VM &VC railroad track plan

I got a request for my track plan and I do not think I have posted it before.  I need to find a better way to post the plan than the paint option on most computers.  My layout room is a 12' by 10' office but the take out a 2 X 4 part for a closet in the hallway.   The plan is definitely ugly but pretty much shows what the plan is: 

Industry Tour on the VM &VC model railroad

Well I thought of a great idea Sunday night.  How about a tour of each industry on the layout?  Well tonight I start with one of my favorites, Klotz Distributors.  Is a simple industry that gets a couple of boxcars a week.  They ship specialized types of woods that are used in almost everything.  Examples would be cutting boards, and special types of lumber.  It has a pretty simple spur usually is switched right after Patriot industries.  The Klotz logo was designed by Kevin Klettke.  His website is awesome: Washington Northern model railroad

Crews have to take it very easy on switching Klotz.  Don't want to send a boxcar through the building.  I love how the spur turned out with the over growth.

Only a few of the loading doors are used.

The end of the spur is shown and the catchy logo.  The middle track leads to Patriot Industries and the closest leads to an undeveloped spur.

Overview of Klotz

Catching up on some projects

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday.  I did get a few things done modeling-wise during this much need break.  I finished a RF&P 3100 series gondola that needed to be decaled.  All that is left is the weathering. I also added a pic of the 3300 series gon I did about a month ago.  The scrap load is a nice added touch. 

This is a dead-on match for the RF&P 3100 series gondolas.

These gons differed by numbers with the ladder on the right.  Some had it, some did not. 

I also added number boards to a Ex-SP SW1500 painted for the VM.  This is an old blue box loco that I added a Mashima motor and a decoder to.

Still a few details to be done on 277 like mu hoses and a different bell.

I also completed RF&P GP40 #127.  I have all the GP40's but still need to finish decaling and numbering #126.

Still some smaller details to be done on 127 like the antennas and sunshade holes.

Too finish up, here is one of my favorite VM engines, the 256, a red CF7.  Heck, if the VM did not have green and gray, the red and black might have taken over!

The #256 is a unpowered dummy and the only VM loco not in the green and gray paint.

I will update now every Sunday!!! I promise.  Might even get a post in mid week.  But I will have something every Sunday. 

Detailing RF&P Geeps part 3

 In cased you missed my previous detailing tutorials on RF&P GP40's and GP40-2's
Part I of my RF&P Geep modeling
Part II of my RF&P Geep modeling


Well it been a while since I put a post up.  It seems that I am not as busy now as I have been the last month.  I attended a RF&P historical society meeting on Saturday.  I displayed several of my RF&P models and it dawned on me, I have not done a whole lot of  RF&P modeling lately.   So this got my detailing and painting part of me going.  Well I did not jump in right in the deep section, I just started in the kiddy section.  Detailing crossed my mind and I knew I wanted to detail my GP40's a little more.  Several still need the correct horn on the rear and some decent weathering.  I also decaled my last GP40 the 127.   I now have all the GP40's.   I added some speed recorders and some mu hoses to the front.  Both of these are from Details West and are pretty easy to install.

First the mu hoses:  They come 2 per package and have extra plug housings.  The cord goes from plug-in to plug-in, so I cut one of the plug-ins off and used the one that comes with the loco. I didn't see many pics with the mu plugged in both so just put the unattached end near the other unused plug.  I still need to added some colored paint to the lid and plug.

Speed recorders are a little more complicated.  They changed places over time and vary from model to model.  I'm modeling the early 1990's so pretty much they are on the first axle on both sides for numbers 121-126.  #127 has it on the second axle.  I found that a 1/16" bit and a drill makes easy work of the hard plastic in the truck.  Glue the recorder in, run the wire, trim and paint black.  So look at pics from the year you are modeling to see where these recorders go.

Unpainted mu hose and plug-in.

Painted mu hose in position. Still need to add the silver for the connector and paint he lid.

Speed recorder in place.  The wind deflectors are a good touch.  The RF&P GP40's do not have sunshades.