Decals aren't what they used to be...

Time for an update on my ex-conrail GP38-2, today I spent some time applying the main decals, I am adding them ahead of the weathering and other paint detailing on the shell.

I'm using some very nice Microscale decals which I bought from ebay, but unfortunately they are either old, or have got damp at some point, because they are proving almost impossible to seperate from the backing paper, and even when they do finally slide loose, they are often breaking into pieces.  I have gone through about three engines worth of decals just to get the Conrail logos onto the sides of the long hood.

In comparison, the patches and numbers were a piece of cake, those decals came from a brand new set I purchased directly from Microscale mail order, and I think that really demonstrates that second-hand decals simply aren't worth bothering with.

In other news, I got the Digitrax sound decoder fitted to the shell and had the engine running round my test track making all kinds of noises... but then when I tested it a second time the decoder literally went up in smoke!  Not a good thing.  So I am back to square one on the DCC side of things for this engine, I still want to get a sound decoder fitted to it, but I will need to get the chassis looked at before I risk another chip in it.

Fifty Footers and Sixty M's

I found an Athearn GP60M in the promotional 'Maersk' livery going cheap on ebay and snapped it up, I am going to get some matching stack cars and put together a version of the special one-off photography special train that ran through Cajon Pass back in 1990.

I also received my new Bachmann GE44 Ton switcher.  This was a locomotive that I ordered from my local hobby shop, Junction Models at Norwood Junction.  I could have got it cheaper ordering direct, or from ebay, but I wanted to try and support my local independent store as much as I can.

This engine is intended to be part of the roster for my Detroit Connecting Railroad module, and will join the Bachmann GE 70 Ton switcher I bought earlier in the year.

These are my latest trio of boxcars, two kit-built and another Walther Goldline with some very nice details.  They are also intended to be part of my switching layout module, and will probably be patched and given some extra rust and damage.

I did bid on a pre-built exhibition layout on ebay this month but didn't win, however the construction methods for that layout have inspired me to push forward with my modular switching layout.  More on that soon.