Wordless Wednesday No. 208

Snapshot - November 2016

CN cabooses are seen stored at Mac Yard Jan. 31, 1991.

This months snapshot is a photo I took back in 1991 when cabooses became a thing of the past. I was working a regular freight job from London to Mac Yard (Toronto). Seeing these caboose lined up for months in the yard kind of got me thinking they are on their way out and maybe I should be bringing my camera along with me on my next trip...kind of glad I did...George Dutka

Bar Mills - A New Shack for Bellows Falls

All finished and ready to be installed in my mill scene. Some glaze is added around patch areas on the roof. The blocks and skid is from Bar Mills but the rest of the junk is from my detail pile.

Bar Mills has a shack pack kit that has three neat little sheds. I decided to build the smallest one to add to my mill scene. I had the whole shack built, painted and installed in just over two hours...a great little project...George Dutka

The shack is set next to the tracks and near the mill area.

The basic construction went quickly using canopy cement, a glue that sets up almost instantly. All the wall details are on the sheet to the left.

The areas seen under the torn siding paper was painted Floquil Grime. I also added this to the roof. Some Bragdon soot was rubbed into these areas also with my finger before the paper was added. The laser cut wood battens are applied as-is. They look like real weathered wood already. There are lots of block included.

The siding paper is coloured using Bragdon green grunge before application. The white on the windows is PanPastels powders applied with a micro brush. The roofing is Floquil grimy black with Bragdon shoot brushed on.

I think the siding paper is pretty realistic.

An overall view of my Bar Mills shack set near the loading docks at the Bellows Falls mill area. The fencing is also a Bar Mills product.

Burlington Jct. - Steve Tuff

Lots of contemporary power is found on Steve Tuff's layout.

Burlington Junction is a 41' in length shelf layout which has all it's track installed with the scenery just getting started. The scenes I saw finished look really good. Steve models proto-freelanced NS in Central Ohio, era 2000. Steve uses wireless Digitrax  which operates trains on code 83 flex track. In the same layout room Steve's computer is running giving us live feeds from web cams set at some of his favorite spots. Three of four locations we saw are Berea, Fostoria and Marion, all in Ohio. Don and I really enjoyed his hobby shop which is also located in his layout room...George Dutka

I really liked how the weathering is done on the  covered hopper.

An overall view of an area were the scenery is well underway....very realistic.

Nice weathering

On Steve's layout he has a crossing blocked with barriers. These are a neat kit which Don scooped up the last package of on the shelf offered by Osborn Models.

Peter Mumby passed along a Trains feature magazine called Locomotives 2016. In there was a short article on the real Burlington Jct Railway. Located in Rochelle, Illinois, Burlington Jct. Ry. actually uses two old ex-CN MLW S-13's as their main motive power...Don mentioned working on these MLW engines as a yard helper at the Toronto coach yard...might have even been this same unit.

A Brick Work Shop

My new brick work shop set on a piece of Gatorfoam.

At the last train show I picked up a few structures for future use. They are to some degree built. I plan on taking them apart if possible and rebuilding. Two of the buildings are the same. I plan to rebuild them both and the one I like the best will be kept...I think I may have a spot for one in Bellows Falls shortly...George Dutka

The one on the left show how the shop once looked, with that one actually being the better of the two.

This side wall was a mess of glue, chips and cracks. I decided to cover the entire wall using a Coke sign which was a handout by Gatorfoam at this years Expo. The ladder is a FOS Kits give away from a few years ago. I added some trash to the roof for added interest.

Most of the coal and fuel signs on this model came from my Fisher Fuels kit (RailroadKITS).

The posters on the wall are from the last modeler. I just gave the walls a wash of dollar store craft white paint to fill in some of the mortar lines and hit the walls with Bragdon powders, dark rust. The roof got a small vent before being  painted grimy black with powders added. The concrete front walkway has cracks and lines etched into the Gatorfoam then painted Floquil concrete. I added some Bragdon dust over the surface with my fingers.

Newspapers, barrels, crates and boards line the outside of the building. BEST propane tank is used and Juneco fire hydrant is set next to the shop.

Windows and doors are coloured with green powder before being applied back to the walls. Unfortunately I could not remove the glazing without damaging the doors or windows...so they are as is. I added some ground foam, weeds and long static grass to finish it off.

Throwback Thursday - Head End Cars

CNR No. 17 westbound through Paris, Ont. 1955. Note the two express cars on the head end.

My Father-in-Law gave me this photo some years back. As he gave it to me he says that is the Thursday morning train to Windsor. There is no mention of the date on the photo other than the year and train number. He noted the puzzled look on my face and answers, the two head end cars, they are always on the train on Thursday heading to Windsor. He goes on to mention, they are full of east coast fish for Friday. If you are old enough you will remember that most Catholics at one time did not eat meat on Friday's and fish was the best alternate. With Windsor being just across the river from Detroit there was a large market for fish on Thursday's and Friday's...George Dutka

Wordless Wednesday No. 207

Steel Cars in Hamilton

Stelco Steel on its way out of Hamilton, Ont. on the HOMES layout.

If one ever thought of modeling loaded steel cars, seeing the various ways steel is carried would be a real treat. On the HOMES layout many of the ways steel departed Hamilton is modeled. On the layout there was so many steel cars I don't understand how I came away with views of only three cars...enjoy...George Dutka

A lot of TH&B flats found loads of steel aboard.

A close-up look at how the steel is marked prior to loading.

