A couple of N scale structures for hire

I've got a box full of structures to complete for a client in the next few weeks, and I've finished the first two. Both were very nice kits that were easy and enjoyable to put together.



The first is a British weighbridge hut by Ratio Plastic Models. Everything fit well with almost no fuss or bother. I spent almost 2 hours painting the less than one inch long shack with several different colors. A base coat for the stone walls and concrete for the lintels. Then some individual coloring of the stones to provide a non-patterned multi-chromatic wall. I used a brush with about 4 bristles for that. Then a white/cream wet wash for the mortar and some fun with black and earth for weathering and finally some touches of green moss growing around cracks and corners. The roof has a base dark green slate and heavy black weathering. The brass details for door and window were lightly weathered, but the gutters have standing blackish gunk in them.

The other structure is a laser cut wood icehouse from Branchline Trains. Fantastic kit with tight fits and no sanding and very little clean up of parts after picked out of the wood sheets. The 3M backed details is a brilliant idea - I was skeptical before assembling - but in N scale, it makes attaching the tiny items much easier. The only problem I had was with the ladders because the cut outs were so small, they kept scattering and sticking to everything. Minor annoyance for such a nice kit.



I weathered up the tar paper roof a bunch since it is so large and visible to try and give it the same level of detail as the scribed wood siding. I love how the decking turned out after I applied a little antique oak stain from Hallmark Home Decor (from the craft store in a 2 oz squeeze bottle). I scruffed up the wood siding and dry-brushed the siding and decks to bring out some detail and weather them up a bit.

It was almost a full day of work building the two - mainly because of the painting and making a quick run to the hobby shop for supplies.

Remotored Roundhouse Boxcab breaking in on New Test Track

[caption id="attachment_93" align="alignnone" width="492" caption="A re-motored Roundhouse boxcab"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_94" align="alignnone" width="491" caption="A comparison of the out-of-the-box configuration (lower) and remotored and weighted chassis from Ron LaFever (upper)."][/caption]

Activity on the New Test Track

Last week I created a test track loop to break-in locomotives. I used some code 83 weathered Micro Engineering flex track on top of a door/worktable. I quickly made a note at how difficult it was to work with the rail joiners straight out of the pouch, so I started to pry the openings up a little with the tip of a file so that they would go on the rail more easily. I then soldered the joints between the four pieces and set my re-motored GE-IR boxcab off in circles. I sent this little guy off to Ron LaFever to be remotored (exchanged, actually, for another rebuilt chassis), and the results were very good. Very nice work. The only problem that remains is the noise of the gearing, which is a result of the design, but hopefully the break-in will help with that. In the meantime, I have the radio turned up pretty high to cover up (some) of the noise.

Operations at Jack Merkel's

I'm the guy behind the guy (that guy is Charles)

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Upcoming Operating Session

This coming weekend is an operating session at Jack Merkel's. He has a really fun, low-key and challenging operating scheme on the Santa Fe between Houston and Temple. Sealy and Brenham provide lots of switching opportunities as well as the Southern Pacific branch line that connects to the Santa Fe at Giddings. NCE controls with about 30% of the motive power sound equipped. Everything is landscaped with a smattering of buildings still in mock-up cardstock. (A good way to populate the layout until you have time to finish all your structures.) Centralized Traffic Control and radio dispatch with an analog fast clock.

Pictured above is the town of Brenham where I am switching in the town and Charles is entering the town on the main. It kind of looks like he is waiting on me, but he's not, he is aligning the main in front of his train. The trick with Brenham is that there is a house track within town that gets clogged on occasion with set outs, and getting back to the upper industries can be a bit challenging at times.

A nice operating element is that the passenger trains service REX as well as drop dining cars and sometimes coaches in towns for service. This keeps you busy (and thinking) on those mainline jobs. Thru-freight is mostly just that, but there are a couple of exchanges that happen in Houston's New South yard. The double-ended staging makes it possible to restage the railroad in about 30 minutes, so Jack has two back-to-back-sessions on the Saturdays that he operates. It also makes it really easy to run extras all day long if there are crews that are just sitting around.

Always a fun time.

-Riley

Layout design project 2008:12

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="477" caption="Layout Room "][/caption]

How do you start a layout design project?

The sketch above is for a layout design commission that started early 2008. The client leases his residence, and this is a spare bed room with closet (not shown, but stay tuned...). There is a window in the top right wall. Your layout plans don't mean anything unless they are tied to an accurate floor plan from the beginning. The next thing you need is a list of Givens and Druthers.

