Mt. Coffin & Columbia River - N-scale 23"x41" layout

[mcfunkeymonkey]

cowman

What did you use to carve the foam for your stone retaining walls? 

I think (and this is sending my mind waaaaaaaay back 11 months or so) I smeared a thin layer of lightweight spackle over the foam surface to get a more rock-y texture.

Then, when dry, I took a pizza cutter and ran it along horizonally.  Wait, no: I tried the pizza cutter but it just dented the foam.  I'm pretty sure I just used an xacto knife and lightly ran it horizontally, then went back and wiggled it back and forth, pressing gently up & down to widen the cut and separate the foam a little:

 

You can see on the narrow face up top where the knife got away from me a little for a little wavy look (which is under the bridge now, so...)

Then I went back and scored in all the vertical lines.
Some people say use the back of the knife, but I found that just pressed / dented the foam, so I actually cut it and then pressed left & right to widen the gap.  Sometimes I cut too deep, but oh well.

Then I glued some foam strips for the columns and caps:

Spread some spackle on those and then hand cut them the same way.

Using cheap-o craft paint I colored the whole thing a base medium grey:

 

And then started staining it with washes out of "The Big Jug O' Stain" (alcohol, india ink & whatever other blacks, browns & greys have found their way in over the past couple o' years).

Now it's like this:

(sorry about the light: this is my only "under the bridge" shot)

I'm sure there's other ways to do it, but this worked for me.
Hope this helps.

[cowman]

What did you use to carve the foam for your stone retaining walls?  I have seen a couple of methods, but I think yours shows the deliniation the best.

Keep up the good work.

Have fun,

Richard

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Finally got a bit o' building done.
Scratched this shack out of styrene & shingles & wood:



That's actually all that's there: no rear or far side wall.
[and for a weather-beaten shack, that's an awefully newish-looking door]
Originally I was going to have it nestled in the trees up a hill, but when I finished I realized it was too big for the space, so it got moved down to the "town":



Ok, right now it is the town, along with the engine shed, watertower and freight shed:



But I added a few more textures to the area: some bushes, gravel bits, static grass & some more trees.

Also added some textures around the frieght shed:



So things are "growing" right along at Mt. Coffin.
Not so happy with the lighting for the photos: my cheap-o CFLs half-crapped out and a rainy day didn't allow as much natural light to creep into the garage as I'd like.
So will have to wait a bit for more "enlightened" pictures.

Thanks for looking.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Haven't really done much on the Mt.C&CR.
Was planning on doing quite a bit today, but temperatures inside the garage skyrocketed this afternoon into the upper 90s / 100s & so I found myself sweating too much to do much modeling.

Got a bunch of trees done, though, so that's a good enough excuse for me to take some more photos:







Hope to get more done when things cool down.
Thanks for looking.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Was going for a slightly "peeled paint" look by using rough-grit sandpaper to expose the grey base coat through the flat-white primer cover, but it didn't really work too well (should have done that before installing the windows and doors).

Really need to learn the salt / peeled paint technique (so I guess I'll have to build another structure to try it out!)

Here's a photo I just like the composition of:

 

 Any / all weathering styrene suggestions appreciated.
Cheers!

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Been spending a bit of time working on the switching layout with my daughter, so I thought I gotta get something done on my own layout.
As a way to procrastinate further on building the cannery, I decided to scratch a small freight shed out of styrene:



Wood I do ok with, but styrene continues to stymie me. I can CA it together, but the painting & weathering part just seems to elude me.
I painted the walls Floquil SP lettering grey as base, then sprayed (lightly) with a flat white primer I had.
That worked out alright.
But then I "washed" it with stain from my Big Jug O' Stain, which was ok.
Took some weathering powders to it, & it just got smudgy.

Also got in a bit of a hurry, so I glued the bottom posts on 1. last & 2. by hand so they came out a little caddywompus.

Here's the prototype, from along the Columbia River somewhere between Portland and Astoria:



And here it is sitting on the layout:






Still need some stairs at the dock end and for the truck-side door.
And crates & stuff.

I think it'll come together more when I install it proper on the layout and get some dirt around the pilings.

Otherwise, it's nice to have another structure on the layout!
Thanks for looking.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Haven't gotten a whole lot done on the Mt. Coffin & Columbia River layout lately.
Though I did finally get the shingles on the roof, as well as some doors and a chimney:







I need to go back and stick some glue under the shingles, as the heat causes them to curl up a bit.
Thanks for looking.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Thanks, Ulrich.

I'm really enjoying seeing your modules grow, too.  Great work!

For those of you unfamilier with the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest, here are some picts of cannerys in the early 1900s for reference:

As you can see, many options! (especially since the buildings were added to in somewhat haphazard ways as they expanded).

Check out the angle of the end of the far left building in relation to the square end of the building with the "Pioneer Packing Co." sign parallel to it.

An upper addition wouldn't be much, mainly to add some mass and make the structure look a little different than the engine shed (just realized that they both have the same basic shape). I'm planning on adding an awning & a bunch of cannery stuff outside (including pile of fish), but I'm still playing around with heights, roof angles, door sizes and styles, etc.

