First layer of colour for the roundhouse

You can tell you’re working on a large project when all the pieces don’t fit on your workbench and they have to dry on the floor. The first layer is a mix of yellow ochre and raw sienna. I picked out I ndividual boards on the exterior, but the interior is simply roughly washed with […]

Roundhouse saved by the cloud

I had been lamenting the loss of my roundhouse designs. For some reason, one back wall and a side wall were cut and sitting on my desk for a couple of months while I worked on 622. Then, as I was riding home the other day, I remembered that if I had already cut the […]

Scribed and cut lines on the Cricut

Up to now, when I’ve wanted some lines scribed and others cut, I’ve simply run the whole pattern on the Cricut with a lighter touch. Then I have chased the scribed lines with a knife to cut them through. It’s simple, but tedious. Tonight, as I was cutting out the inside layer of the rear […]

Railway Modellers’ Meet

As I mentioned previously, I’m helping to organize the Railway Modellers’ Meet of British Columbia. This is the annual meet of the local NMRA division, but it is open to all (NMRA members get a discount). I also mentioned that it is perhaps higher quality than a lot of regional and divisional meets, although slightly […]

Would you tour this layout?

One of the ways that I lose hobby time is by helping to organize the Railway Modellers’ Meet of British Columbia. This is the local NMRA divisional meet, and consists of all the same things as a regional or national meet, but on a smaller scale, and dare I say a higher quality. This year, […]

The courage to start on 622’s tender

Okay, so I didn’t spend the eighties and nineties blithely hacking apart diesel shells to turn GP35s into GP38s. It seemed, from reading Model Railroader back in those days, that this was the way to enjoy the hobby. Model Railroading is Fun when you approach it with a razor saw! Well, I never had the […]

Bachmann’s tender trucks look good for 622

When I stopped in at Central Hobbies a couple of weeks ago to check out the Bachmann 4-4-0 tender, I failed to notice if the trucks would be a match as well. Of course, the Bachmann catalogue is useless for discerning detail. As with so many of the model railroad online and print catalogues, the […]

Even on Linux, I blame Microsoft…

I’ve been waiting for parts for the wheels for 622 for a couple of weeks now. They are coming from Apogee Vapeur in Switzerland, and I suspect they have been held up in customs, while they decide if they’re dangerous or not. Hopefully I don’t get hit with some huge brokerage charge when they finally […]

Weights and wires for 622

There are two things that I didn’t design well when I built #10 (okay, there are more than two, but I’m going to write about two tonight) — weights and wires. Weight, even on the first iteration, was largely composed of scraps of lead that I squeezed into nooks and crannies wherever I could. On […]

The wonder of a local hobby store or It looks like Bachmann’s tender shell will work for 622

Today I stopped in to Central Hobbies to see if they had any of the parts I need for 622. It’s all esoteric stuff, and so I was happy to walk away with the gear box at least. It must be said that Central Hobbies is one of the better hobby stores I’ve ever encountered. […]