Layout Update - #12

More Rolling Stock Updates
The fabulous Lee Nicholas of the Utah Colorado & Western layout fame gave a great clinic on weathering cars quickly and easily using various techniques with acrylics and chalks. It was a good learning experience. What I found interesting is that not every car needs to be weathered as if were a contest quality model. Prototype railroad cars are just dirty. Some a little more than others. The idea is to get your rolling stock looking like models of working cars. Not just a bunch of cars fresh from the paint shop. This helps add to the overall realism of your layout. So, here are a couple examples with before and after views.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

As you can see in these views, the photos on the left are taken with an older camera and the photos on the right are with my new Nikon. A good camera really does make a difference. Both cars received new couplers and metal wheels. While the change is not as drastic as you might expect, a little can go along way to the overall effect.

Time to Toot My Own Horn
To help raise some revenue for the 2013 Wasatch Rails Show put on by the Northern Utah Division of the NMRA, I was asked to create the artwork for a car they could sell. The decision was made to create a refer car for Wasatch Breweries “Polygamy Porter”. I love their slogan, “Why have just one!”. What could be any better to sell here in Utah. After receiving permission from the wonderful people at Wasatch Breweries, I set about to recreate the logo and develop the overall design. Accurail was commissioned to produce 48 kits. I think it came out very nice. All but one of the kits sold prior to show in November. I am sure it won’t be long before the last one is gone.

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Layout Update - #11

or How I Spent Time While on Vacation
Besides taking the time to update this blog, I planned on some evening modeling activities. Yes, I brought model railroading with me on vacation. It’s kind of like work, you never ever really get completely away from it. It is always there sometimes as a friend and sometimes as reminder of the things that you haven’t yet done. The nice thing about the model railroading hobby is that you can spend as much or as little time you want. It’s always there like an old friend waiting to say hello.

This year for our annual trip to Island Park, Idaho, I packed the tool case and three freight car kits that have been on the to do list for a long time. For the necessity of space and time, I choose three kits that would not require a great deal of work. Simple kits that could be easily assembled in one evening. Additional time will be spent in the future doing the final detail work and weathering. For now they are ready for use on the layout.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

So you maybe asking yourself why a Louisville & Nashville car for a railroad in the middle of Montana? I have spent a lot of time viewing Milwaukee Road videos to see what types and whose railroads were part of train consists on the the railroad. As I watched the videos, I made notes of these other railroads for future rolling stock purchases. This list is taken with us when we attend shows. So remember, the next time you are out taking a video of a train, video the whole train. Not just the locomotives. In the future someone will be needing to do some research for this era!