Railroad Doings

Hi Everybody,

Just thought an update was needed so here is what I've been doing.

Here's a photo of the RS-2. I couldn't stand looking at those huge gouges Weaver called panel lines. So while I was filling in the grills in the center of the roof I just decided to fill all of the grooves. You can see that all of the grill didn't get filled in. I have two photos of RS-2's that show the roof. One is a Leigh Valley RS-2 which is the better of the two and the other is of an earlier New Haven RS-2 which also has the same two grills open. After all the body work is done I will scribe new finer panel lines. The hinges on the corner panels above the side doors also need to be replaced. The two grills will also be opened up to help with ventilation as well as an opening for sound escape. Not much but every little bit helps.

I have a Ø3/4" speaker from Tonys Trains with an enclosure and the other speaker is a mid size rectangular speaker which will be mounted vertically inside the long hood just in front of the cab facing forward. The Ø3/4" speaker will be mounted under the radiator fan facing upward. After the fan grill is in place it won't be that visible. Course I don't know anybody who will be looking down in to the fan anyway.

The cab is also getting some more work done to it. More on it later. In the back ground can be seen a sheet of the custom decals I had made. Other colors that I got with the black is orange and white. The white of course will be for the caboose. The orange matches Reefer Orange the best. The two hoods will be solid orange and all the rest is black. The black decals will used on the hoods and the orange will be for the cab numbers. Now some will think it is a copy of the New Haven paint. Not true. The GE 70 tonners that were delivered to the St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County were delivered in this paint. Besides the New Haven had a stripe along the bottom of the hoods and I don't.

I've also begun figuring out and designing the road that runs out from the backdrop to the front edge of the layout. It is straight so construction will be simple. Nice size comparison using the boxcar in front. There is a photo that fits in between the buildings under the cross over between them but I'm planning on replacing it with a new one.

It won't be long until I can start building the main line and sidings. I've still got to get the lights up. But before the main can be started, the landscape between the siding and the main has to go in. I've got a picture of how I want it to look like in my head. I think Santa is going to bring me a Nook Grassmaster Static Grass Gun for the holidays and birthday all rolled up into one. My friend Trevor Marshall used one on his own defunct On2 layout with great success. I'm also thinking about a gate across the tracks right at the corner of the building on the left and the building across the sidings. It's the red building in the photos in my last post. It will be motorized. One more thing to add to the operation.

See ya next time.