Switcher Saturday 02-25-2023

@Genemed posted:

@trumptrain

I enjoy reading your posts with such imaginative detail. One of the many reasons I joined this forum last May.

Thanks, Gene

Gene - you are most welcome!  ...  And thank you for your kind words.  

                                                          LIRR S2

Wow, lots of great posts today! I’m heading to our Santa Clarita Garden Railroad Club meeting at a friend’s house in a little while. Good thing his G gauge RR is inside as we’ve had over 8 inches of rain here in SoCal in the last 36 hours!  And it’s still drizzling. Plus the temp is in the upper thirties which is almost unheard of here. A bit of snow here earlier this morning which only occurs about every five or six years, too.  Maybe I will post a couple of pics from the meeting later on today.

Wow great stuff so far everybody! This thread just keeps getting better!  I expect to have a new member for my fleet soon as well.   Here's a little hint C/🍍!

Mark, I'll contact my tech to see if he remembers what file he loaded.

John

Thx, John.

@jhz563 posted:

Wow great stuff so far everybody! This thread just keeps getting better!  I expect to have a new member for my fleet soon as well.   Here's a little hint C/🍍!

JHZ, whenever it gets to 2 pages on switcher Saturday, you know things are hot. LOL!

I concur.....lot's of great posts and some new names each week.

Who doesn't love switchers......

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I also agree there are other weathering techniques that are superior to chalk dust. If dullcoat that you mention is a permanent form of weathering, then I'm not interested. I like having the option of removing the weathering, which can easily be done when using chalk dust.

@Arnold D. Cribari, a dull coat isn't a form of weathering, it's a clear top coat that gives the item a matte finish. It is a permanent finish, but you can go back to a glossy finish by using a gloss coat. The rattle cans of Testors Dullcote and Glosscote work well and are easy to use.

If you don't want the weathering to be permanent, but would like to get rid of the glossy finish of the geep, first clean off all of the chalk weathering and other dirt from the shell, then apply a coat of the Testors Dullcote. Once dry you can add and remove the chalk weathering as desired. If you want to got back to a gloss finish, completely re-clean the shell and apply a coat of Testors Glosscote. (It's easier than it may sound.) Edit to add: If the truck sideframes are glossy, you could remove them relatively easily and give them a dull coat, too.

I've used the rattle cans of Testors Dullcote and Glosscote when re-lettering cars. You use Glosscote after repainting, but before applying decals and then the Dullcote after the decals have been applied and dried to restore the matte finish and seal/protect the decals.

@Steam Crazy posted:

Ron, that SW-9 looks really good as is!  I'd think twice about repainting it!

John

Indeed. Is it possible to just make the missing handrails and paint them to match?

@Matt_GNo27 posted:

@Arnold D. Cribari, a dull coat isn't a form of weathering, it's a clear top coat that gives the item a matte finish. It is a permanent finish, but you can go back to a glossy finish by using a gloss coat. The rattle cans of Testors Dullcote and Glosscote work well and are easy to use.

If you don't want the weathering to be permanent, but would like to get rid of the glossy finish of the geep, first clean off all of the chalk weathering and other dirt from the shell, then apply a coat of the Testors Dullcote. Once dry you can add and remove the chalk weathering as desired. If you want to got back to a gloss finish, completely re-clean the shell and apply a coat of Testors Glosscote. (It's easier than it may sound.) Edit to add: If the truck sideframes are glossy, you could remove them relatively easily and give them a dull coat, too.

I've used the rattle cans of Testors Dullcote and Glosscote when re-lettering cars. You use Glosscote after repainting, but before applying decals and then the Dullcote after the decals have been applied and dried to restore the matte finish and seal/protect the decals.

Matt, thanks for giving me the advice, which makes perfect sense to me.

Interestingly, I have later Williams diesels that have a dull finish, and not the shiny plastic finish that I find undesirable. Below is a photo of a Williams Jersey Central diesel with a nice dull finish. It is also an excellent puller and smooth quiet runner:

Arnold

Great weekend of pics!

Peter

@Bill Swatos posted:

Indeed. Is it possible to just make the missing handrails and paint them to match?

Sure it's possible... But then it wouldn't be Blue and say SMS.

Someone already contacted me offering a trade of an SW8 to save the GT Western livery.  But I need an SW9 or SW1200 with side walkway handrails.  Open to other offers if someone is passionate about saving this one.  It has TMCC.

Email is in my profile.

Ron

Mark, my tech never replied to my inquiry about a sound file for your engine.  My suggestion now is - if you don't care about the prototypical whistle - just choose a whistle you like.  Any sound file can be loaded on your engine, even a diesel horn!

I had my K-Line B&A 4-6-6T converted to PS3, but MTH doesn't have a specific sound file for it.  A chose a NYC Hudson file, because both engines were built by Alco and it sounds great.  Another MTH engine with a whistle I really like is my Russian Decapod.

There are lots of possibilities!  Let me know how you make out.

John