Just Because

Rode this in Canada when I was 10 or 11, and Rapido did it right in N scale. Thanks Jason Shron, and company, this one hits the spot.

Ahh, the Utah Belt

Eric Brooman's Utah Belt is featured--again, after a sufficiently healthy interval--in the December 2018 Model Railroader. Even though I'm not particularly interested in modeling a southwestern US class 1 railroad, I have always enjoyed seeing the UB. I enjoy the artistry--Eric is an art teacher, after all. The vistas are unmistakably the great southwest, and Eric has nailed the colors, textures, and composition.

I also admire the depth and maturity of the overall concept. The UB *looks* right, like it belongs in the panoply of big American railroads. The paint scheme, in particular, is conservative, and UB's rolling stock conforms to consistent themes.

Retrofitting New Benchwork Under the Old Line Corridor

The Old Line corridor on its new rolling, rigid  benchwork. Note the galvanized Simpson Strong Tie fittings on the corners, which significantly simplified and sped up construction of the new benchwork. 

The Old Line Corridor was in need of a new benchwork foundation. The folding table legs, extended with 1" conduit tubing, which had served as the support for the layout, were becoming worryingly wobbly over time. The wobbliness became very apparent to me during recent visits to other layouts. I noticed particularly that most other layouts--even modular examples--were sturdy or even immovably stable in contrast to my OLC.

Also, the folding metal legs' springiness and tiny feet made it difficult to move the layout--moving the layout or even adjusting its position required two strong adults to lift the layout straight up.

I cribbed the idea for the folding metal legs from several different Model Railroader magazine project layouts. In particular, the Carolina Central layout from the mid 90s demonstrated the exact approach I used on the OLC. The Carolina Central had used a narrower 30" door and significantly less foam insulation than the OLC. As a result, I suspect the OLC's larger 36"-wide foot print and 3-plus inches of foam might have been pushing the limit of the extended folding legs' capacity. 

I considered a variety of options for replacing the folding legs. One approach would have borrowed another Model Railroader idea, that which was used under Red Oak N scale project layout: a heavy wheeled cart constructed from 1x4s and L-girders. Another would have been to use Ikea Ivar shelf components, as has has been done by Marty McGuirk and Bernie Kempinski on their layouts.

I homed in on a 2x2-based approach using Simpson Strong Tie shelving hardware. A Simpson Strong Tie DIY Shelving kit provided the eight required fittings and an ample supply of screws to attach the fittings to 2x2s. The fittings were attached at the top and bottom of the 48" 2x2 uprights. A 36" x 80" panel of 1/2" plywood, with 1 1/2" notches cut into the corners, formed a shelf for the bottome of the new frame. Once the fittings and plywood shelf were completely screwed in, the new frame was very rigid and strong. Casters with 3/8" stems were then fitted to the legs. The resulting benchwork is appropriately lightweight, yet rigid. The casters allow the layout to be repositioned and moved around the room easily.

And the wobble is completely gone!

N Scale Toaster Update

The basis of the N scale AEM-7--'Toaster'--project is Fleischmann's Rc4 model, and the first challenge was couplers. On the left, the Rc4 has been fitted with a Bachmann EZ Mate coupler; on the right, the Rc4 fitted with a Dapol magnetic coupler. The Dapol coupler is intended to be a substitute for Rapido couplers on buffer-equipped UK and continental European rolling stock. As a result, the Dapol couplers sit low, and are roughly the same volume and reach as Rapido couplers in the foreground; note the height in comparison. In short, the Dapols will not mate with the MicroTrains/Kato/Accumate/EZ Mate knuckle couplers that are more or less standard on US N scale rolling stock. I had hoped the Dapols would work on the Rc4s, but alas, I devised a method for attaching the shank of a Bachmann EZ Mate coupler to the shank of the stock Rapido couplers. I am surprised that MicroTrains has not introduced an appropriately shanked coupler that fits in the NEM standard socket common to many contemporary European N models.  

Getting ready for prime time: over in the paint shop, the Shapeways/Imperial AEM-7 shells have received a coat of GSI/Creos Mr. Surfacer. Note that the bottom half of the loco's pilots have been removed to accomodate the truck-mounted couplers. The coat of paint revealed prominent stratification and other artifacts of the 3D printing process. I anticipate that several coats of Mr. Surfacer, with careful sanding and polishing in between coats, will be required before they are ready for finishing in Amtrak colors. One will get an as-delivered Phase III paint scheme; the other will be finished in the Phase V scheme, which these Toasters wore at the time of their retirement.

Fleischmann Rc4 frame modifications in progress. On the left, the exposed silver metal indicates where the frame has been filed to fit the Shapeways/Imperial AEM-7 shell. On the right, note the installed TCS EUN651P-18 decoder; this is apparently the only US market decoder that fits in this model.