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D&RGW narrow gauge: Back to scenics.


JZ
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Couple more buildings finished. Well, very nearly.

First we have a Banta Modelworks  "B&O Hotel"/ Tiny building, but based on one in Manor, Texas. Basically a flop house, where an itinerant worker could get a bed in a shared room for 50¢ and a bath for maybe another 25¢.

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Banta supply a laser cut frame for the building, windows and doors and strip wood for the rest. Fun to build, but surprisingly time consuming. Strip wood was dyed individually to get the variation in colour.

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I will add some signage and a bench to the porch.

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The real thing.

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Next we have an explosives store, again from Banta. Only three parts on this one. Plaster main building,, wood under roof and corrugated tin covering. Last two parts scored and folded.

 

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That hotel looks the height of luxury! 

 

 Roger Miller’s classic description of the itinerant worker’s life is usually rendered today as “..two hours of pushin’ broom, buys an eight by twelve, four-bit room” but older versions of the lyrics, like the Statler Brothers refer to “... eight by twelve, four-bed room”. Minimum wage was first established in 1938 as 25c an hour, so that would be about right for the 1930s.

 

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A little bit unusual and totally unprototypical. Made by D+R Modellbahn, probably some 20 years ago. Offered to me for the princely sum of £20, by the chap who is fitting sound and lighting to my K-36 & K-37. Could I say no?

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Now, if only I could lay my hands on a couple more.

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11 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

Something not entirely different but with a more American twist?

 

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An unfinished conversion from a 1960s (2nd generation) Tri-ang TC coach, though it could perhaps do with slightly bigger bogies.

The D+R Modellbahn effort is, I believe, based on a Swiss prototype, so have been looking for something from Bemo. This looks a possible option for conversion and probably easier and cheaper to get hold of.

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The main body as shown is 171mm long* (a scale 48' 10") and about 30mm high. I cut the width down to about 26mm wide, but to match the width of Swiss metre gauge coaches it only needs reducing to 301/3mm (dimension from a drawing in Modern Railways April 1968). The Tri-ang coaches are 341/2mm wide so that's not a problem. I reckon with the extra width the height after cutting down would come to about 31mm, close to the scale height of the Swiss coach's body, just under 32mm in H0.

The 2nd generation Tri-ang TCs aren't as common as the 1st gen. but only the end observation car seems to command any real premium. Within the last 3 years I've picked them up off ebay for as little as £3 per coach, including postage.

 

* Scope for increasing the length if desired.

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On 16/09/2020 at 10:07, BernardTPM said:

The main body as shown is 171mm long* (a scale 48' 10") and about 30mm high. I cut the width down to about 26mm wide, but to match the width of Swiss metre gauge coaches it only needs reducing to 301/3mm (dimension from a drawing in Modern Railways April 1968). The Tri-ang coaches are 341/2mm wide so that's not a problem. I reckon with the extra width the height after cutting down would come to about 31mm, close to the scale height of the Swiss coach's body, just under 32mm in H0.

The 2nd generation Tri-ang TCs aren't as common as the 1st gen. but only the end observation car seems to command any real premium. Within the last 3 years I've picked them up off ebay for as little as £3 per coach, including postage.

 

* Scope for increasing the length if desired.

I'll keep this in mind, but it is something for the future. The D+R M coach is 200mm over body and add 10 mm for gangways., 31mm wide and body is 34mm high, 40 from rail. I will keep looking for an eBay bargain.

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Three reefers done this morning. Transfers made up in Microsoft Paint. Images were found online. Printed on inkjet printer set on the highest quality for photo paper and onto clear transfer paper. Corresponding to things my son, daughter and myself like and the top two named after them. Numbers are birthday in D/M form. I went for white as I can print colour except white. Also managed to get my granddaughter's names in on the beer one.. LUCYville and bAVArian.

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Just need a coat of satin varnish and the 40 footers remounted on their underframes.

Edited by JZ
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Postman brought goodies today.

It all started when i placed an order with Togbutikken in Sem, Norway for a pair of Durango Press Pipe Gondolas.

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Same price as in the US, but much cheaper postage*. These were mainly used on the Farmington branch for conveying oil pipes. Basically a high sided gondola with the ends removed. Anyway, the day after the order was placed, Tore, the owner, emailed to say he had some Blackstone car available and would I be interested. I asked if he had any passenger cars and he replied that he had a Chili Line** set for NoK 2500(£215). I jumped at it. The only one I have seen on eBay went for $520. This was a limited edition set and as rare as hens teeth. Mind you I have only seen a couple of other Blackstone passenger cars turn up on eBay and they fetch silly amounts.

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Second-hand and one had suffered minor damage and the loss of two sets of step, easily fixed with a visit to the spares box.

