A riveting time, molding, and expansion

My current L structure was built for ease and speed of construction. I wanted to get a fair amount on the layout up and functional so I could enjoy it more quickly.

However, I've always wanted to make a more detailed structure. One issue that prevented me from doing this was determining what the best way to add rivets would be. Since I also planned on casting the sections to speed construction, I didn't think using rivet decals (such as those provided by either Archer or Micromark) would work out too well. I wasn't sure as to how they would look after being cast.

So, a while back, I ordered a set of riveting dies from Germany. Unfortunately I can't locate the name of the website that I ordered it from.

I have made a straight 12" (48 feet) section, and have modeled both sides of the girder:

A closer view of the rivet details:

Using these two sides (front and back), I will make castings of both, and sandwich a piece of 0.080" styrene between the halves to make a girder. I will then add styrene strips to the bottom and top of the girder to make the flanges. The castings will be more decorative while the 0.080" core will make up most of the strength.

The dies, which I believe are actually for 1:43.5 or European O scale:

For the strips of rivets, the proper die is selected and placed in the metal carrier. I have made a small stryene holder to hold everything in place:

Putting in the bottom die and aligning the styrene strip (in this case 0.015" x 0.080"):

Then put the top die in place and start pressing away. The bottom die prevents the styrene from deforming, so the rivets turn out very nice.

The rivets on the web of the girder are done in a similar manner. The proper die is selected (again I made a small styrene alignment tool):

Line everything up and start punching away. Again I am using 0.015" styrene.

Then, after priming the girders white, I made a mold box out of borrowed Legos. I seal the Legos to my plate of glass using Vaseline, and "glue" the girders to the glass also with Vaseline. The Vaseline won't prevent the silicone mold material from completely creeping under the masters, but it'll keep them from "floating" up.

For making a mold, I use the following materials I get from Reynolds Advanced Materials. They have a store in Countryside, IL, that is conveniently on my way home from work.

I don't use a pressure vessel, so, its best efforts. The mold filled with silicone rubber:

The material sets up in about four hours, but I like to leave it sit overnight to be sure. I'll post a follow-up to see how this works. I ran low on silicone so I had to use some old stuff I had laying around...not sure how that will work.

Benchwork expansion:

I built an approximately 9' long by 30" wide shelf expansion that will eventually be a terminal of some kind on the other side of my layout / utility basement room:

I had to relocate most of my signs, but that's a small price to pay for more layout. I am also making a connection behind the hot water heater to the rest of the layout. The far left section of the benchwork is removable so I can, if ever needed, remove the hot water heater.

The signs were moved to the other side of the layout. I've also re-purposed some of my old kitchen cabinets for additional storage. In the picture above, the cabinets are underneath the new benchwork. In the below, I put a large wall cabinet on wheels so I can move it out of the way.

I've also begun mocking up the staircase to the Southport Station:

And a view down the other side of the layout, with some base cabinets, but still very messy.

Back to the drawing board

I finally got my 4000 end back from Shapeways, and well, I need to rethink some of the design.

First off, the material comes coated in coated in a wax like substance that is VERY hard to remove and no paint will stick to. So, in the below photos, the white paint you see is about the fifth coat ... the other coats were scraped off as they never cured. So, in some areas, the paint is pretty rough/thick.

Second, the material is fragile/brittle, as you can see by the missing chunk in the lower left. OOOPS! While attempting to photograph, I dropped the piece and chipped the corner.

Overall, there was a lot more rough areas than I expected. Also, I think I put too many rivets along the sides and bottom. That made for some of the roughness. Also, the detail on the anti-climber isn't as good as my previous anti-climber sample as the two piece were printed in different directions. So, the detail in this piece isn't as "crisp" as the first anti-climber sample.

I think I might split this into two pieces .... the anti-climber and the end, with less rivets. But, some of the detail is very fine, such as the headlight assemblies. So, some areas are good, some others, not so good. I will do a re-design on Sketchup and give it another go.

Other than that, not a lot happening on the layout. Just working on small details:

I put some grass in behind the Cabrini Playlot:

Doing some minor detailing of the new buildings (window shades):

I planted some bushes around the two flat's garage:

I finally sorted out the door to my fuse panel. I took off the metal hinges and now the door is held on by magnets. So, I don't need to remove the track and structure to get at the fuses. Just slide the magnets out of the way and remove the door. As an added bonus, I can hold the door really close to read the fuse descriptions since I can barely see them anyways.

