Stand-in Vermonter

I ran across this USRA Light 4-8-2 lettered for the Southern New England Ry. the other day and decided to see how a passenger train would look on the bridge. This is a "Stand-in" for the CV's Vermonter - my plan is to run it on the layout with a CV RS-3, but that's another project that's not done yet!

I liked the picture (which was literally a "grab shot" with my iPhone!) so much I thought I'd post it here. 

Open house!

We had about 40 local NMRA members come by and visit over four hours 
during the open house Saturday. I enjoyed having a chance to see old friends, and make new ones and got a kick out of seeing the reaction to some of my rather unusual construction methods. 
      The layout performed well without any issues - I was really pleased especially considering how "temporary" some of the wiring is at this point! I actually laid some track the in the morning and wired it in time for the open house!  I really shouldn't have done that, but I wanted to be able to run the entire length of both sides of the peninsula. I had a list of 10 things I wanted to get done for the open house - issues with one turnout cost me more than a day of troubleshooting which blew the timeline so I didn't get the fascia painted (item no. 10). I considered painting it on Saturday morning, but cooler heads prevailed when I had visions of visitors leaving with splotches of fascia color on their clothes!

Jeff McGuirk (in bright green shirt) chats with Potomac Division members
at the September 17 open house. 

     Jeff (my oldest son, in the green shirt in the photo) came up from Virginia Beach for this event. He helped clean up before the open house and was a great help during the proceedings - he mostly ran the trains and I talked, and talked, and talked. Which apparently isn't really a problem for me . . .
     Everyone who saw the previous layout footprint found the new arrangement to be a real improvement. I'd estimate we had as many as 25 people in the basement at one point. It seemed cramped but not overly crowded - of course I'll never have half that number for an op session. But I concluded the day secure in the knowledge that 8-12 member crew will be very comfortable in the space.
     I reviewed some options for the mill stream arrangement with a few folks, including Dave Emery who's an expert on New England mills. We did come up with a workable arrangement for the Lamson & Goodnow kit but I'm still considering using the Atlas Middlesex building since it seems a little larger, more modern, and might fit the space better.
     I also talked through some decisions that need to be made for the "yard" area - which is still an expanse of open benchwork. Stay tuned to this blog for more details on how that area will shape up in the next few months. 
     The decision to change the layout has been worth the blood and sweat to pull it off. Since the entire layout is actually cleared off I should take a series of pictures as a "walking" tour (Dave showed me some cool pics he took with his "extreme wide angle" setting) and record what it looks like at this point - about nine months to the day after I started construction!

"Houston, We have a problem"

We had family visiting for most of the weekend, so I didn't get a lot done on layout - until they left for the airport on Monday morning. I spent the first part of Monday afternoon getting the remaining feeders connected to the buss wires. Then I tweaked a troublesome turnout on the south end of Richmond (just beyond the bridge scene). Once I got the passenger cars through it without any issues I dug out the Division Point 2-10-4s and one of my Overland 4-8-2s. 


The 2-10-4 made it through the mainline route of the switch - the diverging route traveling northbound direction was no joy - that wasn't a surprise and is something I can handle with a timetable special instruction (there's no reason for a 2-10-4 to be on that siding anyway). 


Then I got out the first 4-8-2 - it ran back and forth just fine, I was thrilled. Then, the engine stopped. I mean it just froze. I immediately suspected a wiring issue - after all I was testing the wiring. Then I figured perhaps it was a track issue - no problem, the engine was on the rails. Then I noticed the side rods were a funny shape - the main rod looked like a mountain range - going up and down. That can't be right. Apparently the long screw holding the valve gear assembly into the third driver had loosened to the point where it slipped out of the driver on one side - throwing everything out of whack.

I put the engine back in the box, and put the other 4-8-2 on the track - checking it to be sure it was in good shape. It ran back and forth even better until it started stuttering - I shut it off right away and examined it closely. Believe it or not, this engine had the EXACT SAME issue - loosing it's siderod screw after a few runs back and forth. 
So now I have two engines that are down hard until I have enough time to really work through the issue. I've never been much of a locomotive mechanic - looks like that's about to change. 
I'm so mad I could spit.

