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Post by loco8107 on Apr 9, 2023 12:51:32 GMT -8
And I get digital cameras and the internet were just starting out then but some of the same people today who took pics then either no longer have them online or only have posted 2004 and up over the years which seems a little odd to me. We shall see.
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 9, 2023 12:50:03 GMT -8
Safe to say Conrail and NS have very big followings in the model RR world and even CSX to an extent, but I never see anything post Conrail until about mid 2000’s on. The same goes with much in the way of railfan pics. It seems the 1999-2003 period is mostly forgotten about and honestly, it was one of the most interesting times to possibly model and to railfan. Even Conrail Shared Assets which is a rare situation of 2 Class ones jointly operating in the same area is pretty much non existent in the model RR world. Go figure.
Give it time, there is a generation of modelers who came of age during that time period who are now reaching home-layout age. Theres a guy around my age in my club who is doing some kickass NS/CSX patchout jobs of ex-CR units.
True but after 24 years I thought we’d be seeing it now. Can’t wait to see people doing that.
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 9, 2023 11:39:48 GMT -8
Safe to say Conrail and NS have very big followings in the model RR world and even CSX to an extent, but I never see anything post Conrail until about mid 2000’s on. The same goes with much in the way of railfan pics. It seems the 1999-2003 period is mostly forgotten about and honestly, it was one of the most interesting times to possibly model and to railfan. Even Conrail Shared Assets which is a rare situation of 2 Class ones jointly operating in the same area is pretty much non existent in the model RR world. Go figure.
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 6, 2023 9:15:47 GMT -8
Nice to see someone doing cars not commonly seen on folks layouts or produced much if at all. Looks great!
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 5, 2023 9:30:50 GMT -8
Because the GP7/9 was one of the first models produced that is a little too wide shell wise like the old BB GP35 and SW7 models they offered. The GP38/40-2’s and SW1000/1500’s were the first correct width units.
Unlike the fat-bodied roadswitchers, Athearn's Blue Box SW7 (originally sold as "SW1500") hood is only slightly wider than the prototype. An inch or so?
Early EMD switcher hoods are 7' wide, roadswitchers are 6'.
True about the SW7- the only other old BB loco besides the GP7/9 I wouldn’t mind having on my RR because it’s still tolerable.
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 5, 2023 6:32:47 GMT -8
The SD40-2 is too and I can’t remember if that came out before or after those units. Basically units being produced by them in the 80’s were finally dimensionally correct unlike the previous releases.
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 5, 2023 6:30:30 GMT -8
Most of them have the winterization hatch changed, one even has the dynamic brake removed. What did you mean about the winterization hatch being changed? One of Donnell's original comments was about the winterization hatch being 'offensive.' What might be wrong about the Blue Box detail in that regard? Looks mostly dimensionally correct for those roads that ordered that option from EMD. Because the GP7/9 was one of the first models produced that is a little too wide shell wise like the old BB GP35 and SW7 models they offered. The GP38/40-2’s and SW1000/1500’s were the first correct width units.
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 4, 2023 13:42:19 GMT -8
I just bought a ton of shells someone already painted up nice. Mostly GP9s, a few switchers, one '38, one '40, a couple switchers. Amazing paint, NH, B&M, MEC, LV mostly. Amazing what a little paint and some details will do for these. Agree with the last sentence-it does wonders
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 3, 2023 12:19:48 GMT -8
There are plenty of great railroad groups (some of which are very prototype specific) on Facebook that are a treasure trove of good info and pictures. That's all I use it for anymore, train discussion. Agreed and I can say the model RR groups are overall very good too. Civil discussions which really help too unlike a lot of Facebook where that tends to get people attacked. But I guess we’re getting off topic now 😁
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 3, 2023 9:35:47 GMT -8
How sadly true that last paragraph is….. nothing like finding a rare photograph of a prototype scene that raises a lot of interesting questions, then you look at the comments and all you find is “good picture” and “muh daddy worked 35 years for the Southern”, etc. FB is absolute dog &$&@ for any kind of archival or discussion purposes, IMO. But nothing beats the nasty and uninformed comments and arguments. And that’s with most things not just railroad related.