[Anonymous]

mcfunkeymonkey

Thanks for looking.

We have to thank you for sharing your great work with us! I am more than just impressed by it.

Eager to see more coming!

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Thanks, Matt!
It doesn't look caricatural because I take the Groucho Marx glasses off the locos & cars right before the photos ;)

Been mocking up the cannery, mainly because 1) I'm tired of looking at an empty lot & 2) it was too hot to work in the garage the last couple days (over 100 inside) and cutting cardstock in the air-conned kitchen felt much better (even remembered to use a piece of scrapwood underneath while using the xacto at the kitchen table).

At first I thought I'd go for a nice wide, massive cannery:



But somehow it didn't quite do it for me, plus I was at a loss to figure out the funkey roof angles.
I'm sure I could have Picassoed it together, but then I came up with a better design:












Which I'm liking a bit better.
There's room for three car spots: two at the loading docks and one almost a team track at the rear delivery door.
I have proto-photos of either size & style, so it's really what fits the layout.

As it's the central structure / industry of the whole layout, it'd be nice to get the massiveness of it across: big wide wall of fish.
But the big one is a little silly, too.
I'm debating about putting a second story on the smaller one to give it some mass / shape. I'll mock it up tomorrow & see how it looks. A second story (smaller, like the offices the canneries had up there) might be too much & crowd the already crowded track that serves it. We'll see!


Here's what it looks like from a wider angle so you can see how it fits in the scene:




Any comments, thoughts welcome.
Thanks for looking.

[Sailormatlac]

I've been following your progress for a while, but I must say I'm amazed how you make wise use of such a small space without getting caricatural. Excellent and inspiring work.

Matt

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Nn3 20T coal cars from RLW I altered for N & superdetailed:

 

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Chris333's Harlem Terminal trackwork inspired me to get off my caboose and rebuild another turnout fixture, this one a 4-turnout fixture with two curved, one wye and one ??.  The goal is to rip out the current fixture, which works probably 90% good, and replace it with improved turnouts with powered frogs.

Before the BlackenIt bath:

After the BlackenIt:

Checking to make sure it actually "turned out" the correct curvature:

Next steps:
Build styrene bases for handthrows / slide switches (they go under the throwbar in a pocket)
Gorilla Glue bases / install handthrows & slide switches
Wire frogs
Test all works, electrically, BEFORE I rip out the old
Install new fixture
Slip replacement ties under the rails
Re-scenick & re-ballast

If this one turns out anything like the 2-turnout fixture I already rebuilt on the left side of the layout, then it's gonna be sooper-smooth railsailing from now on!

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Got some 23W 4100k CFLs to light up the light box I just made out of foamcore board & poster paper, but they help with the layout picts as well:

I'm just happy to have a light box.

Tried out some (unfinished) models in it today:

Funny how the camera "exposes" all the things you still need to do (like weathering trucks).

Still need to fiddle around with the lighting & exposure combos, but on the right track.

Thanks for looking.

[R. T. POTEET]

I'll repeat something I said on Weekend Photo Fun this last weekend: you appear to have carving rockwork down to the Nth degree.

[BerkshireSteam]

Hate, or love, to see what you could do with a 38x54 area. Just happens to be the size of our current, and very much unused, dinning table. This did get me thinking of trying something out in the 24x48 size area since I have a couple of OSB quarter sheets laying around.

[Colorado_Mac]

Fantastic.  That bridge rocks.  Actually, so do the rocks!

[Geared Steam]

Awesome modeling, I enjoyed every post!

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Been experimenting with coloring cedar shingles.

Before I glue them to the single-engine shed & blacksmith shop (next to water tower in previous post), I wanted to try them out on another structure, which left the only other one on my layout so far (& my first styrene scratchbuild): the coal unloading dock shed / office.

I had already printed out shinglish patterns on regular paper & glued it to the styrene subroofing:

Which looked ok, but flat.  I added the stained shingles to one side:

Took an exacto knife blade & slipped it under the rows to pry up a little 3-D.  Looks alrighty.  Might need a little bit of powder or drybrushing (or anything else people suggest).

And a pict showing the team track.  A small freight house will go where the truck is whenever I get around to building it:

 

Thanks for looking.
Happy Monday.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Thanks, Wayne.  If you want to see some really good N-scale logging stuff, check out Nscaler44's albums on Trainboard here.  He does amazing work.

Lee: Thanks for the compliment.  I've been following your work through your website & periodical articles for a couple years now, and am a big fan of your work & that you share so much of it with other modelers.  Thanks thrice!

 Picked up the tripod today, waited until there was some good sunshine filtering through the garage door (was overcast this morning), and then went more nuts with my new camera. I love aperture adjustments, shutter speeds, depth of field, tripods, and the 2 second timer that allows me to press the shutter button without rocking the whole thing.

So bear with me here. You've seen this stuff before, just not almost all in focus!

