Category: Skagit Valley and Whidbey Island Clinic

Article and Model Photos by Rich Thom, Speeder Photos from Rich Blake Collection

28 modelers filled the meeting room at the Summer Hill facility in Oak Harbor for the SV&W Clinic’s February meeting. Clinic Chair Rich Blake introduced new attendee Nick Kelsey, an Fn3 modeler, who just moved to Coupeville. (Editors note: Fn3 is 45 mm gauge track, same as G, with a specified scale of 1:20.3; G is 45 mm track gauge, but covers multiple scales running on the same track.) Welcome, Nick, and we all look forward to seeing your new outdoor pike under construction very soon. Rich reminded everyone of the upcoming UNW train show in Monroe at the end of this month, and the Sn3 Symposium in Bellevue April 16-18. Rich also called attention to the NMRA election of national officers underway, and urged all members to cast their votes. Susan Gonzales gave advance notice of a potential trip next clinic season to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, to get an inside look at the NP 0-6-0 switcher that is being rebuilt there.

Next up was “Show and Tell,” and three fine models were in the spotlight tonight.

Fig 1 Iver and Curt Johnson’s Flat Car with Jennings Log Skidder

Curt Johnson described the HO-scale flat car with load that he and his dad Iver Johnson just completed. The load is a Jennings Log Skidder, a kit manufactured by Scale Structures Ltd, Broomfield, CO. The Jennings Lumber Company bought several skidders from Nevada Iron Works and Foundry, the prototype for the model. The instructions weren’t in the box, and Iver and Curt couldn’t find them on-line, so they had to build the skidder a cappella. The car deck was built board-by-board, the spools of cable and water tank were scratch built, and additional details were added to the skidder.

Fig 2 John Mann’s N-scale no. 8 turnout

John Mann passed around an N-scale, no. 8 turnout that he fabricated with a Fast Tracks jig. (Your photographer failed to remember to place a coin in the photo, so readers will need to trust us: it’s N-scale.) The Code 55 rail required some delicate soldering, one of John’s special skills. John used a no. 8 double-crossover jig with which, he pointed out, one can build double- or single-crossovers as well as left- and right-hand turnouts.

Fig 3 Tom Hawkins’ and David Clarke’s PFM Ma & Pa 2-8-0 DCC Conversion

Tom Hawkins displayed his HO-scale, brass PFM Ma & Pa 2-8-0 which has had DCC and sound installed by David Clarke. Tom helped with the project but credited David with most of the work. David also painted and decaled the model. Despite retaining it’s original open-frame motor, the Consolidation runs beautifully.

Rich Blake then gave the evening’s presentation, Evolution of Logging Speeders in the Pacific Northwest. One of the most important vehicles to Northwest logging operations was the speeder. During the era when there were more rails than roads in the woods, the speeders became the versatile vehicle of choice to get people and equipment to remote areas along the lines. Speeders functioned not only as MOW (maintenance-of-way) vehicles, but also as crew transport, ambulance, school bus, fire watch, grocery getter and light locomotive from steam days well into the modern era.

The obvious predecessor to the speeder was the handcar, used by section gangs from 1850 to 1900 for track maintenance and hauling tools. It is estimated about 13,000 were in use. After the turn of the century, gas powered cars began to replace handcars, although on the Class 1 roads they were always primarily for track inspection and maintenance.

Logging railroads had quite different requirements. Not normally utilizing sections and gangs like the mainline railroads, they maintained track as needed using whatever locomotives and men were on hand. One of the biggest burdens of the logging railroad was the large number of people necessary to support logging operations, and getting them in and out of the woods. In the early days, logging locos were used to transport people on whatever rolling stock they had on hand, usually skeleton cars and flat cars, which obviously exposed the crews to the elements and danger. Sometimes closed crew cars or passenger cars were used, built or bought second or third hand. However this didn’t solve another problem: it was slow going. 15 mph for a typical geared loco was really flying along. Moreover, using logging locos to move people was not a good use of what were typically the most expensive assets on the property. The use of camps in the woods closer to the working areas helped, reducing travel time, but the camps were expensive to maintain and equipment-intensive. Hauling supplies to the camps, or switching cars around the camps, still took a logging loco away from its more important work. What was needed were “logging speeders”, faster than the logging locos and more powerful than the small gas speeders on the mainline railroads.

