One of the problems with having a Golden Spike Ceremony is that afterwards it gets really easy to lose focus on the construction work that still needs to be done and start playing with trains on the Plywood Pacific; despite the clutter, despite the tools and paint and supplies and whatnot laying all over the place.
The first day was important. I had to check the turnouts and wiring and make sure there weren't any dead spots or shorts. The second day was also important. I had to unpack and check out the engines and rolling stock, some of which hadn't been used in four or five years. You know, quality control.
So, while I was at it I snapped a photo with my cell phone, so please forgive the fuzzy image. Also, don't pay too much attention to the pink and blue styrofoam. The sheets are rough cut and placed loosely into position to start getting an idea as to the landforms. They need to be carved, rasped, spackled, and plastered, and then covered with cheesecloth and molded rocks. And don't pay any attention to the colors. They won't always be pink and blue. One day soon everything will be painted brown, brown, brown, tan, and brown.
Here're a few photos of a pair of AC4400s hauling coal across the Chief Washakie Bridge in Wind River Canyon. Not exactly up to par for Weekend Photo Fun or Show Me Something, but I'll get there . . .
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
I’m still doing a lot of work and making a lot of progress on the layout, but once again, the results aren’t particularly photogenic. Yes, I am running trains and it might appear that I’m just playing around. And yes, I can see how it might look like that, but I am running trains over every inch of track purposefully: I’m looking for dead spots, dirty sections, and listening for the tell-tale squeak and grind that might indicate rail gauge issues. I’m unpacking trains (some that are known to be ornery and some that are known to be solid and reliable, like old comfortable shoes) and running them forwards and backwards through every turnout at scale 1 MPH and 100 MPH. I’m trying to induce derailments, to cause shorts and uncouplings, to run switches and jam up sidings; I’m watching headlights and passenger car interior lights for flickering. I’m looking for trouble, and if I can’t find any, I’m trying to cause some. So far, so good.
The command station and wiring are working. The booster section is working. The duplex throttle is throttling and the auto-reversers are reversing as expected. I’m running trains through every possible scenario (and some not-so-possible scenarios), and things appear to be handling the work. I can throw all the turnouts from the hand-held throttle, from the push-buttons on the fascia, and from my laptop connected to the layout via Digitrax PR3Xtra.
My latest thing: I’ve installed JMRI and have been playing with it the past few days. I’ve built rosters of all turnouts, all detection blocks, and all signal masts and signal heads. I’m working through the process of programming logic to control the signaling system as either ABS or as CTC with the laptop serving as a dispatcher’s console. Interesting (and challenging) stuff. Climbing the learning curve takes actual effort, but it can be a lot of fun!
Here's a photo. I don't particularly like showing work in progress (I'd prefer to show finished scenes to get the full effect), but since most of the members of this community are brothers in the craft and have taken the sacred oath of fellowship, I'll continue posting some (warts and all).
A PRR Broadway Limited stretches its legs in the intermodal yard (notice the forlorn containers stacked up?) while the giant Godzilla drill hovers nearby. A UP SD80/90 appears to have gotten lost trying to travel cross-country.
Your bridge scene, over Wind River canyon is looking great!
When you started this project, someone said that this would be one of your favorite spots to photograph trains.
I can look past the wood, foam, etc, and see great rock cliffs, and the rushing river below, and high cliffs above the tracks, covered with trees and foliage, and the train winding it's way through it all. Your scenery already looks like it will dwarf the trains.
Mike.
My You Tube
Since I'm adding photos, here's one more:
A pair of 4-axle Dash 8-40Bs and a venerable SD60 in CSX Bright Future paint scheme cross the Colorado Bridge hauling mixed freight.
Another view. Notice the 'hidden' staging on the lower level.
This three-span bridge is a temporary structure holding the place (and allowing traffic to cross the river inlet channel) until I finish scratch-building the Win Littlefield Bridge. Each span is 22 inches, and the total length is 66 inches. When completed, the single-span Littlefield Bridge will be 66 inches overall length. The piers are made from 2x4's, and since this is temporary structure there was no particular effort to gussie them up other than a quick coat of rattle can paint.
