Richlawn Railroad

We're Moving!

2011-04-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

The Richlawn Railroad is moving......well, not literally - just the on line presence. I've signed up with a friend (who's in the business) to have my own official website. Can you guess what's it's called? You guessed it:

Richlawnrailroad.com

I'll be doing all of my new posting to that site (which is still under construction) so please visit it and bookmark that page. Thanks for your interest!

The Henderson Building - close to completion

2011-03-17T16:23:00.001-07:00

I'm reaching the point of completion / abandonment of the Henderson Building; that is, I'm close to finishing it, but sick of working on it. It is at this point that I put it on the shelf and let it age while I start another structure with the hopes of returning to do the final finish before putting it on the layout.

Yet to be done: more corner seam work, hanging (or animated) sign for the ground floor tenant Pelitier Travel, weathering of chimneys & roof top details, paint touch up, etc. This is a "3 footer" in that it will be viewed from 3 feet away, so I'll take that into consideration for the completion.

Rick

The Henderson Building - store front progress

2011-02-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Work continues on the Henderson Building that will find a home in the Hoovertown downtown expansion. This building will be viewed from approximately three feet - thus the "good enough" principal when it comes to finish. The ground floor store front is occupied by Pelletier Travel. The window printing is printed backwards on the rough side (required for printing) of 3M(tm) transparency film. The travel posters in the windows are printed on card stock that is bowed (curved) to fill the windows and open at the top to allow light from the "light pole". Floors above the ground have vellum behind the "glass" to allow for light to come through without seeing the interior.

Here's another view of the work in process. I had a comment on one of the forums that the type font for the windows was the wrong style for my era (60's & 70's); however, I like it and I think that I'll keep it. The doorway in the left side wall is for access to the upper floors. For the edges that are exposed I have to scribe all of the individual brick mortar lines (fun!) which takes a bunch of time. I can only work on them for a little at a time.

I'll post more on the building as it progresses.

Alcove expansion Part 2: Benchwork - Joists

2011-02-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

The work continues on the expansion of the layout into the alcove area and I've recently installed the joists on the L-girders. The weights are on the benchwork at the right are there because of a nasty twist caused by warped lumber. Once I attached the benchwork to the floor it won't be a problem.

I've never been happy with how flimsy the joists seemed when the risers are attached as the risers act as a "lever" to twist the joists from side to side. I don't like benchwork that isn't rigid, so I added stiffeners to the joists and they are much more rigid now.

The stiffeners are made from 5/8" sandply plywood that I cut using my 50 year old DeWalt radial arm saw. I had a bunch of scrap plywood, so other than the cutting time it was easy.

Here is a closer view of the joist and the stiffeners. The joists are attached to the top of the L-girder from the bottom using 2-1/2" coarse thread drywall screws screwed into pilot holes to avoid spliting the plywood. I attached the stiffeners using 1" coarse thread drywall screws without using glue. I may need to move things around a little bit for turnout motors, ect. and I wanted that to be easy to do.

Here's a little closer view of the stiffeners and joist showing the mounting screws.

Some might say that this is "over-designed" or "over-built", and that might be true; however, I'm all for "over" when it comes to a strong, stable benchwork.

Stay tuned for the next installments which will include cutting a hole through the wall, adding risers, sub-roadbed, and alike.

Alcove expasion Part 2: Benchwork

2011-01-26T17:32:00.001-08:00

My last post to this blog showed the removal of existing benchwork from the alcove area in preparation for installation of the new expanded layout. In this post I'll share the construction of the benchwork. Some of you may wonder why with such narrow benchwork that I just didn't attach a "shelf" style construction to the walls. The answer is two fold: 1.) The left wall is 1/2" drywall attached to 1 X 4's that are attached to the concrete wall with "shot" in concrete nails and I don't trust their holding power for anything other than drywall; and 2.) I don't like to attach benchwork directly to walls just in case I have to move from this house. The blue tape on the floor is denotes the aisle, which is 36" wide

All of the benchwork is L girder style with 1 x 3's glued and screwed on top of 1 x 4's. I would have preferred to use 3/4" plywood ripped for the pieces; however, I don't have the equipment to do the ripping. The section below is 6 ft long by 2 ft wide by 42" high at the highest point. The legs are 2 x 2's with 1 x 2's as braces attached to 5/8" plywood plates. All of the benchwork legs have 1/4" carriage bolts in "T" nuts at the bottom to allow for adjustment.

The section on the left side is the same basic construction and it 10 ft long by 17" wide by 42" high. I did use 2 x 3's for the legs here since they had a bunch of them in the "scrap" bin at the big box store for a cheap price. Since I was using 8 ft long lumber, you will note the splice where I added a 2 ft length. The splice is made up of a "sandwich" of 1 x 4's glued & screwed to the two pieces. Since the legs (which are 2 x 3's) are only 12" apart, I just used horizontal 1 x 4's at the bottom instead of diagonial braces.

The section on the right is 11-1/2 ft long. I had to splice a 3-1/2 ft long section on to the 8 ft L girders. Once I had the two long sections (left and right) of benchwork completed I wasn't happy with the lack of ridigity at mid point, so I added a 2 x 4 cross brace and a 2 x 4 leg.

The next steps will include leveling all of the benchwork and then attaching everything to the floor with angle brackets and anchors. Once everything is secure, I'll start adding the joists. Stay turned for more.

Alcove expansion Part 1: demo

2011-01-20T07:46:00.001-08:00

I recently extended my alcove area by adding 7ft in depth and have been putting off removing the existing track because .....well, because then I can't run my railroad! I needed to salvage the benchwork and track for reuse outside my trainroom once the alcove new benchwork and trackwork is installed and running through the wall.

Today I took the leap and got the job done - now I need to hurry to get the railroad operating again!

Here's the loop that needs to be removed in such a manner that it can be reused

It shouldn't be painful just to cut a couple of wires, right? Here I'm cutting the main feeder wires to the loop.

After one of my Athern F7 sound locos decided to leap the track and smash into the concrete I had installed these clear plastic retainer barriers. I'm cutting them here to get access to cut the track and roadbed.

Sorry for the fuzzy photo - it's hard to take a picture while using the Dremel. The track is cut using one of the reinforced cut off disks. I like them much better than the un-reinforced disks as they don't break and fly apart.

I used a hand saw to cut through the first section of the loop. There's no turning back now!

And now the other part of the loop.

C-clamps were attached to a riser in each corner to hold the track and roadbed up when the screws that attached the risers to the joists are removed. All risers were marked to know where they should be once the unit is re-assembled.

Next I removed all of the screws holding the risers to the joists. Once this was done, the only thing holding the roadbed and track up on the benchwork are the four C-clamps sitting on the joists.

Here's a picture of the "moving brace" that was installed.

The track & roadbed are tilted forward and ready to move on out!

Say goodbye to the trainroom! I'm just glad that I never landscaped the loop.

Here's the loop benchwork with the track & roadbed removed. Since it's such a tight fit, I've decided to cut it in half (ouch!) so that I can remove it from the room.

First I'll removed the screws holding the angle braces to the legs. I'm a firm believer of firm benchwork; that is, always secure the legs to the floor so that accidental bumping doesn't cause a problem.

Here I'm removing the screws from the bottom of the cross braces. Boy, am I glad I didn't glue these!

I left the top of the braces screwed to the reinforcement / connection plate. I'm removing the plate here that connects the braces to the L-girder.

With the braces removed it's time to get my Skill saw!

Wait a minute......if I just cut the L-girders without some type of other support, won't the whole thing come crashing down? I added a temporary 3/4" plywood sheet on top of the joists and screwed it down securely to hold this thing together once cut. There aren't any pictures of me doing the actual cutting since I wanted to keep all of my fingers!

Here's the "after" shot when the deed was done and the plywood brace removed. Now's it just a matter of carrying out and cleaning up!

