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The monthly Skagit Valley and Whidbey Island clinic
We will be getting the 2015 – 2016 SV&W clinic season going with a discussion of a real railroad, the DuPont Dynamite Narrow Gauge Railway, named as such because it hauled … wait for it … dynamite! Russ Segner, our 4th Division Superintendent, will come up to Oak Harbor to discuss the railway and how one could use it as a prototype for a model railroad layout. Should be very enlightening!
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Clinic Chair Rich Blake welcomed 22 others to the SV & W Clinic’s May meeting at the Summer Hill facility in Oak Harbor. Rich reminded all of two upcoming NMRA events, the 4th Division PNR’s Spring Meet at the Sheraton Bellevue on June 6th (with layout tours on the 7th) and the NMRA National Convention in Portland in August. Jack Tingstad discussed next season’s model contest. The theme will be a flatcar with a load, with a scratch-built load as the main feature to be judged. The flatcar can be scratch-built, too; Jack mentioned that an excellent reference for building a generic wood flatcar can be found under Tutorials on the Kappler scale lumber website, www.kapplerusa.com. Detailed contest guidelines will be distributed in the fall.
John Marshall brought one model for Show-and-Tell, another piece of essential machinery for his F-Scale (1:20.3) sawmill: a stationary steam engine (Fig 1).
Fig 1 – John Marshall’s F-Scale Steam Power Plant (Photo: Rich Thom)
This is a kit from Ozark Miniatures, their “Frick Portable Steam Power Plant.”
Ted Becker presented the evening’s clinic “Utilizing R/C Servos as Switch Machines“. “Servo” is short for servomechanism — in this case, a mechanism that provides a mechanical output position controlled by an electronic signal and actively held in that position via a feedback signal. Sophisticated servos see widespread use in aerospace and other industries, but less expensive ones were originally developed and adapted for use in radio-controlled (R/C) airplanes.
Fig 2 – Smaller Size is One Advantage of Servos
One advantage of servos for model railroad applications is smaller size compared to commercially available stall-motor switch machines, such as the Tortoise by Circuitron (at left, Fig 2). Although an excellent product, it requires a fair amount of volume below the benchwork. Another servo advantage (Fig 3) is ease of installation, in a variety of possible orientations (discussed later).
Fig 3 – Ease of Installation is Another Advantage
The third advantage is possibly cost (Fig 4). The qualification is due to the fact that servos require an electronic signal provided by a servo controller or driver, so that the total cost per servo (the figure to compare to the cost of a Tortoise, for example) includes the cost of the servo plus the electronics to drive it.
Fig 4 – Cost is Possibly a Third Advantage
There are many suppliers of suitable drivers, and the products offered vary widely in features and cost that result in a very wide spread in the final cost/servo for the modeler. Ted thoroughly researched the products of some of these suppliers which include:
Ted tabulated the characteristics, features and cost of the servo controllers offered by these suppliers, and then calculated the resultant cost/servo for each. The resulting table is too large to reproduce in this article, but interested readers can email Ted at rail.bird@att.net and request the spreadsheet. It also includes the website addresses of all the suppliers for exploring further.
The models available from these suppliers can drive anywhere from one servo up to as many as 48. Some are compatible with DCC, while others are not; some products also include relays (for powering frogs) whereas others don’t. The resultant cost/servo calculated by Ted ranges from a low of about $6, to $36 — quite a range, so buyer beware!
As a result of his research, Ted selected the servo controller product line manufactured by Arduino which, depending on the model, yield a cost/servo between $6.25 and $7.50. In addition to lowest cost of all the products on a per-servo basis, the Arduino boards are versatile and easy to program (a simplified version of C++). Arduino was developed, in fact, to make micro-controllers accessible to artists, students, and hobbyists without extensive digital circuit knowledge.
Back to the servos themselves, regardless of manufacturer the servos all have three wires with a standard color code, a connector with connections on 0.1” centers to match common header pins, and an operating voltage range of 4.8 to 6 volts. Mounting and installation can be accomplished in a number of ways. Some commercial mounts are available, but Ted makes his own, some customized to the location; again, the relatively small size of servos permits squeezing them into tight or awkward locations, such as the four examples on Ted’s layout shown in Fig 5.
