Tender Truck Proof of Concept

The first print was too tight, and the second print was too loose. The third print was just right! So after playing with the action for a few days and showing it to my friends, I soldered some .010″ phosphor-bronze wire to some custom-made brass tube bearings, and assembled the truck. Honestly, it could roll […]

Are New Trucks the Answer?

The resolution of the mystery derailment at turnout 5 continues to elude me. I’ve spent hours watching that leading wheel of the tender truck kissing the rail and floating off at the critical point. The more I watched it, I became less and less convinced that it was ever in proper contact with the rail. […]

1120 Gets a new Decoder

Open house mania is not finished as I’m expecting another visitor in just over a week. So, I’m wasting as little time as possible in getting 1120 running again. The new connectors arrived from Mouser almost overnight, and I drove out to the Far East to pick up a LokSound 5 decoder from Intercity Trains […]

Bachmann Connectors

If there is one good thing about the decoder in 1120’s tender blowing up right in front of Steve Stark’s eyes, which he brought all the way from Victoria so he could point them at Pembroke, it is that I get to replace the six wires between tender and engine. They may be 28- or […]

Little Sister

My post about the engine lead buildings prompted me to pull #10 out of the roundhouse, where it’s been languishing since giving up its decoder to #622 some years ago. This was the first time I’d ever seen #10 next to #1120, and the difference in size was so stark, I wanted to share it. […]

1120 Done for Now

After more months than I’d planned, 1120 has left the workbench and returned to Golden Lake to resume service to Pembroke. I decided to experiment with a dot filter on the boiler and tender, and it came out a little heavier than I would have liked. However, considering it is not on home rails, perhaps […]

Coal loads for 1120 and 622

I had already started to put 1120 together again when I realized the coal bunker was still just sheets of lead. I’ve made this mistake before, and narrowly averted disaster when I discovered that #10’s tender was not water-tight and consequently wound up dribbling glue all over the electronics inside. So, this time I did […]

1120’s Tender Rear

The pun was unavoidable. I originally left the lining off the rear of 1120’s tender because the information sheet with Black Cat’s decal set indicated I should. However, it didn’t sit right with me, and when that happens, I go looking for pictures. A photo of 1362 wrecked at Renfrew Junction in 1906 sealed the […]

Lettering for 1120

Thanks to everyone who wrote in to sound the alarm about leaving masking tape on too long! I’m thrilled that anyone reads this blog, and dumbfounded that so many of you care. In the end you needn’t have worried: the masking tape came off easily and the paint stayed on. I hadn’t particularly planned to […]

1120 Visits the Paint Shop

The new airbrush made quick work of spraying 1120 all black. Compared with the old airbrush, this one is a delight. Sure, I can still make mistakes, but I don’t feel like I’m constantly fighting the tool. This was my first time using Vallejo paint and primer. I can’t even write that name without Marc […]