Opps! I almost forgot the most important part - rail stops to keep the locos from running off the track ends. I will still be running a track cleaning car back and forth during the re-constructions and I don't want any more locos on the concrete. It may not be prototypical, but it works. Bubble wrap (for a soft impact) backed up by push pins for that certain stop.

Man, it's just SCREEMING for some benchwork and track!!! The plan will be an "around the wall" with a center aisle and then through the wall to the right just before the door. What's on the other side of the wall? - the expansion area. The loop will be re-assembled and temporarly provide the return back into the room.

Details, details! When I removed the leg angle brackets from the floor that where secured by "shot in" nails it left a couple of holes that will need to be patched, painted and patterned. They will be hidden by benchwork, but I'm still going to repair them because if I didn't, it would bug me!
The whole process of removing the loop from the alcove took me about 2-1/2 hours. I'm glad that it's over, but now I've got to re-assemble the loop outside of the room and get busy in that alcove!

2011-01-16T17:23:00.000-08:00

I recently had an article published on the AroundAbout Cumming website about the Richlawn Railroad and model railroading as a hobby. It's possible that the article will also be published in print in their monthly magazine that is distributed via mail and available at a number of retail outlets. You can check the article out at: http://www.aroundaboutcumming.com/lifestyle/from-boats-to-trains/

Potter's Pond - in memory of Mr. Potter

2010-12-24T07:58:00.001-08:00

My good friend and fellow model railroader Mr. Potter passed away recently and I wanted to post this picture of "Potter's Pond" that is located behind the roundhouse in his memory. Mr. Potter was an avid N scaler that had a super layout featuring over 400 feet of double main line. He will definately be missed! Rest in peace, my dear friend.

Just a shack - click on pictures for a larger view

2010-12-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not a masterpiece - just a shack I added to the forground area of Hoovertown. This area was originally done with ground foam and about 50 "store bought" trees. After purchasing and watching Joe's videos I was no longer happy with the way the area looked. I decided to add long static grass and some better looking trees. The shack is a little wood kit I did including interior (bed, stove, table, chairs, shelves, and lighting. The area is still under construction as I make the trees. I'll be adding an outhouse behind the shack along with some junk.

Curving hardboard for coving corners

2010-12-09T05:27:00.001-08:00

I recently added curved (coved) corners in the train room addition using the "brute force" method. I took flat hardboard 4' x 8' x 3/16" panels and forced them into the corner. This was an extremely difficult and frustrating method.

I'm getting ready to cove a corner in the expansion area and decided to use a curving method that I had used previously on some fascia board they worked very well. Here are the steps (refer to the picture below):

1.) Clamp boards on the edges using C-clamps evenly spaced (spring clamps will NOT work for this).
2.) Tie a rope to one of the end C-clamps and thread it through the other clamps going back and forth from side to side.
3.) Push on the face of the hardboard to start the curve and then tie off the other end of the rope.
4.) Wet the back (unfinished side) of the hardboard - I used a pump up sprayer because of the size of the panel. You just need to wet the back - don't soak it.
5.) Wait for awhile (I never looked at the clock) for the hardboard to "relax" a little.
6.) After waiting push down on the long edge "just enough" (I don't know what that is, but I do know what "too much" is!) and tighten up the rope. Take your time so you don't break it!
7.) Repeat steps 4 - 6 as many times as necessary to get the curve that you want. NOTE: the board will relax quite a bit back to its original shape when the rope is released so you will need to curve more than the final curve. If you're looking for a 90 degree curve you will need to curve is 110 degrees or more.
8.) After the back of the hardboard is COMPLETELY dry seal it with a good grade sealer. NOTE: latex paint is not a sealer.

Guest engineer visits the railroad

2010-11-27T16:47:00.000-08:00

Recently my Granddaughter Laua came to visit with her Mom Stephanie and as usual Laua wanted to head to the basement to run trains with her Papaw. She's a very good engineer keeping her train under control (using the Digitrax wireless radio control) and ran both the 4-4-0 steam engine and the U28B diesel loco. I also ran a train at the same time and really enjoyed the visit!

Forced Perspective - A Basic Primer Video

2010-11-10T05:42:00.000-08:00

Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine(tm) published a video I created showing the basics of using forced perspective on your layout to make it look deeper. Please click on video below to view it and remember your comments and suggestions are welcome. Once you click on the video and it starts playing if it doesn't play in full screen, click on it again and it will route you to YouTube(tm) where you can see it in full screen. Also be sure to check out Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine(tm) for the best on-line mag in the industry!

The Henderson Building - Part 2

2010-10-20T04:37:00.001-07:00

Construction continues on the Henderson Building. Since the last post all cutting, fitting, filling, painting, mortar lines, and weathering on the outside have been completed. I've also added the interior window treatment and I'm presently working on the lighting (thus the wire hanging out)

In this picture (sorry for all the junk) I've attached the back and two side walls together. I'll leave the front off for access during the lighting phase. I haven't painted the store front yet and will do that later.

I'm trying something new for the lighting - a "light tunnel". I used foam board to create a box the entire height of the building. I cut out openings on all sides for all floors and covered the openings with translucent velum paper printed with a wallpaper pattern. I added horizontal pieces for each floor covered with wood grain. The lighting will actually be multiple lights hung down from the top inside of the box to provide a glow through the translucent paper. The idea is to make sure that you can't see any "naked" light bulbs. I've yet to add some "walls" on each floor that will act as view blocks so that you can't see through the building from one side to the other.

More to come.......

What a Deal!!! - Hobby Lobby closeouts

2010-10-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

I was in the local Hobby Lobby the other day using a 40% off coupon to by some epoxy and as usual I cruised by the "Closeout" back wall. A few months ago they discontinued stocking specific model railroad supplies and apparently I missed the closeouts on the stock. When I had checked the closeout wall the previous week there were only a few HO figures and that was it.

Well, what did I see this time? A number of DPM HO structure kits deeply discounted! The picture below is of the "Goodfellows Hall" which Hobby Lobby was listing at $17.99 and it was discounted to $6.47!

I also bought the following discounted DPM kits: "Robert's Dry Goods", "Front Street Building", "1st National Bank", and "Pam's Pet Shop" - all at similar or better discounts. I got $85.00 worth of kits for $32.00! I already have many of the kits; however, I can use these kits to add extra floors / stories and/or as kitbash material.

Sometimes it pays to be persistent. I'll be sure to check the Closeout Wall each and every time!

The Henderson Building

2010-09-26T14:31:00.001-07:00

My latest kitbash project for the Hoovertown expansion is The Henderson Building named after my sister and family. It is a combination of Bachmann's Ambassador Hotel and Walther's Merchant's Row II. Actually, it is mainly the Ambassador Hotel as the only parts I'm using from the Walther's kit is the ground floor retail front and the very top cap.

Here's the Walther's kit after I cut the sections out that I will use.

This is just one wall that I cut up from the hotel kit and I'll use the upper right section.

Here are the four assembled walls - from left to right: Right side / Left Side / Front/ and back. The walls looked like they are curved, but that is a distortion from my camera.

Here's the front after painting, motar lines added, and a black wash. I've got a ton more work to do, but when it's completed I'll have an eight story building that is 12-1/2 inches tall. Stay tuned for more progress reports.

The Chicken or the Egg?

2010-09-18T16:22:00.001-07:00

I currently have the "Merchant's Row" structure on my layout and the other day I was cruising the web looking for structures when I ran accross the "Burlington Street" structure by SS Limited. The only difference I can tell between the two structures is that the Burlington Street has a column on the left corner building. I wonder which came first, and who copied who?

Alcove expansion continues - walls painted

2010-09-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

The alcove expansion was limping along as I seemed to be taking FOREVER doing the finishing on the drywall mud work. The other day I decided to get at it again, and to my surprise there was very little finishing to do, which I finally completed. Since I was on a roll I went ahead and painted the walls and everyting came out fairly good (I'm no drywaller!) I really like the way the curved walls "blend" the back wall and make the area look deeper.