First Scenery - Williams Creek

The inspiration for this scene is the prototype photo I bought from Bob's Photos a few years ago. 

Russ Greene at New England Brownstone used the photo to create his plaster abutment kits. The bridges are Micro-Engineering 50-foot deck girders. I wanted to have the river look more like a clear New England stream than a Midwestern or Appalachian muddy river (although this week I know plenty of rivers in Vermont look plenty muddy and murky . . .). 

The sub-base of the river is 1/4" Masonite painted black and covered with a combination of sifted sand, gravel, and Scenic Express "River Bed" gravel. I left some of the black-painted Masonite showing between the rocks to represent deeper areas. I applied a coat of Envirotex, let it set up completely, then painted some tan riverbanks and some green/black areas on top of the Envirotex - again, not covering the surface completely. Once that dried I added a second layer of Envirotex. Since the Envirotex leaves a perfectly flat surface, I've been adding several coats of Min Wax Polycrylic Polyurethene. I think at this point I'm at six coats, and it's just starting to "bubble" a little - which is a bad thing on furniture (MinWax warns against too many coats) since the resulting surface looks rippled and a little like waves. 

I still need to finish this up obviously (the blue tape on the track should be a hint). Still to come:
1. A few more coats of MinWax
2. There are one or two of the background Supertrees that look a little too wavy from the side - they will be replaced with some with straighter trunks.
3. Foliage, undergrowth etc . . . around the base of the piers
4. Adding some electrostatic grass to the embankments
5. The harvested field with the corn shocks (the field is not visible in these model shots)
6. And, obviously, a coat of paint on the fascia. 


.... Oh, and a few more coats of MinWax!

Central Vermont's 42000, 43000, and 44000-series Boxcars

In his latest flyer, Martin Lofton at Sunshine Models announced two different Central Vermont 40-foot single sheathed HO scale boxcars as part of a series of “converted automobile cars.” 
The Sunshine Flyer announcement states “The Central of* Vermont had two series of outside braced auto cars with a 10’ IH, the 41000 series with a door and a half, and the 42000 series with a 12’ double door. The latter were rebuilt into 6’ door cars and renumbered in the 43000 series. The last two series are planned.” 
(* I’ll admit the incorrect addition of “of” to the CV’s corporate name is a pet peeve of mine. The railroad never, officially or otherwise, referred to itself as “Central of Vermont” – it was simply Central Vermont).  
Of course, the actual story of the CV's 42000, 43000, and 44000 series boxcars is a little more complicated. This announcement provided the necessary impetus to unscramble the somewhat convoluted story of these cars.  (The prototype information here is, of course, also usable if you’re looking to build those somewhat long in the tooth Steam Shack/F&C versions of these cars that are likely collecting dust on your shelf. I know they are on mine!) 
The late 1920s were heady times indeed on the Central Vermont Railway.  Across the system, new facilities and bridges were built and older ones upgraded.  The upgrading included new motive power (the 700-series 2-10-4s and U-1-a class 4-8-2s being the prime examples) and a new generation freight cars, the most numerous of which were two classes of single-sheathed boxcars. 


