Two Building Builds!

 I've Been a Busy Boy!

Busy with Blog Posts, Recording YouTube Process Videos and Building out the Layout.

The Backesto Block building (pictured left) is being chronicled here on this blog, while the Watts Building (far right) is being featured in videos over on the Dan D. Sparks YouTube channel.

San Diego & Southeastern #107 rolls into a bustling downtown San Diego scene.

The full scene set up. Cobbling together what I had on hand, I was able to create a pretty nice scene. This shot was taken from the tripod at the front of the layout.

On the left is the Backesto Block, scratch-built using 3D printed parts. In the center is my Bank of Santa Monica model, originally built years ago as a kitbash of Walthers Merchant Row II—it fit the space perfectly, so back into service it went. On the right is the Walthers Ashmore Hotel, finished to resemble the Watts Building in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

Autos come from a variety of manufacturers.

SD&SE #107 is a Suydam PE 414 model, backdated to its original San Diego appearance.

A Little Whimsy. And for fun, there’s a couple dashing across the boulevard—actually a dancing pair of figures from Preiser!

So yes… lots of entertainment coming from ol’ Dan D Sparks.

Yes sir~ lots of entertainment!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ Trolley Poles

Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day. But give a man a pole, he's a trolley fan for life!

Identifying, preparing and adding trolley poles to #107

 Looking at historical photos reveal that the Niles cars were equipped with Form 1 trolley poles that were common with 1895 - 1920 era streetcars. They have that "folded back" look to them.

The HT-P3b poles by Miniatures by Eric fit that bill just fine. I bought mine through Custom Traxx. That 32 bucks per pair price tag knocked me for a loop. But they are precision instruments and Eric does an outstanding job with these. I'm building my cars to perform and I can rely on these poles to do just that. For #105 though, I will be rebuilding the Suydam poles, which makes for a less expensive alternative. So stay tuned for that post later.

Trolley poles are constantly flexing so paint doesn't do too well with that. The best solution for that is Blacken-It. Blacken-It is a metal oxidizer. The blackened brass will still conduct electricity and won't flake off. But...

... Remove the steel springs first! The Blacken-It corroded my springs clear through! But it did a mighty fine job of blackening the rest of the pole assembly. So remove the springs, soak the poles in Blacken-It, and then replace the springs.Then you'll have a fine looking and fine working trolley pole.

That is the beauty of these blogs- you can learn from my mistakes, Yes sir! Learn from my mistakes!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ Window Shades

Super Detailing Continued. Adding Window Shades to #107

 Styrene? Brass? Nah, just simple card stock. Index card in this case. The windows are in groups of twos and threes, so that's how I grouped the shades. Cut them size and painted them Floquil Freight Car Brown for its nice reddish brown color.

Glued 'em in place with good 'ol Micro Kristal Kleer and we got it made-in-the-shade. Yes sir! Made-in-the-shade!

Dandy

2012 State of the Layout Address

Happy New Year Folks! 2012 is going to be a gang busters year I just know it! Yes sir! A gang busters year! I have some new projects ready to start as well as finishing up old projects, as I resolve this year to be my most productive year yet! So bring it on!

State of the Layout:

This is how things stand at this moment, January 1st 2012:

SD&SE Ry #107 Niles Car. During this holiday season I added the finishing details. This car is 98% DONE!  I'll post more about that in the coming weeks.

SDERy Birney #103 has been making regular runs on the Southern California Traction Clubs layout. The car with its BullAnt mechanism performs beautifully even through rough, intricate trackage. The car was declared 100% finished until Fred Gurzeler presented me with some beautiful, delicately built fenders for the underbody that I have yet to install. This car will be an important representative of 4 wheeled equipment when I start fine tuning the track and stringing overhead on my layout, hopefully soon this year. Yes sir! Hopefully soon this year!

SD&SE Ry #105 Niles Car is listing to one side! That's not good. Leaning like that causes the trolley pole to be off center and so has to reach over to the overhead. Which means the shoe is contacting the overhead at an angle. Which means dewirements are frequent.  I can't figure out why its listing but I do know how to fix it thanks again the invaluable Fred Gurzeler. He gave me some hardware that replaces the tiny Hollywood foundry screws that attach the trucks to the body. The listing isn't the fault of the Hollywood Foundry equipment but this swapping of hardware will probably fix the problem. When that's done, the car is ready for super-detailing.

 

Point Loma RR #109 / #402: I've been referring to this car as #109, but the prototype was later repainted and renumbered to #402. The paint scheme of #402 is the one I'm modeling so this car will be referred to as #402 from here on out. Progress has stalled on this car because this car requires some custom printed decals since the lettering and striping include silver. I don't have the funds for that right now and so concentrated funds on getting #105 and #107 done. They will represent big interurbans when I'm fine tuning the track and stringing overhead on my layout.