The next steps are to paint the floor, add molding around the bottom, and trim rings for the lights. After this is completed, the area will be SCREAMING for some track!

L&N Steam Passing behind my house in the 50's

2010-08-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

This 11 second film clip was shot from my backyard by my Father in the 50's as a double headed steam heads West through St. Matthews, Kentucky.

Two Story Farmhouse diorama

2010-08-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I did a "show & tell" of my homemade static grass applicator at the Piedmont meeting. I wanted to show what the device could do, so I created a little diorama using my 2 story farmhouse (by AMB) that I had previously built. This structure will probably occupy the residential district of Hoovertown that is presently under construction. Click on the picture for a larger view.

Hoovertown residential construction begins

2010-07-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've finally started to do the residential area behind the Hoovertown business district. As with the business district I want to do the work off the layout, so the first step is to make a removable support structure. Once the support structure is completed, I'll remove it from the layout and place it on my work table to add the streets, landscape, structures, etc.

I wanted something light and easy to work with, so I opted to try for the first time PVC lattice. I know that it's expensive compared to wood, but I like that you can bend sharp curves (using a heat gun) and that using the standard PVC primer and clamps can work very fast. For you engineer types this may look over-engineered and you are probably correct. I never claimed to be an engineer!

The next step will be to add a 2" thick foam top to the PVC base and then add individual foam pieces to get the contours I want. As you can see in the back left of this picture where the track crosses over itself there is a big change from in track heights around this area. So, basically the foam top of this area will have to be built up more on the left and even more in the left rear.

Roy's Safe & Lock at Night

2010-07-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

You can see the customer talking to Roy behind the counter. Maybe he's getting some keys cut....or just chewing the fat. Looks like Roy is having another sale on his large safes.

Pretty much the same angle shot with my room lights off.

It's subtle, but the lighting is different in different rooms & floors.

Maybe some day I can get some good shots with the exposure correct.

Roy's Safe & Lock Kitbash

2010-07-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost done. Here are some pix.

Little Gold House

2010-07-16T12:15:00.001-07:00

I'm finishing up my latest wood structure kit - this one is by Mountaineer Precision Products (Kit #1) called "Historic Little Blue House - LaGrange, Kentucky". It's based on a real structure that is still standing in Kentucky. As you can see I didn't finish it in blue. I usually don't finish a structure in the same color as the kit shows and I prefer gold for this kit.

The kit has a 6" x 5" footprint and is well made. The gold color is actually a chaulk that I rubbed on the wood. I really like the way it doesn't fill the pores of the wood and allows the grain to show.

The foundation is kind of wacky in that it's two layers of wood. I used putty to fill the crack between the layers and painted it a concrete gray.

The differences in the shades of gold is the natural result of applying the chaulk and then handling the structure.

The roof stack didn't come with the kit. It's a piece of brass tubing that is drilled out the inside to thin the wall. The metal roof is painted gray, then brushed with a very thin solution of metalic silver and thinner. I used chaulks to add dirt and rust to the silver/gray.

All the pictures of the kit show three chimneys; however, the kit only came with two and the roof was only notched for two.

There were some fairly large gaps where the chimneys went into the roof. I used my old "tar" formula to fill the gaps (gray paint & white glue). I take some of the tar out of the bottle and let it dry and thicken to the point where it will fill the gaps.

See those two verticle lines? I don't know what caused them!

The porch columns are plastic. I liked the detail wood work on the front of the porch. The little house will probably be part of the neighborhood in the back of Hoovertown.

Just a few pictures

2010-07-12T19:14:00.001-07:00

Haven't posted for awhile, so I'll just put a few pictures. Some may be a repeat, but oh well!

Rick's Ribs - the best BBQ in Hoovertown!

Potter's Pond behind the roundhouse in the Matthews Freight Yard

Who's that behind those Foster Grants passing Peggy's Health Club

It's a busy time at Midge's Corner Cafe, although there's no food on the tables!

Hoovertown park is a great place to play a game of checkers or just relax & chat.

What did that guy drop? Downtown Hoovertown is a busy place.

A man's home is his castle, but it that true when it's a shack? A hobo is passing time at his castle.

Matthew Frieght yard is a little packed today, but that won't be the case for long.

O.K., it's just a joke! We don't cook any of our cats at Ashley's Pets. How much is that kitty in the window?

1303 rounding Hoovertown

2010-07-10T18:55:00.001-07:00

Matthews Freight Yard

2010-06-08T15:59:00.001-07:00

Haven't posted for awhile, so I thought I'd upload another excellent picture taken by my friend, Bob W. He's from the Great White North, and thus insisted on putting the CN gons on the layout for the picture. Bob does most of the painting on his locos and rolling stock and does a great job.

Click on the picture for a larger view

Kitbash progress - B. Moore Showroom / Roy's Safe & Lock

2010-04-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest progress on the kit bash of the DPM #10400 "B. Moore Showroom" which will become "Roy's Safe & Lock" plus some upstairs apartments. The original structure kit is shown on the left. Since this will be a foreground structure, I installed floors (with wood grain covering), walls (with patterned wallpaper) furniture (made from carved foam), figures, and lighting (which is different brightness in different rooms / floors).

For the ground floor there will be interior steps just beyond the left door that go up to the apartments. The balance of the windows and doors belong to Roy's Safe & Lock . As a kid I hung around a lock shop that was in a Sears parking lot along with a buddy. The locksmith was a very nice gentlemen and we actually learned a great deal about locks. As an adult I also hung around a locksmith shop and did some work for them, so the concept brings back fond memories.

The locksmith shop area on the ground floor will be fully detailed including a large key exterior hanging sign, window signs, a large safe (with the door open), counter with a cash register, wall displays, and figures. The wiring for the interior lights is now visible in the back interior of the ground floor but will be hidden by the removable ground floor interior.

Stay tuned for more as I continue to work (on and off) on this project.

Wire Armature Trees

2010-04-01T08:08:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago our operating group had a tree making clinic at one fo the member's home. We tried our hand at making many different sytles of trees using a number of methods. I took a "shining" to the wire armature method. This method uses florist wire (28 gauge) with twisting and forming the wire to make the armature. Unfortunately, we didn't have any gesso to coat the bare wire armatures to continue the process so I couldn't create the finished result.

When I got home I made a few armatures with the intent of coating them with gesso. When I went to my local craft store to purchase the gesso I was surprised to find out how costly it is. Instead of purchasing the gesso I made a poor man's version using white glue, a dash of gray liquid concrete colorant, and a secret (all purpose flour)thickening agent. I applied the mix to the armatures with a brush. The nice thing about this glue mix is that I can "set" it with a hair dryer in about 2 minutes and then apply a second coat. The mix also lasts well without drying as I've been using the "tub" of it for 10 days and it still it very usable. I've heard of possible "bug" problems using flour; however, the trees are painted which should seal them against attack by insects.

After the final coat (usually two coats are required) drys I use a hobby knife to scratch the trunk to simulate bark and then dry brush the entire armature with a gray craft paint. The foilage is Wood Scenics(tm) green poly fiber is stretched thin and attached with Hob-e-Tac(R). The fiber is misted with hair spray and sprinkled with coarse green foam.

These are intended to be forground trees, mainly because of how long it takes to make them which is about an hour each (ouch!). Making these trees is a "TV Time" activity for me mainly at night. The good news is the trees cost little to make and I believe they look good. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

Here are a couple of the armatures ready for foilage

All of the trees of course will have different trunks and limbs.

Here's a tree with foilage

General stuf...

2010-03-16T03:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a few weeks and wanted to update what's going on with the railroad. Presently I'm writing an article on quick & easy window treatment that may or may not get published.

I've also been working on making a few wire armature trees like the ones I learned to make at Scott's tree clinic. I may have developed a cheaper coating than using the gesso that is $25.00 per quart. The coating is in testing right now.

And...... I'm still working on the B. Moore kitbashed structure. I've got the upstairs floors interior detailed & lighted. I'm working on the ground floor business which I plan on being a safe & lock shop.

