Egger-Bahn Contractor's Diesel in 7/8n2

I had put 7/8n2 on hold for a bit to work on my indoor HOn30 micro layout. However, in the process of researching products and themes for that layout, I happened to discover Egger-Bahn, a German company who formerly made HOn30 trains. Most of their locomotives were freelance-ish based designs. They were inspired by real trains, but were not prototyped exactly after real trains.

There are several odd and quirky engines in their lineup, but one of the more odd is the Contractor's Diesel (#1004).

It was apparently based on some sort of prototype, but the actual prototype was barely photographed. I can't actually find a picture of the prototype.

In any case, I immediately enjoyed this quirky engine and dreamed up in my head the idea of creating it in 7/8n2.

So that I did.

Feeling "highfalutin", I sketched out a scale plan in Illustrator. It's crude and simple but worked to get me started. The prototype seen here, though not completely finished, is built primarily out of matteboard.

HOn30 Blog

I decided to setup a separate blog for my dabblings in HOn30 -- LNI R&R HOn30 -- Instead of mixing content with 7/8n2 on this blog.

Painted Top Wagon 7/8n2

KA-BAM! Wagon is out of the paint shop. On the sides, there are actually 6 layers of paint (I think I over-do it sometimes with the dry brushing). I'm debating on if I want to do the railroad initials on the side or not...

Weathering the Deck

Worked on some more minor things on the top wagon --

Stained and weathered the deck. I also put together some small tools that I think will go in it. I'll probably make some more I think... maybe a toolbox too?




You can see the difference between the natural wood and what I did to it.



I also started working on getting the axleboxes ready to mount. I'm filing off the casted nuts, and I'm going to be drilling them out and mounting them with real bolts/nuts.

The wife had to go out this evening, so the FBRR shop kept the working into the evening. There's still a lot of work to be done, but thus far I'm feeling better about this car than the flatcar.

I spent a bit more time thinking about the chassis for this wagon, keeping the influence of the prototype. Most joints are both glued and nailed.



Ooops, some glue leakage....


Coming together! Here's the bed, with nails. The couplers are just hanging there at the moment.


And the wagon sides start coming up! The ruler on the left is a 7/8 scale ruler so you can get an idea of the dimensions. From the bottom of the wheels to the top of the sides, it's about 3.5ft. The side height is about 1.5ft. The wagon length is 8ft, and the width is 3.75ft.


A shot showing from a different angle. I decided to notch out where the wheel axleboxes were to give them a (hopefully) bit more rigidity in operation. Still haven't mounted them yet (trying to decide on what method to go with).

7/8n2 Top Wagon #1

The Foggy Bottom RR shop re-opened this morning and began construction of a new top wagon.

What's Happening Lately...

FLATCAR UPDATE
Few updates as of late because mostly I've been trying to figure out how to mount the wheels to the base of the flatcar. Originally I had planned to try to build the axleboxes/journals myself, however I decided instead to buy some pre-made ones to learn better about how they go together before attempting my own from scratch. I ended up purchasing 3 styles from Ozark Miniatures. Here are...

I like the look of these.


These are "sprung". They actually "bounce" up and down.


I also managed to score a (brand new) set of actual trucks on ebay, for about 75% off (shown here picture and kit pieces).



SHOP UPDATE
The other thing I've been working on is researching tools to expand my "shop" (i use that term loosely). After spending a while evaluating a table saw (a purchased I'd still like), I think instead a lathe would be more immediately helpful.

I've narrowed down my search to 3 lathes in particular:

1. Taig Micro-Lathe II
2. Unimat 3
3. Sherline Lathe

I keep going back and forth, but I think I'm starting to lean towards the Taig for a number of reasons, along with it being the most affordable of the group.