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So, with 4 passenger car kits nearing completion and the other Blackstone car, that's me done for passenger stock. I will probably get a couple of high sided gons from Durango press when Tore has then back in stock. I've two tank cars on order from San Juan Models and just confirmed a couple drop bottom gons from a member of the Slim Gauge Circle and that should be it for rolling stock. Apart from...................................................

 

 

*cheaper postage, but still have to pay VAT and duty.

** The Chili Line ran from Antonito, one end of the Cumbres & Toltec, to Santa Fe.

Edited by JZ
to add some clarity to what the stars are for.
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10 minutes ago, JZ said:

 ... that should be it for rolling stock.  


How very restrained - and unlikely! (Don’t take that personally. It’s meant as a general comment on the railway modeller mindset.)

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1 minute ago, pH said:


How very restrained - and unlikely! (Don’t take that personally. It’s meant as a general comment on the railway modeller mindset.)

I know. Really trying to convince myself.

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On 16/09/2020 at 06:21, JZ said:

The D+R Modellbahn effort is, I believe, based on a Swiss prototype, so have been looking for something from Bemo. This looks a possible option for conversion and probably easier and cheaper to get hold of.

It’s a RhB EW IV (ew4) coach and only D+R did it, plus Bemo wouldn’t be cheaper ;)

They didn’t bother to duplicate the D+R range usually and for similar you’d need to look at the earlier style Panoramic coaches which could make a more modern version of the Silver Vista?

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Got the bowl of water out today, together with Microset and Microsol and a big box of transfers, or should I say decals. I have numbered and lettered 3 boxcars, 5 stockcars, 1 flatcar and 5 passenger cars. Decals have been a mix of Microscale, San Juan and Thinfilm. I'll get some picture of the freightcars later, but the passenger ones now need to set overnight before giving a coat of satin varnish and then the daunting job of glazing them. Each car requires 25 individually cut windows. Fortunately they are all the same size, so my NWSL Chopper will be busy in the morning.

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Well, after a fairly productive fortnight, I am back at work for a few days, the 2 am alarm call was a bit of a shock. Hopefully tomorrows 02:45 should be a little easier. Arrived home to an email saying my loco's are ready for collection, so my next rest day has been booked for a trip to Oxfordshire to collect.

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Bloody annoyed today. Bought an item from the US. When I paid for them, they fell under the £15 threshold for paying VAT. But USPS are so damned slow, that when they arrived, the £ had dropped sufficiently that it was now over that threshold. So as well as paying just over £3 VAT, I had the £8 handling charge as well. Don't know who I more annoyed at, USPS or this inept government we have.

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The parcel saga continues. Despite ticking the box that said deliver to a neighbour and giving the neighbours address, I get home to find a red card saying redelivery(?) attempted, Too big for letterbox, the item has been taken back to the sorting office.  Not the first time I've used the RM website to do this and not the first time I've had this result. It just doesn't get marked on the parcel. Although we have two post(wo)men that refuse point blank to leave it with a neighbour.

 

On a lighter note. UBS do follow delivery instructions and my Shapeways package was left at my back door. So I now have  three pairs of passenger car trucks to try.

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This useful book turned up yesterday, courtesy of Amazon.

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Loads of pictures, including many of freight operations in the 1940/50/60 period.

Edited by JZ
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1 hour ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Loved it - thank you for sharing these.  One bit that stood out for me was the scenic curve beyond the town: I couldn’t tell where the scenery ended and the backscene began.  Excellent job there.  Keith.

Thank you, Keith. I used colour swatches to match the main colour, then went to Homebase and got a 2½ litre pot. Colour variation was achieved by getting a few close shades in small pots at my local hardware store and blending in while wet. Red builders sand was then sprinkled over and also some fine fish tank sand over that to varying degrees. Finally some Woodland Scenics 'turf' of different shades. I also took literally hundreds of photo's of rocks and strata and plants on my visit to the area last year.

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Happy chappie this morning. Three loco's returned after DCC fitting. Blackstone K-27 now DCC sound fitted. K-36 needed some extra work due to a broken cylinder mount, but now with DCC sound and lighting. K-37 needed a replacement motor, but now DCC sound and lighting. Also received two Blackstone drop bottom gondolas and some spare ends for a combine project.

 

And yes, I know I said I had enough rolling stock, but managed to track down some of the D+R Modellbahn cars, now deciding whether to get two or three more.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have three closed vestibule coaches from E&B Valley. The ends look rather bare, with no attempt to provide any form of gangway. So, the choices were, leave them, folded card, or another method.

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In the end I chose neoprene. A small sheet of 3mm was ordered from eBay, the plan being to make a plate from plasticard to act as the buffing plate. The wrong thickness was sent, 4mm, but the smooth finish was ideal, so no problem.

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Still grab irons to add and a touch up to the paintwork.

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