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cooley_boy

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  1. cooley_boy

    Shap

    By cooley_boy,

    So here we go.
     
    For a while now I have been wanting to build a layout and have so far built 3 layouts which have since either been sold or dismantled into other projects. In previous layouts I have been a bit free lance in my design moving into a layout based off a location but not true to prototype. So now I am looking at modelling a location as true to prototype as possible space willing. In doing so the search was on for a layout that can be used for both 1960 operations and current day which narrows the field down a bit but the challenge was to find a place that has not really changed much since the 60s so anything near a city was more-or-less out.
     
    I therefore moved into the country side and into the LMS region which is where I personally think the best trains were made (ducks for cover) and where some of the most gruelling and dramatic scenery is located. This is certainly true of the S & C but this have been modelled to death and wanting to look into an area where not much has been done in recent years I looked into the West Coast Mainline between Preston and Carlisle.
     
    Here we have 2 major Climbs being Grayrigg and Shap both of which are gruelling grades which in steam days required helpers which would be a very neat thing to replicate in operation which with DCC will be very easy to achieve. I have settled on Shap for no real reason other than for several reasons:
     
    1- Shap is more open in its landscape and will be in my opinion be more dramatic to recreate.
     

    2- I have spent time around the Shap incline and know it better.
     
    3- Shap has less of a range of traffic than Grayrigg due to all the Stainmore traffic turning east at Tebay which means there will be less traffic to cover than Grayrigg which from a budget perspective is always a good thing.
     
    Having said that last point though there is still a huge amount of traffic on this line:
     
    1960's Highlights:
     
    The Royal Scot
    The Mid-day Scot
    The Night Scot
    The Caledonian
    The Lakes Express
    All Freight Traffic
     
    Duchess's
    Princess's
    Britannia's
    Royal Scots
    Black Fives
    8Fs
    9Fs
    ETC
     
    Current Day Highlights:
     
    The Caledonian Sleeper
    Tesco Train
    Virgin Pendalino's
    Virgin Super Voyagers
    All Container Traffic
    All Engineering Traffic
    Colas Timber Traffic
    Flyash Traffic
    Coal from Ayrshire to Wales
    Class 66, 68, 88, 57, 92, 90, 86, 60
    Colas
    DRS
    EWS/DB
    Frieghtliner
    Network Rail
    WCRC Excursion Trains
     
    All in all a lot to model and consider.
     
    I have already accumulated a fair bit of rolling stock in regards to both settings for this layout and as I don't have the space at this time to built the layout I am focusing on getting all the rolling stock ready and running this in at the local club. So what is to follow will be a series of works in regards to the rolling stock and locomotives.
     
    Regards
    Rand
  3. cooley_boy
    So as promised here is my work so far on scratch building my KFA units from Heljan cargowaggons.
    I have made all the uprights for one car and modified the top of the cargowaggon getting rid of the timber layer and replacing it with a smooth sheet of 0.5mm styrene that has been sprayed rusty brown to simulate the steel plate surface that seems to have replaced the timber judging by photo research.
    I have made one Bulkhead end but will be looking into seeing if I can get part of them 3D printed to save time and help with consistency.
    Rand
  5. cooley_boy
    So I have been Adding some of the EOT lamps from DCCconcetps onto some of my wagons. These fit onto the wagons pretty easily coming with spring pick-ups, wire, lamps, flashing device and a reed switch with magnets in case you wanted have a automatic switch on the layout that turns the lamp on and off. I see no need for the reed switch as in real life the lamp is always and on the train.
    Having said that these lamps look pretty prototypical when installed and have a nice flash rate when running along. I have installed the wiring in the container in this example which is a IKA flat with 48' container permanently mounted on the wagon. I have also fitted these lamps onto a MEA, FEA and FLA wagons.
     

     

  6. cooley_boy
    Well now there are 5 of these wagons finished and ready to roll even with removable loads. No I know there are a few details that are not fully true to life but all in all these do capture the look of these wagons in my view. No just to finish off the last 10.
     

     

     

     

     

  7. cooley_boy
    As per usual life will through unexpected things in your way what has meant progress on some of the modelling project has slowed down. However, The carriages are getting there with the first 2 more or let done and another 2 just needed the detail to be painted on the bogies.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    I am now working on finishing the TSO Mk2 Carriage (Bachmann) and the 2x TSO Mk1 Carriages (Hornby).
  8. cooley_boy
    I saw this load and it looked like a simple thing to recreate.
     