LUCKILY the home renovations are slowly coming to an end. I just have the baseboards and some minor trim to finish. So hopefully, I can get back to work on the layout full time. I might put the 4000 car on the back burner and focus on the expansion along the fuse panel wall. I've got an area to add another island station. We'll see if it can fit.

Success in all three dimensions

Aside from home improvements (650 square feet of hardwood floor laid, 100 more to go!), I've still been experimenting with 3D modeling

I've experienced some success with making a sample of an anticlimber I hope to use on my 4000 model.

I just received the print out from Shapeways and am pleasantly happy with the results ...

This picture shows the printout next to an MTH 6000 series. I just did this as a test to see how it would turn out and experiment with rivet sizes. The rivets are 3/4" in circumference and 1/2" tall.

A closer view shows more detail:

I sprayed the part with grey automotive primer so the details would stand out. The surface appears rougher than it actually is. The dimples on the ends are guide holes I will use to drill for grab irons.

With this test successful, I'm continuing to model the rest of the car end and hope to have a completed, printed car end in about a month.

2013 IRM Snowflake Special and some updates

A couple of weeks ago was the annual Illinois Railway Museum Snowflake Special. No snow this year, but plenty of cold, cold weather. I don't think the temperature ever got above 35 degrees. A few photos...

And some videos I took ... I still have a few more to put together.

Other than that, the only thing I've been working on is home renovation (about 60% done, still need to paint family room/kitchen, lay 700 square feet of hardwood floors and install new kitchen cabinets).

I did start the 3D modeling for the ends of a CTA/CRT 4000 series car I hope to have 3D printed. I then hope to have sides laser cut and make a body that will fit on a MTH 6000 series chassis.

So far, after about 4 hours of learning Google Sketch Up, I've come up with the following test model:

This was more of a "proof of concept" to see if I could figure out Sketch Up in a reasonable amount of time and if I could model a car end. There wasn't any detail added to this model, just the basic shapes. So, once I'm done working on the house, I hope to make another more detailed 3D model and see what it would take to have that printed.

Grand Opening!

I am happy to announce the opening of "L" Stop Liquor and Food, open 24 hours for your convenience, selling all sorts of food and booze. Plus, of course, lottery tickets.

I am just happy to have finished up one of the new buildings. The track and structure have been put back in place. 

The other buildings are still being worked on. To the left, will be the Dill Pickle Delicatessen (the sign is just temporary at this point) and the Plymouth Hotel for transients (both lifted from the Blues Brothers, or Van Buren and Plymouth Court). To the right, I haven't decided on what business to put in. I may to a record store to pay homage to the old Wax Trax store on North Lincoln Ave.

Still, the CTA is happy to have leased the storefront under the tracks. The business owners don't seem to mind the rumbling of the trains overhead. So far, none of the bottles have fallen off of the shelf.

Also, I've started home renovations (fixing the cathedral ceiling) and fixing drywall. But, I must make time for modeling, keeps things fun.

Several new videos ... and possible death blow to progress?

I've still been working on my new building:

Also, I've recently uploaded a couple of video to Youtube:

First ... some views of the progress made so far:

Second ... I've decided to finish some of the areas that didn't have scenery yet. So, I made a time lapse video of me taking down the structures. It illustrates how the track and structure is modular in construction.

And, as mentioned in the title, progress on the layout may be temporarily suspended for hopefully not too long of a time. I am embarking on some major home renovations, of which I get to do all the labor. Plans include:

• New kitchen (cabinets, counter tops and backsplash)
• New recessed lighting in kitchen (none there now), which means new wiring and switches
• Installing hardwood floors throughout the first floor of my house (approx 800 square feet)
• Repairing vaulted ceiling in living room (every joint cracked since I just had a new roof put on and the roofers did a LOT of pounding) and repairing some water damage (which necessitated the new roof). Drywall taping 18 feet in the air is less than fun.
• Lots and lots of painting

I hope to still be able to work when I can on the layout.

Cold day in January

Just a few shots from the Southport station. After the holidays, I finally ran some trains.

Passenger volume has been low, so no one has been complaining about the two car trains. They haven't been too crowded.

The lack of stairs (and a station house) don't seem to bother the passengers too much. Just watch that first step.

The buildings are pretty much now done, I just need to paint. I paint outside, so I'll need to wait for a warmer day.

I have started work on the drawings for my stairways and railings in Corel Draw.

Once I'm satisfied with the design, I'll send these off to have laser cut at hopefully a not too expensive price.