Freight and Passenger Car Modeling2 Comments

No. 68: Progress on Freight Cars, Oct 2017 Part 2

Golden1014

‘Round and ‘Round with Cylindrical Hoppers  A long time ago, a friend offered to do a free sound install for me.  I paid for parts but not labor, so in return I offered to weather up some models for him.  He said “Sure, I’ll send you some cars–get them back to me when you can.” I have always thought I do a pretty good job of weathering models.  I expected him to send some box cars or something like that.  But no…he sent four Canadian cylindrical grain hoppers.  I have no idea what to do with cylindrical grain hoppers.  No … Continue reading No. 68: Progress on Freight Cars, Oct 2017 Part 2

RPM and Modeling Events4 Comments

No. 67: US-Modellbahn Convention Rodgau

Golden1014

My wife gave me a few hours off from family duty last Saturday—it was my 54th birthday—so I could drive up to Frankfurt to attend the U.S. Model Railroader convention in Rodgau, a town southeast of Frankfurt.  After living here two years it the first time I was able to get away and spend some time at a modeling event. It was a really neat show.  It was something like a U.S. RPM meet, with a lot of vendors and a couple of manufacturers, but unlike U.S. RPM meets there were no clinics, no model displays, and nothing resembling a … Continue reading No. 67: US-Modellbahn Convention Rodgau

Modeling Projects2 Comments

No. 66: Progress on Portage, Oct 2017

Golden1014

It has been a busy week on Albersbach’s only railroad.  Some good progress was made on the Portage buildings for Mike Moore’s layout, and I got a little bit done for my layout too Progress on Portage When we last saw the Portage buildings they looked like this: This week I have been working on cutting, prepping and painting all the trim and detail parts.  First I cut out all the trim and all the detail parts and taped them to a piece of cardstock for painting.  Cutting out the trim for the corner of the buildings is a little … Continue reading No. 66: Progress on Portage, Oct 2017

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, O Scale & Proto 482 Comments

No. 65: Progress on Freight Cars, Oct 2017

Golden1014

A quick post on progress of freight car model construction and also construction of the Portage Tower models for Mike Moore’s layout. Proto 48 Models I was able to finish a lot of small projects this week and also contemplate a few new ones.  First I finished installing the running board for an Intermountain 1937 double-door box car that will be finished as an SAL AF-3.  I scratchbuilt the latitudinal running board supports and am not terribly happy with them, but they are much better than the kit-supplied parts.  The running board is an aftermarket part from Protocraft.  The car … Continue reading No. 65: Progress on Freight Cars, Oct 2017

Ackley, Iowa Layouts3 Comments

No. 64: Modeling the Marshall Canning Company of Ackley, Iowa, Part 2

Golden1014

Recently my friend Doug Harding traveled up to Ackley, Iowa to visit the Ackley Heritage Center, which is located in the former Illinois Central depot in the bustling metropolis of downtown Ackley.  The Center had several dozen photos of the Marshall Canning Co. and other industries in Ackley and they were happy to share with Doug.  Doug scanned them and sent them to me the next day.   The best photo I have of the Heritage Center is below, taken on my one-and-only visit to Ackley in 2015.  One of my daughters took this one.  I guess I forgot to … Continue reading No. 64: Modeling the Marshall Canning Company of Ackley, Iowa, Part 2

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, O Scale & Proto 481 Comment

No. 63: Freight Car Modeling, Sep 2017

Golden1014

Progress on model construction has gone very well in the first two weeks of September thanks mostly to a work trip to Stuttgart. I spent four nights in Stuttgart last week and was able to get a few hours of work done every night. The first car I built up while away was an HO scale Tichy flat car from the Central of Georgia Historical Society.  I bought it at the last St. Louis RPM directly from the society table there. The model is part of the society’s “Fix The Flat” program.  Proceeds from the sale of the model are … Continue reading No. 63: Freight Car Modeling, Sep 2017

Modeling ProjectsLeave a comment

No. 62: Portage Tower Project

Golden1014

I offered to build a model of Portage Tower for my friend Mike Moore, who is having a layout built for him in his home in Albert Lea, Minnesota.  Clark Propst and Bob Gretillat are doing the heavy work.  I’m just helping out with some of the fun part. You may recall that Portage Tower was made popular some time ago by MR editor Jeff Wilson, who wrote an article on the junction and tower in the 1999 edition of Model Railroad Planning.  So when I heard Clark mention that Mike wanted to model Portage Tower on his new layout, … Continue reading No. 62: Portage Tower Project

Ackley, Iowa Layouts, Freight and Passenger Car Modeling1 Comment

No. 61: Ackley Clean Up and a New Project

Golden1014

I’ve been working on the Ackley, Iowa layout for 14 months straight since I began construction on 4th of July, 2016.  Meanwhile a whole lot of freight car projects have been stacking up and there are a lot of models in need of repair and upgrade, so I have decided to take the next 60 days (all of September and October) to complete rolling stock projects. Cleaning Up The first thing I did was clean up the layout so it would be presentable.  I had been doing a lot of scenery work and the room and the layout were trashed.  … Continue reading No. 61: Ackley Clean Up and a New Project

Ackley, Iowa Layouts1 Comment

No. 60: Modeling the Marshall Canning Company of Ackley, Iowa, Part 1

Golden1014

The last time I touched the Marshall Canning building on my M&StL Ackley, Iowa layout it looked like this. As of today the model is about 99% complete. Here’s what I was able to get done in the last couple of weeks. Adding Mortar With the model painted I wanted to try adding mortar between the bricks. I used the industry standard, Roberts Brick Formula, seen below, for the job. I never used this stuff before but it was quick and easy and I highly, highly recommend it. I followed the instructions exactly and brushed the stuff on with a … Continue reading No. 60: Modeling the Marshall Canning Company of Ackley, Iowa, Part 1

Ackley, Iowa LayoutsLeave a comment

No. 59: Ackley Depot Scenery, Part 0

Golden1014

Last Friday my wife dragged me out to the “Technikmuseum Sinsheim” (in English, the Technical Museum at Sinsheim, Germany).  My wife was excited to take my son and me there but honestly I expected another slow day at another museum. It turned out I was very, very wrong.  It was like going to the German version of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.  It was fantastic. The museum was full of tanks and military vehicles of all types, along with an entire warehouse full of cars and motorcycles and F1 cars, plus a warehouse of tractors, airplanes, bikes, ship engines, … Continue reading No. 59: Ackley Depot Scenery, Part 0