52…errr 46 for 2023

Another year has come and gone, not sure where its gone sometimes when I look back. Its been a great year in some ways, and a lousy one in others. I had a great spring vacation to do a couple of railway trips I’ve long wanted to do (White River and Moosonee), and then, in November, my luck finally ran out and I got Covid. And boy did that suck losing two weeks between a couple of really sick days followed by about 10 days of just being exhausted and mentally unable to focus. But, those aren’t what this post is about. This is about another year in books after last years seemingly well received 52 for ’22 list. Again, most of my books were taken from the Toronto Public Library, which became a problem at the end of October just before I got sick in November, when the library was hacked and as I write this in December, the site and more importantly, the catalogue and ability to place holds is still not back. Being old enough to remember card files and having to just browse shelves to find books, you don’t realize how good we had it with online catalogues and systems until its gone. Hopefully it is back as promised early in 2024. With all that said, I finished 46 books in 2023, still a respectable number in a world where I am only commuting 2 days a week (my main reading time on the subway) and was sick.

A few notes, my friend Neate Sager is a sportswriter and co-hosts a podcast interviewing Sports Authors called SportsLit. I think I got a couple of titles from his podcast, but specifically calling out their interview with Ted Nolan on his book. I remember Ted Nolan from when I was younger and not as worldly, and hearing him talk about how he was treated for being Indigenous, I literally finished the book the day before their interview showed up in my feed. It was a powerful drive home hearing Ted talk about it after reading it. In a similar vein on Indigenous relations, but getting back into my train space, its in the list, but its not a book per say. It is my friend Thomas’ PHD Thesis in History on the Ontario Northland Railway and its relationship with the Indigenous peoples whose territories it runs through, and on the development of Moosonee as a place. Also a powerful read (but admittedly academic in leaning, though very readible by thesis standards).

So, this year was not a repeat of 2022’s book a week, but it was a good years reading, and here’s hoping that the Toronto Public Library website recovers so I can get my long list of books and holds back, and that I stay healthy. Losing 2 weeks to Covid in November and then a couple of weeks of not being able to face the transit commute on my office days after that definitely kept me from 52 books in 2023, but 2024 is another year, and there is plenty out there to read. Hope you find something interesting in my list that strikes your fancy!

Hot out of the 3D Printer, a bookmark organizer. I collect Leather Bookmarks when I travel, they are a readily available and easy to transport souvenir from many places in the UK. Yes, I try to cycle through them all before I use one over in a year…

Reorganizing the big tools

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and my in-laws gave me a Home Depot gift card and the message that hopefully it would do something useful for the layout. I was mulling what I could use it on that would be helpful, as I don’t “need” more power tools. While I was thinking, I needed to pop into the Home Depot while we were out on Friday afternoon for some construction adhesive and a couple of little things, and I was in a different store than our normal one…this one had an absolutely massive Milwaukee Power Tools section. My cordless tools are Milwaukee, so I started browsing, and then I came across the 10″ Hard Tool Box. My previous tool box was a Canadian Tire Mastercraft, which was fine, but it had become a dump all for tools and bits and pieces. Similarly, my IKEA Raskog cart was also becoming a disorganized dumpster. With the 3D printer moving into the closet and taking up a big chunk of real estate, a new tool box seemed a good way to sort some space in the closet and make me evaluate what tools I had. While I was in the store on Friday, I also saw the low profile compact organizer that would clip into the toolbox with the “Packout” system to link different tool cases together. With that, I was off home before spending any more money.

After re-organizing and packing these tubs, I realized that I had room for a second organizer box, so back to Home Depot on Saturday afternoon I went. This time I got the normal depth compact organizer. I also in looking, realized that the 15″ Tool Bag that is part of the system was more than big enough for my Drill/Impact Kit and my Jigsaw, along with the battery charger and various bits and pieces like impact bits and drill bit kits. In my old bag that came with the Drill/Driver kit, I couldn’t fit the battery charger, or the jigsaw. With these two pieces added, I was able to get all my power tools in one bag, all my other tools rarely used and fasteners into the box and organizer trays, and free up space to better organize the IKEA Raskog cart for regularly used and needed tools, and do it in a better use of space than I was before.

