HOn3 locomotive shops

S class said:
Sorry bill but did you re-gauge the puffing billy* loco? by rights the loco should be HOn30 or HOn2-1/2 instead of HOn3 as the prototype ran on 2'6" track or is that how it came from the factory?.

Btw there are people I know of who would love to buy that sort of loco off you if it could be re-gauged back into HOn30

*The actual name is the VR nA class tank.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Railways_NA_class
Click to expand...


I'm not crazy enough to try to re-gauge an outside frame locomotive, this one was imported as an Hon3 locomotive I am unaware of who the builder or importer was though, as I am at least the fourth owner, and the Box wasn't with it. They were very close to a stock Baldwin design.



This is the flip side of the coin for the models of 3 foot gauge stuff that have shown up in HON30 I guess.


Bill Nelson
 
the 0-4-2 is in pieces, with the painted pards soaking in brake fluid. the paint is mostly gone.


I got an Email from Caboose hobbies, and my Blackstone c-19 with sound, is about to ship!


Bill Nelson
 
Brake fluid always safe and at least partially effective on brass. one must be very careful with it around plastic.

often times it works very well on a Q tip to remove factory lettering.

with the introduction of a sound locomotive to the HOn3. I may rewire the HON3 in such a way that allows it to be operated separately as a DCC, or integrated to the DCC of the layout, as the diesel is dual mode DC, and the Ci19 will have DCC & sound.

the dual mode locomotives run so much better on DCC, as well as allowing better control over the sounds.


the guys on the HOn3 chat list say they are loud!


BILL NELSON
 
SMLA-1 0-4-2 nw pnt #1.jpg Test fitting.

I am test fitting some of the parts of my Baldwin 0-4-2 after painting.

The cylinder saddle has had some repairs made to it, and has yet to be painted, the headlight and bracket are new, and need to be painted as well.

I will probably remove the cow catcher, and install a KD # 14, and a home made freight pilot


the flash has altered the colors some the satin black paint doesn't look quite that shiny, and the greens and reds appear darker . still some random touching up needed as well.

Bill Nelson
 
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The red wood rack needs to go, I'll try green. years ago this locomotive was in passenger service. I think the cow catcher will go in favor of a frieght pilot. this may work on the little isolated track at the ore transfer, and it definately needs a micro layout, possibly inside a radius that the Blackstone c-19 can negotiate.


Bill Nelson
 
Blackstone C-19

The C-19 is on the premises, and is a beautiful locomotive. I don't have it un packed yet, no room on the work bench. definitely need to clean up the work bench

Bill Nelson

Ps.

I started another thread with a review of the Backstone C-19, so it would not be buried in this thered. this thread didnot fit, as there is nothing I can find mechanically that needs to be done to the C-19. An expensive locomotive, but very reasonable when compared to brass prices, since it has comparable, or better detail, a excelent running mechanism, and very good sound factory installed!
 
SMLA-1 Labelle coachesa-1a.jpg SMLA-1 C-19 @ SG br.jpg SMLA-1 C-19 a1.jpg C-19 & Labelle Coaches

It has been a while since I have posted on the narrow gauge end. I have started another Labelle HOn3 coach, this one a model of the Parlor car Alamossa, which is notable as it has an open platform on one end, and a vestibule on the other. the car sides are on the workbench in front of a Florence & Cripple creek combine (No longer in production in in HOn3, although they make it in On3) and a slightly kitbashed D&RGW coach ( the oval windows were my addition.

I'm going to build up the parlor car, and hope to add a short RPO car as well to make a four car train to go behind My Blackstone C-19. speaking of Blackstone, they are now selling HOn3 passenger trucks that are awesome. for a while no good rolling options were available after the horizon hobby folks discontinued all of the MDC HOn3 trucks. the Blackstone passenger trucks roll as well as the MDC trucks did, and have a lot more detail.


