All posts by bsullivan

Scale Wheel Stops Video Short

May 13, 2023Model RRbsullivan

Recently friend of the blog, Greg Cassidy, did a YouTube Short on Kelly’s magnificent 3D printed HO scale wheel stops based on the prototype. Have a watch:

https://youtube.com/shorts/hurWsa3R4_Y?feature=share

A few years ago I was lamenting to Kelly how there were no good HO scale wheel stops on the market. Nearly all of them look chunky and oversized. (because they are.) We visited a stretch of abandoned Georgetown Branch right of way in Bethesda where a siding still exists that includes original wheel stops. Kelly was inspired to draw up a model in Fusion360 and printed a few test items before developing a final design. Here are a couple in place on his layout:

They are simply the finest wheel stops on the market, full stop. (pun intended.) They are 3D printed in resin, are quite durable, easy to install and if they break, you can simply glue another one on. Kelly sells them over on his site, FineScale360. Get a few for your own layout!

1959 B&O Crossing the Cabin John Trolley Line

May 1, 2023History, News, Prototypebsullivan

I found this print on eBay recently and am quite pleased to add it to the Georgetown Branch collection. The caption on the back of the 8×10 print reads: “1/59 Washington, DC – Line #20 – B&O RR trestle – crossing over Cabin John line.” The photo was taken from the west side of the trestle, facing to the east.

Jan 1959 – B&O trestle crossing Cabin John trolley line. Photographer unknown. Personal collection.

Approximate location of the photographer, facing East. Historic Aerials.

At the time, the Dalecarlia Reservoir was undergoing a massive expansion project. Aerial photos from 1949 and 1957 show the scale of the expansion.

The last trolley on the Cabin John Line was on Jan 3, 1960, and the entire system was fully closed in 1962. Congress revoked its charter in 1956, so likely seeing the writing on the wall, the Dalecarlia reservoir began expansion in the mid 1950s. The right of way was repurposed and is where some major buildings and two of the settling ponds exist today.

The old Cabin John trolley line is outlined in light green on this map. You can see how much has been built on the old right of way.

A link to my Georgetown Branch Google Map

Hope you enjoy this brief view of the bridges over the trolley line. If only there was a train passing by! 🙂

Upcoming Project: TCS CS-105 and LED Lighting for the Lower Level

April 17, 2023Model RR, Newsbsullivan

I took the plunge and decided to rid myself of my twenty-some year old hand-me-down Digitrax Empire Builder II starter set for something a bit more cutting edge. I really like what TCS is doing these days with their new systems and was able to finally see one in action at Springfield last winter. A new CS-105 is on hand and will be installed soon.

I also picked up a handful of LED light strips and a power supply. These will be used to illuminate the lower deck. Hope to do a full write up on this once installed. Need so cut some 1/8″ strips to mount the lights to.

Remotoring a Proto 2000 GP7/GP9 With a Kato Drive

April 16, 2023Model RR, Newsbsullivan

My friend, Tom Matty, who models the Thomas Sub of the Western Maryland Ry, a very skilled and talented modeler, offered to do a writeup of how he re-motors an old Proto2000 GP7/GP9 with a much higher quality Kato drive. It involves milling the frame, fitting the motor, linkages and worm gears and then installing your favorite flavor of DCC/sound. (we won’t cover the DCC installation here today). Tom gave me permission to post his process on the blog so I figured I’d share it with everyone who may be interested in this fantastic upgrade.

Parts needed:

1x Kato 956010 Motor with Flywheels and old style Motor Mount (1ea)
1x Athearn ATH90116 HO Dog Bone .805” F7A/B/FP7 Rear, 6 per pack
2x Athearn ATH34128 HO Worm Assembly, High Performance, 1 per pack

How-To Guide

Download the PDF here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dg7dcwgmj3447rk/Remotoring%20a%20Proto2000%20GP7-GP9%20-%20Tom%20Matty.pdf?dl=0

Rock Creek Mock Up

March 21, 2023Model RRbsullivan

No, it’s not done. Just mocking it up for fitment.

Enjoy!

Adding Guard Rails to the Helix

March 19, 2023Model RR, Newsbsullivan

Photo from 2018. Not much has changed with it since then.

