INTERURBAN RAILWAYS: Laser cutting

Showing posts with label Laser cutting. Show all posts

2018/05/03

Dedusting the Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, view from the North

Today, I put the model of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal out in the garden and wiped the dust of the Winter away. I tried also a provisional roof for the Train Shed.

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, view from the South

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, view from the West

2018/02/20

Building Main Street: a modular "architect game" in N scale

Building Main Street: a modular "architect game" in N scale with storefronts, upper floors and cornices. Each building is 46.5 mm wide, a four house row is fitting exactly into a 186 mm Kato Street track length

2017/10/22

American Gothic House in HO and N scale

American Gothic House scale model

The American Gothic House, a Laser Kit in HO and N scale

N scale currently on eBay: http://r.ebay.com/bfTwiD

2017/04/27

Models for Allentown [3] The tale of the three Siemens

Making Interurban cars in N scale is not so difficult. If the 3D drawing is well made, you only have to make some adjustments, deleting or thickening some details too small to print, like rivets or small handrails. And you have to adapt the inner shape of the car body to the Tomytec drive of your choice.If all is well engineered, you will recieve your 3D printed car body from Shapeways and it will directly snap over the drive and stay in place. The paint job is a little tricky, but otherwise it's done.

Modern LRV are not of the same shape, they are articulated, they are in fact 2 or 3 cars permanently coupled together. And if none of the Tomytec articulated drives fits, you have to build something on your own.

As N scale model I chosen the Siemens S70. Because I had already made the car in HO, and because its one of the most build in the USA. And because it is running as multiple unit: I wanted to make three Siemens S70.

I will not talk here about the headache I had, just to say you that is was not simple. But the 3 cars are now in the assembling line. A first beta car was build and painted before for a well known trolley connoisseur from California.

The main hurdles are the building of an articulated frame, with two modified Tomytec TM-TR01 drives as A and B units, and a custom build C unit made from laser cut styrene parts. The car with 2 motors and all wheels capting current is powerful. A three car Multiple Unit is just tremendous.

But you need fine and calm fingers, for making the folded paper bellows, for soldering the fine wires connecting A, C and B unit, for masking and painting, for all

Two cars will recieve the red paint scheme of the San Diego MTS, with N scale decals made by Custom Traxx. One car will recieve an all white paint scheme, in order to be decorated later - after the meet - as an Utah Trax from Salt Lake City.

2017/03/22

Back in the old Ohio Electric days ...

Ohio Electric wooden Boxcar with clerestory roof

HO scale wooden boxcar, laser cut body and frame, 3D printed roof, Kadee #501 trucks, Sergent couplers

2017/02/06

Building a laser cut Interurban Freight Trailer [1]

Building a laser cut Interurban Freight Trailer in less than 10 minutes ... This is an experimental car kit, intended to become a modular kit for any open Interurban Freight Trailer: flat car with or without stacks, low board or high board gondola. More details about this project soon...

2017/01/20

The Indianapolis Traction Terminal

A low winter sun illuminates the Traction Terminal

2016/11/06

Hidden structures of the Terminal: The skylight of the Waiting Room

Indianapolis Traction Terminal waiting room skylight

The Traction Terminal had his big emblematic iron structure, the train shed. But there was also a smaller structure, the skylight of the waiting room. This element was nearly hidden for everybody.

From the exterior, it was neither visible from the train shed nor for from Market Street. In fact, it was enclosed by walls and could only be seen when looking out of the windows of the western side of the Terminal Building.

Of course, it was visible for the passengers inside the waiting room.

2016/10/21

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, work in progress

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

I took advantage of the last heat and the nice light of fall to take the Traction Terminal to the outdoors for a photo sesssion. Gretchen, the plastic cow, is looking to it from the background. The Terminal looks good. Let's go on and add doors and windows. And tracks also, of course.

Traction Terminal Waiting Room

Traction Terminal, the pillar on the West

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

2016/07/06

Indianapolis Traction Terminal in HO scale

HO scale Traction Terminal

Some important progress was made with the HO model of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The cutting of a ground plate permits now safe test mounts of the train shed and the adjacent waiting room.

Indiana Historical Society. Photo Bass

It is nice to see that all parts fit extraordinary well together (except some small but idiot mistakes that you won't see, when I need to use a cutting knife or some extra glue...) Anyway, a project of this size cannot grew up without trials and tribulations ....

HO scale Traction Terminal

Zing Epilog 24 Laser Cutter @Fablab Berlin

Indianapolis Traction Terminal in HO scale

Some important progress was made with the HO model of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The cutting of a ground plate permits now safe test mounts of the train shed and the adjacent waiting room.

Indiana Historical Society. Photo Bass

2016/05/24

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Waiting Room

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Waiting Room from outside

Some more reality check with the laser cut HO model. After some reflection, I decided to make the interior of the Waiting Room wing available for modeling.