"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Mark:
Wow. Just Wow. Thank you for posting your videos and how to's.
Thanks Dave!
23 September 2021
Work has continued on what I've started calling "cornfield corner."
Yesterday I added the rest of the dead vegetation - oregano leaves. The layout smells pretty nice for about a day after I do that! I also added some small bushes around the periphery of the fields.
Today I added static grass and some weeds. Here's the result:
I still need to spray on an overall fixative (very diluted Mod Podge, I'm thinking) to keep the bushes from deteriorating and spreading all over the place. I also want to add a couple of 3-D versions of the scraggly trees you see in the foreground of the backdrop. Making those will involve using an old wallpaper paste brush and a variety of ground foam.
I probably won't make and install those trees immediately, though. Tomorrow I'm going to prep Casper to be moved permanently back into the corner. Then over the weekend I'm going to hopefully start extending the benchwork towards Powder River. Woo-Hoo!!
Boy, that fascia sure needs cleaned, doesn't it?
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
PruittI know it doesn't resemble corn all that much, but the colors are close to those on the backdrop, and you won't be able to get as close to this in person as the camera is in this shot. So what the heck - it's good enough for what it is (I hope).
Hi Mark,
I think that the colour blending is done really well! I don't think it matters one bit the there are no actual corn stalks in the forefront. In fact, personally I find that most modelled corn fields look too sparse to be realistic. The viewer's eye will be focused even better on the trains because they will not be distracted by fake corn stocks that look like they are planted too far apart. This is a 'less is more' situation IMHO and you have done a good job of it.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Heaven forbid that the Bear dare to eversully Mel’s sterling contributions to the Forum, and then query Dave’s memory, but I suggest that the lighting thread mentioned is Mike Lehman’s Night Scene.
Hi Bear,
You are correct! Thank you for fixing my mistake.
By the way, I question my memory every day so feel free to chime in! I need all the help I can get!
Apologies to Mike Lehman for not giving credit where due.
21 September 2021
After a hiatus from actual layout work for a few weeks to test out cab ride video cameras and clean up (and clean out) the train room, I'm back at it.
By clean out I mean I removed nearly all the non-train stuff from the room. There used to be a lot of boxes of books and other stuff filling about a third of the room - check out the background of this picture:
That's all gone and the room is mostly clean (except the tables and shelves). Here's what the room looks like now, taken from behind Casper yard:
That's a lot of room for new benchwork!
Where did all those boxes, which were mostly books, go? Into the newly completed library, of course!
(my wife was hiding from the camera). Note all those Model Railroader binders on the lower left shelves. Most of the clutter on the table is also MRs that don't have a binder to call home yet (I have a batch of binders on order, and will need many more).
Back to the trains -
Now I'm in the middle of doing the last bit of scenery in the corner of the Chicago and North Western line from Riverton to Hudson. Once that corner is done, I'll be able to move Casper back into its permanent location in the corner and start building mainline out of both ends of the yard. I'm looking forward to that!
So here's a bit of work I did on the CNW line today. I added static grass and other weeds and such to the line leading into the corner towards Hudson:
For a couple days before that I was working IN the corner, adding painted polyfiber "corn" to either side of the track. Just the polyfiber with fine ground foam on top looks like this:
And I just started adding ground-level dead vegetation around the base at the east end of the fields. Glue is still wet. Grass and other weeds and some small bushes and such will also be added through this area.
Hey, I know it doesn't resemble corn all that much, but the colors are close to those on the backdrop, and you won't be able to get as close to this in person as the camera is in this shot. So what the heck - it's good enough for what it is (I hope).
Sure feels good to be working on the layout again!
The past few days I've also started removing the over-center springs and reinstalling the ground throws. Though I got the springs to work okay for the most part, they weren't as reliable as I wanted them to be. The springs tended to pop out of the ties at one end or the other, and some of them were a bit picky about which way they were being thrown. So, with the advice of a few folks in another thread here, I've found a way that attaches the ground throws more securely to the cork and foam than I was able to accomplish before. Thanks for the help, folks!
I think by the end of the month I'll be able to reposition Casper and begin new benchwork construction towards Powder River (the right end of Casper as you're facing it).
