D&RGW narrow gauge: Back to scenics.

[JZ]

I got the dreaded message on the NHS app yesterday, so now I have an enforced week of modelling. It's 10 days from point of contact, so must have been on my trip to Avonmouth on Wednesday.

Still waiting for the loco bodies to arrive from Brazil, but I have had some Berkshire Valley kits arrive, so plenty to be getting on with.

[JZ]

Yesterday's self isolation project was this Berkshire Valley Models small ore bin. Nice easy kit, perfect for for a first timer in wood. The main structure is just 11 pieces, all laser cut.

This will be sited in front of the stamp mill diorama. I have added a small platform for someone to open the slats for the chute. Once in place, I will add a ladder from rail level. The high sided gondola is from Blackstone Models.

The carriage ends are waiting for some etched brake wheels from 51L.

[JZ]

Another kit put together yesterday was this Model Scene laser cut card kit.

Walls are painted with MIG Concrete texture paint and weathered with MIG, AK Interactive and Model Mates products. I will also be adding some WS scatter over the corners and lower parts. It will be used as a lock-up store for one of the shops.

[JZ]

The 51L brake wheels arrived this morning, so the coach ends have now been fitted.

A little straightening required and a gentle file here and there to remove flash. The lone one on the bottom hadn't completely filled out the mould, so a repair with some 0.4mm brass wire was required.

[JZ]

Yesterday's isolation project was this Banta Modelworks Crossing Shanty. What I expected to take a couple of hours, took much, much longer.

[JZ]

Three structures done today, bar a little weathering.

First up we have a yard office.

The paintwork deliberately peeling, I will tone it down a bit. Some weathering to do to the roof and some support wires for that smokestack.

Next is a speeder hut.

A model of the one at Ophir. I've taken the liberty of replacing the shingle roofing with corrugated steel. The support needs staining, then some judicious weathering. The eagle eyed may notice that the rails are wood. Well so they were on the real thing. I've ordered a couple of these to go with it and the other speeder shed I have.

I shall also probobly get one of these from Shapeways.

 

Finally an outhouse.

 And that is all the small buildings I have for now. Whatever I start tomorrow will be a larger structure. Probably be best to leave it and get things ready for back to work on Saturday, it will be a joy just to get out of the house. With a week of rest days and two weeks of annual leave coming up over the next five weeks, the plan is to attack the layout, as I would dearly like to get a complete circuit up and running by the Autumn.

[JZ]

Weathered two of yesterday's building.

 

[JZ]

This is the only known photo of the front of the speeder shed. It doesn't appear to have any form of lock on the doors, but something maybe in the dirty patch.

Copyright: Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

[JZ]

Back to work today. It was a pleasure to get more than a handful of footsteps from the house. Modelling will be taking a back seat this week, but after that, I have a week of rest days, a week at work, two weeks annual leave, another week back then another week of rest days, time that will be spent on layout building, rather than pottering away at buildings and rolling stock. After all, I need somewhere to put them all.

[PaulRhB]

You’ll need to look out for some of these now (p24)

 

https://online.fliphtml5.com/xbqr/hbpn/#p=26

 

[JZ]

10 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

You’ll need to look out for some of these now (p24)

 

https://online.fliphtml5.com/xbqr/hbpn/#p=26

 

Not a great fan of these, but if needs must, anything to keep the railway alive. Not for me though, although I do have two loco's heading my way, I hope. But so far they have been in the post for 4 weeks, post from Brazil can take 40 days. I've tried contacting the seller, but without response. I've also been in contact with another HOn3 modeller, who told me his took 6 weeks.

Anyway, back to the original topic. I hope to be visiting Durango again next year, it's got to be my favourite town in the US, could be the number of excellent breweries, or maybe just the railway. Hopefully I will be staying for 3 or 4 nights and include a trip on the D&S again.

[JZ]

Latest news on the loco bodies from Brazil, is.................. that they are still in Brazil. The owner of Hobbytec has been in touch and informed me that the Brazilian postal service will not be sending any post to UK until 20 or 21 June at the earliest. This is due to the Covid situation within Brazil.

[JZ]

Couple of kits put together over the last day or so.

Rio Grande Southern, ex Colorado & Southern, boxcar. Grandt Line kit with Tichy Trains grab irons(left over from Rail Line kits). Decals from Foothill Model Work and were among the best I've ever used. They dropped into the planking with the minimum of fixer.

D&RGW Long Caboose. E&B Valley kit, now produced by Model Railroad General Store. Simplified livery I found on a photo dated 1946.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

On 24/06/2021 at 19:23, JZ said:

Couple of kits put together over the last day or so.

Rio Grande Southern, ex Colorado & Southern, boxcar. Grandt Line kit with Tichy Trains grab irons(left over from Rail Line kits). Decals from Foothill Model Work and were among the best I've ever used. They dropped into the planking with the minimum of fixer.

D&RGW Long Caboose. E&B Valley kit, now produced by Model Railroad General Store. Simplified livery I found on a photo dated 1946.

I’ve been doing some reading about On3 / On30 layouts - these look every bit as good as some of the rolling stock I’ve seen on them, while in a scale half the size.  Excellent, Keith.

[JZ]

I may have mentioned a few month back, that I made up some decals for a fellow HOn3 modeller in Tulsa. Here are the results. Unfortunately they have yellowed a little. I don't know what caused that, some I made at the same time are still fine. Maybe the climate, I know it's bleedin' hot in the south and west US at the moment. Maybe it was the storage, I keep all mine in a closed box file. Anyway, despite that, the owner is happy with them and emailed me these pictures this morning, or yesterday evening for him.

