Flatcar Sidequest

 

I think one more layer of weathering might be needed

After presenting at the Susquehanna Division's hands-on session on weathering last month, I felt the urge to experiment. (Yes, a total diversion from either infrastructure or Phase Two advancement.) This InterMountain flatcar in my current roster's stash of rolling stock, needing to be checked for standards, was a likely candidate. This post  discusses both the roster and my standards. 

The flatcar came with metal wheels and when I checked with an NMRA standards gauge, they were fine. When I checked the car on my test track and coupler height gauge, the trip pin was very low and the couplers were off as well. I found the InterMountain gear boxes frustrating to work with. To make a long story short, I ended up drilling and tapping to be able to add screw mounting to the cover before installing Kaydee #58 couplers. The car's weight was below the RP 20.1 recommended weight. Even after gluing lead shot and Liquid Gravity to the underbody the car still measured underweight.  It was closer though. 

While dealing with operational standards, I went back and reread an article from the January 2025 NMRA Magazine. Charles Goodrich, MMR wrote about making the plastic deck on a flatcar look like a wooden deck. I decided to follow his techniques. After applying Dark Gray Vallejo Wash to the sides and ends of my flatcar, I tried distressing the wooden deck. I used a triangular file to deepen some of the gaps between the boards, a fine razor saw to scratch in some wood wear, and fine sandpaper to smooth any plastic snags and add variety to the paint coverage. 

The key to his technique to make "plastic flatcar decks look like wood" appears to be using Tamiya Panel Line. As the Panel Line paints were part of the weathering products I shared at the meeting, I found this to be the perfect experiment. Panel Line is typically used to emphasize shadows in molded lines, louvres, grating, and other details by allowing the paint to flow through capillary action by touching the brush to the area. Instead, I followed Mr. Goodrich's suggested approach of painting the entire wood deck, first with brown and then black. 

I took this photo after the Panel Line Accent Colors had dried overnight. It looked pretty good, but I was trying to match the look of a prototype photo. So, I tried some additional techniques as well to get to the point seen in the opening photo: 

• Scuffing the deck with steel wool
• Application of Pan Pastels, Neutral Gray Extra Dark, Neutral Gray Tint, and Raw Umber to the deck
• Brushing on Grimy Black acrylic paint, both a couple of individual boards and dry brushing the stake pockets
• Application of Bragdon Powders to the trucks, a light gray overall and a rust color to the springs

Much like scenery techniques, once a base layer of weathering is down, adding additional layers can add to the appearance of realism. I see a couple of things that I would like to take care of in that initial photo. Yeah, one more layer!

Ingleton and New Module Updates

Ingleton shelf ready for "action"

While it has been awhile since my last post, some work here in the basement has gone on. In addition to helping my wife with gardening and rewilding, I have been getting some things done. I cut, painted, and installed a "baseboard" for the stud wall behind Ingleton, and I installed a hardboard valance above the shelf. While the long term plan for this area is to be the final TOMA section, a harbor scene, for now I want to try out the design concept for a valance here to both hide the LED light fixture and suggest a a more finished presentation of the scene. My feeling is that I'm ready to either bring out some rolling stock for trial operations or renew scenery work here on this independent shelf layout. 

Although I am not that far along with the new module, some progress has been made there as well. I moved through the first phase of trackwork and wiring starting with the two turnouts. They are both in place and soldered to a short spacer between them with frog feeders and feeders in the spacer dropped. In addition to drilling holes for the feeders, I cut slots in the roadbed and plywood below the throw bars so that the spring wires from the switch machines can later be installed.

Once the turnouts were in place, I added a full length of flex track to the main with feeders dropped and temporarily fastened everything in place with a couple of track spikes. Then I turned the module up on its side and installed the DCC bus. I went ahead and attached the power feeders with suitcase connectors. The next step while the frame is still up on its side will be to wire and install the Tortoise switch motors. I found that I do have the two necessary switch motors, but they may not have long enough spring wires. 

My thinking now is that I want to get a lot of the work done under the module, before mounting it in place. Before mounting it, I should extend the backdrop behind it. Once it is in place, it will be time to prep and paint another section of the basement floor. To keep up with our plans outside, I need to put in a fair amount of time teaming with my wife on those projects, but I can still make progress with the railroads. 

TOMA Phase Two: Infrastructure

 

Floor paint, second coat

In trying to avoid making the same mistake over and over, I transitioned to some "infrastructure" work since the last couple of posts. Painting the basement floor has been another in a long line of gumption traps for me. Despite having made some additional progress on the trackwork on the new module, I took it down from the temporary workbench and forced myself to tackle painting the floor. 

