Hi everybody,
Great stuff already this week!Last week I had an opportunity to visit a very special HO layout in Sedro Woolley, WA (60 mi. N of Seattle). The layout, built by Dr. Nicholas Muff, has been seen in MR and Mainline Modeler Magazine. A few times each year Dr. Muff invites people to visit and see his progress. I was very fortunate to be invited by a local railroad historian who has been visiting Dr. Muff's for several years.The layout models Kansas City, MO. Dr. Muff has always planned for the main focal point of the layout to be a model of KC Union Station, but until recently he has had a simplified mock-up installed as a place holder. After many years of work on the rest of the layout he has now turned his attention to the station model. When we arrived Dr. Muff was showing his progress on the station. The model has an incredible level of detail. Not only is the exterior well executed, but the interior is fully detailed. Dr. Muff has made separate castings of the interior walls and ceiling. The KC station model is just the tip of the iceberg. The visitors were next escorted to the basement to see the layout. A big part of what makes this layout so special is the route to the layout. First you descend stairs as if you were headed to a station platform. At the foot of the stairs, rather than walking onto a platform, you enter directly into the interior of a streamlined passenger car. At the end of hall you enter a parlor fully equipped with furnishings and china from the Kansas City Southern's Southern Belle. You exist the parlor through an opening in the side of the car and enter the layout room. As impressive as the HO layout is, your eye is first drawn to the 1:1 scale F-unit cab that occupies one end of the room.
The cab originally belonged to a Great Northern locomotive, but has been repainted to match the KCS Southern Belle motif. As with everything else, no detail was overlooked staging the cab. The view out the cab gives you an excellent view of the tracks ahead. Now, onto the layout itself. There's an amazing selection of landmarks from Kansas City. Since the station is currently a work in progress, the most eye catching structure is the Western Auto building. Down the road from the Western Auto building is a foundry. This photo really doesn't do the scene justice. The reddish orange furnace glow in the photo is cast by a hidden LED array that gives a very prototypical flicker to the light. The Dr. has also installed hidden speakers that play ambient sounds continually. Continuing down the layout and out of town the KCS mainline crosses this impressive concrete arch bridge. The road underneath helps to create an illusion of depth. The car in the fore ground is HO scale, but the cars directly under the bridge are N, and the car beyond is Z. The whole scene is only about 14 inches deep! After a while the lighting in the room changes to night. Blue lights overhead provide a safe level of light for visitors to walk around, but the lighted features on the layout begin to shine. In this photo the Western Auto building looks quite real. The interior of the building has walls so that each room is separately lit. The sheer number of LED's on the layout is daunting, but the results are well worth the effort. Even the headlights and tail lights on the cars have been illuminated. The lighting will be continued into the model of Union Station. Here you can see the lower level of the station that has already been installed on the layout. The lower level alone has 80 white LED's. Extending from the lower level of the station, the freight docks are largely complete. Last, but not least, here's a wide shot looking down through town and another of the control panel for the station yard. No command control here. It was a terrific night of model railfaning. Thank you Dr. Muff!
Nothing fancy from me this week. First up it's a roster of my working engines. 3802 is factory decorated; 702 was a kitbash; and 3808 just came out of the paint shop this week, soon to be joined by sister engine 3805.
And a close up.
Again, I feel I should not post my humble efforts. But, then again I may inspire a unskilled person like my self. Today I went to K-10 Model Trains and picked up some grass, weed and a few trees. Dang, K-10 was out of paper! (sorry about that last part, but when my wife asked where I was going I told here to buy some grass, she under stood)
Here is where I was at the last posting.
Tonight I finally covered the foam risers leading up to the upper tunnel to the K-10 mining company. I all so carved into the 1 inch foam base for the second time. Funny, whole reason I used the foam base was so I could carve into it, but yet I was afraid to?
At this point, new section looks a little lite in color match, but dry it may look darker like the other section.
Craved a ditch on the left side and added a small hill for detail.
Pretty happy with the effort, plus I think I got a good deal on the trees. 15 fern tress for $5.95. Most in the PIC are one I all ready had.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
WPF continues to drive my interest in the hobby. What else could it do with such outstanding imagery? Truly inspirational!
