Monday, January 31, 2011

Train Show – January 2011

We attended the Ophir, Tintic & Western Model Railroad Club 20th Annual Train Show at Thanksgiving Point on January 29th. This always an interesting show. A smaller show then others, it is well attended by the public with a good selection of vendors.

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I was able to pick up several structure kits and a new DCC decoder for a locomotive. All of the structures are kits that need to be assembled and painted. Most will be located in the town of Denton.

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Sunday, January 9, 2011

Layout Construction–December 2010

Building Construction
I built a Feed and Seed building kit for Lewistown. This industry will receive covered hoppers of grain, fertilizer, chemicals and box cars of other agricultural products. It ship box cars of bagged fertilizer and other agricultural products. The name of this company is the Lewistown Fertilizer & Grain.
The building need to be modified to it in the space. One half inch needed to removed from the rear of the building to allow enough clearance on the track side. I added a door on the left side to create a small office area and truck loading dock. The roof on the main building are individual shingles created by making small cuts every 1/4” along the length of heavy brown paper. Then a strip 3/8” wide was cut. The strip was then applied to the roof. A lot of work, but worth the final result. Final weathering and details will be added when the surrounding scenery is finished.

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More Buildings
I have been looking for a propane distribution center. This particular kit has been out of production for several years. After searching hobby shops locally and on the internet, I finally was able to win one eBay for a reasonable price. The building had already been assembled. In shipment there was some damage. It will be a challenge to resurrect the building and make it fit in to the space.

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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Loot Day - December 25, 2010

Yes Virginia There really is a Santa Claus
Probably one of the greatest days for a model railroader has got to be Christmas. This year was spectacular. First off, to help speed construction of the track and reliability of running trains, Santa brought the Fast Tracks switch jig. Wow, this system really does help make the process of constructing a turnout much easier.

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I received six “Bullfrog” turnout controllers for the layout. These are easy to assemble and add very reliable operation (More on these later).
A new Milwaukee road boom truck for the local maintenance crews. This model from Athearn will make an interesting scene with crews and details.

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A new addition to my Lego train collection was this steam engine with tender. Actually it is not a Lego original. The Lego corporation moved production of some kits to China. An enterprising (whatever) individual made slight changes and created a new line called “Enlighten”. A Lego knock-off at a third the original price. Isn’t capitalism wonderful or do I mean commu-capitalism, or how about just greed, great.
Also received a gift certificate from Warrens Train Shop at the Union Station in Ogden. That will go to good use.

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