Eric Hansmann

Weathering Railroad Models – A Pair of Box Cars

The latest box cars from the weathering factory have been spotted in the team track yard. Read more about the weathering techniques used on these two models.

It has been a while since my last post. My hobby activity ebbs and flows and sometimes there isn’t much inspiring a report here. At a recent op session on an HO scale Las Cruces layout, Mike (the owner) noted a need for more box cars. I had recently gone through a few boxes of stored equipment and had found a couple of old kits that were built but not quite completed. He has another op session soon, so I thought it would be good to ready these for service. Details on Mike’s layout were posted earlier.

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Participation, motivation, and RPM meets

An idle freight yard before an operating session.

I’ve had random hobby thoughts recently that seem to be related. Over the course of the last month, I’ve hosted an operating session, attended another operating session, and attended an NMRA division meeting. I intentionally altered my schedule to participate in these events. Why? I guess I would have just thrown out a simple, “Because it’s fun,” response in the past. But I’ve become keenly aware that personal participation in activities with other hobbyists directly effects my hobby enjoyment. It’s not just about listening to others talk about a specific subject but taking part in a conversational process that gives me a good feeling.

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Boomer Operator #5 – A local layout

An eastbound local crosses Main Street in Birchmont, Ohio, on the Kingston Southern HO scale model railroad. — An eastbound local crosses Main Street in Birchmont, Ohio on the Kingston Southern HO scale model railroad.

I moved to El Paso, Texas, in the summer of 2012 and began to seek out local model railroaders. I attended a local NMRA meeting and met Mike who was building an HO scale home layout in nearby Las Cruces, NM. His layout had progressed well and he hoped to begin operating soon. I offered to assist with any tasks to keep the progress rolling and ended up visiting a couple of times a month. Over the next year, the mainline was completed, a yard was installed, an industrial branch was installed, and operating sessions were set up. Mike now hosts once a month sessions on his layout and a few local model railroaders participate. Click on any image here to review a large size.

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Resin Freight Car kit builds, part 5

Yarmouth Model Works HO scale Northern Pacific double-sheathed box car

It has been about a year since I described the last resin freight car kit builds. A number of other layout tasks have commanded my attention, including a recent operating session. But there have been a few kit completions in the last few months, including a wonderful resin box car kit that includes etched metal and laser cut wood detail parts. Yarmouth Model Work introduced this kit earlier in 2014 and I scooped one up as it fits my 1926 era. Era appropriate decals even came with the kit! The completed model can be seen in the image above. Click on any image here to review a larger size.

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The first op session for the Wheeling Freight Terminal

The quiet before the storm of the first op session.

My B&O Wheeling Freight Terminal layout has reached the point where I can hold an operating session. All of the track switch controls have been installed and adjusted to proper working order and a few track gauge issues have been corrected. It was time to make the leap of faith. My friend Mike committed to the initial shake down session so I was now locked in and needed to prep. This will be the first op session on a layout in my home since the summer of 2001. Where have the years gone?

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