Steam locos
From Stagnant to Steaming: Revise, Refurbish, Expand & Finish an HO layout
Last month (May), a man contacted me through our shared Local Hobby Shop: He had a 3'x16' HO layout that was half done. He also had grandsons who are 7- and 8-years old and who really wanted to run trains with Grandpa.
The challenge was that, ever since being diagnosed with cancer a year ago, between the chemo and the medication he just didn't have the energy to continue work on the layout. So he needed a strapping young man with the muscles and know-how to get the layout done and running well.
Not exactly a model, but...
Like every summer for the last 8 years, my modeling slows down as all my weekends are devoted to slightly larger trains.
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Painting steam locomotive running gear
With the demise of Floquil and Polyscale (not that that necessarily has much to do with this) I'm wondering what brands/colors of paint folks use to detail the side rods, eccentrics, rockers, etc. of their steam locomotives.
If you have steam engines on your layout for other applications (pumps, donkey engines/loaders, etc.) do you paint/weather those any differently than locomotives?
When considering the piston rods, do you try to make them look polished? If so, how?
Help finding Smokebox Cover for Brass Mohawk
I recently acquired a Brass samhongsa loco that appears to be an L4 Mohawk.
The loco came with out the front smoke box cover and my initial measurements come to 29.04mm (measured with vernier gauge) with roughly translates to 99inch in prototype. I also need a tender ladder but that's easy
I have found parts at greenwayproducts.com which have some covers but only seem to have up to 92inch covers.
Can anyone suggest other supplier(s) that may have parts.
Steam loco weathering services
Without being maudlin or macabre, my recently diagnosed medical issues make time an important factor in my model railroading decisions. I enjoy my lone wolf operations, but I would like my shiny new locos -- Bachmann Shay, Climax and Mogul -- to look well-used. I simply don't have the luxury of time to learn new skills like airbrushing and powder weathering. Not seeking to win prizes or appear in magazines. I would just like my locos to look like they had been on the job for a couple of decades on a short line without a wash rack.
Bachmann 2-6-6-2 gear train slip
After a year or so of inactivity due to major layout reconstruction I was testing the layout operation with a coal drag with a Bachmann 2-6-6-2 C&O H4 as the helpe engine. I noticed when the drag stalled on the grade, the front engine was working, but the rear engine had stopped. Obviously, something in the gear train is slipping. Before I tear into the loco, I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem and has a fix been identified?
Adventures in Restoration (of crusty old models)
I had to take a break from my Dash 9 project (last blog entry here) because it has been languishing on my workbench for a while, and I need to order some more parts one of these days.
MRH podcast
Hi All,
Just wondering what happened to Paul, Ryan and the podcast. There haven't been any updates since Oct 2012.
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