Starting with the area under the future location of "Phase Two" and along the Ingleton shelf seemed like a logical location. With the area emptied of stuff, I swept, shop vacced, and washed this segment of the floor. According to online pundits, painted concrete floors don't like hot water or acidic cleaners, so rather than my wife's initial suggestion of vinegar and hot water, I used warm water and a few drops of dishwashing soap. Again, according to the pundits, I used a damp sponge mop instead of really soaking the floor with a wet mop. I don't know if success was from following the experts, but all the paint appears to be maintaining adhesion.

Painting the floor in front of the Ingleton shelf doesn't quite complete the so-called infrastructure work there. (I think I picked up the use of the term infrastructure for work supporting the model railroad from Mike Hauk.) The little stud wall here is sheathed with homasote, and past water damage had warped the bottom. Before painting the floor, I cut out the worst of the deformed bottom on the one side. I cut a piece of clapboard salvaged from the "bar" and will use it as a baseboard. I also need to figure out the valance to hide the LED light and better frame the scene in this mini-layout. 

Behind Ingleton's stud wall, a set of built in shelves will support the railroad with storage. The framing supporting these shelves also has some water damage on one side. I plan to sister in some support, and I cut two 2X4s to do just that. The floor in the same area has a spot that is always wet. It can be seen in this photo. I plan to experiment with a hydraulic concrete patch here. That will need to be patched and allowed to dry before I can continue painting the floor here behind the stud wall. 

I definitely want to continue with the work around the Ingleton shelf before moving back to the track and electrical work on the new module. After painting the floor, with just a couple of steps on the location for the new module, its new home will be ready, and I can transition from a focus on infrastructure back to model rainlorading.

New Module -- Roadbed and Track, Part 1

The roadbed jigsaw pieces fit together

 In my last post, I mentioned next steps as working on the new module as well as completing some infrastructure work. I have, for the most part, focused on the new module in the last couple of weeks. However, before moving the module back to the sawhorses, I gathered up some of the tools and materials from the train room expansion projects and moved them out to the garage. In doing so, I was able to liberate the red work cart for actually working on the railroad. 

The puzzle is underway

I ended up piecing the roadbed together from a variety of materials. I had some cork on hand, but not enough to complete the whole module. I ordered some Walthers closed cell foam roadbed when I first ordered supplies for this project. Also, I found that I had one piece of cork turnout pad. Remembering my experience reclaiming modules, I used Elmer's white glue instead of Weldbond in case I would need to make changes. Again, I used a combination of nailing, clamping, and weighting to affix the roadbed materials. 

Putty in the gaps

With the assortment of types of roadbed and methods of attaching it, I had a bit of a learning curve. As I moved forward, I continued to double check with the track markings and the track itself. Facing turnouts and the full width foam were both new to me, so finding the one turnout pad in my bin of track parts helped. Clicking to enlarge the photos, one can see the pice of cork that I cut to fill a void. I traced the odd shape on a piece of paper and used it as a template. While it took a few days to fit the jigsaw pieces of roadbed together, it all came together. In this photo, I had just finished filling gaps in the roadbed and the screw divots with putty. 

The trackwork starts with the turnouts

With the roadbed in place and the cork painted an initial gray color, it was time to move on to starting the track and wiring. I started with the Peco turnouts. I have discussed prepping Peco turnouts before such as here or here. At this point I have isolated the frog and have a feeder soldered that will later run to the Tortoise switch machines. As I am using the switch machines on these two turnouts, I also removed the tiny spring in the turnouts. Back in my modular railroading days in Seattle, we discovered the possibility of creating shorts with the spring in place when using switch motors to change polarity. 

Now it is time to move on with fitting the track together and dropping feeders. As I solder the feeders under the rail as I lay the track, these two steps are taken together, rather than the typical lay track and then add feeders. I may take a brief break in working on this new module, as I will be prepping for a group clinic on weathering without an airbrush at my NMRA division's next in-person meeting.

TOMA Phase Two: New Module & Next Steps

Underside of the new module

The new module's benchwork is complete. Since my last post I completed the process of glueing and screwing the plywood top to the framework. After the glue dried, I drilled some holes through the framework to later run wiring. I also cut and glued on some wood spacers to support the fascia once it is time for that step. After those dried I went ahead and primed the underside with a latex primer. 

Now that the benchwork construction of this new module is complete, I revisited the penciled in track plan on its plywood top and started test fitting the track and roadbed. When I ordered track, turnouts, and roadbed a few months ago, cork roadbed was not available, so I went ahead and purchased some of the new Walthers closed foam roadbed. I also purchased Peco flex track, which I hadn't used before. Since I am using Peco turnouts, it makes sense to use their Code 83 flex track as well. 

