Construction Update #49 - Lizard Head & Rico Staging & Rolling Stock Additions

 

Lizard Head/Rico Staging 

August 9, 2025

The revised plan (Construction Update #48) includes a three track staging yard that represents Rico.  The staging tracks will be located on a 2nd module that is 9" wide and 82" long.  The curve on the far end aligns with the curve in the backdrop in the northwest corner of the room.  One of the tracks will hold a K-Class locomotive, 12 cars and a caboose.  The other two will hold a K-Class, 10 cars and a caboose.  There is room for a shorter 4th track that could be added at some point in the future.

 August 11, 2025

The cork roadbed finally arrived.  Here is the Lizard Head module ready for installation on the layout.  

And here is the is the Rico staging module.  When the modules are installed on the layout, the gaps in the cork roadbed between the modules will be filled in.  Since the module turned out to be wide enough, a 4th staging track was added. 

 August 14, 2025

 It was a bit of a struggle but here is the Lizard Head module installed and leveled on the layout.  The "new" Lizard Head did add about 8" of aisle width between Lizard Head and the Ridgway engine facility on the opposite side of the aisle.  It also added some additional space for the Ophir scene.  The Rico staging yard will extend from right to left along the far wall.

The Lizard Head section house, bunk house and outhouse sitting temporarily in their future locations.
 

 The Rico staging yard. 

I did have to make a minor change where the module meet up with the rest of the layout south of Matterhorn.  The mainline and siding, on the module, had to be extended about 12" in order to create a smooth the transition betweem old to new..

Rolling Stock Additions

August 15, 2025 

Like most modelers I tend to pick up rolling stock, in varying states of repair, and stash them away for future use.  After accumulating a half a dozen or so cars, I decided to make the necessary repairs, add a little weathering and put them in service.  The average price of  P-B-L ready to run cars is now about $100.00.  One of these cars cost $60, two cost $40 and one cost $10.  It took about 3 hours to get all 4 in operating condition.

D&RGW #3458

#3458 used to be #3456.  Not sure where I got this car but it needed a little work when I got it and I already had a #3456 on the layout.  The old #6 was burnished off the car and a decal was used to add the #8.  A new brake wheel was added, one of the truss rods was replaced and the existing weathering was touched up.

D&&RGW #9536

D&RGW #9536 is a factory assembled P-B-L Hi-Side gondola.  The wheels were painted and it was weathered lightly with powdered pigments. 

D&RGW #3499

D&RGW #9536 is a factory assembled P-B-L box car.  The wheels were painted, a coupler spring was replaced and it was weathered lightly with powdered pigments. 

D&RGW # 1447

D&RGW #1447 required a bit more work.  It was missing three stakes/stake pockets, two stirrup steps, a brake wheel, trucks and wheel sets.  All the parts were salvaged from a "basket case" gondola that hit the concrete floor in my train room

On The Bench

Here are another three cars that I should be able to finish off in the next couple of weeks.  The three cars were given to me "as is" so they will require a bit more work than the four shown above.

D&RGW #1646

I think this car was built from an old Tomalco kit.   It's a wood kit with white metal hardware.  The basic model is OK but the under frame needs work, its missing a brake wheel and some hardware,  two stirrup steps are missing, and the white metal trucks need to be replaced.  I think I have the parts on hand so the rebuild shouldn't be to difficult.  While the current P-B-L models are a bit nicer, it's kind of nice to have a few "old school" models on the layout.

D&RGW Gondola

Here's a pretty sad looking model.  It looks like it was built from a P-B-L kit.  It's complete except for the missing brake wheel.  Due to the awful paint, the best I can do is replace the brake wheel, letter it with new decals, replace the plastic wheel sets and try to salvage the finish with some weathering and a coat of Tamiya flat.

Pacific Coast #1101

Pretty sure this car was built P-B-L stock car kit.  About all I have to due is remove the "Pacific Coast" and letter it for the D&RGW.  The paint is glossy and there doesn't appear to be any clear coat over the existing decal so once the replacement decals are on hand, this should be a easy fix. After a little weathering and a coat of Tamiya flat, this car should fit right in with the rest of my stock cars.

.As always, your comments, suggestions & questions are welcome

sdepolo@outlook.com.