Enter the Skagit Steel and Iron Works, established in Sedro Woolley WA in 1902 as the Sedro Woolley Iron Works. Originally offering heavy repair service to the logging operations, at a site more convenient than Everett or Bellingham, its business expanded until, in 1921, the company decided to develop a line of gas powered speeders optimized for the special needs of the loggers. As a hedge against possibly soiling the company’s reputation in the venture, it spun off the Motor Appliance Corporation (MAC).

Fig 4 Skagit Iron Works MAC 4-40 Speeder

After first marketing a Fordson Tractor powered donkey engine, MAC moved into larger railroad equipment with the 4-40 rail car (Figure 4). The car had an open deck with a one man “telephone booth” at the front end. The designation 4-40 stood for 4 cylinder and 4000 pounds of tractive effort. The 4-40 was an immediate success. They were powered by a 40 hp to 66hp Model YTU Buda gas engine and weighed about 6 tons; the 8 x 20 deck had a load capacity of 5 tons. With a 5 ton load, they could cope with a 10 percent grade. The beauty of these speeders was they were heavy enough to switch a log car or two, or haul the crew to work. Other models followed, the 6-60 for heavier hauling, and the 4-20 focusing on crew transportation. MAC speeder production continued through 1936.

Fig 5 Rayonier Speeder No 22, June 1960 at Railroad Camp WA, a Gibson

In 1933 a competitor emerged, the Gibson Manufacturing Co. founded by Henry Gibson and located on 1st Street in Seattle (the building still exists). Gibson recognized the need for larger vehicles (such as in Figure 5) to haul ever-larger logging crews, and developed three models: 12 ft/30 man, 14 ft/40 man, and 18 ft/55 man versions. The Gibson speeders, like the MACs years earlier, were an instant success. By 1939, wood bodies were replaced by steel. Even a 24 ft/65 man model with a fully enclosed body and full controls at both ends of the speeder for driver visibility was produced. In 1946 Gibson, in partnership with Hayes Mfg., built the “Cadillac” of speeders, CanFor’s No. 121, a monster 40 feet long which seated 90 loggers and could zip along at 40 mph. In its 20 years of production, Gibson built about 300 speeders, with its last models hauling 90- 100 people. Henry Gibson passed away in 1953 and the company closed.

Fig 6 Simpson Lumber No. 117 at Shelton WA, a modified Gibson

Just over the border in Canada, the Westminster Iron Works, an old company established in New Westminster BC in 1874, moved into the logging speeder business for BC logging operations, producing many speeders, some similar to MAC products. Many of the British Columbia speeders featured cupolas for driver visibility, a design not common in the US. One exception was Simpson Lumber No. 117 (Figure 6), a modified Gibson speeder.

As rail logging gave way to truck logging, so went the hard working speeder, replaced by the company pickup truck. Their utility can never be forgotten and their contribution to the many logging operations was instrumental to their success.

Rich showed photos of many survivors in Washington, California, and British Columbia.

In the modeling world, speeders currently require kit-bashing or scratch-building. Several power drive units are possibilities, including NWSL Flea Drive, which one might find on eBay. Box-cab types are easiest to construct so that the mechanism, decoder etc. can be hidden. MAC-type open-deck types will require the most ingenuity.

Fig 7 Rich Blake’s On30 Speeder Modeling Project

Figure 7 shows one of Rich’s current projects, modeling a MAC speeder in On30. The flatcar is a Bachmann On30 18-foot car that is being used as a template for a scratch-built chassis. The cab is a resin casting from Boulder Valley Models for an On30 critter. The chassis drive is a Bachmann HO MOW ballast car. We are looking forward to see how it turns out.

Adding a speeder or two to a logging-themed layout will certainly add to realistic and interesting operations.

