Model Locomotive stuff

oops

Hi Robert, I've enjoyed your model RR posts! My Daughter Kathryn Annette, is legal guardian of her two autistic triplet brothers; James and Jeremy.

This past holiday season, they showcased a Lionel O-guage/scale oval, set up around the Christmas tree.

The set pictured below..



The Christmas-tree car stole my heart.

My kids have been "Harry Potter" followers... since the beginning. This holiday season; Lionel featured a "Hogwarts" theme-set... cha-ching.. Christmas present.



Not the vintage pieces of years past.. but what is anymore?

RSV Bob,

Quite charming collection of trains!

How did you strip the old paint? It looks like "someone" is running their own private/mini media blaster. Are you using baking soda?

Kathryn Annette, what a lovely name. Has a certain French ring to it. Leslie Caron of movie fame comes to mind, An American in Paris with Gene Kelly.

Nice Christmas tree picture. The Polar Express plays well over on the Model Train Forum at Christmas and many there have modeled it.

Media blasted Jim with aluminum oxide, mostly powder now the sharp edges removed by blasting many MG parts. I need to get to Harbor Depot and replace it.



Pictured when I got it. Well faded and abused now, but it works.

rsv1cox wrote:Kathryn Annette, what a lovely name.  Has a certain French ring to it.  Leslie Caron of movie fame comes to mind, An American in Paris with Gene Kelly.  

Thank you Robert. She's a lovely young lady.

Very nice, and another great rescue.

And now on another note.... About this simulated coal thing. How do you guys make it? Just a mix of water or alcohol and white glue? Even though I am not into the train thing completely, I find watching these posts very intriguing and interesting. Making me think more every day. But, unfortunately, space is a problem....

Yes space is a problem for me too , i am still considering getting some small HO at some time so i can set it up and run I don't know if i could repair the trains the way Bob does , he really does some Good restoring

I had (and still have..)aspirations to build an "N-gauge" layout for inside a glass-top coffee table. There is the matter of routing the electricity.. unless a table was custom made to fit up against a wall.. possibly in-between two chairs; perhaps in a den-room. Implement a "Works in a Drawer" (remember Quasar TV's?) design for below the layout-floor, to house transformers, fuses and switch wiring. Include a large bottom-drawer with dividers for alternate rolling-stock, scenery-changes.. accessories. That could actually be done in a studio apartment if you really wanted a model railroad layout with minimum space to work with.

NEW222 wrote:Very nice, and another great rescue.

And now on another note.... About this simulated coal thing. How do you guys make it? Just a mix of water or alcohol and white glue? Even though I am not into the train thing completely, I find watching these posts very intriguing and interesting. Making me think more every day. But, unfortunately, space is a problem....

Someone on the MTF recommended 50/50 70% alcohol and white glue (Elmer's).  I tried it and thought it to thick to spray.  Cut it with some water and dish detergent, worked well, but wound up using the thicker mixture in the bottom of the bottle dripped onto the coal.  



Tried again to decal it Levent with no luck, edges curl in fact the whole thing curls into a cylinder.  

For $13.50 it's a dandy runner. Can I say "dandy"......

There are pictures of an enclosed coffee table N layout roddie, something should turn up in a search.

Edit add:  Found it, lots of them.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=ulgyXHCQ&id=9E5D46FB9EA2D5C03BB96FCC5558CE6B1027423F&thid=OIP.ulgyXHCQ5OooVxpKStD6sgHaEF&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fc1.staticflickr.com%2F5%2F4589%2F39512791482_4827950763_b.jpg&exph=564&expw=1024&q=coffee+table+n+gauge+layout&simid=608044250135924524&ck=6D503B92810F31C4BE8257FBCAEBED90&selectedindex=0&form=IRPRST&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&sim=11

Bob,
What's with the primer grey on all the trains?

944_Jim wrote:Bob,
What's with the primer grey on all the trains?

Final coat.  Many locomotives where gray.



I debated, really wanted to do it satin black but my fictional road name VA Line diesels are gray so I stayed with it.

Reason #2 -  I had a lot of gray paint.  

It's a 2-8-0 Pacific, very popular engine in the 30's/40's hauling freight and passengers.  Doesn't know it yet but it's going to be Pennsylvania RR as my VA Line decals are err.............crap.

Bob,
Do you have a tabletop pike? I'd love to see pictures. That 4-8-8-4 has got to look fabulous with a 15-20 car train behind it. Minimum radius has to be something like 26"-28".

Are you running DCC, or analog?
I'll try to snap one or two of mine.

944_Jim wrote:Bob,
Do you have a tabletop pike? I'd love to see pictures. That 4-8-8-4 has got to look fabulous with a 15-20 car train behind it. Minimum radius has to be something like 26"-28".

Are you running DCC, or analog?
I'll try to snap one or two of mine.

Oh, oh Jim..........you opened the door.  

Just DC, simple layout with Atlas track and switches.  My enjoyment is buying old abused locomotives and fixing them up, not landscaping as you can see.  













Many of these pictures I have posted here before.  Mostly repaired locomotives.  New in the box locomotives are in the Bureau and desk drawers.

One day I may convert a few to DCC that aren't already.

Bob, you can try this: Thin the glue stick a little with water and brush it on locomotive, then apply water slide decal. Don't thin too much, only make it as honey consistency. I tried this on wood, it works.

Levent Suberk wrote:Bob, you can try this: Thin the glue stick a little with water and brush it on locomotive, then apply water slide decal. Don't thin too much, only make it as honey consistency. I tried this on wood, it works.

Thanks Levent, I will give it a try.

But, I have a new problem, commercial decals are just falling apart. Old maybe.





I don't know, i have done this for years with no problems until recently.

What primer do you use? Brand and type?

Levent Suberk wrote:What primer do you use? Brand and type?

It's not primer Levent, Krylon gloss classic gray.  All of these are recent water slide decals commercial (Pennsylvania) using Krylon paint as the base.

Bob, use lukewarm water for decals, not hot or not cold water. Perhaps decals are old or immersed in hot water, so they torn. I think that thinned glue stick can solve that problem.

Gloss painted surface is OK.

Good suggestion Levent.

I had been using cold water right out of the tap. Switched to warm and it worked much better, but still had tearing. Worked on the smaller decals but the long thin ones tear so easy. But I didn't have a problem with these that I did some time ago, probably out of the same decal sheet.



I will try to add PENNSYLVANIA later.

Bob, before cutting decal, spray a mist of clear UV resistant Krylon coat. That coat thickens the decal so it doesn't tear.

Levent Suberk wrote:Bob, before cutting decal, spray a mist of clear UV resistant Krylon coat. That coat thickens the decal so it doesn't tear.

I wish it were so Levent, but that's my standard procedure on all decals.

Bob, my flying buddy Dan is a big HO train guy. He pulls them out every year after Thanksgiving and has them set up to the end of this month. He had some Ambroid car kits. He did a beautiful job of assembling and painting them. They were very realistic and it looks very challenging to build them to the level he did. He's also a big brass train guy. The brass engines he has are painted due to the amount of solder used to hold them together would look unsightly if left polished. However, he does have some polished ones. He never bought them new, he would buy basket cases, take them all apart, he would make axles, wheels and whatever was needed on his lathe and totally rebuild them. A real labor of love. Ken