Twin Ports Oddities and More

Well, maybe not all "oddities", but in a few cases, certainly, "things I don't see every day". 

I slipped away this afternoon for a short jaunt around Duluth and Superior, intent on finally taking a few train photos. My first stop was Rice's Point, where I found the CP local power gurgling away on the lead to one of the Port Authority tracks. The most unusual unit for me in this day and age was the SOO.

Just turning around, I spotted this thing in the yard. Now we're getting somewhere on the oddity front. Not sure of the heritage of this former caboose, but it's sure not something I see often, or even ever before. 

TEXX is a logistics outfit that arranges transportation for unique cargoes, according to their website. The unique cargo in this case might be the heavy load shown below, which was spotted in CP's Rices Point yard a couple tracks over from the caboose. 

With those shots in the bag, I headed to Superior, and swung by the BNSF facility. That's where I spotted these freshly painted sno-dozers, waiting patiently for mother nature to provide the conditions that will allow them to strut their stuff. I'm waiting too!

 
Then it was on to the yard, where I spotted a couple of BN grain hoppers coupled next to each other. The difference in paint condition was enough to get me to stop. These photos will go a long way toward helping me get the weathering right on some models in the future. It is amazing how almost anything I can imagine can be found on the railroad in one way or another. A great example of life imitating art.

Finally, after getting a text from Mrs. L4T recalling me for more mother in law moving duty, I started back for Duluth. As I crossed the yard on the 21st Ave viaduct, I spotted a train that forced me to make a short detour. It's not everyday that you can see a pair of former bluebonnet GP's handling a coal train. OK, it wasn't actually an entire train, but it was a goodly sized cut of coal gons, and while the power was another example of why the Twin Ports might be the world's EMD capital, this specific power set-a GP50 leading a GP40X-is anything but common. It was enough for me to call it an oddity, and a day. 

Fading Away

While the title could be applied to my blogging career, in this case it's not. Instead I thought I would take the opportunity to explain some of what I've been doing in the basement lately. Here's a visual example:

The itch to make some of my cars look a little more realistic-which in the case of anything with BN reporting marks would mean older-is what I've been trying to scratch. In the past the effort has involved spray cans, airbrushes, and sandpaper. None have been completely satisfactory, and especially in the case of airbrushes, the need for a place to paint and the clean up time are stumbling blocks to getting anything done. Recently the efforts have been influenced by advice like this.

So I've gathered up a small supply of tools and material, for example, this stuff:

And then I go to work as shown in the link to Jeremy's Dry Brush Technique, above. 

Once I have completed the fade and sealed it with dullcoat, I bust out the Pan Pastel powders and a small brush to start dirtying up the car. If you try this, go easy, the powders are powerful strong, much more so than any weathering powders I have used. While my skills are far from perfected, I am somewhat pleased that the cars aren't ruined. At least I'm still willing to leave them in sight on my layout. 

One of the challenges of weathering, for me at least, is knowing when to stop. Most of my earlier efforts tend toward the grubby, grimy side of reality, which while it does exist, certainly is not illustrated on the majority of rolling stock seen on the rails. On the other hand, I want to be able to tell I've weathered the car. Combined with a lack of patience, this probably leads me to over-weather a lot of things. 

Another challenge is trucks. The slippery plastic that is used to mold HO scale trucks is tough to get paint to stick to. I have had some luck with oil paint, but one needs to be careful not to overdo this as well since the paint can easily fill all the finely molded detail on the trucks. 

Finally, wheels are models too. I have been just slapping a layer of burnt umber oil on them, for the most part, although in a few cases this is followed up with some weathering powder. Another work in progress. 

Here's one final example of what I've been fooling with.

If you are interested in weathering, one final piece of advice. Set aside some time to listen to the Model Railroad Hobbyist podcast featuring Gary Christensen. His description of the frustrations of learning how to weather, and the revelation that is Dullcoat, are valuable information for the aspiring weathering artist. Gary has shared an article that clearly demonstrates that we don't need expensive equipment or material to acheive realistic results. The guy is truly an artist. 

The Hazards of an Airbrush

Airbrush + compressor + paint. What could possibly go wrong? A couple of things, as it turns out.

The main thing is know when to say when. As you'll see in the photos, airbrushing is so much fun that I tend to keep doing it long after I should have stopped. Consequently, I am now the proud owner of a couple of very weathered BN bethgons. You can see how much I put on when you compare them to the unweathered car in the middle.


On the plus side, the airbrush did exactly what it was told to do. That's a good thing, since that should make the next step easier-control myself.

If you are going to weather cars, do yourself a favor. Go stand along the tracks and take a close look at what prototype equipment actually looks like. It's nowhere near as filthy as what I tend to imagine. There's less rust, too, although that's not a big factor with these aluminum cars.

Another tip-weather with the trucks and wheels mounted on the car, or at least use the same process to weather them as you do the carbody. If you don't you'll likely end up with something like the closest car in the photo above-the trucks and wheels are grossly different than the car itself.

I tried one other trick as well-simulate the repair of a few of the panels on one of the cars, which is something that you occasionally see when you are out along the tracks. Again, not perfect, but hey, you never learn if you don't make a few mistakes, right?


Anyway, that's my first attempt at weathering coal gons, and I expect to get better at it with practice. After all, there are still 40 or 45 to go.

I gotta say, it's fun! If you haven't tried weathering, get after it. You can't do any worse than me.

Airbrush Adventures

I've long admired some of the work done on model railroad equipment by modelers using airbrushes. A couple of years ago I bought a cheap Testor's single action airbrush, and it seemed to work OK if you wanted to apply a solid coat of a color, but for things like weathering it left much to be desired.

MN Chris suggested I try an internal mix model put out by Harbor Freight, and I finally worked up the courage to order one.


After receiving it a few days ago and finding some hose that would work to hook it up to my compressor, I filled the jar with water and tryed spraying. It worked great!

The next evening I decided to follow some advice I had read on the net and take it apart so I would know how to disassemble and assemble it for cleaning. After a few minutes spent with a pile of parts, I finally managed to get everything back together and working. Mixing up a special blend of Ceramcoat Ivory and blue windshield washer fluid (my mix is about 4 parts WW fluid to one part paint), I set to work to dull down a shiny new Railbox car. Here's the untouched side:


After a few passes with the airbrush, the "plasticy" shine is gone, and I've got a start toward weathering the car:


A little web snooping revealed a page that contains an in-depth review of the airbrush, along with some tips for using it. Actually, Don Wheeler's entire site is a treasure trove of info for the new airbrush devotee.

So far I'm very happy with the purchase. I see the airbrush is on sale for $14.99 currently, and I have no qualms about recomending it to anyone who thinks they may need one. My copy is not perfect, as the color cup won't seat properly in the holder so I'm limited to using the jar, but I plan on picking up a new cup when I get the chance. It seems to spray cheap acrylic craft paint very nicely when it's properly thinned.

There's a lot to learn about airbrushes, but I think this one is getting me started in the proper direction.