First Steps - A new modeling blog posting.

Well now, it's been about 8 or so years since I last worked on my old GeoCities website when they shifted it to a pay-site and I closed my accounts there.  A number of people have asked me to repost the pages and information from the old site.  I plan to use this blog to do that and also post new projects and prototypical kit-bashes that I'm working on for myself or some of my customers that wanted a model done.

A set of dual-service F7ABBAs lead No.57 between Ilmon and Bena at La Mesa Model Railroad Club

Current Posts: Fall 2016

For starters click on the following links to these build blogs:
SP 5199, a SC&F 69-BP-30-3 (Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3), (Part 4), (Part 5), (Part 6)

Modeling SP HW Coach & Chair Cars (Part1, SP 1050)
Modeling SP 1050, Decals & Windows (Part 2)

Passenger Consist Modeling:
The Shasta, a Pike-Size Passenger Train Reprised 

Freight Car Modeling:
SP 65ft Mill Gondolas
Ex-EPSW 40ft Gondola Kitbashed from Mantua Model

Reference Pages:
Index of SP Passenger Car Models

Future Projects

Among the posts I hope to repost in the future under the kitbashing category are the following:

Engine Modeling and Kitbashing

1a. Kato/Atlas RSD-5s - Making a family of engines that might not be totally "right" but don't attract attention to the compromises.
1b. Reposting my old how-to on Rebuilding Intermountain AC-class models for heavy operations.  Generally I feel that this project was a failure as none of the rebuilt engines survived more than 6 years of regular service at La Mesa Model Railroad Club (Tehachapi Pass).

Caboose & Rider Car Modeling and Kitbashing

Caboose and other rear-end cars - What makes a caboose and how where they used?  Modeling of
various 'cabooses' and other rider equipment.

Freight Car Modeling and Kitbashing

Various freight car kitbashing articles - both new and reposted old ones.  Most of these are surprisingly simple to do and make 95% accurate models, perhaps stand-in models - until something better is made commercially.  Some of these are also used where 20-40+ cars are needed for an operational plan, so the old and cheap models are a better starting point than a $200+ brass model you'll be lucky to ever find more than one of!

Passenger Car Modeling and Kitbashing

Various passenger car models, again pretty easy kitbashes, some more involved than others to make accurate (or as close as is reasonable) models of certain SP, Pullman, UP, ATSF, etc cars.

Passenger Consist Modeling

Hopefully this will bridge over into more complete consist discussion of affordable and accurate modeling options for certain signature passenger trains using models built in the above series of articles.  These consist posts will likely include SP trains such as:
San Joaquin Daylight (Nos.51/52) - The lowest of the Daylights, the San Joaquin Daylight is an interesting Cinderella story of a train that always sacrifices so her step-sisters, the Morning Daylight, Noon Daylight, (later Coast Daylight), and Shasta Daylights looked their best!
Sacramento Daylight (Nos.53/54) - Everyone seems to have a WSM 3000/3001 4-4-2, but what are you supposed to pull with it?  This should give you a great little "pike-sized" train consist for your 4x8 or garage-sized layout!
Tehachapi Mail (Nos.55/56) - This should also cover the weekly fluctuations in the consists, day to day.
Owl (Nos.57/58) - I hope to cover modeling options for consists from 1946-to-1956
West Coast (Nos.59/60) - The West Coast I plan to mostly talk about the post-1949 era with some discussion of earlier thru Portland connections too.

Hopefully this will be an educational and productive new blog.

Jason Hill