Ten-Wheeler (still minus traction tires) pulling 20 ton coal cars across the bridge:



The late-freight pulls into Mt. Coffin at Twilight (hmmm... that sounds like a good idea for a book):



20 ton coal cars dumping their load:




4-6-0 pulling a slow freight of Swift cars over the Columbia River:




Movin' out!




Thanks for bearing with me as I go a bit bonkers with my new camera.

I promise to only post pictures of additions / progress from now on.

 

[wm3798]

Incredible work.  Simply incredible.  Thanks for sharing your progress.

Lee

[sfcouple]

Wow! Your modeling skills are truly wonderful, and your hand laid turnouts are works of art. Congratulations on a job very well done.  

Thank you for posting all these photos: I'm in the middle of building a HO layout of a general logging theme and I have downloaded some of your photos for future reference.  

Wayne

[mcfunkeymonkey]

New Camera!  Woot!

Not much work on the layout: been staining some shingles (roofing) for the engine shed, got some WS foliage clusterclumps and started planting some non-pine trees (FINALLY!) at the lower levels. (You can still see some T-pins holding them up as the glue dries). Still need moocho more of all kinds of trees, but it's nice to see some variety & more textures showing up.

I also moved my layout to a small piece of benchwork against the garage wall: need the workbench space for the "summer shunting shelf project" my daughter & I are working on, and it has better lighting for photos.

And the big news: new camera!
One I can actually control the focus, aperture & shutter speed on!

So while the first shot is handheld & full auto, the rest are long exposures with (FINALLY!) some depth of field. Yeay!
And since my tripod is at my parents' house (until tomorrow), these were taken with the camera sitting on the layout or another table.

[Click on them and open them to full size to see all the nifty detail / oopsies: I love my new camera!]

 

 

 

 

 

[That last one is to get a sense of how small this little layout is: I keep forgetting myself!]

Ok for first shots: can't wait to figure out the camera & get the tripod (and maybe a halogen spotlight).
Time to stay focused!

 

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Thanks!

The turnouts I first put in (with dead frogs) worked alright, especially with the Kato NW2 (which seems to be able to roll over scale cows & not derail), but as I wanted to run smaller, earlier steam I found I really wanted powered frogs, so I'm in the process of replacing all the fixtures.

First I traced the existing routes:

And then used the trace to line up the #6 straight & 12"/9" curved templates (Fast Tracks).  Sprayed adhesive , then placed the pc board ties on which I built the two turnouts as one fixture, which really helps for smooth curves and running:

 

Rebuilding also allows for seveal other improvements, such as using BlackenIt to darken the fixtures:

 

[BlackenIt on the left, untreated on the right]

Even though I paint the ties & tracks (I find spraypainting with Floquile Grimy Black works fine), the BlackenIt helps the non-painted area around the points blend in, as well as tones down the rail tops.

The other great discovery (suggested by Chris333 on the TB forum) was Dedeco ultra thin cutting disks for the Dremel, which are much thinner than the Dremel "thin" cutting disk: 

[Dremel "thin" disk cut at top, Dedeco Ultra Thin cuts at bottom, and on BlackenIt turnout in previous photo]

I powered the frogs by installing slide switches under the throwbar in a pocket made from the same styrene base for the Caboose Handthrow.

Now, every engine I have, even ones with spotty pickup on curves, rolls through the two turnouts smooth & even.

The next fixture on the list will have four turnouts (two curved, one straight, and one wye), so I'm looking forward to having the same smooth rolling & powered frogs soon!

 

[-E-C-Mills]

Nice work on the turnouts!  Thanks for sharing.

Erik

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Thanks, all, for the kind words.

Since the layout is so small, I'm trying to take the time with the details.

And I really need to get a decent camera and an extra light for photography.
My ancient Japanese pocket-size is about to give up the ghost, and right now my "photography lighting" is just opening the garage door:

 And here's without the garage door open:

So hopefully new camera & spot light soon.

Having the cannery will help with the composition as well as giving the trains something to do!

Sorry for dumping so many photos at once, but it'll be a more normal interval of updates from now on ;)

Thanks for following along, and for all comments / criticisms / suggestions.

[Mntneer]

That looks incredible.  Love the pics.

[ClinchValleySD40]

That is some really beautiful modeling.   Would love to see some more updates.

[Anonymous]

mcfunkeymonkey - what a wonderful, atmospheric layout!

I am glad to see you´re back!

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Right now I'm building a single-engine shed with blacksmith shop:

Will have lit roaring forge & interior lamps when done.

On site:

Still need cedar shingles, forge, machinery & lamps.

At X2011 in Sacto found a groovy old Kato (C50) that somebody tricked out into a D&RG steamer, though still with whack tender:

Put in a DZ125 decoder. Runs groovy. Will swap in an Atlas mogul or other tender soon (3-axle tender not happy with tight turns!)

Otherwise, here's how we're looking so far:

 

Not sure if I can embed a video, but here's a short video of dubious camerawork but it does give some sense of the layout as a whole. Well, the waterfront side, at least:

cozZTuSOLS4 

Still need a lot more trees! (and a firewatch on top, and a cannery, and a coalbin, and a mine, and.........)

Thanks for taking the time to check this stuff out!

All comments welcome!