Fig 5 – Four Installations of Servos in Tight or Awkward Places on Ted’s Layout
Installation requires selection of throw arm (available in a number of configurations and sizes) and wire linkage between the throw arm and turnout point tie bar. Depending on location, you can use (1) push-pull linkage; (2) “waving wire”; or (3) “pivoting wire” (such as the Tortoise employs). Ted finds that 0.032” and 0.047” diameter music wire is the most useful for linkage in HO scale, while the next smaller size, 0.025,” is too flexible except for some push-pull installations. Du-Bro makes 0.032” pushrods (wire within plastic tubing) for model aircraft applications which can also be used for switch machine linkage.
One of Ted’s “standard” mounts, useful for straightforward “pivoting wire” installations where the servo is below the sub roadbed, is shown in Fig 6. He cuts a 2” length from aluminum channel (e.g. Hillman Aluminum Trim Channel for ½” Plywood), and then drills a 0.045” to 0.05” pivot hole (#55 or 56 drill) for 0.032’ music wire, as shown in the figure. If you want to mount with screws instead of double-sided tape or adhesive, add two screw holes. The resulting simple mount is shown at the lower left. At the upper left, “Z-bends” in the music wire are typically used in the installations to secure the wire to the servo throw arm.
Fig 6 – One of Ted’s “Standard” Mounts Uses Aluminum Channel
Finally, if you want to power a turnout frog (or a signal), you can add a SPDT microswitch to the servo/throw arm assembly as shown in Fig 7.
Fig 7 – Adding a Microswitch for Powering Frogs or Signals
In summary, if you are planning a layout with a large number of turnouts where switch machine cost might be a factor, and/or have tight locations where their small size and versatility might be an advantage, consider using R/C servos!
Long time Whidbey Island resident Jay Huff passed away April 11th 2015. He was a US Navy veteran and active model railroader in the Skagit and Island County areas for many years. Some of our older club members remember him as a gruff and tough Naval Officer who liked to be in charge. Nothing wrong with that as he was one of the Navy guys to get a model railroad club layout set up on the Navy Base on Whidbey Island back in the early 70’s. That club became the off-base Whidbey Island Railroad Club. These first steps formed the foundation of the 4the Division groups we now have in the Skagit Valley and Whidbey area along with the Mount Vernon Clinic. He also was involved with the Anacortes and Fidalgo Club layout. Many of the long timers in these groups knew Jay from way back and appreciate everything he contributed to the growth of model railroading in this area.
Jay was very fond of HO brass steam model collecting and was also fascinated in the different styles of bridge construction. He built many detailed bridges for various club layouts and became the subject matter expert on bridges for the region. He gave several clinics on this and other model railroading topics over the years.
Jay suffered a stroke some years ago which severely limited his mobility. This did not deter him, however, and he remained a dedicated modeler while continuing to attend the Skagit Valley and Whidbey Clinics as long as he could. He always kept his tough Navy guy demeanor but at the same time was actually a very generous and friendly person and always had something to contribute at the clinics I had the pleasure to share with him. His ability to overcome a terrible handicap and remain cheerful and upbeat will always be an inspiration to all who knew him.
Background information provided by Al Carter, Bill Harper, Terry Kandzor, Jack Tingstad, and John White.
Clinic Chair Rich Blake welcomed 28 other folks to the Skagit Valley & Whidbey Clinic’s April meeting at the Summer Hill facility in Oak Harbor. Attendance this season continues to be strong, so planning next season’s program was up front and center, with Program Chair Susan Gonzales requesting further ideas. She and Rich have already fleshed out some of the program, with Russ Segner presenting in September, the ever-popular Mini-Clinics in October (five or six 15-minute clinics by our own talented members), and a reprise of the Model Contest in February. The theme for next season’s contest will be flatcars with loads, any scale as usual. Jack Tingstad, volunteering as contest shepherd, said that the contest rules will be presented at the September meeting, but broadly either a flat car must be scratch built, or a load (or both). There will be a humor award as well as others. Get a-building now!
Without further ado, Rich introduced well-known model building artisan Al Carter for the evening’s clinic on how to apply distinctive period signs to buildings, of brick, wood, stone, or any other material. Al uses three techniques: (1) dry transfer lettering; (2) thin paper method; and (3) decal method, often combining them on the same model.
Fig 1 – Al Carter introduces the dry transfer method
The Dry Transfer Lettering Method uses self-adhesive letters available at stationery or craft stores. The letters are used as masks, rather than applying them to a wall and leaving them in place. Start by painting the wall:
After the wall is prepared, select the location for lettering and:
The end result is white lettering on a black background. See the excellent example in Figure 2. (You can also create black lettering on white, or use other colors, but white on black was most common.)
