Maintenance-of-Way Operations

One of the more enjoyable parts of modeling an operation in a prototypical manner is that there is a natural variety built in, so long as we pay attention to the prototype.  For the Onondaga Cutoff, one of the better ways to do that is through modeling some of the maintenance practices followed by Conrail's track and "B&B" (Bridges & Buildings) gangs.

Here, we have Track Car T-5156 moving down Track 2 between CP282, in the background, and CP280 out of the photo to the right.  This is representing a track inspection, which by the 1990's was carried out in specially designed 'Hi-Rail' vehicles - essentially vehicles with standard frames and cabs, specially fitted bodies, and custom retractable railroad-wheel systems that allow the truck to drive on the rails.  In HO scale, motorized models are made by Bachmann, and one has been detailed and weathered for use during Operating Sessions now and again to represent prototype maintenance practices.

In each case, the driver of the track car will contact the dispatcher to copy a 'Form D' - a document that formally gives control of a segment of track to the driver.  The dispatcher will then mark that track out of service, and must route any trains around the work area.  It adds quite a bit of spice to an operating session!

~RGDave

(Sub) Urban Planning

This hobby allows modelers an opportunity to learn about all sorts of interesting topics.  Certainly there are the basics regarding hand tools, power tools, basic construction, electrical wiring and circuit construction, lighting, radio control, and painting.  Layout construction requires those basics.  Further, to get the point of construction, a modeler has researched all sorts of historical documents as well as prototype history and model availability.

We can take this a step further, learning about operating systems and various planning endeavors.  Currently, I am planning the spacial organization of a significant suburban town, including roadways, buildings, lighting, etc.  I started with a sketch of the available 'real estate' as well as photos from small-town 'downtown' districts in Central New York, and came up with a working diagram of the general set-up of the town.  This doesn't need to be to scale - this sketch serves as a template for ideas, not as an engineering document.

The key here is plausibility - everything about this project needs to result in a scene that will be reminiscent of life in Central New York, an area defined by the winter season, and constructed in an era when Syracuse was the "Salt City" and the Erie Canal was new, exciting, and vastly profitable.  My version of Fayetteville, NY, is considerably more developed than the prototype, because my version has the Onondaga Cutoff which would have added a substantial amount of capital and population as compared to the small town that it actually is.  

Therefore, the next step was to visit and photograph other towns in Central New York that are closer to what my version of Fayetteville would be, towns like Skaneateles, Marcellus, and Cazenovia.  These were towns that had railroads in the era when they were growing, and therefore would be good prototypes for my Fayetteville.  Google Earth is also very helpful here.  Note the architectural features, colors, and layout of these main street commercial rows:

The next steps are to select some kits available on the market to represent a slice of 'downtown' and to paint and detail those kits to suggest a scene like these.   

The railroad becomes almost secondary in projects like this - what we are doing is sub-urban planning, in order to create a supporting scene around the railroad that makes the whole layout more plausible.  How's that for 'Model Railroading?'  This is a hobby where it is very difficult to run out of things to think about.  

~RGDave

On Making Progress...

Last week I was in touch with a fellow blogger who is also working to make progress on a large layout undertaking while married, working, and raising small kids.  It's a neat overview and much of what Greg has learned, I have learned in parallel!

The Balancing Act - Michigan Interstate Railroad

~RGDave

A Sad, and Sudden, Change

Today I am the bearer of bad news - my father Peter W. Abeles passed away suddenly on January 12, 2016.  I am heartbroken and shocked - family comes first, even when that is difficult, and this will be a massive change in my world.  

Dad was in seemingly good health, and was simply walking his & his wife's dog around the block near his home Tuesday 1/12 around 2 pm when he had an apparent massive heart attack.  Very sudden and shocking to us all.  We are in mourning but are working through that darkness so that we can more appreciate all the light and smiles he brought into our world.  He was quite a traveler over his life - my most recent trip with him was actually to Syracuse on a model railroad research & inspiration trip, on which we were able to spend some quality time with family, as well.  Such a privilege!

While not a model railroader, Dad loved watching people do what they loved to do.  He felt that human nature can be coached and guided for the common good, for the positive, when people build community and work to think of others needs before their own.  Therefore, he was a big supporter of the Onondaga Cutoff and the operating sessions we host.  

He was a dedicated, committed father, husband, and friend, and will be dearly missed!

~RGDave

Painting some Fascia

Over the past year or so, I have added some fascia to the layout, particularly in places where the basic land forms are in place up at the west end of Onondaga Yard and out along the M&E.  I chose 1/8" thick Masonite for the backdrop, the installation of which you can see in the Archives.

After a number of operating sessions with no major electrical issues in the track and signals, I decided it was time to put a coat of finishing paint on the parts of the layout that were closest to completion.

