Great looking pair
Whats on the agenda now?
HC
Great looking pair
Whats on the agenda now?
HC
As soon as the Surry parkers are done and photographed together (to prove that I was insane enough to build two) unit #1 gets installed in Terrapin, just below that spar tree, to skid logs from next to the big donkey, up to the landing and load them. I'm going to rig the two lines on the tower together through pullies , so when one line is pulled with a log or logs, the other will be return from the loader back to the logs
On the locomotive front I have a mantua 2-6-6-2 that I'm trying to get to run well enough to use at the club. Out of the box it had extremely poor electical pick up. I've made some improvements, but at the cost of tractive effort. I need to go back to the drawing board. I've decieded it was a waste of precious modeling funds , after buying a sound decoder (MRC sheer brilliace- which sounds no where as good as QSI sound , and time spent on modificatiions I'm still not pleased with; for a few more dollars I could have gotten another proto 2000 USRA 0-6-0, that looks sounds and runs better without tweeking. oh well live and learn, or in my case just live.
I also have a Bachman GE 70 tonner which when my wheels from NWSL get here I'm going to convert to HON3 following an article in last july's MRC. It is going to go to the club, and the MDC 2-8-0 that has been living there can come back home to Iorn Mountain. I also have an HON3 outside frame 2-6-2T that I'm trying to get a centering spring on the trailing truck. I have solved some electical and mechanical problems in this locomotive, and If I can keep it from derailing when backing up through switches, it will be reliable for the first time ever (it's over 30 years old, and is on it's 4th known owner).
At the club I'm getting ready to start glueing ties at the sawmill complex, getting ready to handlay track, and give lessons to anyone inclined to learn that arcane art. the track there is pretty sinmple, with just four # 6 switches, but the siddings will extend way beyond the backdrop so that the car capacity will be huge. When we get done with the track Tom and I can start putting the mill together.
At my home layout, I'm giving a lot of thought to working behind Harlow. I'd like to put a dock in for my steamboat. I have experimented with future floor wax on the river in Harlow. It looks really good, but like the acrylic gloss medium, I can't leave the riverboat on the river, or it sticks. I may have to add a layer of epoxey water on it so I can leave the waterlined steambout on the river. I like to move the boat around, and I'd like to build a waterline barge for it to fill with logs, I could park a log train in the middle of the city, and load log cars off of the barge. It is a shame I didn't plan for this when I designed Harlow, If I'd had a sidding along the river, I could easily transfer logs, lumber, coal and iron ore off of or into barges. too late now, Harlow is too tight and too crowned to add anything not already planned for.
I do have a tannery planned above ther turntable area, and I have a lot of work I could do there. Over in Crooked creek, I sitll have a couple of code 55 rails I need to spike onto a siding to finish up the track there. I have some fine Keystone kits for a bandsaw, a sawmill carrage live rolls, cutt off saws, so I could assemble that machinery, and detail the inside of the Berghausen-Shoemaker sawmill. adding that machinery, would then be finnishing the roof (I need to add skylights, a filers loft , and lighting to show off the interior detailing.
Also Hanging from the ceiling, on the fith level in Gegoukayoosa (Cherokee for bleeding nose) I have several narrow gauge switches to install and a turntable, so the narrow gauge trains leaving Stateline GA. / Ridgemont TN. will have somewhere to go. Once I get that set up, the narrow gauge can bring logs and iron ore down to Ridgemont.
other unconected projects I have been thinking about building a samll stram tractor powered sawmill (don't know where I could put it). I have some On3 stuff I'd like to play with (a model of the 60th shay built, a tiny vertical boilererd 2 cylinfered unit) I have a Bachman On30 Climax, with DCC and sound I'd like to stretch to ON3.
as for logging equipment, I found an unbuilt kit for a Rio Grande Models American Hoist and Derric log loader. it would ride on rails on the log cars similar to a Barnhart, except Beefier. I also have a bunch of old AHM truss rod flat cars to convert to log cars.
Damn.... Nothin to do
Bill Nelson