Fig 2 – Signage on Al’s Franklin Garment Co. building
The Thin Paper Method makes use of color reproductions of signs that can be found in multiple sources including magazines and on-line. The trick is to print them on very thin paper so that the signs, when glued to the structure, conform – or “snuggle on” – to the texture of the building wall.
Fig 3 – Some of Al’s signs printed on thin paper
Several kinds of thin paper are suitable, but it may take some experimenting. Al uses “flimsy” paper he obtained many years ago, but others will work, too. Ted Becker said that he has had good results with the tissue used with gift wrapping. Other options are “onionskin,” tracing paper, and airmail paper. Whatever you try, the next challenge is: will the thin piece of paper run through your printer without jamming? The only way to find out is to try. If it doesn’t, Al suggested that you can tape the thin sheet to a carrier sheet – a piece of ordinary copy paper – and run it through your printer that way. Another hint: whenever Al obtains a new kit or sheet of signs, he always makes a copy on his home copier of the signs so he has a backup in case of errors made with the original. A terrific example using the thin paper method is shown in Figure 4.
Fig 4 – One of Al’s buildings with sign created by the thin paper method
The Decal Method is essentially the same technique that modelers use to letter rolling stock except that the decals are just substantially larger.
Some sources for sign decals include Art Griffin Decals (www.artgriffindecals.com), T2 Decals, and Largemouthlodge Decals. The latter two suppliers do not have websites, but both sell on Ebay under those seller names. Do an Ebay search (in model railroading) on Ghost Signs.
Al has also experimented with various dulling finishes, and has found that an even flatter finish than the popular Testors Dullcoat is another Testors product named Modelmaster Lustreless Flat.
Two of Al’s buildings with signs applied using decals are shown in Figures 5 and 6.
Fig 5 – The Manhattan Hotel overlaid signs, a decal by Art Griffin Decals
Fig 6 – Another sign created using an Art Griffin decal
Fig 7 – Side of one of Al’s buildings with signs made by a number of methods
Al concluded by noting that these methods can be used in combination, such as in Figure 7. The Pepsi sign is a Woodland Scenics dry transfer; the Morton Salt sign a decal; and the Seven Up sign a thin paper example. The Red Man sign is a paper sign that was slightly sanded on the back (but not as thin as a thin paper sign) so it doesn’t conform to the bricks as well,
Never one to leave the stage without an encore, Al showed pictures from his and his wife’s recent cruise to Brazil. No flash pix of Rio or Carnival here, just photos of cluttered and well-weathered rooftops on wharf side buildings for modeling inspiration. Al really knows how to enjoy his vacations!
After a lot of business conducted at the overflowing swap tables, Clinic Chair Rich Blake welcomed 25 folks to the SV&W Clinic’s March meeting at the Summer Hill facility in Oak Harbor. Rich also introduced new attendee John Connelly, whom we hope will become a regular.
John Marshall brought his “winter project” (John has an outdoor G-scale layout in Coupeville, so winters get devoted to rolling stock and structures) for show-and-tell. He has completed a set of sawmill machinery (Fig 1) in F-scale (1:20.3) for his sawmill – a large (in more ways than one!) work-in-progress. These are kits are by Wild West Scale Model Builders, www.wildwestmodels.com. The components are identified in Figure 1. The log carriage (Fig 2) has over 150 white metal castings.
Fig 1 John Marshall’s F-Scale Mill Machinery. Clockwise from left: Lower assembly of double circular saw; upper assembly of saw (on temporary frame); log turner; cutoff saw (on temporary frame); and log carriage.
Fig 2 John Marshall’s F-Scale Log Carriage
There being no further business or pop-ups, Rich Thom gave the evening’s presentation: Viva Vapor! Steam with a Latin Beat—Modeling Inspiration on 5 Gauges. It was a “Part 2” to a talk given back in 2009, which covered different railroads in other countries.
When the last revenue steam operations ceased in the U.S, most steam enthusiasts said “that’s the end of it,” and redirected their energies to writing books, modeling, and preservation. Worldwide, though, steam was far from defunct. Some people packed their cameras intent on finding and documenting what survived beyond our borders; Rich caught this disease.