More to come (with pictures).

Track rework in thru plate girder bridge area

2010-03-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

When Coalfinger Ken was over with the NCIOG group he was running his steam engine on the layout and discovered a REALLY bad track area on the uphill side of the plate girder bridge. Notice below that there is a big gap between the bottom of the level and the rail. This "hump" was de-railing his loco and it had to be repaired.

To make matters worse, there was also a kink in the track on the entrance to the bridge - a double whammy!

Since I had only put a couple of drops of glue on the bottom of the bridge it was very easy to pry it loose from the Styrofoam "concrete" piers.

Here I've put a spacer under the bridge to show how much the track leading to the bridge needs to be raised. I think where I went wrong originally was when I cut plywood sub bed it sagged resulting in the mismatch.

The track has to go, so I start by cutting the feeder wires.

Next I cut next to the cork where the landscaping is attached. Note the mother and son watching the process.

I used 50/50 white glue/water to glue down the cork, so an application of 70% alcohol helps dissolve the glue. As I put down the alcohol it wicks under the cork.

With the track gone it's time to use some elbow grease (and extra alcohol) to get up the rest of the cork.

It didn't take long to discover that this was going to be a long process, so I grabbed a nice soft rubber mat to help save the Dogs!

Here I'm checking the track with a car to make sure it's free rolling and no more hump.

The Styrofoam spacer has been cut and attached using 5 minute epoxy. Why epoxy? It's strong, foam safe, dries fast, and doesn't add much extra thickness. The spacer and existing support both had their edges beveled so that the lightweight Spackle would fill the crack.

Here's the spacer after it's been painted. Note the prototypical crack along the top horizontal edge - just like the real thing!

Graph paper was taped together and cut to make a template for the new roadbed. The new ramp piece was cut out of a piece of 3/16" Masonite following the template.

What the heck are these? They are 3/8" dowel rods cut into 1-1/2" pieces. They will be used to support the roadbed Masonite piece.

The 3/8" dowel rod pieces were inserted into holes drilled into the existing sub roadbed. They are a tight "slip fit" to allow them to be moved up and down.

After all of the holes were drilled and the dowels inserted, the Masonite roadbed piece was put on top and the dowels moved up or down to get the proper slope to the piece.

Here's a closeup of the dowels.(not in final position).

Once the Masonite roadbed slope was set properly, the dowels were affixed in place using the 5 minute epoxy.

Next the top of each dowel received a coat of yellow carpenter glue and the Masonite roadbed (with cork already installed) was installed on top. I used what I had handy for weights, which happened to be soft drinks from the NCIOG Friday night session.

Even though I had beveled the Masonite using a rasp it still was a little too thick. I cut it short and used styrene sheet of reducing thickness to make the transition to the final level ( existing plywood). The sheets were glued to each other using styrene glue and glued to the plywood with Alene's Tacky Glue. After the glue was dry I glued on the final strips of cork roadbed.

What's going on here? I saved the Masonite template and used it here to attach the track and curve it to the final angle. I soldered a piece of 36" Atlas code 83 flex track to a 9" piece of sectional track while they were straight, thus eliminating the possibility of a kink. I'm using this "jig" to paint the track with camo dark brown spray paint. The reason I painted the track in the final position is because when the track is flexed (curved) and painted it covers all areas.

Here's the track after it was glued down using latex caulk and weighted while the caulk was drying.

Of course, the scenery has to be reworked in this area because of the new roadbed and elevation. The area was sprayed with 70% alcohol and scraped to remove most of the grass. The trees and bushes were also removed.

When I first started model railroading I bought a 25 lb bag of Sculptamold because I read how great it was. I've never used it since purchasing it; however, I needed something that wasn't as messy as plaster. I mixed it according to the instructions and it is the perfect material for this process as it is easy to use, not messy at all, and has a generous working time ( 15 minutes or more!). The product is slow drying, so the landscape will have to wait a few days.

I ran trains over the new section and it is much improved! No more hump or kink. Thanks, Ken!

Beautiful Winter Wonderland!

2010-03-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

One of the advantages of working from home is that I can enjoy snow without the worries of trying to drive on the slick streets. Here's a view from my basment door out into our back yard taken Tuesday, March 2nd at approximately 1:30pm.

Nice picture of loco 2509 crossing the trestle

2010-02-20T10:06:00.001-08:00

While the gang was over the other night both Bob and Steve were taking pictures, so I don't know which one took this shot, but it's a beauty! Click on the picture for a larger view.

Bash-O-Mania!

2010-02-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post I started the bash of the B Moore Showroom as I got a second kit for $6 and wanted taller buildings for the area behind the current downtown Hoovertown. Below is a picture of the structure as it comes from DPM. You can click on the pictures for a larger view.

Here's the front after modification. I've added two stories, removed the overhead door to replace it with walk thru door, and narrowed the entire face (notice the kit before modification is 5 windows wide and it is now 4 windows wide.)

I hated those funky little small side windows on each side, so I cut up the sides to add the two stories and remove those windows.

Here's the side with the windows removed and about 1/3 of the width also removed. There won't be any side windows now on the ground floor.

Here you can see all four sides after the modifications. Notice that the back was narrowed by removing the entire far right side of windows from top to bottom.

I've added the putty to fill any gaps and painted the sections inside (black and then gray on top of the black) and painted the outside brick red (red oxide primer). Next will be adding mortar and painting the window detail. Stay tuned for future posts with progress.

Expansion planning on the railroad

2010-02-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

I've been working with expert railroad planner, Scott Perry about the future expansion of the railroad. I have NO experience in planning (as is obvious with the existing layout) and wanted Scott's input as I've seen his expertise first hand from being a member of the NCIOG (North County Interchange Operating Group).

I had been going about it all wrong in that I sort-of designed the future benchwork first, when it should be that I start with the purpose of the railroad and the industries it services. Here's some of Scott's comments on the planning process:

"Here is an industry diagram. I put in some of the industries, but not all. The ones I didn't put in didn't have another industry on the line to ship to. These can be added at will since all traffic to and fro is generated off line. Basically, the more of these types you use the more hidden staging you'll need. The industries I used keep all the traffic on the layout proper.

Here's a diagram.

This is a pretty busy railroad! Just the coal mine will generate two trains per ops session. Lots of back and forth. The asbestos plant sound like something you really want to build, so figure out a customer for it. An insulation company or a brake parts company would work. Worst case, ship it to the freight house. The coal distributor can sell gravel, too. A small cement plant is a great customer.

On the far right I always put the railroad as they consume a lot of goods; gravel, fuel, oil, sand, etc.

My rule of thumb is that every industry should have at least one supplier or destination on the railroad. This way more traffic stays on the board.

If you add the brewery or the bakery, you need to add a grain silo somewhere."

This is Scott's diagram that he furnished from the list of industries I provided to him. Click on the picture for a larger view.

This is an exciting process! This Friday the NCIOG group is meeting at the first time at my home for a planning session and we have a great start with Scott's input. Stay tuned for more!

New book for Richlawn RR Library

2010-02-10T09:06:00.001-08:00

I picked up this out of print book on ebay which has lots of nice color photos and many of them dealing with coal. This is important because the Richlawn RR will be focusing on hauling coal.

The right tool for the job

2010-01-30T14:52:00.001-08:00

After doing a bunch of hand cutting for a structure I'm kitbashing I thought "there must be a better way".....and there is - a mini table saw. My company was nice enough to give me a bonus and I didn't want some of that money to go to waste, so Midge got some jewelry and I got a Proxxon mini table saw!

Check out the description & specs here:

www.minicrafttools.com/38070.html

I've already made some cuts with it in plastic using a 24 tooth carbide blade and it rocks! The only disadvantage is the width of the cut, which has to be taken into consideration. What used to take what seems forever with a hand saw now takes less than 10 seconds!

