Calif. Central Model Railroad Club

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Calif. Central Model Railroad Club HO Scale Model Railroad Club

Sunday fun.
10/12/2026

Sunday fun.

Wayne and several members of the Cal Central are attending the annual meeting of the Southern Pacific Historical and Tec...
10/07/2026

Wayne and several members of the Cal Central are attending the annual meeting of the Southern Pacific Historical and Technical Society in Visalia, CA October 7 - 10. Though not specifically SP related, this morning we went to the Hillcrest Tree Farm for a ride on and tour of the Hillcrest and Wahtoke RR in Reedley, CA. It’s a 15” railroad and they perform contract work for other railroads. Please see comments with the photos.

Finished up the baggage car project. In addition to upgrading the diaphragms, the equipment box faces, truck side frames...
09/27/2026

Finished up the baggage car project. In addition to upgrading the diaphragms, the equipment box faces, truck side frames, and handrails were painted dark olive green.

I (Wayne) added Coachyard diaphragms to some HO scale PSC brass SP head end cars that, as as purchased, were custom pain...
09/24/2026

I (Wayne) added Coachyard diaphragms to some HO scale PSC brass SP head end cars that, as as purchased, were custom painted and had unpainted American Limited diaphragms. There were some challenges - especially plugging the original PSC diaphragm holes and applying the new diaphragms straight - though I’m happy with how it turned out. There may be better ways to do this (please share), but this worked for me. I’ve made other upgrades to the cars, about which I’ll make a future post. See the photos for comments.

Wayne (that’s me) painted some Coachyard HO scale passenger car diaphragms today, and one of the challenges was figuring...
09/02/2026

Wayne (that’s me) painted some Coachyard HO scale passenger car diaphragms today, and one of the challenges was figuring out how to hold them while painting them. I decided on cardboard (from a cereal box), Scotch double sided tape, and bending the cardboard at an angle for easier spraying of the bottoms. By cutting the strips narrow, I was able to get good spraying angles and good coverage. Had I done it it two steps I would have painted the backs first, and used something less sticky to attach them - handling the double sided tape to make it less sticky, or taping down some upside down masking tape.

This was my first time spraying Tru Color paint (SP Olive Green), and though it was a learning experience I am happy with the results. The clear coat is my old standby: 25% Testors Dull Coat, 75% Gloss Coat, thinned 50/50 with lacquer thinner. The light in my photos played tricks; the actual finish is very smooth. Many folks like Deft clear, and I’ll give it a try one of these days.

Additional comments accompany the photos.

Painting the diaphragms is one step of a project, about which I’ll post when completed.

Pretty accurate 😀.
08/29/2026

Pretty accurate 😀.

Address

4185 Bassett Street
Santa Clara, CA
95054

Telephone

(408) 314-0588

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