Article and Photos by Rich Thom

Clinic Chair Rich Blake welcomed 27 members and one new attendee, John Ballay of Coupeville (who we hope will become one of our regulars) to the January program: “Weathering Techniques for Buildings”. Rich reviewed the calendar of upcoming events in the PNR and reminded everyone that, as the new year has arrived, it was a good time to renew NMRA memberships. There being no old or new business, things moved directly into the program.

All had been encouraged to bring a weathered (or possibly not) building to share. Modelers responded by bringing more than two dozen structures in all scales from “N” to “F”, so there were plenty of examples to discuss. Space limitations prevent showing all of them in this report.

Fig 1 – Various buildings brought to the clinic for discussion.

Several members described their buildings and construction and weathering methods: Rich Blake, Jack Tingstad, Dick Haines, Terry Kandzor, Susan Gonzales, Al Frasch, Tom Hawkins, John Marshall, and John White. Some common techniques include:

• Use real life: photographs, field trip sketches and notes, internet resources
• Weather wood with razor saw or Micromark “stresser” to create grain
• Stain wood with water or alcohol-based washes made from acrylics, india ink, or leather dyes, or use commercially available stains from Micromark, Builders-in-Scale and others
• Focus on irregularity and repairs: for wood structures built board-by-board, stain boards individually, varying the intensity; put a few new, unpainted boards in an old planked wall; add boarded-up doors and windows, broken trim etc.
• Use chalks for final weathering: Bragdon powders (which contain a binder and need not be fixed in place), Doc O’Brien’s, artists’ chalks from Michael’s
• Instead of chalks apply dry pigments, available from art supply sources e.g. Dick Blick
• Don’t forget roofs: missing shingles, rusted corrugated iron, moss, leaves, foliage

Fig 2 – Jack Tingstad’s abandoned mine, a scratch foreground model built board-by-board; note individually stained boards.

During his remarks, Jack Tingstad passed around copies of the Judges’ Score Sheet for NMRA Model Contests to make the point that weathering can make or break a model earning an achievement award or winning a contest. Of the five qualities of a model that are judged, the fourth, “Finish and Lettering”, which includes weathering and how it was achieved, can earn a maximum of 25 points (out of 125 total possible), which is more than Detail (20 points) or Scratchbuilding (15 points).

Fig 3 – Tom Hawkins’ Builder’s Supply, another scratch foreground building constructed of pre-stained stripwood.

Fig 4 – Terry Kandzor describes his scratch-built yard office/interlocking tower, featuring a boarded-up door for former stairway, broken trim under eaves, and other “needs repair” details.

Some less common methods:

• Weathering boards: stain or paint as usual, apply turpentine, paint the board before it dries with acrylics, then apply tape and pull it off; when it works (it didn’t tonight!) the resulting worn paint appearance is great (Rich Blake)
• Peeling paint: apply Grumbacher “Miskit” Liquid Frisket over first layer of paint in patches where you want the peeled paint effect; apply second coat of paint; then use an artist’s gum eraser to rub off the top layer and masking material (Jack Tingstad)
• “Chalk Slag”: when weathering a building with chalks, place a large clean sheet of paper underneath the model to collect the residue; the co-mingling of colors creates a great weathering powder for general use (Dick Haines)
• Water staining (literally!): drip small amounts of water, possibly with pigments added, vertically down sides of buildings, on roofs etc. (take care with paper-based or wood structures!) (Dick Haines)

Fig 5 – Dick Haines’ city block, a well-weathered hydrocal kit.

Fig 6 – Susan Gonzales’ city block, the same kit as Dick Haines’; her rendering includes peeled paint exposing bricks underneath and other fine weathering techniques.

Finally, for those who like to let natural processes do the work for them, Tom Hawkins reminded everyone that just leaving a building on the layout for a few years is very effective. (We assume he wasn’t kidding.) Or as John Marshall suggested, build a garden railway. John brought two 1:20.3 buildings from his Coupeville railroad. One, a German plastic model, has been outside for 20 years and looked it. The second, of wood, is brought indoors over the winter but, protected by wood preservative, is outdoors the rest of the year, and was convincingly weathered, too. Whatever works!