Most of the railroads in this talk used American-built locos, mostly Baldwins, and rolling stock details and operating practices evoked stateside steam railroading. We highlighted steam on 5 different gauges, in 5 countries in Central and South America:
| FEGUA (IRCA) Ferrocarriles Guatemala (Int’l. Rwys. of Central America) |
Guatemala | 3’ gauge | Photo’d 1973, 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FES Ferrocarril de El Salvador |
El Salvador | 3’ gauge | 1973 |
| FNGB Ferrocarril Nacional General Belgrano |
Argentina | Meter | 1976 |
| F del E Red Sur Ferrocarriles del Estado Southern Network |
Chile | 5’6” | 1976, 1991 |
| EFDTC Estrado de Ferro Dona Teresa Cristina |
Brazil | Meter | 1976 |
| VFCO Viacao Ferroviario Centro Oeste |
Brazil | 30″ | 1976 |
| RFIRT Red Ferro-Industrial Rio Turbio |
Argentina | 75 cm | 1988 |
We won’t take the space here to include photos for each railroad.
Bananas! — and dispelling the myth: Hauling bananas was the business of the first of tonight’s railroads. When the banana trains (called fruteras) were on the line they were strictly first class with higher priority than even timetabled passenger trains. And the huge, modern fleet of narrow gauge Mikados dwarfed even the D&RG’s roster of Mikes, dispelling the myth that steamers in Latin America were mostly decrepit hand-me-downs.
Ferrocarriles Guatemala (FEGUA) was the remnant in Guatemala of the once vast International Railways of Central America, an American-owned, 800-mile system in both Guatemala and El Salvador which reached ports on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and the Mexican border. United Fruit owned 40% of IRCA, and 50% of the railroad’s income came from shipping bananas and coffee. After 1948 (when Mexico re-gauged some of its narrow gauge to standard), IRCA was the largest 3-ft gauge railroad in all of North America.
This “up and down” railroad ran from 5,000 feet at Guatemala City to sea level. Gradients were typically 3% on the Atlantic Division with a ruling gradient of 3.3%. On the Pacific Division, the steep 3.7% grade of Palin Hill was a challenge for banana trains from the Pacific Coast plantations for both steam and diesel. The line was famous for its spidery trestles.
Fig 3 FEGUA 3-foot gauge 2-8-2 #181, a 1947 Baldwin product, readies as helper up steep Palin Hill in Guatemala (1973)
IRCA, and the later FEGUA, had a very large roster of steam locos from builders Baldwin, Porter, and Krupp, with Baldwins dominating. In its later days, mostly 2-8-2 Mikes, smaller Consolidations, and GE diesels were used. A large Baldwin order of 32 identical Mikes, including #181 shown above, was delivered during 1946-48. The IRCA had 57 Mikes altogether of basically the same design.
The Ferrocarril de El Salvador (FES) was always the down-on-its-luck cousin to the IRCA, never a part of the much larger railroad. The first railroad in El Salvador, the smallest of the Central America republics, was built between the coast and Sonsonate in 1881-2. Another 3’ gauge line was constructed from Santa Ana to the capital San Salvador, and in 1895 an English firm combined the two lines under the present name. Despite the British ownership, most of the equipment was American. The youngest steam engine on the property dated from 1926, and most of the rolling stock was of 1880-90’s vintage. Some locos and cars saw service in Hawaii.
Fig 4 FES 2-8-0 #101, a 1925 Baldwin, simmers at Sitio del Nino, the only junction on the 3’ gauge Ferrocarril de El Salvador (1973)
Not worth the trouble: Rich was sometimes asked, “why are you using your sparse vacation time to go ‘down there’ to photograph steam, when it’s all just small stuff?” Well, in truth, there was nothing even close to our American and Canadian monsters, but there were some large locos with respect to the track gauges on which they ran.
The Ferrocarril Nacional General Belgrano (FNGB) in Argentina grouped together all the meter gauge railroads in this multi-gauge country. Tucuman in the far northwest was the hotbed, and Rich got there in 1976. Baldwin had filled an order in 1921 for 85 locos, its largest foreign order of that year, a mix of Pacific, Mountain, and Santa Fe types. Remarkably, most of them were still the mainstay of the loco roster in 1976, although a few diesels had intruded. Otherwise, it was entirely a steam show—one of the last in the western hemisphere. Chile’s Ferrocarriles del Estado Red Sur (F del E) was another destination for steam in the 70’s. Chile, a narrow north-to-south country, has a railway system to match. A single main line runs north out of the capital Santiago, and another south. The southern system — the broad gauge 5’ 6” Red Sur — is by far the most important and active. Once all-steam territory, Red Sur tracks weren’t overwhelmed by diesels but by electrification. By the end of 1972 wires were up all the way to Concepcion. Steam retreated south and held on, and as late as the early 70’s there were approximately 200 steam engines working. Temuco boasted the largest allocation with 50 engines, and was the place to go: Rich visited in 1976. Traffic was hauled mostly by Baldwin and Mitsubishi 4-8-2’s, Alco and Montreal Mikados, and German-built Moguls.
