Another Bit of Fun

 I finally finished building the Surrey Parker Log Loader kit from Wiseman Model Services and put it in service with the Salmon Run Lumber Co. As you can see from the photo below, it's a good looking piece of work, but what a fussy kit! It's been around for a few decades, and the rather summary instructions (in a hard to read font for these old eyes), aren't for the faint of heart. 

I made a few mistakes along the way because I couldn't interpret the instructions properly (and I've been doing these sorts of builds for a long time!), but looking at the result in its natural setting, you really can't tell. I'm rather proud of the results, and yes, the claw will hold a scale log. 

The logging flat cars in the photo are scratch-built, the figures, including the stag on the far right are from Woodland Scenics, and the stumps are cut from fallen branches I picked up in our backyard. I'm rather proud of the results, though I spent more time cursing while building this than any other kit in recent memory. And now, onto a few scratchbuilt structures I've been planning.

My Latest Project

 I just finished weathering my interpretation of  Barr Mills Models' magnificent Idaho Hotel kit in O Scale. A word of warning - it's big, complex, and not for those without a number of craftsman kits under their belt. The structure is destined for an as yet unsceniced part of the layout, as you can see. The interior is lit and there are working Viessmann HO scale wall lanterns on either side of the main doors to the right. I kept all of my Viessmann lighting stock from my previous HO layout and find the lampposts and such to be just right for O Scale, meaning they were oversized for HO. I shall be installing many of them in the coming months. Engine Number 1 is a Backwoods Miniatures vertical boiler 0-4-0 conversion built on a Bachmann On30 Davenport gas-mechanical. Not visible in the picture is its scratchbuilt tender housing the DCC decoder, which will eventually be swapped out for a TCS WOW Sound unit. I already have a few engines with that particular sound decoder and find it's without a doubt the best on the market today, better even that the ESU Loksound decoders I installed in my older engines.

Look What Showed Up!

My newest project just arrived from the good people at Wiseman Model Services - a Surrey Parker Log Loader in O scale, complete with winch and boiler kits. It'll look nice up at Camp #1. But after glancing at the instructions, it's not for the faint of heart. I'll share pictures once it's built and in place above the log loading track.

Coming Together

Salmon Run Lumber #6, a Bachman 0n30 Climax with sound decoder, is rounding the curve behind Fensters Vegetables & Produce, a wonderful Bar Mills Models kit, on its way to Camp #1 from the town of Salmon Run. The scene isn't quite finished yet, but most of the features are there. You can see the Salmon Arms Hotel near the upper right corner, meaning this picture was taken at right angles from the one in my previous post. The water car immediately behind the engine is scratchbuilt.

Progress

 What a difference two weeks make! This is the same tunnel entrance as in the previous post, although I took the shot a bit closer, as in right at the edge of the finished scenery. The little engine is a scratchbuilt conversion from an HO Davenport switcher. It has a decoder and runs, but not well (neither did its HO incarnation!). I'll be adding more weathering in the coming days and she'll become part of the scenery - an abandoned logging diesel parked on a siding because the company couldn't get replacement parts. I'll do the same with another of my conversions at the logging camp. Why not make unused, unreliable engines part of the scenery, right? Even the real deal would have some sitting on a RIP track. And yes, the reefer says Rio Grande, a long ways away from Vancouver Island. It's a Bachmann 0n30 product that will, eventually, be repainted and receive "Salmon Run & Robson Landing Railway" markings. Oh, and I switched the enclosed water tower with the Salmon Arms Hotel, the blue-gray building at the right edge of the picture. Another scratchbuilt structure. I'll post a front view of it at some point.

A Little Plaster, Please

 For the first time in years, I've done a spot of plastering on the layout, as in creating the tunnel into which the mainline vanishes and becomes the staging track. The picture shows #40, a C-19 by Broadway Limited, emerging from the new tunnel and taking on water in Salmon Run. The enclosed water tower is scratchbuilt, as is the Salmon Arms Hotel of which you can see a small sliver on the right. Of course, the tunnel will be adorned with proper wooden retaining walls on either side and a proper wooden tunnel entrance once the scenery is completed.

A Revival!

I completely forgot about this blog, but after a lengthy hiatus, I returned to the On30 logging game a while back. Many new and not so new Bar Mills Models kits adorn the layout now, along with a lot of scratch built structures based on plans I drafted, and the rolling stock keeps increasing. In recent times, I've even begun working on the scenery between ad hoc operating sessions. And my is it ever fun to run sound equipped engines. 

Sadly, most of my bashed On30 locos, built on HO chassis, have become display models. They simply don't run as well as the latest Bachmann engines, such as the 2-6-2 Baldwin trench loco I got in the mail yesterday, but it was fun building them. I'll be posting pictures of the layout as several areas are filling up with nicely detailed structures and their surrounding scenery. For example, I'm rather proud of my scratch built efforts, such as this one, which I completed a few months ago.

Stay tuned for more.