Modeling continues

I'm a little behind on posts. Although we lost power from Irene for a couple of days, I was able to get some modeling done during the day. Here are several pictures showing the progress of the NE-class caboose.

I've got ladders (Trout Creek Engineering aka Taurus) on order, and I need to decide which trucks I'll use. Once I receive the ladders I'll do the railings. It also needs the Bethlehem Car Works lavatory vent. I hit it with a quick spray of box car red from a can, principally for the roof and underside of the running boards (Chris found that a challenge since he had already glued them on). I think this color is a bit dark and a bit too red for this car though, so I'm hunting down an appropriate paint as well.

Utah Pacific markers and stack. The markers are cored to be lit if I feel like it. I know they should be red to the rear, but I'm not sure what color they should be to the side and front, so that will take a little research. I've seen pictures with brass markers, as well as black (or possibly just sooty). This is an old hack, so I'll be going with the latter. Otherwise it's pretty close to completion.

I almost airbrushed something!
I've finished the detail upgrades to the phase III 44-tonner. I went down for the inaugural paint job using an airbrush...and one of the hoses sprung a leak. It's the one between the compressor and the air gauge/moisture trap. So, I'll be picking up a replacement from Scott Mason and hopefully painting it in a week or two. In fact, the plan is to paint the two 44-tonners, the NE and NE-5. The NE-6 still requires some work so it's not quite ready yet. I'll have to decide if I'm going to replace the running board on the NE-5 by then as well.

So it appears that I might actually have two 44-tonners and two hacks to display at the NHRHTA Reunion this year. What a shock. I can't enter the modeling contest since I'm a judge, but that's OK. I don't have decals for the hacks yet anyway.

I've also been continuing my research on some of the steam modifications. I think that I can probably start with the Bowser K-4 chassis for an I-1, I've forwarded some info to John Pryke and Dick for their thoughts. The Bowser 2-10-2 also has Southern valve gear that I may use as a starting point, or to acquire some parts for the R-1-b and K-1-d conversions.

And that's about all I've been able to squeeze in here and there.

Well, it's a model...

Jessica wanted to work on a model I got for her at a flea market in South Carolina. It was a great find (manufactured in 1983). Even the decals were still good. Of course, it didn't take long before she decided that I was going to build it.

So here's R2.

Time to get back to the railroad...

Back home again

We went to Myrtle Beach for (most of) the week, so I'm getting back to things at home now. I finally found the reference I was looking for regarding the 44-tonners. All of the information about 'phases' and such was published in Extra 2200 South #51 and #52 from 1975. So I can now confirm that the NH had phase Ib, Ic, III, and IVa 44-tonners of which I will be modeling three of the phases. The single phase Ib (#0800) had been modified to phase Ic by my era.
 
I also started to experiment with replacing the Baker valve gear on the Bachmann light mountain with the Southern valve gear from a Bachmann 2-10-2. It will require some modification, particularly the shortening of the main and eccentric rod. I will most likely cut the rivets to these parts and, once modified, see if I can use screws to reassemble them. This project is also a trial run before I try to replace the Baker valve gear with Southern on the K-1-d.
 
Speaking of the K-1-d, Chris has it to see if he can get it running. He said one of the leads was not attached, but it still doesn't work. John Grosner may have a replacement motor. If not, I'll see what I can get from NWSL. I also discovered while looking through pictures that the K-1-d that Chris is most likely going to model (#356) was still using the road pilot instead of footboards right up through 1948. So if the pilot I got from Greenway brass doesn't work I may be able to get one from him eventually.
 
Since Irene is coming this weekend, I'll see what sort of modeling I can get done. I should work on a few crossovers so I can get the mainline in service. But I may see how far I can get on the NE. I'm modeling a different road number now, C-2??, based on a photo I picked up of K-1-d #479 in Plainville, 1948. There's an NE in the background with cast sideframe trucks. So I need to scan it in and figure out the rest of the road number.

I'd also like to finish the modeling work on both 44-tonners. The W&R one just needs a few replacement door handles now. The phase III needs another short hood hatch cover, hinges for both covers, and probably a little better patching on the short hood where I filled in the old hatch. The hatch covers could also use a support underneath the raised end. Then those two, the NE-5 (should I replace the running boards with the correct Apex style? I think it will eventually be a 'yes.') and in short order the NE will be ready for painting. That might be a good project to set up a work session along with dropping feeders on the layout. I can get some painting tips and assistance from the guys, and get the mainline and staging operational.
 
Hmmm. Just looking at an unmodified Bachmann 44-tonner. It's actually a phase IVb, with the end railing attached to the front of the frame, instead of the side. Looking at the W&R model that's where it's attached as well. Do I want to hassle with attaching it to the side?

Rainy day modeling

So we were just hanging out on a rainy day and I decided to start the F&C NE-Class hack that I picked up on eBay this week. This will probably be lettered as C-111 so I can use cast sideframe trucks.

Not bad for an evening's worth of modeling, eh?

A question of weight?

So, I went over to Chris' to help he and Pete complete some electrical work in his paint booth room, as well as to do some scenery on the modules he's got. It was a lot of fun, particularly since I've never done any real scenery work before.

While I was there, we were talking about locomotive weight and pulling power. In earlier conversations, Dick seems to believe that the weight of the locomotive is more important than the specific motor. Chris agreed (within reason, since too much weight will pull too much amperage). But he suggested that it's also important how that weight is distributed on the drivers.

The locomotives in question were the Atlas RS-1 and the Custom Brass L-1. I was telling him how the Atlas can pull at least 7 more cars than the L-1 up the helix. But I haven't added any weight to the steamer yet, nor have I optimized wheelsets, etc on the freight cars. He suspected that the L-1 might be heavier than the RS-1, even though it can't pull as many cars.

Soooo, I checked. The RS-1 is 12 5/8 oz and the L-1 is 12 3/4 oz. So he's right, it's heavier (although just).

Next I hooked up the L-1 to the front of the train that the RS-1 had hauled up the helix, and simply started stacking some weights on top of the boiler. After about 5 more oz, it could pull the same train. There were a few places where it was slipping quite a bit (clearly the helix is not a perfect, steady grade). But it would pull it.

So the next real question, which won't be answered for a while since I need to put sound in the L-1, is where can I add the weight? Even a little more than what I had today would seem to be beneficial. But it's good to know that adding more weight will improve the performance. Maybe I'll take it over to Chris' again to try on his test track to see if the added weight greatly changes the amperage draw too.