12 are free.

I'm hoping to have a nearly full Amtrak Silver Crescent/meteor/star in time for the show. I just need to fix some coupler height issues.



I think all i've done today was work on my Electric Multiple Unit Commuter trains.

In other news, i've gotten quite a bit of stuff done. I've experimented with the Alclad Chrome metalizing paint. This is superior to the stuff i was using before because you had to buff it, and even then, you didn't geth the mirror finish. The Alclad is absolutely rediculous though. The chrome is a perfect match for my Metroliners, Amfleets and Arrow III EMUs. I first tested the Alclad chrome on a junked (its more busted up than it appears, but i do a good job fixing it, so you can hardly tell even with the crazy shiny paint) Metroliner shell. I was going to make it into a cab car, but i realized after painting it that there were some major details i needed to fix. Anyways, it is perfect, especially when you compare it to the finish on most other amfleets. I've also used int on my Arrow IIIs, and i think i'll have to get more Alclad for the rest of my fleet. I might even try the stainless steel Alclad on portions where i need a duller stainless steel look than the chrome, but brighter than what i get with testor's stainless steel (you'll see what i mean in the photos).

that silver that most companies use is all wrong!



A prototype picture- my metroliner shell might be dusty, but which of the above finishes do you think best matches the real thing, the standard walthers/bachmann, or Alclad? keep in mind my metroliner is in-doors, so its going to reflect differently. It looks just like that outside (but its to cold to go out there, lol)

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I've also begun using it on my "single" Arrow III EMU. I might need to touch up the old metalizer portions.



compared with before-



I also got my Metroliner EMU train working. That was a pain, and it still is noisy, but it works on DCC and seems like it will pull it's own weight. I bolted in the wires to the parts of the frame where things were connected originally to get the track power, but otherwise it works. There was an issue when i drilled through the frame and used a metal screw (causing a short), but i replaced it with a plastic screw, and it works fine. I had to reshape the motor area with a dremel tool, and used model airplane fuel line to replace the old connectors, which would not fit with the new motor. This set up is pretty loud, but it works when it is properly shimmed and lubricated (speaking of which, this 30 year old model can probably use a good cleaning in it's gears!). Because i hadn't expected to find such a quick and easy solution to making it run, i had left it in storage for a while and i haven't really fine tuned any part of it, only occaisionally pulling it out. If i can make it quieter, i'd like to make it a more common train on my layout.



I had to modify the frame a little



Old motor and parts with the new. note the fuel line. This works pretty well, it doesn't twist up under normal operation (if the locomotive is so bad the wheels stop moving, the fuel line weill twist off, saving the motor. I've seen this happen)



Here you can see the decoder and the drive in detail. The drive here is very loud and unique, so there does not seem to be any way to replace it. I'm trying to figure out how to make it quieter.



I have a 1700 Series baggage car i'm also working on, and i'll post pictures of it soon!

[tomustang]

I dig the layout, great work!

[Russ Bellinis]

ith straight cut gears there may not be anyway to make it quieter.

[Trucklover]

[quote="Green_Elite_Cab"]You can get the tripod at Best By, but be careful, they break easily where the legs meet the body I already have to get a new one. I just need to not bend it so much next time i guess [quote]

Thanks Chris!! Ill look for them next time im at Best Buy

BTW, i LOVE that firsts hot you posted

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Thanks Chris!! Ill look for them next time im at Best Buy

BTW, i LOVE that firsts hot you posted

Well, i just got all the couplers and things on that train set up right, and i'm taking it to the club tonight to make sure it runs. I'll take a couple videos so you ca n see it roll, its a fun train! I just wish i had more viewliners.

ith straight cut gears there may not be anyway to make it quieter.

I didn't think so, lol. I'm thinking i might just try and make them pretty. Atleast the metroliners can look good, lol. I might try replacing one of the dummys with powered trucks like the PDT, depending on how well they work on my Arrow III EMU cars.

Speaking of which, I have ret again repainted it, this time putting a single coat of Alclad chrome over the whole shell except for the ends. AS it turns out, the Stainless Steel metalizer i buffed on previously has the perfect textrue for the smooth portions, and so with a single coat of the alclad, it shines they way the prototype does, without being shinier than the fluted sides. If it weren't for the dusty basement, i think it would be perfect. Next time i need to wash the cars then store them immeadiately after spraying them. My arrow had it worse than anything though, my Metroliner Cab car (which got the same Alclad treatment) only had minimal dust, and i didn't even brush it off from the past 3 years of storage (the Arrow IIIs i only got in october).

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Some updated photos of my Arrow III. I'll have photos of my Metroliner Cab Car when its farther along. Right now i just need to figure out the door on the cab end. I'm almost done with this arrow, it really only needs decals, windows,lighting and pantographs to make it externally finished.

[LynnB]

Nice picstures, I saw the dollar store had a tripod for sale, I'll have to check it out.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I was at the Worlds Greatest Hobby tour today, and it was alright. It was actually kinda funny, the traffic reports said it was horrible getting off the highway at the exit for it, but I only had a small problem parking. Otherwise traffic was smooth.

It was pretty fun, since it passed 30th street station, and i got a good look at Amtrak AEM7 #909 heading north, a PCC street car, Silverliner IVs, and a couple metroliner cab cars.

At the show it was ok, but i didn't stay to long, and i'm notorious for not paying nearly as much attention to the displays as i should. I did see some of the new Athearn and Walthers stuff.

best of all though, i found a power truck that matches my Arrow III EMU, so now i just need some elbow grease and a decoder, and i should have it working (at least very basically).

I also bought a Conrail 3 bay center flow hopper. Its pretty cool actually, because its one of 100 Conrail Historical Society special edition repaints of Accurail's Erie Lackawanna hopper with the old "Erie Lackwanna" lettering blanked out (clearly) an with conrail reporting marks and a small conrail logo in the corner. The only hint of the car's heritage is the retention of the EL "diamond", which i thought was pretty cool. I actually have the unmodified Erie Lackawanna car already, so i'll have to post pictures of them together.

pictures soon.

[Herc Driver]

I really like those electric engines...wish they had more in Nscale. Nice aluminum color on the fleet too! The Alclad looks great!

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I don't have any pictures, but i also managed to repower my brass E44 Electric, and get a few of my other locomotives running. unfortuneately i'm out of decoders, so my Arrow III, E44, and some others will have to wait.

Right now i need to figure out decals for the Arrow III, and work out how to silence my Metroliner EMU. I think one of my blue box GP38s might also have a bad motor, so it needs to be checked.

[Lester Perry]

Everything looks great. But I feel I must warn you that buying steam is dangerous. I had to sell several wide cabs and other miscellaneous power along with many modern cars with CSX markings after getting a taste of steam and the look of those big drivers and all the moving parts you can see. I now own a few early diesel's but I am almost exclusively steam. This happened before sound came into the picture. BEWARE. You have been warned.
Les.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Duly noted!

I guess i lucked out, i've already been bitten by the electric bug, lol. That and i never have enough money for most steamers, but if it has a pantograph on it, then i'm in! the only steam i really want is a PRR E6 Atlantic and G5 ten wheelers, only because i have several pictures of them running through my town back in the day.

I actually haven't seen much of that J1, its been in my club's staging yard for over almost a month, and i need to pull it out more! Still have a couple show days to go though, so we'll see.

[Lester Perry]

For what it is worth, electrics have caught my interest at times. I haven't ventured into it though partly out of no place to do it and partly out of fear of getting in over my head. I would want it to be functional and I am afraid that's just too much work. before you get to run, I like to run it.
Les