When I paint the parlor car I will un weather the coach and combine to make them varnish worthy of the C-19. the labelle cars have lived at the club, I seriously doubt they would go around the 16 inch radius return loop in Gegokayoosa


The other photos show the c-19 with a hon3 combine that was kitbashed by cutting down a MDC HO standard gauge shorty Overton coach,
 
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SMLA-1 Labelle car sides.jpg car sides

I have the car sides ready. I shot them with spray paint, this is as much a sealant as anything else, I will touch up the color with acrilics at the same time I de-emphasize the weathering on my other labelle coaches to brig them back into shape for the Varnish.
 
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SMLA-1 vestibule#1.jpg SMLA_1opn pltfm end#1.jpg SMLA_1opn pltfm end#2.jpg I have been working on my Labelle woodworking Co hon3 parlor car Alamossa kit. I got the car sides done, and shot with the first round of paint. it is spray paint, not exactly the right color, but close. It will seal the wood to help prevent warpage, and give me a good base for the final coat of acrylics.

This is an odd car, as it has an open platform on one end, and a vestibule on the other . The prototype was built as an open platform coach, and was later rebuilt into a parlor car. This is the first Labelle kit I have built with a vestibule. The drawings are isometric, so I really had to pay attention.

this will be my third Labelle Hon3 car, I have a florence & cripple creek combine, that is no longer in production, and an open platform coach that had a little kitbashing done to it (the oval windows at the bathrooms) to separate it from the D&RGW prototype. I'd like to get a short RPO car to add to this string, that will look really good behind my C-16 or C-19. I have put new Blackstone passenger trucks on these cars. the trucks roll very well, and have better detail than the old MDC passenger car trucks, that looked ok, and rolled very well. they used to be the best option available until Horizon hobbies discontinued them. thankfully Blackstone has stepped up with a better (although more expensive) option.


Bill Nelson
 
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SMLA-1 pntd wndwsls.jpg I have gotten the windows painted brown. I still need to paint some stripwood brown, and add door trim to define the vestibule door locations. the brown window trim was not original to my scheme, but when Dr tom located the built Florence and Cripple Creek combine at a train show, and pointed it out to me, it was painted brown, and lettered for the Bonanza and Rawhide railroad.

It had full interior, very well done, and window glazing. the window glazing would have made repainting it to the State line railroad's green very tricky, and with the full interior, removing the glazing for repainting would have been too much work. I simplified the process by painting the window sills brown on my existing coach, and painting everything but the windowsills on the combine.

I spray painted the roof tan, both for the interior color, and for some priming. with these Labelle kits, the trickiest thing is sanding the milled roofing to the proper curve at the ends. the instructions have good templates, I usually end up doing it mainly by eye.

On the roof I still need to fashion some curved boards to carry the overhang on the celestory through the end curves. then there are some vertical elements to add along the celestory windows, and I have to figure out where the roof vents for the kerosene lamps need to go (the drawings in the kit don't show, and the interior set up as a parlor car will make it different from the coaches).

I will also need to paint and attach the platform , and the other bolster (the bolsters are integral to the platform castings so the one for the vestibule side I cut down to provide the bolster, and the coupler pad. the holes in the bolsters for the truck mouting screws, and for the coupler pads have been drilled and tapped, and holes have been drilled for the truss rods; so with the under carriage just needs to have parts painted and installed.


of that project assembling the couplers will be the toughest job. It is hard to assemble HOn3 couplers with the jig, and nearly impossible without it, I have already shot 2/3rds of the parts for one coupler halfway across the room. That is reminiscent of what, my old cohort Jeff, the transmission mechanic called a Jesus Clip.


folks would ask "Why is it called that?", and Jeff would say" When you take it off, He is the only one who knows where it lands."

Unfourtunately my green acrylic paint is at the club, so I can't touch up the new car, and deempasize the weathering on the other two till after monday night.
 
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Pretty Parlor Project

Bill,

The parlor car is coming along nicely. I like the roof line you did and I liked the story of A Jesus Clip.

Good Work. Happy Easter.