Bits & Pieces

2010-01-29T04:53:00.001-08:00

Not a lot happening lately on the railroad, but a few things. The picture below is the "after" shot of my ceiling repair from the water damage (see earlier blog postings for the "before" picture). The dummy return air vent covers an opening in the drywall that I purposely left open for future leaks (an optimist?) Although my drywall mud work isn't very good, it will pass the casual glance test. Besides, who should be looking at the ceiling anyway..... look at the railroad!

Bash-0-mania - I'm working on kit bashing a DPM building, #10400. This is my first serious attempt at kit bashing and so far, so good. I'm changing the building from a 3-story to a 5-story, along with replacing the overhead door with a regular door and cutting down the depth of the building. I've been hand sawing the pieces and have put the project on hold until my new Proxxon FKS mini power table saw arrives. The project is taking some time because besides hand cutting the pieces, I've been documenting the project with pictures as I progress.

I'll post pictures of the completed structure "some time in the future".

Work night at Steve's 1-22-10

2010-01-23T14:42:00.001-08:00

We had a great time at Steve's on Friday night. He posted his account to the NCIOG blog so I'm adding the pix I took. I arrived a little early and picked up 9 pieces of rolling stock (including an L&N caboose!) that Steve had at a great price. Here the guys are getting ready to assemble & install a side wall. Mark & Keith are in the other room planning on what they are going to do for the electrical work.

Bob did much of the cutting of the lumber for the wall. Here it looks as if he is getting ready to cut off his fingers (which he didn't!)

Ken lends his hand to the cutting process and also finished the night with all of his digits.

Paul brought his "gun" and did the honors on securing the wall base plate to the floor.

I took my turn with the screw gun as Bob didn't want to hog all of the fun.

Bob puts in corner lumber for the small piece of drywall where this wall kicks out.

Keith was working so hard that his tongue started falling out. While he & Mark were doing the electrical work the lights kept going on & off.

Mark wanted a raise, so he got a ladder (ha!). One man working with two men watching - we should work for the government!

Mark and Keith are both experienced in doing electrical and they got a huge amount of work done including installing outlets, light fixtures, and switch boxes.

We had yummy snacks, great fellowship, and a good amount of progress!

Another view of Loco Run on Paul's layout

2010-01-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

Couldn't resist posting another run by - I love trains!

Paul's Work Session 1-10-10

2010-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

Paul did a great job with the write up on the NCIOG blog about the work session at his home. Here's some video & pix of the great evening.

Since I haven't seen trains running on the layout, Paul was nice enough to run a loco around to show how well it tracks on his beautiful graceful curves & trackwork. I wonder if we should always start (or end) our Friday night sessions with some trains running (when possible).

Keith is hard at work making the wall angle brackets for the shelf on the upper portion of the layout by using a completed unit as a guide.

Mark worked closely with Keith and the two worked very well together. Ken is taking care of the glue situation as Bob looks on.

What's Bob so happy about??? GLUE!!! He about wet himself when he saw a HUGE bottle of TiteBond!

Friday nights are about fun as much as work. Mark enjoys Glue Bob's reaction to that sticky stuff.

Paul explains things to the crew for attaching the angle brackets to the wall. What you can't see is that Keith had just finishing threatening to slap me for a "supposed" smart remark. Can you believe that I would ever make a smart remark?

Here the guys are attaching the bracket to the top of the benchwork. The 22 caliber nail set was used to attach the other end to the concrete - POW!

It's always nice to have an extra set of hands. Bob was nice to take this picture so that nobody thinks I was just standing around all night eating yummy ham sandwiches.

While everybody else disappeared SOMEBODY has to do the work, so that's me. (Actually a posed picture)

Here's is a closeup of one of the angle braces installed. Nice and sturdy.

Here I am again WORKING. (Another posed picture shot with the self-timer).

Ken & Steve got the boring job....get it? Lots of holes to be drilled and Steve actually drilled the edge off of the paddle bit.

That's Bob to the rescue sharping the blade bit with the handy-dandy moto-tool.

Now where does this wire go??? Ken quickly figured it out and strung a bunch-o-wire.

Paul in deep thought....or day dreaming about his future empire?

Bob's working with the yellow 12/3 that will be used to hook up the 3-way switches for the layout lighting.

Who left this wire here? (ANOTHER posed picture).

Wire everywhere. The loco cable and the 12/3 got installed on the layout.

Bob insisted on taking this picture because it took he and Steve 20 minutes to PUSH the loco cable through the tunnel.

"Now Paul, the thingies with the green on the end are clamps...can you say clamp?"

Great time, missed you Scott!

Writer's Cramp

2010-01-15T07:54:00.001-08:00

I haven't updated the blog in awhile because I've been working on writing an article on how to carve foam to make retaining walls. I don't know if / when it will be published. Below is a picture of the wall made for the article. If it ever gets published I'll post a link.

Operations at Keith's 1-8-10

2010-01-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

The NCIOG met at Keith's Friday night and we finished up early. This gave us an opportunity to run trains on his great layout. With the miles of scale track it was funny that three of the trains ended up in the same area at the same time and some had to take a siding. Somebody (we won't mention his name) ran a double red signal! The video below is the train running around the recently sceniced area that Keith as a "Scenery Newbee" did an awesome job! Great fun for all!

Shield built & in place

2010-01-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

With the water damaged ceiling in danger of possibly falling I built this temporary shield that I could put in place over the layout. The flat piece is a 4' x 4' x 1/2 piece of plywood with the legs an assortment of scrapes including 1 x 2, 1 x 4, and 2 x 2. I already had the corner gussets "in stock" from previous bench work. The shield is complete at this point. Although the legs are not sturdy, I couldn't use cross bracing and be able to straddle the layout.

Having double doors to the layout room was one of my best decisions that keeps paying dividends! My original idea to install this was to just pick it up, turn it "legs forward" and carry it into the room where I would gently place it over the layout. I quickly abandoned that idea when it became apparent that I'd probably knock half of Hoovertown down in the process!

I decided to take two of the legs off so that I could carry the unit into the room legs down. Before removing the legs I labeled each with a sharpie so that the would go back in the same place (sometimes even I have a good idea!)

Before making the move I positioned the removed legs roughly in place and used a clamp on one to hold it upright.

I carried the unit into the room and set it down resting on the detached legs. Next I crawled under the layout and attached the legs with my screw gun. I even brought extra screws with me in case I dropped one I couldn't reach (another good idea - 2 in one day!)

Here's a view looking up from the floor - you can see the bad spot on the ceiling. I have about 3" clearance between the top of the bridge and the shield. Now I can sleep better not waiting for a possible CRASH! in the trainroom.

A thank you to Scott for his offer to re-direct our Ops group work session to my house in case I need help.

Hosed again!

2010-01-04T07:33:00.001-08:00

I was walking by the doors to the railroad when I heard this disturbing sound......drip....drip.drip.drip...with only a few seconds between the drips. Upon investigation I found out that I had a water problem with water dripping from the ceiling and a big puddle on the floor. An investigation as to the source found that it was coming from the laundry room above. The floor underneath the washer was wet, but I couldn't find any leak. I filled the washer with water and skipped to the empty cycle and still no leak. I repeated the fill cycle again and this time let it run through the entire cycle. This time during the spin cycle the washer rocked a little and I could see water squirting out of where the supply hoses attached to the input fittings. I used a pair of pliers to tighten the hoses on both ends and now no leaks.

The hoses obviously were tight originally, but with time the rubber washers had compressed and/or the fitting loosened. A word of warning: If your train room is downstairs and your washer is above, make sure to check those hoses!

Now I've got to build a shelter out of plywood to go over the railroad just in case the drywall decides to let go. The shelter will also stay up during the repair process to protect the railroad from falling drywall.

First Craftsman Kit - Farmhouse

2009-12-18T18:05:00.000-08:00

It's still under construction, but this is my first attempt at a wood craftsman kit. I've enjoyed building it and when you consider how long it has taken me so far, that's a lot of bang for my buck when you consider the purchase price and hours of enjoyment. I still need to do touch up painting, add the chimneys, do some weathering, add interior detail, and add lighting. This will occupy a special place in the Hoovertown residential district.

