Happy New Years!

 

I think this one got lost in the snow. Have a Happy New Years! 

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas to all of you that stop regularly by this blog through out the year...George Dutka

Harrington Homesead & Livery Stable

Seen at Boothbay Railway Village, Maine on Sept 7 2016

If one visits Boothbay Railway Village in Maine one should take a close look at this structure...a great building to model on a narrow gauge layout...George Dutka 

Weeks Mills - WW&F Ry Water Tank

My finished model with the RMC plans.

My rendition of the Weeks Mills water tank I built back in the 1980's using RMC plans from back in the 1960's. I did not have any cedar shingle material back then so I used what I had available...George Dutka 

A photo during my 2013 weathering update.

SR&RL - Shed O Scale

Bob Bennett's O scale version of the RMC plans.

Bob Bennett shares his version of the Frary/Hayden shed plans.  It was one of the first structures he scratched in O scale...George Dutka

SR&RL Tool Shed

Not an exact copy but similar.

Using 1960's plans from RMC I came up with my own version using leftovers in HO scale 20 plus years ago...George Dutka

Bridgton Junction, Maine

Maine 2-Footer Quarterly, Winter 1999 has a nice article on building the station with plans included. The article was by Al Churella.

Recently I was asked about the junction location of the B&H Ry. I had to dig deep to find much regarding that area of the Maine two-footer. I thought there was a lot more. I took a few overview photos to give one the general idea what was offered in the issues. This I hope will make a good start for those wishing to track down material of Bridgton Junction.

If one has other information regarding this junction location, I would love to hear from you...George Dutka

One can see the plans included in the Maine 2-Foot Quarterly winter 1999 issue. I am not sure if there are back issues but one could contact the publisher.

Short and Narrow Rails issue number 12 has photos and plans for the Bridgton Junction coal shed which had dual gauge trackage. There also is a track plan of the yard included in the issue. I would think this issue might be hard to track down, but not impossible.

The Tree Guy - Trees

Three of Wayne's trees. They come in various sizes. He also makes stumps which can be handy, these are O scale.

You saw Wayne's stumps and tree trunks in my last post. Here are some views of other products Wayne offers that I think works great on a diorama, module or layout...George Dutka

Stumps and Logs - O Scale

I really like how these two look...very realistic. They are made by Wayne Wessner. His business is called the Tree Guy.

A couple of months ago at our local NMRA tail gate meet I picked up some neat looking stumps and trunks for my O scale diorama. The fallen tree trunk has some of it drilled out and the mushrooms are card-stock painted to reflect what one would find on a trunk. I have a few of his trees to show you shortly.

 If interested in these type of products Wayne can be contacted at craftsmanscaletrees@gmail.com...George Dutka

 

Full Load

This is surely an interesting boat load. An engine, tender and three flat cars. Could make an neat model. I hope the seas are calm were they are going.

I got this photos from my friend Bruce Douglas...interesting boat load that I though I should share. No date or data included. If you look on the dock there is a lot more flat cars to be moved...George Dutka

Close-ups

Taking a close-up view of a license plate can be later copied to a reduced size and used on our models.

A couple of closeup views from Boothbay Railway Village a few years ago that I thought might be of use in my modeling...George Dutka

This baggage sign although on a bit of an angle as it was up high on the wall could easily be printed up and used on a structure. It came off a Maine location. The baggage checks are kind of a neat thing to hang on an interior wall if you are detailing an O Scale or larger structures interior.

The Junction Transfer Yard

My junction transfer yard posed in front of my HO White River Division layout. For a time when the layout was first built the Summit scene was two-footer structures.

A look at another one of my HOn30" diorama. It was just on my workbench for a refresh...more on this one later...George Dutka   

Turntable Diorama

I recently gave this diorama's scenery a refresh after about 13 years looking like this. For many years it sat  next to my work area. 

A look at my workbench a few years back with my HOn30" turntable diorama to the right side of the work area. Looks like I was between projects on that day...George Dutka

Mt. Blue Kit

On the weekend I got this email from Robert Bennett...enjoy...George Dutka

 

I just got back from riding 14miles on my bike. The massive rain we had last night has turned into a beautiful afternoon- typical Maine Autumn. Pedaling along and seeing the great scenery , light and colors made me think of some of the best, and most "Mainish", photos I've ever taken. I am attaching a couple. The model was a Mt. Blue kit and set on a base that now is in place on my layout. The afternoon was just like today's and provided perfect background and lighting. The pics were taken very near the old WW&F ROW in Weeks Mills...Bob 

 

 

SR&RL Sanders

Bob Bennett's O scale Sanders scene. Bob Bennett photo

Bob Bennett passed along the following comment to me following the RMC Sanders station article, thanks Bob...George Dutka

"I just read your article in the latest RMC on the SR&RL Sanders station kit-build; nicely done. I thought I'd share a photo of my O scale version. I scratch-built this model using some old PBL styrene shingle sheet. It was supposed to be S scale but seemed right for 1/48 as well. I only had enough for the front and two ends so the back wall, unseen on my layout, is Evergreen B&B siding. The windows are some S scale Grandt parts that match Wes Ewell's plans perfectly. The photo shows the flagstop on a short base that I have used to stage model photos forever. The Sanders tank is also scratchbuilt. I switch these two facilities in and out on my layout with four or five other "pairs." This and other station models appeared in the 2014 On30 Annual.