There are many such multi-span camel arch bridges across major rivers in North America. This one is loosely based on the Big Four Bridge across the Ohio near Louisville, Kentucky. I'm okay with this holding position for a while, quite a while if necessary. A very good modeler had a temporary plywood bridge in a very prominent spot on his layout for at least three years that I know of. I hope to have something before then.
Here's a sketch showing the areas that have detection blocks, signals, and motor-driven turnouts installed. I'm working on the control plan for ABS and CTC using JMRI Panel Pro. Details to follow in a day or so.
This sketch was drawn using AutoCAD, but there is a drawing feature inside Panel Pro that will be used to create the dispatcher console. It uses animated icons for the various components of the system. The icons are also hot buttons that can be used to throw or close switches and change aspects of the signal heads. It can highlight blocks and sections that are occupied. It can allow the dispatcher to hold or release signals and create and manage routes. It can also be used as a throttle to run trains. And it has some flexibility so that the user can create his own icons and draw background images and throttles and whatnot.
Here's a sketch of the layout control plan showing the (relative) locations of all turnouts, detection blocks and sections, signal masts, and signal heads within the portion of the layout that is signalized.
Signals will be NJI double-headed three-over-three four aspect (red, green, yellow, flashing yellow) black masts and two aspect (red, green) black dwarfs. All signals will be tall masts except those in the chemical-plant-paper-mill-complex which will be the dwarfs.
JMRI and Digitrax SE8C require two addresses for the four aspect signals and one address for the two aspect signals. Addresses and orientations are shown on the sketch for the placement of the signals.
This sketch was drawn using AutoCAD, and I'm using it to work out the logic for control of all signalization on the layout. I have a working panel layout inside JMRI, but it is even cruder than this. It does function, however; it's just a little ragged. I'll piddle with that later.
The signal plan is complete. JMRI has been piddled with sufficiently so that the logic seems correct and the signals are working as expected. The signals themselves have been wired and temporarily mounted on a scrap piece of wood and tested, and they also work as expected.
Now it is time to actually drill holes in the layout and install them. How far (or how close) should the signal mast be to the point of switch? In 1:1 feet or 1:160 inches. Keep in mind there are tortoises directly underneath. The tall masts are 4-aspect NJI N-scale 3-over-3s, and the dwarfs are 2-aspect shorties.
Thanks.
Now that the landforms are shaping up, it's time to put on my Tunnel-Portals-R-Us hat. They're not very fancy, and in fact one is very un-fancy, but they fit the prototype and they serve their purpose and they're easy to make. Fabricated from ABS sheet and painted with gray primer. They'll be painted antique white or dove gray or something and then beaten up a little and distressed and stained to look like old concrete.
Hey Robert:
Things are coming along nicely. I haven't checked in for a while. The bridges and tunnel portals look great. I will be interested to see your signal system in action once it is installed.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
ROBERT PETRICKHow far (or how close) should the signal mast be to the point of switch?
This is where Google maps sattelite view is useful. Pick a sopt on your protype, find the signal and with a right click google will measure it for you. I just measured one on the section of the NS that I'm modeling and the signal is 26 feet in front of a crossover. 3 others I measured are between 50 and 60 feet.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
There's another thread that deals with carving rocks from foam, and it contains some pretty good advice. One idea is mentioned by several posters: mainly, just do it! With a sharp chisel or ice pick in one hand and a wire brush in the other, let loose and flail away. I agree with that attitude, with some slight refinement. Just do it, but with a little restraint. Like many design elements in our hobby, landforms can follow and emulate a particular prototype, and I plan to do just that.
The Wind River Canyon occupies a 17-foot long by 5-foot wide peninsula on my layout. Many modelers would consider it a sin to devote so much benchwork real estate to a single design element, and they make a pretty good point. My prototype is (oddly enough) the Wind River Canyon, an officially designated Wild and Wonderful scenic route through central Wyoming that contains some of the oldest rock formations on the planet. I am attempting to reproduce several of them (the formations, not the canyons) at 1:160 scale. The area of interest for my layout is a small portion of the canyon gorge in the vicinity of Boysen Dam, just south of the picturesque resort town of Thermopolis (so named because of the world-famous hot springs). The gorge is about 1500 feet deep with sheer, solid rock walls. On the model the landform strata go about 18" below and 16" above track level. As steep as they appear, they are actually compressed vertically by about one-quarter height. Even N-scale requires selective compression.
