The D&RGW and Rio Grande Southern in 0n3

mickoo

Western Thunderer
You could do the first section, say 2", of the thin wall to the narrow gauge tunnel as wooden framed, that would be believable in as much as it would be a tunnel face extension to form a rock slide or avalanche cover over the entrance.

There's quite a few 1:1 on the Donner Pass on the old section, which is a trail now, before the new direct tunnel was built. They can either be wooden support posts with openings to the side, sometimes they are bricked in or large rocks used, more modern ones were concrete shuttered. The roofs were strong enough to support earth and vegetation in many cases.

You could also add a rock slide/avalanche cover over the lower track to back up the thin walled section above, that one would look nicer if it were open sided.
 

Scale7JB

Western Thunderer
How did I miss all this... Very special indeed!

I had a punt on a On30 K36 and K37 on eBay a few months back but alas was just more than I could afford ( or justify with so many other things going on).

Carry on the good work. :thumbs::thumbs:
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
How did I miss all this... Very special indeed!

I had a punt on a On30 K36 and K37 on eBay a few months back but alas was just more than I could afford ( or justify with so many other things going on).

Carry on the good work. :thumbs::thumbs:
You didn't, you posted on the 9th Feb this year ;):p

I like the whole concept and idea and the D&RGW is just the ticket.
 

Scale7JB

Western Thunderer
You didn't, you posted on the 9th Feb this year ;):p

:)) It's been a busy year, and not too much with railway modelling sadly... Not get anywhere near as much done as I would have liked for Telford. There should have been a D16 and B2..

JB.
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
463B.jpg

No progress on the "rockery", but just fitted DCC sound to a MMI K27. I think the outboard cylinder variation of the K27 may have been the first loco that MMI did and it was fitted with some kind of sound system, but whether this was a factory fitted or after market I don't know. I couldn't make any sense of it so fitted a Soundtraxx Tsunami2. Unusually it has wiper contacts on all driving wheels in addition to the loco one side tender the other arrangement.


463ABB.jpg

One problem with these locos is the bracket behind the trailing driving wheel which anchors the end of the brake rodding is too low, barely above rail level so it catches the Kadee magnets. Its been raised slightly by adjusting the springing of the driving wheels. The trailing truck has been pivoted to this bracket, as PSC do to their similar all brass models. In the MMI version as supplied it has no pivot and is just allowed to slide about from side to side, presumably to allow for tighter radius curves. Also the loco to tender drawbar was shortened by 5mm.
 

Mr Grumpy

Western Thunderer

No progress on the "rockery", but just fitted DCC sound to a MMI K27. I think the outboard cylinder variation of the K27 may have been the first loco that MMI did and it was fitted with some kind of sound system, but whether this was a factory fitted or after market I don't know. I couldn't make any sense of it so fitted a Soundtraxx Tsunami2. Unusually it has wiper contacts on all driving wheels in addition to the loco one side tender the other arrangement.



One problem with these locos is the bracket behind the trailing driving wheel which anchors the end of the brake rodding is too low, barely above rail level so it catches the Kadee magnets. Its been raised slightly by adjusting the springing of the driving wheels. The trailing truck has been pivoted to this bracket, as PSC do to their similar all brass models. In the MMI version as supplied it has no pivot and is just allowed to slide about from side to side, presumably to allow for tighter radius curves. Also the loco to tender drawbar was shortened by 5mm.
Hi Phil,
I have an Accucraft K27 held in customs at present. So hopefully after parting with yet more cash it will be in my possession.
I decided on a Zimo decoder with Heinz Dappen sound file. I have heard his C-19 and K-28 and they sound superb and they are on order for my other two locos :)
Your layout looks wonderful and I’m enjoying your instalments, keep up the good work..I may get round to cutting the first sod in the garden soon!
Ps: I have had enough of pickups so have abandoned them and gone for battery R/C DCC :)
 
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Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen

Western Thunderer
Just found this thread and wow. I'm a great fan of the 'Narrow Gauge Circle' and have a few Accucraft 15mm live steamers and rolling stock. The 3 ft gauge in Colorado is a fascinating area of railroading. Fortunately I get out to Durango and Chama every couple of years to ride the trains. Keep the posts coming please,

Tim
 

ScottW

Western Thunderer
An absolutely wonderful thread. I have always had a soft spot for the D&RGW, so much so that I bought a PFM Sn3 K27 many years ago. A beast of a locomotive! I had great plans which have sadly turned into no more than pipe dreams.
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
Back to the D&RGW as a change from building Austerities (Moving Coal Layout)

ART Reefer 001B.jpg

A five minute job that turned into 5 hours or more was replacing the body bolsters (or truck supports/pivots) on an Atlas ART Reefer. The original diecast trucks had disintegrated some time ago and been replaced with Intermountain plastic trucks with metal wheels. I thought it was riding a bit high so decided to alter the bolsters, but when unscrewed from the body they broke into several pieces - more faulty diecasting. I don't know whether this is only a problem with this particular model or not, but I've had several other Atlas freight cars that seemed OK and resold them without any problems (I hope !). The bolsters were replaced with new ones machined from solid brass.