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Post by loco8107 on Apr 2, 2023 13:15:26 GMT -8
I must've missed that; it seems they were almost universally well-received here.
I like how quickly the pages load vs. the old version (unless I'm just not clicking on the full pdf version maybe...)
Athearn's FB page is being absolutely blown up by people whining about them right now. Yes, I realize that a shockingly large percentage of the FB population seems to have the IQ of a crayon. But it's happening nonetheless. How sadly true that last paragraph is…..
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SPF 02APR
Apr 2, 2023 13:11:37 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by loco8107 on Apr 2, 2023 13:11:37 GMT -8
Nice work everyone as usual but today is April 2nd not the 3rd 😊
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 29, 2023 5:58:36 GMT -8
Thanks everyone
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 28, 2023 6:42:44 GMT -8
I don’t necessarily buy the “they don’t sell” line. They’re always hard to get and a lot of us would rather have an undec than strip. Even in todays market, a lot of us still do our own painting/decaling and I don’t see that changing anytime in the foreseeable future. That was said tongue-in-cheek as a long-running joke among many prototype modelers that some manufacturers continue to use that phrase when we ask for undecs. I have to acknowledge that they don’t sell in the quantities that decorated cars do, but I like the approach that Atlas, ExactRail, and a few others take of offering undecs in their first run (which sell out almost immediately) and then periodically offering them again. Of course, I also love how Tangent and Moloco make them available as regular parts of their product lines. Dave Understood and I was also referring to what the manufacturers have told us over the years.
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 27, 2023 13:16:02 GMT -8
It's always interesting to revisit the topic of stripping model paint. I'm with Craig Z. that if it can't be stripped with 91%, I'm not going to mess with it. That's what still makes undecorated models so valuable to me (but "they don't sell," as many people will still tell you). ExactRail and Broadway Limited paint have proved to be very resistant to 91% alcohol, in my experience. I tried to strip the paint of the trucks of an early ExactRail model (the SP PC&F 6033), and the paint just turned sort of gummy and stuck in place. One of their Thrall gons stripped about halfway, leaving areas around the side ribs and underframe that were still black, feathering away to areas of bare plastic in between. A Broadway N&W H2a hopper just kind of laughed at the alcohol. The paint pealed off the metal parts, but it stuck to the plastic virtually untouched. I attempted to strip it and the ExactRail gon with a grit blaster with some success, but neither came out completely clean. I think they have plenty of texture for the new paint job to adhere to though! A Walthers Mainline 60' Pullman-Standard flat car (black EJ&E scheme) that I just stripped to turn into a Trailer Train flat worked pretty well, but the paint clung to the metal underframe in spots almost like a thin shell that can be chipped away. I may try a small wire brush to scrape the remnants off, because it's proving pretty tedious to scrape off with a Xacto blade. Timothy, if you're looking for a replacement, I have an undecorated Walthers F40PH that I can let go. Just have to find it somewhere in all these moving boxes... Dave I don’t necessarily buy the “they don’t sell” line. They’re always hard to get and a lot of us would rather have an undec than strip. Even in todays market, a lot of us still do our own painting/decaling and I don’t see that changing anytime in the foreseeable future.
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 26, 2023 15:06:20 GMT -8
Nice to see a lot of boxcars - great work all!
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 26, 2023 15:05:18 GMT -8
What kind/grit should be used for smoothing out putty? I used white putty for my next loco project. Also is finishing sandpaper good for using on loco shells?
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 26, 2023 10:13:54 GMT -8
To be safe, always use the 91% as I’m sure it’s a lot cheaper too…..
