OUT OF COMMISSION FOR A FEW MONTHS, BUT PLENTY O’MODEL RAILROADING WAS DONE

A surgery, and caring for a seriously ill family member has kept me away from updating for a few months.    I had also been considering switching to a video blog on Youtube.  I put together a few, but decided not to go that way as there is more work involved than this format.   I will however probably put up videos from train shows, railfanning, and instructional videos if I ever make some of my O Scale freight car parts available.   When I do, I will link from here.

Strangely, with everything going on, I was a very productive model railroader.  It’s easier to just list what I’ve been up to: 

• Proto:48 layout - installed most of wood ties.  Designing crossover track assembly in Fusion360.  There are none commercially available for Code 125 rail.  The plan is to print in resin.  The design is for several different sub assemblies that will be glued to metal rail segments, while also acting to gauge the track, and insulate the rails from each other.  
• Free-Mo - Yes, you heard that right.  I’m back in the Free-mo world.  We (Jimmy) are building three 2x6 modules.  They will serve as Jimmy’s home, basement layout, between shows.  There will be posts on this.  Our theme is modern era, South Philadelphia.  Mostly scratchbuilt prototype, or prototypical structures.  
• HO Structures - related to Free-mo,  I’m back building in HO scale.  Mostly scratchbuilding, with some commercial parts, or components.  Lot’s of digital fabrication to augment this building.  Laser cut building parts, and 3d printed details.   First up - trash to rail metal warehouse type building - a brick food warehouse - and a corn syrup plant.  
• O Structures - Scratchbuilding a freight house, based on an Erie prototype that was located in Manhattan (Not the huge four story one).   Also, finishing up some parts for the Tidewater Grain Elevator.  All these models will end up on the Cherry Valley MR Club O Scale 2 Rail Layout. 
• HO Freight Cars - I pulled out some of my circa 1980s “modern” era freight cars for the Free-mo layout, and have started weathering, and “modernizing” them with patch jobs, rust, and heavy weathering.  
• O Freight Cars - In the design/preliminary phase of a Norfolk and Western  G72,73,74  gondola.  

Updates to begin again soon.

Jim