Inspired by the Winter Games

Since my latest postings are the direct result of my late night Winter Games viewing habits, I ought to add a touch of the Olympic spirit to my layout, right? My post banners are scaled-down color printouts of art posted in a City of Vancouver news release.

To install banner a on my Lionel no. 12804 highway light, I first wrapped a band of black stripping tape around the post. Next I twisted one prong of a Lionel no. 1666E-11 cotter pin around the band and left the other prong extending at a 90-degree angle to the post. After folding the paper banner in half, I used a dab of white glue to attach the two sides. At the top of the banner I left a narrow opening that’s large enough for the prong to slip through.
I raised the Life-Like no. 1851 fire hydrant above grade using a piece of styrene tubing and added a locator flag made from piano wire and yellow stripping tape.

UPS-date an MTH trailer

My mini-modal terminal has plenty of space to display stacked containers, but absolutely no room to park box trailers. Rather than skip out on this part of the intermodal equation, I added a couple of MTH no. 20-98142 CP Rail flat cars to complement the stack train staged in my layover yard. Trouble is, the CP Rail 40’ trailer riding on each car sports a design that’s decades too old for present day.

To update the trailers, I first used extra-fine sandpaper to etch away the CP multi-mark logo. After separating the trailer from its chassis, I glued on strips of Evergreen styrene to represent rub rails. Next, I cleaned, primed, and then painted the trailer Polly Scale no. F414239 E/L gray with no. F414299 flat aluminum trim. Before re-assembling the trailer, I added Andrea no. 26 false eyelashes to represent anti-spray skirts and used white glue to attach the paper UPS logo that I printed from the UPS Web site. Finally, I added Microscale decals and weathering to the front, roof, and wheels for an in-service look.

Freight car graffiti - art or anarchy?

OK, even I’m not quite sure how I really feel about the graffiti that appears on the rolling stock in nearly every freight train riding the rails. Nevertheless, it’s a part of the modern railroad scene that I’m compelled to model. In this case, I’ve got a friend, who has a friend, who knows an “urban artist.” I’ve asked this artist to create some authentic art on both sides of my MTH no. 20-90046 CP Rail 100-ton cylindrical hopper. Turns out I liked it enough to commission another car. Meanwhile, I’m trying my hand at tagging with a Sharpie marker and applying decals to various dark corners of my layout. Conversely, I’ve already painted over some of the graffiti I added!

In with the "factory new"

Thanks to previous field tests (product review) performed on a comparable Lionel no. 28264 UP SD70ACe, I could quickly move my two new CN SD70M-2 diesels into revenue service following a few minor modifications. First, I wanted to make #8002 and #8014 look “factory new” by adding a rusty face to the wheels. As shown in CTT’s subscriber-only video with Mike Reagan, Director of Customer Service at Lionel, there’s a handy feature that makes it easy to remove the trucks from newer Lionel diesels and apply Polly Scale no. F414323 rust-color paint using a cotton swab. Next, to represent the equipment domes that weren’t included on #8014, my son and I used a dab of plastic cement to secure a few suitable white LEGO bricks atop the cab. Yes, LEGOs on my O gauge trains (and throughout my layout)! Finally, after christening them with Labelle Industries no. 107 multi-purpose oil, both units entered service in charge of CN C70751-15, a 16-car Alberta coal drag destined for Roberts Bank.

Chassis storage rack

Space in a container yard fills quickly, so racks are used to store chassis vertically. I found HO scale models for this type of rack, but nothing in O scale. The rack designs looked simple, so I decided to make my own. I used Evergreen and Plastruct styrene parts no. 196 .188" square, no. 256 3/8" square, no. 267 1/4" channel, no. 278 5/16" I-beam, and no. 90520 1/2" I-beam. The 40- and 48-ft chassis are K-Line items with alterations to length, paint, and add-on Microscale vehicle decals.

Compact container terminal

No room for a big intermodal facility? No worries. I packed my version of a terminal into a 48 x 36 x 24 x 20-foot rectangular space framed by the CPR main line, layout backdrop, and a highway bridge. The stacked containers include: 20' boxes from MTH and Weaver; 40' boxes from Atlas O and K-Line; 45' boxes from Atlas O; 48' boxes from Lionel and K-Line box; and tank containers from K-Line. No space for the operating intermodal crane, but a Motorart Kalmar DCE container handler stands just as tall and boasts even better details. To hold unused K-Line container chassis, I built a vertical storage rack using I-beam sections of strip styrene. All that’s left to add is an anxiously awaited O scale version of Athearn’s modern yard tractor!