(huh. I just noticed that some of the emojis don't work anymore. Like the one with the party favor...)
hon30critterHi Mark, I would like to achieve the sort of night time lighting effect that RRMel has done (maybe he will post some pictures). IIRC he used blue LED strips that actually throw enough light that all of the scenery and structures can be discerned, but it still suggests a night scene. One of my challenges will be trying to figure out how to make the overhead lighting repositionable. Eventually I want to move the layout to the other side of the garage so I will need to devise a lighting system that can be relocated on the garage ceiling. I don't think that will be too difficult. I can use some 1x2s to make frames that can be mounted to the ceiling wherever I want. The garage ceiling is finished but that won't affect anything. Dave
I would like to achieve the sort of night time lighting effect that RRMel has done (maybe he will post some pictures). IIRC he used blue LED strips that actually throw enough light that all of the scenery and structures can be discerned, but it still suggests a night scene.
One of my challenges will be trying to figure out how to make the overhead lighting repositionable. Eventually I want to move the layout to the other side of the garage so I will need to devise a lighting system that can be relocated on the garage ceiling. I don't think that will be too difficult. I can use some 1x2s to make frames that can be mounted to the ceiling wherever I want. The garage ceiling is finished but that won't affect anything.
Fortunately, I don't have to worry about repositionable lighting. The layout is where it is. If it moves again, it will be to another house altogether (or maybe just a dumpster!).
PruittDave, I haven't really addressed night lighting of the layout other than structure lights and what-not on the layout. My LED pceiling panels dim, but only to about 40% brightness. I thought I might try leaving room lights off completely, but then I'll have to put some low-brightness LED strips around the base of the benchwork so operators can see where they're putting their feet.
Thanks for the kind words, guys!
Bear, I like the Bookman Old Style font. I may switch up and use it instead of Georgia, the one I was leanig towards.
Dave, I haven't really addressed night lighting of the layout other than structure lights and what-not on the layout. My LED pceiling panels dim, but only to about 40% brightness. I thought I might try leaving room lights off completely, but then I'll have to put some low-brightness LED strips around the base of the benchwork so operators can see where they're putting their feet. That will not happen soon...
David, one thing I've noticed is that more often than not structure lighting are too bright on our layouts. I'm trying not to let that happen, but selecting the "right" brightness is not easy. What I'm plasnning is to install a small bit of perfboard under the layout with trimpots mounted on it so I can adjust the brightness of each set of lights. I'll do that for each structure / set of lights so I can use just a few power supplies to drive all lighting but be able to adjust individual groups of LEDs. Kinda like a poor man's Just Plug system.
Mark. I like the 'glow' of the lights. Just right. Not bright like some I have seen on other layouts. Well done.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
You did an excellent job on the lighting! I love night time running and good lighting adds so much realism to the layout.
One of the things I have yet to figure out is how to provide overhead lighting for daylight and night time scenes. My layout is in a garage so I will have to add a couple of extra lighting circuits, one with blue lights and the other with daylight tones.
4 September 2021
With the invaluable advice and suggestions of several of the members here, I managed to get Rocky Mountain Drilling lighting installed. Even more amazing, it works!
Yesterday I finished installing the LEDs. There are five gooseneck lamps over the exterior doors, and three LEDs attached to the underside of the loft flooring (which is just thin scrap plywood cut to rough shape and glued into the building). Here we're looking into the building from the bottom:
I was really worried about those very fine wires that connect to the LEDs. I didn't want to stress them, because I knew they'd break right off. I thought overnight about how to hook them all into power, and came up with this today:
Those connectors are just scrap bits of PC board from the tie strips I use in turnout construction. I tinned them and glued them to the underside of the floor using adhesive caulk. I soldered on the power wires (those are the larger ones with the colored insulation), then fed the LED wires through holes I drilled in the floor and soldered them to the appropriate pads. There are four pads because the interior lights are separated from the exterior ones so I can adjust the light intensities separately.
Then I set the building in place on the layout, feeding the leads through a hole in the surface. I hooked up a temporary power source, and whipped out my cellphone to take some pictures. Click on any of them for a larger view.
The platform side at "dusk:"
And the track side:
Later that night a boxcar was delivered.
If you look very carefully just to the left of the building in this last shot, you can just make out the side of the boxcar spotted at the facility.
It's amazing how good cell phone cameras are these days. I'm a pretty crappy photographer at the best of times, but the camera seems to compensate for at least some of my shortcomings.
The structure still needs to be finished - signs added, building weathered, the roof details (chimney, vents, etc.) installed, and the building needs to be embedded into the layout and not just sit atop the dirt. But there it is.
Thanks to everyone who helped out in the other thread!
3 September 2021
My latest layout update video is now posted on YouTube:
Thanks for the kind words, Ed, Dave and Ed.