I live in the Big Horn Basin, and the only way out to the south goes through the Wind River Canyon. My research for this project has consisted mainly of driving back-and-forth through the canyon dozens of times, marveling at the rugged scenery, and muttering to myself "Dang! I should get some photos!" Finally one day I literally jumped out of my pickup and snapped a few with my cell phone (hey, 12 megapixels . . . not bad!). My friends and neighbors who see the layout in person will (I hope) recognize the area. My geologist friends will know the different strata, but they will almost certainly cringe that I reproduced them haphazardly and out of proper sequence. Oh well, creative license and whatnot. More on that later. For now, here are a few photos.
ROBERT PETRICKThe Wind River Canyon occupies a 17-foot long by 5-foot wide peninsula on my layout. Many modelers would consider it a sin to devote so much benchwork real estate to a single design element
When the scenery looks like that how could it be wrong? I love it and think that it might be the highlight of your layout. The spaces like that make the other places seem farther apart. It adds a lot of 'miles' to your layout.
Lone Wolf and Santa Fe When the scenery looks like that how could it be wrong? I love it and think that it might be the highlight of your layout. The spaces like that make the other places seem farther apart. It adds a lot of 'miles' to your layout.
Hey thanks, Lone Wolf. A specific design criteria is double mainlines throughout for long, continuous runs that allow trains to stretch their legs. I like trains to run; to pick up stuff here and deliver it over there, and over there is usually a long way away with lots of nothing in between. Open space, fresh air, panoramic vistas; that sort of thing. I like the empty scenery.
I just took a Google ride North on 20, from the dam to Thermopolis. I loved the rugged rocks through Gold Creek.
I'm anxious to see how your layout develops.
I hope this doesn't come across like a dull geology class lecture . . .
Here is a brief description of the various prototype rock formations I am trying to capture, starting from the bottom and working upward:
The lowest rocks are pre-Cambrian basalt and mafic granites. They range in age from 1 to 3 billion years old (billion, with a b). Basalt is black, but when you look at the granites (standing back a little ways and squinting) they appear gray. But up close you see that they're black with little bitty white specks or they're white with little bitty black specks. With some areas tending toward green and pink. There are also streaks and inclusions of brilliant white quartzite here and there.
Above that is a thin, uniform layer of Flathead sandstone. About 400 million years old. Rusty brown and golden ochre. The layered look is easily effected by using 2" rigid Styrofoam insulation stacked pancake-style.
Above that are the Gallatin and Gros Ventre (pronounced grow-vahn) limestone formations. They are generally light in color, ranging from grayish-tans to light brownish-grays. They are blocky, craggy, and severely fractured. They are the source of the large boulders strewn all over the canyon. Some very large. I mean very large. The size of houses. Here's a photo of one that came to rest in the middle of the river. Casually sitting there today, just minding its own business.
That brings us to about track level. Next is the Chugwater formation. About 200 million years old. Red sandstone, ranging in color from burnt pumpkin to colonial brick red. I lived in Atlanta for 20 years, and believe me, Georgia clay pales in comparison.
Above that, and topping the layout, is the Madison limestone. It looks kinda like creamy yellow mottled clotted cottage cheese that is long past its expiration date and needs to be tossed out. The Madison is a surface aquifer and actually supports vegetation. Sparse vegetation. Very sparse. Wyoming. One thing about the Chugwater and the Madison is that the interface between them produces some interesting, typical Western sights: castle rocks, chimney rocks, and in extreme cases, table rocks. Out in the open plains, the rigid limestone sits comfortably atop the striated, layered sandstone and has done so for many eons. But, when a river cuts a rift and exposes the sandstone face, it crumbles like Granny's dry cornbread. When this happens the upper solid limestone is undermined and breaks off, leaving sheer vertical walls. I haven't seen any table rocks in Wind River Canyon, but there are plenty of chimneys and I hope to include one or two.
mbinsewi I'm anxious to see how your layout develops.