The donor vehicles are Rail-Line boxcars, top, and Micro-Trains line HOn3 reefers, bottom.

 

Gene Pitney obviously didn't send post to Tulsa, or he would have realised it takes longer than 24 hours. The journey was, posted in Somerton at 11:45 on a Friday. Saturday evening it was with USPS in Chicago. Then it took two weeks the get the approx' 650 miles to Tulsa, via Houston TX, Oklahoma City, then Norman, were it sat for 7 days, the to Tulsa, were it was for 3 days before being delivered. Don't anyone ever moan about the Royal Mail. Amazingly, this sort of service just seems to be accepted in the US.

Edited June 29, 2021 by JZ
added info

[JZ]

Also, USPS related, my Fairmont speeders have been sat in LA for the last ten days.

[JZ]

The speeders have now reached Seattle

So they left Scottsdale AZ and went to Tucson, about 100 miles. Then to Phoenix, about 6 miles from Scottdale. Then on to Bell Gardens CA, maybe 400 miles. Then to Compton, 3 miles, then to LA, about 20. This took from the 14th to the 19th, when they left LA. Today, the 30th,  they arrive in Seattle. According to Google, that's 1765 miles and 16 days, worked that bit out myself, and they still haven't left the US.

 

As for the loco bodies from Brazil, Gilso the owner of Hobbytec has been in touch today. After trying twice last week and his post office refusing to send to UK, he is hopeful that they may get them out this week.

 

Maybe I should have gone OO9.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

15 hours ago, JZ said:

Maybe I should have gone OO9.

Where’s the fun in that?
 

Joking apart, having opted to go down the narrower 9mm route for my H0e / HOn30 adventure, while I’m finding there’s a good amount of stuff available in European H0e (and even more so UK 009 at the moment, although that’s not my particular interest), supplies of 009 track still seem to be limited.  That’s something I wouldn’t try and import, so that can be a nuisance anyway.

 

That, and finding the time / space / money for all I want to do ( which isn’t scale specific  ).

So…stick with it: what we’re seeing is still great and encouraging, despite these occasional frustrations.  Keith.

[JZ]

THE SPEEDERS ARE IN THE UK !!!!!.

 

I have another order in from the same seller and another with Tichy Trains. I shall follow their progress and give you updates

[JZ]

They're here!!!!! Little over 24 hours after arriving in the UK.

[JZ]

As for the next two US purchases.

1. From Black Forest Hobbies in Scottsdale AZ. This one went straight to Phoenix, but it took 7 days from ordering to posting, yesterday, 2nd July.

2. From Tichy Trains in Alamance NC. Well service isn't top of the list for them. Five days after placing order I get an email, saying they weren't registered for VAT, bloody Brexsh!te, so they would make me an eBay order. Ten days later I get a notification from eBay saying please pay. Five days before I get notification that it was posted, today, the 3rd July.

 

What I will say, is that postage in both cases was very reasonable.

 

Watch this space.

 

In the meantime, one of the HOn3 FB group members has three tank cars for sale. Purchase concluded in 5 minutes and will posted in Nuremberg on Monday.

 

That concludes my bitching.

 

For today.

 

Anyway, 15 days off. So I will be out in the shed most days, working on the layout.

But I might put together one of the speeders tomorrow.

Edited July 3, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Cruel enlargement, about 4x actual size on my screen, but the first speeder.

I will probably stipple some yellow over the rusty dent on it's bottom left corner.

Edited July 5, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Managed to find a picture of one the speeders on the Cumbres & Toltec. This is one I took at Antonito. The next speeder kit will be modified to look more like this.

 

And now an update on the parcels.

The one from AZ has been to the same depots in LA as the one the speeders did, but in a different order. Not had an update for 4 days on this. But I have heard from a fellow HOn3 modeller that many international items on the West Coast are sent to Japan for sorting, which would explain the speeders leaving LA, then 11 days later turning up in Seattle.

 As for the one from NC. That left Greensboro on the 3rd and every day I have received a notification that is in transit to the next facility. But isn't hasn't got there yet.

 

Loco bodies. Still waiting for the Brazilian Post Office to accept.

 

Tank cars. Deutsche Post wouldn't accept with email and phone number, so will try again. Like me, the sender works on the railway, so getting to the post office can be difficult.

 

And I have an order in at Shapeways. That will be delivered on Friday, between 11:15 and 13:15.

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Finished demolishing the next section of Gurney Slade this morning. Now ready to get the next section on the layout done. This section will include two trestles, one wood and the other steel. Between them will be a 'high line' section, with the line running on a ledge about a foot above the river.

Also found an alternative option for the second speeder. This could be a project to build in plasticard.

Taken in 1948 just outside Silverton, photographer unknown. Also of interest is what appears to be a lonely ore bin in the right of the photo.

 

 And the real reason for looking at this post, the parcel update.

One left Miami, twice, at 2:41pm and again at 3:14pm, yesterday.

No news on the others.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

41 minutes ago, JZ said:

Finished demolishing the next section of Gurney Slade this morning. Now ready to get the next section on the layout done. This section will include two trestles, one wood and the other steel. Between them will be a 'high line' section, with the line running on a ledge about a foot above the river.

Also found an alternative option for the second speeder. This could be a project to build in plasticard.

Taken in 1948 just outside Silverton, photographer unknown. Also of interest is what appears to be a lonely ore bin in the right of the photo.

 

 And the real reason for looking at this post, the parcel update.

One left Miami, twice, at 2:41pm and again at 3:14pm, yesterday.

No news on the others.

Is it just me - or an optical illusion - but the left hand rail immediately in front of the speeder (as I look towards it) seems to curve inwards?  Perhaps that’s what the speeder was there to check?