HO scale to On30 logging Loco Conversion

[Swordsman]

Right now the layout is a dream ..... lack of money at the wrong time ..... I thought I'd get it this month but business has been off.... it always is from when school starts to just after Thanks Giving .... I have it visualized in my Head .... I need to get it started ...... Humm Think I will ....

 

[Adam Baker]

Very cool, really enjoying this!! Some day I'd love to give a shot at building a train layout, but that's way in the future.

 

[Swordsman]

Very cool, really enjoying this!! Some day I'd love to give a shot at building a train layout, but that's way in the future.

Thanks Adam .... Well when I started in the hobby .... there was the spaghetti Jungle under the table ..... the electronics just weren't there .... now I have a digital controller that could operated 1,000 DCC engines ... all at the same time ..... the trouble is I'm not capable ..... but at least I know I could ...... all this hooks up with two wires to the track & a feeder buss say every 10 to 15 feet to allow for the bad joints in the track ..... everything is controlled thru a hand held throttle ...... I have a friend in Royce City, that has over 3,000 feet of mainline in a 36' X 44' building we have operating secessions there on Saturday nights, everyone use a Smartphone with a app for a throttle ..... this is what brought me back to the Hobby ...... I'll show Ya'll some pic's of His layout ......

The Harbor & Steel Mill ... including a car float ferry on the right .....

These bridges are not to nowhere ....... this is where most of the rail traffic goes to other places ....

Then over on this side ... through the John, Head, & back out ......

Around the corner .....

there are 6 big loops like this on His pike ..... No club just fun ..... if you want to donate something to Joe ..... He'll find a place to put it ...... He has a few empty spots ......

Does this Bridge look Familiar ??? it was in a very famous war movie ....... Joe has been working on this layout for about 35 years now ..... so I just want to tell you a model Railroad is never finished & they evolve .... as time passes ...... I've know Joe since 2009 and He's change the flow of the track at least 6 times .....

This is the front door to His layout ..... the plastic bridge there is a swing bridge so you can pass through to the trains ...... then there's the Duck under bridge ...... next( Gray one )

The door on the right is the place going to the John ......

And we found where Elvis is ...... He's riding a passenger train somewhere cuz He left His Cadillac .... at the passenger station ......

 

[jknaus]

That is too cool. Very nifty idea about the forced perspective. Looking forward to seeing it as it evolves.
James

 

[Swordsman]

That is too cool. Very nifty idea about the forced perspective. Looking forward to seeing it as it evolves.
James

Thanks James, ..... My Hobby shop is in the smallest of shops I can afford ..... about 20 X 25 feet ... the train layout is for the Children of the town of about 25,000 .... I have about 30-50 customers ..... Not all at once .... and when they show up usually 2 - 4 at a time so .... You have to watch the children's hands as they have the godzilla syndrome ..... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: .... that's what I call it .... The train layout will be a table shaped like a Hourglass that will be in four sections so I can ... break it down to move it to a bigger place ..... there will be a hexagon on each end ..... I'm thinking about 6 -7 feet wide .... with a narrower say 3 -4 feet in the middle ...... this will be a very steep mountainous area then there will be some flats around the ends .... the flats will be where all the action is taking place ..... my ideal on the 1st level is to have the Lionel do the magic that only they can do by having the disappearing train going on .... One goes into a tunnel then a different one comes out & visa-versa ..... then will move up to the saw mills & mining camps ..... I'm even thought about some animation projects .... like scale alligators in the swamp that move around ( My secret project ) can't tell you how that will be accomplished ...... but it will be cool ....

 

[SA Dave]

Damn that is cool Gerry

 

[Swordsman]

Damn that is cool Gerry

Yes Sir ..... it is this is where I play railroading ...... His computer tracks all the rolling stock on His layout ..... generates switching lists For each scheduled train ..... you come in grab a set of train orders turn on your smartphone ..... address your train radio the dispatcher tell Him your ready to proceed ..... and go to the 1st town on the list ...... make your cuts & setouts .... grab your pickups and go to the next stop ...... Then it starts over ..... till you arrive back where you started ...... all the cars are where the computer thinks they should be if the previous engineer left them where the computer told them to if not ...... just scratch that car .... it might have been taken to the car shop for repair ......

 

[Adam Baker]

Very cool layout. Love the idea of using an app on a smartphone for a throttle. Saves the cost of buying multiple throttles.

If I ever have a layout, chances are it'll probably be an N scale, but not positive. I do know I want to run Union Pacific, but no idea on location or era.

 

[Swordsman]

Very cool layout. Love the idea of using an app on a smartphone for a throttle. Saves the cost of buying multiple throttles.

If I ever have a layout, chances are it'll probably be an N scale, but not positive. I do know I want to run Union Pacific, but no idea on location or era.

