Right-O'-Way

05/06/2026

I just wasn't happy with some of the details on the parts we're doing for Sarah Griessenböck's latest UP Project. Changed some orientations & other little tweaks and I think these will work. As usual the longer parts, like the truck's side frames curve a little. Nature of the beast when working with 3D prints in castable resin. An easy fix after casting. There are two sets of journal retainer plates. The thinner version was our first attempt and I didn't think they'd fully cast because of how thin they are. Turns out I was mistaken. They cast just fine but are too short. We thickened and lengthened them so now they are the proper length but little thick for our liking. I'll probably split the difference thickness wise & try again. I like the latest version of the turrets & other bits. The driver castings now have the correct hole for their axles but I'm not happy with the castings. I'll have more cast up. Final machining to be done later. On their way to Austria shortly for final approval. In this batch of castings are some narrow gauge trucks created by Doug MacLeod (I call him Yoda). The man is a living legend.

04/28/2026

Welp, another trip to the foundry. Picked up some parts for Sarah's UP something or other, more code 100 turnout parts, test shots for some modelers in the UK, or somewhere around there. I even picked up some of the squished bells for Matthew's Nathan horns. While I was there, I dropped of more prints to be cast. A lot of tweaking on some of Sarah's smaller parts. An example would be the turrets. What you see in the photos will be scraped because the new prints are much nicer. The new resin I tried out worked really well (the parts for the English folks). four times as expensive but worth it for small, detailed items. All in all, an expensive day. Sarah's stacks look pretty good. They were done with the normal resin.

04/10/2026

Today was kind of a fun day. Got to pick up some castings we've been working on for a while. Let's see, three different sets of rods for the Glacier Park Models SP 0-6-0, 2-8-0, & 2-8-2. Sarah drew them for us and it's taken more than a few tries to get the proper length for each. Multiple shrinkage issues but we now have them dialed in. Rough castings all but that's to be expected and a little cleanup is always required. We also cast some of her new brake wheels, brake housings, and a couple of her horns. All just experiments that look very promising. We also did a test run of two types of injectors. English prototypes, I believe. Not sure who drew them but the friend I'm doing them for hired somebody that obviously knows what they're doing. Lastly, just some of my Right-O'-Way 1:1 gear cases. I love it when little things like these parts turnout okay.

03/01/2026

Anybody that owns a Glacier Park Models SP 2-6-0, 2-8-2, or 2-8-0 knows they are great representations of the prototype. I wish I'd kept mine.

Having said that, some of us just didn't/don't care for the main rods. They are nowhere near correct.

I was asked by a friend if we could come up with something better and my first thought was, if Sarah can draw them, I should be able to print them in castable resin. Following the printing they were cast using the investment casting process. Think lost resin. It does require using resin made for this process.

We started by doing sets for all three models but after awhile I decided to focus on the 2-6-0 first. It took 4 or 5 tries to get them to what you see in the photos. Maybe not perfect but I think these are an improvement.

The single rod is an original and the one, being installed on the model, is our version of the replacement.

01/12/2026

For some time now my friend Sarah & I have talked about creating some sort of wiper mounts for the Atlas SW7/8/9. These are sorely needed when converting a 3R to 2R. The project has languished for awhile but recently some modelers showed all of us what they came up with. I like what they did and I'm sure everything works well.

The issue for us was, we wanted something that was easy to install but also removable...if desired. Late last week we tried creating wiper mounts that attached to the model's retainer plates. We had limited success but once the narrow retainer plates, used for the 145 tread wheels & the 115 tread used for P48, we found the side frames could not be installed. There were other issues brought up when using the plastic retainer plates vs. the factories metal plates of my brass versions. It looked like we were going to need 3 or 4 different versions of the mounts and, at least a couple, were a pain to install.

I think it was Saturday afternoon we decided to go a different route. The latest version use a 3D printed mount that snaps into the trucks cast metal housing. The actual wipers are from Rod Miller, the mounting screws & wire lugs are from NorthWest Short Line. In this case we are using 1.7mmX4mm screws.

I truly believe Sarah got these just right and I couldn't have done this without her. Amazing lady, she is. I consider her my Austrian Bestie.

I will attempt to attach a bunch of photos that show what we created (okay, what Sarah created).

Next I need to see if these will fit on the Atlas SW1200, MP15, etc.

The first set will be going to a friend in Lafayette, Colorado.

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12/10/2025

Another pick up day at Valley Brass & Bronze. First go at new rods for the Glacier Park 2-6-0s, 2-8-0s & 2-8-2s. These are just brass for now. Once we get them dialed in we will go with Nickel Silver. Next are the MXL pulleys. I use these when I want to install belts instead of chains in my drives. They are still in development but once they are machined for whatever application I need these will be far easier to deal with than the "Store Bought" aluminum versions. I hate working with aluminum. I'm sure it's because I'm doing it wrong but...I like working with brass. The rods & pulleys were drawn for me by our friend Sarah (Train Kitchen). Next, we picked up a few towers meant for using Faulhaber 2619 gear head motors in conjunction my .7 mod gearboxes. Speaking of gearboxes, I also picked up 3 sample shots of the re-designed version. Still need to make a few adjustments but I like what I'm seeing. Tower & gearboxes drawn by Terry Van Winkle. Sure pays to have talented friends!

12/01/2025

Found out I was nearly out of 57" driver tires. Time to make more.
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11/21/2025

Picked up some rather nice parts at the foundry. Spoked wheels for Daniel, 7 sets of cab interior parts for Sarah's Alco S-1 project, frogs, points, & guard rails for R-O-W, Arch Bar trucks, detail parts for Sacramento Northern Steeple Cab (at least that's what I think they're for), Grandt Line rivets cast in brass, etc.

10/17/2025

Just a little something different. A #15 turnout. Drawings for the frog and points by Rick Leach. Printed using a castable resin. Castings by Valley Brass & Bronze.

Code 125 & built for P48.

The owner will finish and install on his layout.

All I can say is, this is one large turnout.

10/11/2025

A little joint project with Lou @ CLW. I'm told they will be used for the new run of SD40s. Lou will supply the motors and other parts. I've also been told there will only be 9 or 10 models produced. That is all I know.

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