Waterville & Washington Railroad

 Today I'm back to a little modeling with mass production of the various styrene shapes needed to build the telegraph line brackets. I'm happy my test measurements were accurate and I only needed to modify one part for production. A NWSL chopper makes short work of the many duplicate parts for the six bridge piers. Outdoor spring work, like clearing brush and planting a garden (and indoor chores) are beckoning, but my goal is to produce all of the parts and then build all of the individual components over several evenings / weeks.  Tom Johnson posted a cement weathering technique using oils which I'd like to try on the piers to bring out more detail like the prototype. There appears to be a white streaking effect near the top of the prototype piers I'd like to replicate. That'll be my next project before tackling the actual plate girder bridges. 

 I've completed my test pier. Added a little india ink weathering and I'm pretty satisfied with it overall. I'll fix one error I made in building the top bracket and will see if I can find a way to simplify construction to make it go quickly. I plan to build the them assembly line style.

 Line pole bracket painting has finally started. I went with Tamiya flat aluminum XF-16. This is the first time I have sprayed Tamiya paint, but I'm impressed as I don't think I've sprayed anything for about six years now. It went on smooth and shot easy through my Badger 200nh airbrush. I'll let it dry, flip the parts over and spray the bottoms and any touch up that I need to do and then finally will attach it to my bridge pier. Making progress. 

 I've sanded all of the bridge piers to get a smooth - but not too smooth - surface to replicate the cement forms used to build the piers. Once the weather gets above 60 degrees later this week I'll give them a a mix of spray paint to color them like cement piers. They'll also receive an alcohol / India ink wash for weathering.   I've been building a proof of concept for the telegraph line pole brackets that are attached to each prototype pier. I worked from estimates for the size of the brackets to build them out of Evergreen styrene. I've learned it may be better to have a look of the brackets to make construction a little easier instead of building it just like the prototype. One thing I definitely want to do is do is pin the bracket to the pier so they can't be easily knocked off. Below is my work on the bracket. 

 Modeling Progress! My friend Jimmie 3D printed up the bridge piers for my Big Blue bridge located just east of Blue Rapids, Ks. The bridge was built in 1962 due to a line relocation from the Tuttle Creek Reservoir construction by Manhattan, Ks.  The piers are sanded and ready for paint. Once the weather warms, they'll get a coat of Rust-Oleum light gray automotive primer followed by a light spray of Rust-oleum textured sandstone then followed by an india ink alcohol wash for weathering. This is the technique Lance Mindheim uses.  I'll build a base for the bridge out of PVC siding that will be braced to ensure complete levelness for the bridge. I'll have to scrachbuild the line pole mounts and the bridge abutments out of styrene. 

 Today is the last day of 2020 and am will be happy to see it go. Much progress has been made as a family, but it's been overcast by COVID and all of the associated issues. I'm in the progress of having the bridge piers of the Big Blue River bridge 3D printed. If it works out, I'm going to have the cement grain elevators of Blue Rapids and Waterville printed.    I've been busy assisting with future model production at a number of model manufacturers plus I've been purchasing slides and have started to receive photos and other slides to scan for archive purposes. I enjoy that portion of the hobby, but I need to get back to finish the modeling projects I started. Oh, we put a down payment on a pool and hot tub so that'll consume some of my time, but I think as a family we'll enjoy it.  Here's to a better next year and hopefully more modeling. Happy New Year!