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Georgetown & Allen Mountain Railroad 5.0

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  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Saturday, July 8, 2017 4:46 PM

I just couldn't wait until tomorrow morning... 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Saturday, July 8, 2017 3:13 PM

It's all been cleaned. Turned out to be a lot easier than I thought. Now I have to get more plywood again...

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Saturday, July 8, 2017 1:33 PM

I've laid all the track I can right now:

 

 

 

 

 

That means that I now have to clean up the area against the back wall of the room so that I can continue:

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Friday, July 7, 2017 5:23 PM

I finished laying track on the branch line as far as the roadbed goes right now and started laying track at the small main line station:

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Friday, July 7, 2017 7:36 AM

The curves inside the tunnel are 15" for the branch line and 20" for the main line. Visible curves are 32" or bigger for the branch line and 39" or bigger for the main line.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Thursday, July 6, 2017 9:37 PM

Michael:

What are the radii for the loops in the last picture?

Thanks,

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Thursday, July 6, 2017 3:22 PM

I thought having a week off would allow me to get a lot done but my wife had other plans...

Anyway, I managed to lay track across the new bridge today:

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 10:17 AM

Plenty of hot glue mounts the bridge:

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Pittsburgh, PA
  • 1,796 posts
Posted by JoeinPA on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 10:04 AM

Thanks for the tutorial Michael. The results look very convincing.

Joe

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 8:35 AM

The final step: a wash with an alcohol/india ink mix:









  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 6:21 PM

While I was painting the bridge & abutments I cut out a piece of the roadbed where the bridge will go:

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 6:08 PM

Third step: a thin, uneven coat of spackling (I use the DRYDEX brand):

 

 

This has to completely dry over night before the 4. and last step in the process.

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 4:30 PM

Second step: a coat with diluted Woodland Scenics Top Coat Concrete (ST1454):

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 4:01 PM

First step to making cardboard look like concrete:

I paint everything with a light grey acrylic paint thinned with water. It's supposed to be uneven and blotchy. Looks terrible but that's what I'm after:

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 2:57 PM

ROBERT PETRICK
But I gotta ask and I'm not sure how to word it . . . are there a bunch of elves who come in at night helping you?

Nope, just me Big Smile!

  • Member since
    January 2014
  • 1,500 posts
Posted by ROBERT PETRICK on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 2:55 PM

Hey Michael-

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Great work!

But I gotta ask and I'm not sure how to word it . . . are there a bunch of elves who come in at night helping you?

Robert 

LINK to SNSR Blog


  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 2:09 PM

I need a bridge where the branch line crosses the main:

 

...so I made this:

 

This is obviously some kind of homage to John Allen who loved complicated bridges and I always wanted to something similar. This is by far not as magnificent as any of John's big bridges but it's the best I can do in the space I have.

I've been asked to demonstrate again how I make my cardboard bridge abutments look like concrete so I will show that process step by step.

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 7:55 AM

hon30critter
I love the mountains, but I have to ask. How are you going to get to that hidden track if you have a derailment in there?

There is enough room to get to the track from underneath. And I don't believe in derailments anyway Wink!

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Monday, July 3, 2017 10:01 PM

Hi Michael:

I love the mountains, but I have to ask. How are you going to get to that hidden track if you have a derailment in there?

I know that derailments on straight track are rare, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have a derailment on the curves leading to the hidden track which might get dragged quite a way into the tunnel before things fall completely off the track. Murphy's Law.

I think I might have made the mountains so that they can be lifted out. My 2 Cents

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Monday, July 3, 2017 5:17 PM

I still had a box of plaster cloth left over from the last G&AM. Took me 2 hours including a coffe break to cover up about 20' of mountain:

 

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Monday, July 3, 2017 3:09 PM

I added the screen wire to shape the mountain:

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Monday, July 3, 2017 1:22 PM

I started to think about mountains again so with a little hot glue and some leftover wood cut into small pieces I got started behind Gustavsburg:

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Monday, July 3, 2017 10:59 AM

I didn't feel like laying track today so I had to find something else to do: I added side walls to my hidden tunnel track so the trains can't fall down if an accident happens.

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Sunday, July 2, 2017 5:38 PM

I kept laying track until I reached the next station on the mainline:

 

 

 

I then filled the siding with a train to see what will fit in there:

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Sunday, July 2, 2017 1:31 PM

I've laid some more main line track:

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Sunday, July 2, 2017 10:46 AM

Early this morning I gave the stone arch bridge a coat of thinned white glue to seal everything:

 

Now that the bridge has dried I cut out the roadbed and glued the bridge in place:

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Saturday, July 1, 2017 2:41 PM

All three mainline tracks now run across the bridge and the guardrails have been installed as well:

 

The stone arch bridge has been dry brushed with several different greys and the mortar lines have been filled:

  • Member since
    December 2010
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Posted by michaelrose55 on Saturday, July 1, 2017 2:01 PM

rrinker
 I'm beginning to think I may want a laser cutter...                    --Randy

You want one, believe me Big Smile!

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Reading, PA
  • 30,002 posts
Posted by rrinker on Saturday, July 1, 2017 1:08 PM

michaelrose55

 

 
rrinker

 Is the stone pattern in that stone bridge done with the laser cutter as well, or is that a layer of other material applied over the core? 

                                      --Randy

 

 

 

 

That's all done with the laser Big Smile.

 

 I'm beginning to think I may want a laser cutter...

                   --Randy

 


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
    December 2010
  • 967 posts
Posted by michaelrose55 on Saturday, July 1, 2017 9:45 AM

rrinker

 Is the stone pattern in that stone bridge done with the laser cutter as well, or is that a layer of other material applied over the core? 

                                      --Randy

 

 

That's all done with the laser Big Smile.

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