hon30critterYour track work looks pretty good Mark! Using a camera to identify any alignment flaws is a brilliant idea.
Using the camera is just my innate laziness coning through, finding the easiest way to do something.
15 July 2021
Here's an overall view of the west end of Casper from a few days ago, showing all the freshly-painted and cleaned track. The two tracks on the right are the oil loading tracks, and are basically black at this point, as the ground and ballast will be. On the left side there's quite a bit of black, to represent ground in coal dust in the engine terminal, but nothing like the oily area in the refinery.
The last few days I've spent putting together the backdrop image file for behind Casper:
This was stitched together out of 40 or 50 photos in Affinity Photo. The colors actually do shift like that on the right end of the mountain.
A closer view of the center of the backdrop:
The switchbacks are the road up the side of the mountain. It's been there since the 1930's at least, although the original road was much narrower and not so prominent on the side of the mountain.
This backdrop will be about 13 inches high by 29 feet long.
I may tweak things a bit more before I get the whole thing printed. The right end, after the color shift, is a bit higher than it is in real life.
I'm going to get a single-sheet test print done to make sure the image is acceptably clear before I shell out a hundred bucks or so to get the whole thing printed.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
PruittI moved everything I could away from the area, and shrouded what I couldn't move with painter's tape or paper towels.
Covering things up is obviously the right thing to do. When my old club was painting the backdrop walls around the layout they didn't bother to cover or remove anything. There were several structures and some locomotives and rolling stock on the layout. They all got a light sprinkling of sky blue!
Your track work looks pretty good Mark! Using a camera to identify any alignment flaws is a brilliant idea.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
8 July 2021
I finished installing the remaining tracks in Casper yard - the second turntable lead and the coal delivery track. Here I'm checking the alignment of the new switch and the tracks using my cell phone. Yeah, looks serviceable...
And with the installation of those tracks complete and all the missing ties at track joints replaced (I hate that job!) I was ready to paint the track.
I moved everything I could away from the area, and shrouded what I couldn't move with painter's tape or paper towels. Then I sprayed the tracks with brown.
In the next day or two I'll be adding a black overspray to the area - lightly near the yard ladder, and getting progressively heavier over towards the turntable, where a moderate layer of black will be applied. Behind the roundhouse, the Standard Oil Refinery loading tracks (pictured below with just the brown coat) will receive a very heavy coat of black, to represent the years of oil spillage at this location.
When I add the dirt to these areas I'll be coloring it with more and more black tempera paint to simulate the coal and oil that have been ground in over time, to match the variegated ballast.
4 July 2021
I finally got started laying the last tracks in Casper yard. The second turntable lead - the one that runs through the coaling tower - went in today.
The commodities / service track for the tower, ash pit and sand bin will be installed in the next few days, then I'll wire both tracks and start basic ground cover and ballast for the entire engine facility.
LOL! Thanks Rich! It took me a minute to understand your comment. When I'm done gluing a section, I use the paint can opener (or a screwdriver or an Exacto) to mark the end of the glue. By the time I wet the next few inches, it's hard to see where the glue left off.
Mark, before you even begin to ask for help, I found the source of the short. It is that paint can opener that appears at 1:42 of the video.
You're welcome!
Nice video, as usual.
Rich
Alton Junction
Thanks Bear! Hard to believe it was a whole year ago already I got the new layout started!
3 July 2021
I just posted this month's layout update video...
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Hi Douglas! A discussion of the cement plant main building is easy - I bought it at a train show already assembled and painted a few years ago. Cost maybe $20. I will talk briefly about fleshing out each of the industries as I further detail each one, though.
Thanks for the interest!
Mark, thanks for the update. Looking forward to following more progress on the rest of the layout. Also wouldn't mind seeing a few minutes discussing the assembly or detailing of the cement plant or any other structure you might build. I enjoyed the loading racks.
- Douglas
Thanks, David.
The corrected and re-posted video is now up:
Mark. I agree with Chris. You have such amazing skill.
As for errors. Funny how the person taking pictures etc. sees the 'obvious errors' yet others do not.
Well done.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Thanks Chris, I'm blushing!