    The load is made using 0.2mm Thick Styrene sheet cut into strips 26mm wide and cut to varying lengths depending on the prototype.
    These are then sprayed a gun metal grey and then using a nice reddy brown paint the rusting is made. The trick is to put the paint on the brush then wipe it all off. Then lightly go over the 'steel' and this will prevent over painting them.
     
    The wooden supports are made from scale cut basswood timber made by Midwest Products. They are cut to a width of 30mm and painted with a mid brown and wiped with a cloth and then painted with a beige then wiped again to give a nice aged look.
     
    The straps are black electrical tape cut into thin strips with a very sharp knife and steel ruler. These are laid over the load after and glued to the under side of the car / wagon.
  9. cooley_boy
    So I have a client come to me asking for sound and lights to be installed into a Broadway Limited Trackmobile unit. If you have ever seem on of these units or own one you can imagine the challenge. Either way here it is all finished.





    Here is a post of the video:
    https://www.facebook...15033893029743/
  11. cooley_boy
    Its been awhile since I have done any dry brushing as part of the weathering on my wagons. The skill is know what colors will work best, in what sequence they should go and experimentation is also key I find.
    I have a few timber topped flat cars and so using the dry brushing method seemed the best as I have more control over where the paint goes than when using an airbrush.
     
    I started with using a dark brown and then followed with a series of lighter browns made mixing a very pale grey not white. This is because timber is more grey then any other color and timber will weather a very pale beige grey color unless like here on the flat cars where the timber is exposed to oils and rust from the loads they carry they will absorb those colors too.
     
    Having done a general cover I went through and high-lighted several timbers in a beige white that is applied using a very small brush and thinned with white spirits. Depending on the look I'm after the thicker the paint will make some timber look newer than others. Having a good mix makes it look like the car's timber is repaired often which there are in real life.
     
    Next job is to finish the weathering with the air brush.
  12. cooley_boy
    Another Aspect of my Operation SD70 project is adding details to the Athearn units I have from the earlier runs which were lack a bit in the detail department particularly around the under frame and the front and rear ends.
    The first part that I do is to get the detail pack from Details West that are bespoke for the SD70M units with white metal parts for the under frame. This includes the piping for the sanders, bell, brackets for the fuel tank, jack mounting points, release values for the fuel tank, electrical cabling looms, spare knuckle coupler parts, etc.

    Below are the photos of how these look when all in place.











    Next is to put on a new plough and adding the air hoses and MU cable. Also adding the new standard Yellow sills to the walkways.
  13. cooley_boy
    Another Aspect of my Operation SD70 project is adding details to the Athearn units I have from the earlier runs which were lack a bit in the detail department particularly around the under frame and the front and rear ends.
    The first part that I do is to get the detail pack from Details West that are bespoke for the SD70M units with white metal parts for the under frame. This includes the piping for the sanders, bell, brackets for the fuel tank, jack mounting points, release values for the fuel tank, electrical cabling looms, spare knuckle coupler parts, etc.
     
    Below are the photos of how these look when all in place.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    Next is to put on a new plough and adding the air hoses and MU cable. Also adding the new standard Yellow sills to the walkways.
  14. cooley_boy
    Operation SD70 is a go!!!
    I currently have 6 of these iconic US locomotives and with UP owning in the region of 1200 of these locos I could just just keep going but the wallet says other wise.

    Either way I am now in the process of getting all of these harmonised with the same Tsunami2 sound decoders, LED upgraded lighting with a new Technique and weathered.

    Currently all of them now have the decoders installed and speakers fitted using a 52 x 16 speaker mounted in the space above the decoder. in the hood.

    They are now all fitted with the LEDs par one but here are some pictures of the process.

    I first start by removing the factory fitted bulbs or previous retro fitted LEDs and then slightly widen the holes to 1.5mm using an appropriate 1.5mm drill bit and using a slow speed on my dremel. I do this with care so as not to over drill the holes.





