Now on Twitter!

  Yes, I'm going to give Twitter a try.  I'll be posting train related stuff, N scale modelling as well as prototype stuff.  Follow me @UPRRGenSub or use the button to the left.  I'm very new to this so it could be interesting.  I will be posting pictures from a very famous N scale layout tomorrow.  Watch for it.

Kudos to Fox Valley Models for ES44 Gevo Improvements

Over three years ago, I purchased a couple of the first run Fox Valley Models ES44 Gevo locomotives. The models are beautifully done with a great paint job, nice added decals and painted safety handrails and steps.  They are a step above the Kato Gevos in looks and run nearly as smoothly.  There is one major problem with the Fox Valley Models Gevos that stopped me from purchasing more then the initial two.  The ditch lights are way too dim.  The first picture below shows them right out of the box while the second shows them with some fiddling with the aim of the LED and replacing the LED.  Fiddling made them acceptable,but they still were not as good as Kato ditch lights.

   Then last week a friend brought over a Fox Valley Models ES44 Gevo Norfolk Southern "Nickle Plate Road" Heritage unit to run on the layout.  The first thing I noticed was the the ditch lights were as bright as the headlight and the number boards were also lit up nicely; enough to be seen, but not too bright.  The second thing I noticed it that it ran as smoothly if not smoother than my Katos.  I was impressed.  Fox Valley Models had obviously made some improvements since the first run.

  So, I purchased a  couple of Union Pacific units from MB Klien that happened to be on clearance for only $79.99 along with a couple of Digitrax DNZ125IN decoders.  These too are a great improvement over the first run units I have.  Thank you Fox Valley Models for making improvements in an already good model.  I am disappointed that your GP60 and SD70Ace are not being offered in Union Pacific.

Now I off to do some weathering!

Slow Summer Time Progress

Well, here it is the middle of summer and not much has really been accomplished on the railroad.  Summer is usually the most productive for me as its the time of year I have the most free time.  We've been travelling a lot this year plus doing some home improvement projects so progress on the layout has been slower than usual.  Work is proceeding on three projects however.  The Proviso overpass, a wheat field and Proviso yard offices.

I've already posted about the overpass.  Here's an updated photo with the overpass painted Floquil concrete lightened up a bit with reefer white.  I still need to add road lines.  Using a mirror means I will not be able to put any vehicles on the overpass.

I also put a wheat field in an empty are between Rochelle and Global III.  Corn fields are much more prevalent here in northern Illinois than wheat fields, but I find corn fields impossible to do convincingly so I plan to regulate corn fields to photo backdrops.  For the wheat field, I first filled in the area with additional plaster and leveled it off.  I added one more thin layer of plaster and used the teeth of a broken keyhole saw blade to simulate furrows in the soil for about a third of the field.  After painting the plaster with dirt brown latex paint, I added Woodland Scenics harvest gold static grass to simulate the unharvested wheat.  

A new project I just started is the Proviso yard office.  Using pictures of the prototype office, I scratch-built the office using .030 styrene laminated with JTT brick sheet.  The structure also uses Grant Line windows and and doors.  I will be working on the parking lot next and then details.

I did something different for the roof.  As you can see from the satellite photo of the building, the roof uses a white plastic roofing material that has seams.

I tried to simulate this by using a black ball point pen to draw the seam lines and then airbrushed the roof a very, very light grey color so that the seam lines still showed through.  Probably should have used a darker grey, but I think it turned out pretty good.  I may add some weathering to darken it up a bit.

I also added the smaller BLMA yard office next to the yard tower. I'll post later about the building in the background later.

