Sorry to start this early gang but I will be out all weekend and I actually have something to post for once.
This week was a busy week. It started off by working on stripping my b&o work caboose and repainting and slightly weathering it. It needs a road name and some numbers but here is what I have so far.
I also worked on my rotary plow. It is an athern like the work caboose and was painted in great northern brown colors. It has seperatly applied grab irons and some light weathering as well. I converted it to a diesel rig with the addition of an rs-3 fuel tank underneath. It still needs a road name and numbers.(If you haven't already guessed I am still trying to find my freelance name).
I also am working on my caboose fleet. I had an old white metal kit caboose that I cleaned up from the previous owner and have primed it and added kadee trucks to it. The other 5 I am stripping and repainting to a orange color as well as retrucking and weathering.
I also worked on my mdc climax. I stripped it from its wringling brothers paint scheme and have repainted it black and am now in the process of detailing it. Hopefully soon I can upgrade the chasis to a bachman 44 ton like geared steam has done. I also stripped the paint off my shay and have taken it completly apart to rebuild. I found some drive shafts on sale at micro mark that I am going to see if i can get to work for my missing driveshafts. I will detail it out as well and try to add a can motor and decoder to it.
As you can see with the hot weather in ohio this week i have been busy in the cool basement.
Mike
alco's forever!!!!! Majoring in HO scale Minorig in O scale:)
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
jeffrey-wimberly wrote:
Jeff your park is turning out great. I have liked your recent posts of weathering and this park progress. You are definately improving!!!
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Wow, guys--early or not, it's a GREAT start to the weekend.
Mike: I really like what you've done with the MOW equipment. Just reminded me that my own Yuba Pass is supposedly over 6000 feet above sea level. I guess I'd better get a rotary, LOL! That one of yours sure looks inviting!
Jeff: After you told me how you built the fence, I'm still kind of blinking in admiration. I really LIKE that park scene of yours. Great work!
Grampys: As always, your modeling is just superb! I love those fuel distributor scenes--obviously Muesser's has got the market cornered, LOL! Lovely work.
Great work, EVERYONE!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Grampys Trains wrote:
Two questions:
1) how deep is the layout at this point?
and 2) where did you get them backdrops of the wooded hill and the houses?
rs2mike wrote:Thanks for the kind comments guys. This is my first real project. I have a gp-40 in the works as well. It is getting metal grab irons, lift rings, metal horn, bell, gps antenna, radio antenna, sunshades and possible a beacon light. It will get a custom paint job once I figure out what the pine river falls railroad paint scheme is. Thinking Green and yellow like the chiago north western.
Mike--
Just a thought. What era and what connecting railroads does the Pine Falls connect with? A complimentary color scheme with its largest connector wouldn't be out of the way. Reason I say this is that the little narrow-gauge railroad that served my home town of Nevada City had its only connection with the Southern Pacific in Colfax, CA, and even though it was the steam era, the NCNGRR adopted SP paint and lettering schemes for the most part--silver boiler fronts, Roman lettering--they even sent their little locos down on flatcars to the SP Sacramento Shops for the occasional rebuild. If CNW is your biggest connection, green and yellow would sound like a natural color scheme.
Good luck.
Okay, no layout photos right now, but something to let you all know that I am SERIOUS about re-doing the Sierra Buttes. It arrived a couple of days ago--across the street, accidentally--but it's here. The Topside Creeper, which is going to allow me to lean up and over and FINALLY get those darned rubber rocks on the Buttes.
Don Z, I hope you're watching, buddy! Now I don't have ANY excuses!
She's just MADE for the job, and half of the neighbors with big trucks are already drooling and wanting to know if they can 'rent' her. Pardon the mess under the front of the layout, but frankly, people, isn't that why we BUILD them so high, LOL?
Believe it or not, it folds up into a kind of teeny-tiny thing so that I can manipulate it pretty much where I want. Wow, I had no idea I made my mountains so HIGH!
NittanyLion wrote: Grampys Trains wrote:Two questions:1) how deep is the layout at this point?
I was think the same thing when I saw your pix. It looks pretty shallow between the track and the backdrop. But you did a great job adding visual depth to the scene.
Keep the axels greased and the tender full, we're rollin' now.
Ron
My layout progress posting Named "PRR Schuylkill Division"
Link to my Youtube videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/myowngod2
I bought a Union Pacific SD70M, which I then installed a DCC decoder (no sound), so know I can MU it to my AC4400CW (UP) with sound and run small manifests around the layout ( which I am just finishing the ballasting and mountain). Ill put a video on youtube of them when the SD70M has sound.
