GN Engine No. 141

Posted on July 17, 2019 by timf

I went to a swap meet in May and one of the few things I bought was a new in box Stewart Hobbies model of GN Engine No. 141.

Engine No. 141 (Prototype photo)
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More track work, and wiring!

Posted on July 16, 2019 by timf

The last update showed turnouts that had been completed and painted. Last week I installed six of them and some more straight sections of track. I’m pretty much done with laying track until I can get the bridges sorted out for crossing Lutgens Creek, and I don’t really want to build and install bridges until after I put up the new backdrops that I still need to order.

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July 10, 2019 Update

Posted on July 11, 2019 by timf

There hasn’t been much progress recently, mainly because we took two weeks off and rode the train across Canada. There will be posts and photos about that later on my other blog.

But some progress has been made in the past few days.

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Building Earls Oil

Posted on June 11, 2019 by timf

Another copy over from my other blog. This is the first laser kit I built.

I’ve started building some laser cut buildings for my model railroad. I figured that I could get a head start buy assembling some buildings in the winter, before I can start building the actual layout itself.

Since I’ve never built one of these before I thought I’d start out with something small and simple. Earl’s Oil by Bar Mills seemed to fit the bill. It’s a smaller building with some other parts to make a diorama of an oil dealer.

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Blucher Glue Works

Posted on June 11, 2019 by timf

This is a re-post from my personal blog. I posted it there before I had a name and blog for my layout.

For my second laser kit I decided to go with something a bit larger. I bought a copy of GC Lasers Blucher Glue Works.

I bought it because it’s visually interesting, and it has an amusing name. If you are unaware of where the name comes from, you need to go watch Young Frankenstein. Interestingly enough, the word “Blucher” is not German for “glue” as is commonly thought. The horse whinny was just added because the producers thought it was funny.

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Progress Report – 3 June 2019

Posted on June 4, 2019 by timf

Since the last update I have done the following:

  • Installed the 3/8″ plywood.
  • Painted the backdrop sky blue.
  • Installed the 1-1/2″ pink foam.
  • Determined what the basic track plan should be.
  • Laid out the track plan on the foam, placing switches and buildings.
  • Built three more switches (ran out of rail stock and had to stop.)
  • Started gluing down the cork roadbed.
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Benchwork!

Posted on May 27, 2019 by timf

Exciting! Yesterday I finished building the benchwork and installed it! I built the benchwork out of 3/4″ sheathing plywood. It’s all hidden so it doesn’t need to be pretty. I ripped 3″ and 2″ strips and used L-girder construction – mostly.

Of course the first step was to figure out how high I wanted the layout. The common wisdom is to put it higher than you might expect, because then you get a more eye-level view when running the trains. I thought this made sense, so I went with a 50″ height. The one concern is that you don’t go so high that you can’t reach the back of the layout but at 50″ high and 24″ deep I can reach the back without too much trouble, and I can always get a step-stool if needed. Actually I’m pretty sure I’ll need a stool to lay track and add scenery, but that’s okay.

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Hand Building A Turnout

Posted on May 19, 2019 by timf

My current track plan has about 12 turnouts (switches) in it. The quality code 83 Shinohara (no longer manufactured) and Walthers (coming soon) turnouts cost about $25-$30 each, even on eBay. That’s a lot of cheddar for turnouts. (About $300 if you do the math.)

I’d never considered hand-laying track before, but I thought I’d give it a try. The components are actually pretty reasonable. Central Valley Model Works makes molded plastic tie sets for building turnouts and they are $9.95 for two.

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Ready to start construction of the benchwork!

Posted on May 19, 2019 by timf

Yesterday afternoon I borrowed my friend Gus and his pickup truck and ran to Home Depot to buy the sheet goods required to build the benchwork.

Sitting in my garage waiting for it to stop raining is:

  • 1 sheet 3/4″ plywood
  • 1 sheet 3/8″ plywood
  • 1 sheet 1/8″ hardboard
  • 1 sheet 1-1/2″ pink foam

This morning I remeasured the room and then drew up some plans for the benchwork.

It’s supposed to be pretty nice tomorrow, so hopefully I can get a start on ripping up the plywood and building the benchwork!

Today I’ll use the laser level and stud finder to mark the walls for attaching the benchwork and work some more on the track plan.

I’m excited to get started!

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Welcome!

Posted on May 17, 2019 by timf

The Blackwing and Western is a model railroad based on a fictional branch of the Great Northern Railway. The town of Blackwing is located in Eastern Montana and has several small industries serviced by the Great Northern.

The time period is somewhere around 1958 give or take a few years and the Great Northern is still running steam with the addition of some early diesel power.

This blog will feature posts about the construction of the layout, industries, rolling stock and motive power (and any other railroad related items that come to mind.)

If you want to read about other things that I’m doing, you can check my personal blog at https://timf.anansi-web.com/wp/

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