Friday, January 30, 2015

Complicating Model Railroad Operations

Here's a cute trick for complicating model railroad operations. Last year, James McNab saw a tank car appear on the Iowa Interstate, the short line railroad he models. The tank car sat around for three days, then disappeared. James figured out it was a misrouted car that wasn't supposed to come to the Iowa Interstate. It sat around for a couple days, getting in the way, until folks could figure out where to send it.

James thought this was a nice way to complicate operations on his model railroad of the same track. He now occasionally places a misrouted tank car on the layout, and warns crews either to "leave it alone" or bring it back to the yard. It's a quick and easy way to complicate operations. For folks modeling the 1970's (or perhaps even the 1930's), a siding full of idle freight cars might be another way to increase the puzzle challenge of operations.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Hart Convertible Gondola (SP W-50-3): Another Sneak Preview

Yep, it's time for another sneak preview of my Hart convertible gondolas, printed on the Form One 3d printer.

Did I mention that I'd figured out how to print five gondolas at once?

The painted cars here are the first version of the design; the cars in back have the hopper doors closed. I've printed got a second version of this model with even more detail. It's now a race - will I have enough "good enough" cars that I won't bother to get the design perfect?

I've got an article on these models ready to go, but I'd like to do a couple good paint jobs and decal one of these models before sharing more.