    I then take my 1.5mm thick Fibre Optic and cut a length of about 15mm or 1/2" and then I bevel one end of the fibre by slowly waving it close to the tip of a hot soldering iron allowing the heat from the iron to soften the end of the fibre. The fibre will naturally form into a lens like curve which will form the detail end of the fibre looking like the lens of the headlight.





    The next step is to feed the fibre into the hole for the headlight pushing it all the way down so that the bevelled end of the fibre sits in the headlight surround. Sometimes the bevel is a little too wide and will not sit down fully. In this case I just sand down the side of the fibre around the bevel edge by using a fine file and pushing the fibre along it and turning in the reverse direction.





    Now on the inside of the loco I place a little plastic cement glue where the fibre exits the loco shell to secure them in place. I then cut a length of 2mm heat shrink about 20mm long and slip this onto each of the fibre lengths and leave for the moment.



    Next I take my LEDs which I get from Evans Designs in the US. I use his because the color grade between all the LEDs is very uniform which is a issue I have had with other LEDs. They also come pre-wired and with resistor wired in. The other handing thing is that the wire that he uses is a single strand wire which is form-able and makes installing them handy.
    I take the LED and using thin pliers carefully put the LED at a right-angle the the wire and then feed the LED into the heat shrink around the fibre all the way till it is up against the fibre fully. Using the tip of the soldering iron (also holding the LEDs in place with my hand on the feeder wires) shrink the heat shrink down and this locks the LED to the fibre and holds everything in place. When the heat shrink is still warm I just with my finger or the tip of a flat-head screw driver push down on it where the wires leave the heat shrink and this help lock it all in.





    Here are some shots of the final result. The LEDs are pretty bright here and I turn them down a tad.





    Next stop is the weathering......
  15. cooley_boy
    Operation SD70 is a go!!!
    I currently have 6 of these iconic US locomotives and with UP owning in the region of 1200 of these locos I could just just keep going but the wallet says other wise.
     
    Either way I am now in the process of getting all of these harmonised with the same Tsunami2 sound decoders, LED upgraded lighting with a new Technique and weathered.
     
    Currently all of them now have the decoders installed and speakers fitted using a 52 x 16 speaker mounted in the space above the decoder. in the hood.
     
    They are now all fitted with the LEDs par one but here are some pictures of the process.
     
    I first start by removing the factory fitted bulbs or previous retro fitted LEDs and then slightly widen the holes to 1.5mm using an appropriate 1.5mm drill bit and using a slow speed on my dremel. I do this with care so as not to over drill the holes.
     

     

     
    I then take my 1.5mm thick Fibre Optic and cut a length of about 15mm or 1/2" and then I bevel one end of the fibre by slowly waving it close to the tip of a hot soldering iron allowing the heat from the iron to soften the end of the fibre. The fibre will naturally form into a lens like curve which will form the detail end of the fibre looking like the lens of the headlight.
     

     

     
    The next step is to feed the fibre into the hole for the headlight pushing it all the way down so that the bevelled end of the fibre sits in the headlight surround. Sometimes the bevel is a little too wide and will not sit down fully. In this case I just sand down the side of the fibre around the bevel edge by using a fine file and pushing the fibre along it and turning in the reverse direction.
     

     

     
    Now on the inside of the loco I place a little plastic cement glue where the fibre exits the loco shell to secure them in place. I then cut a length of 2mm heat shrink about 20mm long and slip this onto each of the fibre lengths and leave for the moment.
     

     
    Next I take my LEDs which I get from Evans Designs in the US. I use his because the color grade between all the LEDs is very uniform which is a issue I have had with other LEDs. They also come pre-wired and with resistor wired in. The other handing thing is that the wire that he uses is a single strand wire which is form-able and makes installing them handy.
    I take the LED and using thin pliers carefully put the LED at a right-angle the the wire and then feed the LED into the heat shrink around the fibre all the way till it is up against the fibre fully. Using the tip of the soldering iron (also holding the LEDs in place with my hand on the feeder wires) shrink the heat shrink down and this locks the LED to the fibre and holds everything in place. When the heat shrink is still warm I just with my finger or the tip of a flat-head screw driver push down on it where the wires leave the heat shrink and this help lock it all in.
     

     

     
    Here are some shots of the final result. The LEDs are pretty bright here and I turn them down a tad.
     