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Decals
Mar 24, 2023 17:37:09 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by loco8107 on Mar 24, 2023 17:37:09 GMT -8
I just have a question: in this day and age where everything is so highly detailed, why is there not a better way to letter our models? Like decals with no carrier film, I mean if you want to renumbered models you have to use decals with the ugly edges. Dry transfers work to accomplish the painted on look but it is quite a lot of work to line them up properly. And no I cold never make the edges on decals completely invisible, I guess I am just different and cannot accept ugly decal film. There’s videos on YouTube showing how to renumber factory painted units correctly.
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 10, 2023 11:32:33 GMT -8
The Athearn trains are not increasing in price as badly as either food or real-world construction costs here in the US. Construction costs have been increasing at the rate of 8% per year for many years (definitely NOT what the federal govt wants you to know, but that is the actual increase in unit prices on actual state DOT construction contracts, which I see all the time.) Also, when I compare today's new Athearn diesel to yesterday's, I will pay today's price point and maybe just have less of them, because they are way improved from what they were even a few years ago. So far as the relatively recent whining about people leaving Athearn and starting their own companies (some apparently want Athearn to fold up and just die?), well, I think Athearn is actually better off today. My recent purchases have been fantastic, and tomorrow I am factually selling a whole bunch of the other guys' locos at a train show. Athearn is providing, now, what I want in an HO diesel. The assembly, fit and finish, and especially the painting has been pretty good, improved from what it had been. They are finally illuminating the numberboards. They are offering some units in glorious bright factory-fresh paint such that the colors really do stand out, and some for the folks who want to weather them to be dirty and grungy. It's literally the best of both worlds, and most other manufacturers do not do that. So far as the folks who have left Athearn to own or work for other companies, well, I'm just not convinced those companies' products are any better or even as good. A series of recent wrecks on my layout were caused by a bell falling off a ST diesel and becoming wedged in the truck sideframe. Being black, I didn't see it right away. I've never had that happen in 50 years of playing with Athearn diesels. Perhaps if you'd asked me a year ago who was the best manufacturer, my opinion might have been different than it is today, but today I'm voting with my wallet. I like Athearn and Bowser the most depending upon what diesel they make that I can use. I really want to like BLI and would be willing to try their under the table sound system as that thought appeals to me, but somehow their engines seem to often fall just a little bit short of what I want. I do have a newly tooled SD40 on preorder from them. John Well said. Athearn is herds better than years ago and they still release a lot every year. Never thought they’d be where they are now years ago that’s for sure.
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Post by loco8107 on Mar 2, 2023 20:54:29 GMT -8
I'm a licensed civil engineer. The 3 most important principles of design are drainage, drainage, and drainage (yes that was actually the answer to a college test question). Draining long trenches or ditches can be very problematic, especially when they are below much of the adjacent ground (as in a relatively flat area like Ohio). Where are you going to go with the water? How are you going to achieve about 0.50% minimum pipe slope (typical DOT design requirement). Water bad for traction motors. Sure in areas out west where it's desert and DRY much of the time, they have depressed railroads to get them under the cross streets. My college best friend did some of those designs. That AIN'T going to work in Ohio. The whole thing especially the dumb@ss media coverage is absolutely insane. The railroads have been safely transporting chemicals for many years, with extremely few incidents ever. The actual data is that train transport is as safe as if not safer than any other mode of travel including air transport (when trains crash most people will walk away, which doesn't happen with air travel). My sister's husband has spent a lifetime in air maintenance for United, US Air, Eastern, Piedmont, and Boeing. He can tell you the airlines are drastically cutting corners today and using too many people who factually are unable to read the manuals because they don't speak English. They are even outsourcing maintenance to other countries like Brazil, which ain't good. No wonder there have been more failures lately. He actually hates to fly now. Doesn't trust the commercial airlines. I now avoid flying at all cost if I can. So, big government and the environmental wackjobs are totally against any and all pipelines, and we probably don't want all the hard-core chemicals moving on the highways, either. What to do??? Maybe a good investment would be more hotbox detectors spaced closer together so the trains get stopped before hot bearings get out of control? One other question is why was the train not stopped sooner after the initial hot journal indication? That's actually a very good question that the NTSB is looking into. My money is that they will blame human error for not stopping the train in time. Tank cars are already double wall construction with end shields to protect the tanks themselves, are they going to have to go to triple wall construction? 4 walls? Government over-reach to tell the railroads how many crew members must be on a train and how long trains cannot be is not going to be very helpful. I mean are we going to go back to having somebody in a caboose to watch the train? How are they going to see the whole train? There is always a human element and NO amount of engineering can remove ALL the risk. It is simply not possible. I think the railroads are doing a pretty good job overall despite this one tragic incident. Design must always be balanced against the actual cost of implementation. Some things just cost far too much for the incremental additional improvement of safety that might be achieved. It was mentioned in the preliminary report that the temp was well below 150 (I believe 103) that would have made them stop. It was right after they passed the next detector that all hell broke loose and the temp had jumped to 253. A home camera showed it was a hopper car 2 cars ahead of the tanks that was the problem car.
