DSS&A 100 Series American

Engineers side view of my rebuilt Bachmann Southern american type locomotive.  This project will result in a good representation of a DSS&A 100 series american type engine.

Firemans side view.  I added styrene trim work to the cab to give it the appearance of a wood cab.  The domes, bell, stack and headlight are PSC castings.  The injector piping, whistle and sander valves were salvaged from the Bachmann model.

The next step will be modifying the tender.  The challenge here will be to fit in the batteries, DCC sound decoder, speaker, and wireless receiver.  I guess I did not mention that the layout that you see the engine on is being built as dead rail, so I need an appropriate engine for use on it.  It has been a pleasant experience not having to wire track, one I highly recommend. 

This is the electronics package in the tender.  There are a lot of goodies packed into a small space.  A Tam Valley radio, Tsunami 750 decoder, speaker, reed switch and controller circuit, and a pair of 110maH Sparkfun LiPo batteries.  The radio antenna is the curved red wire that lays over the top of the components.  The tender shell snaps in place so you do not have to remove screws to change the cells,  of course you do have to be careful to pick up the tender by holding the frame not the shell sides. 

I have done a little testing on performance.  So far I have found that I can perform stop/start switching, pulling four freight cars, for about 30 minutes on one set of charged batteries.  It will be interesting to see if this goes up as I put more duty cycles on the batteries.  If it could get to 45 minutes that would be ideal as it takes about 45-60 minutes to charge a pair of cells.

Crossties And Track

I have been working on some modeling projects through the summer but have mostly been enjoying  spending my time outdoors.  I did work on creating flat cut ties and detailing track using Proto 87 Store components.  This is a sample of the track on my newest shelf layout. 

Coal for the Tamarack No 2 Boiler House

Coal was delivered to the boiler houses of the mine in empty rock cars.  Rock cars loaded with copper ore would be sent to the stamps, when empty a significant number would be forwarded to the mining company's coal dock.  There they would be loaded with coal and returned to the mine.  This was a profitable cycling of cars for the railroad. 

This coal load is a resin casting created to precisely fit the 30 ton rock cars.  In the November 2011 issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist I presented a method for creating coal loads.  That method, with a slight modification was used to create the load.   Brushable silicon rubber was used to create the mold.  Once the part is cast a little side sanding and some tapering of the ends of the load allow it to snuggle down into the car.  Once the fit was established I painted the casting black.

Mine Props For Tamarack No 2

 
Tamarack Shaft No 2 is back in operation now that the miners have been refreshed with their favorite beverages.  These two cars are the first deliveries of stulls for use in the newly opened vein on the 38th level north. 

The logs were created from white pine sticks which were molded using a brushable silicon rubber.  They are cast in resin, painted and finished with powdered pigments. 

Beer Arrives In The Red Jacket District

The new Mineral Range spur which serves the beer depots located off Pine street has seen their first delivery of freight cars.  This event has been anticipated for the last four months as the depots themselves were constructed and the new spur was installed.  All of this activity has accompanied the process of changing the narrow gauge line of the Mineral Range to the universal standard sized track.  No longer will all of the beer headed for the Copper Country require unloading into cars of the narrow gauge at Houghton for shipment up to Red Jacket.  

Miller Beer Reefer Progress

I have finished construction on the first four beer reefers and am now in the process of painting.  This is the current state of the Miller Beer reefer.  Roof and ends are boxcar red and sides are white.  The Art Griffin decals have been applied to one side and now need to dry completely before I apply the eagle trademark.  I need to get some new paint brushes to do the detail painting on the model.  I am happy with the result so far, unfortunately the door on the car is five feet wide and I believe that the prototype had a four foot door.  I guess it will be back to the pattern shop for a redo!

Beer Reefer Build

I have started a build page on my next beer reefer.  It is a model of a Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul 34 foot Pabst car.  I purchased a photo of the car and decals for it from Art Griffin.