Wordless Wednesday

Modeling the H-16-44

I started to find ways to improve the Bachmann Fairbanks Morse H-16-44 about a year ago, then Rapido put out a teaser of a new locomotive model that was clearly a photo of an H-16-44 that had been blacked out.  At the New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Association reunion last fall Rapido revealed the new locomotive, a New Haven EP-5 Jet!!!  I may have been the only one there that was disappointed!  Now that my hopes for a state of the art H-16-44 is dashed, I am looking back at the Bachmann model.

The photo above may just look like a stripped model, but it actually is sitting on the frame and drive train  from the Atlas Lowey style H-16-44.  This does a few things for the model: better drive, more detailed side frames, and DCC (with sound on the later releases).  I have an undercoated Atlas model to test the fit of the Bachmann shell.  The Atlas model comes with two sets of side frames, including the correct ones for the later H-16-44 model.  

Fixing the body is a whole other issue.  The ends are a wrong and the vents along the sill are in the wrong place,  The doors on the fireman's side on the short hood should not be there as well.  The fuel tank is incorrect as well.  This leads me to decide if I want to do a heavy rework, or perhaps even using an Atlas Trainmaster shell and cut it down, or use the parts to upgrade the Bachmann model.  This is a much larger project then I was looking to do.  I may just detail and paint the Bachmann shell as is and push off the larger project down the line.  Maybe some body will actually make state of the art model by then.

Wordless Wednesday # 2

Norwich

After having the layout sit forlorn for a number of months, I have cleaned it up, fixed the track work, wired it, so it now functional.  I still have a couple of industrial sidings that need to be laid as well as the south end staging yard.  Here are some photos going from north to south.

This is Atlantic Packaging an a roofless tower.  The the left if the north end staging yard.

The next shot is the fuel dealer.

Here is the station and the Worcester to New London RDC.  I am using Windsor Station here.

Here is the beginning of the small yard plus the team track.

The south end of Norwich.  I am very fortunate to have John Pryke's small Boston scene from his original layout. 

 I can run some trains and do some switching.  Next I can start on some scenery. 

Yesterday's Photo

This photo of a New Haven County series baggage/Parlor is my hope (plea?) that Rapidio will decide to make these cars.  They have announced the production of the full length parlors ( http://rapidotrains.com/ho-new-haven-parlors/ ), so here is hoping for the County series!

Wordless Wednesday - February 8 2017

New Blog

I have decided to start up a blog, not to replace my website, but to supplement it.  I have decided to start work on the southern end of the layout while I finish up the rest of the room.  Norwich, CT will be the the anchor at the south end of the railroad as well as the most urban and industrial towns on the modeled part of the layout.  I am freelancing Norwich for the most part, but using actual industries from there, such as Atlantic Packaging and Thermos.  I will have staging yards on each end of the section I am building and will move the yards as I build each new section.  My web site is at: http://www.freewebs.com/nynhh/  Here is a shot of what will be Atlantic Packaging.