Matthews Freight Yard

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

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

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...

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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.