I had primed much of the fascia on the M&E, but decided that it was a step I could avoid on most of the fascia - the surface didn't seem to be improved by the primer, and after testing a small area on the bare Masonite with the final paint, the primer didn't seem to promote better adhesion, either.

So, I selected a medium gray color, and the 'eggshell' finish which appears flat but can easily be wiped down as needed.  I loosened the screws on all the UTP-plug plates, Local Control Boards, and drink holders so that I could paint behind each of those items, and then got started - I used a 2-1/2" brush for cutting in around the details, and a little 6" mini-roller for the broad surfaces.

Susie came down to visit, and was very excited to see painting going on.  She asked to help and joined right in!  She's 3-1/2 today, which is hard to believe - looking back at this blog over that time is a neat exercise in time-lapse memory.  In some ways it feels like a few weeks ago, and in other ways, it is hard now to imagine life before children.  What a crazy, intense, and exciting experience!

After a few hours, the results were more apparent, and I'll admit I didn't expect this big of a change in appearance.  I didn't mind the speckled brown of the Masonite but a coat of paint really makes the railroad 'pop' on first impression.  With a little bit of skirting hanging from the ceiling, and more of the same mounted below the fascia hanging down towards the floor, this view will be virtually complete.

Happy New Year!   Painting the fascia on the first part of the railroad was a big visual improvement and a great start for 2016!

~RGDave

Modeling a Conrail C30-7A...

This past weekend marked the end of a 4-month long project to build an accurate General Electric C30-7A locomotive for the Conrail roster on the Onondaga Cutoff.  This post will commemorate the research and basic construction required to create a good replica of one of these unique-to-Conrail locomotives.

 

First, a comparison of the cab, hood, and radiator details that differ between each model.  The above photo is courtesy of ebay, and is comprised of two images copied here atop one another to show the different locations of the filter intakes, tall engine room doors, and cabinets.  While these are Overland models, I started with an Atlas C30-7, with many parts from the Atlas B23-7, which allowed me to create the C30-7A car body.

A critical resource for my modeling Conrail's fleet of locomotives in the 1990's has been Conrail Motive Power Review 1986-1990 by Bill Withers, and published by Withers Publishing.  This book is a bible for us Conrail modelers and I highly recommend it!  

The first cuts are always the hardest - I had to muster up quite a bit of courage to cut into a $75 dollar model.  Still, a nice X-acto razor saw and mitre box helped in that effort.  Cuts are made slowly and carefully, letting the tool do the work, and not trying to force things along.  

With any sort of major kitbash, I find it helpful to do periodic 'check up' loose assemblies to see how things are fitting.  Luckily, the C30-7A and the C30-7 from which it came share a common car body length, and even more luckily, the Atlas molding includes the walkway and pilot casting as a separate piece to begin with.  This allows a positive check where I can see if any issues need adjustment before assembly.  

You can see here in the splice behind the cab that I had to cut an extra sliver to lengthen the body - the first was too short!  

While the new cab and full-body cuts as seen above are the biggest changes needed, there are many other details that set apart a C30-7A.  Extra radiator grill intakes from Hi-Tech details are necessary, as is a modification to the battery box doors on the left (conductor's) side of the walkway casting. 

The first, tall door must be chiseled so that it matches the height of the door adjacent to it.  I used putty to fill the depression between the doors to create a large, continuous door, to match prototype photos.  Finally I used styrene to add the hinges below. 

Again - slow, careful work and a sharp blade is required here to get the look (and just as importantly to avoid injury!)  You can also see I removed all the cast-in steps.  Conrail GE's are built with 3 steps per step well, instead of 4. 

It required about 3 applications of putty, then carving and sanding each layer, before I was happy with the joints.  I also removed the cast-on headlight bracket on the short hood, while avoiding removal of the sand fill cap.  After all the putty cured, I scribed in new cabinets behind the cab to match prototype photos.

Yet another detail that required changing is the headlight/number board casting.  As molded by Atlas, the C30-7 headlight is in a rectangular box.  Thankfully the B23-7 cab comes with the correct rounded headlight casting and better-detailed number board boxes, and so yet another part had to be purchased from Atlas.  

Lighting was a challenge due to the cab changes.  I ended up going with the Atlas B23-7 clear plastic casting and light guard, but that required quite a bit of filing for the clear plastic casting to fit through the cab wall.  I used black art paper as a light block behind the cab an on the bottom of the light guard.

Now we are moving into some of the fine detailing, after the putty joints are acceptable and the body has been glued together and to the frame.  I added the Hi-Tech details GE anti-climber casting to the front walkway and a Details Associates cab signal box to the walkway behind the cab on the left side of the locomotive.  Thanks to the Conrail Modelers group on Facebook, I found that one of the members there used Shapeways.com to create custom GE marker light mounts in HO scale!  That made the installation of the distinctive Conrail marker lights quite simple.  Grab irons also were bent and installed at this time.

