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A&O Projects / Re: Mount Union Re-Development Committee
« Last post by Bob on February 06, 2026, 04:18:02 PM »
Ooh. I can't wait to see it when finished!

The 4 fake chimneys add a castle-like look to the station. It will be a photographic focus both from the front side and also from a train camera from rear track side.
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A&O Projects / Re: Mount Union Re-Development Committee
« Last post by RickBacon on February 06, 2026, 03:59:45 PM »
Its been awhile!  I have finished my N scale project and am back in the O scale world!  Time for some updates on the Mount Union depot. 

Basic .040 layered styrene with brick sheet and styrene "stone-work".  All the doors are scratch built in place and the windows will be modified Grandt Line castings that I have modified to resemble inset type windows used in a stone or brick structure. I'm getting close to finishing the basic structure, with nearly all the brick work completed.  Lots of small architectural brick details to be added to really bring out the 3D texture of the overall structure.  I think all the variations of depth in the brick work keeps the eyes moving and really sell the story that this is a classic brick structure. 

Thankfully the brick sheets greatly speed up the process.  I can only imagine the pain it would be to carve or place each individual brick!  Ask David about his award winning C&O tower...!

 






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A&O Operations / Re: Santa ops 12/27/25
« Last post by Bob on December 30, 2025, 06:42:55 PM »
One more photo, shot by Jeff, with his SP F units slowly grinding upgrade with a heavy coal train.


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A&O Operations / Re: Santa ops 12/27/25
« Last post by Bob on December 29, 2025, 12:08:36 PM »
David shot a few photos.



Madison and the Grand Floridian.



Lunch.



More lunch.
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A&O Operations / Re: Santa ops 12/27/25
« Last post by Bob on December 29, 2025, 11:49:27 AM »



Madison runs the Grand Floridian passenger train.



Gathering in the crew lounge before lunch.



Katie Stewart made for us a tasty lunch.



The folks were cracking up listening to support horror stories from ESU and Intermountain.



Vince ran the Brookstone loader and dispatched the Kayford branch dark territory.
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A&O Operations / Re: Santa ops 12/27/25
« Last post by Bob on December 29, 2025, 11:40:42 AM »



Chuck likes to run the Morrison coal prep plant.



Ricksburg yardmaster Dan plans his next switching moves.



Michelle gets assistance from David's grandkids Eva and Clara.



Jeff drops NYC interchange cars.



Darwin!
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A&O Operations / Re: Santa ops 12/27/25
« Last post by Bob on December 29, 2025, 11:32:35 AM »


Dispatcher does a little railfanning.



Linnwood. Junior had just done a sneaky 0-5-0 move of two cars that didn't fit...



Frank and a southbound.



The B&O heads back home to its interchange track.



Darwin!



Switching Sobol Springs on the NR&W.



Madison, the youth director at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum, stopped by and later operated a train.



Michelle and two assistants.
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A&O Operations / Santa ops 12/27/25
« Last post by Bob on December 29, 2025, 11:16:41 AM »
The A&O held a well-attended op session just after Christmas.



Inspired by the Clinchfield, the A&O ran a Santa train that stopped in all the hollers.



A happy camper.



Lee dispatched.



Mike switched International Paper.



Sylvie ran a southbound powered by GP35 #405.
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Member Projects / Re: Weaver RS3 work in progress
« Last post by Bob on July 07, 2025, 07:15:23 PM »
I just glued the ABS repair body mounts to the inside of my RS3 shell. Sliding them over the weak Weaver mounts accurately locates them. These must be installed at least 0.1" away from the bottom lip of the shell because the shell slips into a groove in the plastic frame. In the photo below notice that the Weaver mount on the top has already cracked.



New mounting holes need to be drilled into the frame. I haven't used these yet, but I made two different types of marking screws. The idea is to put paint on the head of the screw then slip the shell over the frame far enough for the screw head to make contact. Both of these started out as steel M2 x 6 cap screws.



An initial test fitting of the shell on the frame was successful. The new mounts slipped snugly into cutouts in the weight molds.
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Member Projects / Re: Weaver RS3 work in progress
« Last post by Bob on July 05, 2025, 10:32:17 AM »
That's pad printing. This was used by Weaver, Red Caboose, Intermountain and others back in the day as a way to decorate models with lettering, logos, etc. I watched the process many years ago during a tour of the Intermountain factory in Longmont, CO.

A flat metal printing plate was exposed and etched so that the artwork pattern for a single color was left proud of the field. A machine inked the tops of the letters, then moved a very soft silicone pad over the plate to pick up the ink pattern. The pad then moved over and pressed the ink pattern onto the side of a locomotive shell or car body. The soft pad was able to conform to irregularities in the model surface such as rivets and some ribs.

I want to remove the ink without damaging the underlying paint. So far I've received recommendations for Microsol and Testor's ELO, locally applied.
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