So am I. I've done rocks before, of course. Almost everyone on this forum has. But never this large. I'm not entirely certain how it will turn out.
In case anyone thinks I'm exaggerating the colors (which, I admit, is a real possibility), here're a few actual rocks from the Chugwater formation. I chose small rocks because I plan to use them as boulders on my layout. I specifically looked for highly-fractionated rocks so that they wouldn't look too out of scale. Shown alongside a swatch from the local paint store.
Making progress.
You're poaching my prototype, Robert!
Just kidding, of course. The Wind River Canyon lends itself so well to modeling that I'm suprised we don't see more renditions of it.
I'm curious as to the actual location of the Chief Washakie bridge. Is it before or after the Boysen Dam as you head north towards Thermopolis? I'm aware of the through truss bridge north of the dam, but know little about the area just south (except that there's a decent-sized tunnel there).
Also, will you be modeling any of the remnants of the line before it was realinged for the new dam? There is some rather prominent old grade and even an abandoned tunnel north of the dam. When I get home I'll post a couple of photos (right now I'm at the office).
I'm really looking forward to following your progress, especially as I plan to start my own version of this area in a few months, after I retire.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
RWSlater That is one of the challenges of modeling the west we just have such large open spaces. Living in northern Arizona I have no problem believing in the color of your rocks.
Hey Robert,
When people from out-of-state come to visit and we drive around, it's kinda hard to get them to grasp that the mountains they're looking at are 40 or 50 (or more) miles away. It's good to know there are modelers on this forum who understand the problems of trying to depict those expanses in a model that is only 2 or 3 feet away.
I'm a little nervous about using such a bold color for a fairly large section of rocks and still be able to show some of the other formations in their contrasting colors. I'm trying to get the overall feel for the place, and I don't want the whole thing to look like some zebra-striped birthday cake or something. And blogging about it in real time seems painfully slow. Thanks for your patience.
In one thing to think about with the colors of your rocks is a term we used in scale modeling called scale color. Generally you want to lighten your colors as an item gets smaller from the original like 1:160. By lighting your color you help it look more natural and avoid that zebra strip look. Also a final wash of a neutral color might help tie the colors together.
If you already know all this disregard. I was just exited that there was something I could share besides great work comments.
Brunton You're poaching my prototype, Robert! Just kidding, of course. The Wind River Canyon lends itself so well to modeling that I'm suprised we don't see more renditions of it.
Hey Mark-
I suppose you could make a pretty good case that I did steal your ideas. I've been working on my layout for about a year, but I've known about yours and your website for quite a while; several years, I guess. I don't remember exactly how I first saw the CB&Q in Wyoming. Maybe I came across it while doing online research, or maybe by just click-clicking on the link in your signature at the bottom of one of your posts. At any rate, you should feel kinda proud that your ideas are worth stealing. After all, people only steal the good stuff. Just kidding, of course.
To address one of your comments . . .
Last year, I wrote an article for the Layout Design Journal (here's a link to their website: LDSIG ) describing in detail how I went about researching, designing, and constructing the Wind River Canyon peninsula of my layout. In that article I mentioned that I have a pretty expansive view of the freelanced portion of freelanced prototypical (and now that I think about it, I'm also pretty fast and loose with the prototypical part as well). The Chief Washakie Bridge is about a quarter-mile downstream (north, towards Thermopolis) of Boysen Dam. Here's a photo:
It is not officially named that. I made up the name. I'm not sure it is named at all; and even if it is named, it probably has a cold hard designation like B17.1-53 or something. Not very romantic. Chief Washakie sounds way cooler. Plus, when you look at the photo and compare it to what I actually built, you'll see that I changed the design a little. For dramatic effect and whatnot. See previous paragraph.
Anyhow, glad to see you're gonna start building the CB&Q in Wyoming. I notice that the current layout as well as the website have been changed and updated. Good. I'll be following your progress.
Sunday afternoon, not much going on, nothing worth watching on TV, so I decided to CA glue a few ABS bases to NJI signal masts.
The closeup doesn't look all that good. A lot of strange reflections and whatnot. I guess close macro-focus needs a little work. Nevertheless, still making progress.
It's been a while since I last updated this blog.
Here are a couple of photos I posted in another thread, so I figured I might as well add them here.
Don't get too excited about the soup cans and mayonaise jars and matboard buildings. They represent buildings and structures and whatnot that I will scratchbuild soon. I'm a big believer in the concept of placeholders: those things you see are about the right size and shape, and I am always keeping an eye out and checking mass and volume and texture and viewpoint vistas. This stuff really helps. BTW, that smokestack is a 22" tapered table leg. It works out to about 300 scale feet tall; moderate size for a modern chemical-plant-paper-and-pulp-mill.
Still have a lot of other things to do. It's kinda hard to tell, but I am making progress.
Looking good! Your rock work is moving along, with great results.
I used mock-ups too, mostly card board buildings, and hot glue. I think it's an excellent way to design and visualize, and get a handle on how much space a structure needs, or takes up. For me it helped locating my tight yard and industrial switching tracks.
I haven't posted any updates in a while.
I generally wait until I have something photogenic to show so that I can post updated photos, but nothing I've done recently is particularly photogenic. I have been working on the layout, and I have been making steady progress. I've been working on the landforms, and the surfaces are pretty much complete. Most of the rock work in Wind River Canyon is in place, and a lot of it has been painted a base color of various mixed-in-place earth tones. There is still a lot to do with carving and shaping the faces, and there is a lot to do with adding color and shading and accenting here and there. I suppose the next photos I post will be of the canyon, in whatever shape it is in at the time.
Most of the layout is flat, and one thing I've been doing lately is taping and mudding the joints in the plywood, and then painting the entire surface with a coat of Sahara Sand. That will be the base color underneath the landscaping and whatnot, but for now what I wanted to do was the kind of seal the plywood and get rid of the textures and the grain. The top of the benchwork is 1/2" BC plywood. The B-side (the good side) has a bunch of football-shaped patches, and I wanted to cover those so that they don't show through even under the ground foam and landscaping. Another thing I've been doing is finishing the fascia. My goal was to have a continuous, unbroken edge with jointless seams and smooth curves. I also did not want exposed nail holes or screw heads. I think I've achieved that, and I'm pretty much satisfied with the results. But even so, the results don't photograph particularly well right now. Maybe after the fascia is painted.
Anyhow, here's my update. Hope it doesn't disappoint.
Very impressed! I visited your blog too, and your layout looks great! The best part is that you occasionally write funny things which make each post even more fun to read! Keep up the good work!
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
I've been thinking . . .
There are a lot of modelers who take the one-square-foot-at-a-time approach to scenicking. I know some who do, and it's a perfectly good approach to take.
My approach is to bring up large areas of the layout at the same time at more or less the same rate. There are identified milestones along the way where the layout is in a stable condition and can be left idle indefinitely. One particular milestone even has a name: The Plywood Pacific (or something similar).
I reached the PP state about six months ago, and even had a Golden Spike ceremony; refreshments and high fives all around. All trackwork was in, all wiring was in, the Digitrax system was in and completely functional. I could run trains over every scale mile of the layout (and I did; you know, testing and whatnot). The layout was stable, and I could have left it that way for years.
At this point, the one-square-foot guys would focus on a small bite-sized area and do a soup-to-nuts scenick and install and paint everything from the bare naked plywood to the ground cover, the vegetation, the rockwork, the ballasting, the buildings, the structures, the mailboxes, the fire hydrants, the telephone poles . . . up to and including the little dog lounging on the front porch. Then move over a foot and do the same. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Like I said, a perfectly sound approach. My question is, how many take this approach to scenicking? This isn't a pop quiz, so there's no reason to panic. I'm just curious.
Thanks,
I haven't posted much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. In addition to constant, regular, minor progress on the layout, I've been scratch-building the long-span high-level bridge shown at the bottom of the track layout plan. Here is a photo of the end of the lower deck:
Some people have said (only half-jokingly) that it is somehow unfair for me to use a CNC milling machine for scratch-building. Maybe they have a point. But nevertheless, I'm gonna take a moment to pat myself on the back.