By temporarily clamping the new module in place, I not only identified a slight angled gap between the modules, but I was also able to accurately position the end of the roadbed. In working with the Walthers roadbed, I found it to be less forgiving, perhaps because it is full width, with curving easily. I cut a small straight piece to glue in place here at the junction with the existing benchwork, ensuring that the subtle s-curve going through the fill would be from one length of the roadbed. Walthers says it can be glued, but does not specify what type of glue. I tried Weldbond. 

After the Weldbond dries, I will unclamp and move the new module back to the sawhorses to more easily work on finishing installation of roadbed along with the track and electrical work. I will need to review prepping the Peco turnouts before pre assembling the turnout section. Along with installing the trackwork, I will want to at least start some of the electrical work such as the track feeders and DCC bus with the underside easily accessible. Unlike the track and roadbed components which I ordered ahead of time, I'd better check my supply of switch machines and wire. I also have some infrastructure work to complete: hardboard for the backdrop and a new LED fixture for lighting will need to be purchased and installed as well as prepping and painting the floor before permanently bolting the module into place.  

TOMA Phase Two Underway

Revised Phase Two Sketch

I left off my last post with a desire to revise my plan for Phase Two and start with the new benchwork. As seen above, I shortened the plan for the new module and came up with this working plan. 

After sketching the plan, my next step involved unburying the sheet of half inch plywood from the back of a pile of lumber in the garage and purchasing a new blade for my Skilsaw. Still out in the garage, I cut a two foot by six foot section to bring into the basement to work from in order to fashion the top of the benchwork for the now six foot long cut and fill module. My plan was not to just create a flat rectangular benchtop, but to incorporate a curved front as well as some lower sections for the "fill" to rise up from. Later I will create the hill with the cut on top of the plywood base.

Using measurements of where the track on the modules to either side will be, my layout plan sketch, and some track I drew out the track plan on the plywood. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see where I drew in the curved front of this new module. I started sketching in the track plan in pencil at this point as well, but I went over the curved front with a marker to make it easy to see. That will be the first cut with my saber saw. 

After cutting out the curved front of the plywood panel, I continued with drawing the track plan on the plywood. I first sketched in some initial ideas for the lowered section or ravine that will be cut out. I also did some basic calculations to get an idea of how low these dropped sections need to go. I have a trestle that I built from a Campbell kit years ago that I plan to use on the drill track. I also have a concrete culvert kit for the fill section. I wanted to make sure I had room for these. Then I cut out those sections that will be dropped below the rest of the plywood top. 

After cutting the plywood to its final shape, I started designing and construction of the grid framework. In this photo, it is completed and resting on sawhorses, ready for the installation of the top. To actually build the grid, I had the plywood on the sawhorses and laid out the "one by" pine panels on top of it. I used basic glue and screw techniques to put the grid together.  Having two drill motors made fast work of drilling and then screwing the parts together. 

In this photo from earlier today, the top and recessed areas are positioned in place, as is the trestle. After I took this photo I went ahead and glued and screwed the plywood top in place. One trick that I tried before final assembly was to reposition the plywood under the grid on the sawhorses in order to pencil in exactly where the grid frame pieces would be before reconfiguring the panel back on top. I also avoided positioning screws under future track locations as well as countersinking the screw heads, so they would be hidden under future scenery. 

I plan to continue working on this new section as a module as I find that it is much easier to complete some of the next steps by tipping it upside down or on edge rather than crawling under the installed benchwork. I need to complete some more prep work before installing this section as well; floor painting and extending the backdrop come to mind.

Basement to Trainroom Continued

Earlier this week I finished painting the foundation walls, completing one step of the transition to trainroom. While nowhere near as wet as last spring when the sump pump failed, the floor has a couple of areas where the existing green paint is missing and moisture is seeping in. A next step, painting the floor, will have to either wait or be done in sections avoiding moisture. Generally the "French Drain Canal" has been channeling the water to the drain in the far corner of the basement successfully, and the existing green paint seals the moisture away.

When my wife and I moved the Ferndale Junction module into place, she pointed out that, even with the fold down section, she felt it was too close to the well pressure tank and inlet plumbing. Her point is that we should allow room for someone to work if (or when) we need work done. So, we moved the module back a bit, and I have been sketching out a plan for a six foot rather than seven foot module for the new section between Nooksack and Ferndale Junction. I really don't want to set myself up for a serious "I told you so" situation. 

Next steps appear to be some floor cleaning and painting as well as finalize the plan and get started on the benchwork for the new cut and fill module/section.