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American O Scale: "Portway Terminal Short Line, MN".


F-UnitMad
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Gald to have news from you Jordan.

 

I understand your kidney's trouble. I know what do you mean.

A colleague of mine has know this problem and complications recently.

 

I hope you'll recover a good health soon.

 

Make us dreaming with your layout and photos again!

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  • 6 months later...

Anything more to report from the past 7 months?

Yes, I had an ultrasound scan in July & no more kidney stones!! :good:

The doctor said to drink plenty of fluids. He didn't say what fluids though ;) so my beer intake may have increased slightly :jester:

 

Oh, you meant the layout... :rolleyes: :mosking:

 

Not much actually :( still plugging away at the spiking, in fact I've put in what should be my last order for tie plates at Right-O-Way this week. Just half the siding and some of the curves to go, & Golden Spike Day will arrive.

Only other thing I've done besides run some trains, was try out my UK O stock one evening. A Minerva Pannier Tank can get round a 36"-ish radius curve, and so can Heljan 'modern' stock like VAA vans - coupled up at that!!

Class 31 & 37 can make the curve, but with serious buffer overhang, so can't pull any stock. None of it could manage the 26" rad. flange-squeeler!!

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  • 3 months later...

Still trying to find my way around this "New/Improved" RMweb :scared: :fool: ...in the meantime I'll drag this Thread back to some sort of life with this post!!

Main news on the layout side of things is that I've decided the 'flange squeeler' curve has to go. It's just too tight really - the deal-breaker came a couple of weeks ago when propelling some Weaver boxcars round it, & they derailed because their corners had actually met & locked through the tightest part of the curve.

So I've done some planning with my 36"radius FastTrack templates, & such a curve will fit, as long as I widen the baseboard at that corner. The boards are Knauf Spaceboard extruded polystyrene. Of course I don't have any spare, & B&Q where I bought it from have very inconsiderately stopped selling it :shout: :mad: so I need to see what I can do in that area. I only need a piece about 3ft x 6in to work with! Most annoying.

 

So for some light relief here's a video of my latest endeavour on the Motive Power front. I finally got my second old Atlas/Roco Plymouth Switcher fitted with DCC to match the first. The only way I ever manage to speed match locos is to fit identical decoders in identical locos, with identical CVs. So here's the pair of them waddling up the siding. They're not sound equipped - just noisy little critters as they are, despite lots of grease on the gears!!

 

 

 

Edit: Apologies for the slightly out of focus view. It seems even using a phone camera with autofocus properly is beyond me!!!

 

Edited by F-UnitMad
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Yes I like them too, & have to control myself when they come up on ebay - though often they fetch silly money which helps!!

The yellow lead one here used to belong to Chris Ellis, Editor of the old Airfix Model Trains mag and it's successors. It featured in the May 1981 issue of Model Trains in an article about getting into O Scale on a small budget. I kept that issue ever since, although it was some years until I put the advice into practise, & Chris very graciously sold me the loco. I added DCC with a working beacon (red LED), but most of the detail was done before by Chris, including the green cab & driver, & "FWR" ("Fair Weather Railroad" - as he used to run it in the garden on temporary track if the sun was shining!!) letters on the cab sides, under which I added my own 'Portway Terminal', so this loco really does have a 'typical' secondhand shortline history all of it's very own, & I'm immensely proud of it. 

This photo was taken before I fitted DCC.

 

Portway #1 008.jpg

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14 minutes ago, Broadoak said:

Sorry to hear of your medical problems Jordan, hope you are on the road to complete recovery now.

 

I love the video of the swaying boxcars, very realistic.

 

Kind regards Peter M

Thanks Peter, it was a year ago this month I was bad - apparently a 6mm dia. kidney stone is rather on the large side, & I had 2 ops - first to put in a stent around the stone, stuck in the tube between kidney & bladder, then a second a month later to zap it with a laser. The scan in July gave me the 'all clear' afterwards.

By coincidence I'm off work full of cold today, which is why I'm on here so much!! (or at least, much more than usual..!!)

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Waow! Nice video and happy to have news from you and your layout Jordan!

 

I like very much your "second hand" switcher! Your track looks fantastic! Only O scale and bigger ones permit to do that with reliability.

 

100-per-cent-brilliant-300t.jpg

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Hi Dan, not sure what 'a realistic level' of weight is for O Scale, but to be honest I find Atlas cars seem about right as they come. As alluded to before, if they were too heavy, then the locos would struggle to pull a decent train (7 or so cars) at all around my layout curves - it would just slip to a stand.

Weaver cars do need added weight as often they don't seem to have any at all from the factory. But I don't add much as I don't want problems with the Intermountain metal axles in the plastic Weaver trucks.

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Weaver trucks are made from an acetal plastic (Delrin is a particular type) and they're abrasion resistance is very good.  The metal axles shouldn't make a noticeable impression.  And paint doesn't stick well either

Jason 

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A bit of a change from track spiking or just playing trains - with a smug grin whenever trains negotiate 'that' siding :D

 

Recently I dug out the Allports Truckstop building from the portable version of Portway Center that I built a while ago. It's a Bachmann Plasticville job, rather small or 'compressed' if I'm honest, but painted and detailed it doesn't look too bad. The only space it really fits on this layout is by the Industrial area, so that's where it's going. It sort of makes sense being there as there's hard-standing, and on the edge of an Industrial Park is the sort of place a truckstop might be found - a useful place to park up whilst waiting for loads from the railroad.

The building will also help frame the backscene behind the spurs, which will be of an open industrial area. Along the back will be a warehouse, hiding the dodgy corner!!

Today I've also made a start on the inlaid team track. The original 'concrete' area for the HO layout was hardboard sheet. The border of this area needed extending so I glued square wood strip to mark the edge of the new area, and once dry, spread coving adhesive along using a plasterer's trowel to smooth it out. Not all the hardboard has been covered, but enough to give an inset look to the nearer spur. Once both sides are dry i'll go back and fill the middle of the track, and scrape out the flangeways as the coving adhesive sets.

A bit of sanding to finish the surface better, and painting with very diluted acrylics will complete the job. Then there'll be plenty of detailing to do - chain-link fencing for one thing, hopefully with working gates across the rail spurs, and pallets and loads lying around.

The rear spur is to be ballasted, and have a loading dock and warehouse behind it (mentioned above) , so is not inset completely.

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20190309_192846.jpg.582003a6dc43b5ebac3745bc526ba32b.jpg

 

 

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Thanks Jack - yes I've seen some of his work before - the opening roller shutter door. Uses lots of Lego Technic components. 

I was thinking a bit more basic than that myself :blush: but also how one might replicate locking the gates by going under the board, so a real (but small) padlock might be used, along the same lines of thought as Lance Mindheim (may his disciples prosper). :good:

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Mine is currently on hold  (about 2°C outside in the garage) but I'm planning to use  a 50mm diameter plastic  pot from SWMBO, that held lip balm, with a very small handle which will be inset (with a Forstner bit) into the fascia  - all my Lego Technic has come from ebay,(more than enough) and the un-screwable,rotating cover will have a modified bit of Lego representing a padlock on it.  I did think of trying the padlock idea - but decided it takes up more room than will fit into the box.  Also in progress is yet another modified back scene and then I shall start making the fence, and a railing to go around the top of a tank.

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  • 5 months later...

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