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It is very fortunate Bob that you got hold of these in more ways than one: For one Kern valley which apparently began advertising these resin built cars a few years ago (around 2009) in Garden Railway magazine; then apparently stopped producing them shortly after (for what reason I do not know) It may be that the price asked for was too high, or it may be that modelers in 1/32 scale wanted metal cars instead of resin, For two, It seems from what I have been able to research that these folks at Kern Valley had purchased the molds from a master builder called (of all the names you will agree...) Ralph Brown! So its all in the familly of sorts... Who had passed away. I have been able to locate one of his old sites on internet and it is mind blowing here is a link: http://www.galtran.com/ASCC.htm It is Also fortunate Bob because: For three, you are an accomplished modeler with resin and molding techniques. So that makes three points on which this is fortunate. I beleive these are very nice cars indeed, at least on a detail level. As for their sturdiness , I can't say, I myself find resin too brittle and fragile all the while being as heavy as metal. Garden railroading is a tough test bed for equipment and only time will tell. At the time I had just started modeling Pennsy in gauge one and was looking for a B 60 baggage car which kern Valley advertised for a while. Then I built my own with aluminum. I am really glad that you got them as you surely deserve these. I had the luck of being offered a set of J&M by its manufacturer John Waggot a few years ago at a bargain price. I guess Lady Luck finds the ones who deserve good things in life! Best to all
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Here are some more pictures of the heavyweights with the lights on. There was lots of damage to the cars and had to repair some of trucks. One of the cars has sprung trucks and they are pretty neat. One of the cars is set with running water into one sink, can you believe that? Little too much for me. I guess somewhere there is a switch and you can look through the window and see a spigot with water coming out of it into a sink, and the water runs out onto the ground. I like the diaphragms, still not close enough for me, but they look good. Kern valley had a unique way of diffusing the light so that it spread the light out and not spotty. They uses a square piece of clear plastic, about 1/2 inch, and embedded the lights, about 6 inches apart, so that the light is diffused evenly and they also lined the ceiling with aluminum foil for reflection. I like that idea and am going to use it in my heavyweights.. Bob.
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Yes Sean, I have a dual rail bender, but the guy at Sunset Valley says that I would be taking a chance at disturbing the ties. I am trying to get out of bending them at all and just laying the track. Bob.
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Another update. Only 5 more sections to pour and then will have to figure out what to do about a 5 foot straight section. Want it to be light weight for easy removal. Almost there. Well then there is track laying. Has anyone laid 10 foot radius track without pre- bending the track? If I do that what will be the downside? Bob.
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Very nice Nick !
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Did a lot better filling the seams of the bulwark caps. Much easier and only 2 dimension, close ups of the seams. LiG
- Last week
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Testing the waters - How to find a USA Trains Big Boy?
Rayman4449 replied to yvesvidal's topic in General Discussion
So you are aware, the biggest potential issues you may have with a USA Big Boy will be: Wheel power pickups causing shorts: (Great writeup by Chuck) And engine shorting out the layout (due to die cast parts of body touching driver rims/flanges and/or made worse by the above issue.) -
Dose any one know about MTH g-scale 4-8-4 come out again
Rayman4449 replied to rgiffordjr's topic in Locomotives
Just to reply on this thread, MTH has announced new GS-4 One gauge production as of 2017 catalog so get your orders in. See my website to preorder. -
Testing the waters - How to find a USA Trains Big Boy?
Rayman4449 replied to yvesvidal's topic in General Discussion
Hi there, The Big Boy as a model continues to be one of the most popular steam models from what I have seen as a Dealer. For what it's worth I think USA will continue to produce them, even if there is an extended period of time of out of stock on some models that might be due to the investment costs of the new FEF. I would contact Charles Ro (USA Trains directly) 781-321-0090 and see what they have in stock and order direct from them. If your question is about wanting to buy used to save money then that is another thing. I think your caution on who to purchase from is well founded and especially considering how much they cost. I'm not aware of anyone selling a USA Big Boy on this forum that I'm aware of (as of right now) and honestly if you are willing to spend the full selling price I would just buy from Charles Ro/USA Trains directly. You really shouldnt have any problems with buying new direct from USA. Remember the one instance you are talking about where the user on this forum struggled to repair serious damage (believe you are talking about Ben's situation), that isn't entirely clear if the engine had that damage before being sent and that was purchased/obtained at a heavy discount (as I recall). So that was not the normal purchase scenario. If you buy a new model from USA Trains directly and you have problems with damage, just call them up and they will get you taken care of (this is another reason to buy direct from them). The way these engines are packaged it should be just about impossible for them to be damaged in shipping unless the shipper destroys the case. -
Testing the waters - How to find a USA Trains Big Boy?
yvesvidal posted a topic in General Discussion
Folks, Since I sold my Sunset Big Boy in O scale, I have been thinking about a replacement. And I discovered the USA Trains Big Boy engine which was produced a few years ago. I have been reading this forum and the many experiences members of this group have had with the USA Trains Big Boy. Some are positive but unfortunately, a lot of them have been a struggle to repair engines damaged during shipping or by previous owners. I understand that this model may never been produced again as the market may be saturated with the MTH and the Accucraft (for the very wealthy) models. So my question is very simple: How and where can I get a USA Trains Big Boy in running condition? I do not mind some light cosmetic issues that can be fixed relatively easily, but would definitely prefer an engine that is capable of running and which has all its original electronics on board. Any pointers would be welcome. I am seeing two of them on E-Bay today (one from a train collector, the other one from a Garden Supply shop ???). However, I would prefer something from members of this forum that can give me more information about their model. I thank you in advance. Yves -
Nice work Jerry, boy you sure pick the hard ones to do. Bob.
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Cross over operation...........Fun stuff. https://photos.app.goo.gl/E82HbtKiwdvkxooj8
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You will only need a custom straight section to connect the two #6 switches.
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Or this double crossover?
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Ihave a lot of new and used track. Call me at 417-699-2609
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This photo shows use of Aristocraft 19.5 degree crossover. At the time I built this layout in 2006 the two crossovers I knew of were 19.5 deg and 30deg so 19.5 would have been the closest match.
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Aristocraft Steam Engine 462 and Tender
roid63 replied to Nickster's topic in For Sale / Wanted / Trade
Have 4-6-2 Pacific, see pictures . If your interested call me at 417-699-2609 -
Have 4 # 6 USA switches, want to make double crossover. What degree cross over track should I buy
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Does anyone have this item for sale? East coast names, if possible, but will consider all. Thank you. Nicholas Di Pietro
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Rayman4449, That was awsome and just what I am looking for! Thank you for writing all that down and the pictures. -Greg
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Hi there, see this link for details: http://www.rayman4449.com/Basement_Ramp_Rebuild_2006.htm
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Hi, I'm new to the forum. Would like more information on the raised track roadbed construction seen in this photo. 2x4 and PVC pipe?
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GregR joined the community
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Sean, thank you. I have a couple more ideas to add things that aren't on the instructions. Just haven' fun. LiG
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GREAT NORTHERN ARISTOCRAFT FA FB WITH PHOENIX SOUND REVOLUTION TE 2.4 ON BOARD, BATTERY OR TRACK POWER LED'S LIGHTS HIGH OUT PUT ARISTO SMOKE UNITS CUSTOM PAINT AND CORRECT ROAD NUMBERS . 1000.00 FOR THE PAIR SERIOUS CONTACT Rich at rssparkydog@gmail.com