Thanks to all participants, and Event Coordinators Rich Blake and Susan Gonzales, for a great clinic on improving the appearance and realism of our structures.

Article and Photos by Rich Thom

December’s clinic featured an always-popular “Make-and-Take,” with Susan Gonzales leading the group through her process of making windblown trees. Susan’s technique is based on an article, “Windswept Trees from Natural Materials,” in the April 2013 issue of Model Railroader, but she shortened the process and used her own choices of materials, stains, etc.

To inspire everyone for the evening’s tree-making, Susan brought a completed tree:

In this example, sagebrush collected in eastern Washington was used for the trunk, and caspia for the branches. Other twigs you can find in the woods can also be used, but sagebrush produces especially fine windblown trees. The trunk has been stained and also weathered with gray washes. Having examined Susan’s tree, everyone had a chance to try their hand at creating an equally-gnarled tree. Susan brought a large supply of sagebrush and caspia to the clinic — more than five times enough in fact for everyone!

Susan Leads Tree Clinic

The first step in the process Susan did before the meeting (after gathering a quantity of sagebrush): bleaching the wood. She uses four 5-gallon buckets. The first is filled with a strong solution of bleach, and the other three with rinse water. The twigs are soaked in the bleach solution for one hour, then moved to bucket #2. The wood is swished around in the bucket and soaked for 20 to 30 minutes. This is repeated again in bucket #3, and then #4. The rinse water is changed frequently. Rinsing continues until all bleach odor is gone. The twigs are dried on a tarp or plastic sheeting, preferably outside. A sunny day is even better (good luck with that in western Washington!).

The next step is to “mine” the brush, searching for gnarled and / or curved or otherwise interesting-looking segments for the trunk of your tree. Cut, then pinch off excess branches to get the look you want. The size will obviously depend on your scale and whether it is to be a foreground or background tree. If it’s sagebrush, pick off any thorns. Clean off loose pieces with a wire brush. For a polished, wind-worn look, use 220-grit sandpaper on the trunk.

Color the trunk (optional) with a brown stain, gray washes, or both. Susan uses Folk Art brand maple and cherry stains (hard to find) but your favorites will work, too. She uses Folk Art dove gray and steel gray acrylics for the washes.

The next step is to drill or punch holes in the trunk for the caspia branches. After forming the holes, Susan uses a trick of putting T-pins in them to keep them open (and visible!) until you are ready to glue in the caspia. She uses Aleene’s fast grab or tacky white glue. One of our tree-builders discovered that you shouldn’t squeeze the glue bottle too hard.

Results of Squeezing the Bottle Too Hard

Ground foam may be added to the branches, also optional. As a final step, drill hole and glue in a planting pin at the bottom of the trunk

Everyone took home a windblown tree, such as these resulting from the evening’s labors:

John Mann’s Tree

Tom Hawkins’ Tree

Thanks Susan for a fine clinic and inspiring us all to enhance our layouts with these unique trees.

Al Frasch / Photos by Jon Wilbert

Dick Haines showing boxcar with installed sound decoder

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 saw twenty-two interested model railroaders in attendance at the annual “Mini-clinics” session. Rich Blake welcomed everyone to the evening’s action which began with Dick Haines showing the new Sound Car decoder from Bachmann. He explained his installation in a boxcar with decoder, speaker and a “keep alive.” He indicated the price was in the mid-$30 range and requires a speaker of your choice. He suggested that one could add such a car every 3 or 4 cars to realistically portray the wheel click and squeal of the prototype.

The first Mini-clinic was a four part talk by John White titled “Flat Cars.” John models in On30, but the principles should hold for all scales except maybe for zed (Z scale). Part 1 was on giving the flat cars weight. He uses small lead shot to arrive at about 4 ounces, gluing them to the under structure using white glue to fully encase the shot. Then a coat of grimy black hides them quite well.

Part 2 was on wheels and couplers in which John said he tries to standardize to 36” Intermountain wheels and Kadee #5 couplers.

