We go to these events to learn new things, and occasionally there are real surprises, like Jim Lincoln’s full-size N scale print outs of a por- tion of Mansfield, Massachusetts, that are a foot-by-foot map of the place. Working with a friend who had access to a continuous roll print- er and a program that allowed him to download high-resolution images instead of the usual on-screen Google Maps®
size tiles that break
up and become blurry when enlarged, Jim (above) rolled out the prints on his modular benchwork and laid the track on top of it after using a knife to cut away the paper. The layout is comprised of three sections; the scaling was done with the distance bars on the maps and by working off the boxcars. The track gauge came out to the correct 9 mm. Jim used to work for CSX and switched this town; it is served by CSX off of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, and the three industries on these prints are switched every day. They are National Lumber (box- cars and center beam flats), Smurfitt-Stone Container (manufactures paperboad containers and boxes, receives rolls of corrugated card- board), and Advance Warehouse (boxcars, non-refrigerated good for distribution). A grocery distributor (not modeled) is on the same branch, so those cars are in the trains, and empty covered hoppers come here for a company across the main that ships out fly ash. The modules will be stand alone and staging will be “in place.” The layout is set in the Conrail era with a 15 m.p.h. speed limit. Fast Tracks turnout jigs (all No. 8’s, which match the prototype’s) are used, and the rail is code 55. Jim did not recall the name of his friend’s program, but a check of the internet brought up a few candidates, one of which, Google Maps Buddy, brought up a serious “threat warning” from the AVG anti-virus program here at the RMC office when it was checked out. In any case, Jim’s print outs are very good, as one can see here.
few models whether they are done or not. Remember: our models are all based on a real industry and real equipment, so don’t be intimidated by the words “prototype modeling.” Just go, enjoy, meet people and come back fired up to do the hobby better. These :RPM’s” are for all of us and are one of the driving forces in the hobby to- day.—BILL SCHAUMBURG
Coming up
September 13-14: Stafford, VA. The Mid-Atlantic Railroad Prototype Meet will be in Stafford, Virginia, at the Hope Springs Marina Clubhouse, 4 Hope Springs Road, Stafford, VA 22554, Friday evening through Saturday. The marina is is 17 miles from Fredericks- burg, Virginia, and only four miles off I- 95, Exit 140, about an hour south of Washington, D.C., on the Potomac River. Advance registration is strongly encour- aged. For more information, go to
92
The term “weathering warriors” comes to mind at these meets, and John Terry’s Conrail C40-8 is a good example of such work. It is a factory-painted HO scale Atlas model with a new Details West air horn, ditch lights, and snow plow, a Hi-Tech Details exhaust stack and MV Products clear and red lenses. John usually prefers artist’s oil thinned with Turpenoid® for his weathering medium, and he worked off a prototype photo, giving special attention to the fuel tank and underbody. His Hartford & Slocum ex-RI box (opposite top) also uses physical weathering, sanding down the lettering and logo to fade it, then coming back with thinned white paint and an airbrush to provide overall fading on the original lettering. The rust and streaks, again done with oils, followed. This was a factory-painted Exact Rail car. AUGUST 2013
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