The Layout is in a state all right. A state of chaos!  The layout has suffered. From the destruction of its overhead by rambunctious kittens, to dust, to over a decade of storage, and the trial and errors of learning how to build a traction layout. So it was stripped down to just the track and streets and is ready to be rebuilt stronger, better. A canopy (what I was originally been referring to in this blog as a valence) designed to look like a streetcar deck roof, has been built to keep dust off the layout and to house the layouts lighting. It features faux stained glass clerestory windows and a brass conductors bell. I recently covered the wooden roof with a waterproof paper mache to simulate canvas covering. Sides will be installed to insulate the layout from the inhospitable world of dirt and varmints and anything else that could cause damage and grief! 

Then and only then can I start stringing the overhead again. This time tailored to a sample of each type of rolling stock that's going to be running on this layout. Which brings me to my next project...

San Diego Electric Railway Class 5, 400 series car. This project will be built from a 1970s brass import by Pacific Traction and feature the new Diablo mechanism from Hollywood Foundry.

Dandy Blog. As you can see, this blog is sporting a new 1920s look to it and features an art deco portrait of the man himself, ol' Sparky along with one of the 400 series cars. The new "Module Spotlight" feature has been met with happy comments and so will continue. Bloggin' along. Yes sir! Bloggin' along.

So that's where it all stands. As you can see I got my work cut out for me. One more car to go and then I can concentrate on getting the layout running. Yes sir! Concentrate on getting the layout running!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ The Cheap Seats. And the Expensive Ones Too.

Here come the paying passengers! Filling #107 with folks.

Funny that Preiser folks are pricey. Pricey Preiser. But truth is, Preiser offers some outstanding figures. Best on the market if you ask me. So I really like using them in my modeling. But averaging over $3 per folk and rising, and each Niles car requiring around 25 figures each, well I'm going to place them strategically.

The Preiser site has cool photos of models modeling for the figure modeler modeling figures. (as an interresting side note, Germans make a distinction between human "models" and miniature "modelles"). Check it out.

Not only are Preiser figures well done, they are also available in era specific costume. So I picked up their 1900 era figures for the 1908 vintage Niles trolleys. Here is #12136 Seated Persons (above, with parasols removed),

#12137 Seated Persons, (I don't know what I'm going to do with that cat.).

#12190 Seated Passengers, (my favorite. I think these are very nicely done).

#10351 Seated Industrial Workers. (The working class ride the trolley too).

#12191 Railway Personnel.(remove the shovels and we got our trolley crew).

Woodland Scenics (#A1908 Sixteen Passengers) on the other hand, aren't quite as sophisticated as Preisers, but they are full of character and somewhat "generic" enough that they can fit many eras. Considering that the closest we ever get to HO models is about a scale block away,  Woodland Scenic folks will work just fine. Especially at a third of the cost of Preisers, Woodland Scenics figures average about $1.25 per folk.

So here is the plan. The Niles cars are "California Cars" which means they have a glassed in center section and open air sections on the ends. So...

 The pricey Preicer figures will adorn the open end sections where they are more easily seen and appreciated, and the Woodland Scenic characters will ride in the enclosed center section behind the glass windows. The figures are glued in with good ol' Micro Kristal Kleer because of its rubbery characteristics. If a figure is accidentally bumped, its less likely to snap off.

Some of the seats couldn't be filled because of mountings for the motor and shell. But I did manage to fit 24 figures in there! 25 if you count the double figure of a man with a child on his lap.

This is where the bulkhead of the shell attaches to the floor. So only the seat backs are present.

Figures add so much to model. Look how much life is in that populated car! You'd think the line was turning a profit. Yes sir! Turning a profit!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Folks!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ Strategic Seating

Arranging seats around the motor so its not so conspicuous.

Additional seats are fabricated using the original seats as reference:

From Right to Left (above), the narrow brass bar stock is used for the seats and the wide bar stock for the base. The bar stock is measured, marked and cut. The wide bar stock is notched so that the tabs can be folded up as the seats legs. The wide center tab is ground off with a moto-tool. The narrow stock is bent matching the angle of the original seat backs. Then the seats and base are soldered together. Take care with soldering the seat assemblies to the floor. My seats are a tad too close to the sides and scrape when the body and floor come together.

Installed and painted. Some seats are right over the motor mounts. So seats were fabricated and then soldered to flat bar stock thick enough to get the seats to their proper height. Holes are drilled to accommodate the mounting screws for the motor. So what you see here is a sandwich of floor, mounting plate, insulation, motor tab, and then seats, all screwed together.

See? The motor is already disappearing into the background. If you look closely, the front seats of the center section (behind the figure) are seat backs only. You can see holes on the floor in front of them where the tabs on the bulkheads attach to the floor when the body and floor come together. Right where the seats are.

Alright, the seats are in and ready for paying passengers. Yes sir! Paying passengers!

Dandy
.

Niles Project ~ Gates

Passenger gates make for a nifty little detail to add to these models.

 

 These gates in the doorways are included on all the San Diego Niles cars, so my models shall be so equipped. And why not? They are easy enough to add because...

 

...Cal Scale offers "Tailgates" for passenger cars that should fit the bill here just fine. They are available in brass (left) of plastic (right). I bought both to see which I preferred but forgot to add the brass gates during the soldering of brass details stage of construction. Soldering after the fact will ruin the paint on the cars. So #105, #107, and #109 will get the plastic gates. #110 will get the brass gates since it hasn't been painted yet.

