Video Thursday
Name kinda says it all …. enjoy!
Workbench Wednesday
What’s on the workbench? Today is the day to find out… it’s Workbench Wednesday, the day that I share what I’m working on. Could be a structure kitbash or a scratchbuild project or a locomotive detailing job. Or perhaps some prototypical rolling stock weathering. Tune in each Wednesday and I’ll share a neat project in progress and complete with how tos and step-by-steps pics.
Today, I’d like to share a story about imagination.
One of the aspects of model railroading that I like the most is the creativity. Especially the fun of building something from unexpected items. Being a model railroader means looking at items in new and strange ways. I find myself wandering through dollar stores wondering how I can turn everyday objects into prototypical 1/87 scale items.
Recently I was opening my son’s apple sauce at breakfast when I noticed what a wonderfully odd lid it had. Why anyone would design an apple sauce container lid like this I have no idea, however it sure looked like a candidate for an interesting flatcar load.
So that’s what’s on the workbench this week. A really neat load. I sprayed the lids primer grey. Built supporting cradle structures out of wood and am pretty happy with the results thus far. So what is it…. who knows… could be a load of industrial equipment for the Quebec Poutine Works? Or part of a wind turbine built at Marmen in Trois Rivieres? Or perhaps something for the Paper Mill? All that matters is that it will be a cool and unique load that I built. Oh yeah, and it was fun!
Next up will be experimenting with various metal beading wire, silver thread and elastic thread to tie the loads down and then weathering the car to look like its seen better days. But that is a post for another day.
Trainshow Tuesday
Expect updates every Tuesday on exciting events and shows that I will be attending as well as posts of some exciting treasure finds from the shows.
I can’t believe the increase in prices for rolling stock in the two years that I’ve been in the hobby. I’ve seen prices more than double with many new cars exceeding $50 Canadian dollars. Crazy. I knew that this was an expensive hobby…but there are limits.
I’ve alway had great luck finding really great cars at the many shows that we have in southern Ontario. One of my absolute favourites is coming up in a couple of weeks. The LMRA Flea Market is September 19th, 2015 from 10 AM to 3 PM at Apostles Continuation Church, 10 Belfield Road, Toronto (Kipling & Hwy 401).
Details at http://www.lmra.ca/flea_market.html
Prototype Monday
For more pictures of QGRY 2007 please visithttp://www.rrpicturearchives.net/Locopicture.aspx?id=126986
Please feel free to comment or subscribe for more updates. I’d love to connect with other QGRY modelers or other model railroaders.
It begins….
Let me introduce myself… this is the first blog entry on my model railroad journey that began 2 years ago. My goal is to keep a daily record of my progress and share some thoughts as I build a 400 sq. ft. HO scale model railroad layout in my basement.
My vision is to create a continuous run HO scale layout that will be fun to build and fun to operate. I am looking for detailed scenery as that is my favourite part. I have two young sons who will be running trains with me. I have chosen a prototype to keep me focused and ‘honest’ but I don’t want to become a slave to it. There will be headless horsemen, haunted houses and ghost trains. It’s my railroad…my rules. I am a beginner with basic experience so I want to grow and learn. Ops sessions are important to me and I want to plan for future growth as I see them being more important in the future.
Prototype (Real or imagined?)
I have chosen QGRY from Montreal to Quebec City. I’d like to create a fantasy layout roughly based on this prototype.
The Quebec Gatineau Railway provides rail transportation services to the major industrial regions and ports in the Province of Québec. QGRY is situated on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, an area comprising Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan, Joliette, Montréal, St-Jérôme, Lachute, Gatineau and Hull.
The QGRY, acquired from Canadian Pacific (CP) Rail, began operating in November 1997. 151 employees handle some 50,000 carloads of freight per year serving 23 major customers. In addition to our “can-do” customer service focus, the QGRY has added an automobile compound, a large lumber transfer facility and a bulk handling facility in our Henri IV yard in Québec City to meet the market demand and benefit from available opportunities.
http://www.gwrr.com/operations/railroads/north_america/quebec_gatineau_railway
I will be modeling current day freight operations and have decided to set the time of the layout as mid-October.
Recent Comments