MORRISTOWN & ERIE RAILROAD - WESTERN DIVISION

[ACL1504]

Frank,

The steel mill area is going to be wonderful. I love planning and redoing parts of my layout. Oh wait, that was the old Tom. Now, I plan and execute that plan with no REDO'S.

Looking forward to the updates my friend.

Tom

[S&S RR]

Frank


It's good to see you getting back at the Steel Mill Project. I will be following along.

[Erieman]

John, Tom, Jeff & Greg,


Guys, Thank you for stopping by. The steel mill complex is a big challenge. I continue to dig " under the layout". You all know what I am referring to, because we all do that. Anyway, I find elements that will be used either in the complex or close to it. Lots of spare parts or building components. A big pile is growing near the steel mill complex.
In the meantime, as I mentioned in my morning post, I have been building a couple of cars; a caboose and a passenger car.As I mentioned earlier, i found the caboose at a swap meet. I think i paid a dollar for it, maybe even 50 cents. It was a total disaster. The prior owner/ builder has used Walters Goo to bond the car together. A couple of days in the Arizona sun could give you an idea of what the car looked like. Everything was or had fallen off. The end walls were zamac castings and had degraded almost totally. One touch and the wall became grit. I saw it as a challenge. I took the entire car apart, built new end walls and that was the beginning. I don't intend to run the caboose on the layout, I just wanted the challenge. Everything had to be squared up to insure proper fit. I decided to detail the interior, so I added studded walls, a wood burning stove, seating, storage areas, etc... the marker lights are led's and work off of track power. All the wiring is hidden beneath the cupola seating on one side. The side wood walls were in bad shape regarding the pigment applies some time in the past. I decided to  weather versus restore the pigment. the ends had to undergo the same process.
I am close to completion. I am still working on the underbody. The cupola roof has a real nice snug and tight fit. If anybody happens to know the kit manufacturer, please let me know. The other car under construction is a 1905 closed vestibule wood coach by LaBelle. This car was also started by another modeler. The prior builder did a pretty good job of building the kit, but the devil is in the details. More about that kit in a future post. Here are a couple pics of the caboose.Enjoy.


Frank / Erieman

[jerryrbeach]

Frank,

Nice save!  Great job re-working and finishing up this caboose. 

[GPdemayo]

Neat looking caboose Frank. 

[PRR Modeler]

Very nice job.

[ACL1504]

Frank,

Great find on the "bobber" and fantastic job on the repairs.

Tom

[Erieman]

Thanks to everyone that stopped to see the caboose. Here are a couple of final ( or as final as it is going to get) photos of the caboose.


Frank / Erieman

[S&S RR]

Frank


Very nice work!

[Erieman]

Spent part of the day moving / arranging some of the buildings in the towns of East Orange / West Orange. Missing is the station in West Orange. It is a SRMW kit to be built. I have arranged many of these buildings several times, but like what i see in this arrangement. Actually, in some of the pics you see East Orange, South Orange and West Orange. Yes, they are real names of towns in New Jersey. That's where the similarity ends. You can also see the East End Building that I built several years ago. Raymo originally posted a couple of the building and i asked him for more photos, etc.. Voila, several months, etc.. done. New also id the gas station from SRMW's Streeter"s. Still working on adding a few more details and trees to the Streeter's complex. Several of the buildings are built on foam bases then integrated into the scene. The advantage is that the buildings can be removed ( sounds like a dirty word) when i downsize. That word pops up every once in a while.


Anyhow, thought i would share these photos to show progress on the layout. There is a small amount of progress in that area as well. Mostly gathering elements of the buildings. the steel mill structures will be in the foreground and there will be several other structures layered towards the background. there are several layers of track that will need to be accessible, so many the buildings will have to be designed / built / installed for easy access.


So that is my progress update for now. enjoy.


Frank / Erieman


 

[Janbouli]

Great job Frank, love how all the structures blend in but still make an individual impression.

[GPdemayo]

You have really captured the feel of some of the older areas in NJ Frank. Old shaped lots, buildings set randomly,  not in rows like soldiers at a parade, terrain changes and that crowded, bustling feel of the area.

Great work.....

[Erieman]

Great job Frank, love how all the structures blend in but still make an individual impression.

Jan,


Thank you for your kind words. There are a lot of structures on this layout. Many are either kit bashed or scratch. I think there is close to 300 buildings. It is a lot of fun. Getting the right look is the hardest and most time consuming, but I enjoy it. Hope you are feeling better.


Frank / Erieman

[Erieman]

You have really captured the feel of some of the older areas in NJ Frank. Old shaped lots, buildings set randomly,  not in rows like soldiers at a parade, terrain changes and that crowded, bustling feel of the area.

Great work.....

Thanks Greg,


Lets call it selective mis match. this railroad has a lot of terrain changes which, while being a challenge, also make it interesting. The big cities depicted in these recent photos are a challenge. Filling these areas only add to the challenge and fun of the layout. Thank you for stopping by and your kind words.


Frank / Erieman

[S&S RR]

Frank


Your layout just keeps getting better and better, great looking progress.