The Estrada de Ferro Dona Teresa Cristina (EFDTC), an isolated meter-gauge operation in southeast Brazil was arguably the most exciting big steam rail operation in all of South America. The line existed to haul low-grade coal from Serra do Mar to the port of Imbituba. In the early seventies, five 1000-ton coal trains operated daily on weekdays. What might have been a ho-hum operation was instead spectacular because of the motive power. 1925 Baldwin Pacifics — left over from a long-abandoned passenger service — and stocky Alco Mikados held down the less-stressing duties. The pride of the EFDTC, though, was a fleet of Baldwin and Alco 2-10-4’s built 1940-47. The sight and sound of these wholly American heavy-haulers on the point of a coal train heading for the Atlantic port was stunning.
Fig 5 EFDTC meter-gauge Texas-type #301, a Baldwin product of 1940, awaits coal-train duty at Tuburao in 1976
Bachmann slept here! Bachmann has produced in several scales lovely old Baldwin locos. Incredibly, there was a railroad — Brazil’s Viacao Ferroviario Centro Oeste (VFCO) — where locos survived into the ‘70’s that were spitting images of some of these models. Sao Joao del Rei was the main terminal and shop town for the 121 miles of 2’ 6” track of the VFCO. The line served primarily as a feeder to two broader-gauge lines. Gondolas of limestone for an on-line cement plant and box cars of cement constituted most of the tonnage.
When Rich visited in 1976, passenger service was still operating as mixed trains. All were hauled by the VFCO‘s magnificent fleet of all-Baldwin locos, the oldest (in 1976) dating from 1889. Take a look at this website photo of Bachmann’s On30 4-4-0:
Fig 6 Bachmann On30 4-4-0
and then compare it to the “real thing” in Sao Jao del Rei’s yard. Note the steam dome snugged up to cab; single air pump; bell, sand dome, and copper-topped stack all in the same positions; Pyle generator just in back of the headlight; slide valves; and outside frames. The Bachmann model is coal-fired, whereas the VFCO loco is oil, and the front pilots are different. Otherwise Baldwin did a great job of copying the Bachmann product!
Fig 7 A rarity indeed: 4-4-0 #22 of the Viacao Ferroviario Centro Oeste works the yard at Sao Jao del Rei, about 150 miles north of Rio de Janeiro
At the end of the world, the biggest little 2-10-2’s ever: The talk concluded with the Red Ferro-Industrial Rio Turbio (RFIRT) a 75-cm gauge railroad from Rio Gallegos on the Atlantic coast to Rio Turbio near the Chilean border. This line was located in the extreme southern portion of mainland Argentina and its business was to haul coal to the port. The motive power was diminutive 2-10-2’s, all built by Mitsubishi. The locos were so small a man of modest height could peer into the cab window. They were extensively modified by the steam innovator Ingeniero Porta to become some of the most efficient steam locomotives on the planet at the end of steam. They were so successful that Porta proposed enormous (for 75 cm gauge) and efficient locos such as a 0-12-12-2—which became very close to being built. Such innovative locos never materialized but it is an interesting footnote to worldwide steam development that the very last of high-efficiency, modern steam locos would see service on — of all places — the most remote, and southerly railway in the world.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
Chairperson Rich Blake welcomed 33 attendees to the Skagit Valley and Whidbey Clinic’s third meeting of the season on Wednesday, November 12th. Rich was pleased to point out that several folks from the mainland, who are now regulars of the new Mt. Vernon Clinic, were in the audience tonight. Our two clinics are scheduled about two weeks apart each month, giving area modelers the opportunity to attend both if they wish. That idea seems to be a good one!