Thanks Adam .... they use JMRI software for the computer ..... I gives a diagram of the track .... on a monitor ... Joe's layout is so big He has two use two monitors side by side ..... You get this and a Wye-fi interface and your set ..... might be a few more things but .... Well UP could be from the trans-continental to today Broadway limited make some really nice n-scale .....

 

[lupanzer]

Fantastic...very cool

Best!

Luiz.

 

[moon puppy]

It's great that a town that size has a dedicated LHS. You stock just trains?

 

[Swordsman]

It's great that a town that size has a dedicated LHS. You stock just trains?

No I'm one of the dinosaurs ..... I Believe in customer service ..... I do it all ..... Squadron, Hornby America (Airfix & Humbrol paints) Hobbytyme ... R/C cars .... and trains ... Soundtraxx & digitraxx lots more stuff just not deep enough pockets to have what my Customers want when they want it .... :facepalm

 

[Swordsman]

Ok I kind of got off the beaten path ..... which was to make this great logging loco .... that I started a couple of weeks ago ...... I had been away from the subject I had to go back to see where I was ..... As I remember ..... I had just laid the 1st color of color on the wood ......

Next We want to start to get the wood to quit looking like plastic (resin) and start to be wood ..... I had used Mr. Color "Dark Earth" ..... then I misplaced it somewhere on my Bench .... so next I used Mr. Color "Mahogany" ..... which I really had to lighten .....

This has some Mahogany & has had a coat of .... Citadel "Nulin Oil" wash applied to it ....... Which will settle in the nail holes & plank cracks ......

Using these three on the wood ..... I think the color is improving .......

Next we will have to move on to making the roof .

 

[moon puppy]

Very nice wood effect, very deep layers.

 

[Swordsman]

Cont. with the roof ......

Here We go I decided to glue it up as the roof will be removable ..... I'll paint it as one unit .....
I need the CA to stick to the styrene ..... I don't want to chance it coming apart .... while that's drying let's start back on the chassis ......

As you can see here the wiring was going to be a mess inside the cab ..... I was going to run it under all the Gubbins in the middle of the cab .... but there are spinning drive shafts there and what not so I'm going to use this brass tubing to try to hide the electronics ......

I noticed the planks needed to be cut on the sides & I added paint to the wheels & crankshaft box side ...... That is all for now ..... Gott to go to work ....

Cheers !! :drinks

As always Comment & Criticisms are welcome

 

[Swordsman]

Very nice wood effect, very deep layers.

Thanks MP ..... over the years being a carpenter in one of my former lives ...... I found that Wood is very Hard ..... The painting of the same is also just as Hard ...... the layers are what tricks the eye to thinking it is real ......

 

[Swordsman]

Ok to continue .... With this one I'm very Happy with the progress .... I used the K&S brass tubing for my wiring as this was causing me some concern ..... I thought about it and .... :huh:

I added the tubes (wiring guides) .... and had to cut a tube for the big Green motor wire .......

That wiring guides worked so well that I added some to the Back & front of the loco bottom .......

And that big Purple wire had to go ........... I found some very nice small flexible Black wire laying on my Bench .......

I wired both side of the truck together and ran the wires though the deck ......

I took it to the shop track and let it run .... to see if it was going to be a good runner ...... Dern thing ran all day ...... It had a little list to it ... B) ... but I can fix that after the cab is on ... ... I'll add some car weights .....

The boiler fits good .......

All I need is the firewood deck & decoder Plus speaker wired up ........ and we will have an old logging loco making racket in the back woods ....

and assemble the rest of the cabin ........ this will be hard and I want to go and find a squaring jig .... I have an ideal ...... I hope Wally-World is open later today .....

The Cabin Roof is finished just needs paint .... I really don't know if I'll ever get this all painted but I'll keep working the brush ...... There is lots more to do ...... Stay tuned ..... It's fixin to get good ....

 

[SA Dave]

hey its starting to look like a real working choo choo

 

[Swordsman]

hey its starting to look like a real working choo choo

Thanks Dave .... I see your awake still ..... I'm fixing to go and work on this some more ..... :drinks

 

[Swordsman]

Well after too much Turkey dressing, all the other stuff ..... I'm stuffed ....... Disappointed because the Dallas Cowboys forgot to come to the game ..... :angry: :dry: ....... My work has continued on my Choo-Choo ..... It is stuffed also .....

The Tsunami is inside where it is supposed o go just not with out great difficulty .......

Tsunami is the purple thing on the top underside of the wood deck .........

The little speaker is in there .......

Notice the shims under the wood deck ..... I had to do it to get the stuff inside to fit ...... Also I added a fire box door on the side of the boiler .... we have to be able to get the wood in ........ to make the fire hot for the water to make the steam ......

The ugly truth under Here she's wired up ..... the wires on top are for the lights & stuff not ready for them yet ..... I should be able to go to the Shop tomorrow and see if the tsunami works ....... It should have good sound I hope ......

Comment & critisims welcome .....

Cheers !!! wish me good sound ......