Well, locomotive #7 got a trip through the paint shop this weekend and is now in full service. I got this Bachmann 4-6-0 off eBay for $40 and she wasn't running. Somebody had mis-programmed the sound value decoder. I reprogrammed it and got it running and then replace the OEM decoder with a LokSound V.5. I've been running her for about 6 months in a terrible kindergarten paint job somebody put on (lots of silver paint on various parts and the footboards a poopoo brown color).

I have spent some time over the past couple weeks working on my benchwork. 

There will be a long peninsula wall in the middle of the room.  The layout will be double decked in this area with the lower level track height being 39” and upper level 59”.  In the rest of the room the layout will be one level and track height is going to be probably 48” – 50” (not 100% sure yet). 

Okay, since I have more than enough time for projects, I am woking on adding to my fleet of NKP cabooses. However, I do not have the ability die to lack of supplies to use my airbrush on the plastic parts before assembly.

Does anyone have any tips on using/thinning/alternative mixing of Testors or other brand paints to apply with a soft brush? I have several kits to assemble and can spare one with slightly warped sides to experiment on. Have at least 30 days to work on technique - LOL!

Stay Safe. Stay Home. Work on Trains.

Well being cooped up with this virus has made me think I'm attention deficit as I bounce between projects. I actually started rebuilding a portion of the layout that I considered done. As part of this I needed some high-voltage power poles. I wanted the Z-shaped poles you see a lot in the midwest, couldn't find them, so out came the printer.

A crono-inspired blog on building a HO resin caboose kit.  

Although the "In the Meantime" layout is supposed to be temporary, it's looking more and more like it may end up a permanent layout. So I've decided to go ahead and actually start working on it to make it look more permanent. This first picture shows a problem right off. Because of the way the track is laid out, there is a large blank area right in front. Now adding another industry right there would totally block the view of the turnouts and hand throws right behind.

Alright guys, after some more tweaking, here's the final plan. the Modules will basically be Luke Towan's method with the added mod of extra bracing over the staging yard since that will be the end of the branch line that splits off by the door. That sections going to be just a hair tricky since I'm going to make it dual mode with DC pulse width modulation throttles. Need a place to test run DC stuff before I convert it, plus I also have a couple friends with DC stuff that'll be able to come over and run.

Last month, Greg McComas stopped by for a visit. You may know Greg from his posts of his Michigan Interstate Railway. He brought along his GoPro camera and we shot a cab ride on the railroad. The tour starts at the engine facility at Nelsonville on the east end of the modeled portion and wraps up at North Pierce on the west end. Greg was kind enough to post the video on his YouTube channel. Here's a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlArolLdoXw&t=19s.

Haven't posted in awhile because I've been in a creative lull even though I have loads of time on my hands right now. I had tried to get myself going again over on the WPF thread using the oil dealer scene I had left off on last I modeled. It occurred to me that I should also make note of my progress here on my blog too as I use it as my normal repository for all things "Black N' Blue".

True Line Trains made the iconic Canadian slabside hoppers in HO Scale in the early to mid 2000's.  They are nice cars that accurately reflect the prototype.  Except for one thing...