Ray's layout party#6

[Art67]

Ray, that motive power sure is sharp. Steeple cabs, critters, puddle jumpers, great variety and modeling. Look forward to seeing more. Stuart.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

I started making the railings for a Model Power RS11.
The stanchion pieces are formed from steel wire, the railing is .015" brass wire.
The steel stantions were tinned, taped to a piece of cardboard and soldered.
A drawing is used as a guide to bend the railings.

 

[TomPM]

Great work! I am amazed how people can work with making railings. My G-scale fingers keep getting in the way when I try.

 

[Will_annand]

Looks great Ray, you are doing some fine work there. :thumb:

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

I'm doing a motor transplant on a P2K E8 I picked up for $20.
The frame and weight were milled to fit the Mabuchi RS-365-SH
The stock P2K flywheels fit with no modifications.

 

[RailRon]

Ray, your energy for doing conversions is awe-inspiring!

May I ask you a question?
Do you make your conversions DCC-ready, i.e. do you insulate the motor case against the chassis? If yes, how do you fix the motor in place without making alectrical contact? Do you use some sort of glue (epoxy?) or do you put a plastic foil in between?

TIA, Ron

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

Thanks Ron,
Most of the conversions are DCC ready so to speak. The motor leads are isolated . The motor housings are usually isolated from the frame so motor vibrations are not transmitted to the frame.
Sometimes only silicone sealer is used or double sided tape is used along with the silicone.

 

[RailRon]

Thank you Ray!
Double sided tape - although I have that stuff in my desk I didn't even think about it, silly me! ops:ops:ops:
I'll give it a try...:thumb:

Ron

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

I've made some progress with the Model Power RS11 hand railings.
I also got the SW7 chassis together and running.
I milled the frame out and fit the larger Athearn motor into it.
The original Athearn driveshafts were replaced with spring couplings and the trucks were hardwired to the motor.
I also soldered wires from the axle bearings to the trucks and installed nickle silver wheels.
I milled .010" off the coupler mounting pad and drilled and tapped a hole 7/32" from the front and mounted #30 series KD couplers on both the cow and calf.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

I finally installed the grade crossings at the mine area and at the junction on the other side of the bridge.
I plan to put a station platform there and a backdrop town.

 

[TrainClown]

That's real cool, Ray. but doesn't the "oil can" effect come in to play with those springs in the drive train? I'm curious about that. Why not replace the springs with surgical tubing or something else like that? Did it come with springs from the factory?

Always wanting to know,

TrainClown

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

Chris,
The spring drive shafts are something I copied from an N scale Life/Like locomotive.
they work well and dosn't transmit the motor vibrations to the trucks. To light a spring would give that effect. The surgical tubing would work.

 

[zedob]

Ray, I like that road. The material you used looks great.:thumb:

Yeah, I've never seen a spring used in place of tubing or a universal, on a model loco before. Interesting.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

Ray, I like that road. The material you used looks great.:thumb:

Thanks zebob, I used cork sheet painted black and weathered.

 

[XavierJ123]

Man, I really like your scenery. There are so many different ways to make it look and you make it look just great. I especially admire your trees because they have "multi" limbs. I have used sedum and capias but I still don't think they look as realistic as yours. I thought of taking some multi twisted wire and try that the next time. I live in Kentucky and it's still cold this time of year with no leaves on the trees so it's a great time to study tree structure. I am trying to figure out how to get the skeleton to look like the winter trees.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

Man, I really like your scenery. There are so many different ways to make it look and you make it look just great. I especially admire your trees because they have "multi" limbs. I have used sedum and capias but I still don't think they look as realistic as yours. I thought of taking some multi twisted wire and try that the next time. I live in Kentucky and it's still cold this time of year with no leaves on the trees so it's a great time to study tree structure. I am trying to figure out how to get the skeleton to look like the winter trees.

Thanks,
I have tried the twisted wire method for tree armatures. It works great but is time consuming.
I used different weeds and bush branches I found in the fields in this area. I'm not sure what most of them are called.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

Here's an update on a few of the projects.
I have got most of the pilot details on the RS11. I still need to add the MU recepticles and drop step. I am also modifying the fuel tank.
I finally got the clear coat on the Lionel Husky and the Hustler boxcab.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

I recently finished the AHM Alco 1000 and a few other projects.
CR#8137 is an Athearn GP38-2 that I added some extra detail to and touched up the paint job.
I got the paint and decals on the Model Power RS11. I need to add windows, headlight lenses and a lighting circuit and some weathering.
The Bachmann BN caboose project is painted and decalled. I have to fabricate the end railings and mount the trucks and couplers.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

These are a couple of N scale cabooses I painted.
The BN is a Bachmann and the Pennsy is an old Arnold.

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

This N scale Atlas SD45 got a nose job.
The short hood got melted by the light bulb.. Sections were cut out, replaced, body worked and the repaired panels were painted.