Doorstop Diesels

[Rufus T. Firefly]

"Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been."

Not quite, but I am light years away from where I was from about 12 to 36 or so - and I like me a lot better this way.

Not quite indeed - you're still aging........

[bob turner]

Got some slightly better photos today. First, the PRR for Dave:

[bob turner]

And the B&O on the track:



Next will be a reprise of the Jack Raymus Diesel - a true work of art, if you can get the pieces to fit. Took an end mill to get it semi-straight. Wish I had known Jack better - he threatened to send me some castings, but alas, this from eBay after he left us.

[De Bruin]

Good photos Bob, the pin stripping on the PRR set is nicely done, sets off my OCD for glazing the cab windows and screening the car body venting.
Nice set!

[bob turner]

Decals - easy. I admit it - I have never glazed Diesel windows. I have done about three quarters of my passenger cars, including one dome car. Actually, I have some really good screening material for the side windows, but low incentive. Lucky to get handrails and stirrup steps on most. Not sure why; my steamers get all the handrails, including those on the back of the cab and above the cab windows. Might be a problem in some synapse connections located on or near the OCD headquarters.

Here is Jack's E7. Might be the finest sand cast E7 ever done - if my foundry ever pours bronze, I will surpass it, but that will be with the help of Scott's E7 sides and Jim's Keil Line window frames. My artistry will extend only to the soldering.

[bob turner]

Before the pilot gets criticized, I note that I have almost 3/32 of brass in the pilot area, allowing me to carve it to the correct angle. I will probably cut a coupler opening while I am at it. The thing begs for paint; not sure why I am procrastinating on that. It has been soldered together for almost half a decade. Cannot make my mind up - Golden State, or Central of Georgia?

[bob turner]

So, except for the NYC, which is the one awaiting the foundry, that is IT for my E7 collection. I will stick (with permission) Maroon's B&O in the next post, if I can find it. Then it is on to the PAs.

[bob turner]

What the heck - here is the NYC - not happy with the sides or the paint. Admittedly I spent about 30 minutes total masking and spraying, but the sides are not straight.



And finally, Jim's B&O - just some kind of charm about this one:

[De Bruin]

Yeah Bob, agree Jim's B&O version does have a crude charm finish-wise to it such that I think it could be brought up to a respectable level without tanking it off, though refurbishing old finishes like this are often more trouble than they're worth, the degraded finish coat and pigment oxzidation making touch ups there highly difficult.
BTW your NYC E7 would clean up nicely and far more easily than that B&O with some wet sanding and decal stripes on the car body sides, the nose, forward the cab doors, is actually pretty good (ahem...screens and glazing too)

Keep this up and you may force me to post the donation pile's sole E7, visually a guaranteed thread killer.

[E7]

BTW your NYC E7 would clean up nicely and far more easily than that B&O with some wet sanding and decal stripes on the car body sides, the nose, forward the cab doors, is actually pretty good (ahem...screens and glazing too)

Keep this up and you may force me to post the donation pile's sole E7, visually a guaranteed thread killer.

The headlight has that slight backward tilt that is usually missed (put most of the blame on Lyinel, and the only real flaw on the P&D/Atlas units. which both are vertical. For Atlas blame the old Rocos.Raymus looks good except for the pilot. They all must have had a fixation on the early E's.

[bob turner]

Keep this up and you may force me to post the donation pile's sole E7, visually a guaranteed thread killer.

Too late - on to the famous PAs. I have seven As and two Bs at last night's count, and that does not count the shell-cast and lost-wax MTH units. My first, and still not finished (although it is a brute for pulling power) is my SP, posted many times here in various threads.

[rogruth]

This may sound like a silly question but I am serious.
Do you guys actually run your trains after you build them?
Other than just a test run.

[J. S. Bach]

This may sound like a silly question but I am serious.
Do you guys actually run your trains after you build them?
Other than just a test run.

[bob turner]

Roger - not a silly question. I do run trains occasionally, but running them is not my main joy. So, yeah, most get a test run or a few laps with a string of cars, then go on the shelf. I can watch a train run for just about ten minutes, then I have to go do something.

[rogruth]

Bob, I was just curious. I understand. You seem to like the building of the loco better than running it.
I built a layout and think I liked the building of it more than running it.