The Leadville operation was open for visitors at the 2022 Sn3 Symposium held in Denver this past weekend. Thanks to the 25 folks who braved traffic and stoped in. It is always nice to show the layout off.
One benefit of these gatherings is catching up with folks and learning about some tips and tricks you might not discover on your own. For example, I decided to standardize on
Tortoise switch motors when I started construction and use the contacts to power the Frogs on my Fast Tracks turnouts. Except, it turns out there can be a short on one side in the internal circuit board on the Tortoise mechanism: I found this out at Rocky Ops a few years back, and of course the side I decided to use is the one with the short. Darn. Lesson learned.
Speaking of Fast Tracks turnouts, Tim Warris did a terrific job fabricating filing jigs for the points and frogs and making amazing aluminum jigs to build the turnouts in. Plus he sells all the goodies you need to make reliable turnouts and his videos are educational and well edited. Except our amazingly detailed Sn3 models have a habit of the wheel dipping in the frog and the brake shoe catching on the gap. One visitor this week suggested
filling the gap in the frog with solder, epoxy, or plaster. As none of mine are filled, I am partial to the plaster idea: I feel like I will have more control with the plaster liquid, and someone pointed out you can run a wheel set through the drying plaster to create the flangeway. The epoxy is appealing, but I feel like I will get the goo everywhere and it will be some work to file it down to the right profile. What does everyone here think? Please stand by.
Another tip is to
glue trucks together to make them rigid. I have substituted PBL or BLW/PVC trucks for any white metal castings I have. I also stayed away from brass trucks till just lately: now that I have built a few, I am a real fan. If you are careful and build them square they work well. In contrast, the PBL and PVC trucks are designed so the sideframes can flex. This might work okay in larger scales with heavier cars, but our equipment is sill pretty light and the sideframes are less likely to rotate over a high or low spot in the rail. When PBL imported the RTO cars, the trucks on these are rigid. If you are a true-blue C&S fan you probably don't have any of these, so I am here to tell you that the RTO cars are freaking amazing: they operate really well out of the box, and be sure to set the brakes on a grade because these things will roll all the way to Denver from the top of Boreas. So, I am apt to start in and rigid-ize my fleet. Again, any thoughts here?
Speaking of weight, I am hearing operating reliability is enhanced by the
consistent weight of cars. I have read this at intervals in the railroad press and confess I have not been terribly focused on this aspect of modeling. I have been adding weight in the form of tungsten Pinewood Derby weights and putty (available at Michaels from Woodland Scenics!) to my lighter cars from Leadville Shops and Cimarron. With my other models, I just assemble using the weight provided and call it good. I think I will start paying more attention to this moving forward. What is your experience?
You all know I have been watching videos of some military modelers and discovering some of the neat products available from AK (
https://ak-interactive.com/), like chipping fluid. One visitor told me of a great
earth wash that can be applied with a paint brush like liner fluid. I will have to look into this.
I also ran into Mr. Pat Student, who sometimes hangs out in these parts. I shared that I am wanting to try some new
figure painting techniques, especially because I bought a bunch of new figures from Lyle at Aspen Models. The technique I have seen involves priming the figures with black overall, and then following with a spray of white from above. The figure is finished using washes of acrylic paint to build up color, but maintaining transparency so you can see the shadows and highlights. Anywhoo, Pat suggested not using black, but using blue instead as shadows can have a blue cast. Maybe I just need to try out both and create a tutorial for you all in these parts?
Mark LaChey stopped in and we spent some time kibbitzing about the
NMRA Achievement Program. You may know I am working on my MMR credential and have already submitted for the Dispatcher AP. Next up is rolling stock, structures and prototype scene. I think we Sn3-ers are handicapped by the quality of kits, and the general excellence of modelers in our scale. Mark provided some tips regarding documentation and how to count parts, as in count EVERYTHING. Candidly there have been some posts here that make me really say, "whoa!"
Sounds like the next project at PBL is the
Uintah Mallet. I try not to ask Jimmy and Keren about it when I see them--maybe I should. Word is these will be $3,200 each and you need to reserve yours now if you haven't already. Climax is really pressing management to move traffic, so we are considering acquiring a 2-6-6-2 to test on the steep South Park profiles. I was disappointed to hear the mechanism is designed for a 36" minimum radius. While I typically advocate larger radii, I standardized on a 30" minimum radius myself and it seems unfortunate that the model will not negotiate nearly as tight a turn as the prototype. More on this when I know it.
It was great seeing everyone and sharing stories. It is especially nice when some of you lot stop in to say hello! Joe Crea, Keith Pashina and Doug Heitkamp stopped in for the first time, and Pat Student and Mike Trent came by as well. It was great to see you all. If you didn't make this show, we are planning to have the layout open for the Narrow Gauge Convention in 2024, if Bill Lund thinks the layout is up to snuff, that is. Also, the next Narrow Gauge convention is in Tacoma, I think about Labor Day.
Lastly, I got lots of compliments on posts, and I am here to tell you it is not hard. I don't have a fancy camera: I grab an Arttista figure (they are pre-painted and generally can stand up on their own), pose the figure and my unfinished model and take a photo with my cell phone. And I post it. It is that simple!
Keith Hayes
Leadville in Sn3
Locked
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