Here is my image. Someone's got some 'splainin' to dooo!
Wow, GREAT photos, everyone. Jarrell, don't rate yourself a '3', you're way, WAY beyond that, South Manchester in this months MR or not. That is one GLORIOUS photo.
Everyone else--dang, I'm jealous!
Re-built knee is still causing me fits, so didn't spend any time on the MR this week as I had planned, but here's an older shot from my file (I'm getting tired of this, LOL!) with Great Uncle Tom waving from the back of a freight as it rounds the cut out of South Yuba Canyon into Wagon Wheel Gap.
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!
Here is zephyr running late.
model in O. the Western NY and Ontario Railroad
I just realized the last roster photo I took is a few years old.
The undec ALP-44 is gonna be painted in a NJT Red Sox paint scheme, yes an NJ loco with Red Sox markings!
My newest addition to the roster.
Great start again this weekend folks!
I probably won't get any new photos this weekend so I will just post one from last week that I kept in reserve..... This is my entry in a photo contest over across the street. The subject is small locos.
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Some parts are still missing, like a water tank.
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
georgev wrote: Great pictures again, guys. Here's what I have been working on. This is an old Mantua Hudson kit locomotive that I repainted and weathered with my airbrush. Next time - more gloss finish on the tender before applying the decals and be more careful with the drips on the boiler. George V.
Great pictures again, guys.
Here's what I have been working on. This is an old Mantua Hudson kit locomotive that I repainted and weathered with my airbrush. Next time - more gloss finish on the tender before applying the decals and be more careful with the drips on the boiler. George V.
That looks really good. Are you aware that Yardbird Classic Trains sells super detail kits and flywheel can motors for those? I've got a motor and detail set on order for my Mantua Mikado. I'd really like to get a Hudson like yours.
Here's a thread I posted over in the Trains forum about my activities last weekend. Here's a sample to whet your appetitie.
Iowa Traction is the last common carrier electric freight railroad operating in the US. Hope you enjoy.
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
Autumn arrives on the Hudson Highlands RR.
CNJ831
Tyler, the yard looks great.
Nothing new from me, and there probably won't be for a long time.
But, the SEC SCHEME IS BACK! Kepping the ARR name though. the number will be in black under the cab, and the letters ARR will be along the long hood in the yellow stripe. Here's my GP9 and GP30 as they were in the scheme before I re-painted them (I'll be buying new shells for them).
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
Hi all: Great shots everyone. Jarrell, another out standing photo from you! You're great shots are an inspiration to me. Pennsylvania Power & Light bought this well preserved UP GE switcher to switch coal hoppers at its Brunner Island power plant. It's enroute to The Pennsylvania Line car shop in Columbia to be refurbished and repainted, and then to be delivered to Brunner Island. The crew is giving it a quick check:
then it's on its way to Columbia:
Don, I downgraded myself after seeing George Sellios' Franklin and South Manchester in this months Model Railroader. Heck, compared to that work I'm not even on the same scale!
Thanks,
Jarrell
Don Z wrote: Jarrell,A 3 out of 10??? You're way too modest! I'll take a 24x36" print, thank you very much.Great image!Don Z.
Jarrell,
A 3 out of 10??? You're way too modest! I'll take a 24x36" print, thank you very much.
Great image!
Don Z.
In honor of our stricken friend, here's a shot from Tom Bryant_MR's layout:
Research; it's not just for geeks.
This is what I've been doing...
From this:
To this:
My entry for this week is a variation of another picture taken in the same area on my layout. The lighting is stronger and the view is pulled back a bit to include more foreground. The object isn't meant to show my great modeling skills, on a scale of 1 to 10 I put myself around 3..
In any event, I simply tried to create the mood of an early morning scene somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern U.S.
Click on image to enlarge if needed.
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
Looks great Frank. I like it.
These Atlantics were known as "Bull Moose" on the Santa Fe. It started out as an N scale Atlas/Rivarossi Pacific that the ZAMAC frame crumbled on. I had to make a whole new frame so decided to get rid of one driver.
Hello I would like to the weekend here is my tichy crane I finshing up. Have a good weekend Frank