B&SR

 

B&SR papers and tickets...not that clear but neat to see anyhow...George Dutka

SR&RL Tool Car

A look down into my SR&RL wooden flat car kit that I built as a tool car. I purchase this kit second hand. The kit did not have any decals so I used Mount Blue Model Co. decals. I added a good amount of detailing too...George Dutka

On30" Tank Car Close-up

Thought I would share a close-up view of the tank car rust spots. These I added years after the model was completed. Learning new weathering tricks gives me a chance to pull out models for a refresh.  Shows you that a model is never finished...George Dutka 

What's in the Box - Bar Mills REA

The parts are packaged up well and the instruction booklet looks really good.

A couple of months ago I received a new kit in O scale for my narrow gauge module...now to get building it...George Dutka  

The model came with a package of O scale figures and two sanding stick...not bad as it was a special deal.

Bar Mills Facebook view of the REA O scale structure.

WW&F Boxcar #312

One can see a portion of the patch job at the roof line to the right of the door which was done to raise the roof. This photo if from my visit during 2016.

In the July/Aug 2021 issue of the Narrow Gauge Gazette there is a nice article about modeling WW&F 312. This boxcar still exists and is on display at the Boothbay Rilway Village in Maine. This 28' car began as W&Q 34 built in 1895. The car has a low roof. When the WW&F rebuilt the car the roof was raised and renumbered 312. It is kind of cool how it is patched together...George Dutka

A Plow Deadhead Movement

Not a clear photo but the back mentions this to be SR&RL 18 and 25 southbound with plow 513 between Philips and Strong during the summer of 1936. Peter Cornwall collection.

In this photo that I believe is from those I purchased in a collection from George Melvin is of two SR&RL engines handling a plow. On the CN we called that movement, deadhead equipment...George Dutka

On30" Tank Car

The tank car got some modifications following what Bob Hayden did to his car which was covered in the Narrow Gauge Gazette.

This Bachmann On30" tank car got some changes which gives it a more Maine two foot look...George Dutka

All around the tank a heavy wood beam was added with Grandt bolt castings. The under body was altered to lower the trucks down. Currently Bachmann offers proper trucks so changes do not have to be made to the car. The rolling stock looks great with the new trucks.

I later applied rust spots using acrylic paints.

The lettering is done with a Black Cat flat car decal set offered by Trevor Marshall a number of years ago for a B&SR flat car project.

 

Updating a Bachmann Flat Car Deck

The deck is now completed...a bit more ageing than in the last post.

When I completed this flat car chalk and dry brush painting was my main weathering options. I did at time over-spray colors as weathering. There are a lot more weathering options today. I decided to try a few of my current effects on this cars decking. Some worked great and others not so much. Here is what I found worked best...George Dutka 

Two shades of AK pencils are used to mark the deck along the grooves.

Close up of the deck once the AK pencils were used.

I applied some Bragdon powders rust tone on and around the stake pockets. I also dusted the deck with some PanPastel raw umber shade and white. Very little PanPastel was used. I was going to use some AK stain for wood but it did not seem to flow well on the other coatings.

Wordless Wednesday No. 148

 

   

Bachmann On30" Flat

I took this photo sometime ago of the finished flat. The stakes came with the car. The deck got a wash of Floquil grime followed by roof brown while the grime was wet. At that time I only was using chalks for weathering.

I did a couple of Bachmann flats up for my W&Q Ry back in 2010. Here are some photos of how it looks before I spent sometime today redoing the deck...will show you that in another post...George Dutka

The lettering is a mix of CDS dry transfers and others transfers that are applied to decals paper then added to the car. I was just using what I had on hand. This was a joint project with Peter Mumby on our workshop Mondays, so we scrounged through his vast collection of bits and pieces. The sides are painted Floquil boxcar red.

The car looks good as is but I wanted to make the decking look better as that is what one sees first when looking at the car. More on this shortly.

On30" Milk Car

Over the next couple of months I will show you my fleet of On30" rolling stock. Many of the cars have shown up in other photos but I will tell you about each. So lets begin with Rangeley Lakes Railroad milk car that was presented in the August 2011 issue of RMC.

I wanted to have a milk car for my mixed fleet of Maine rolling stock. I thought the Bachmann Models baggage car could work well as it is short in size. I modeled it with the doors open including an employee and a couple of milk cans. The milk cans are Berkshire Valley No. 524 and a Life-Like figure that had his hands altered to fit the milk can.

Pullman green from Floquil is the base coat. I also over-sprayed the car once again when finished with the green. Floquil grimy black is applied to the roof and under-body. Of course gloss coat was applied before decals and flat finish at the end.

To name the car I looked at a very old sheet of Robert Sloan decals. I just cut out the Rangeley Lake Railroad which had a nice ring to it. The milk is from a B&M  milk car set. The numbering is from a Black Cat set done for the B&SR.  The Hood's sign which one would have seen a lot in Maine is from a Hood's 140th year commemorative calendar. I just color copied the sign reducing it a bit. I wanted it to look like an attached metal placard.

Now its time to pickup all that Maine milk that is routed over the line...George Dutka 

The Bachmann car before starting the project.

Both doors are open with milk cans and train crew on board. The floor is painted Floquil grime with some weathering chalks applied while the paint is damp.

The train is operating on my HO White River Division layout which appears to look at home when no structures are found in the scene.