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 27, 2023 16:57:57 GMT -8
Agreed, Tamiya flat in spray cans is great, unless the Significant Other is as sensitive to odors as mine… Paint jobs get done outdoors lol and I haven’t been as happy with Dullcote in recent years. Glad to hear something is better.
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 27, 2023 11:03:25 GMT -8
screw that. Tamiya flat clear, FTW. It's what Dullcote wishes it could be. Rattle cans too?
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 15, 2023 10:09:07 GMT -8
That’s good to know as I haven’t had to do any ordering in a while.
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 14, 2023 17:05:26 GMT -8
I am curious- whenever my LHS doesn’t have items in stock, including paint and decals, he orders from Walthers and usually gets them in quickly. Do they still have Scalecoat in stock or are they out also?
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 14, 2023 15:55:27 GMT -8
On a norfolk southern model page on facebook it was reported that minuteman who had bought scalecoat paint went under and someone is apparently working on acquiring scalecoat paints from them. I just saw that post too. Hopefully the issues folks had ordering and such will be resolved as soon as they can do so. Good news anyway. I’d love to know (don’t we all?) what really happened and hopefully we find out in due time.
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 3, 2023 19:21:22 GMT -8
eBay is an effing mess now. Try searching for "Evans DF brochure" in eBay in a web browser like I did just now. You'll get two hits, but immediately they disappear to be replaced with more hits and the words "Results matching fewer words". Scrolling down the actual Evans DF brochures I'm interested in are nowhere to be seen... F***ing p*ss off! I added the two letters "DF" to refine my search, you piece of sh*t!! Excuse my language but I had to vent. Yes, there are other ways to search for them (eg Google finds the two listings), but eBay are going out of their way to make it difficult for everyone to use it. Just like they’re destroying their business
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 3, 2023 12:09:24 GMT -8
Works for me, 8 minutes after your post. Ed It’s back to normal for me. And I rebooted my phone before posting this. It still didn’t work but I just checked in and it’s all good. Thanks
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Post by loco8107 on Feb 3, 2023 11:15:34 GMT -8
Yeah our favorite site but is anyone having issues with them today? I can’t even look anything up and all of the searches keep coming up 0 results. I assuming the site is having problems as I’m using my iPhone app.
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Post by loco8107 on Jan 31, 2023 10:18:27 GMT -8
And most of us can understand family issues but sometimes it’s an easy out because no one would ever question that either. Hopefully in the near future we all will hear from him if there really is a legit issue but it seems highly unlikely. Not after this long. What el3625 went through is a red flag.
If you want to stay in business, there's no excuse for not answering email or calls in a reasonable time. It's not like these small model companies are getting dozens of inquiries each day.
People hate not having information.
Exactly. I don’t get these folks who disappear into thin air or that the hell they’re thinking. That’s the epitome of poor customer relations. All those people helping keep you in business and that’s how you treat them?
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