ART Reefer 002B.jpg



D&RGW 278B.jpg

278 is a Sunset brass C-16, bought from the US fifteen years ago in the good old days when the £ was nearer to the $2 mark than the $1 it is today. It was supplied painted but not lettered or numbered, and fitted with the remnants of some unknown sound system. After purchase the tender was modified slightly, front deck shortened as I thought it was too long, pipework altered, bogie mountings replaced and coal boards removed. The works plates were removed from the smokebox, a shame but they weren't carried in later years although they are on the loco as preserved, Thinfilm decals applied, varnished, crew repainted and the cab windows glazed. I'm not sure now about the large cabside numbers and white tyres but they are appropriate for its last years in service. It then sat for the next nearly 15 years on display in the front of a bookcase, being occasionally shunted right or left as books were removed and replaced. So I thought it might as well sit on the layout and have just fitted it with a Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder and speaker in the tender.


D&RGW 278 © PGH.jpg

The prototype as preserved on a section of steel trestle in the Black Canyon, photographed in 1978. It has recently been cosmetically restored and replaced back on the trestle.


Tunnel 001B.jpg

Work is in progress on placing the rock castings for the "hill".​

Strictly speaking for a tunnel cut through solid rock the rock castings should continue into the tunnel and it would be cut with a roughly curved shape at the top of the entrance. So I'm assuming it would be lined, a representation of the lining can be added later. The entrances will be provided with a timber portal as at the east end of Mud Tunnel on the D&RGW,
 
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Big Train James

Western Thunderer
The zinc pest issue is not unique to that model, nor to Atlas. It has shown up on models from nearly all of the common O scale importers, with the typical diecast parts of truck frames, underframes, and even locomotive bodies all subject to failure at various times.

I believe that the likelihood increased sharply as companies transitioned from manufacturing their own products to importing them instead. I don't think it's any secret that the lack of direct oversight of manufacturing, combined with the limited ability to dictate terms to foreign manufacturers, has resulted in the increased chance of the occasional bad batch of poorly executed models.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Wow! I am truly gobsmacked. We rode the Durango and Silverton years ago and it remains the best heritage railway in our memory to this day. If you would like some of my photos please say so.

Paul
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
Rock castings now all fixed in position.

Tunnel 002B.jpg

Rock castings were made in rubber moulds by Woodlands Scenics as mentioned previously, using either casting plaster or polyfilla. The castings were fixed in position by brushing PVA over the hill structure, applying a thick layer of 50% polyfilla and 50% sawdust mixed with a little PVA, then brushing PVA over the rear of the casting and placing in position. Gaps between the castings were filled with neat polyfilla.


Tunnel 003B.jpg


Tunnel 004B.jpg

Next step is painting the rock surfaces.
 

RGSrr

Member
Phil,
The track plan certainly maximises operation potential in a small room. The track work is built to a very high standard, excellent model engineering.
Looking forward to seeing the high trestle....
Great modelling
RGSrr
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
Rock surfaces on the "hill" now painted

Tunnel 005B.jpg

Tunnel 006B.jpg

The retaining wall requires a coping and painting, probably not too different a colour from as it is now

Tunnel 007BB.jpg

Tunnel 008B.jpg

Paint.jpg
Water based paints were used from the local hardware store - black (£1.49) and white (£1.00) from the kids section and colours from testers for household emulsion paints at £1.19 or £1.25 each. Total cost for the rock surfaces and ground cover well under £10.

I haven't decided on the general ground cover yet, whether its something green....

C&T 020B.jpg

or something a bit more rocky

C&TS 061B.jpg

 
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RGSrr

Member
Looks great, like the rock colouring. Interesting prototype variations, the lower more rocky scene has a very subtle blend of tones including the blended in "passenger" cars. Perhaps some trees in perspective along the sky line
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
Its now 12 months since I last posted on this topic, how time flies ! So you would expect some progress on the layout - rails painted and track ballasted, buildings constructed, scenery and ground cover finished, well, Hmm :rolleyes:..........No ! :( I've certainly been occupied in the last 12 months doing various things, so various I can't remember half what they were, but progress on the layout has been rather limited.