Construction and Components
A total of 500 cars (42000-42499) with two six-foot Youngstown doors, (giving them a 12-foot opening) were delivered new to the CV from Pullman in October, 1929.  The cars were single sheathed Howe truss design with 3-3-3 early Dreadnaught ends. They were all fitted with six foot Youngstown steel doors with Camel hardware, Hutchins roofs, and KC air brakes with Universal lever-and-ratchet hand brakes. The cars rode on cast steel ARA U-section trucks with spring planks and Barber lateral motion bolsters equipped with six springs per side. 
Their 3,705 cubic foot capacity was considered generous for the time. In fact, these cars were close in size to the 1937 AAR car (at 3,713 cubic feet), that wouldn't be built in any quantity for another decade. 
In the mid 1930s, 125 of these cars (CV 42125-42499) were transferred to the Grand Trunk Western, leaving 42000-42124 on the Central Vermont roster. 
In the 1940s the cars were equipped with AB brakes, with many getting Ajax brakewheels in place of the ratchet style brake. 
In the years following the transfer to the GTW, 97 of the 125 remaining 42000-series cars had their roofs raised approximately 4” to accommodate auto loading racks.  The spotting feature of the raised roof was a noticeable deeper flange running along the length of the car at the roofline and a double row of rivets at the top of both ends.  Like most freight car spotting features, once you know to look for this the difference is very obvious. 
If you're keeping score, between the mid-1930s and the early 1950s only 28 out of the original 500 42000-series cars remained on the CV roster in their “as-built” configuration. 
Between 1953 and 1956, a total of 59 (16 original height, and 43 raised roof) 42000-series cars had their auto-loading equipment removed, were rebuilt with single six-foot doors, and renumbered in the 43000-43058 series. 

This car shows one of the "as built" 42000 series cars after it had been converted to single-door and renumbered in CV's 43000-series. Note the "pregnant tapeworm" CV is centered on the door - it never appeared on the body of CV's single-sheathed boxcars despite what some model railroad manufacturers have offered over the years.  

This view of a 43000 series car after it had been transferred to MoW service clearly shows the extension on the end and along the roof line

This car is one of the increased height cars that has been converted to a single door car.  Note the top rail for the former left door is still visible. Also, note the difference in the X brace to the left of the door - it's an angle instead of the hat section bracing used on the original portions of the car. 

Auto racks were removed from all the remaining 42000 series cars by the mid-1960s.  Eight of the 42000-series cars were equipped with special loading devices to ship granite. 
In September 1960 four of the 42000-series cars (2 extended height, and 2 as-built height) were equipped with steam and signal lines for use in bulk mail service in passenger trains and renumbered 44000-44003.  They were repainted CN Green #11 with black roofs, ends, and underframes and had small placards with two small Central Vermont Maple Leaf monograms on the sides.

Not only does this image show two of the converted "head end" cars in their original Maple Leaf paint scheme, it also shows a comparison of the as built (right) and raised roof 42000-series cars. 

In 1963, with the adoption of the CN-family’s famed “wet noodle” logo, the 44000-series cars were repainted, this time with large CV “pregnant tapeworm” logos across both doors.

Paint and Lettering

If readers of this blog would be interested I can prepare a more detailed review of CV paint and lettering schemes at some point in the future. In the meantime I’ll offer these notes for painting the 42000/43000 series cars. 

Trucks and underframes were originally black, although they were repainted the body color as the cars were repainted over the years.  The sides, ends, and roofs of the cars were boxcar red (I prefer to use Badger or Scalecoat CN Red 11 perhaps toned down with some Earth-color paint). All lettering was white on the red cars.  As built the cars were lettered with “Central Vermont” and car numbers in Roman-style lettering.  Later, the now-familiar stacked Gothic lettering became standard.  Originally there were two white horizontal lines, one above the reporting marks and a second below the road number, although these gradually disappeared with repainting over the years. Other than this, admittedly minor difference, the cars remained in this scheme for the rest of their service lives. In the early 1960s, the CV began applying intertwined CV “pregnant tapeworm” lettering across the door(s) . 

Four of the cars were equipped for passenger train service and repainted and lettered as described above. 

Modeling

HO scale modelers have had resin models of these cars available for years.  They were offered by Steam Shack (and are still available from www.steamshack.com).  Funaro and Camerlengo manufacture these kits for Steam Shack, so they are also available separately from F&C.  F&C/Steam Shack offer four versions of the 42000/43000 series cars – double and single door and original height and raised roof.  Steam Shack does sell a set of decals for the 44000 series “Maple Leaf” passenger scheme, but based on the photo on the Steam Shack website the roundels look oversized. 

