Godzilla-Board!

     Having disposed of the "surf-board" benchwork of the first attempt at realizing the T&D, I cast about for the right place to begin anew, and at home. Listening to some of the recent MRR podcasts, I heard someone (Terry Terrance, if I'm not mistaken) muse on the possibility of making your own heavy duty Gatorboard. Since I have the materials readily available, I decided to experiment. The result you see below.

     While it's not proper extruded polystyrene, the foam dollhouse packing that I recycle is tight enough to hold up under a number of modeling situations. The standard thickness is 1 1/8" and the sizes vary greatly. I selected three matched blocks and lined them up to form a 16" x 39" slab.  I cut code 80 chipboard (available and affordable at the art supply store) for the laminate, and spread an even coat of yellow carpenter's glue over the entire surface. Laid flat on the floor, I set my drawing boards on top (to spread the weight evenly) and loaded up my 2 foot stack of MR magazines, plus lots of books, then called it a night and went to bed. Next morning, I did the same for the other side, and tonight my home-made Godzilla-board is ready to go!

     While the surface is sturdy, you could dent it with a knee or elbow. With my drawing board flat on top on top, I actually sat on the pile of magazines with no hint of compression. The whole slab weighs a pound or two, but I suspect it will lighten up a bit as the glue moisture works its way out of the chipboard (which feels slightly cool, as that's where the water went.) It's as flat as my hardwood floor, which is as flat as I need it to be, and perfectly rigid. I plan to use it as the baseboard upon which I will build everything else. No holes or openings are planned, as wiring etc. will be built into successive layers. In the end, I plan to finish the outer surfaces with chipboard, prime heavily with acrylic gesso, and paint in some sort of faux finish to suggest rusty steel.

     But first things first! The slab dictates the dimensions, so my mini-layout now has a specified area. Since I can't model a whole railroad, I'll focus on one scene from the T&D. This is my favorite part of the process, figuring out a track plan, designing the scenery, and fitting it to the narrative. There's room for a few switches, maybe a runaround, and a structure or two. With a layout this small there's no reason not to spike every tie, weather every board, and detail every figure.

     I drool with anticipation =)

Unofficially Official

Bigger than the U.S. Capitol rotunda!

     It appears that I will soon be moving to a new workplace, above ground, in an executive office. I've seen the workspace for my group (which is still being corralled) and it's nice. View of the City Hall rotunda, brand new Mac computers, carpet, water cooler, and for once in my life, I won't be overdressed. Hooray!

     Unfortunately, it means that the Topdown & Drywater Railroad, as it currently exists (in the benchwork stage) must be abandoned. The shakeup comes at a good time, before I have spiked a single rail, and having laid only a few strips of cork roadbed. I did learn a lot about fine-tuning grades, so the experience is far from a loss. Besides, it was fun! And the fun doesn't stop just because I'm shifting digs. So I will take the 8' shelf layout to the junk heap (they have a great junk heap out back of the toy shop) and I will take myself downtown!

     So what's to become of The Delirium Route? It will simply have to be realized in a smaller space, that's all. I can manage a smaller shelf on a foamcore base, something that can be moved around the apartment and stood up in the closet when needed. I'm sticking with HO, so I can continue to build my roster as I have begun. I think I'll focus on operations at the Topdown Delirium Mine No. 3, and include some switching in the Drywater yard. I've been re-visiting Carl Arendt's Micro Layouts Website for inspiration, and there is much to be found.

     Another benefit to the shake-up is that I will receive a substantial pay raise. In future, the T&D will be much better funded. Not that that means bright and shiny new engines--far from it. Dilapidation and unchecked rust will still be the uniform of the day.

Live Rust!

     It occurred to me that although I can't copy the "Best-Ever Photo Of A Rusty Locomotive" due to the photographer's chosen settings on Flickr, there's absolutely no reason why I can't provide a link to the photo in its home location. And so, here it is!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joorgawt/3162865216

Hopefully, this respects the photographer's wishes, which I fully support, while providing me with an easy shortcut to the photo any time I need a reference. Not that I'm using it as a "prototype," (it's a really different engine,) but I really love the rust patterns and colors. Great shot, Mr. Photographer!

Rust Never Sleeps

I'm having fun planning the rusty finish on my tank engine, searching out photos, and thinking just how I can best approach the task. In my navy days, I spent hundreds of hours combating rust with scrapers, wire brushes, pneumatic tools, and lead based primer. Rust was the insidious enemy, that gradually ate away our ship! So it's with feelings of mischievous transgression that I conspire to rust my locomotive.

     This is not the best photo I've found (that one is fiercely copyrighted) but it has many of the qualities I'm looking for. I love the combination of white oxidation, remaining traces of paint, and lots of rust. I'm thinking I'll use a more orange rust, and add considerable blue to the black, thus setting up a complementary contrast that will make both colors blaze with life. Maybe I'll show evidence of recent attempts at restoration, such as polished bare-metal, or freshly painted patches. A spectrum of (bare metal / rusted metal / pure rust / paint clinging to rust / rust under paint / solid paint) seems like a good palate. Once I get finished filing the body shell, I'll start rusting!

