Friday 29 November 2013

Bridgton, Maine - Baggage Tag

Found one more baggage tag in my files...thought I would share it with you...George Dutka

Saturday 23 November 2013

Out of Storage

The plastic cover has been removed from the box that houses my turntable during the off season. A post relating to building this diorama can be found on Aug 2, 2013.
I began unpacking my HOn30" diorama's during the last week of October. Here is a view of my turntable which normally is seen set on my workbench about to come out of my storage box. As I am not home most of the boating season I don't like to leave my rolling stock and displays sitting around collecting dust or near the hands of my grandchildren during the time I am away.....George

Thursday 21 November 2013

Bar Mills Hinkle's Package Store in O scale

I purchsed Hinkle's at this years Fine Scale Model Railroad Expo held in Pittsfield, Mass.
As mentioned earlier, I once again attended the Fine Scale Model Railroad Expo this November. For my On30 W&Q Ry. module I purchased from Bar Mills a small store which will be added near my freight shed...I just could not resist this one...George Dutka

Saturday 16 November 2013

Portland Locomotive Works - Expo 2013

I purchased the White Birch water tower seen here in HO and O scale.

I visited Portland Locomotive Works at last weekend's Fine Scale Model Railroad Expo to purchase the White Birch water tank kit. They also had a nice group of kits available to view and purchase. I picked up the current issue of the Maine Two Foot Digest which has a review of the water tank...link to his website it below...George Dutka

 Portland Locomotive Works

An overall view of Portland Locomotive Works display.
Portland Locomotive Works had kits for sale in both HO and O scales.

Friday 8 November 2013

My WW&F Milk Car

My finished Hood milk car is ready for service on the C&Q Ry.
Hood's on the C&Q Ry.

I decided to turn one of my 1980's vintage HOn30" boxcars into a milk car. I also wanted to use my Hood's placards on this car. Since the WW&F did have a milk car I decided to use my red WW&F Ry. boxcar for this project. It was a simple upgrade. I just added a stack to the roof, and the two placards to the side.

I had already photocopied a few logo's, reducing the crest size a bit before starting this project. These I cut out of the sheet and sanded the back a bit so they would be thinner. I ran a pencil along the edge so the white cut mark would not stand out too much. I used Walthers Goo to attach my placard and off to the creamery it goes....George Dutka.

This car I scratch-built back in the early 1980's in my early modelling years. I did not have much to work with but I think it turned out well. Looking back it is hard to believe some of my early modelling projects are actually scratch-built models instead of just putting together Athearn blue box kits which was common at the time.

Friday 1 November 2013

C&Q Transfer Yard

An overhead view of the C&Q Ry. transfer yard. The short piece of track to the left is the main line.
A glimpse inside the C&Q Ry. HO scale transfer yard diorama

The C&Q transfer yard is one of the small HOn30 dioramas I currently use to display my models through my modeller's season. It is a small diorama which has one standard gauge and one narrow gauge track in the yard. The front of the scene is bordered by the main line trackage. The base is made from homesote. As mentioned before I now use Gatorfoam for bases. I hand laid the narrow gauge track but the standard gauge track at the rear of the diorama is flex track. I used fine limestone screenings for ballast for narrow gauge tack and cinders for the standard guage siding. The diorama measures ten inches by sixteen.

The yard is pretty much full at the moment...not sure why the transfer Foreman is sitting down. The layout used for the background is my White River Division standard gauge operation.

I built a small loading platform, a roadway into the yard area, and placed one of my Maine two foot boxcars  in place as a shed. The wheels are removed and set away for another project. The rest of the scene if full of small details that might be found around such an area. The diorama scenery was done using the water soluble style....paint, glue and shades of Woodland ground foams. I also planted a small tree behind the boxcar. Some real dirt and limestone screening is used for the roadway area. This module is a great place to display my narrow and standard gauge equipment...George Dutka

The Junction yard on the C&Q is quiet today with only the Hood's milk car waiting to be lifted.
During the summer months while I am the lake I box my HOn30 modules and cover them with a plastic bag. This keeps the dust off. I leave my rolling stock in the box also, so I can find it the next season. The boxes are stacked under my HO scale White River Division layout.