So this thing must be ancient cause I can't find it exactly on the web. It's a SP #340653 gondola. Once again this is either new or new but opened and fingered. I don't think it's used. Local HS for $30. It has the same problems or similar to the other one which was UP. On one side the "cut release" (?) is loose in the box. And now there are 2 half mooned shaped items the size of ants as well floating in the box. I have no idea where these go.
Finally along the top, either side are these wavy metal strips -- they are loose.
Other than this I think it's pretty nice overall. (finally found a pic)
Definitely but I can hardly see the pieces and attachment points. I have no idea where the little half moon items go. I do have a magnifier with some alligator clips attached to metal stand... Which might help overall.
I think I need a better solution.
Hey there's a picture there. Look more closely. In all semi-seriousness.... They are so tiny my camera can't pic them up with any fidelity to be useful. Maybe I can take a pic through a magnifying glass.
Those appear to be pipe chocks, to prevent a long, large diameter pipe load from rolling side to side......similar to airplane wheel chocks to keep the plane from rolling......
I've some new exactrail on the way, maybe it's changed but there's no diagram in these boxes. That'd be nice. I'll look more closely at them again tomorrow...
And we have a winner, Cid is right -- brake shoes. It took me a long time to realize that there are these behind each wheel on each truck -- and two are missing. They are on the inside of each wheel. I'm not sure I can get these pieces back on without popping a wheel unit off. No pic, very hard to see.... maybe with the magnifier again later.
That's why i wanted to try them. i had heard about them and just happened to notice the local hobby store had a few (on their website since they are not open for walk in). Anyway just wanted to try it & send a little business to them. But then ordered 3 direct as the local store is not a regular stocker of such items -- coming i think by trained worm from wherever they source them out of -- which appears to be Utah.
What i see is a lot of small detail even in places you cannot see very well (one might argue -- what's the pt of that?!). The shoes appear as one piece on the bottom of the trucks but that's the paint doing that. Apparently they are placed by hand & separate -- or at least on this generation release which I think may be a little old.
I'll check the new ones when they arrive -- it's a small detail. Kind of interesting really but I have no sense at all about whether this is common on all types. To me some kind of hydraulic disc brake in the axle center would be a little more intuitive & easy to get to and service.
Another brand I'd like to see up close is Tangent. The Scaletrains rolling stock may be another.
Not really sure if this is the correct forum for this. Excuse me if it should be in the Structures Forum instead. I would like to have an intermodel yard on my layout but, I am finding to have enough containers is costly. I have thought about scratch building some with flat sides and either...
Tonight I airbrushed a freight car with Vallejo 70948 'Golden Yellow'. My car has the measles. Mottled paint in two colors, 'Golden' and 'yellow'. Interesting. I did something wrong. I thinned the paint with Tamiya's X-20A Acrylic Paint Thinner.
The paint seemed to tolerate the thinner...
Period bus stop
Photo by Peter De Alba.
A Rapido Fishbowl bus is the center attraction.
It's scenes like this that inspire the mind and soul. A salute to the acuity of vision.
Just for fun I thought I try my hand at building an auto rack kit. Not knowing much about them, or trains in general, I emailed an eBay seller who assured me this was an open rack. To my disappointment... It is not. None the less, for $15 I figured what the heck.
Now I guess I was expecting...
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