Part 3 was on the laying of the flat car deck. John starts with 12” scale wood which he stains (no paint) and cuts to length. He suggested to start gluing (using CA) the deck from the non-brake end to the middle, then from the brake end, meeting in the middle with a narrower plank if necessary. The nail holes are made with the end of a 7mm mechanical pencil at about 30 degrees to the vertical, making a small depression which is filled with weathering chalks. They really do look great!

John White finished flat car with stained deck

Part 4 concerned a method of loading the flat car using what John calls a “load retention device.” This is platform that will hold the loads which is built to exactly fit between the vertical stakes of the car. This allows a quick switching of loads either during or between operation sessions to reflect the load/unload at industries on the layout.

John Mann was next up with a discussion of the numerous options for airbrushing. He pointedly indicated that he was only talking about airbrushing tools, not techniques. Airbrushing requires three items: an airbrush, a source of air and paint. First, he showed a $15 airbrush kit from Harbor Freight, definitely on the low price end of things. Next was a $500 Badger airbrush on the high end. John suggested that a good middle ground would be the $50 (approximately) Badger 350 kit which is gravity fed and being popular, all the needed accessories are readily available. He suggested that one always get a dust/moisture filter for the air line. Whether you want a single action or dual, gravity fed or syphon fed, most any combination is available from the major brands.

John Mann showing how to store paints for long term usability

John was very insistent that one practice, practice, practice before tackling a “real” model. A cheap practice medium could even be watercolors or diluted latex paints.

The next need is air and John indicated several sources: the cans of air sold for airbrushing, a compressor (with a tank), or even a spare tire – really. With any source, a good air gauge is a necessity. He finished up by reminding everyone that a clean work area — including a painting booth or other source to evacuate the fumes — clean paint, clean airbrush and clean air source are the keys to great results.

Our third clinic was by Tom Hawkins, our resident layout design guru. His talk was titled “Lessons I Have Learned.” Tom is currently designing a 15’ X 15’ layout for another member of the clinic and was the third place winner in a national design contest by Model Railroader.

Tom Hawkins explaining plan details

Some of his lessons learned:
– no plan gets built exactly as drawn.
– always, always make sure you have access to hidden areas.
– if the layout isn’t reachable, make sure pop-ups included.
– double ended yard tracks can take more space than stub end tracks.
– yards need to be large enough to handle all the arrivals, departures and sorting that your operations scheme might require.
– it is amazing how much just a couple of inches in width of benchwork can make, adding a track or two extra in a yard or industrial area.
– avoid S-curves that are as short as your longest car, use #6 or greater turnouts to create crossovers.
– aisles need to be as wide as possible but it is always a compromise.
– try to keep minimum radii as large as possible and don’t forget the easements into curves.

After Tom, the clinic meeting was adjured to November 12th at which time Jack Hamilton and Di Voss are scheduled to present Nick Muff with his official MMR plaque and certificate prior to our regular clinic presentation.

Assortment of John White flat car loads

Rich Thom

The Skagit Valley and Whidbey (SV&W) Clinic got off to a great start at its first meeting in Oak Harbor on September 10th, with Chairperson Rich Blake welcoming everyone back after the summer break. Actually most members met in August at John and Felicia Marshall’s home for a BBQ, also featuring John’s growing (they always do!) outdoor G-scale railroad. This added “bonus” meeting has become a tradition thanks to the Marshalls’ hospitality.

Rich noted tonight’s attendance was 27, a good beginning for the season (last year’s average was 28). New member Steve Shelley—modeling in HO scale—was introduced and welcomed. Rich reviewed the season’s clinic topics and regional calendar of NMRA and other events. Clinic members again plan to support many of the events such as the Pacific Science Center Show, the Monroe Train Show, and others.

Rich Blake presented the evening’s clinic, “The Art of Ops.” Several members already host regular operating sessions; and others plan to. The theme of Rich’s talk was how guest operators should prepare themselves to help make the session run smoothly. It also improves your chances of getting invited back!