As I mentioned at the outset, Sunshine Models has announced the 42000 and 43000 series cars will be released Fall 2011. I’m not sure if the Sunshine Models will be the as-built height or the modified height (or both).  I’ve dropped the folks at Sunshine a note and will update this based on any information I receive from them. 

  

Foreground Trees

August 8, 2013 Update:
I've been getting some questions on the Crepe Myrtle trees, so I added a couple of pictures of the trees in bloom to this post.
One of the trees in bloom:

Here's a closeup of the bloom. When these die off they have to cut from the tree. It's one fall gardening chore I actually like doing!

I want to work on some scenery - for a change of pace from track and wiring and also to have a place to pose some "finished" photos, especially around my bridge scene. The problem was I didn't have any foreground trees. So I decided my "weeknight" project - for those times when I had a few minutes in the evening - would be to build up some leafless deciduous trees. 

Last spring we had a bunch of landscaping done - and we ended up with several Crape Myrtle plants. These flower in the summer, one flower on the end of each branch, and the seed pods and flowers turn brown in the fall. To get the plant to flower again you really need to remove the seed heads from the plant. Here's one of the plants in the side yard - this was taken in late spring.

You can see the seed pods on the dried out bloom below - I kept these cuttings thinking they may make decent tree armatures. They do, but it takes a little bit of trimming. Of course, the seed pods have to be removed and the "droopy" ends of the branches need to be trimmed off as well.

Here's the "stripped" armature - ready to have the finer branches added:

I used the pieces of the fine Super Trees sold by Scenic Express applied one at a time and secured in place with hot glue - much easier than the CA I used to use to build up trees. I always ended up with little bits of SuperTrees on my fingers!!

Here's a tree just about ready for the paint shop (I'll paint them primer gray with a dusting of "Camo Brown" on the ends) - On this one I also plan to remove that oddball branch on the bottom.

I don't plan to make forests of trees this way. This is strictly for foreground "specimen" trees. But I'm pleased with the way the Crepe Myrtle branches make the trunk and main branches look more robust and the Super Tree foliage adds the finer branch structure. I've made about a dozen of these in the last week of evenings - which should be more than enough to scenic the bridge scene. That's tomorrow's project. 

Missed opportunities? What might have been?

When I tore out the upper deck (and frankly, most of the lower deck) on the layout last fall I seriously considered other options - some radically different than anything I've done previously. One possibility I contemplated was a East Tennessee & Western North Carolina RR layout in On30. I couldn't resist the Bachmann model of no. 11, and since I remember visiting "Tweetsie" in North Carolina with my kids when they were little - and even getting a few cab rides in no. 12 - it's always been a tempting theme for a layout.
Another possibility I hinted at in a conversation with Bernie Kempinski was an On30 layout that was patterned after the Maine Two-Footers. This certainly isn't the first time I've flirted with 2-foot modeling in 1/4" scale. Back in my MR days, the very first plan Iain Rice and I collaborated on was an On2 layout (this was the days before On30 took off) based on Phillips (o maybe Strong), Maine on the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes RR. It's never been published, but I did find the plan and have posted it here.
Bernie, always willing to be a trouble maker, and perhaps sensing a convert to O scale, quickly fired off a track plan for the layout area patterned after the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington. I'd forgotten about it until we were watching "Aerial America" on the Smithsonian Channel the other night. Basically, the series is an aerial tour of one state. the episode we saw was filmed in Maine and featured the a look at the Wiscasset waterfront.
Just for fun, and maybe to offer you some inspiration, I've included Bernie's trackplan here. The footpringt is very close to the current HO layout.

As I build my "simplified" layout - which still has several dozen turnouts and a lot of buildings I find a LOT that's appealing about the 15 or so turnouts on this layout.
But not this time - I have too much invested in the CV of the steam era to change at this point.
But I also think  this will be the last CV layout - the next one (if indeed there is a next one) will likely be something very, very different.
So part of me wants to file this plan away on this blog so I can come back to it, just in case.