Givens and Druthers

I asked the client to to provide a list of things that he wanted on the layout, including the type of railroading he liked, operations plans, structures on hand, etc. His initial answer:

I model in N scale

• 
  
  generic northwestern setting, early transition era and before - not looking for towering mtns or forests, just the flavor


• 
  
  no particular prototype - NW roads I should guess - my loco stable is small; mostly NP


• 
  
  waterfront 'town'


• logging - I'd like a switch-backed branch to upper logging area


• sawmill with log dump pond


• 
  
  small brewery


• 
  
  small factory


• 
  
  Cornerstone - Interstate Fuel & Oil


• 
  
  Cornerstone - Farmers Coop grain elevator


• 
  
  Cornerstone - small freight house


• 
  
  Bar Mills - Earl's Oil


• 
  
  Bar Mills - Mooney's Plumbing


• 
  
  Bar Mills - Majestic  Hardware


• 
  
  quarry or small pit mine with crusher/loader


• 
  
  small junk /metal scrap yard - a few gondola loads


• 
  
  passenger depot - I don't plan to model passenger service  - perhaps on an abandoned siding


• 
  
  4 axle diesels & medium-to-small steam locos


• 
  
  40-foot freight cars - I have a penchant for billboard reefers and tank cars


• 
  
  DCC


• 
  
  staging - TBD


• 
  
  bridge(s) and perhaps a timber trestle - I have one Kato 10-inch truss bridge I'd like to include


• 
  
  
  

  Any radius would work with the short equipment, but I'd prefer to stay away from sharp curves on the mainline

  
  
  

My favorite things about railroads? Never really considered that; definitely more a railfan than a rivet counter. I'd like a long mainline continuous run w/freight ops for one. I like to watch 'em roll thru interesting varied scenery.

So this is where we start. The next step is to take a shot at the project with a hand sketch of track plan to fit the room and the answers he provided.

LDJ 39 is at the printer

I delivered (actually ftp'd) the latest issue of the Layout Design Journal to the printer late Sunday night. Good selection of layout types represented, with some great modeling as well as innovative ideas.

Unfortunately, the format of the issue has reverted back to a really ghastly newsletter template and associated primative graphics, logo, etc. that has been in use for 25 years. One of the main concerns was "large serif font for ease of readability by baby boomer generation". Interestingly enough, I just received a copy of the British modeling magazine, Narrow Gauge and Industrial Model Railways, and their sans serif typeface was smaller than that I used. Either the elderly British have better eyesight than we American old folk, the British modeling demographic is far younger, or this is actually just a red herring argument for those that can't wrap their head around anything different than they already are familiar with.

Draft created on November 4, 2008 at 6:19 pm

New HBS Banner

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I took a few moments to create a banner for the railroad for use in forum signatures. I just wanted to get something out there to start building an identity for the railroad. Ironically, it took a similar form of the later GE 44 tonners paint scheme for #700 and #701 that used yellow lettering over green field. Totally done by accident, but I had just looked at my photo collection that includes images of these locomotives. Careful what you look at - it is going to influence you.

Hand drawn HBS plan revisited

So I revisited my original plan for my Hoboken Shore Railroad, and I believe I may like it the best. After doing an article on the RO-RO staging device in LDJ38, I very much like the idea that it can act as the connection to Croxton Yard and provide all the Erie Railroad traffic to and from Weehawken Yard. Six foot long trains are plenty long enough for the amount of room I can dedicate to the yard.
I also like the way the track plan mimics many of the twists and turns that the prototype took. The HBS yard has the same curved track as the real railroad that lead around the waterfront to the service yard and Seatrain docks.
I am becoming enamored with the idea of having the Bethlehem Steel facility almost completely modeled on the large bump-out. I have found photos at the Historic American Builds online site that detail a few of the buildings which would make scratchbuilding much easier.
Every spot is accounted for in this plan for the entire railroad, which is one of the things that got me interested in the railroad to begin with. It also has provision for that Dial-A-Yard idea that would allow me to have several other yards.
What to do next
I'll need to work into the plan my office and a guest bed or two somehow. The bench work will be need to be high (50"+) so I can fit desks and beds below. There will probably be bookshelves below, but there is also an opportunity to have a couple of shelves at the ceiling line because of the 9' ceilings. This could provide the foundation for valence and lighting, too.
To progress the plan, I'll start on a SketchUp! model soon. I'm inspired by the work of Alan Cooper, whom I saw a few photos of his SketchUp! work on his own layout from the last convention. Since space is critical, and some innovative solutions will be called upon to solve specific space issues, I don't have any problem spending a good deal of time working up a detailed vitual model first. I might also make a physical model to double-check what kind of clearances and access I will have to the additional functions in the room.
I will post progress on these plan developments...
Original web postings on the LDSIG web site.

LDJ 38 has mailed.

The latest issue of of the LDJ is on the way. This is the last in the "over-sized" format that was voted out by the Board of Directors at the NMRA national convention in July. The format will return to the old and outdated 8-1/2 x 11 look and feel that the members are more comfortable with.