Friday shopping at Home Depot, and Saturday organizing everything to maximize use of space for the big tools under the layout in the closet.

I remain apparently easily pleased by organizing things. Probably explains what I do for a living…sigh. In any event, as you can see above, I now have a much tidier area where the heavy duty tools are stored, and freed up space in the closet for other storage and organization. Still working everything out for where things will live for easiest access, but this created options, and solved a lingering annoyance, so on we go!

A home for the 3D printer

Well, after a couple of weeks of having the 3D printer and getting used to it, it is definitely staying, so it needs to have a home that isn’t the middle of my home office/layout room floor!

On Wednesday I started to re-adjust the closet, after spending the day before on Boxing Day…literally going through boxes…I am not sure this is exactly what the Victorian English had in mind when they thought this up. That said, my IKEA Ivar frames were relatively easily adjusted to make a home in the closet for the printer, where it is

The Ender 3 just fits in the narrow Ivar, its perfect. Its wedged in tight and its not going anywhere and the shelf is not going to vibrate significantly.

So, with the printer in place, it became abundantly clear, that neither my desk chair or the folding chair actually let me sit and work on the printer to adjust it or change the filament, so I wound up doing a quick search, and Canadian Tire had a mechanics stool for $50. The perfect size and height to let me access the printer without kneeling down in the closet where I might never actually get back up (not at all speaking from past experience.

Mechanics stool, cheap, and perfect for wheeling into the closet to access the 3D printer. Its even blue 😛

I had already printed a tool holder from Thingiverse for the tools that came with the machine. I didn’t like that where the cutters sat actually interfeered with the printer on tall prints. Moving to the IKEA Ivar, I had some hooks for them, that solved the nippers. I then, quickly drew up and printed a bottle holder for my little spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol I use for cleaning the build plate between prints. Being able to design and print inside a day for tool holders and things like this is the great advantage of the home printer.

Finished print before removing from the build plate and cleaning up supports, and hanging on the IKEA Ivar frame with my cleaning alcohol. A quick project done!

The only pressing thing left to do now is a bit more focused lighting on the printer so I can see things, and then I think it will be good to go in its home. I’ve also got a couple of tool holder ideas to print, but those are not as pressing. As I type, its printing away like a mad little machine. I have given it little time to rest since I’ve got it!

A TTC Line 3 Maintenance Memory

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Line 3, the Scarborough RT was supposed to be shut down in November 2023, an accident in July 2023 brought service to an early end. In May this year, the McCowan Car House that serviced the RT was opened for Doors Open Toronto. I went out to visit it, and wound up taking what would be my last rides on the RT. While I was at the Open House, I was smitten by one piece of the Maintenance-of-Way Equipment on the RT, a Mercedes-Benz U4000 Unimog. Unimog’s are cool, go anywhere do anything bits of kit, and the TTC’s is converted to be a hi-railer to service the RT Tracks. That is super cool. This warrants being modeled!!

TTC ST-7 Unimog U4000 at the McCowan Carhouse. Just begging to be modeled!

So, how to model this? I started searching for whether any HO Scale Unimogs exist, and they do, there are a variety of options, from several manufacturers, but none were quite right, though two were close. A Brekina U416 had the four door cab and the short bed, along with the beefier suspension, a Busch U5023 kit had a closer front grille, and a variety of details like the snorkel, mirrors, wipers and exhaust pipe. To round it off, a Kibri kit of truck cranes at a Palfinger Crane like the TTC’s did. With three kits identified to kitbash from, it was time to find somewhere to actually buy them. I found an online retailer in Germany, Truckmo that had all three, and they were duly ordered. After, the longest shipping journey ever (apparently DHL has an ocean container parcel option…who knew?).

The two starting points, most of the grey, with the hood and details from the white would produce TTC ST-7.

Frankensteining kits from different manufacturers of different models inevitably creates challenges. I needed the hood from one kit, to go with the cab and bed from the other. Of course, the cab and bed I wanted, were connected, which meant I needed to split them to make room for the crane, and all of this was before I started messing around adding other bits to replicate the TTC’s decidedly unique vehicle!

Bits from three kits, and the cutting begins to create a frankenmog. The bed in the Brekina kit was actually cast into the cab, fortunately, there was enough material to cleanly cut through with a jewelers saw.