     

     
    Next stop is the weathering......
  17. cooley_boy
    With all the KFA wagons now finally weathered it is time to make a start on the Timber loads.

    Now near where I live there is a tree species of which the bark on it branches, particularly on the outer ends, looks like pine bark.
    So I went out and found one with some dead branches on it. Collecting the dead branches are far easier and doesn't hurt the tree.

    I then break off all the parts that I want with twigs ranging from 2mm - 5mm in diameter with straight sections on them to be cut out and recreate logs of 6" to 15" in scale.

    First step is to cut them to length and then stack them. I will glue them together later and them seal them.
    I will be looking at staining them slightly just the darken the bark a bit to look more like pine.






  18. cooley_boy

    KFA Continued

    By cooley_boy,

    Having now cleaned all the bulkheads it was time to create all the verticals of which I need 210 of them and with each having 11 parts to them that ends up being 2310 components to make!!!!.
    Its a good thing I made a whole bunch of these earlier.
     

     
    Now that everything has been made it is time to paint it all...
     


  21. cooley_boy

    KFA Continued

    By cooley_boy,

    So it has been a long time since I have been doing much with my projects as life in its usual way as gone off on a tangent. Lately though I have finally had a chance to get into my scratch building projects again.
     
    Now I have been getting back into this project to make 15 KFA log carriers converted from cargowaggens. I have had the ends 3D printed and have hand built most if the stays and am now at the point of assembling the everything together.
     
    In the shots below we can see that the pints came out pretty good although they needed a lot of cleaning which was easy enough by time consuming getting all the soft resin off. Then the just get a primer paint finish.
  23. cooley_boy

    And So it Begins

    By cooley_boy,

    I have been modelling Modern US railroads for many years now mainly focusing around where I grew up in Southern California. My Grandparents live just down the road from the massive Union Pacific Colton Yard, BNSF San Bernadino Yards and so have had this imprinted on me from very young.
    Over time though, I have moved my interest up to the state of Oregon when my moms side of the family is located. Up in Oregon the Railroads have to deal with heavy snow and some of the steepest grades in the country and go through some of the most spectacular wooded scenery in the USA. The state is mainly served by Union Pacific with some action from BNSF and other small railroads with lots of Lumber produced in the state and Intermodals running from LA to Portland, OR and Seattle, WA.
     
    The question is what to model.....
    There so many areas that would make great subjects to recreate in model form.
     
    1- Cascade Summit (Brookland Sub Division)
     
    2- Columbia River Gorge (Portland Sub Division)
     
    3- Blue Mountain Pass
     
    4- Willamette Valley (Brookland Sub Division)
     
    For the longest time though I have looked at all 4 locations which is no help what so ever.
     
    For the purpose of this I will start by looking at the rolling stock and the work being done there.
     
    I will also look at each of the locations individually with the positives and negatives.
  24. cooley_boy

    KFA Continued

    By cooley_boy,

    Next step:
    Remove the factory up rights and take the wooden decks off the wagons and replace with 0.5 thick styrene sheet and spray the tops with a red brown paint to give a base coat of rusty brown for when we get to the weathering stage which will blend it all together.




  25. cooley_boy

    Shap

    By cooley_boy,

    It occurs to me that I left a few details out in what I am planning so let me add them on.
    I will be modelling in 4mm scale with a optimal layout length of 50' and width of 12' and will comprise of a folded figure 8 track plan. This will be possible as the layout will include the 1:72 gradient that Shap possesses. The fiddle yards will be under the scenic area.
    Granted the area modelled will have to be squashed a bit to get it to fit in and at present I do not have a location to build which is why I am focusing on the Rolling stock side of things. I will however work on finalising a track plan.
     
    Rolling stock wise I am working on fitting sound to all my locomotive of which I am almost there.
     
    I am working on recreating a 11-coach WCRC excursion train with Scots Gaurdsman 46115 on that duty.
    In regards to this I have modified a Bachmann BSK MK1 Coach to be the support coach for this train. Just like to really thing I have blocked up 2 windows on either side and added the roller doors to either side. Now just waiting for good weather to give it a as-close-as WCRC paint job.
     

     
    Also most of the way through creating a 15 car KFA Timber train as used by Colas.
    These just need weathering and loads which I will show through my other blog - KFA continued
     

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