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Reply to "The Tangled Webs We Weave..."

No, they won't, Rusty. Good OR bad habits.

My biggest issue in all my years of model railroading could be summed up in one word: "Distractions".  Traditionally, it's be the urge to model some form of TOC19 layout. But you can also through other scales/approaches into the mix. (S scale, 3-rail, Sn3... even G scale "way back when"!) Guess when it came to model railroading, I had ADD! (Attention Deficit Disorder!)

However, as I said, diesel mountain railroading has been my "happy place" since about 1974. This is not to say that my KC Lines concept couldn't be quite entertaining for me, but just a comment on the fact that since 1974, fully 80%-90% of my model railroad piddling was diesels pulling trains in mountains. The little 3-rail "KC Lines" concept back in the early 2000's launched the idea of modeling urban/industrial KC (and it's a great concept IMHO), and carried over into S scale, and at the first, was carried into my return to HO. The out building caused a rethink, and the TOC19 Colorado & Pacific, was the result: A return to mountains, this time giving in to that siren song of TOC19. Of course, we know how TOC19 in Colorado idea has turned out for me.

SO... I'm am HOPEFUL that I've returned to a dependable "happy place". It would be great if in one year, I have some bench work up, and some track down, and MAKING GOOD PROGRESS.

Modeling...

In the past I've taken modeling to some pretty silly levels. I think I recall back in the 1970s, when the detail parts that were available at the time were very basic, I scratch built "prototype correct" MU stands for the ends of my Frisco GP7's. Each stand had 11 parts, I think I recall... and each unit had 4 such stands. NO WAY now. I try to hit the high spots and add the features that I really want to see... and call it good. The beauty of my KC&G theme is that I can use basic engine types and simply personalize them for the KC&G. Gone SHOULD be the days of extensive kit bashing in order to replicate a specific prototype engine. I'm PLENTY fine with that. (But it probably DOES behoove me to get my engine modeling done within the next few years before Geezerdom really sets in!)

The cool thing about my KC&G is that it can cater to the things that I came to like over the many decades I've been around railroading. For example, I always found junky IN SERVICE engines much more interesting  than relatively clean engines. Sure, brand spankin' new engines are a sight to behold... but it's the junky ones that take on so much more interest/character to me. (NOTE: This "junky" engines appreciation does/did not carry over to my decades of running engines for a living!   Yeah, yeah, so I'm a hypocrite!)

So, it should come as no surprise that I've incorporated many elements of well worn and patched up engines into my KC&G "bankrupt" theme. Here's an example of some of "little things" I notice:

KC&G_GP7_2a

See that missing louver panel?  Saw such a unit on the Frisco "way back when". Thought it interesting and could be an eye candy feature for a model. SO, the above is the result. There needs to be an air valve and some piping inside that cavity, so I will use a plastic triple valve and some brass wire to simulate that.

I've seen slides of tatty old KCS F3's that had various height fans on the roof. No doubt, a high fan failed, and they simply replaced the unit with an available low fan. No biggie... but makes for some variety and interest. Here's the result of that on one of my KCS F's...

kcg300a

(The fading paint comes from pictures of Mop engines, KCS engines, B&M, engines, etc!)

Oh... and there's that replaced number board still in primer, the result of a light "cornering" (see the rusting scratches on the corner?)... to me that's the the sort of "patch up and make do as cheaply as possible" railroading that I came to appreciate "back when".

Wow... done typed another novel. Need to cut this one off and move along!

SO... reckon that's all fer now!

Andre

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