Dr Tom
 
I have been enjoying this build as well, although these cars likely will not go around the 17 inch radius return loop at gegokayoosa, also since there isn't room to store them in the Georgia staging, they are prety useless on my home layout.


that is why the coach and combine have lived at the club, where without a return loop , or even a destination for the narrow gauge, they are likewise about useless.


That said they look great behind may C-16 or my C-19. The C-16 hasn't been run much since I got the C-19 with sound, so maybe the C-16 and this train might inhabit a shelf somewhere, until I can build some small portable HOn3 layout that will allow these cars to roll. even if I do my big rebuild, unless I add another larger return loop, Gegokayoosa is the only destination.
 
I sure hope you don't mind me posting in this section. Your craftsmanship is outstanding. There are many tips here that are good to see written down. Brake fluid on a Q-Tip can do wonders. I used this technique back when I had an electronics repair shop and VCR's cost $1000 dollars! Revitalizing rubber with brake Fluid is a great thing. It works on the slave cylinder on the clutch of my MG too. Just put it in a container and let it swell up a big, and you get a perfect seal.

I think the platforms on these trains gave wealthy people a way of safely looking at a town, standing outside , but within the safety of the train. Then of course, it may have served as a latrine, which is something to be not seen on these trains, and makes you wonder. :)
 
SMLA-1 prlrcr w trks & cplrs.jpg trucks and couplers on the parlor car

I got trucks and couplers on the parlor car, thank the lord for KD's hon3 coupler assembly jig, which make assembling the KD hon3 couplers merely frustrating . this time I got a pair of couplers built only loosing one coupler shank bottom half, a coupler spring, and the coupler draft box to half. the pieces of the coupler shank and draft gear will probably re surface someday, that spring might as well be on Jupiter.

in the photo the parlor car is in front of the Blackstone C-19, a very fine locomotive.

I still have some work to do on the roof before it gets painted black, and some touch up on the green coach body, and the brown trim, then it will be glazing for the window, after which I will need to decide if I'll do interior detail. The Combine has full interior detail, but the coach has none, so If I do this car, I'll need to do the coach as well. the Blackstone trucks have electrical pick up on them so if I did interior detail on the parlor car and coach, then lighting on all three would make sense too.


Nelson
 
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SMLA-1 reversing time.jpg un aging

as I'm working to get the new parlor car to match the existing combine and coach that are to weathered for my current taste, I am drybrushing all of the cars with acrylic paint from the craft store (hunter Green) which looks close enough to Pullman green for my eye.

Just less than half of the coach has been dry brushed with the hunter green. it looks like it may take two rounds of dry brushing with green to un do the weathering, which is no longer appropriate, since my era has migrated from 1948 back to the boom times of 1928.


Nelson
 
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The last two sets of pictures display some incredibly beautifully crafted cars and engine. This is the best of the best! :)
 
The locomotive, a Balckstone C-19 with DCC and sound is the first Hon3 locomotive I have ever had that did not need any mechanical or cosmetic work. It is factory with DCC and sound, and since Blackstone is a division of Soundtrax, the factory installed tsunami is very well integrated with the locomotive. the locomotive runs much better on DCC than on the DC mode, so I may have to get a basic DCC system to take full advantage of this fine locomotive, and it's available sounds. the only downside of the locomotive is it is not as stout as my similarly sized Westside C-16 with a locodoc conversion motor, a composite locomotive can't be packed with lead like a brass locomotive can.

Blackstone also sells very finely detailed RTR freight and passenger cars, so for the first time ever, one can do HON3 without being a builder. their stuff isn't cheap, but the quality and detail is top notch. With Blackstone RTR has arrived to HON3 , unlike the standard gauge world, lots of rolling stock kits remain available, and most are high quality, the push for better and better detail really came out of the narrow gauge community first, and later infected the rest of the modeling world.


I have always loved these Labelle passenger car kits, it is old school milled wood technology, but very well developed and thought out, they have cars in Ho standard and anrrow gauge, and On3, a nice mix of passenger, freight, and traction kits are available; good stuff.


Bill
 
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