If I was that good I wouldn't have to reupload the birthday video again because of an editing error!
I use DaVinci Resolve for video editing - the free version. It's very powerful and does not plaster a watermark on the videos until you buy it. It takes a bit of time to learn how it works to get started, but I think it's well worth the time. Within an hour or two you'll be creating decent videos. The program is very comprehensive, including special effects generation, audio editing and mixing, video clip color adjustment and so on, but you don't have to master most of it at the beginning. I'm learning new stuff about it all the time. You can probably tell in my more recent videos that I'm getting more proficient at using some of it's more advanced features.
(Corrected video should be up in an hour or so).
Mark,
You have an amazing skill stack from MR benchwork to handlaid track to well-done YouTube videos with professional narration. You're living the dream, man! Question: what software do you use for YouTube videos? Something I am interested in developing some skills in as well.Excellent work!
Thanks, Dave! You're too kind.
25 June 2021
I just posted (twice, I had an erroneous copyright claim for music that I changed rather than wait for resolution) the First Birthday video of my layout. It was one year ago today I started rebuilding The CB&Q in Wyoming!
NOTE: This video was deleted. It had some timing errors that needed correcting, and was reposted in a reply just a little bit below this one.
Hi Mark,
As usual, another good video. I hope that a lot of newbies (I hate that term!) find their way to your You Tube channel and to your thread here. They will learn a lot in a very short time.
Thanks for the kind words, Dave, Bear and David!
17 June 2021
I just posted the latest episode of Building Casper - episode 5. This is part 1 of construction. In it I talk about construction of the three sections of benchwork that underlie Casper, plus I go over how I construct backdrops for my layout. The episode ends at the point where tracklaying is ready to begin.
An interesting set of films Mark. Thanks for posting
Another good video Mark!
I just posted my June Layout Update video:
Thanks David
Rich, the yogurt acts as a binder for the ballast. I use the blueberry flavor because it adds some realistic texture to the ballast.
Pruitt
Does it replace white glue or merely add to it?
That is some ballasting, Mark. It looks really good. Well done.
Thanks for the encouragement, Dave!
30 May 2021
During the odd moments between editing videos this past month, I've been ballasting Casper yard, beginning with the east end - the classification yard and icing tracks, mostly. As of a couple days ago I was finishing up the mainline in this area.
Quite a stark difference between the mainline and the yard tracks. The mainline will be toned down some once the ballast has been weathered. The yard tracks won't tone down much, but weathering should kind of tie them all together.
Another great video Mark!
Lot's of people will learn an enormous amount from your videos!
Thanks Dave.
Whoever said you need any knowledge to critique something? Lots of people (many of whom will critique anything or anyone!) sure don't think so!
26 May 2021
The conclusion of the Planning series for Building Casper is now posted on YouTube:
These three videos were a lot of work. I spent well over 60 hours producing them, especially the animations (crude as some of them are).
Maybe I can get back to working on the layout now.
Watching the Casper scene evolve was very interesting. You have put into words the process that I think many of us have gone through as we developed our layout plans.
I don't think that I have enough prototypical knowledge to critique the last version. Nothing stands out as being a fatal flaw. It all sounds good to me.
Thanks for the kind words, Dave! A good yard doesn't have to be big, it just needs to support the layout and the operating scheme that's used on it.
A car and paint shop are an element I never even thought about. That will make for some interesting switching moves, and also gives a reason for some rolling stock to have that "fresh out of the box" appearance!
24 May 2021
As promised, Episode 3, Planning Part 2, is now up on YouTube:
That was really well done! Your points were well explained.
I was pleased to learn that I have managed to get all of the features into my own yard and engine facility that you mentioned, although each of them is considerably smaller than what you have been able to achieve. I will only be handling one or two cars at a time, but that's what I came up with in a 5'4" x 12' layout with continuous running.
I don't have a roundhouse, just a two track engine shed, but all of the other engine service bits are there, plus a car shop/paint shop as well.
Eventually there will be a separate much larger visible staging yard off to the side of the layout. It will have some scenery on so it won't be too boring.
Keep up the good work!!