27 August 2021
I just posted the lastest episode of Building Casper. This one covers major construction of the engine terminal.
hon30critterYou are a highly skilled modeler whether you want to admit or not!
No slouch with a camera, either!
You got the depth of field balanced perfectly in those photos.
Regards, Ed
You are a highly skilled modeler whether you want to admit or not! I like the greasy tracks!
Pruitt
I especially like the above shot because there's so much emptiness showing.
Ed
23 August 2021
I finished ballasting all the industry tracks in Casper. The only thing left is the engine terminal, and since I can get to that easily from the front of the yard, I may not get to it for awhile. Everything I needed to work on from behind the yard is now complete. Final detailing can be done from aboard my Topside Creeper as the mood strikes.
I moved beyond my "disaster" (I started a thread about that a few days ago; it's now resolved) to finish the Standard Oil Refinery loading tracks. Oil dripped and gushed (and everything in between) onto the tracks over a period of many years as cars were loaded, so the tracks needed to have an almost black, slimy semi-wet look to them. I think I accomplished that, for the most part:
So today, after the second track was dry and I removed the weights, I set the loading racks back in place and spotted a few cars alongside. In this shot I caught 0-8-0 number 545 spotting a second cut of cars on the right hand track.
And here's a view looking down that track at the oncoming string. That track is pretty disgusting looking. I sure wouldn't want to work out there every day!
Pruitt Last night I applied dirt to the remaining area on the west end. Here's part of the engine terminal after a brief downpour (sprayed water to activate the plaster to affix the dirt): I kinda like the way this looks, but I have no idea how to keep the after rain look.
Last night I applied dirt to the remaining area on the west end. Here's part of the engine terminal after a brief downpour (sprayed water to activate the plaster to affix the dirt):
I kinda like the way this looks, but I have no idea how to keep the after rain look.
Rich
Alton Junction
Thanks Dave, but I sure feel like the proverbial tortoise in my modeling speed.
12 August 2021
Basic scenery in Casper is now done. And I mean basic - dirt has been applied everywhere. Foliage, structures, and all the details will come over time.
This evening, with the dirt dried and solid, I removed the tape from the tracks and vacuumed up all the plaster debris. Here's an overall view of the west end:
A closer view of the Standard Refinery's oil loading tracks (behind the roundhouse), followed by a view of the turntable and lead tracks.
I have to say that overall I'm pleased with how things look at this point.
Now I just have to clean out plaster from between tie ends where it seeped under the tape (an easy job since it's just Plaster of Paris) and I'm ready to ballast the area.
PruittThe real "if" is IF I ever get to the point of actually operating the layout!
Mark, you are a prolific modeller. I know that you have a long ways to go but I'm sure you will get there sooner rather than later.
One thing I like about your approach to the layout is that you are doing the scenery (at least the basics) as you go. You won't end up with a plywood paradise. When the final track is laid your layout will look like a layout.
Pruitt The real "if" is IF I ever get to the point of actually operating the layout!
The real "if" is IF I ever get to the point of actually operating the layout!
DoughlessChapstick on the tops of the rails before rattle can paint. Pure genius!
hon30critterIf you produce videos of the same quality about how you operate we will all be in for a treat! Dave
9 August 2021
I got the Casper backdrop posted a couple days ago. It's a bit bluury in this post (camera and photographer are both a bit depth-of-field challenged), but it gives you an idea of how it looks:
Here's a shot of another part of it:
I actually was able to successfully solder wires to one of the 0402 LEDs!
And yesterday I applied a plaster layer to the entire engine terminal. Today or tomorrow I'll add the dirt, tyhen the entire west end of the yard is ready for ballasting.
richhotrainLooking good, Mark. If you eventually enjoy operating this layout as much as you seem to enjoy making the videos, you are in for a real treat.
Hi Rich and Mark,
If you produce videos of the same quality about how you operate we will all be in for a treat!
Chapstick on the tops of the rails before rattle can paint. Pure genius!
- Douglas
richhotrainAnother nice update video, Mark, at least once you get past that lime green shirt. Rich
Another nice update video, Mark, at least once you get past that lime green shirt.
3 August 2021
You're right, Rich - I really do enjoy making the videos! Thanks for noticing!
The videos are actually very useful too. They keep me motivated to work on the railroad. All month long I'm thinking "I need to get something done or I won't have anything to put in next month's video!"
Speaking of which, I just published the August layout update: