Re: C&S #47, an Sn3 C-16 conversion
Posted by Keith Hayes on Dec 12, 2020; 5:27pm
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/C-S-30-a-C-16-conversion-tp15055p16129.html
John, welcome to the world of SketchUp!. I am by no means an expert and miss the old 2-dimensional days of AutoCad and drawing with sticks (as I used to call it). A word of caution--one needs to take great care with SketchUp! and the plane you are drawing in. It is really easy to draw a line along a vector out in space you did not intend. Maybe it is the way our office sets it up, but the dimensions can get wonky sometimes. But...you found an interesting use for it. As you state, using larger dimensions to scale should yield better results than smaller dimensions.
Regarding my experience with folio sheets, as a kid, I dismissed them as nothing more than a vague schematic or diagram of the vehicle. During the years I volunteered at work sessions with the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec, I took on the job leading a team reconstructing the end platforms of former D&RGW RPO 053. Before we took it apart, we measured the car thoroughly, and I found the folios to be pretty darn accurate drawings of the vehicle. More to the point, they are what the car shop would need to order the materials and help the carpenters put the car back together. Now...I discovered my calling to be that of a carman: no boiler shops or machining for me! So I don't know how the folios rate for locomotives. There seems to be general trust in wheelbase and driver dimensions, weights, boiler pressure and so forth. Based on John's observations above, it appears that the locomotive folios are also accurate and represent dimensions that are a concern to the shop forces. One last comment: if you have A Century Plus Ten by Dr. Sloan, he devotes some space to recognizing the D&RGW folio draftsmen by name. Dr. Sloan has been collecting the material for this book for decades and I think it notable that he developed a virtual relationship with these folks as he worked with the source material.
With respect to dimensions, I tend to be more in the Allen McClelland "good enough" camp. If my math is right, 1" in 1/64 is a mil; 2" is a 2.6 mils and 3" is 4 mils. To my eye 4 mils is large enough to make a difference, but I probably would not see a dimension discrepancy less than 2" in Sn3. But that is me, and you are the CMO of your model railroad.
Jim, thanks for gathering all the locomotive images. Probably should be a new list as this blog is becoming quite the collection of flotsom and jetsam and when the day arrives that I need a cab dimension I will likely forget the pictures are embedded in a string on C-16s!
I have to ask where the pic of 11 was taken? The house on the hill is...unusual. My guess is Idaho Springs, possibly Morrison. Maybe Pine Grove? We seem to be on the north side of the loco looking south. The ridge line beyond seems more like the foothills than the deeper ranges. I have not pieced together locomotive assignments. The number 11-plus Moguls strike me as Clear Creek, Morrison or Fish Train power. Maybe this is at Grants or Shawnee?
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/C-S-30-a-C-16-conversion-tp15055p16129.html
John, welcome to the world of SketchUp!. I am by no means an expert and miss the old 2-dimensional days of AutoCad and drawing with sticks (as I used to call it). A word of caution--one needs to take great care with SketchUp! and the plane you are drawing in. It is really easy to draw a line along a vector out in space you did not intend. Maybe it is the way our office sets it up, but the dimensions can get wonky sometimes. But...you found an interesting use for it. As you state, using larger dimensions to scale should yield better results than smaller dimensions.
Regarding my experience with folio sheets, as a kid, I dismissed them as nothing more than a vague schematic or diagram of the vehicle. During the years I volunteered at work sessions with the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec, I took on the job leading a team reconstructing the end platforms of former D&RGW RPO 053. Before we took it apart, we measured the car thoroughly, and I found the folios to be pretty darn accurate drawings of the vehicle. More to the point, they are what the car shop would need to order the materials and help the carpenters put the car back together. Now...I discovered my calling to be that of a carman: no boiler shops or machining for me! So I don't know how the folios rate for locomotives. There seems to be general trust in wheelbase and driver dimensions, weights, boiler pressure and so forth. Based on John's observations above, it appears that the locomotive folios are also accurate and represent dimensions that are a concern to the shop forces. One last comment: if you have A Century Plus Ten by Dr. Sloan, he devotes some space to recognizing the D&RGW folio draftsmen by name. Dr. Sloan has been collecting the material for this book for decades and I think it notable that he developed a virtual relationship with these folks as he worked with the source material.
With respect to dimensions, I tend to be more in the Allen McClelland "good enough" camp. If my math is right, 1" in 1/64 is a mil; 2" is a 2.6 mils and 3" is 4 mils. To my eye 4 mils is large enough to make a difference, but I probably would not see a dimension discrepancy less than 2" in Sn3. But that is me, and you are the CMO of your model railroad.
Jim, thanks for gathering all the locomotive images. Probably should be a new list as this blog is becoming quite the collection of flotsom and jetsam and when the day arrives that I need a cab dimension I will likely forget the pictures are embedded in a string on C-16s!
I have to ask where the pic of 11 was taken? The house on the hill is...unusual. My guess is Idaho Springs, possibly Morrison. Maybe Pine Grove? We seem to be on the north side of the loco looking south. The ridge line beyond seems more like the foothills than the deeper ranges. I have not pieced together locomotive assignments. The number 11-plus Moguls strike me as Clear Creek, Morrison or Fish Train power. Maybe this is at Grants or Shawnee?
Keith Hayes
Leadville in Sn3
Leadville in Sn3
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