Also making the trip to the island were Jack Hamilton and Di Voss, devoting their entire day prior to the clinic to evaluating layouts, rolling stock, scenery, buildings, and even volunteer data, resulting in several NMRA AP awards being earned by SV & W modelers. Thanks, gentlemen, for taking the time and driving the distance year after year; it has really vitalized the AP program in our area. Jack described the AP program and how rewarding — and relatively easy — it is to accumulate points for your modeling, authoring, volunteering, and operations efforts. He noted that working towards the “car” award seemed to be a particularly common roadblock for some of our SV&W modelers, who otherwise were within shouting distance of earning their MMR (Master Model Railroader). As just one result of the day’s judging, Jack called Tom Hawkins to the front and presented him with his Golden Spike Award. Tom was one of the winners of a layout design competition run by Model Railroader magazine, and his layout was featured in the magazine.
Next, as Rich Blake pointed out, it really was Dr. Nick Muff Night. Jack presented Nick with his MMR certificate and plaque, remarking that whenever he visited Nick’s layout, he returned home and contemplated taking a sledgehammer to his own. (Your reporter has had the same emotion!). If ever you are able to visit Nick’s world-class layout, simply look at the chandeliers in the Kansas City station and you will understand that sledgehammer urge.
Nick Muff Receives MMR from Jack Hamilton
Nick was also the presenter of the evening’s program, an historic collection of his still photographs and 8mm film of the West Side Lumber Company. Just as remarkable as the photos were the “vehicles” that Nick and two friends used to travel over the railroad, the entertaining stories about how they were built, and the adventures they shared on the rides. The vehicles? Homemade handcars — a series of three of them no less — each one significantly better than the last.
Nick visited the West Side many times between 1961-66; his earliest explorations in 1961-62, when he was 16, were the subject of tonight’s talk. The West Side’s 3-ft gauge railroad operations had been in gradual decline and finally were abandoned altogether in midyear 1961; only a single steamer, standard-gauge Heisler #3, continued working the mill in Tuolumne. After that, gyppo truck loggers brought timber down to the mill. However Pickering, who owned the West Side, stored the locos rather than scrapping them, and kept the track in place, too, just in case relying on the gyppos didn’t work out. The entire line was ripe for exploring by three keen teenagers.
Nick opened with slides shot in Tuolumne: the large mill operation; Heisler #3; some of the charming home-built cabeese; the gauntlet track at the log dump; and several of the Shays. The Shays were kept in immaculate condition, mechanically and in appearance, too; paint gleamed on most of them in Nick’s photos.
The boys hiked much of the line on their first forays, and soon realized that this was one long railroad! Camp 45 — the last camp built for railroad logging — was 56 miles from Tuolumne, and the main line at one time was 70 miles long. To speed things up, they built their first handcar — their “Car # 1.” It had no pump mechanism and was simply a platform, rope-pulled or sometimes “poled.” Its wheels had rubber tires, and those wheels were the biggest problem. The tread just wasn’t wide enough and the car constantly derailed. Nick said that the variations in gauge of the West Side’s rail, as light as 35-pound in places, were so large that any successful car needed 5-inch wide treads!
Camp 8, Car no. 1, Nov. 1961; Nick on right
In 1962, Nick and his friends were at Clavey River bridge when they spotted a wheelset (it appeared to be from some sort of handcar) discarded near the track, and then another nearby. The axles weren’t quite true and wheel flanges had pieces missing but (as Nick put it) there was just enough of the flanges left to keep the wheels on the track. They found a steel frame that fit, and using some 2 x 12’s among the scrap they built a floor and other wood parts for their new Car #2, built entirely in the woods! With wider treads and sturdier all around, it was a clear improvement over #1. Intending to return to Tuolumne on their new creation, things went awry. A severe rainstorm came up quickly, necessitating a night spent on soaked bedrolls and, eventually, their rescue by the county Sheriff, who was not pleased.
Deadwood Camp, June 1962, Car no. 2; Nick on right
Undeterred, Car #2 was improved yet again with the addition of a 5 hp engine, and proudly lettered West Side #3. On it Nick and the others could now make the trip out to Camp 45 in style. But not without more adventure. Returning to Tuolumne, #3 had an unfortunate encounter with some 2 x 12’s which a farmer had used to “enhance” his cattle guards, the boys jumped off, and off went Car #3 too, picking up speed and outpacing its pursuers on the downhill grade into Tuolumne. Would the handcar (possibly on fire) crash into Tuolumne yard and get Nick and friends into some really serious trouble this time?
If you’d heard Nick’s talk, you’d know. If Nick ever gives this talk again at another clinic, a regional convention, or other gathering, make every effort to get there. You’ll enjoy it.
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