Click on the picture for a larger view.

Christmas Present Early

2009-12-07T14:02:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting a steam engine for the layout, but I've got a couple of tight curves so I had to choose a little loco to go around the curves. Since I'm modeling in the 60's & 70's it's after steam, so this loco will be for excursions. Bachmann has this nice little 4-4--0 with sound that fits the bill. It's not L&N, but then it's not uncommon for excursions to "run what you got". It looks & sounds great on the layout. Who knows - maybe I'll backdate to the steam age and become a steam convert?

Click on the picture for a larger view.

Gettin' the Kinks Out

2009-11-15T15:07:00.001-08:00

From the beginning I've had a kink in track in the mainline going around the Matthews freight yard that I've tried to ignore. I was doing great with that until I tried to run my new (Christmas present) Bachmann Spectrum 4-4-0 locomotive through the kink. The front "4" wheels derail almost every time they hit the kink. Poor trackwork will eventually catch up with you!

Here's another view of the kink shown on the right track by the turnout.

Here's the tools I used to fix the problem. The alcohol is 90% which is the same stuff I use to wet areas before I apply white glue when I'm doing ballast or scenery.

The good thing about alcohol is that is will quickly dissolve dried white glue, and since I used track nails to secure the track and not contact cement, the removal was a simple matter of wetting down the ballast and landscape around the track section I needed to remove.

After allowing the glue to work a few minutes I went to work with the scraping using various tools including a screwdriver, putty knife, and dental tool.

I had the vacuum handy and cleaned up the loosened material as I went along.

Next I pulled out the track nails using my track cutting pliers.

I used my Dremel tool with a fiber reinforced cutoff wheel to cut the track. I used a fiber reinforced cutoff wheel instead of standard cutoff wheel for two reasons: 1.) The reinforced wheel doesn't shatter like the non-reinforced wheel, and 2.) the reinforced wheel is larger in diameter making it easier to make a right angle cut through the track.

So, once you cut the track, how do you undercut the plastic ties so they can be removed to allow for the track joiners? It's easy to remove the ties when the track isn't in place because you can just snip them with your cutters and slide them off the end of the track. With the track in place there isn't any way to easily cut up through the plastic tie joiners. I solved the problem by heating the tip of my dental tool, sliding it up under the track and through the plastic piece joining the ties. I could then easily slide the ties off the end of the track.

Here's a view of the cut before I used my hot dental tool technique to remove the ties. The joints have to be offset.

Here's the area cleared of ballast and track. I also cut back the plaster scenery area to the right to allow for a larger radius turn.

Here is the new track in place with the rail joiners soldered on both ends.

And the finished (not painted or ballasted) product with the kink gone. The new 4-4-0 locomotive runs though the area without a hitch!

I learned my lesson on track laying - do it right the first time! If something is not right after you lay the track, fix it right away.

Piedmont Pilgrimage at the Richlawn Railroad

2009-11-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

The Piedmont Tour included the Richlawn Railroad on Sunday, November 1st from 1pm until 5pm. This is the second year on the tour, with the major progress on the layout in the mountain area which didn't exist last year. As visitors entered they were able to see a pictorial history of the railroad along with information sheets about the concept and future.
Click on pictures for a larger view.

My chief operator/assistant this year was Charlie Crawford (right)who did a fantastic job of keeping things running while I was able to spend time chatting with the visitors. Charlie really "earned his pay" late in the afternoon when some gremlins entered the trains and we started getting some "hickups" that required switching out some locos. Later examination showed a combination of dirty track & loco wheels. This is interesting as I did a "wet" and "dry" cleaning of the entire layout and locos that morning.

My other operation/ assistant was I.D. Jackson (left) who kept busy backing up Charlie, keeping an eye on things, and chatting with our guests. Speaking of guests, "Coalfinger" Ken (right) from our NCIOG group showed up to offer support and talk L&N to another "Old Reliable" fan (me).

The visitors trickled in at the start and we had a number of visitors from the neighborhood as this was the first year I put flyer on all 37 house's mailboxes in our neighborhood.

It was great to see a number of small children (future model railroaders?) and everybody did a great job of "look, but don't touch". The camera car was a hit with both the children and adults as they could see themselves on TV!

Many of the visitors commented on the mountain area and liked the waterfall and lake area. The group below is looking at the Matthews freight yard where there is alot of potential action with locos and rolling stock.

"What scale are those buildings on the mountain" was a popular question. The answer is they start as HO down at the bottom, reduce to N scale half way up, and are Z scale at the top. The Z scale vehicles at the top are actually charms used on a charm bracelet. They're only $1.23 at Hobby Lobby instead of $$$ from the model railroad suppliers.

George Potter's wonderful N scale layout was on tour the same time as ours, and just like last year we had flyers for each other's railroads with directions and pictures. It was a popular handout and many of the visitors had just come from George's or were headed there next.

We had a "jam" of people for a period of about an hour were we had up to 15 people there at one time! The railroad room was full of people and people had to wait outside for their turn. This gave them time to visit the refreshment table and have a seat in the waiting area. Is that Joe in the hat??? He was a first time visitor and it was great to have him visit and give his input.

With the two running trains speed set correctly, Charlie stepped out of the room to allow more space for the guests. Speaking of guests, another member of the NCIOG, Paul stopped by to visit and also dropped off some stuff I left at Bob's. Thanks, Paul. His layout is on the tour and he and the NCIOG group have been working hard to get him ready.

It was a very successful open house with a total of 63 people with 44 of them not being member of the NMRA. I believe we helped promote model railroading and had a great time doing it by spending time with our guest listening and talking to them.

A special thanks to Charlie Crawford, I.D. Jackson, and the Piedmont Division for allowing us to showcase our layout on the tour!

Piedmont Tour progress

2009-10-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

With the Piedmont Pilgrimage tour stopping at our layout this Sunday, November 1st this is as far as I got on the lake & trestle area. Last year was our first year on the tour and we had 91 people! I understand it's not unusual to have a large attendance for new layouts added to the tour. I'm hoping there's been enough progress on the layout to make it worth while to visit for past visitors. (Click on picture for a larger view)

L&N Historical Society Annual Convention - Chattanooga, TN

2009-09-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

I attended the convention (my first L&N) Sept 24th - 27th held at the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn. The convention registration didn't start until 3pm so they had arranged for an open house at a modeler that models the "Hook & Eye" in 1/48" scale. The layout room is over a 2 car garage and features some very nice work, especially the structures (trestles & buildings). It's hard to photograph & show the entire layout.

Here's an example of the fine work on structures, including weathering.

You can't find this trestle in a kit - nicely scratch built.

The evening was filled with talks about different aspects of the L&N and was very interesting; however, I was looking forward to the trains rides on Friday and Saturday. The rains flooded some of the trackage, so some changes had to be made.

Friday's ride was on the famous "Hook & Eye" - just the hook part. It was supposed to leave from the hotel, but we had a little bus ride of about an hour - nice time to get to know some of the people at the convention. We had a couple of photo run-by opportunities and where's a shot of the train crossing the trestle.

Later on in the "hook" portion here's the trestle you first cross over, then under - a very neat experience!

Speaking of neat, I had been chatting with the gentlemen across the way from me when I recognized his voice - Allen Keller of video fame! I couldn't resist showing him a couple of pix of the Richlawn Railroad and he gave me his card and asked me to send him a CD with more pictures. We both agreed that my RR is too small at present to be considered for his productions, but maybe in the future??? Allen is a very nice "regular" guy and very interesting to talk to about railroading.

Here's another photo "run-by". Can you believe the Alco smokes? (ha,ha)

=====================================================================

Day two (Saturday) was a steam day. The train backed right up to the hotel and off we went, only to be delayed about 40 minutes in a switch yard. No problem, it gave me time to have an early lunch and I sat with 3 guys that grew up in Louisville not far from where I lived.

I'm a Diesel guy, but I've got to say that steam is a heck of alot more interesting to look at and to listen to! It rained pretty much the entire trip, so we didn't get any photo run-bys. I was out in the rain with my umbrella to get my shots.

We arrived at Grand Junction and only had a short (40 minutes) layover as the train was late picking us up and we lost time waiting in the yard. I did have time to get a few shots and to see some of the station.

I noticed when our train was backing into the hotel that smoke was coming out of the center of one of the "coach" cars - stupid me! It was a Power Car and was actually pulling the steam engine backwards. You can see the hump on the top of the center of the car.

Here's a closeup look at the controls to operate this thing - notice on the speedometer that we're doing a blazing 10 MPH at the time I took the picture as we were almost at the junction

This was my favorite part of the trip on Saturday - a visit to the TVR Soule Shops. There was all kinds of neat stuff there!

Power, anyone? I wonder if I could stuff that in my new Kia Rio?

There was lots of stuff outside waiting for some TLC. I love these big classy units?
I don't know what this is - kinda looks like something they'd make in Canada (Bob?)

Inside the shop they were working on a steam and an E unit. It's just two guys that work on their weekends and vacations - thank God for people like them!

It looks like this old E could have been the Southern Crescent?

While we were they we got to see the steam engine take a spin on the turntable! By the way, they did a 360 degree turn just for us - no need to actually turn the unit here.

Saturday night was a delicious banquet dinner followed by an L&N employee that had been with them for over 50 years - a very interesting speaker! The night was closed by watching old films of Southern and L&N trains.

I had a great time and plan on attending (God willing) next year when it's in the Frankfort, Ky area.

2 Blu 4 U? Click on pictures for a larger view

2009-09-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's BLUE....but I wanted a lake like you see in postcards or in dreams...and since it's our railroad, that's what we did! Obviously, it's still under construction as the waterfall has to be added at the edge of the stream and ripples added with the strongest at the point where the waterfall over the dam enters the lake. Oh, and the seams you see in the grass mats on the hills will disappear once I get all mats on and blended together. The lower edge / shoreline will have to be landscaped and loose material added at the seam of the shoreline and lake surface. This loose material will have to be replaced anytime the hatch is removed & put back in place (which I hope won't be often).

The construction of the lake was as follows: 1.) Cover entire top of Masonite with two coats of latex flat paint; 2.) Using an airbrush paint the center area a dark navy blue color created by mixing black with navy blue; 3.) Moving outwards from the center, paint with a translucent blue paint mixed with the dark navy paint; 4.) Continuing outward, vary the mix of translucent blue to dark navy by adding more translucent with each outward sweep; 5.) Let paint dry 24 hours & glue on rocks & sticks using white glue; 6.) Use modeling clay to create a "dam" 1/2" high around the outside of the piece to contain the EnviroTex Lite(tm) high gloss finish; 7.) Level the piece so the coating will be equal depth; 8.) Carefully figure how much EnviroTex Lite(tm) will be required; 9.) Mix according to manufacturer's instructions & pour; 10.) FIND OUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH! - quickly mix & pour another batch; 11.) FIND OUT IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH...AHHH!! - quickly mix & pour another batch; 12.) Use a propane torch to take out the bubbles (carefully!); and 13.) Let dry (4) days even though manufacturer says 72 hours.

Here we have some swimmers in the water and I'll add some people up on the land to their right. Stay tuned to more pictures as this progresses. My goal is to have this area ready by November 1st for the Piedmont Tour.

New Loco & 1st time consist - Click on picture for a larger view

2009-09-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Loco #914 is a new addition to the railroad that I just purchased from ebay(tm). It's an Atlas RS36 that has a Digitrax decoder and separate MRC sound decoder, all for $89! I already had #911 RS36 that I equipped with a Digitrax decoder. For you old hands it's no big deal, but this was the first time I consisted locos on my layout. The good news is that #911 ran faster than #914 (lead loco), so it was a matter of playing with the CV programming on #911 to slow it down & match the speed and acceleration of #914. It took me about 30 minutes to get it right and I really like the way it looks / runs. I plan on consisting the balance of my locos as it is also more realistic.

Bricked windows details - click on pictures for a larger view

2009-09-14T05:52:00.001-07:00

The wife & I were in Copperhill, TN the other day on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway (we work as volunteer car hosts) when I noticed some interesting details about bricked windows. Most often the windows are bricked sometime later from the original construction and with different bricks that vary in color from the originals. The is plainly shown on the picture below.

Something new I noticed was that in some cases besides the colors not matching, the mortar lines also don't match. Notice the mis-match below - the pattern matches at the top but gets

farther off as you look down the window. Not all bricked windows will probably have this mis-match, but a nice detail to model.

The next time I model bricked windows I definitely will make sure the bricked in area is a different color, and perhaps "off" a little on the mortar lines. Thanks to Scott P. for his suggestion to post this to the blog.

News Flash! New motive power added to Richlawn Railroad!

2009-08-30T18:13:00.001-07:00

The Mrs. & I were sitting around Saturday with not much to do, so we thought we'd go to a scrapbooking store in Kennesaw,GA she had visited and liked before. Knowing that there's a model train store there that I never visited I was quick to say "yes!". It just so happens that my Google(TM) map put us right at the door of that RR store, and they were having a 50% off sale on EVERYTHING in the store. What should be on display front and center - none other than an Atlas Gold (DCC & Sound!) MP-15DC loco in L&N! Now, I wasn't planning on getting another loco (who is?) BUT when you can get it for around $122 bucks what are you going to do? I didn't have any switcher locos with sound, so the Matthews Freight yard will never sound (or look) better. I've got to add the details to the loco, but I couldn't wait to try it out and it runs / sounds sweet!

Click on picture for a larger view.

Lake hatch work - click on pictures for a larger view

2009-08-30T17:53:00.001-07:00

Here I'm working on the lake that will also serve as an access hatch. I used 1/2" plywood and attached it to the existing 1/2" plywood trestle base. I leveled the trim ring and mounted it using risers screwed & glued to the ring and screwed to the bench work.

Two pieces of 1/2" foamboard were glued together with the layers offset so that a lip hangs down even with the bottom of the 1/2" plywood. I contoured the foam using a rasp and sanding block - it's attached to the plywood with foam-safe caulking. The foam ring will serve two purposes: 1.) It will serve as a mounting point to glue the cardboard webbing, and 2.) It will "seal" against the lake surface. I'm using 1/8" hardboard for the lake which will be painted both sides. The hardboard will have plywood bracing underneath to make it strong. The top will be painted "lake color" and be covered with Enviro-Tech Lite(TM).

I've started the cardboard webbing work here and will continue it as far as I can. I say that as I can't complete it until the trestle is permanently affixed, and that can't happen until I rework the trestle (see previous post).

2009-08-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Haven't updated the Blog for awhile, so I just added this picture to show the overall progress with the trestle & mountains in the background. Click on picture for a larger view.

Trestle rework

2009-08-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

I was looking closely at the picture of my trestle in my previous post and it became painfully obvious that the shortcuts I took on the cross bracing ruin the look. Instead of individual bracing between each bent, I spanned multiple bents resulting in intersections not landing on a bent. I will remove the cross bracing and rework it to make a better looking and more accurate model.

Sometimes the pictures can be a mixed blessing!

View of trestle & falls as it will appear

2009-08-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

So this picture is "mocked up" with my image editing software to add the landscape for areas now bare. Why does it seem to take soooo long to get this stuff done? The waterfall will flow into a lake that will serve also as a removable access hatch. I need some way to change those light bulbs in the mountain area!

**** Click on picture for a larger view ****

Falls Area Landscaping Near Completion

2009-08-04T05:34:00.001-07:00

The grass mats have been added to the right of the falls, along with a good coat of cheap hair spray and more landscape material. The area immediately to the right of the falls by the lower rock area is currently darker. I believe that is due to the hair spray being wet. If it is still darker when it dries I'll add more green color to correct the colors.

* Click on picture for a larger view *

To finish this area out I'll add some small trees / bushes and some fallen timber.

Mountain progress on the right of Misty Falls

2009-07-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

Progress marches on as I continue to build the mountain area

The latest progress is building the mountain to the right of Misty Falls. I use the cardboard web / plaster cloth method as that's what I'm comfortable using. It's no better or worse than other methods, but since I've got a bunch of plaster cloth, why not?

**** Click on pictures for a larger view ****

I start by punching holes at the top of the mountain in the foam "distant" mountains and feeding through a piece of cardboard web, which I wrap back around and glue it to itself. As the woven web is made I hot glue each junction. Some like to staple the intersections, but to me glue is easier. While the glue is setting I use clothes pins to hold things together. The web is complete and it took about 45 minutes.

The web needs some individual hills and I find it easier to do this by using wads of paper and tape them in place. With this method I can easily move them around, add, adjust, etc. Here I've added contours to the top of the mountain and about 1/3 of the way down.

I saw a hint in a magazine (don't remember which one) that suggested covering the cardboard web with masking tape. I like this idea for these reasons: 1) It helps me to visualize the area and contours without actually applying the plaster cloth; 2) By not pressing down the tape on each web strip, I can "bridge" the strips to make smoother hills without the "ribs" that sometimes show when cloth is added directly to the web; and 3) With the tape I can seal edges so the plaster cloth doesn't droop through gaps / holes. The taping process took about 15 minutes.

The fun part - applying plaster cloth! I start by apply a double thickness (pieces folded in half) around the edges. Next, I apply larger pieces starting at the top and overlapping each piece by 50%. The result is the entire area is covered with at least a double layer of plaster cloth in less than 45 minutes.

Here I've added the hand-carved plaster rocks. After carving the rocks and letting them dry, I applied the "Leopard" method of coloring (as shown on the Woodland Scenics(tm) web site). After that dried I applied grass and bushes.

A closer view of the rocks at the top of the area

A closeup of the lower rock section. Next will be adding the grass mat.

Trees & More Trees

2009-07-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

I need a ga-zillion trees for my landscape, and it would take me years to make even 1/10th of what I need. I found a supplier on ebay(tm) that has nice trees at about 20 cents each that come in a pack of 10.

Coming all the way from China they get a little scrunched up from the trip.

A little tug here, a little tug there.

Now, that's much better! It's looking like a tree, but a bright green tree (too bright for me!).

To get rid of that bright green, I'll need to add some darker colored ground foam, so it goes for a dunk in the 50/50 solution of white glue & water.

While submerged, I'll give it a twirl to make sure the glue penetrates the tree completely. Once dunked, I'll lift it out of the glue (keeping it in the container) and twirl it between my thumb & forefinger to remove excess glue.

Here's the tree with the light coating of white glue

Next the tree get tossed into a container full of a special (top secret) blend of ground foam

Once in the container it is rolled around and covered with the foam until all surfaces are coated

After coating the tree is tapped against the edge of the foam container to remove any excess foam

Because the dunking in white glue also coats the tree trunk, some of the grass flocking sticks to the truck. I use my fingers to wipe away the foam on the trunk while the glue is still wet.

Here is the finished tree with a darker and more realistic foliage

Here's a holder with 30 trees - only a ga-zillion minus 30 more to go!

Piedmont Open House Sunday, July 19, 2009

2009-07-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today, Sunday July 19th was our turn to host the open house for our layout. Because of our far North location we weren't expecting many people to make the trek, especially since there was only one layout this Sunday (usually there are two). We did have 14 people come by and I can honestly say it was nice with that number as I had time to spend talking to each visitor individually and getting to know more about them and their layouts.

Another advantage of having the open house is that it FORCED me to once again clean up my basement. Apparently someone have been sneaking in a night and making a mess! We had a refreshment table, a information table, and greeting table. I ran both of my new locos - the C420 (Atlas Gold) and the F7 (Intermountain RR). Both ran flawlessly the entire three hours and never missed a beat. I almost had a rear end collision as I was yapping and didn't notice the C420 had almost caught up with the F7.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures as I was having too much fun with the visitors!

F7 over the trestle & a Look-Around

2009-07-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Click on start button to view video - it has sound

This is a short little video of my F7 crossing the trestle by the waterfall. The area is still under construction. It was shot with my old Sony P8 still camera and is jerky.

This is just a quick look-around of the layout and is more about testing uploading video to my blog.

Mountain Work Continues

2009-07-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view

The grass mats have been added along with rocks, grass on the rocks, and some bushes. There is also an N scale truck on a road near the top back of the mountain. This is the N scale charm I did earlier.

Click on picture for a larger view

This view shows a closer view of the truck rattling along the dirt road towards the house to the left (out of the picture). The truck is barely visible; however, it will help with the forced perspective.

Mountain Progress with Misty Falls

2009-07-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view

The plaster cloth work has been completed for the upper left part of Misty Falls connecting it to the tunnel area. I painted the cloth with my squeeze bottle filled with "oops" paint ($5 per gallon at Home Depot) leaving out the areas where I'll add hand-carved plaster rocks. One of the advantages of hand-carving the rocks is that they can become smaller further up / away from the viewer to reinforce the forced perspective of distance. For the lower painted areas, I'll have to experiment to see if they are too steep for trees and will need need grass / bush mats made from black poly fiber stretched thin and covered with ground foam of different sizes.

Misty Falls Complete!

2009-07-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view

Well, it took about 20 hours all together to complete Misty Falls. The falls "module" is about 3 feet high and about 8" wide in the middle. Midge put her "Midge Magic" on the falls today adding the additional details that really kick it up a notch. The next step is to attach it to the layout and then tie it in with the cardboard webbing, plaster cloth, and landscaping.

Charming Z scale truck

2009-07-01T17:12:00.001-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view

In my hints, tricks & shortcut section I talk about using charms from a charm bracelet for Z scale vehicles. This "silver" charm cost $1.99 from Hobby Lobby. I cut off the ring from the front bumper, and used Testors flat blue to paint it. The black lines were alreay on the charm, and I just left them there when I painted the truck. For scale the truck is shown next to a dime. It may not be exactly Z scale, but that's not important to me as it will be viewed from 6 feet away (see my other post on this).

On Top of the Mountain

2009-07-01T17:08:00.001-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view

I'm using forced perspective in the mountain area, with HO scale at the bottom, and getting smaller at the top & farther away. Visitors to my railroad can get no closer than 6 feet from the mountain. I needed something very small for the top of the mountain, approximately Z scale. Since Z = $$$, I went the cheap route and used software to create & print the house, and a charm for the truck. From 6 feet away, it should be convincing.

Oh Mister Sand Man.......

2009-06-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view

I have a sand tower for the Matthews freight yard, but no sand drying house. Since most everybody uses the Walthers kit, I decided to do something a little different. I used the Con-Car "Cambridge City Iron Works" kit and modified / bashed it a little. I made it one story instead of two, used a different flat roof (without skylights) and used a exhaust stack from a roundhouse for the drying oven. I also took a different track on the exterior sand bin, which is constructed from timber on the Walther's kit. I made individual Styrofoam blocks, painted them concrete gray, and stacked them much like is used at asphalt and concrete plants. I used real sand sifted through a stocking for the sand bin.

2009-06-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view
Work continues on Misty Falls in the mountain area. Here you see the basic waterfall with the Woodland Scenics(TM) Water Effects added and wet - it will dry clear. I'll make the individual falls per WS's video on their site and glue them to the waterfall base for the areas where the water drops (and naturally would have a waterfall). After they are applied, I'll add some splash effects using the Water Effects mixed with white paint. Since the foam base piece isn't mounted, if I don't like the end result - in the trash it goes!

2009-06-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view

The latest progress on the layout is in the mountain area. As I move from left to right a trestle will be added along with a waterfall.

A L&N "U-boat" rounds the bend at Hoovertown

2009-06-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

Click on picture for a larger view