Steel slabs also moved in CN gondolas...note the bracing.

Imperail Oil Tankcar

An IOX tankcar on the WRD. This is a Proto offering from sometime ago.

I picked up a finished IOX Proto tankcar on the Hamilton layout tour. I did some weathering and a few repairs before passing it along to Peter Mumby for his collection. When Peter was over last Monday for our work day we went through some of my prints. Here is a view of a similar prototype car....George Dutka

From my collection...unfortunately there was no data on the back.

Adding a Stone Arch Bridge To The Green Mountain...by Don Janes

A Rutland freight headed by RS-3 201 crosses the Stone Arch bridge south of North Bennington.

A New England Style Stone Bridge

     Back in 2009 while on my way to the Springfield Train Show I visited friend and fellow B&M modeller Jim Dufour's  B&M Cheshire Branch layout. (See earlier post by George on this layout)  Jim has faithfully modeled five towns on the B&M Cheshire Branch as well as some signature scenes on the route. One scene that really stuck with me was his Stone Arch Bridge just past the State Line Station.  Jim created his own patterns and cast the bridge in hydrocal. It is a simple but very impressive scene.

    While I was there Mike Evans, a very accomplished D&H modeler was there making rubber molds of the bridge for his layout.  Several years later when I was planning a river on my Green Mountain Div. layout I thought of Jim's stone bridge and how it would be the perfect bridge for this scene. But how to make it? Then I remembered Mike and his rubber molds of the bridge and decided to contact him to see if  by chance he had made any extra copies.  Mike graciously sent me two cast hydrocal castings of the bridge so all I needed to do now was add them to my river scene.

This shot of Jim Dufour's bridge was my inspiration to build one for my layout.  This shot was taken back in Jan.2009.

      After planning how I would incorporate the bridge into my layout I have finally finished the scene.  I am quite pleased how it came out.  I really appreciate Jim allowing me to use a copy of his castings and Mike for making an extra set for me.

Here is another view of the 201 crossing the bridge.

On a different day Rutland 2-8-2 #37 is leaving N.Bennington with a milk train. The North Bennington Creamery in the background was featured in a previous post.

Just as #37 was crossing the bridge a northbound freight behind #201 appeared from behind the trees.

SuperTrees Adjustments

Don Janes is working away on his SuperTree with a soldering iron.

On my last visit to Don Janes he showed me what he was doing with his SuperTree's. To get them straight he is using a method he picked up from Marty McGuirk I believe. He uses a soldering iron which he touch's for a second on a curved area and bends it straight. The odd time it breaks but if you don't over bend, things work out well. Some trees need two or three touches with an iron in various spots to get the job done. I was going to hold off on this post till I get a few done of my own to show you before and after views but other chores are way ahead of this at the moment. I will show you how it worked later this winter. Guess I should have taken some more photos while Don was working on his...hind sight once again. In the mean time give it a try...George Dutka

A CN Proto 2000 Gondola

My newest gondola is seen in service on the WRD...and it already looks well used.

Here is another car I picked up at the Ancaster train show. It is a Proto kit that is assemble and weathered. The modeler has added a board by board wooden floor which was stained a rust colour. The weathering of the car was nice also...so another one for the WRD fleet. Once I got it home I gave the wooden flooring a coat of Hunterline creosote black. It did nothing to the flooring. The next day I painted the floor Floquil grime then when almost dry added a coat of India ink stain. The ink acually made some of the Floquil lift a bit and wash away. It actually looked pretty good. A coat of Bragdon powders is applied followed by a load of waste...George Dutka

This is how the interior looked with a coat of Hunterline stain.

This is how the floor looks with a coat of Floquil grime and a wash of India ink. I think it is looking a lot better. I actually scribe the floor before adding this finish.

I added a little more detail (junk) than I normally do. Some F&C concrete blocks, wooden ties, Tichy barrel and lid, tie plates, skids and some steel rods and newspapers. I cut out a CNR herald I colour copied and leaned it on one side. Some dirt from my Westboro jar and Scenic Express pasture mix rounds out the additions.

CP Alco's in Vermont

CP 8400 in the classic maroon and gray. Gord Taylor photo

Here is a group of four CP Alco's that once roamed through Vermont. They are from the Gord Taylor collection. Gord did not add much details to the slides and the dates stamped on are not ledge-able...George Dutka

Newport, Vt.

Newport, Vermont, Gord Taylor photo.

Branchline New Haven Boxcars

Three new boxcars added to the WRD fleet. Nice to find items that are ready to roll.

At last weekend TH&B Ancaster train show I picked up another seven pieces of rolling stock all built and weathered...a lot better than bringing home more kits to add to the stockpile. These three NH Branchline models are really nicely weathered and for $5.00 each a real bargain...George Dutka

All three are nicely weathered. Now to duplicate this on the one I built a few years back.

Section House added to WRD

Another section house is in service on the WRD.

I finally installed the Creative Laser Design section house I posted about last December. I began by building a flat Gatorfoam base for it to sit on. I decided against a drop-in module for here as I wanted to try something different. I glued the details to the kit and just set it in place...I kind of like this idea just as well as drop-in's....George Dutka

All the details are glued with canopy cement to the structure.

I added enough detail to hide the ground joints.

The Gatorfoam base is in place with some plaster cloth to tie things in. The base colour paint is being applied.

The finished scene in place. If I want to change section houses all I need to do is lift if off with details included.