Selling Kato CNW patch C44-9W, Digitrax Throttle and Reefers

I'm selling a Kato loco and some MDC reefers on ebay.  Check them out

Digitrax UT1 Throttle

Kato CNW patch C44-9W

Reefer Madness I

Reefer Madness II

Reefer Madness III

Box Cars / Reefers

Proviso Highway Overpass (or How to Hide a Hole in the Wall)

   I have quite a few cases on the layout where trains travel through walls.  The biggest hole is just west of Proviso where the hole contains the mainline, staging tracks and a yard lead, seven tracks in all. 
   To hide the hole, I modeled the Manheim Road overpass right next to the wall.  Helping the overall effect is a mirror and parking lot.  The mirror is from Lowes.  It is 20"X24" and cost $14.  I had a local hardware store cut it to 20"X16" so that it fit the location better.  In my visits to Proviso, I noticed a number of parking lots surrounding the yard that are used for storage of unused containers and trailers. I decided this would be a great location to add one of these lots. 
  The bridge itself is made from styrene sheet and Plastruct structural I beams.  I laminated four styrene sheets to make the bridge supports.  There are a bit odd looking but prototypical as you can see from the prototype picture. 
   For the parking lot I first used regular plaster to level out the area and then applied a coat of Woodland Scenics Smooth-It for the finished parking lot surface.
   I still need to paint the bridge and weather the parking lot.

 

This N' That

   As you can see from the single posts since January, I have been spending a limited amount time with the railroad over the past few months.  General busyness at school plus the passing of my mom in January and sister-in-law in April definitely placed the UPRR Geneva Subdivision on the back burner for 2013.  Time on the railroad has been mostly in small blocks that has been used mainly for just running trains for relaxation.  With summer just around the corner, however, I do expect to be tackling some major projects very soon.   A couple of things I have been able to accomplished is locomotive wheel cleaning and installing body mounted Micro Trains couplers on Kato intermodal cars.

   Using all metal wheel sets on the layout really reduces the dirt build up on track and wheels.   Things still get dirty however and after four+ years, my locomotives were beginning to show signs of reduced electrical contact with the track.  So in the last half of March I began a locomotive wheel cleaning program for my 48 locomotives.  This was a good project for this time as I was able to do a 2-4 units here and there until the last ones were completed just last weekend.  I used an alcohol soaked cloth laid over the rails to clean the locomotive wheels.  One set of wheels are on the rails while the other is on the cloth while the throttle is set on full.  The spinning wheels on the alcohol cloth clean up very quickly.  I then removed the brass strip wipers and clean the contact areas with a bright boy.  Lastly, I apply a very, very small amount of "Rail Zip" oil to the wheels.  I do this by putting a small amount on the rails and then sliding the unit over the rails with its wheels spinning.  This last step is very important as the alcohol gets the wheel "too" clean which exposes the metal to oxidization and the conductivity ends up being even worse.  The oil improves conductivity and protects the metal from oxidization.

   Over the years I have purchased 10 sets of  Kato Maxi III and Maxi I double stacks.  I really like these models as they are reasonably priced, look great and run well.  However, I have never been impressed with Kato's couplers.  While they will couple with other brands, they both couple and uncouple with more difficulty than I like.  Also, the couplers are truck mounted and sprung too tight which makes them prone to occasional derailments. So I ordered a 10 pack of Micro Trains unassembled 1015 short shank couplers and spent a Saturday morning cutting off the Kato couplers and body mounting the 1015s.

   One more thing before I sign off.  I ordered three of the Atlas Steel Coil cars.  These are my first steel coil cars for the layout.  I have to say that I was really surprised to see how small the cars are.  They are easily the smallest cars on the layout.  At first I was thinking that the small size meant that these cars are older than I thought; maybe from the 60s and 70s.  I found the prototype on the internet, however, and learned that my NOKL units were built in 2007.  Quality wise these models are outstanding.  The detail level is very high and the come with body mounted couplers and metal wheel sets.  I may be adding a few more of these cars to the fleet in the near future.

Fulton, IL Industries

   Fulton, IL on the UPRR Geneva Subdivision has a couple of indutries served by the railroad; the Agri-Bunge facility and Fulton CO-OP.  The Agri-Bunge facility is loosely based on the actual prototype in Fulton while the CO-OP is free lanced.  I looked for a second prototype in Fulton, but Agri-Bunge was the only one I could find in Fulton that was served by rail.  I still plan to add some chutes to the CO-OP grain bins and remove/replace "Goodyear" from the Agri-Bunge building.  I pretty much used available kits and re-used buildings from the Rochelle Sub.  The propane tanks and "Goodyear" building are scratch built while the silos, grain bins, elevator, and CO-OP buildings are kits.

Here the prototype Agri-Bunge