Photo 1.jpg

The through station has been provided with a Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS) water tower, acquired ready made and painted, presumably originally from a kit. This required no effort from me apart from reaching for my wallet. The station building, or rather depot, is built from an Atlas plastic kit, repainted in DRGW/RGS brown and cream. Both not yet permanently 'planted' in position. The Rocky Mountains backscene is by ID Backscenes, self adhesive and fixed to 3mm thick foamboard which was then fixed to the wall by self adhesive foam tape.


Photo 2 Engine HouseB.jpg

The engine house (loco shed to us on this side of the pond) is built from a Raggs to Riches kit, built exactly as the kit instructions except that the rather delicate plastic door hinges provided and intended to be glued to the doors were replaced by brass hinges pinned to the doors. I didn't think the originals would stand much opening and closing of the doors. The timber walls are in 5 layers - outside capping, outside vertical sheeting, blank plywood core, inside diagonal sheeting and internal framing, all laser cut and self adhesive except the core, which simplifies construction as long as you get the pieces in the right place first time. The walls were stained with shoe dye diluted in alcohol, and the roof is covered by corrugated aluminium foil, painted with light grey primer to represent galvanised steel and weathered - 132 separate sheets in all.


Photo 3.jpg


Photo 3B.jpg


Further buildings will probably be required around the station area and until I decide what, and what goes where I can't finalise the scenery and ground cover.
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
A friend was intending to model the Rio Grande Southern but decided to built a modern short line instead so I've acquired some of his RGS locos, both brass and MMI. As usual with brass locos most required "fettling" to get then to run satisfactorily and some may remain DC and will not be used on the layout.


Photo 4 RGS #40.jpg

One that will is RGS No.40, a MMI C-19, already weathered and fitted with a Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder, The "Sunrise" lettering on the tender needs re-doing, and its starting to flake off on the left hand side, so the tender sides will probably need repainting.


Photo 5 RGS #20.jpg

RGS No.20 is a Sunset brass 4-6-0, not yet fitted for DCC but it will be, and used on the layout as a change from the 2-8-0s and 2-8-2s. Its custom painted with the galleon picture on the tender. This originates from the prototype loco being used in the 1950 film "A Ticket to Tomahawk" as the "Emma Sweeney" and painted in a fictitious livery. When returned to the RGS it was repainted black but they left the galleon pictures on the tender. It has recently been restored to working order for use at the Colorado Railroad Museum in a 14 year $1.5M restoration programme.


Photo 6B.jpg

Another recent acquisition is a PSC (Precision Scale Co.) brass RGS 'Galloping Goose' No.2, a nicely detailed model but getting it to run satisfactorily has been a challenge. The rear bogie is driven by a vertically mounted gearhead motor with its single central fixing screw passing through the bogie pivot. The offset drive from the gearbox has a ball and socket connection to a plastic (or similar material) set of bevel gears driving the front axle. The only thing that keeps the gears in mesh is the position of the motor drive shaft and a minute turn from the central fixing either takes the gears out of mesh or locks them up completely. The two axles on the truck are connected by a chain of plastic spur gears. Various other items needed fixing and after many happy (????) hours of fiddling with the damm thing it now works reasonably well - for the moment at least. Its fitted with a Soundtraxx TSU-750 decoder and stay alive unit.


Photo 7 Goose 2.jpg

For the record here is the prototype Goose No.2 at the Colorado Railroad Museum​

For anyone not familiar with these vehicles, they were introduced by the RGS in the 1930s when running regular passenger trains became uneconomic but the railroad needed to keep the U.S.Mail contract. They kept the railroad operating until its closure in 1952 with steam power used only for the occasional freight trains as required. Officially the RGS called them Motors.


Photo 8 Goose #5B (2).jpg

Following No.2 the RGS built four larger 3 truck units, Nos. 3,4,5 and 7, using more of the donor car section - as in this PSC model of No.5.


Photo 9 Goose #3B (2).jpg

Nos. 3,4 and 5 were later rebuilt using the front sections of bus bodies to provide more passenger accommodation (AMS model).

Now that my outside layout has been converted to 45mm gauge it seemed a good idea (at the time) to pre-order a 1:20.3 scale live steam D&RGW 2-8-0 and several freight cars to go round it. The loco won't get its 'legs stretched' much on my track but some other members of the local group of the 16mm society have much longer layouts which it should go round.

 
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