Model Showcase

Russ Norris, MMR

Attached are some photos of the recent scenery work on my East Broad Top layout. I constructed a spur that curves around a mountain on a rising 2% grade. The tracks below belong to the main line on a descending 2% grade. The spur passes through three different scenes. The first and lowest scene is a logging site as it appeared in the 1920's. The middle scene is an ore tipple for a high grade silica ore known as ganister rock. The tipple was operated by North American Refractories in Mount Union, Pennsylvania. The ore was used in steel furnaces and other high temperature applications. This scene is modeled as it appeared around the end of common carrier operations in 1956. The tracks continue to rise and curve around the mountain until they end at the EBT coal dock at the Rockhill Shops, a scene that would have been typical from the early 20th century through today.

With the completion of these scenes my model railroad is about 90% complete.

Jim Rothe

A few years ago my wife and I took a train ride across Panama. On the Pacific end was a old two dome 30 foot tank car next to the station, see below.

I kept thinking about this car and finally decided I had to have one on my railroad. I had a couple of Model Die Cast old time tank cars that came close to the one in the picture and decided I could kitbash the two tank cars into one car.

I used the existing metal frame which is bulkier than the frame on the real car but is close enough and the metal gives the car some weight. I cut the existing tanks into a dome section and two end pieces. After gluing the two dome pieces together I was able to figure out how much to shorten the two end pieces to keep the 30’ tank length. I covered the joints in the tank with home made plastic rivet strips. I cut off all the cast on railing brackets and plugged all the holes in the tank. The tank car in Panama didn’t have any handrails, platforms or ladders, I am assuming at one time it did. I added them to my car following pictures from the Internet. The same goes for brake wheel, cylinder and piping.

I spray painted the car weathered black and added dry transfer lettering for my railroad and numbered it for a maintenance of way car. I lightly weathered the car. I plan to use the car for a auxiliary water supply for my rotary snow plow, steam shovel or steam crane. I can also use it for a fuel supply for my three gas-electrics.

Chuck Diljak, MMR

HO scale

First Timer's Bar by Downtown Deco

Having never built a hydrocal kit before, Chuck attended a virtual Make-and-Take clinic presented by Clark Kooning, MMR, to the Western New York Division in the Niagara Frontier Region. Chuck is friends with Clark and Andy MacVie, Superintendent of the hosting division.

Clark demonstrated his techniques and tips to seal, paint, assmble, and finish a hydrocal kit. The Downtown Deco kit is intended for modelers to discover that working with hydrocal kits is a lot of fun.

Chuck created his own signage for the model, naming it for both Andy and Clark. Chuck added additional details to the model with LED lights for the front and back, a hanging bar sign, a gas meter, an electric meter, and a Tichy smoke jack.

HO scale

Funaro & Camerlengo Horizontal Ribbed Hopper

Chuck models the anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania. His Wyoming Valley Railroad features hoppers from many of the anthracite railroads. This kit features a one-piece body and was featured for a Make-and-Take clinic at the NER’s convention in Mahwah, NJ in 2018.

Chuck bent his own grab irons and cut levers for the model and used a brake wheel from Tichy. He also used stirrup steps from A-Line and added L-girders and rivet decals to the slope sheet braces on the interior for a stronger bond with the car body.

Chuck scratch built the brake levers, rods, and brake lines seen on the underside of the car.

Roger Post

HO Scale Snow Flanger kitbashed from a Walthers kit. The floor blades were cut from a Coke can and the body was modified to more closely match the prototype.

Dave Insley

This is the Sierra West Tool Shed in HO Scale that was sitting on the shelf for too long. There were a couple of interesting techniques from the directions, the first of which involved staining the wood. Diluted Floquil Grime was first brushed on the wood, and then a brass wire brush was used to distress the boards. The process turned them a really nice gray. The kit also came with some fantastic castings and while it called for not exposing the interior, the nice laser cut interior framing called for that advice to be ignored. Brett's instructions called for the use of pastel chalks to add texture to the detail parts during the painting process. Kathy Millatt had a video about creating a scale calendar, so Dave printed out a calendar from May, 1939 and put several of them together to form the calendar hanging in the shed which makes for a nice detail.

This was also an opportunity to experiment with lighting and rather than glue wires to nano-LEDs, it was decided to try the Woodland Scenics Just Plug lights. They made lighting this little structure super easy and really look fairly decent.

There is still some work on the roof to be done, but a fun beginner kit for sure.

Ed O'Rourke, MMR

This is a Tichy 10,000 gallon tank car, masquerading as NH 8,000 gallon tank car K-29. The decals are by Rail Detail Custom Painting. The scratch built brick water tank is based on tanks found on the New Haven Canal Line.

The second photo below appears on the NHRHTA Forum, shows a NH car float from the early 1950’s. Ed liked the flat car with the trucks being shipped and decided to duplicate it.

Ed had the flat car a while and thinks it is an Atlas product. The trucks are Sylvan scale models Ford 1952 cabs. He scratch built the flatbeds and used some fencing for the stake sitting on the beds. In theory, the truck axles are chained to the flat car deck.

Doug Dederick

Hi My name is Doug Dederick from the Hudson Berkshire Division and here is what I have done since my last layout tour from the NERX 2020 virtual convention

After NERX 2020 I needed to build a double track curved Snowshed in N SCALE. This was a stick built project. Here are some photos

After building all the bents using a jig it was time to glue them to the under side of the roof.

All the bents are glued and it’s time to finish the roof

Here is the finished model of the N scale double track snowshed. The Snowshed’s new home on the Great Northern RR

Richard Newmiller, MMR

I used to commute past this lumber yard on my way to a job in center city Philly. I bought the lumber for the first house I built from them. So, I got this idea to replicate the complex on my railroad - thus a scratch-building project was born. The 3 photos show the interior of the main building.

Gordon Spalty

This is a scratch build model of the Quebec Junction Depot. The building is scratch built using Tichy windows and doors. The Baggage doord are scratch built, the roof is made of illustration board covered with a painted newsprint paper and the paint is applied with a sponge. The Chimney was made using a square of wood with a brick veneer applied to it. The platform was made with board by board balsa wood stained in Alcohol and India Ink staining solution.

A lighted interior shows off the baggage room details.

This is a scratch build model of the Turner Creamery. The building is scratch built using Tichy windows and doors. The roof is constructed using Evergreen Metal roofing.

The building sign is printed on an inkjet printer, sealed and then sanded thin before being glued to the side of the building.

A detailed interior of the boiler room completes this fine mode.=l.

John E. Becker

The pictured diorama was free-formed in N-Scale (1 - 160 scale). The main tower was once an integral part of my vast array of railroad oriented structures.

The tower was retro-fitted with new paint (water based) , Micro Clear windows, fenced railing, steps with assorted barrels and crates arranged on ground level.

The railside electrical box was a laser-cut wood kit which was added to evoke a sense of proto-typical realism.

The Tower foreman appears to be over-seeing the rail activity. The second railroad MOW person, located below the tower, is preparing to take the speeder on a rail inspection. This diorama measures 3 inches by 5 inches.

What is next for this diorama is finding suitable placement on a layout yet to-be-constructed.

MITCHELL DWELLING

This structure was a Creative Laser Design, Inc, an N-Scale laser cut model kit. Construction was per the kit instructions. The interior walls and roof panels were reinforced with additional wood strips for stability and additional gluing surfaces. The structure was pre-painted using brush applied water based paints. The windows are all 'glassed'. The one visible enhancement made was to the porch support columns. The chimney was 'wrapped' in printed card stock that resembled brick masonry. The roof coverings were hand-laid, glued roofing material repurposed from another wood kit structure.

The overall footprint of this structure is; 2.5 inches by 1.75 inches.

A second similar structure is nearing completion. Their final placement on my layout is currently 'on-hold' as I am rearranging my modular NTRAK modular units.

Andy Rubbo

I’m Andy Rubbo and this is a photo of my HO scale Pennsylvania Railroad New York Division layout. The view looks east at the recently completed Union interlocking, tower and substation (prototype in Rahway, NJ). Ron Hoess built the tower as well as cut the material for the substation trusses on a Cameo Silhouette machine. They’re made of cardstock.

Tower, substation and all catenary components are almost entirely scratchbuilt. Ron Hoess photo.

Dave Durr

The Reading Railroad had six F3A diesel locomotives. Dave Durr modeled half of that series as they appeared in the 1960 to 1963 range. All began as 1990's vintage Stewart products. Note the differences in the prototypically correct nose details.

Jeanne Spalty

Lakeshores Division member, Jeanne Spalty, had never before built a railroad model. Jim DeMarco's November 2021 round table clinic on scratch-building a 36' wooden truss rod boxcar kindled her interest. Both she and her husband, Gordon, decided to sign up for the Lakeshores Build-it Series. After four sessions to date, here's Jeanne's progress on her boxcar.

Sue Osberg

The left photo is a background structure by Bar Mills; the next two are of a structure by George Selios.; the last photo is a scratch built church built for my N-scale T-Trak module that is part of the Little Rhody T-Trak layout, the Rhode Island and Old Colony Railroad.