Model Train Journal

Summer's winding down and the push to wrap up a number of house-maintenance projects is underway. Got a cord of firewood being delivered today, and there's still a fair bit of painting that needs to be finished outside. Normally I'd cut/split firewood myself, but I'm just not feeling it this year...wimping out, lol.

Finished off Carstens' suburban station this week:



A few modifications to HC's plans, primarily with regards to the platform roof's dimensions and covering, and the addition of the raised platform base. Look closely and you'll notice I butchered the flashing on the roof. Martin suggested using some copper foil for flashing, which I actually have a bit of for use on ship model hulls; I just couldn't lay my hands on it. Used some painted cardstock instead, and the dimensions are a bit off (not to mention the lapping).

So back to the 253 next.

That came out looking great. Now you need some benches with people on them.....

Are there any good sources for station benches? I’ll have to look around.

Yes, that does look really nice. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Thanks, and you too. Gonna be a blast furnace here, with forecasted temps on Monday predicted to top 100. Might be able to cook hotdogs and hamburgers on the hood of the car, lol.

healey36 wrote:Finished off Carstens' suburban station this week.

Sweet. You make paper buildings look so good, I want to try to do one.

webenda wrote:

healey36 wrote:Finished off Carstens' suburban station this week.

Sweet. You make paper buildings look so good, I want to try to do one.

There are a lot of options out there; some are simple, some quite complicated. Give it a shot.

Dennis

On the shelf in the upper part of the photo. What are those blue passenger cars, They look like prewar Lionel.?

Nice locos and trackwork, Dennis...looks like 1935 all over again.

Ran the 253's shell through the paint-booth today; now it's sitting out back baking in the sun:



I found a can of Scalecoat BNSF Green (#2079) up at Mainline last time up with Sarge. When we looked at the paint chip chart, it looked damn close to Lionel dark green, but I don't know. Sitting in the sun, it looks a bit light. We'll see. I need to flip it over and paint the inside, then it'll have to sit for a few days to cure.

Hopin' a curious squirrel doesn't come along and throw it off the table, or worse.

healey36 wrote:Sitting in the sun, it looks a bit light.

That reminds me of the red pickup truck I used to have. It was very brown under sodium parking lights.
In other words, judge the color on your workbench, not in sunlight.

Prewar Blue Comet set.

webenda wrote:

healey36 wrote:Sitting in the sun, it looks a bit light.

That reminds me of the red pickup truck I used to have. It was very brown under sodium parking lights.
In other words, judge the color on your workbench, not in sunlight.

That's a good observation, Wayne. I took a roof off one of the passenger cars and gave the inside of the roof a good scrub, figuring that would provide a decent glimpse of the original paint. I shot some of Scalecoat onto a piece of white card and compared; it looked like a close match. Maybe once this cures fully and is in some normal light, the two will match a bit more. I did not use a primer...just shot it straight onto the bare metal as recommended by Scalecoat.

The painting process for the 253's shell is complete (four coats and some time baking in the sun). It's not perfect having a bit of crazing in the paint, but it's adequate. The color is very close to the original, but has a slight blue caste to the green (apparently this is the color of C&NW green). Being more of a preservation project than an accurate restoration, it's close enough for my tastes.

I re-inventoried the parts and confirmed I have everything:



The lamps and the pantograph are reproductions from JLM, the whistle and the plates are original. I have the original pantograph, but it is so bent up I decided to replace it. I don't think I could get it bent back into shape straight enough to look decent, plus the originals don't have the bar running across the top, which looks better to me. I can always swap it out if I rework it later.

I was wondering about giving the plates a bit of a polish, but I'm concerned about the possibility of removing the black paint. I'll likely just wash them off, maybe lightly buff them, but otherwise leave them as is. Hopefully I can get them back in without breaking any tabs.

The real challenge, as I see it, will be fitting the new headlamps. These have tabs that go down through a pair of slots, which will then need to be bent over to hold them in place. The headlamp needs to fit over the handrail that should go down into a recess in the roof under the headlamp...if you don't get them down into the recess properly, they will cause the headlamp to pitch forward slightly when you mount them. Not a good look, so a bit of fiddling required. Then, of course, you need to do all of this without scratching the new paint. I figure if I'm going to break the solder joints, this is when I'll do it.

Headlamps first, then the plates, then the pantograph and whistle.

Back together and ready for another ninety-five years:



Gave the frame a good clean/polish, leaving the few dings and scrapes as is. Sarge helped with the tabs on the plates using some surgical clamps/pliers. The strap headlamps never quite fit straight due to the handrails that run underneath, leaving them with that tilted-forward look. Replacement of the pick-up assembly still needs doing, but I'll save that until I get a bit more proficient at it.

Of course now the 610/610/612 coaches look rather shabby in comparison. Might just try to polish those up.

Let the purists gnash their teeth...