Found In the Woods

These last several months I've made tremendous progress on my model railroad. I got a large section of the benchwork done and lately I've been focusing on constructing the helix and associated subroadbed. All is moving along well, slowly, but well. It's hard to find large chunks of time with the kids around, but during naptime on weekends I can steal away for 2-4 hours and get some work done. Also, there is definitely a learning curve here. I've never constructed a layout of this complexity and type therefore I'm constantly referring to notes, websites, magazines & books and friends for advice. The process has been really fun and I just hope I can get trains up and running before we move out of this house some day!

This past weekend I spent some time installing a bridge which carries the track from the base of the helix through the wall to the main layout room. This was particularly tricky because I was working in a tiny space under the stairs and had to make a template for the curved roadbed. The solution was to use a piece of masonite about 16"x20" which I drew on and then slid to the side and drew the rest of the template. Then back in the main room where I had more space I recreated the alignment and used some plastic tubing to create a nice curve. I then cut the bridge piece with the jigsaw and it fit like a glove.

I also spent a few hours putting up the risers for the masonite spline subroadbed which I will use in most of the open single track areas of the layout. I have wanted to use the spline method since the beginning and I decided on Masonite after considering pine due to fact that I have a lot of it around and it bends so nicely. There is a really nice Masonite spline HOWTO writeup online at BCSJ.org . Check out the website; there are some fantastic shots and tips on there.

After many, many years, I got my airbrush back up and running. A couple years ago I built a booth for it but never got around to spraying anything. Over the last several years I've also been slowly collecting Airbrush parts such as valves, water trap, pressure gauge, hoses, fittings and nozzles. Last night, inspired by some free time I had, I got everything up and running and did some trials on some old HO scale engine shells that I had stripped years ago .

The results were promising. The booth performed pretty well, although when spraying, I had to hold the model up high to allow the spray to vent through the duct. If I held it low, the spray tended to circulate around and exit the booth. Oh well. The good part is that my wife could not smell anything upstairs while I was spraying.

I did a simple coat of Floquil Railroad Colors Primer Gray which I thinned with 25% Dio-Sol. This was a real adventure, as I've never been very precise with my paint mixing before and now I'm totally into it. I used Testors Pipettes to measure and distribute the paint to the spray jar. The paint dried a ilttle "chunky" or "dusty" on the model, and I'm not sure why. It seemed that I could wipe it off the model in some places. I think the air-paint ratio was off, but again, I'm still learning. Overall, I'm super satisfied at just getting it running again.

I am excited to continue painting. I plan on painting the two diesel shells up in B&O livery and the trolley shell in DC Transit livery. The DCT trolley will definitely find its way onto the layout some day. Next up, I hope to do some weathering practice on some rolling stock and engines.

A year ago I stumbled on a collection of color photos from the 1940s. My primary interests are in the Railroad related images , which are simply amazing. They are some of the most wonderful photos I have ever seen. The clarity and quality of the images are outstanding. The subject matter is incredibly varied. I spent a half hour just trying to remember what the URL was and why I hadn't jotted it down. So, I'm posting it here in an effort to maintain it for the future. Enjoy!

The color photographs of the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Collection
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsachtml/fsowhome.html 

Kristin and I celebrated our fourth anniversary this past weekend. We traveled out to Grantsville, MD and stayed at the Stone Bow Inn. It was wonderful. The inn is situated on the banks of the Cassleman River about a hundred yards away from the “old stone bow”; a bridge constructed in 1813 for the national road, AKA route 40. The inn also shares land with an incredibly active artist community where you can peruse the trades and wares among the scattered old log & mortar buildings which were moved from nearby areas to the commune. To name a few, there is a potter, weaver, metalworker, soapmaker, glassmaker, painter and several historic interpretive sites as well.

On Saturday we visited the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. What a treat. They operate an ex LS&I 1916 Baldwin 2-8-0 from the old WM Cumberland station up to Frostburg, MD. The trip is really nice. We sat in first class which included a nice meal and service throughout the trip. We met some nice folks and really enjoyed ourself. I’ve posted pics of our journey in the Gallery here and here. I’ve also posted a short video of Mountain Thunder ascending the grade toward Frostburg:

After a long hiatus I finally got around to working on my model railroad. First step is installing a helix which will allow the train to get from level 1 at 36″ off the floor to level 2 at around 57″. It’s constructed of plywood and 1×4’s mainly. Have a look-see over at my Georgetown Branch page.