Even though the plastic gates are black, I painted them with Floquil Engine Black paint anyway. Black plastic always looks like black plastic. Floquil paints are dead flat and kill the shine beautifully. A little bit of weathering chalks will help bring out the detail again.

A tad bit over sized, the Cal Scale gates achieve the desired effect anyway. The gates are glued in with good 'ol Micro Kristal Kleer.
The Passengers have found there seats and Conductor Carl has closed the gates. Were ready to roll. Yes Sir! Were ready to roll!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ Gurzelin'

Installing a Hollywood Foundry Gurzeler on Niles #105.

The Gurzeler is the second mechanism that I'm trying out on these Niles cars. #107 got the half floor which has worked out just fine. And now #105 will get the Gurzeler. Each mechanism has it advantages.

This is the city. Los Angeles, California. I belong to a club here. The Southern California Traction Club. I'm a traction modeler.
Sunday, 2011, a club member who goes by the name, interestingly enough, of Fred Gurzeler, approaches me. Fred, a man of a few words, reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small object. Its an etched plate. He hands it to me explaining that its a mounting plate for mounting the Gurzeler mechanism to Suydam PE 414 cars. No mention of where it came from, or what those mysterious markings mean. Just a well manufactured mounting plate. That's how Fred operates. Who am I to argue or ask questions? Its exactly what I need. Thanks Fred. I owe you one.

Exhibit A.
The mysterious Gurzeler mounting plate.

While soldering the mounting plate to the floor, I managed to unsolder one of the seats. And maybe some underbody details. No matter! Easily fixed.

I wasn't able to get the opening for the belt exactly centered because the plate has to fit between the interior bulkheads that the floor screws into. Even if I did, it later proved to be a problem. The opening needs to more towards one end or the other so that the motor is centered inside the car because the flywheel protruded into the interior bulkhead base. (Edit: Turns out that if I had ordered the Gurzeler Motor Package, I wouldn't have had this problem! DDS 10-11)

The Gurzeler is a simple yet brilliant design. The motor is mounted in place with double sided tape which also acts as a sound barrier. The belt (not an O ring, but an actual belt made to withstand the tension) replaces the noisy gear tower and also pulls down on the motor, helping to keep it in place.

Under floor view. I chose silicone tubes to transfer the power to the LowBoy trucks. Seems to me silicon tubes would be the easiest to replace should they fail after a while.

With no giant motors under the floor and those silicone drive shafts, these cars should be able to negotiate some crazy radius curves now!

This all went together easy-peasy (except for the off-centering of the motor. See below). The motor and silicone drive shafts are nice and level. I added a Miniatronics 2 pin Micro Mini Connector socket by soldering the leads to the motor and gluing the socket to the top of the motor. The other plug will connect to the decoder. This makes for a convenient way to separate the floor from the body for maintenance.

(Edit: Turns out that if I had ordered the Gurzeler Motor Package, I wouldn't have had this problem! DS 10-11) I had to cut a notch in the base of the bulkhead so that the flywheel on the motor will clear when attaching the floor to the model. For the folks who don't have their own mysterious Fred Gurzeler and have to fabricate their own mounting plate at home, the openings for the belt drive and screws need to be closer to the end of the mounting plate. We could all use a mysterious Fred Gurzeler in our lives, couldn't we? Yes sir! We could all use a mysterious Fred Gurzeler in our lives.

Its in there! The motor does sit slightly above window level. But models are very seldom viewed from this angle. All motors would be visible from regular viewing angles. So that's where populating the model comes in. Putting folks in the seats will take the attention away from the motor as was done with Birney #301. The only thing guests will notice about the motor after that is the smooth quiet operation of the model around the layout. Now if I could just get to building that layout. Yes sir! If I could just get to building that layout!!!

Dandy

Niles Project ~ Motorin'

Installing a Hollywood Foundry Half Floor Motor Mount and Level Shifting Gearbox on Niles #107.

Right out of the box the mechanism is a pretty good fit. This is going to work just fine.

The immediate problem that presents itself is that the mounting holes don't line up with anything to screw into. The second problem (that I wish I had taken a picture of) is that the gearbox is too low. The drive shaft to the truck is on an angle. And while that would still probably work, it seems to me a level drive shaft would be the most efficient and problem free.

Both issues are easily remedied in one fell swoop by soldering a length of 1/16" x 1/4" brass bar stock to the frame.

Fortunately I have the good folks at the Southern California Traction Club (and their drill press) to help me drill and tap the holes for the screws. The motor also came with a silicone mounting pad to absorb the noise. I cut it to size and placed it between the new brass bar and the half floor mount as seen in the photo above.

Between the new brass mounting pads and the silicone pads, they lifted the motor to just the right position for the drive shaft to the new LowBoy Trucks to be perfectly level. And the motor is still below window level. All thats left now is to transfer the sideframes from the old truck to the new truck and wire the motor to the decoder. Then this car will be ready for a spin around the test track. Yes sir! All ready for a spin around the test track!

Dandy