Also, I installed A-Line photo-etched brass steps on all four corners and then finished the battery box door (visible on the far right above) before installing Smokey Valley brass stanchions, and bending my own .015 brass wire (front and rear) and .015 steel wire (sides) handrails to match.  Smokey Valley stanchions needed new holes to be drilled as they did not fit the Atlas frame (they were made for Athearn GE's).  Stanchions for each railing go first, then the railing itself.  I elected to solder the stanchions to the handrails - I was nervous about that process, since that too was a first for me, but I am very VERY pleased with the result.  I used a simple pencil iron, paste flux, and electrical solder for a quick and extremely strong joint.  

The steps and Smokey Valley products were my first experience, respectively, with both.  I am very pleased with how these turned out!  

After the addition of other details including a Hi-Tech exhaust stack, a Details West Leslie RS-3L horn casting, Details Associates Sinclair antennae, and cab details including the rain gutters and flag holders that I fashioned out of styrene, we were ready for primer and paint.   I used Testors Aircraft Gray for primer and Scalecoat Conrail Blue for the finish coat.  Each spray can was warmed in hot water until the can was warm but not hot, which gives a lower viscosity paint application and ensures the details will not be hidden.  

After the primer cured for 2 days, I inspected the joints and was satisfied, so I proceeded with the blue coat - what a difference!  While the blue cured, I installed a LokSound Select Direct decoders programmed for the GE 7FDL prime mover, and then replaced the stock Atlas sideframes with new Atlas sideframes from their C40-8W, which fit perfectly and include the correct exposed roller bearings and profiles.  The underframe got a coal of Testors flat black enamel paint.  

As always, I am amazed at how the color of the blue seems to change once details are applied.  I used Microscale decals to decorate the locomotive, and then used white enamels to add the safety ends to the handrails, grabs, and coupler-lift bars.   Dull coat was applied to seal the decals and even out the appearance of the model.  

After the dull coat cured for 24 hours, I used flat black enamel for the exhaust stains, and then gave the engine and underframe a coat of airbrushed grime.  I used rust enamels for the darker stains around the battery boxes, then used chalk pastels to add localized grime and rust as applicable.  Finally, I installed window glass in the cab, and used MV Products red lenses to represent the marker lights.  I am pleased how those came out, too.

I'm excited about the results - here's a few 'finished' photos!

All in all, this was close to 80 hours of work, including some but not much corrective work that I try so hard to avoid.  Even in a perfect process this would be more than 70 hours, which is a lot to spend on one locomotive when there is an entire layout to consider!  That said, it is indispensable for this era on this railroad.  This model is a real challenge to get to a finished state, but I am excited on 'my piece' of the Chicago Line to have a well-modeled 'plain jane' like this one.  6577 will be a major contributor to moving big trains on the Onondaga Cutoff!

~RGDave
  

Syracuse, On the Horizon

Scenery on the Onondaga Cutoff has been an organic sort of learning experience.  I am learning as I go, and the vision for how I want it to appear is changing as I learn new techniques, and indeed also as I figure out where the railroad actually would have run.

The most recent development with that has been a new addition to the scene at CP-282.  Now that I have plotted out the route on the USGS quadrant maps, the railroad can develop a more true sense of place.  The route exits Ram's Gulch south of Syracuse and makes a turn to the north, where suddenly the Syracuse skyline appears on the horizon.  I took the photo earlier this fall (special thanks to Nancy at the Brighton Tower Apartments!) and then had a large print made.  I trimmed the sky away, sprayed the remainder with dull coat, and mounted that on black art paper with a thick homemade black art-board frame. Here's the view during the afternoon - to me, this really adds an amazing depth to the scene.

Since we run operations around the clock, I wanted the skyline to be illuminated at night.  It took a lot of thinking, discussion, and trial-and-error construction, but I eventually found a combination of LEDs and incandescent bulbs that when mounted through the backdrop gave a convincing glow.  Forgive the grainy iPhone images - this is much more convincing in person!

I trimmed the black backdrop paper out from beneath the buildings, so that the entire city would have a glow to it from ambient light, as cities do to our eyes.  Here's a closer view showing the windows I cut through the photo, allowing more pointed light to show at the correct spots:

Those familiar with Syracuse will recognize the Carrier Dome on the right, and other buildings at Syracuse University including 22-story Lawrinson Hall, where I lived for the first two of  my four years at SU.  The downtown proper is further to the left (west) with the MONY Towers and Verizon buildings as key features.  

The operations on the Onondaga Cutoff, especially those at night, just got a little more prototypical!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and best wishes into the Holiday Season!

~RGDave