7mm US model dabblings

[Jordan or Plymouth Mad]

The 1950s(?) photo of Cumberland, MD appears to show a scissors crossing on a curve. Even the Americans used to like their complicated track, at one time!!

 

[Dog Star]

Do any of you US-oriented folk have a copy of this 1987 photographic essay of North American railroads?

Tony (@Osgood),

Please, no tempting (even with a photo of Norfolk & Western coal wagons). My bookshelves did not survive the 3 volumes of OWL photos so I have had to restrict recent book purchases to solely those with UK content.

regards, Graham

 

[Osgood]

Owls? Whatever next?

 

[Jordan or Plymouth Mad]

Do any of you US-oriented folk have a copy of this 1987 photographic essay of North American railroads?

Tony,

Please, no tempting (even with a photo of Norfolk & Western coal wagons). My bookshelves did not survive the 3 volumes of OWL photos so I have had to restrict recent book purchases to solely those with UK content.

regards, Graham

Huh. No diesels? No Soo Line diesels? I am immune to this particular temptation.
I already have plenty of my own....





Edit - just to clarify, the book on the end, "The Little Jewel", is a Soo Line book too....

 

[Dog Star]

Owl?

Heathen, you shall do penance for that comment!

 

[Osgood]

The 1950s(?) photo of Cumberland, MD appears to show a scissors crossing on a curve. Even the Americans used to like their complicated track, at one time!!

Yep, the photographer David Plowden spent as much time as he could, before the end of steam in 1960, recording not only the last remnants of the steam scene but also everyday railway infrastructure - including a lot of freight yards both urban and rural and station / depot buildings.
I'll have you know a Soo Line boxcar features in one train consist.

And never mind the images, the book is worth getting just for his 9 page description of a December 1955 night-time footplate cab ride on a Great Northern P-2 hauling a mail train during blizzards from his home town of Willmar, Minnesota (where he was working for the 'Trainmaster'),
through Minneapolis to St. Paul.
By this time steam was kept as spare to the diesels, but the oilers were struggling in sub-zero conditions. The Number 28 Fast Mail had been split in two, with the first having steam assistance for the diesels but the second having just a P-2, the 2505. David took the latter. He believes it was the last ever run of a steam engine on a great Northern passenger train.

Go on Graham, surely you can squeeze one more in between the wols.

 

[Dog Star]

Go on Graham, surely you can squeeze one more in between the wols.

Sorry Tony (@Osgood), seems that a bear of very little brain has got stuck in the remaining space.

 

[mickoo]

Do any of you US-oriented folk have a copy of this 1987 photographic essay of North American railroads?

No, no space left, now it's a case of new book in = old book out.

All US Railroad books here, well the vast majority.



All German books here.



Rest of the world here, LH lower three shelves are all UK, top shelf is UK and some smaller German books. RH top three shelves are all Euro or global, second from bottom is all merchant shipping, bottom is low access UK reference magazines.



Under the work bench one crate full of USN aircraft/ships, Warships (US and RN), Military books, guns, soldiers, fortifications, another full of merchant navy ship plans and photos.

I do need a good clear out, I had one last year, some went for sale but there's so little return for books these days it's more economical to just bin them in the recycling bin.

 

[richard carr]

Gents, a quick question, I have a number of hopper cars that need to be repainted in an appropriate light grey colour, the question is can anyone recommend a suitable aerosol can or a Vallejo acrylic please ?

Thanks

Richard

 

[mickoo]

Do you have a photo of the 1:1 original, grey is just not grey.

 

[Rob R]

I have used Ford Polar Grey for my Frisco PS2 covered hoppers.
For me it is a near enough match considering the few colour photos I have (from interweb) have been shot on various filmstocks and of subjects wearing paint that is 25 years old and weathered to within an inch of it's life.
Sprayed from the rattlecan over grey primer.
Rob

 

[richard carr]

These hopper wagons are in the freight grey I'm interested in

https://flic.kr/p/2nWynbe

But even in this photo the colour looks different in the sun.

Any suggestions welcome so thanks Rob I will try and get some from Halfords at the weekend.

The wagons are going to be lettered for Norfolk Southern, I got the decals from Highball Graphics.

Richard

 

[mickoo]

Second one is almost certainly Ford Polar Grey, first and third are a bit more beige/creamy, best bet is just to wander the isle in Halfords and pick up any that look close.

Is that the rare lesser spotted Mr Bushell in the foreground

 

[richard carr]

Yes Mick, you spotted him straight away.

 

[Rob R]

Second one is almost certainly Ford Polar Grey, first and third are a bit more beige/creamy, best bet is just to wander the isle in Halfords and pick up any that look close.

The problem is that when you eliminate the pearlescent and metallic greys and the far too dark greys there isn't much of a choice, or in the case of my fairly well stocked local motor factor a choice of one - Polar Grey

 

[Big Train James]

Richard,
Have a look through your photos, or JB's , or mine , and see if you have any shots of the hoppers that show the car side lettering. That would of course presume it wasn't covered in grafitti . Often times the paint spec is called out on the car side, and sometimes you can go to the coating manufacturer's website and find the specific mix. It won't be RAL, presumably, although I suppose the paint company can serve the European market even if the prototypes are US stock.

Something like this.....


There's no guarantee that you will find the color specification for every car, but I know that I have looked up some of them and found railroad specific colors called out by there system numbers. By the way, a quick look at the Williams Hayward site shows that they do include RAL system numbers.

I don't have time at the moment, but I will have a look around the computer later today and see if I can find downloaded information. I normally download anything I ever come across, because it will usually disappear from the web at some point. Or it will get hidden behind a customer login or some other effort clearly designed specifically to thwart model railroaders from finding out what they have a right to know!

If that method fails, then take a photo of the grey you desire to the paint shop and ask them to match it.

I'll follow up later if I can dig out any other specific information.

Jim

 

[Scale7JB]

Second one is almost certainly Ford Polar Grey, first and third are a bit more beige/creamy, best bet is just to wander the isle in Halfords and pick up any that look close.

Is that the rare lesser spotted Mr Bushell in the foreground

That’s just too funny. I thought Richard had nicked one of my photo’s… then I zoomed in and saw the balding oaf at the bottom of the picture!

JB.

 

[Big Train James]

To this point, I haven't been able to locate any documents or links to whatever paint source I had found previously. Womp womp. I'll give it another go later, what worries me is that I saved a bookmark in the wrong folder.

The wagons are going to be lettered for Norfolk Southern

Curious what cars you're planning to use to represent these 2-bay hoppers.

 

[richard carr]

Jim

I'm not painting 2 bay hoppers, I'm painting those Rio Grande trinity hoppers, that was just a convenient photo to show the grey colour that I'm after, I hadn't even noticed the the lesser spotted bushell in the fore ground until Mick pointed him out !

Richard

 

[Big Train James]

Ah, that makes more sense. Too bad I didn't know you were looking last week. There was a whole string of the NS hoppers at the grain elevator just up the road from me, just the other day. I could have gotten good photos and probably the paint code. Although the code may not be worth much if we can't find a reference for it.

Come to think of it, we watched them switch a full train of NS hoppers in Fostoria. I feel like there should be some photos of those cars, and in better light than what I could find in perpetually gloomy northwest Ohio at the moment. I shall have a look around.

Jim