The new old boxcar

As readers will note, the M&StL boxcar has been improved. Omscaler was not satisfied with his own work on this one. Therefore, the boxcar was re-shopped. Part of the reason was the availability of better graphics for reporting marks. The other was that the ladders were sub-standard. The result is a definite improvement. There are still visible flaws to be seen. However, omscaler will try to adhere to a better construction standard in the future. As readers may be able to tell, this side project was interjected in the midst of the larger hopper project. The hoppers are in the process of having end frames installed. With the final details, this should bring a completion to this major project. Then, onward and upward. Working with anticipation, omscaler

 

A visit to a cultural venue

Last Saturday the 35^th Annual Coosa Valley Model Railroad Association train show was held in historic downtown Gadsden, Alabama. The location was the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts. What could be more “cultural” than model railroading? And in a riverside town to boot! In fact, the whole area is replete with history and scenic beauty. Noccalula Falls, Coosa River, Weiss Lake (Crappie Capital of the World), Cherokee Rock Village and for Civil War buffs, numerous military sites. Anyway, yours truly won a door prize. Just made my day! A few more things. The main permanent layout is seventy-two feet long. It features actual buildings and activities from Gadsden’s past. A least five layouts were on display. Numerous dealers were present as well. The visit to the Falls showed it to be in full flow with a plentiful mist blowing off. The nearby park area was hosting a Barbecue Cooking Competition. Smelled wonderful. Cool and windy though. All in all, a nice day trip. Back home and working, omscaler

 

A little more insider information

For our blog readers, more insider information. Literally. Omscaler has reached the point on the hopper car build where the center slope sheets have been installed. This week we will begin center beam cover sheets. These parts form a metal tent over the car center beam for the purpose of directing all the coal out of the bottom of the hopper. Omscaler is in fact aware of the possibility that some hopper cars just had the flat top surface of the center beam exposed. The reason for this is that omscaler is in possession of a three- bay hopper car in the 1/160 N scale which has the exposed center beam. The car markings are for the Illinois Central RR. This begs the question, “Is the model true to the prototype?” Maybe back in the day, some of the coal load remaining on the center beam was considered too negligible to matter. Omscaler will consider researching this. At any rate, the GM&O hoppers will have beam cover sheets. Nothing is too good for the customer. Still ‘a-building, omscaler

 

TAG along, if you will

Last week, omscaler took a visit to Cherokee County, Alabama. The purpose of this trip was to get fishing information. One of the stops omscaler made was at Yellow Creek. Omscaler has written about this area before. It was delightful to see Yellow Creek Falls in full flow. Great natural beauty. Just out in front of the falls a little distance are the old trestle piers for the TAG line. The Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railroad. Folks used to be able to make Fall foliage excursions and visit this area many years ago. Ah, for the good old days. Anyway, omscaler did get some info and did get to try out some new fishing equipment and did not catch anything. Cool with wind although sunny later on. Mostly a sight-seeing outing. All good. We are back on the hopper car group and making steady progress. Specifically putting in the center sheets. Feeling refreshed, omscaler

 

Insider information

 This week, omscaler has some inside information for blog readers. The info concerns the car reporting marks for the hopper group. More specifically, the individual car numbers. They are: 60501, 60504, 60506, 60511, 60517, 60523, 60525, 60529, 60537, and 60541. Readers will note that these numbers are not consecutive. This was done purposely to have a more realistic group of cars. It has been omscaler’s experience that when encountered in real life, it is rare to see consecutive numbers. However, the series of these numbers is based on actual GM&O open top hoppers. Also, the hopper group is being built somewhat slowly. This is due to different reasons. Nevertheless, omscaler is committed to completing this important project. Continuing the work, omscaler

 

Winter is over? Really?

Last post omscaler said winter was over. Omscaler made a large blunder. Snow on the ground last Saturday. Remind me not to be a weatherman. And headed toward seventy-five degrees two days after this will be posted! Oh well. Anyway. Been busy around here with non-model railroad stuff. Had to be done. The good news is that with the stuff out of the way, we can resume with the important work on the hopper group. Omscaler is still working on the end slope sheets. Next will be the middle slope sheets. The method we are using now has us making the car components from a thinner card stock for ease of cutting. The normal black stock is 110# weight card and is a bear to cut. This stock will also delaminate if it needs to bend. The current stock is white so the added step of tinting it off black is needed. This is not too much trouble. The end result is a better-looking railcar. Continuing this important work, omscaler

 

Winter is over!

Yes. Fine weather is here. Lots of folks are getting outside and enjoying the sunshine. Omscaler is one of them. The walking track at the local park has been visited a number of times already. Gotta’ keep fit to enjoy the model railroad. However, there is a dark side to this. With the occurrence of fine weather, the temptation is to just be outside all the time. This lessens the time put in on The Very Small Railroad. The good news is that there is a silver lining to this dark cloud. April showers bring indoor work time for us who are diligently laboring on The Omega Scale Railway. All we have to do is put some time in every day if we can. Usually not a problem. I think I hear a fish jumping! Setting my resolve, omscaler