 

 

 

 

Construction Update #48 - Lizard Head Benchwork, The Lizard Head Bunk House & Adam's Models

The Plan

August 1, 2014 

The original plan was to place Lizard Head on a shelf above Ridgway (Construction Update #9)  That plan included a lift out section in front of the entry door.  Later on I decided to install a temporary reverse loop to postpone blocking the doorway (Construction Update #16).  More recently I decided to move Lizard Head and eliminate the lift section altogether (Construction Update #46).  Since the last update, I made a minor modification to the plan as shown below.  My mainline minimum radius is 32"  The legs of the wye are 28". 

 

Construction Begins

August 2, 2025 

 

It took about a half an hour to remove the existing reverse loop.  I managed to salvage most of the track and two turnouts.  Here is the before. 

 

And here is the after.

 

 

The Lizard Head Module

I decided to start the Lizard Head scene module in my barn and then move it into the train work once the basic carpentry was done. In order to minimize weight, I decided to use 3/8" thick shop grade plywood along with a 1"x 3" frame   The plywood was rested on a couple of sawhorses and the plan was drawn on the surface with a Sharpie.

The excess plywood was then cut away.

 

 

August 3, 2025 

The plywood was then flipped over and the 1" x 3" framework was glued, clamped and screwed in place.

The completed Lizard Head Module ready for cork roadbed.  

It turns out that HO-Scale cork roadbed is in short supply.  I finally found a box on the east coast for $54.95 plus shipping and tax ($80.00).  It's supposed to arrive on the 11th.  In the meantime........

 

The Lizard Head Bunkhouse 

 August 4, 2025

The lead photograph has a picture of my Lizard Head section house.  I build this several years ago.  I thought now would be a good time to build the section house.  I've done "how to" posts on building structures before so some of you may want to skip this section.

I like to start by laying out the parts and comparing them to the instructions.  My kit included everything but the black roofing paper listed in the instructions.

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Years ago I started painting D&RW/RGS structures with Floquil Depot Buff and Roof Brown.  While I am going to continue to use those two colors, for continuity, both Tru-Color and P-B-L Star brand paints have more accurate colors.  There may be others.  I don't recommend using acrylics on wood.  Water based paints tend to make the wood warp.

 

 

Normally I would use an airbrush to paint the wall before they were assembled.  In this case, because the structure is small and without a lot of contrasting trim, I decided to assemble the walls before painting.  To prevent warping, bracing from the scrap box was added on the inside of the walls.  Some of you may have noticed that I screwed up the back wall by installing it upside down!  At this point, there are two options; leave it since it won't be seen on the layout or fix it.

 

August 5, 2025 

Well...  I couldn't let it go; it had to be fixed.  The building was assembled with Aleen's Tacky Glue so all it took was a sharp Xacto knife and little prying to remove the back wall and interior bracing.  The old joints were scraped and sanded smooth, a new section of bracing was installed along the inside top of the wall and it was re-attached.  The whole process took about 30 minutes and then it went out for paint.

August 7, 2025

Here is the assembled model.  I like to mount most of my buildings on a piece of styrene and add a few details before I place them on the layout.  The roof was done with blue painters tape, painted with gray craft paints and weathered with powdered pigments. The windows were covered and the entire model was sealed with Tamiya TS-80 flat clear.

Here is the Lizard Head bunk house pictured along side the section house.

The Model Builder - My 12 year old grandson

Several years ago, my grandson Adam and I built the small warehouse (Banta Modelworks #4959) shown below.   It's now part of my Placerville scene.  He was around 9 or 10 at the time.  Adam did about half the work and I did the rest including the roof that has yet to be painted!

When I ordered the warehouse, Bill Banta was gracious enough to include a couple of extra kits for Adam.  Adam has wanted to tackle these kits from the day they arrived but I had him hold off.  I wanted him to build the kits on his own and I didn't think he was ready.  Recently he dug out the kits and went to work.  Here are the results.  The Hillside Water Tank (#4124) is about done and the Mner's Cabin (#4078) needs some roofing.  Adam built both kits over three days without any of my help.  Adam will be 13 in October.

 As always, your comments, suggestions & questions are welcome

sdepolo@outlook.com