Colin
PS: Ill try to get some pics of it up this weekend. Its Athearn Genesis btw.
twhite wrote: rs2mike wrote:Thanks for the kind comments guys. This is my first real project. I have a gp-40 in the works as well. It is getting metal grab irons, lift rings, metal horn, bell, gps antenna, radio antenna, sunshades and possible a beacon light. It will get a custom paint job once I figure out what the pine river falls railroad paint scheme is. Thinking Green and yellow like the chiago north western.Mike--Just a thought. What era and what connecting railroads does the Pine Falls connect with? A complimentary color scheme with its largest connector wouldn't be out of the way. Reason I say this is that the little narrow-gauge railroad that served my home town of Nevada City had its only connection with the Southern Pacific in Colfax, CA, and even though it was the steam era, the NCNGRR adopted SP paint and lettering schemes for the most part--silver boiler fronts, Roman lettering--they even sent their little locos down on flatcars to the SP Sacramento Shops for the occasional rebuild. If CNW is your biggest connection, green and yellow would sound like a natural color scheme. Good luck. Tom
Great stuff everyone.
Grampys Trains wrote:Hi Ron and NittanyLion: Thanks for the kind words. It's 22 inches from the train to the backdrop. The backdrop photos are from "Realistic Backrounds" by DQCI. My local HS in Manheim, Pa. carries them, but they are available from Scenic Express, as well. They measure 38"x13", but I cut the sky part off and mount them spaced out from the backdrop 1/4" with hot glue. BTW, these photos are of Pittsburgh, Pa. and the surrounding terrain.
No matter how much I try to force myself to only see 22" it still seems like a lot more. It gives me some hope for the 30" depth of my layout. Although it appears that the different levels of height on your layout helps fool the eye.
Thanks for the backdrop lead. I'm planning everything out in advance and was looking for good looking ones that had the right feel. Given that I'm planning on putting myself in the Mon Valley a few miles south of Pittsburgh...
Here's what I've been working on for the past couple weeks. It's for highway overpass crossing over some tracks. It's for the club I belong to, here in Bound Brook, NJ.
This is the humble beginnings of the project. It is completely scratch built from styrene and brass rods.
This is the area it's going to be installed at.
I just painted it in the past day or 2. Here's how it looks so far.
This is a VIDEO of the bridge progress.
I still have to paint the underside, which I'll probably do Friday.
I don't want to be the bad guy who rains on your fun, I just thought I'd give you (rs2mike), and others, some helpful ideas. Your boom tender or work caboose is a good start. If I were you I'd replace the spare wheel sets you have on the deck with some more prototypical ones. Real wheel set axle ends aren't pointed like most model axles are. I made some fairly prototypical looking spare wheel sets one time using some old Tyco or Mantua rib back plastic wheel sets mounted on metal axles. I twisted the wheels between some sandpaper to "turn" down the tall flanges, pulled the wheels off the axle, enlarged the hole with a 1/16" drill and used some 1/16" Plastruct or Evergreen styrene rod for a new axle (I did this quite some time ago, so I may be wrong on the diameter of the new axle). I approximated the new axle length by roughly measuring across a truck frame. I painted them with some rust color like Floquil rail brown and/or rust. They should be blocked in better than what you have them now. I would also add more "junk" to the deck (short lengths of ties (used for cribbing crane outriggers and coaxing a derailed wheel back on the rail), short lengths of code 70 & 85 rail, some chain and maybe some empty oil drums from Grandt Line (http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/300-5041 They look better than the drawing).
The park is looking good.
I am amazed at the quality of input, both visual and verbal in this thread.
Tom, go git 'em. I hope you have a whale of a time continuing to scenic your layout. It's a beaut.
Jeff, the park is coming along very nicely.
Grampy, what else is there to say except you have it cold. Congratulations.
Lastly, Mike, I like what you have done so far. It is turning out well.
I have been fooling around with the engine servicing area. I built a water standpipe from scratch using sprue and leftover kit pieces. I also had to file the conical business end of the standpipe nozzle, and then paint the whole thing after adding a wooden pull handle.
I also painted up the railings and concrete pit of the turntable today, and rusted up the spare wheelsets. The pointy ends will have to do for now.
Did a little photoshopping on one I posted last week.
WP 3020 wrote: I don't want to be the bad guy who rains on your fun, I just thought I'd give you (rs2mike), and others, some helpful ideas. Your boom tender or work caboose is a good start. If I were you I'd replace the spare wheel sets you have on the deck with some more prototypical ones. Real wheel set axle ends aren't pointed like most model axles are. I made some fairly prototypical looking spare wheel sets one time using some old Tyco or Mantua rib back plastic wheel sets mounted on metal axles. I twisted the wheels between some sandpaper to "turn" down the tall flanges, pulled the wheels off the axle, enlarged the hole with a 1/16" drill and used some 1/16" Plastruct or Evergreen styrene rod for a new axle (I did this quite some time ago, so I may be wrong on the diameter of the new axle). I approximated the new axle length by roughly measuring across a truck frame. I painted them with some rust color like Floquil rail brown and/or rust. They should be blocked in better than what you have them now. I would also add more "junk" to the deck (short lengths of ties (used for cribbing crane outriggers and coaxing a derailed wheel back on the rail), short lengths of code 70 & 85 rail, some chain and maybe some empty oil drums from Grandt Line (http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/300-5041 They look better than the drawing). The park is looking good.
Have been making a low cutting for my New England in winter HO layout.
added some snow...
here's where the two layouts [US and UK] meet
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
Mike: It's a time-space portal! New England to England! (talk about not "modeling the ordanary!") Great photos and work!