Homework Before the Op Session

If you are invited to operate on an unfamiliar layout, there’s a lot you can do before showing up, anxious to move your first train. Most hosts have abundant material available describing the things you need to know about their railroad. They will email it to you, refer you to a website, or perhaps reference published articles. In addition to this layout-specific information, guest operators should know basic railroad operating practices.

• Prototype or Theme/era for the Layout—The host will tell you the location and timeframe his layout recreates, and will appreciate guests having some basic familiarity with it, which can be researched on the internet.
• What, When, Where and How—The host will almost always provide a Track Plan, Timetable, or often an entire Employee Timetable. Study these carefully. There’s nothing more frustrating than being handed a throttle and told to take a train from A to B, and not having the slightest idea where A and B are.
• General Rules of the Road—Be familiar with general rules, such as can be found in the General Code of Operating Rules, which can be downloaded from the internet.
• Layout Owner Rule Set—Sometimes provided in advance, sometimes not. If they are, read them. How are cars uncoupled on the layout? Is sound used, and does the host want you to use realistic whistle signals? (Know them.) Does he want you to not touch his cars and locos under any circumstances? Does he wish nothing to be placed on the layout, even “harmless” paper? Owners can be very sensitive about such things, and guests should know them.
• Train Control—How is traffic controlled, TT&TO, Track Warrants, CTC etc? Know the basics of these methods, and refresh yourself with the details of the one used.
• Car Forwarding—The host will usually specify the method used: car cards, switch lists, tab-on-car, etc. Know how to use them beforehand.
• DCC/DC—The host will specify whether he uses Lenz, Digitrax, MRC etc. If you are not familiar with the manufacturer’s equipment, do your homework. Instruction manuals can be found on the internet. Also don’t forget how to operate on a DC layout—there are still some around!

At the Layout

Encountering an unfamiliar layout, especially a large and fully-scenicked one, you’ll usually be wowed and start looking at all the details. But right after the orientation tour, you’ll be expected to run a train. Focus on what is operationally important first!

• Electrical Panels—Some are user friendly with clear diagrams, others less so. Ask if some are confusing to you.

• Turnout Controls—Know where they are and how to use them.
• DCC/DC—Locate the DCC plug-in panels.
• Signals—Know the indications! On a CTC layout, for example, if you don’t know what yellow over red means, ask the host for a cheat sheet. Most have them available.
• Problem Trackwork—This refers to complex, not poorly laid, track. Locate complex trackwork that you will need to negotiate, such as three-way and slip switches. If they are aligned by the road crews, know how to throw them to avoid embarrassment when your train gets there!
• Defer admiring the layout until after you are comfortable with the things above.
• Self-Prep—Take with you the accessories that you may need. Operating usually requires four or five hands, to hold train orders, throttle, radio, car cards etc. Pack an apron with pockets and/or neck lanyard; small flashlight; pens/pencils, spare uncoupling picks. If you take your own throttle, pack spare batteries.
• Give Feedback to the Host—He will appreciate knowing the bugs that you’ve encountered. Remove bad order cars, and fill out bad order forms if provided. Blue flag problem trackwork. Identify any locos that need attention. Taking photos of bad order items and sending later also works. Always stay for and contribute to the debriefing at the end of the session.

And Slow Down!

The final section of Rich’s talk addressed slowing down for more realistic operation, illustrated with video clips, some of which Rich shot on his On30 modules. It’s common to see switching moves performed in an op session at a speed impossible in the real world, without brakemen moving at the speed of light that is. Using “one potato two potato” counting to insert simulated time for releasing hand brakes, uncoupling, walking to and from ground throws, etc., Rich demonstrated how these operations can be done much more realistically, more than doubling the time usually seen in typical sessions. Simulating brake tests, setting retainers, and other prototype operations can also add interest and slow things down. Finally, several video clips showed some of the bad habits that even experienced operators can develop over time. One of the best: grabbing a freight car with your left hand to create slack (probably moving the loco at the end of the cut in the process) while uncoupling with a pick in your right hand

Operating can be fun for both guests and host, but guests need to do their half of the work: do the homework!