My latest ebay bargain, a pair of Athearn Genesis SD70i locomotives in Canadian National livery. These are both definitely borderline basket cases, but at only £20 each I think they were worth picking up.
One of them is running rough and the other is missing it's motor, but the shells and trucks are in good condition, and I already have several sets of SD70 handrails 'in stock' so getting them back to complete detail order should be fairly simple. These are early Genesis engines from around 1999 so they have bare metal handrails and need holes drilled for the windscreen wipers and other details.
I have already ordered a cheap replacement motor for the missing one, and I figure a single evening with the screwdriver and some glue should see both engines back on the rails and ready to haul.
These are the first CN engines to join my roster, and they should run nicely alongside my Norfolk Southern units. I will update on them once the repairs are underway, but in the meantime I need to find a suitable orange paint colour to finish the handrails and grabirons without ordering some floquil from the states.
I recieved another round of ebay purchases this week. I picked up an Atlas Silver Series GE Dash 8-40CW locomotive in Union Pacific livery, this is not my road, but I plan to repaint it as a Conrail unit and then patch for Norfolk Southern. The locomotive is brand new, fully boxed and complete with it's detail parts and handrails.
I've ordered a conrail hood to swap out for the UP one. It's a shame to strip this locomotive as the factory paint is really crisp and detailed, so I am also investigating the possibility of finding an entire Conrail shell to use instead.
I also picked up a cheap Railpower SD60M shell, which will be painted and detailed for Norfolk Southern to accompany my Genesis model.
Freight-wise, I picked up a very nice Genesis 50ft boxcar and a Maersk Maxi I well car set - the intermodal cars will form part of a set to be pulled by my Athearn GP60M.
So the collection grows again, and the stack of projects is now officially far too big! I need to get back to my GP38-2 project and get that finished off before sorting out the CSX SD70M and then getting down to the remainder of the various project locomotives I now have sitting in boxes. Plenty to keep me occupied through the winter, that is for sure!
A quick update on my Fremo module. With the track finally in place, the board is at least looking a little more like part of a road instead of a table!
Today I purchased a couple of cheap foam insulation boards from B&Q to use as the base for the scenery on my Fremo module. I'm following the methods outlined in the September 2010 issue of model railroader, and I will carve the foam into shape before adding a layer of Woodland Scenics plaster on top.
I spent twenty mins or so carving the first section, where the landscape will slope down from the road on the 'left' side of ther module (it's designed to be viewed from either side, but I consider the current position to be the 'correct' way to view the module).
The foam carves easily, but I will need to take a larger saw over to the clubhouse next time, the hacksaw blade I was using is not really suitable for large cuts.
I want to get the scenery blocked out and the road surfaces laid before I begin work on the buildings, currently there is a box full of scenic bits under my board which includes all the houses and stores for the main street which will take up the 'right' side of the board, and the Walthers farmhouse that will be the main scenic detail on the hill above the tracks.
The finished board will be a very simple 4ft section of single-track main line, with a cutting and old wooden overbridge at one end and a suggestion of a small town at the other, with a grade crossing.