Underneath the frame, I added cast metal hi-rail wheels from Custom Finishing models. The TTC’s has 4 sets of High Rail Wheels, a pair in front and behind each of the Unimog Axles. On top of this, it has a Dellner Coupler at the rear for towing stranded RT Cars and other work equipment as it replaced a locomotive that used to do the MOW work. I managed to salvage a Dellner Coupler from an OO Gauge Bachmann Voyager (Don’t worry, I bought replacement working Dellner’s from an aftermarket supplier to replace the stolen plastic one!) and installed this on the rear.

For painting, I tried something new, the Brekina cab hood had a gorgous printed Mercedes logo. I have some Mr. Hobby “Mr Masking Sol R” that I have been experimenting with on aircraft canopies. I used it to mask the logo, and it worked perfectly. What I hadn’t noticed was there was a tiny lip on the logo, so the liquid mask formed a perfect cover. I also used the Liquid Mask on CN 7030 when I dullcoated it, as I did not want to disassemble it to take out the glass. I am still getting used to the liquid mask, but it really has potential if I can get the hang of it.

Making Custom Decals, and painting the various bits of the Unimog before assembly.

Re-assembly was reasonably straightforward. My modifications meant that the screw holes were now blocked or miss-aligned, so everything was a glue job. Once the cab was on, all the various details were attached/re-attached as the case may be. I did little things like use bare metal foil on the mirrors to make them actually reflective when viewed from behind. With the addition of a pair of detail associates strobe lights, I called time on adding lenses and lamps and details, and moved on to taking some beauty shots of the finished product after applying a little bit of rust to the hi-rail wheels and tidying up a couple of paint marks.

The finished project. I am quite pleased with this. Its one I could have kept trying to force more little details onto, but I reached a point where it told me it’s as good a recreation as my sanity would allow before I started breaking things.

I am really quite pleased with how this came out, and how it looks. It looks right at home with the small collection of TTC vehicles (See here) I have on my display shelf in the layout room!

Canadian National 7030 Ready to Roll

Nothing makes wrapping up a year feel good like wrapping up some projects. This is one I started this fall when an order I had been waiting on arrived. You can read about the initial work here, and the earlier paint update here. As I have settled into my Christmas-New Years break from work, the motivation to spend time in my Layout/Workshop/Home Office room to work on models has returned. This is the first of two Finished Projects I am writing about this week, the 2nd will follow tomorrow. For now, here is CN 7030, detailed, painted, dullcoated and ready for weathering, but for now, she’s back on the layout and ready to roll for some operations!

Well, there’s another project that can go in the bin!

I don’t normally write about things that are kind of in my backburner pile. I have lots of things going on that are really just mental distractions. I also, don’t normally write about new product announcements, but here we are too. My friend Trevor has already written about this announcement here, and he’s summed up where I am too. I don’t need these, but boy do I want them!! What is the announcement? Well, Rapido Trains is doing the first Toronto Subway Cars, the G series from Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company in England. Back in 2015-16, I was working on a project with a friend to 3D print a G series body shell that would fit onto the Life-Like (later Walthers) New York Subway Car Chassis. They are approximately the same length and wheelbase, or at least close enough to beat making custom frames and mechanisims. We got as far as a first test print, having searched for drawings, and measured the preserved cars at the Halton County Radial Railway. The one test print below looked ok, showed some issues, including that I put the body bolster mounts at the wrong height, so it rode way up on the frame, but as a proof of concept, it worked. It then got shelved, for many reasons and many projects that took priority.

Circa 2016 3D printed shell for a TTC G1 Subway Car, designed to fit a Life-Like NY Subway Chassis. Don’t need that anymore!

I had a sense this was coming, as Jason Shron had waxed poetically about wanting to do them in the Rapido Newsletter in April 2023, so the fact they were the Christmas Announcement didn’t completely surprise me. Now I am deep into debating what I order (a 4 car set, a 2 car set), the only thing I’m reasonably certain of is that I am not ordering the 2 car pre-made diorama. That said, I am now thinking hard about how I would display subway cars, and what I could do to create an appropriate Toronto Transit Diorama for them, but that’s a problem for some other day. For now, back to the workbench and some Christmas Break productivity on models I am actually building!