Follow the construction of the JLandT Railroad, a HO single deck, proto-freelanced layout set in the 70s to 80s, based on the Reading Lines and Conrail merger era...
Shot the first coat of SMS - Forest Green today for the Project RDG-3640 shell.
This was mixed with 10% SMS Premium Thinners, and shot @12psi with a 0.3mm Tip.
The color is close to RDG Green, a little off but with a little weathering it should be fine.
I’ll be doing another two coats of green, then all the safety yellow sections, a finish gloss coat, decals, then a flat clear to finish before weathering.
Installing the drip strips on Project RDG-3640 today.
These are Cal Scale strips (190-615), to get them to fit the Kato - GP35 cab I had to cut the length down to the securing tabs.
When looking at the prototype they’re almost straight, with only a slightest of bend in the middle of the strip.
Sprayed again with Tamiya - (White) Fine Surface Primer…
Stripped down (lettering & numbers) using Mr Color - Thinner, original Kato shell is a Burlington Northern - Phase 1b shell.
I’ve decided to start with this shell as a test, if it works out I’ll use it for the project. Shell is ready for primer.
For this project I've decided to use Tamiya - Fine Surface Primer, this was recommended from a few people because of its ultra flat smoothness when sprayed straight from the can.
The Kato shells are great to work with once disassembled, easy to paint and have great detail.
Finished off the Hershey boxcar conversion today.
All of the decals have been added, detail parts re-installed and the entire boxcar has had a coat of SMS - Flat Clear to seal everything.
Pretty happy for a first attempt, some improvements can be made, it’s all a learning curve...
Big thanks again to Jim @ Highball Graphics for doing such a great job on this decal set, and adding them to his catalogue.
Today I started the conversion of an Athearn - NAC 50' Plug Door Boxcar. The Athearn cars are an exact match for the prototype.
I've purchased several of the CNJ version as they have the North American builders logo on pre-attached to the boxcar ribs.
Yesterday I finished the main structure sections of the road bridge, still have the pylons/arches to add, and a couple of concrete bases for the end sections.
Really happy with transition, once painted & weathered should really blend the scene, backdrop and bridge all together. I can see this being a highly photographed section as trains enter the layout from staging.
I plan on adding some Cornerstone - Modulars kits behind the backdrop to hide the layout framing.
Working on the road bridge to backdrop transition again today.
The left section of the road bridge tapers from the right to left. To accomplish a smooth join I scribed the level height of the bridge into the backdrop and carved a groove into the drywall backdrop for the 1.5mm styrene sheet to sit in.
I then glued the overpass concrete railing to existing section, and the section of styrene sheet roadbed. Once this had dried, I then glued the styrene I beams into place under the roadbed.
Again, once the tractor trailers are placed into position it hides the translation further & blocks the viewable edge of the backdrop too.
School holidays have finished, that means back into the layout again...
Today was spent working on installing the road bridge that will hide the backdrop to layout transition.
A few strategically placed prime movers with trailers and some distant building photo backdrops and we’ll be right...
Latest shipments arrived from the USA...
Next project will be converting this Undecorated - Kato GP35 - Phase 1b.
This will be RDG #3640, the only GP35 to be repainted in the Reading all green scheme. RDG 3640 was the only GP35 to be re-painted into RDG's all green scheme before the Conrail merger in 76.
It will get a ESU - LokSound V5 - Direct Decoder, ESU - Power Pack Mini & will be converted to all LED lighting.
More soon...
I’ve been searching for some boxcars to convert into a Hershey Chocolate Fleet of HERX 50’ - Plug Door Boxcars, for my Hershey Pa, plant.
I've found that the Athearn 50' NAC Plug Door series was the perfect match...
 |
AS DELIVERED FROM NAC FOR HERSHEY |
 |
LATER VERSION OF THE NAC BOXCAR SERIES ABOVE |
Jim from HighBall - Graphics has helped me with some custom decals for my RDG number boards & WM cab road numbers over past builds.
So I asked Jim if he could help out with the Hershey decals. Well Jim, did come through. And he’s decided to run the series on his website as a permanent run.
HighBall Graphics - Hershey Foods - 50' NAC Boxcar
Happy Days & Chocolate Smiles for HO & N Scale - Hershey Chocolate Plant operators...
Re-installed the bridges again today, some more weathering of the terrain on the south river bank.
I'll glue the bridge track down to the bridges tomorrow now that I have guard rails installed, and the bridge track is fully painted.
The bridges will then get weathered with some weathering powders...
Jason.
Working on some more weathering today, added several more diluted washes of black to the ready rocks on the northern bank, then added another layer of zip texturing dirt.
Also started the brown base wash on the southern bank, followed by the first black wash on the ready rocks.
I’m pretty happy with the northern bank now, so once dry I’ll do a final check and call it done...
Jason...
Today was a very productive & extremely messy day.
I installed the Ground Goop - Terrain on the Southside of the Susquehanna River (Harrisburg) and changed the North river bank (Carlisle Junction) too.
Overall I’m much happier with the results. The addition of the Woodlands Scenics - Ready Rocks made all the difference.
I’ll let both banks completely dry over the next couple of days before coming back and adding the zip texture dirt.
I’ll also re-paint the river bed and add the shading to simulate depth.
And of course a fairly substantial clean up of the area is also required...
Today’s project was the realignment of the track work leading into both bridges, from both north & south that cross the Susquehanna River.
To facilitate the ballasting of the remaining track on the north side, I had to trim down the track work so that it finished flush with the bridge abutments and trim the bridge track too.
Now that this is completed I can finish off the terrain on the south side of the layout bridges (Harrisburg), paint the single truss bridge, paint the bridge track & CA the track to the bridges ready to be installed.
Finishing off the night, I started installing the south side terrain for the Susquehanna River banks and Harrisburg bridge abutments.
To finish off the ballasting on the north side I need to have the bridges in place, and the track down & secured first. Again it’s amazing how quickly you can get this in.
This uses cardboard strip method, hot glued to the plywood in a crisscross manner, and then covered with masking/painters tape.
Added a Alexander Scale Models - Relay Cabinet to the triple head mast at Carlisle Junction today, then weathered with Tamiya - Black Panel Line Accent.
And to finish off a little weathering of the Reading - Signal maintainers vehicle...
Also ran some Tamiya - Black, Panel Line Accent through all the gaps, and painted the rear taillights red.
Have to be careful not to get bogged down in super detailing, but when trying to find inspiration, or figuring out the next bit of scenery, sometimes doing something helps, and it’s always moving the layout forward.
Weathered the Interlocking Tower today, a dusting of AIM - Dirty White weathering powder dulls down the fresh paint, and highlights the mortar lines too...
