Desk Cleaning = Project Progress?

In order to clean off my work bench, I had to finish a couple of projects. Usually one will say that other way 'round, but this week my goal is actually to clean my work area and the progress on any models is only beneficial collateral at this point.

The projects in question are two Erie paint and decal jobs. The first is an Erie scale test car kit from Walthers that is no longer available. I found this one on eBay for pretty cheap after letting several go to much higher bids than I finally got this one for. I then ordered the decals from Prime Mover Decals, and Paul sent out this plus another set of HBS 44 tonner decals for no. 700 that is already painted. The kit went together easily, and the decals went on really well. I used number 03440 which matched the style of the Walthers kit dead on (the only thing missing is a small sign board on the railing on the brake end of the car which I can easily add). I happen to have photos of two of the Erie fleet. You will notice that 03441 is of different design, and weighs only 62,000 lbs versus the 80,000 of 03440. '41 seems older, and the notes that Paul provides indicate that '03440 and '03443 were built in 1934 and were the newest for the railroad. He also notes that the wheel bearing style is different - but I can't make out what it is at this point. This can wait until it is shopped again, and I will add the signboard to the railing, too. Kadee no.5s seem to work well - I just need to weather them and paint the red around the couplers.

The Prototype

Older version? test car.

The other project is the painting and decaling of the JJLModels HH660 which is a Proto 2000 S2 epoxy resin modification kit. The only hiccup was my hood was a little bent on the end, but I've managed to almost completely straighten it out just using some heat from a soldering iron. The decals are old Champ brand, and I tore the first regular Roman "ERIE" I tried to apply - it just disintegrated - so I had to go to the alternate extended typeface which seems to match the photo I have of no. 302 at the floats at Jersey City. That was lucky.

It is a tight fit for the QSI sound decoder - 10 lbs of you know what in a 5 gallon locomotive. It is still glossy from the decal process, but the Dullcoat is on the way. The sound is great, and it is a good performer, and it is officially in the rotation for Harlem Station. Other locomotives currently in the rotation are nos.514, 529 and 417. Not all are weathered, but they are all sound equipped, which is my baseline criteria. Weathering will happen in a group sometime in the future.

None of these locomotives actually served at Harlem Station. I'm working on the ones that actually did: no.20 , a boxcab that I need to re-motor and/or just install a decoder, no.26, the now infamous Bachmann 44tonner that I can't get to play nice with either a LokSound micro or Micro Tsunami, and no.320, a Proto 2K S1 that needs to be renumbered and decoder-ized.

And situation normal, I haven't cleaned off my work bench, yet, which was my goal this week. Funny how other stuff always gets done before what is on my list. I find it hard to complain today, though, because I'm going to go fire up the HH660 and bang some cars around the harbor front at 149th St.