A Care package from Speedwitch Media

It's kinda like Xmas in June!
This came in today's mail.

All of which I've been very much looking forward to building.
Ted has really amped up resin kits. The level of design effort he puts into the etched parts is truly remarkable. Making for some epic models.
I know that some are intimidated by the amount of tiny parts, but I revel in this stuff. 
What I'm most excited about are the R-40-25s.
My layout can use a good number of PFE reefers and the prospect of a few highly detailed reefers has great appeal. So much so that I'm going upgrade all 7 of the RTR R-40-25s that I have in my collection.
And I will be posting regularly as I make progress
So we start with
The parts I received from Speedwitch

 

 

Correct ends, piles of etched details and correct "as built" decals

 The 7 plastic shells. All details removed, underbodies prepared for additional details, paint stripped and sand blasted.
Now to clear space on the bench and dive in!
This is going to be fun

Track Plan

 It's been pointed out to me that I've yet to post a track plan of the current layout
So here you go

Calling these 3 done

 

A trio of Sunshine Models T&NO stock cars.
As always with resin stock cars, much time was spent sanding, sanding and then more sanding. Those slats won't clear themselves! But the effort is well rewarded.
The weathering was something a little different.
An oil colour wash of medium grey was first applied, only on the slats, followed up by a wash of dark brown. Then the whole car was dusted with road dust from the air brush.
The look was inspired by a number of colour photos I looked at in ATSF Livestock Operations book I have.
The cars were kept fairly cleaning and the frequent washing caused additional wear on the wooden slats.
I'm very pleased with the results.
Wait till you see what is next!

 

Yarmouth Model Works pilot models

 I have decided to sell some of the pilot models I built for my former company.
Rather than have them collect dust here, maybe they can find a good home.
I am asking $150.00 USD ea, plus shipping and tariffs.
Email me direct if you're interested

 pierre.oliver@elgincarshops.com

It will be first come first served.
I will send PayPal invoices once I determine the shipping fees

 

Thanks for looking

A change of pace

 I've been having a rather pleasant time building the latest offering from Imagine That Laser Art ,

https://itlascalemodels.com/products/itla-alleyscape

 

This kit was a lot of fun and a nice change from resin freight cars.
The laser cut brickwork is exquisite. The design is very well thought out and all those extra details really bring the scene to life.
I am offering this model for sale.
Contact me by email if you're interested pierre.oliver@elgincarshops.com

Turnout improvement

 I am a big fan of the Fast Tracks track building system. This and 2 previous layouts were built using that system exclusively. My only complaint is the connection of the point rails to the throwbar. It may be a me thing but I have at least one solder joint fail every operating session. There's a slight rotational force applied to the solder joint every time the points are thrown.

So I put on my problem solving hat and came up with a solution I'm very happy with.
The task is to hold the point rails exactly in place and allow a bit of rotational freedom.
I sat down with Ryan and we came up with a design

 

In the photo from bottom to top, the photo etched tabs, a drilled and tapped throwbar and the drilling jig.
I found the smallest machine screws I could, 000-120, 1/16 long.
The idea is to solder the tab onto the inner web of the point rail and then bolt the tab to the throwbar.

I'm delighted to report that I managed to tap over 100 000-120 holes and not snap the tap

Installation is a tad fiddly and hanging to those tiny screws can be a challenge, but I'm delighted to report that the concept works.

To date I have 4 turnouts redone and they move far more freely than they did with the original method.
Once I get more done I'll break out the airbrush and paint them up, and I'm sure they will look just fine.

 

Love it when the tech works

 For the last few weeks I've been working on a window display layout for my local hobby shop,
Railway City Hobbies.
A local modeler who had remarkable talents in kitbashing industrial structures passed away and his daughter wished for an ongoing legacy of his skills. So a few of his structures were loaned so that they could be on display, (I'll be showing photos at a later date).

We determined which  structures could be incorporated into the space and a track plan was figured out.

 A simple switchback with 3 turnouts which would feature a short train and a couple of cars shuttling back and forth. The key to this was finding a control system to make this work.
Cue those fine folks at Iowa Scale Engineering and their Motorman control system. A bit of electronic wizardry that does exactly what we require for either DC or DCC equipped locomotives.
The auto-reverse is triggered by an under the track photo receptor, Trainspotter, which we also used to control the turnout motors, MP1. 
All in all a rather simple setup
I'd post a video, but it exceeds the file size allowed, take my word for it, the layout works exactly as desired
Now I can work on ground cover and other such things another couple of weeks it'll be in the store window