As you may or may not know, I have a helix to connect the upper and lower decks of my Georgetown Branch layout. I built the helix ages ago, back in 2003 for my previous layout. It was designed to fit below a set of stairs and as such is relatively tight, with 19.5″ radius curves and a 2.9% grade. (yikes!) Thankfully I mostly run small B+B locomotives! One thing that is lacking is any sort of protection for the trains as they traverse the helix from falling off the edge and cascading to the floor. I thought about cardboard or mat board strips but decided against them as I didn’t like the idea that they would crease or break if I had to reach in to re-rail a train. I have been kicking this idea around for ages and recently had the idea of using polypropylene folders. These are the flexible-yet-stiff plastic folders you find in a lot of school binders. When I was cleaning out a supply cabinet, I found a stash of old folders from my son’s grade school days. Perfect. So I got around to testing this out.

A nice stash of folders to slice up. I’ve got the entire outside and inside of the helix to wrap, so I will need several.

I first remove the inner folder piece (seen in the photo above as a lighter green) and then set the edge of the folder against a sheet of glass and lay my steel ruler down atop it. I then score until the sheet is cut through.

Next, lay the strips on the side of the roadbed, keeping it parallel to the bottom, and use a staple gun to fasten to the plywood.

Some of the staples will not go in all the way and I tapped them in with a hammer. Occasionally I would miss and have to remove the staple with a screwdriver and try again. I really like the way this is turning out.

Smoot Sand & Gravel Tug Boat

March 12, 2023History, Prototypebsullivan

I have long-wondered what type of tug boat operated at the Smoot Sand & Gravel plant in Georgetown. While searching in some old newspaper snippets I saved over the years, I came across the following image from the Washington Evening Star, April 6, 1960, of a census-taker working at the wharf by Smoot. In the background is a nice view of the tug that was working at that time.

Here’s a cropped image, a bit zoomed in:

Back in January, at the Amherst Model RR show in Springfield, MA I picked up one of these lovely 53′ Harbor Steam Tug models by Seaport Model Works:

I’d say it’s a pretty good relative match for the one seen in the photo, size and shape-wise. I’ve already got a Sylvan Scale Models HO scale coal barge kit to use with the tug. Should make for a very nice scene.

Constructing a Paint Rack from MDF

October 10, 2022Model RRbsullivan

Had picked up some 1/4″ MDF a year or so ago, and this 3/4″ MDF was gifted to us. Ripping everything took a few hours to complete.

I was gifted some shelving my Grandfather had built for his house on Cape Cod many years ago. It once sat in the laundry room and held baby food jars full of nuts and bolts as well as small jars of oil and other knick-knacks. When the house was being closed up, I had asked for it since I knew it would make a wonderful paint storage rack and currently I was just using a few odd cardboard boxes. Well, over the years I have outgrown that little set of shelves and finally decided to construct some new ones, this time using MDF.

My new shelves on the left, my Grandfather’s shelves to the right.

This project took about a half day, as it took a good bit of ripping and fitting to get everything right. The back and shelves themselves are 1/4″ MDF and the sides are 3/4″ MDF. I used a dado blade set to cut grooves in the sides for shelves and to recess the back panel. In retrospect, I could have recessed it a bit more and could have fit the shelves a bit tighter, but it all worked out just fine in the end. The back was glued and tacked on with nails. Shelves are glued in place. I hand painted it two coats of semi-gloss white, some paint I had leftover in the garage. The fact that the paint is a bit “tacky” means the paint jars don’t slide around on the shelves. The whole thing sits on a rail that’s screwed to the wall, with L-brackets up top screwed into the studs. I modeled it after the shelves my Grandfather built with shelves set to accommodate the various paint bottles I have collected. Overall, I think it’s just right for what I need and it turned out well.

Rock Creek Bridge Construction (Purple Line)

October 8, 2022News, Prototypebsullivan

Purple Line construction on the Rock Creek bridges. View is west, and in the distance you can see the new tunnels beneath Jones Mill Rd. Previously, the railroad crossed at grade. In 2019, after demolishing the trestle, they lowered the right of way and began construction of two new bridges across the Creek. From Facebook.

This view from the 1990s and part of the Coalition For The Capital Crescent Trail collection, is a similar view from the years when the railroad was out of service.

1993 Action at Georgetown Junction

September 10, 2022History, Prototypebsullivan

Al Moran kindly shared these two wonderful photos over on the CSX “Cap, Met, and OML” subs, Railfans Facebook Group of a local servicing Mason-Dixing Recycling, which occupied the old E.C. Keys property for some time. Once the Branch was abandoned, a small amount of track remained near the Junction, servicing the plant.

Thank you, Al, for allowing me to share these here on the blog! He writes: B731-08 (possibly D780-08 not sure when the change occurred) with CSX 4234/CSX caboose 904130 at Georgetown Jct after working the last remaining customer on the Georgetown Branch (a recycling place) on 09/08/93. 29 years ago today.

The Georgetown Branch

My research and modeling project about the B&O Railroad branchline.