A thumbnail switcher
layer to dry clear before applying a suc- cessive layer. The material may retain a slight cloudy white look for several days until thoroughly dry.
I use DCC on my home layout and on our club’s modular layout. One factor in selecting this kit for my industrial switcher needs was the space available in the cab for a LENZ Gold Mini de- coder. The decoder fits vertically snug against the motor on which I applied a layer of electrical tape as insulation. I removed the yellow and white light leads from the decoder and one copper wire from each LED was soldered di- rectly to the pads on the decoder. The other copper lead goes to the resistor connected to the blue lead. I colored the motor black with a marking pen where it would be visible above the cab win- dow sills.
To fit the decoder in the cab, it was necessary to remove the tabs provided for connecting the motor to the chassis for normal d.c. operation. Instead, I ran the electrical pickup wires through a hole drilled in the middle of the foot- plate and terminate under screws at each of the frame side sills. The decoder takes up all remaining room in the cab, so no space is available for an engineer figure. A photograph of an engineer fig- ure on a black background was glued to the motor and is visible through the front window of the cab.
The superstructure was then fitted down over the motor to the footplate, taking care not to sandwich any of the wires between. It was secured using a pair of 0.20″ long screws through both the end weights and the Micro Trains Line coupler boxes. The center weight was attached using double-stick tape. Before assembly, I painted the weights Floquil Engine Black.
Final fitting of the model parts and final assembly usually results in dam- age to previously applied finishes, re- quiring some touch-up. After getting everything to fit back together and run, I carefully cleaned the surfaces with rubbing alcohol, sanded any really bad chipped areas in the paint, masked the windows and applied one more light coat of Reefer Yellow by airbrush, fix- ing all those flaws.
In keeping with the utilitarian na- ture of this switcher, I did not letter the locomotive and only applied a simple number to each side of the cab while still masked, then sprayed it with one coat of Testor’s Dullcote. After this had thoroughly dried, I weathered the loco- motive with Rustall. The intent was to replicate a well-used piece of equip- ment which was not cosmetically main- tained, but not an abandoned relic. This patented four-part weathering system is a very controllable way of ag- 72
To assemble the superstructure to the chassis, the weight is attached using double-stick tape, while the end weights are held in place by the screws which also retain the couplers and the superstructure (above). After painting and weathering (below) the switcher can begin its life in the grimy industrial yard. It could also be at work in a mine or mill.
ing equipment, allowing one to dupli- cate the effects of surface rusting on sheet metal cab and hood enclosures. There are now similar products avail- able, but I still prefer this one. I have not gotten around to the Bish-
op’s Peak Quarry portion of my layout yet, so the switcher is currently em- ployed in the San Luis Obispo yards of the Pacific Coast Railway between stints on our local club’s Nn3 modular layout.
JANUARY 2012
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