     In other hobby news, my Fast Tracks order finally arrived! Looking forward to building my first turnout, but first things first. Rust never sleeps!

Express From Lyon

     It's been a while since I've played with my trains. Big things happening in "life" right now have intruded into my placid world of  chuffing choo-choos, and diverted all my energy and attention. Not to worry, as it's all good. This week I'm interviewing for a nifty new job!

     But a care package has arrived from Tom Brown over in Lyon, France. Tom read my earlier post about missing out on the little Mantua camelback, and offered to send me an extra one he had lying around. Even gave me a choice of which of a group I preferred! So here you see the latest addition to the Delirium Route stable, a spectacular, like-new, Mantua camelback. It's a beautiful engine, nicely weighted, and appears to be wired for DCC, based on the bundle of wires running between it the tender.

     I'll designate her Delirium #3, as the caboose is #1 and the tank engine #2. I doubt I'll have the nerve to try weathering her yet, better to wait until I've had practice finishing and weathering the tank engine. She has great details too, with metal handrails, directional lights, and a brass bell. Thanks to Tom for his generous gift, which is greatly appreciated and will be thoroughly enjoyed! In appreciation, I will be sending him some "transfer traffic" in the form of a T&D car to run on his On30 layout. It will be my first time building anything as large as that, and I'm relishing the idea of unlimited potential for detail. In O scale, I can build board by board, stain and weather to my heart's content, and do all the lettering by hand. And since it will have a place to run, it won't just sit idle on a shelf.

     Regarding the possibility of a new job, I am slightly torn on one account. Leaving my basement workbench means abandoning my current layout plans for the Delirium Route. On the other hand, it's consolation if I should end up staying. Should I be moving on, I will follow the example of our Prof Klyzlr, and go micro! Foam blocks, kitchen cabinet magnets, I have an abundance of great ideas to draw upon. No room for an eight-foot surfboard in my apartment, but a couple of sections that go together? I can work it out =)

Heavy Metal

     All during tonight's call-in Model Rail Radio show, when I wasn't typing, talking, or going out for a burger, I was happily filing away at the steam chest on my new engine kit. What was a lump of dull gray metal with flashing and mold marks all around is becoming smooth, bright, and shiny. In fact, it's hard for me to believe that Zamak (the zinc alloy used by Mantua) polishes up this brightly with just a file and a brass brush, but here's testimony. It's good, solid, metal that takes filing very well. And I'm even happier to find out that this alloy is immune to "zinc pest," which plagues and destroys early zinc castings. So three cheers for the New Jersey Zinc Company for their contribution to quality die cast trains! And if you should be thinking about bidding on older Mantua kits on eBay, I recommend them highly, based on this experience.

     Here you see a close-up from the original picture I took of the pieces. The sole plate is next on my list, especially the flat surface where it mates with the chassis. Brass bearings drop in, and everything gets bolted together . . . but I'm getting ahead of myself. Then again, I'm already thinking about how I want to paint it! Engine black? Faded, weathered, gray? Or do I want to go the rust route?

     I saw a picture in one of my magazines (and I'll find it again someday) of an engine entirely done in bright orange rust, as if had been polished bare, then left out in the rain for a week. The effect was amazing, and I'm tempted to try it. The metal on the sides of the boiler and tanks shows some surface imperfections that I cannot file down without razing rivets, and they look a little like corrosion marks that rusting might make. Besides, it would be fun to have a "forgotten" old soldier from a competitor railroad alongside the regular company engine.

     Bottom line: if everybody does it a certain way, then I'm strenuously tempted to do the other thing. Since I was a kid, that's how I roll. And anyway, for me it's all about having fun. But can I bring myself to do it? Build a bright polished engine, then rust it all up?  We shall see.

New Engine!

     I just opened my latest eBay treasure: an old Mantua "Little Six" 0-6-0T kit, still in its box! All the little bits are still in their baggies, and the metal die cast is solid and clean. As if that's not good enough, I got it for almost the opening bid. Yay!

     For those unfamiliar (as I was until today) this little guy weighs a ton. The boiler is hollowed out to clear the worm gear, but the side tanks are solid metal. There's flash all over everything, which makes me drool with anticipation at the thought of all the filing I have to look forward to.

     There is one thing conspicuously absent: the instructions. I'm not too worried, as I'm a pretty smart cookie when it comes to things mechanical. I can pick out what most of the bits are without opening the bags. The valve gear looks a little imposing, so I may consult the council of Jedi masters for advice when that time comes. For now, I have plenty of prep work to do until then.

Click to enlarge!

     Although I've been absorbed in non-train related activities lately, my hands have not been entirely idle. I turned a little barrel and a couple more jugs for the spirit wagon. I even managed to carve a little bung for the brown jug on the far right. Turning the barrel was easy, but the test will come in the detailing. How much detail can I reasonably paint on? Hoops and staves? Recessed ends? We will see. I'm thinking it will be best used as a chair or in a pile, and get some nice castings to use center-stage. It just doesn't hold up next to the jugs.

     But getting back to new engines, I have more wonderful news on that front. Since it's a good story, I'm planning to tell it live on on our Saturday night call-in session. Looking forward to chatting with the gang, so I hope you all can make it =)