I put up more crossing lights....
My contribution - my most recent project is a two track steel trestle. (Actually, it's two trestles, close together)
I was surprised to find I took my first pictures of the scenery under contruction almost 16 months ago. Bridges do take a long time.
George V.
George--
NICE WORK! Are those ME steel viaduct kits? They're fun to build, but a little daunting until you get the first tower up, then they go kind of fast. The twin viaducts remind me a little of the bridges out of Colfax, CA. on the ex-Southern Pacific Donner Pass route, near Long Ravine. When the original line was double-tracked sometime in the early part of the 20th century, SP built another parallel trestle right next to the first one--so close that they had to stagger the towers.
Nice work. I also like your rock-work a LOT!
twhite wrote: George--NICE WORK! Are those ME steel viaduct kits? They're fun to build, but a little daunting until you get the first tower up, then they go kind of fast. The twin viaducts remind me a little of the bridges out of Colfax, CA. on the ex-Southern Pacific Donner Pass route, near Long Ravine. When the original line was double-tracked sometime in the early part of the 20th century, SP built another parallel trestle right next to the first one--so close that they had to stagger the towers. Nice work. I also like your rock-work a LOT!Tom
Tom,
Thanks for the kind words! These are actually scratchbuilt from Evergreen stuff. The girders are cut from .020 sheet, with ribs, top and bottom plates from .010 strip. The towers are from various H and I beam shapes. The gussets are cut from .010 sheet with a rivet pattern poked in them using the point of a plumb bob - so don't look close. (Hey, ya go to modeling with the tools you have, not the tools you want.) The track is ME bridge track.
The rocks are casting from 3 Woodland Scenics commercial molds, just oriented differently (hmm.. I turn my head and that rock looks familiar!) . I set them dry into wet plaster on to the base (which is plaster soaked towels over screen). Between the castings is scultamold or plaster, sometimes smooth, sometimes stippled with a spatula. Coloring is done with washes of cheap acrylics from the craft store.
Again, thanks for the kind words. I am glad you like it.
Scratch-built! As an old bridge-builder myself, I'm even MORE impressed. That's a mighty fine job. BTW, I recognize that rock on the lower right hand side, LOL--it's been doing yeoman service on my own Yuba River Sub at various locations and as you said, various positions.
Again, really NICE work!
I use basswood strips cut to length and a ball point pen to simulate the steel bands and the lumberyard's stock markings. In N scale, you don't really need to go over the top with the minute details.
Different products have various identifiers such as the originating mill or dimension. The yellow stack represents subfloor OSB, the blue is 7/16 wall sheathing, etc.
For dimensional lumber, use your scale rule to cut hacks in 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16' lengths. 2x6's and up come in lengths of 20' and 22' also. Don't forget to paint some of it greenish brown to resemble treated decking.
and don't forget the sheetrock and pink insulation foam!
We used to keep 8' studs, 4x8 sheetrock and 7/16 OSB on the front dock, since it sold pretty quickly.
There would also be a lot of miscellaneous stuff like deck railing samples, rolls of rabbit wire, and special orders that were screwed up (usually by my manager) that we had to sell off at a loss before inventory.
Out front in the parking lot would be samples of the shed kits and play sets we sold. I'll have to make a picture of the models in front of my 84.
I worked for 84 for a couple of years back in the 90's, and took a lot of notes! I even got to unload of 50' boxcar full of pre-cut studs! Head down to your local lumber yard and take some pictures... as long as you're buying your benchwork from them, they won't mind!Most of the commercially available lumber loads are too big. I have some Chooch Industries loads, but they measure 14' or 15' long, and the hack is 8'wide and 6' tall. You have to think in terms of what a typical fork lift can handle. Most hacks of lumber are 3' to 4' tall, and no more than 4' wide. As the length of the lumber increases, the height of the hack may get smaller, keeping the number of "board feet" equivalent.
Larger dimensional lumber (2x8, 2x10, 2x12) in longer lengths (16' - 24') is usually wrapped, while 2x4's and 2x6's typically are not. Framing studs, as I noted, are shipped in boxcars, as is plywood generally, so your lumber yard siding will need a ramp for the forklift to get inside the car.
I got a few more detail images of the lumber yard for your reference:This is the dimensional lumber side of the shed.
Here's the plywood side, from a different angle
I took a cutting from a wood pile casting, turned it on it's side and painted it black to represent a pallet of roofing felt.
It's Saturday Morning, Harry Homeowner is loading up the station wagon for a project on the "Honey Do" list...
The co-manager checks the load list while the yard guy loads up the last hack for the delivery.
Out in the front yard, displays of the various sheds and playset kits are placed around the parking lot.
Great stuff again this week!
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
Lee,
Thanks alot! I have a lumberyard planned for the layout My Dad and I are building. You've given me plenty of ideas.
I saved all your pix as references. Thanks again.
Well, my first contribution to WPF
I bought this one weathered and all. I like it, I just gotta get a pin to resecure the truck.
A blurry Pic of my favorite locomotive. There is a video on you tube of it. Check it out. Heres the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-DdIO-vXAI4
ThanksColin