This has been a great year for the East Broad Top RR. Just to name a few things, several restoration projects came to a close or made great progress including the rebuild and return to steam for #15, rebuilding of caboose #28 & flat/tourist car #115. Shop buildings saw thousands of volunteer hours ending in newly painted walls, refinished windows, new sheathing, roofing, siding, brickwork, concrete, foundations, trackwork, ties and so much more! It’s a good time to be at the RR. My Dad and I visited to see the Fall colors and #15 in action – what a great day it was! Photos are online here.

This year was a special year for the East Broad Top RR’s Fall Spectacular, held every Columbus Day. Engine #15 has been restored to service, top to bottom. Since I started going to the EBT, back in 2001, only engine #14 was in service. I longed for seeing and hearing the other steamers but knew that it may never happen due to the high expense in rebuilding a steam loco. When I heard that they were going to restore #15 a few years ago, I have been closely following the progress, occasionally checking in on it in the Roundhouse whenever I visited the RR. So when I heard that she’d make her debut this year at the Fall Spectacular, I was overjoyed.

Unfortunately, this year was nothing but rain and since Kristin and Kyle were both planning on going, we had to opt out. We also needed to have a roofer come visit because of a leak in the roof. All in all it turned out to be a good weekend since Kristin and I did some work on the home Network (pics here), worked the B&ORRHS table at the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium, and spent some time with Kyle.

Railfan, photographer, blogger Scott Lothes is in Northeastern China right now documenting the last remaining mainline steam operation in the world. This is proving to be quite an interesting journey, one which he’s documenting on his blog, World Scott. Thank goodness, because thousands of us can ill afford the fare and time it takes to endure such a journey. Yet it is all of us who love steam and the lore of the era who will live vicariously through Scott’s words. Here is an excerpt:

At 6:00 this morning, our group, now 20 strong with the addition of
nine others the previous day, gathered at trackside a few miles west
of Chabuga. The new sun was orange in the sky, the wind was low and
the air crisp and cool. A plume of steam billowed on the horizon, and
then a locomotive came into a view. Behind it followed a freight
train. Not some photographers’ special touristy freight train, but a
real freight train of cars with loads and destinations, paid for by
customers and powered by steam. It was the first of 15 trains we woud
see in the next twelve hours, every single one of them powered by
burning coal to boil water to make steam to turn rod-coupled driving
wheels. True, they’re just machines, and the diesels that will replace
them in a month will do the exact same job and serve the exact same
purpose, but as the rods flash, the red wheels turn, the whistle hoots
and the steam hisses and seethes from every pore, I can still catch a
fleeting glimpse into that childhood sense of wonder when these
machines lived and breathed in my dreams.

Getting ready for Cape Cod and Ireland… all within a month. Cape to visit family and enjoy the shore for a few days and Ireland with Kris and Kyle to enjoy the Old Country. The O’Sullivan’s are from County Cork which is where we’re going, partly. So, going back to my roots, I guess. Very excited.

Last weekend I gave a presentation at the B&O RR Historical Society’s Brunswick, MD Mini-Con on the Georgetown Branch. It went well. The Georgetown Branch is my main area of interest in railroading, both model and actual. My site can be found here. The Mini-Con was fun too. I got to put many faces with names and hear some interesting presentations. Brunswick is a fascinating town too. One place where you can see so much in the visible and invisible transformation it underwent from a sleepy town along the C&O Canal to a bursting division point on the B&O RR back to a sleepy town, rich with history and gorgeous architecture.

Slowly gaining ground on my long long long long depressing anchor-weight list of projects and to-do’s. Still have a long way to go. Go SOX! We’re 3.5 games ahead of the Yankees… we need to stay there.

Recently attended an FEBT work session in Rockhill Furnace @ the EBT. Highlights of the day included painting, installing slope sheets on the side dump hopper, boiler house masonry repairs and some incredible track work. More pics and some movies in the Gallery: