I've been working on my layout since 2007, it's a two level around the room shelf style with a center peninsula and a helix. My layout room is P shaped. It's 32 feet long and one end is 13 feet and the other is 18 feet. The lower level is 40 inches high and the upper is 60 inches high. I model the New York Central's Big Four line south of Cleveland on the lower level and a fictitious branch line on the upper level. My time period is the late 1940's.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820154827.jpeg)
Lower level engine service area with open roundhouse and turntable. Both are Walthers kits. The turntable is the 90 foot. Coaling tower is also Walthers. Both buildings along backdrop are kitbashed Walthers parts. Area is still a work in progress
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820154902.jpeg)
More engine service area views. Sand facility is Walthers and service areas are Peco inspection kits and kitbashed platforms
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820154932.jpeg)
My lower level staging area, with 6 track Eastbound yard with return loop and 3 track Westbound yard and return loop. Both return loops are the lower levels of my helix
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155332.jpeg)
Helix view. Interior of helix is open through upper level. Helix is single track on cork roadbed with 3 inch rise between levels. 7 turns gets me to the upper level
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155029.jpeg)
View looking down upper level peninsula. Building in foreground is a scratch-built version of Rural Post Office build thread by ACL1504.
That's it for now. More to come
Looks great Jeff.....thanks for posting and am looking forward to more posts on your layout. 8)
late 1940's and the NYC.....can't go wrong there..... :)
WOW, really nice looking layout Jeff.
Very nice Jeff. Thank you for posting here on the forum - I too look forward to your updates.
Hey Nycjeff:
Very nice keep the pic flowing.
Karl
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155058.jpeg)
This is a scratch-built burnt out barn next to the lower level main line. I used various stripwoods and balsa wood and painted it with a barn red craft paint. I then used pastel chalks for the burnt out look. I was pleased with the overall look
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155126.jpeg)
This is the exit area from my lower level East-bound staging. I was trying for a NYC state line tunnel look. I used carved foam and various craft paints and chalks
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155208.jpeg)
This is a Walthers highway overpass and sidewalk and street kit. It was my first bridge on the layout. There aren't a lot of bridges in rural central Ohio, mostly flat farm lands.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155232.jpeg)
looking down the back wall of my layout room. Lower level is 16 inches deep and my 4 track main line is showing. The upper level is a 12 inch shelf. I used masonite for my fascia and backdrops. You can see my GML throttle and several DPDT switches mounted in the fascia. I use standard DC for my control with block switches. Switches with labels above them are for the upper level and those with labels below are for the lower level. I'm an old school kind of guy. I figure that I have close to a half mile of wiring in the layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155307.jpeg)
This is another scratch-built barn. As you may guess, I like barns, which is a good thing as there are a lot of them on the farms in 1940's Ohio. Different sizes of stripwood and styrene corrugated for the roof.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155359.jpeg)
A mini-city scene on a corner of the lower level. All styrene kits with a masonite road. That's it for now. Thanks for all the nice comments. More to come
Hey Tom.....looks like you have a new fire starter buddy with Jeff on the forum. :) :) :)
Hey Greg, I can assure you that no actual flamage was involved in the building of my burnt out barn. Only dark colored pastel chalk was used. Jeff
Hey Jeff:
Layout looks great. Love the old barn. We have lots & lots of them all around Pennsylvania.
Karl
Quote from: nycjeff on August 08, 2020, 09:24:46 AM
Hey Greg, I can assure you that no actual flamage was involved in the building of my burnt out barn. Only dark colored pastel chalk was used. Jeff
Understand your model Jeff, but Tom is a bit of a legend on the forum for his antics back on the old forum.....here is what I remember about the prank of the year.....any corrections to this narrative by others will be appreciated as details are a bit hazy. ;)
Tom was doing a build of one of JimmyD's kits, a station I think, and he posted a picture of if after it burst into flames. He claims that Slim put him up to this big hoax, but Slim was in total denial. JimmyD saw it late one evening and went into total meltdown thinking the lawsuits would be flying.
The next day Tom posted pictures of what he had done.....he had made a duplicate of the station walls and set them on fire and posted the results, blaming Slims faulty lighting to be the culprit. JimmyD recovered and sent Tom this great award for the best forum hoax of the year. Maybe if we ask him nicely, he'll post some pictures of the burnt out building and the award.
It was a hilarious episode on the forum and the story just keeps getting better as the years pass. ;D ;D ;D
Jeff,
I was building a small station that Jimmy D. offered as a kit. Bill Satore, Slim, on the forum, offered a small LED lighting kit for the station. I partially built a second station and then set it on fire. I kept a spray water bottle handy to put out the fire after it burned the roof and some of the walls.
Slim, to this day, only smiles but never admitted to the fun. I did admit to setting it on fire and enjoyed all of the adventure. Jimmy panicked and forgot all about LEDs only burning out and not catching on fire. It was a great hoax. Jimmy appreciated the fact we pulled one over on him and he sent me the award shown below. After that, Jimmy changed my Forum name to Fire Starter and that lasted for several months and finally he gave me my ACL1504 back.
Hard to believe it has been ten years!
Tom ;D
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-080820130608.jpeg)
That's good clean fun there.
I still can't believe it was 10 years ago :o .....thanks for the photo Tom. :)
Greg, Tom and all- That's a great story. I'm glad that my modest barn was able to spur memories of long ago. Jeff
To continue on with an introductory tour of my layout...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155429.jpeg)
This is a view of the icing facility located on a siding off of the lower level west-bound main line. West-bound on my layout means that it is coming from the south. The main facility is a Walthers kit along with several additional platforms. The icing platform is 4 feet long with tracks on both sides. a train on my layout is usually the locomotive, caboose and about 12, 40 foot cars. This size train fits on my passing sidings and fills both tracks at this facility. The office building is also a walthers kit, the tank is by tichy and the building with the cooling towers is scratch-built. I forget where I got the cooling tower kits.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155456.jpeg)
This picture is of the end of the freight and passenger coach yard on the center peninsula opposite the staging areas. he lower tracks lead to the engine servicing area and the track above the passenger coaches leads into the helix to the upper deck. partly visible at the lower left is the pull-out control panel for the peninsula yard and the engine service area. A power pack provides the power for this panel and these areas. The main lines on the lower level and the branch line on the upper level are powered by two GML walk-around throttles. I will provide more info about this system some time in the future.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155539.jpeg)
This is a city scene at the end of the front wall leading onto the center peninsula. The rear track leads to the west-bound staging area and return loop. The lower level main line is two tracks, one east-bound and one west-bound. The upper level is a single track that leads onto the center peninsula and a return loop. There are about 90 feet of track to go around the lower level and the same on the upper level. The peninsula is about 25 feet long, so to go from the east-bound staging, around the room, to the helix and then around the upper level and center peninsula back down to the west-bound lower main and to the west-bound staging is about 400 feet of train running and takes about 20 minutes time. I took some pictures of my track plan and will include them in a future post.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155608.jpeg)
This is an alexander scale models nyc freight house kit and a walthers water tower. The rear track leads to the helix, the middle to the peninsula yard and the front to the engine service area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060820155639.jpeg)
This is a view of the door into the train room which is in my basement. The upper level is a duck-under and the lower level is a swinging gate. That's it for now, more later
Great looking layout photos. I especially like the modified ice facility.
As promised a couple of pictures of my track plans. I prepared these before starting the benchwork. They are done to scale and I used these all along the construction process. I made very few adjustments to the original track plans. I don't know if that means that I planned well or if I'm stubborn.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090820215325.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090820215347.jpeg)
Hey Curt, thanks for the kind words. I enjoyed putting that scene together. It's by far the largest scene on my layout, over 4 feet long and about 14 inches deep. If and when I ever start operations on my layout, I will be able to put an entire train into that area for re-icing. I model the late 1940's and that was before mechanical reefers and cars needed to be re-iced every 24 hours. Trains coming from Florida and California heading to New York City would pass through central Ohio. At least that's my story. I had to buy the last couple of icing platforms on e-bay and I learned the hard way how the auctions work. You have to put your last bid in just before the deadline. I learned that the hard way, after several unsuccessful tries. Oh well, live and learn.
Yesterday I tried to continue my layout thread with a new section on track ballasting and I had all kinds of problems. I mislabeled the post as a new thread and when I tried to move it into my layout thread it somehow ended up in the Baggage Car Daily Chat section. Today I will continue the track ballast section in it's proper place in my layout thread, I hope.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-140820001501.jpeg)
On the left is my finish ballast material. It is a mix of woodland scenics fine ballast and Az Rock and Mineral NYC limestone ballast.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-140820003337.jpeg)
I spread the finish ballast material between the rails with a spoon.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-140820003400.jpeg)
I then use a 3/4 inch soft bristle brush to spread the material so that the tops of the ties are showing. While doing this, some material spreads onto the sides and I also brush the tops of the ties here. It usually takes about 4 or 5 passes with the brush to get the effect that I want
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-140820003309.jpeg)
This is what the track looks like after brushing
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110820234728.jpeg)
Another view after brushing, I couldn't get this one to rotate, sorry. That's it for now, more later
Great looking Ballast and track ballasting.
Thank you Curt for the kind words. It's been a while since I've added to the thread so I'll attempt to get caught up.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003115.jpeg)
After the ballast material is smoothed out with the brush, I spread some scenic materials between the tracks using tree foliage.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003145.jpeg)
This photo shows the tree foliage that I use between the tracks as well as the bottles for wetting the area and glueing everything down. I think the tree foliage is from Scenic Express.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003252.jpeg)
The spray bottle on the left is my wetting agent- it is half 70% isopropyl alcohol and half water, I wet everything down until it is good and soaked. The bottle on the right is my glueing agent- it is 1/4 mod podge and 3/4 water with a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003342.jpeg)
It's a little hard to see, but I've spread the glueing agent down on the track and ballast and scenic materials.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003406.jpeg)
While the glueing agent is still wet I spread some fine turf soil, which is black, over the area to tone down the color. That's it for now, more later
ACL 1504,
Damn, what a fine lookin' award!, that you well deserve!
KP-out...
Jeff,
Nice looking layout! Excellent modeling! Holy Cow, what straight fine trackwork! I like all the modeling and potential operations on your very cool layout! Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see this empire continue to grow!
Thanx Thom...
Thank you Thom for the nice words. I haven't done any operating on my layout, but I did design it with operation in mind at some time down the road.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003529.jpeg)
As a final step when ballasting, I brush on my AI solution on the ties between the track. This gives a used appearance and I think adds some realism.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003557.jpeg)
A view of the track after adding the AI solution. It doesn't show up to well in pictures, but on the layout it is more noticeable.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170920003623.jpeg)
Another view of the completed track ballast process. I didn't paint my track before installation, but after seeing pictures of painted track on the forum I am considering doing it. I guess my options are to use a fine brush and some rust colored paint or to use the track coloring markers that I've seen online. Can anyone give me some feed back on which method yields a better result ? I will over time add more scenic layers to my track areas along with trackside signs, mile markers and the like. As we all well know a layout is never finished. That's it for now. more later
I'd suggest just painting the rails, and don't worry about the ties. I like the largest size of "micro-brush" disposable brushes, they work well to get into the web of the rail. For this task, a solvent paint would work better than an acrylic. (Scalecoat has a nice Rail Brown, just be sure to order it in matte finish. Shiny rust just doesn't look right :) )
dave
Hey Jeff:
I agree with Dave. I would also paint the rails. I usualy do my ties with Earth and black A&I.
Karl
Thank you Dave and Karl for your input, I think that I will paint the rails. I'll let you know how it turns out. Jeff
If you use a solvent-based paint like Scalecoat or Tru-Color, you can clean up (or clean mistakes off the rail head) with lacquer thinner from the hardware store.
I like little blocks of hardboard/Masonite or scraps of plywood from FastTracks to help scrape off paint from the railheads.
dave
Jeff, Very impressive job...Dennis
Thank you James, Dave and Dennis for looking in. I appreciate your comments. It always seems that there are many ways to do the same job, no matter what the job is. I'm looking into getting some Scalecoat Rail Brown paint and thinner. It will be new to me as I've only used acrylic paints on my layout to this point. The use of cork roadbed to clean the tracks of ballast material after glueing has worked out just fine for me, though it's always nice to hear about other methods. I'll post track painting results when possible. Jeff
A pack of these will last a long time! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JH2LPJ7/
dave
Hello Dave, thank you so much for the link for the micro brushes. I will order some tomorrow. Once again forum members come thru !!! Jeff
Up to this point I have posted several random pictures of my layout along with my track plans. I thought that now I would begin a layout tour.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121123741.jpeg)
Pictured here is the entrance area to my train room. My layout is located in my basement and the room has one door and no windows. Several train and New York Central photos are mounted on the wall. Also visible are two of my fathers kerosene lanterns that he used as a car inspector on the Central. The electrical switches located to the right of the door control all of the lighting and power to the train room, as well as two ceiling fans and an exhaust fan that leads to the outside. This is important since the room does not have any natural ventilation.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121123817.jpeg)
This is the door to the train room, it is a pocket door. Both levels of my layout cross this doorway. The top level is a duck-under with black and white warning stripes painted on. The lower level is a swinging gate that has been scenicked to be a river crossing. I will have more information about these locations as I go around the layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121123843.jpeg)
The tour starts with my staging yards. This area is located on the back side of the center peninsula and is approximately 18 feet long. It has two levels. The East staging yard is the lower level and it has 6 tracks, an entrance track and a loop track at the lowest level of my helix. The second level is my West staging yard which has 3 tracks, an entrance track and a loop at the second level of my helix. My benchwork is framed using 2x2's for the verticals and 1x3's for the horizontal pieces. I use 1/2 inch 5 ply plywood for my flat surfaces. On top of the plywood is a 1/2 inch thick homosote or sound deadening board. I use Midwest cork roadbed under all of my track which is Atlas code 83. My turnouts are all Atlas #6 with Caboose hand throws. I did minimal scenery here in the staging yards, I painted the homosote with a tan colored paint and sprinkled on some of my base scenery material which is sifted dirt from my yard. My lighting started out with CFL lamps in plastic lampholders, but as these burn out I am replacing them with LED bulbs.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121123909.jpeg)
This is the helix end of the East staging yard. You can see the entrance track going into the helix and also coming out of the helix. The buildings are extra ones that I did not have room for on the layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121123940.jpeg)
This is a view of the loop track which is the lowest level of the helix. I will have more information about my helix coming up.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124126.jpeg)
Here is a close-up view of the Atlas turnouts with the Caboose ground throws. You can see the track labels as well. That's it for now, more later
Wow looks great. I never realized you had such a large layout.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 11, 2021, 02:57:09 PM
Wow looks great. I never realized you had such a large layout.
Hello Curt, thank you for looking in. When my wife retired we moved from the central city out to the country and I built the house we are living in now. My wife likes to say that I built myself a train room and as an afterthought I built her a house on top of it. I wasn't allowed to start on the train room until everything in the house was done. I started building the house in mid 2004 and we moved in in the spring of 2006, so I started in my train room in 2007.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124032.jpeg)
This is the other end of my staging area, I haven't finished the basic scenery here.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124056.jpeg)
This is where trains enter and leave the East staging yard. The right side track is eastbound to the layout and the left is for trains returning to the East staging area. This East staging represents the Cleveland area of my railroad world.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124006.jpeg)
These switches control power to the East staging yard tracks, they are all DPDT center off style switches. My layout is a standard DC style control with two walk-around throttles.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124153.jpeg)
This is a view of the West staging tracks, they are 3 inches higher than the east tracks because they lead into the second level of my helix which has 3 inch difference in height between levels.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124322.jpeg)
This is the view from the other end of the West staging tracks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124220.jpeg)
This is where the west staging tracks enter and leave the helix. You can see the first level below these tracks. I cut some cardboard to fill in the empty spaces in the staging area to give it a more finished look. That's it for now, more later.
One thing I forgot to mention is that in the middle of each staging area track length I installed an Atlas re-railer. I did this to insure that any truck not riding correctly would be put back on the rails.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124248.jpeg)
This is a view of the west staging loop track exiting the second level of the helix. You can see the east track also exiting the helix on the first level below.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124417.jpeg)
These are the switches that control the power to the west staging tracks- the incoming track and the three outgoing tracks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124441.jpeg)
These two switches control the power to the first and second level loop tracks of the helix. With all of these tracks and switches I can store up to 13 trains in my staging area. Eight in the east area- 6 on outgoing tracks, one on the incoming track and one on the loop. In the west area I can store 5 trains- 3 on the outgoing tracks, one on the incoming track and one on the loop. A typical train on my layout can be 2 diesels or a steam locomotive and a tender with 12- 40 foot cars and a caboose. This size train can easily fit on any of the previously mentioned tracks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124506.jpeg)
Below the staging yards I built some shelves to store all of the boxes for my locomotives and rolling stock as well as some misc. other layout materials.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090820215325.jpeg)
As illustrated on my track plan the staging yard is on the top area of the center peninsula. The helix is located at the right end of the peninsula. The tracks leaving the east bound tracks are on the aisle side of the two track mainline run around the room. This track winds around and comes into the bottom half of the peninsula and enters the west bound staging area. After going around the lower helix level it comes back out on the mainline run on the wall side of the two track main. This gives me about a 90 foot mainline run once around the room not counting the length of the staging yards. It's a little hard to see but the train room door is located about halfway along the bottom left tracks. That's it for now, more later.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110121124350.jpeg)
This is where the tracks leave my west staging area and go through the backdrop. The top track is the incoming track which leads to the loop and then to the three west bound staging tracks. The bottom comes from the west bound tracks and leads back to the layout along the wall. All I did was cut out the top and side of the shape I wanted for the entry points and fold them back and glue it in place. At the bottom right you can see the incoming and outgoing tracks for the east staging tracks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152726.jpeg)
This is where the tracks leaving the east bound tracks go through the backdrop.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152315.jpeg)
This is where the east bound tracks enter the layout through the backdrop. I tried to make this look like the NYC state line tunnels. It is stacked foam panels which I carved into a rock like formation and then colored with craft paints. I then added various ground covers and some trees which I made from bush branches that I collected from my desert yard. I have decided to place my layout time in the late fall when trees have lost their leaves and the ground still has some nice coloring. My backdrop is masonite with the smooth side facing out which I painted with three colors of blue paint and blended together. I wanted to just have a sky like appearance which fades into the background. I, personally, am not a fan of detailed painted backdrops unless done by a professional artist which I am definitely not.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152349.jpeg)
Another view of the tunnels with a passenger train led by an E8 NYC diesel coming through. The right side area of the picture only has about 2 inches from the track to the backdrop. I used carved foam to simulate a hillside and then painted a distant green hillside on the backdrop for some depth. When doing this distant hillside painting I blow some chalks onto the wet paint for some color and texture.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152752.jpeg)
Here is the drone view of this corner of the layout. You can also see my KC's workshop Steelton Feed and Seed build. I did a build thread on this structure.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152432.jpeg)
Here is a better view of the Steelton building. I really enjoyed building that kit. More in a minute
Jeff,
I'm enjoying the tour. Really nice layout! The tunnels are my favorite so far.
--Opa George
These pictures are all from the top left corner of my layout track plan. There is a two track main coming from staging and leading to the long top wall on the plan.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152456.jpeg)
To the right of the Steelton building is this RDA Delaney Iron Works building which I also did a build thread on. This was a styrene kit that I heavily modified.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152817.jpeg)
This is a close-up view of the area between the Steelton and Delaney buildings. This area was previously a forest area with some rock formations that I removed to make room for my structures.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152609.jpeg)
Here is the drone view of this area with the two structures. All of the track on my mainlines has at least a 30 degree radius and I placed some thin wood shims under the outer edge of the curves for an attempt at super elevation of the curves.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152842.jpeg)
Here is a view of the curve behind the Delaney building. You can see the various ground cover materials I use as well as some trees and some manufactured pine trees that I bought. The foam hillside and the painted distant hillsides can also be seen.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152521.jpeg)
Further around the corner is my scratch-built burned out barn. I have more than a few barns on the layout, this is rural central Ohio after all. I had fun with this build. All I used was various sizes of strip-wood and some craft paint and weathering chalks. It's hard to mess up a burned out building.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152635.jpeg)
Here is the drone view of the burned-out barn. These drones are expensive, so you have to get your moneys worth out of them. You can also see the skinny depth of the foam hillside and you get a better view of my distant hillside as well. More in a minute
Quote from: Opa George on January 12, 2021, 04:17:17 PM
Jeff,
I'm enjoying the tour. Really nice layout! The tunnels are my favorite so far.
--Opa George
Hey George, thanks for looking in and also for the kind words. I know that you are a tunnel fan, I've been checking out your layout tour as well. You are doing some fine work
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152413.jpeg)
Here's a closer look at the track curve in this area. I did some experimenting with the foam carving for the hillsides and I am pleased with how they came out.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152544.jpeg)
We are coming into the straight track on the top wall of my layout plan here and there is a little more space on both sides of the tracks for some scenery here. The shelf of my layout is 18 inches deep here.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120121152703.jpeg)
A closer look at my foam hillside. I carved a slot in the foam and stuck a real rock into the hillside for some texture. I like the look of real rocks on the layout. You can see how basic the painted distant hillsides are in this view. As I said I'm definitely not a professional artist, but it doesn't take much to give the impression of distant hills on the horizon. That's it for now, more later
Thank you for sharing , wonderful layout .
I totally agree with Jan.
Jeff,
That tower came out great and will be a neat addition to your NYC empire.
Tommy
Hi Jeff,
Nice start on your layout. Just went through your postings.
I'm in the same situation, built my own house and the wife has the part that keeps the basement dry. Only problem is I'm still working on the house after 20 years. I think the wife needs to get the whip. :(
Bernd
Quote from: Janbouli on January 13, 2021, 06:51:17 AM
Thank you for sharing , wonderful layout .
Hello Jan, thanks for looking in and for the kind words
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 13, 2021, 09:09:04 AM
I totally agree with Jan.
Hey Curt, thank you. I'm enjoying your layout tour as well
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on January 13, 2021, 11:41:23 AM
Jeff,
That tower came out great and will be a neat addition to your NYC empire.
Tommy
Hello Tommy, thank you , I'm really pleased with how it came out as well. Considering the source, George, it would make a nice addition to any layout. I was a little surprised that I haven't seen it on other layouts. I see lots of other of George's structures on layouts.
Quote from: Bernd on January 13, 2021, 01:32:02 PM
Hi Jeff,
Nice start on your layout. Just went through your postings.
I'm in the same situation, built my own house and the wife has the part that keeps the basement dry. Only problem is I'm still working on the house after 20 years. I think the wife needs to get the whip. :(
Bernd
Hello Bernd, I don't know what to say to that my friend, other than you need to get with the program so you can devote yourself to what's really important.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162626.jpeg)
Soon after entering the straight tracks on the long wall at the top of the track plan we come to a highway overpass bridge. This is a Walthers kit paired with Walthers street and sidewalks parts. This wasn't in my original plan so I had to add it after track was laid in this area. I removed the necessary track and sub-roadbed and cut the plywood. I saved the piece I cut and lowered it the correct depth and fixed it in place with wood and screws. I then was able to install the bridge. It was a little bit of a project, but I wish I had thought of it before tracks were laid, oh well.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162547.jpeg)
A look from the other side. You can see my passenger train approaching. Trains always look good when crossing a bridge. The streetlights are from another Walthers package of utility poles and streetlights.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162649.jpeg)
A look under the bridge. The NYC decals came from a package of steam locomotive decals I found at my LHS some years ago. Sadly that shop no longer exists. The vehicles are from Classic Metal Works
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162712.jpeg)
Gotta have the drone view. I debated trying to carry the road into the backdrop, but hesitated because of my limited painting skills. I really like what Tom did on his layout's backdrops and may look into something like that, but on a very limited basis.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162802.jpeg)
After crossing the bridge, trains enter a deep cut. All I did to create this effect was build up shaped foam panels on each side of the tracks and give them a base scenery layer.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162740.jpeg)
Here's a track level view looking down the tracks away from the bridge. I saw some really nice pictures in my NYC books of trains in deep cuts and wanted to have one on the layout. It's like the trains are going through a tunnel with no top and it wasn't that difficult to do. More in a minute
I just realized that I am approaching 500 pictures in my gallery. Wow, how did I get that many so quickly.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162824.jpeg)
This is a view looking back through the cut towards the bridge. I am working on improving the scenery in this area. I am thinking of more trees , but also thinking about taking the plunge and getting a static grass applicator. I've seen really good results on other layouts.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162914.jpeg)
This is a closer look at the side of the cut, I have added a few trees and you can also see some of my distant hillside painting on the backdrop.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162848.jpeg)
Another look at the basic scenery on the side of the cut. I attempted to cut the foam to show some geological rock lines, but I have to highlight them a little better
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121162939.jpeg)
This is a look under the layout. My train room has block exterior walls so I used tap-cons (which are a long masonry screw if you haven't heard of them by that name) to attach 2x2's to the block. I then screwed 1x3's to both sides of the 2x2 horizontally as shown. Another 2x2 was then screwed to the vertical on a 45 degree angle for some strength
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121163007.jpeg)
This view shows how the angle ties into the horizontal pieces. I then made a long L-girder from a 1x3 and a 1x2 and first wedged it into the angle area and then screwed up into the horizontal pieces. This gives me a nice solid shelf brace for my plywood. I also screwed another 1x3 horizontally across the front of the braces which are on two foot centers to hold them in a good 90 degree position from the wall. You can see the bottom portion of my 1/8 inch masonite fascia board here as well
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130121163033.jpeg)
This is a view of the fascia board. I decided that I liked it's natural brown color. All you have to do is line up the bottoms of the fascia pieces, which I cut in 4 foot lengths, and then mark the scenery profile on the back and then cut it. I use my battery powered nailer to attach the fascia to the layout framework.
We are about halfway down the top wall of my track plan. Next up is my 4 track mainline. After all, you can't model the New York Central without a 4 track main. That's it for now, more later.
Great looking layout.
Jeff,
Very nice layout. I'd love to have the room you have but then again when I look at my 50 X 20 building - I'm thinking I'll never get this finished.
Again, very nice and I envy your staging areas. Well done.
Tom ;D
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 13, 2021, 05:58:53 PM
Great looking layout.
Hello Curt, thanks for checking in and the nice comments.
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 13, 2021, 06:08:36 PM
Jeff,
Very nice layout. I'd love to have the room you have but then again when I look at my 50 X 20 building - I'm thinking I'll never get this finished.
Again, very nice and I envy your staging areas. Well done.
Tom ;D
Hi Tom, it seems to me that you do have the room that I have plus some. You are 50 x 20, I am 32 x 18. I do appreciate your kind words and I'm glad you like my staging area.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121144829.jpeg)
This picture is looking down the length of the second half of the top wall of my track plan. It shows my four track mainline, which is really a two track line with a passing siding on each, but I wanted a portion of the layout to have four tracks running along side one another.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121144853.jpeg)
This is a signal bridge that I scratch-built from styrene parts and some Central Valley railing pieces. I made some signals with round styrene shapes and I printed out some semaphore signals on the computer and mounted them to some styrene sheet cut to the same shape. I wish that some company offered non-working semaphore signals, but I haven't found any to this point.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121144920.jpeg)
We are now looking back at the signal bridge. I have not done more than my basic scenery layer on the carved foam hillsides to this point. I plan on adding a lot of trees.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121144944.jpeg)
Looking towards the top right corner of the track plan. I curved the corners of my backdrop by bending the masonite into a curve shape and screwing it to the 2 x 2's mounted on my block walls. The masonite bends easily up to a point. I found out how much. The four track main is about 16 feet long along the top wall of the track plan. The corner tracks are on a 30 inch radius that I adhered to on the layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145007.jpeg)
I made a cornfield against the curve of the backdrop. I raised the cornfield area about 2 inches by placing some carved foam slabs which I cut to the shape of the curve. I got the cornfield from Busch products and it went together easily and it was not that expensive. I like how it came out. I am modeling rural Ohio in the fall so I had to have a cornfield.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145050.jpeg)
In front of the tracks on the curve, I placed a farm with a produce stand. The stand is from JL innovative Designs and the pumpkins are from Busch. I scratch-built the water tower base for one of the Walthers roof-top water towers. I believe the vehicles are from Classic Metal Works and I'm not sure where the farm out-buildings are from. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145028.jpeg)
The barn for the farm is from Alpine Designs. I modified the barn slightly by adding first a foundation and some trim pieces, along with a second floor. I also added some detail castings and plan to add more.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145109.jpeg)
The Mail Pouch roof sign is what caught my eye about this barn kit. My father and my brothers and I built a family cabin in central Ohio and when driving to and from the cabin we saw lots of Mail Pouch signs on barns.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145137.jpeg)
Finishing out the farm scene is a plowed field and some haystacks from Busch.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145220.jpeg)
Looking back towards the corner from the top right hand corner of the track plan. I've added some trees, but plan on adding some more.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145354.jpeg)
A track side view of the corner looking at the cornfield from the top wall perspective
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145417.jpeg)
Looking back at the cornfield corner from the right hand wall view. That's it for now, more later
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145159.jpeg)
Looking back at the farm scene. A reefer train lead by two NYC GP-7's is on the main.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145329.jpeg)
The turnouts at the end of the four track main. We are at the halfway point on the right side wall on the track plan. The scenery is pretty basic in this area, more ground cover elements and trees are in the plan.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145307.jpeg)
This is one of two scratch-built background flat buildings that I placed in this area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145244.jpeg)
This is the other background flat that I scratch-built. I used materials that I had in my stash. I studied some background flat kits and planned my buildings using those as a guide. They are only about 3/4 inch deep. I plan on more scenic elements around these flats. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145441.jpeg)
Here is a look along the top wall of the track plan of the layout's lower level. This wall has 32 feet of mainline run and the shelf is 18 inches deep. The aisle is 30 inches wide. It's nice to walk along the aisle with a train running on the mainline.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145504.jpeg)
A look at the top right corner of the lower level. Trains look good going around this wide curve.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-150121145527.jpeg)
A look at the top half of the right hand wall of the lower level, the shelf is 24 inches deep at this point. All of my wiring is run below the top level and all track control switches are located in the top fascia board. That's it for now, more later
What a tremendous amount of time and effort you've put into this layout.....well done Jeff. 8)
Quote from: GPdemayo on January 17, 2021, 09:31:30 AM
What a tremendous amount of time and effort you've put into this layout.....well done Jeff. 8)
Hello Greg, thank you for the kind words. I've been working on my layout since 2007. As with all layouts I'm sure, I have spurts of activity. The nice thing about a train room is that when I leave it, whether for a day, week or month, when I come back it is just the way I left it. Train room time is relaxation time for me. I've had some medical issues over the years and when my real world activities are stalled by those issues, my time in the train room really helps. I know that I'm not the only one that has had these experiences, our hobby helps us in so many ways.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102422.jpeg)
The next scene on the right hand wall is my Woodland Scenics cemetery. I'm not sure why, but cemetery scenes seem to crop up on a lot of layouts. Of course, I have a mini-scene with two guys digging a grave.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102446.jpeg)
This is the other end of my cemetery with the entry gate.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102508.jpeg)
The entry gate seen from the other side. I also modeled an entry road lined with what I hope looks like cypress trees, which for some reason seem appropriate for a cemetery. This cemetery scene filled a long narrow space between the tracks and the backdrop and I am very pleased with how it came out.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102530.jpeg)
A long view of the cemetery road from the county road that crosses the tracks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102551.jpeg)
As you can see this road crossing scene is a work in progress. I still need to do the other wood crossing and scenic around the cross-bucks. I attempted to carry the road onto the backdrop and I'm not real happy with what I came up with. This is one of the locations where I am thinking about some sort of photo backdrop picture to continue the road.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102612.jpeg)
We are entering the curve at the bottom right hand corner of my track plan, which can be viewed on page three of my layout thread, and here my corner scene is a church. I raised the area two inches on some foam layers cut to fit the curve. The retaining wall is some flexible stone wall material from Chooch and the vertical grey rocks are real rocks that I came across in my travels. More in a minute
More great looking scenes Jeff.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 17, 2021, 12:18:12 PM
More great looking scenes Jeff.
Hey Curt, thanks for checking in and also for the nice comment. I've been working on my layout for a long time now, but as I go around with this tour I see that I still have a lot to do. Since joining the forum and seeing the level of excellence that many members show in their layouts and hopefully learning from them I can always improve on what I have done.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102633.jpeg)
A better look at my church, it is a Life Like kit. It fits into my corner space nicely and is meant to be a background type structure.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102653.jpeg)
Coming around the curve we see this billboard at the end of the raised area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102716.jpeg)
Next to the billboard is a small homestead with several small scratch-built buildings and a windmill.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102740.jpeg)
Here is the windmill. This is a kit, but I don't remember whose, it is a metal kit with nice detail. Next to it is a small scratch-built dock.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102808.jpeg)
The dock leads into a small lake that still needs some work. I keep finding areas that need to be completed. I can never understand it when somebody says that their layout is done. I can't ever see mine being done, there is always something else to do and improve. More in a minute
I've reached the bottom right corner of my track plan. I'm going to finish up with a couple of overall shots of this corner.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102952.jpeg)
Here is a track level view coming into the corner area
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121103012.jpeg)
Here we are looking back at the corner from the other side.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-170121102928.jpeg)
My workbench area is tucked under the lower level in this corner. I have built shelving under all of the benchwork in this corner for most of my building materials and tools. It's convenient to be able to reach most of what I need when working by just swiveling around in my chair. That's it for now, more later
Jeff,
Thanks for the tour of the NYC layout. It's also nice to be able to get to many of the tools we use without having to go find them. I have tools at hand and still find that often I'll need one I need to go and find. Just part of the hobby I guess.
Tom ;D
Nice layout Jeff. Although you say there is still a lot to do, you have the advantage of being able to run trains. Jim
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 18, 2021, 10:01:56 AM
Jeff,
Thanks for the tour of the NYC layout. It's also nice to be able to get to many of the tools we use without having to go find them. I have tools at hand and still find that often I'll need one I need to go and find. Just part of the hobby I guess.
Tom ;D
Hello Tom, thanks for looking in. You're right, no matter how many tools you think you have handy, there is always one that you need to hunt down from somewhere else. I have enjoyed the tour of your layout, even though it's still being built, so much that I felt that I should do one of my layout.
Quote from: jrmueller on January 18, 2021, 11:33:08 AM
Nice layout Jeff. Although you say there is still a lot to do, you have the advantage of being able to run trains. Jim
Hi Jim, appreciate you checking in. It is nice to be able to run trains while still working on the layout. I remember how anxious I was to finally run a train, even for a short distance when I first started.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090820215325.jpeg)
We have come around the corner at the bottom right portion of my layout track plan drawing and are coming into the single largest scene on my layout- the icing facility. This portion of the benchwork is 30 inches deep and about 6 feet long. In doing my New York Central research, I saw that the road had icing facilities in several locations. I don't know if they had one in central Ohio, but I am taking a little modeler's license because I like them. Before automated refrigerator cars, railroads had to ice down perishable loads every 24 hours of travel time. At some of these facilities whole trains were replenished with ice blocks and this is what I wanted to model.
At the front top corner of this area of benchwork, I had a small area that needed something special, so I came up with a small city street scene.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121232849.jpeg)
I wasn't sure about this little scene, but once I got going on it I liked it a lot. There is a lot going on in a small space. A city street with four buildings and an alley behind. The buildings are all styrene kits from Life Like, DPM and Woodland Scenics. I added some items to each kit to make them my own. Awnings, fire escapes, new roof materials and details and some street detail castings.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121232915.jpeg)
This is a Walthers vintage fire escape. It is a great little addition to any building.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121232940.jpeg)
The rear alley view.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233010.jpeg)
A track level view looking past the rear of the street scene. All of my utility poles are from a Walthers kit. I really like the way the tracks curve around the back of the buildings. The track at the middle right of the above picture is the spur for the icing facility.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233056.jpeg)
This a a view of the whole facility. There are tracks on both sides of the ice loading rack and they are long enough so that I can put an entire reefer train in. On my layout that's 12- 40 foot cars, a caboose and the locomotive. I can back half of the train on the front side and the other half on the back side. That's it for now, more later
Very nice job on the small section Jeff.
Jeff,
Love that long icing platform, looks great.
Tom ;D
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 26, 2021, 08:52:06 AM
Very nice job on the small section Jeff.
Hey Curt, thank you, I had fun doing that mini-scene.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233034.jpeg)
This is a track level view looking lengthwise on the icing tracks. I still have to ballast this area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233417.jpeg)
A closer look at the ice loading rack. I had to buy additional Walthers ice station kits to get the extra racks- I needed mine to be 4 feet long so I could get an entire reefer train into the facility. I kit-bashed the racks for an open top as is typical on NYC facilities. I scratch-built the "spotlights" from wood skewers and some styrene bits. The little people needed lights for the night shift. The street lights are from the Walthers utility pole kit, I used wood skewers for the poles here as well. You can find wood skewers at the grocery store in 100 packs for a very reasonable price.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233441.jpeg)
At the end of the ice loading rack is this small GC Laser shack with an outhouse. I don't remember where I got the outhouse. They did come two to the kit. I'm pretty sure the pickup is a Classic Metal Works vehicle.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233142.jpeg)
This is the business end of the ice facility. The main building is from the Walthers kit. I scratch-built the Y shaped ice loading rack from styrene and strip-wood. The office is also a Walthers kit, but I did scratch-build the ductwork on the roof to go with the AC unit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233233.jpeg)
The rest of the area near the main building is shown here. I kit-bashed the cooling tower building from parts of the extra Walthers kits. The cooling towers are from Alpine- they are a nice looking add on I think. The large tank is from Tichy.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233118.jpeg)
Another look at the main building area. This is a busy area and I am pleased with how it came out. I will probably re-visit it at some point. I can definitely do a better job on the loading docks and I have some other ideas on improving the overall look. A layout is never done. More in a minute
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 26, 2021, 09:56:26 AM
Jeff,
Love that long icing platform, looks great.
Tom ;D
Hello Tom, thanks for looking in and for the kind words. I really liked the look of the pictures in my NYC books of their icing facilities and knew I had to have one on my layout.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233208.jpeg)
The drone view of the ice loading racks. I really like the length. I'm glad I had the space to do this scene right.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233331.jpeg)
The tracks coming out of the ice facility area are starting to curve around to the shelf area at the bottom of the track plan drawing.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-250121233355.jpeg)
A track level view of the same area. I had a good time with the ice facility scene, it was a lot of work, but well worth it. That's it for now, more later.
Looking good Jeff. I'm jealous of the size of your layout.
One critique or recommendation...It looks like you might be using a flash for some of the photos and it's really messing with the colors and shadows. I've had good luck using a few cheap aluminum work lights with 100w equivalent LED bulbs to take pictures. Easy fix and it would only cost $20-30 for a few lights and bulbs at most. Just a stationary light clamped somewhere and directing straight light onto the subject. Just my recommendation of course.
Hello Steve, thanks for your comments. I've been working on taking better pictures. I know what you mean, sometimes when my camera automatically uses the flash, the pictures are not as good. I will take your advice and get a couple clamp on light fixtures with LED bulbs. I sure like the quality of the pictures on your threads. Thanks again for the advice.
Looking good, Jeff.
Impressive icing facility.
Cheers, Mark.
Outstanding icing platform and all the associated equipment and details.
Hey Jeff:
Layout is looking just gorgeous. Love that icing platform
Karl
Hello Mark, Curt and Karl, thank you so much for the nice comments. I really wanted the icing facility to be a signature scene on my layout and I'm very pleased with how it's come out to this point. I still have more to do and by looking at the pictures, I have several areas that I can improve on.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121124818.jpeg)
We are coming around the corner from the ice facility to the 12 inch shelf that goes along the doorway wall of my layout. It is the bottom left on my track plan. The far wall in this picture is about 18 feet away. On the right side of the picture you can see some of the shelving that I built under the benchwork. I used 1 x2's and 1 x 3's and 1/2 inch 5 ply plywood for the shelves.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121124951.jpeg)
A reefer train led by two GP-7's is coming around the corner. You can see the masonite fascia board and the painted distant hillsides on the backdrop.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121124930.jpeg)
Looking over the top of the reefer train at the corner. I took Steve Custer's excellent advice and went to Home Depot and picked up two clamp on work lights for about $10 each and some 90 watt LED lamps in an effort to improve the lighting for my pictures. Now I have to learn how to position them to get the best advantage. You can see one of them in the picture.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125037.jpeg)
Here is a view under the shelf benchwork. You can see the vertical 2 x 2's that I attached to the walls as well as the 1 x 3's that are the horizontal pieces and the 2 x 2 angle pieces. This is a very simple, yet sturdy set-up for the plywood shelf.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125102.jpeg)
Next up is the swinging gate that carries my two track mainline across the pocket doorway to the train room. As you can see I made this a river crossing with Atlas bridges and abutments. The gate structure is made of 2 x 3's and 2 x 2's with a masonite front and back plate. I got the idea for this gate from an article in Model Railroader magazine.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125155.jpeg)
Here is a view of the other side of the swinging gate. As you can see in the pictures I attached a simple pull handle to each side and a door hasp to hold the gate in place. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125130.jpeg)
We are looking into the interior of the gate here. It took a lot of measuring and several attempts at framing the gate correctly to get a sturdy structure. The left side vertical piece had to be cut at an angle along it's length to allow the gate to close properly. The round hole in the right vertical was put in so that the gate in the closed position really locked in, I will explain more in a minute.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125313.jpeg)
I used a piano hinge at the swinging end of the gate.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125244.jpeg)
This is the track at the swinging end. I cut the gate and tracks at an angle to allow for easy movement and to match the tracks when the gate is closed. The gate is 51 inches at it's longest point and it is quite heavy. It took a lot of trial and error to get everything to match up properly.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125219.jpeg)
This is the track at the other end of the gate, it was also cut on an angle.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125421.jpeg)
This is the little shelf that had to be built so that the free end of the gate had a place to land so that everything matched properly. You can see another round hole in the vertical piece here, I had to drill these holes because that door hasp that I installed to hold the gate in place had a little slop and the tracks did not match perfectly, which they have to do or there is a train derailment. I used a piece of 1/2 inch electrical pipe through these holes and this locks the gate in a very rigid position. The swinging gate was a lot of work, but worth it. I could not have a duck under at this point- this is the only entrance point to the train room and I'm getting too old for a low duck-under, as well as any guests that I may have in the train room.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125631.jpeg)
Here is a closer view of my gate locking system. You can also see the small shelf that supports the free end of the gate. That's it for now, more later.
Nice work, Jeff.
Enjoying the tour.
Cheers, Mark.
Some interesting wood work there Jeff.
Like your swinging door you built.
Bernd
Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 31, 2021, 06:05:08 PM
Nice work, Jeff.
Enjoying the tour.
Cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, thank you for looking in and I'm glad you are enjoying my layout tour
Quote from: Bernd on February 01, 2021, 01:12:35 PM
Some interesting wood work there Jeff.
Like your swinging door you built.
Bernd
Hey Bernd, building my swinging gate was quite the project. There was a lot of trial and error involved to get the whole thing to the close tolerances necessary for good train movements.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125448.jpeg)
This is a track level view looking from the free end of the gate
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125537.jpeg)
And from the hinged end of the gate
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125510.jpeg)
The drone view of the bridges. There are two Atlas 18 inch through truss bridges in the center and four Atlas deck truss bridges on the ends. The bridge piers are also from Atlas.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125735.jpeg)
The GP-7 led reefer train coming across the bridge.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-010221152406.jpeg)
A closer look at the through truss bridges. I did apply some light weathering chalks to the bridges, but I would like to do more in the future. When I got to the point of having trains running across the bridges I moved on to other projects.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-010221152341.jpeg)
A closer look at the deck truss bridges, you can better see my weathering chalks here, but again I want to do more to this scene. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-010221152429.jpeg)
At the transition from the land to the river bed I used some flexible Chooch retaining wall material. I also placed some rocks here. As far as the bridge piers went, I sprayed them with some rattle can flat red primer and hand painted the bases with some dark grey craft paint. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do with the vertical holes in the piers below the track ? I want to do some weathering and aging to these and also put some sort of man made barriers at the river level.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-010221152318.jpeg)
Here is a river water view. All that I have done to this point is to paint the plywood base with some blue and black craft paints and then some Mod Podge on top of that. What I have done is a good start, but as I said I want to do much more. I have been very impressed with what ACL Tom has been doing on his layout tour river scene and he has given me many ideas. I also want to put some kind of boat in my river, but with the scene only being 12 inches wide I can't go too big.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125758.jpeg)
Here is a look at the track after the swinging gate and leading to the bottom left corner of my track plan.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125913.jpeg)
This is a track level view of that same track.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125849.jpeg)
I have a cross-over in the tracks here. When trains come down from the second level of my layout they need to use this cross-over to get to the westbound mainline. The turnouts are Atlas #6 and the ground throws are from Caboose.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-310121125821.jpeg)
Looking back over the cross-over to the river. There is not a lot you can do on a 12 inch shelf with two tracks, but I do plan on adding some trees along the backdrop and some trackside details. That's it for now, more later.
Everything looks great. Very nice job on the swing out door.
Like those Geeps in the lighting stripes.
I've got some pictures of F7's here in Rochester with lighting stripes. I'll have to see if I can find them. I do have a set of Athean F7 A-B-A set.
Nice job on the bridge. Looks really great.
Bernd
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 01, 2021, 05:11:37 PM
Everything looks great. Very nice job on the swing out door.
Hello Curt, thank you for looking in and for the kind words. I needed to do something other than a low duck-under for the entry to the train room and the gate worked out great.
Quote from: Bernd on February 01, 2021, 05:53:23 PM
Like those Geeps in the lighting stripes.
I've got some pictures of F7's here in Rochester with lighting stripes. I'll have to see if I can find them. I do have a set of Athean F7 A-B-A set.
Nice job on the bridge. Looks really great.
Bernd
Hey Bernd, I agree with you about the Geeps with the lightning stripes and I would love to see the pictures you mentioned. The gate seemed to be a good spot for a river crossing and I'm pleased with how it came out so far. Stay tuned for some scenic updates on this area.
In my travels in central Ohio, where my layout is located, there are many slow moving, shallow rivers and I thought that I would model this type of river. Many of the rivers are good for canoeing and there are companies that let you rent a canoe and take it down river and then pick you and the canoe up and take you back to where you started. Most of these rivers have sandy banks and some sandbars in the middle. This is what I attempted to do.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221184840.jpeg)
The first step was to spread some full strength wood glue on the plywood base in the shape of the sandbar that I wanted.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221184905.jpeg)
Next I spread some of my base scenery material, which is dirt from my yard, on the glue to the depth that I wanted.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221184930.jpeg)
After that I spread some finely sifted dirt onto the edges to represent a beach type area. I then sprayed it all with a water and alcohol mix to prepare the area for the gluing material, which is 1/4 mod podge and 3/4 water.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221184954.jpeg)
I then placed several varieties of ground cover on the dirt as well as some fine turf green and black. I also placed some larger rocks on the sandbar and also some small twigs to represent trees that had floated down river. I then resprayed everything with the wet water and then re-glued it all down.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221185019.jpeg)
The drone view of two of the sandbars.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221185041.jpeg)
And a water level view of the sandbars around the bridge piers. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221185150.jpeg)
I needed to do something about the tops of the bridge piers- they looked too toy like as they were. I cut some 1/8 square stripwood to cover the top and painted it with a craft paint to match the color of the track ties. I then built a small railing for the rear edge of the new wood platform. I also placed some of the same wood between the rails so that the entire top of the pier was covered with wood.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221185126.jpeg)
I placed some canoes with paddling figures- from Woodland Scenics , in the river. I remember several canoe trips down the Loudonville River in central Ohio paddling under railroad bridges just like this.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221185104.jpeg)
Another water level view of the canoes under the bridge.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221185214.jpeg)
There were two screws that hold the plywood to the wood framing in the middle of the river along the edges. I tried to cover them with the paint I used for the water color, but they still stood out too much. I decided to cover them with some dirt and ground cover to represent small sandbars in the river.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050221185238.jpeg)
Another view of the area around the base of the bridge piers. I still need to finish the tops of the piers with wood and add some more canoes that I ordered. I spread some AI solution on the sides of the piers and also some weathering chalks. I need to do some more with them to get the look that I want, but I'm happy with what I've done so far. My river crossing looks much better than it did. That's it for now, more later.
Hey Jeff:
The bridges look just terrific. Love the coloring and the water.
Karl
The scene is looking great.
Love those bridges! Great job with the water a really nice scene.
Jerry
Hello Karl, Curt and Jerry, thanks for checking in and for the nice comments. I like the improvements to the bridge and river scene. I still have more to do, but as we all know, a layout is never finished.
As you come around the corner at the bottom left of my track plan you enter a city area. The first part of the city area is an industrial area
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161531.jpeg)
This is a drone view of the industrial area. Against the backdrop is a scratch-built building flat complex. In front of the two track mainline are three buildings and a construction equipment yard area. A spur feeds the large building in the center and also serves as a pick-up track for construction equipment by way of a scratch-built ramp.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161136.jpeg)
This is a closer look at the backdrop flat complex. I used pieces from a Walthers kit and also pieces of styrene from my stash. I plan to do some more backdrop painting in this area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161040.jpeg)
The first building is a Walthers kit called the Factory. I liked this kit because of the different roof lines and the tanks on the end. I painted the styrene roof panels with rattle can silver and then used weathering chalks to age them. I believe the truck is from Classic Metal Works.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161108.jpeg)
A closer look at the Factory. In the future I would like to add some signage and some more roof details and some casting clutter around the perimeter. This was a kit that I built early on in my layout timeline and I feel that I can improve it.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161202.jpeg)
The next building is a CCK craftsman kit called Conocoheague Coal and Ice. I did a build thread on this kit during the past year. I still have to blend the scenery around the base of the kit. The tank is a Tichy kit that I painted silver and then weathered with chalks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161504.jpeg)
A closer look at the CCK kit. I really enjoyed building this kit and I'm pleased with how it came out. More in a minute.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161229.jpeg)
A ground level view of the CCK kit. I plan on adding some vehicles and some additional ground scenery.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161316.jpeg)
The next building is the Walthers Golden Valley Canning kit. This is another kit that I built several years ago and that I would like to revisit in the future. The skills that I have picked up doing the wood craftsman kits and from learning techniques from forum members will help me improve this building.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161345.jpeg)
Another look at the Canning building. I liked this kit because of the loading docks and the roof details. The small building on the other side of the track is also part of the kit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161255.jpeg)
A drone view of the Canning building and the construction equipment yard area. You can see the scratch-built ramp used to load equipment onto a flatcar.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161411.jpeg)
A closer look at the equipment yard. The various construction vehicles are metal kits from Scenic Details. I had fun with these little builds. I first cleaned up the various pieces and then painted them with rattle can grey primer. After painting the pieces with craft paints I used super glue to assemble them. The office trailer is from Scene Master and the small pick-up truck is a plastic kit, but I can't remember where I got it from.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090221161441.jpeg)
This is a track level view looking around the corner and at the back of the CCK kit. As you can see, I haven't ballasted the track in this area yet. I plan on upgrading this little industrial area with more scenery, vehicles, signs and casting details. As I said before, I first worked on this area of the layout several years ago and I feel like I can improve it. That's it for now, more later.
Great scenes and details Jeff. Are you able to do a video of the layout from the track perspective?
Hey Jeff:
All the building and scenery look great also.
Karl
Jeff
I just got caught up on your layout tour. Very nice - thank you for posting it here on the forum. Great modeling I look forward to future updates.
That group of buildings look great in that area.
I like the canning building.
Bernd
Hey Jeff:
Love the Ice Cold Beer and Ice building. Great colors and weathering.
Karl
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 10, 2021, 09:07:39 AM
Great scenes and details Jeff. Are you able to do a video of the layout from the track perspective?
Hello Curt, thanks for checking in. I'm not able to do a video, I don't have the correct equipment or know how at this point, although it is something I want to do at some point, sorry
Quote from: postalkarl on February 10, 2021, 11:10:28 AM
Hey Jeff:
All the building and scenery look great also.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on February 11, 2021, 01:26:54 AM
Hey Jeff:
Love the Ice Cold Beer and Ice building. Great colors and weathering.
Karl
Hey Karl, thanks for the kind words. I did a build thread on the Beer and Ice building, it was a CCK kit and I really enjoyed building it.
Quote from: S&S RR on February 10, 2021, 11:46:52 AM
Jeff
I just got caught up on your layout tour. Very nice - thank you for posting it here on the forum. Great modeling I look forward to future updates.
Hello John, thanks for your interest in my layout. I'm having a good time working on the tour of my layout, but all the pictures seem to show me just how much more work and improvements I can do. I've been following your layout tour as well and I am just blown away by the quality and craftsmanship that you have achieved.
Quote from: Bernd on February 10, 2021, 03:43:04 PM
That group of buildings look great in that area.
I like the canning building.
Bernd
Hi Bernd, I appreciate the nice comments. After looking at the pictures of that area, I can see that I need to do some more work to improve it. That's the thing with the forum, you see all the high quality work and learn more and newer techniques and you want to apply what you've seen and learned to your own layout.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092058.jpeg)
The other half of my city area is a retail street. This is the drone view of the area. There are five buildings along the streets along with some vehicles and little people.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092123.jpeg)
This is a street level view. I used cardboard stained with India Ink for the street material. I made a stencil from an index card and cut out the holes for the stripe down the middle of the street. I then dry-brushed it with a light grey color. The sidewalks are styrene painted with a dark grey craft paint. The utility poles and streetlights are from Walthers and the vehicles are Classic Metal works and Mini Metals.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092149.jpeg)
This is an a back alley view of the first two buildings on the left side of the street. I believe that both buildings are Woodland Scenics kits. I added a Walthers vintage fire escape kit to the rear of one and used several detail castings on the ground and on the roofs. The red building is a fire dept and I scratch-built a roof-top siren for it. The fencing is from Central Valley.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092240.jpeg)
Here's a view of the fronts of the two buildings.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092212.jpeg)
The two buildings on the other side of the street are a DPM Kelly's Saloon kit and a Walthers White Tower Restaurant kit. The awnings on the restaurant came with the kit, but I scratch-built the one for the saloon.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092428.jpeg)
Another look at the front of those two buildings. More in a minute
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092333.jpeg)
At the end of the street is a little "other side of the tracks" area. A Downtown Deco Trackside Tavern kit is here and a small shack is also seen. I can't remember where I got the shack- it is a metal structure.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092359.jpeg)
A closer look at the trackside tavern. This was my first hydrocal structure and I had a great time with it. I've seen several very good build threads of this structure.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092540.jpeg)
And a closer look at the little metal shack. I added half of a boat for the front porch roof. My brother and I used to see a similar structure along the road when we drove to our family cabin in central Ohio years ago. We called it the boat house and I wanted to have it on my layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092304.jpeg)
A track level view of the back side of the city area. The paved street ends here and the dirt road leads to the railroad yard area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092515.jpeg)
Another view of the city area, sorry about the light fixture. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092612.jpeg)
This is a view of the tracks behind my city scene. The top two are the inbound and outbound tracks to my west staging area. The west staging area represents the real world south of central Ohio on the New York Central. Tracks went to Columbus and Cincinnati in one direction and to Indianapolis and St Louis in the other. On the NYC these tracks split at a town called Galion, Ohio. The third track is the yard lead for my layout. The hillside is just stacked foam blocks painted and covered with trees.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092635.jpeg)
This picture shows the entry and exit tracks to the west staging area. I agonized over how to do this for a while and ended up just cutting slots in the backdrop and folding the flaps back. Sometimes the simplest way is the best way. I think it blends into the backdrop just fine. The track at the top right middle is the approach track to my helix.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092723.jpeg)
A closer look at the staging entries. You can't really see this angle when viewing the layout from the aisle. I reached out with my arm to get this shot.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221092659.jpeg)
Another look at the staging entry tracks. I like how trains just seem to disappear into the woods. Next up on my tour is the railroad yard area which leads to the engine service facility. That's it for now, more later.
Jeff,
You have put in a lot of hours to make the NYC RR your own...
Keep the pics coming...
Tommy
Looking good, Jeff.
I'm enjoying the tour. I think your little metal structure is a Woodland Scenics icehouse.
Cheers, Mark.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150916090021.jpeg)
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on February 11, 2021, 11:37:30 AM
Jeff,
You have put in a lot of hours to make the NYC RR your own...
Keep the pics coming...
Tommy
Hello Tommy, I have been working on my layout since 2007, so yes I have put in a lot of hours, but our hobby has helped me quite a bit over the years in terms of stress reduction, relaxation and just plain enjoyment. Thanks for looking in
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 11, 2021, 01:02:39 PM
Looking good, Jeff.
I'm enjoying the tour. I think your little metal structure is a Woodland Scenics icehouse.
Cheers, Mark.
Hey Mark, I believe that you are right about my little metal structure coming from Woodland Scenics, thanks for the info. I take it that you have one of the kits on your layout.
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 11, 2021, 04:45:59 PM
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150916090021.jpeg)
Hello Tom, wow, that's quite a statement. I can never find things like that on my computer. I appreciate you checking in.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221203927.jpeg)
This is the drone view of my railroad yard entrance area. The track along the backdrop leads to my helix. The yard lead splits into two yard areas. The left track leads to a three track classification area and the right track leads to my arrival and departure tracks and also to a yard run-a-round track that leads to the engine service facility. The spur track to the right leads to my city scene industrial area and also serves as a storage track for switchers that are working in the yard. The ballast on the arrival and departure tracks is the same as my mainline ballast and the rest of the tracks have a darker cinder type color for yards and spur tracks. A dirt road leads from the end of the paved road to the railroad property structures.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204011.jpeg)
This is a closer look at the Alexander Scale Models NYC freight house kit and a Walthers water tower kit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204031.jpeg)
I enjoyed building the freight house kit. This was my first kit with paper shingles
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204051.jpeg)
I have several of the water tower kits on the layout, I think they are a realistic looking copy of the prototype and they are fun to build.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204252.jpeg)
Next to the water tower is this Walthers interlocking tower kit, again I have several of these on the layout. The small tank is from the Walthers industrial tank kit. The NYC decal on the tower comes from a steam locomotive decal sheet that I found at a LHS. Unfortunately, that shop is no longer there.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204335.jpeg)
The above mentioned interlocking tower was supposed to be the control area for my little people at this end of the yard, but then I was looking through John Siekirk's excellent thread on the FSM and I saw this structure and knew immediately that I had to have it on my layout. I had a Life Like two track signal bridge here, but this track tower is a huge improvement. I did a scratch-build thread of this structure on the forum if anyone is interested. I had a great time with it and I'm extremely pleased with the result. How can you go wrong with a George Sellios design ? More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204313.jpeg)
The stairs were the most challenging part of the build and I was pleased with how they came out.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204113.jpeg)
Another view of my scratch-built track tower and the small yard shack.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204135.jpeg)
I scratch-built this little shack. Shacks like this were used by the workers in the yard to protect them from the weather. My father was a car inspector for the NYC and he spent a lot of time in shacks like this at the Collinwood yard in East Cleveland.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204156.jpeg)
A look at the yard entrance through the legs of the track tower. Here you can clearly see the different ballast colors.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221204222.jpeg)
A track level view looking back at the yard entrance area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-110221203950.jpeg)
A track level view of my helix approach track and a look at the backside of the freight house. That's it for now, more later.
Very nice Jeff! Love the Trackside Tavern (my version is sitting on the A&S and apparently has developed quite a reputation). Mark is correct about the little Ice House being a Woodland Scenic kit. I built that one ages ago and it's buried in box somewhere in my garage. I may have been reverted back to kit form for all I know given how poorly I packed it away. ::)
Excellent layout scenes. I had to blow up the first picture because to my eyes it looked like the tower was a building sitting on the tracks. :o
Jeff,
Nice pictures and nice work on that part of the layout.
Are you modeling spring or fall? Just wondering since I don't see any foliage on the trees.
Also like that track tower. I think that would look nice in my version of the Rochester Jct scene. I'll have to find your scratch build thread.
Bernd
Quote from: ReadingBob on February 12, 2021, 07:40:26 AM
Very nice Jeff! Love the Trackside Tavern (my version is sitting on the A&S and apparently has developed quite a reputation). Mark is correct about the little Ice House being a Woodland Scenic kit. I built that one ages ago and it's buried in box somewhere in my garage. I may have been reverted back to kit form for all I know given how poorly I packed it away. ::)
Hello Bob, thanks for looking in. Yes, the trackside tavern was a fun build and I'm really enjoying the colorful life that yours is having on the A and S. Blood on the ceiling- that's great, bet you didn't model that.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 12, 2021, 08:43:19 AM
Excellent layout scenes. I had to blow up the first picture because to my eyes it looked like the tower was a building sitting on the tracks. :o
Hi Curt, glad you like the track tower, it's a great structure. One of many, many on the FSM
Quote from: Bernd on February 12, 2021, 09:21:54 AM
Jeff,
Nice pictures and nice work on that part of the layout.
Are you modeling spring or fall? Just wondering since I don't see any foliage on the trees.
Also like that track tower. I think that would look nice in my version of the Rochester Jct scene. I'll have to find your scratch build thread.
Bernd
Hey Bernd, I'm modeling the fall. When I started my layout the trees with foliage that were available to me did not look very realistic, but now with the Super Trees available I have had to rethink that and I have some on the layout with more to come I hope. My scratch-build of the track tower is on the Scratchbuilding forum board under FSM tribute build, if you want to see how I did it.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090820215325.jpeg)
The area that we are looking at is now on the center peninsula of my track plan on the lower side. The back side of the peninsula is the staging area and on the end is my helix and the engine service facility.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100447.jpeg)
In this picture we are looking down the length of the yard. The track on the left is the approach track to the helix, then there are the three classification yard tracks, then, with the different color ballast are the arrival and departure tracks and finally the run-a-round track. The entire shelf is 28 inches wide at this point and the yard area is 22 inches wide. The yard is about 16 feet long from end to end
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100537.jpeg)
These two small structures are about in the middle of the yard, I believe they are Atlas structures. You have to keep the little people happy.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100601.jpeg)
This is a drone view of the middle of the yard opposite the swinging gate that is the entrance to my train room. The aisle width here is 30 inches. This is fine when I'm in the room and running trains, but I ran into a problem.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100625.jpeg)
When entering the room and opening the swinging gate the aisle width was only 21 inches. This proved to be a problem. When people enter the train room they have to duck under the bridge across my upper level. Asking them to duck and then squeeze through a tight aisle was not convenient. So...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100735.jpeg)
I cut out a portion of the yard to give me the full 30 inch aisle width when the gate opens. This made it much easier for visitors to enter the room. More in a minute
Love that gate, Jeff. It's one of those things that is trickier than it looks. Great work!
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100648.jpeg)
This is the rack that I had to build just below the cut out portion so that I had a place to put the cut out. It had to be close because the wires for the track power had to be considered.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100710.jpeg)
Here is the rack with the cut out portion stored in it. When putting this all together, I first cut out the benchwork and then put it in place making sure it was all level. Then I laid the tracks across the area. After that I used my cut-off wheel to cut the tracks in place. Then the power wires were installed and all was well. Problem of the skinny aisle was solved.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100758.jpeg)
Here is the area with the cut-out removed. You can see the cut-out in the rack below the benchwork.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100820.jpeg)
And here it is with the cut-out in.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100843.jpeg)
Here is a drone view of the end of the yard area. When trains come into the yard on the different colored ballast tracks, the locomotives can be un-coupled and run on to the stub track at the end of the arrival track. They can then be backed through the three turnouts to get to the run-a round track at the right. From there they can pull forward into the engine service facility at the top right of the picture.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100912.jpeg)
This is a view looking the other way. The stub track at the end of the arrival tracks is at the bottom right and the two tracks leading into the engine service facility are at the bottom middle. I hope that all of that is clear as mud. If not, anyone is welcome to come and visit if they are ever in sunny Arizona, where it is in the 70's right now. Sorry, I had to rub it in a little. That's it for now, more later.
Quote from: Rusty Robot on February 12, 2021, 11:05:10 AM
Love that gate, Jeff. It's one of those things that is trickier than it looks. Great work!
Hello Craig, glad you like the gate. Since it's right at the entrance to the train room and it is such a large moving thing, I had to take care when building it. All's well, that ends well I guess.
Jeff,
That swing gate is just wonderful. Very well done.
Tom ;D
Jeff,
Just getting caught up on your thread. Not only is the swing gate great, and much more difficult to design and build than one would think, the removable track section to allow the gate to open wider is genius. I would never have thought of that in a million years. I like the use of space to have such a long yard to allow running realistic trains on a busy mainline. Kudos on both your design and execution of both the gate and the layout as well.
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 12, 2021, 05:39:10 PM
Jeff,
That swing gate is just wonderful. Very well done.
Tom ;D
Hello Tom, thank you, the gate was a lot of work, but worth it in the end
Quote from: jerryrbeach on February 12, 2021, 10:16:17 PM
Jeff,
Just getting caught up on your thread. Not only is the swing gate great, and much more difficult to design and build than one would think, the removable track section to allow the gate to open wider is genius. I would never have thought of that in a million years. I like the use of space to have such a long yard to allow running realistic trains on a busy mainline. Kudos on both your design and execution of both the gate and the layout as well.
Hey Jerry, thank you very much for the kind words. The length of my yard makes it easy to pull full trains from the mainline in. I'm lucky to have the space for my layout that I do. Thanks again for looking in.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221083734.jpeg)
A closer look at the trackwork at the end of the yard. I had to have a way to get the locomotives from incoming trains un-coupled and into the engine service facility in a realistic fashion. It was a lot of trial and error on paper designs, but I think I came up with a good solution.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221083915.jpeg)
A look at the structures at the end of the yard. The interlocking tower is another Walthers and the middle building is a rooming house for railroad crews to stay in after their runs. It is a Walthers Mainline kit. The quonset hut is from Rix I believe.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221085631.jpeg)
A closer look at the tower and rooming house. I read in my NYC books that sometimes at division point yards there were rooming houses for crews. I thought that was a good thing to include on the layout and the Mainline kit fit the bill pretty well.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221084017.jpeg)
This is another scratch-built yard structure for the yard personnel.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221084159.jpeg)
And another scratch-built yard structure. I liked building these little structures, they were good practice for building larger ones in the future. I haven't finished blending in the scenery around this one yet. I have some ideas about yard trackside details and am looking forward to finishing up the yard area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221084134.jpeg)
Here is a look at the benchwork under the peninsula. I used 2 x 2's for legs and 1 x 3's for the top horizontal pieces and as always used 5 ply 1/2 inch plywood on the top. When building the shelves under the benchwork I used 1 x 2's to hold up the plywood shelf. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-120221100512.jpeg)
When designing my helix to get to my upper level I found that if I had a long approach track to the helix I could eliminate one helix level. In effect, the approach track is an unwound helix level. This is a track level view of that approach track looking towards the helix.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221084111.jpeg)
You can see the approach track against the backdrop, the track is about 16 feet long and has just under a 2% rise, as does my helix.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221083758.jpeg)
This is a closer look at the top of the approach track. The hillside is stacked foam pieces, carved and then painted to resemble a forest hill.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221083825.jpeg)
I reached in with my arm to get this view. I carved some foam to get a rock face tunnel portal look. I like the way trains seem to disappear into the woods.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221084049.jpeg)
Another view of the end of the approach track. I don't like hidden tracks on a layout, so this long approach track to the helix seemed like a good way for more visible train running. Next up is my engine service facility. That's it for now, more later.
Hey Jeff:
Looks just beautiful. When I had RR I also modeled NYC. Still have all my rolling stock And locos.
Karl
I like your un-wound helix. It's a nice length to show off some of those nice NYC passenger cars.
Bernd
Very nice modeling Jeff.
Quote from: postalkarl on February 13, 2021, 09:32:09 AM
Hey Jeff:
Looks just beautiful. When I had RR I also modeled NYC. Still have all my rolling stock And locos.
Karl
Hello Karl, thanks for stopping by. There's a lot to like about the NYC. Anyone who is of a certain age and grew up in the Northeast can't help but remember their beautiful trains.
Quote from: Bernd on February 13, 2021, 11:10:01 AM
I like your un-wound helix. It's a nice length to show off some of those nice NYC passenger cars.
Bernd
Hey Bernd, I'll have to take a picture of one of my NYC passenger trains on that track. They look really good going up that incline and it's length lets you see the whole train.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 13, 2021, 11:13:33 AM
Very nice modeling Jeff.
Hello Curt, thanks for the nice comment and also for checking out my layout tour thread. I know that I'm certainly enjoying yours. That's one of the great things about the forum. It lets us visit each others layouts.
Continuing on...
Next up on my layout tour is my engine servicing facility. I spent more time planning this area than any other. The space is at the heart of my layout and I wanted it to reflect what happens with real locomotives when ending a run.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110151.jpeg)
Here is the drone view of the entry area to the facility. As you can see there are seven tracks. I will attempt to explain the purpose of each track as we go along.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110212.jpeg)
As my drone continues over the area we begin to see the busy service tracks for both steam and diesel locomotives.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110233.jpeg)
This shows the end area of the facility with the turntable and the roundhouse. As you can see three tracks make it to the turntable- the diesel inbound and outbound track and two steam tracks, one inbound and one outbound.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110255.jpeg)
This is a closer view of the roundhouse. It is a Walthers kit, as are most of the structures in this area. They have done such a good job making this type of kit available. It is the three stall kit. I scratch-built a fourth open air stall. The fifth track goes under a gantry crane, which is a Walthers Mainline kit. I really liked this kit when I saw it and had to put it in a prominent place on the layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110718.jpeg)
Here's a closer look at the interior of the roundhouse. I used some detail castings from my stash and scratch-built the others. I want to add more when I can. I don't think I will ever put the roof on, I don't want to hide the interior. I'm thinking about completing the wood framing and maybe showing a roofing crew starting to put a solid roof in one corner.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110814.jpeg)
A closer look at the gantry crane track. The wheel sets on the flatcar are from Tichy and I can't remember where I got the junk pile casting. The wires sticking up on two of the roundhouse tracks are track feeders waiting to be soldered. More in a minute.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110747.jpeg)
I had a small triangular area left behind the roundhouse that I needed to do something with, so I put another barn there. You just can't have too many barns, this is central rural Ohio after all. I have noticed that George Sellios has a lot of diners and bars on his layout, well, I have a lot of barns on mine. I like the look of them and they are fun to build.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221111001.jpeg)
Next to the roundhouse along the backdrop is one of two shop buildings. Both of these buildings were kit-bashed from the same kit, the Walthers car shop kit. I didn't have room for the whole kit so I cut it up to fit along the curved backdrop. The smokestack is from Walthers and the large black tank is from Rix. On the roof is a small water tower, also from Walthers.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110837.jpeg)
Here's a closer look at the entry to the first shop building. I left a door open and put just enough inside to suggest a busy interior. I like the small jib crane, but can't remember where I got it. I'm going to claim senior privilege on all these can't remembers. The truck is from Classic Metal Works.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110904.jpeg)
The second shop building is my car repair shop and it was made with the rest of that Walthers kit I mentioned before. I had to cut the roof card for this building to fit the curve of the backdrop and I put some detail castings on it. I want to do some more detailing of the car shop in the future.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110405.jpeg)
Along the front of the scene is the Office building, this is also a Walthers kit. I added the NYC decal from a decal sheet for NYC locomotives that I got at a LHS.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221111037.jpeg)
I filled in another little area with this old time conveyor kit. I have several of these little kits on the layout, I just like the way they look. Behind the conveyor you can see the end of the supply track for the coaling tower. I got the idea for the short retaining wall on this inclined track from the great Cliff Powers Magnolia Route. I liked the way he did his and I tried to copy it here. That's it for now, more later.
What a layout Jeff , lots of details even if it looks like it's a very large layout, keep the photo's coming.
Excellent modeling Jeff.
hey Jeff:
Great pics of the layout. Really like the turntable area.
Karl
Nice job on that engine facility. Looks great for the space it had to fit into.
Bernd
Quote from: Janbouli on February 13, 2021, 08:07:29 PM
What a layout Jeff , lots of details even if it looks like it's a very large layout, keep the photo's coming.
Hello Jan, thanks for the nice comments. I'm always trying to add more details to my mini-scenes. I will keep the photos coming, I haven't even gotten to the upper level of my layout.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 13, 2021, 08:54:45 PM
Excellent modeling Jeff.
Thank you Curt and right back at you, I'm really enjoying your layout thread.
Quote from: postalkarl on February 13, 2021, 11:18:12 PM
hey Jeff:
Great pics of the layout. Really like the turntable area.
Karl
Hey Karl, thanks for looking in.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110342.jpeg)
The track nearest the edge of the layout is a supply track. At the end boxcars are placed to deliver sand for the locomotives. The sand storage bin and adjacent building are parts of a Walthers kit. I scratch-built the dock next to the storage bin.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110430.jpeg)
The second track in is also a supply track. First on the track is the ash dump/ removal tower, another Walthers kit. This track is also the supply track for coal hoppers for the coaling tower.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221111107.jpeg)
Sorry about the sideways picture, it shows up correctly until I put it into this post. This is the third track in- the inbound steam track. Engines dump their ashes and then move onto the service pad- better shown in the previous photo. They then move under the Walthers coaling tower. The coaling tower was a fun kit to build.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110539.jpeg)
After topping off the coal, engines pull forward to the sand tower from the Walthers kit. This tower spans both the steam inbound and outbound tracks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110514.jpeg)
A better view of the coaling tower and the steam service tracks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110651.jpeg)
Engines then pull onto the turntable to go into the roundhouse if necessary or just to be turned around for their next job in the yard. I installed strip-wood on the turntable platform after seeing the great job that ACL Tom did on his. More in a minute
Great engine facility Jeff..... 8)
Quote from: Bernd on February 14, 2021, 10:26:56 AM
Nice job on that engine facility. Looks great for the space it had to fit into.
Bernd
Hello Bernd, I had to do quite a bit of trial and error planning to get everything that I wanted into that space. Thanks for stopping by.
Quote from: GPdemayo on February 14, 2021, 10:40:22 AM
Great engine facility Jeff..... 8)
Hey Greg, thank you, I'm lucky that I had the space to do what I wanted. I know that most modelers would like to do a larger engine service facility but just can't due to lack of space. The problem is that there are so many great kits out there for this type of area.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110452.jpeg)
The next track over is the diesel service track for both inbound and outbound engines. All of my inspection pits are from Peco. I kit-bashed them to fit my space and added all the details that I could think of. You can see the top of another sanding tower at the bottom of the picture for the diesels.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110626.jpeg)
A view from the other direction of the diesel service area. Some of the parts shown here are from a Walthers diesel service kit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110322.jpeg)
The next track over is another supply/ storage track. You can see a tank car spotted at the end for diesel fuel delivery. The large black tank is for water for the facility. I didn't mention it before, but I have at least three of the Tichy water columns in this area. Two on the steam service tracks and one at the entry area for the facility. They are fun little kits to build and the Tichy quality makes it easy. You can also see the seventh and last track here- it is the track that runs through the car repair shop.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110600.jpeg)
A closer look at the diesel fuel delivery area. The tank is from a Walthers industrial tank kit and the pumping platform is scratch-built.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221111131.jpeg)
This little service platform caught my eye when I saw it. The kit came with two platforms, I think, at least I know I have two on the layout. Another senior privilege moment here.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-130221110941.jpeg)
Another look at one of the service platform/ pit areas. These areas provide a lot of opportunity for detail and they look so good. I had a lot of fun planning and building this engine service facility. It is probably my favorite area of the layout. There is so much to see in areas like this. We can never get enough access to the real thing, for some reason prototype railroads don't like strange men with cameras roaming around their properties.
That completes the tour of the lower level of my layout. Next up is my helix and then on to the upper level. I'm enjoying putting this layout tour together. The only problem is that taking all of these pictures shows me how much work I still have to do. That's it for now, more later.
Nice engine facilities, Jeff.
Terrific stuff!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 14, 2021, 01:01:17 PM
Nice engine facilities, Jeff.
Terrific stuff!
Cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, sorry it took me so long to respond. Thank you for the nice comment and for looking in. Sometimes real life gets in the way of our hobby. The good news is that my wife and I both got our second vaccine shot the other day. One of the few perks of being old and partially infirm.
Hey Jeff:
Beautiful job on this portion of the layout. Keep the great pics flowing. I very much enjoy your work.
Karl
Hello Karl, thanks for looking in and for the nice comments. I plan on continuing soon. Sometimes real life gets in the way of our fun.
Hey Jeff:
that it does. Looking forward to more photos.
Karl
It's been awhile since I've added to my layout tour thread, I've been busy with building structures. Last time I finished up the tour of my lower level, so now I wanted to show you my helix. First a little information. My lower level height is 41 1/2 inches and the upper level is 63 1/2 inches, so I had to build the helix to rise a total of 22 inches. The track in my helix has a 30 inch radius and there is a 4 inch rise between loops. This gives me, according to a grade graph from a track planning book, a grade of 2 %.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421180213.jpeg)
I dug into some old layout construction pictures and found a couple of the helix being built. My helix is at the end of the center peninsula of the train room. I first extended the lower level benchwork, then positioned the plywood for the lowest staging yard return loop. Then, using 1x4 pieces cut to the 4 inch rise I positioned the second loop, which is the return loop for the higher staging yard. These are the first two loops visible in the picture. Now I could start the actual helix. You can see the helix approach track at the bottom left of the picture, this leads onto the first helix loop. I knew that the start of the second loop would be 4 inches above the start of the first loop so I cut the 1x4 riser pieces to get me to that elevation. In the picture you can see that I am about halfway through the second loop. The square wood structure in the middle of the helix provides what will be a base for the top level benchwork.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421180315.jpeg)
Here you can see the upper level benchwork framing at the left and a little of the painted backdrop.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421180243.jpeg)
Another view of the same stage of construction, I didn't take a lot of pictures at this time, I didn't even know that things such as the forum existed in 2009.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175710.jpeg)
This is the actual start of the helix. The track on the left goes to a staging yard and the track on the right is the approach track to the helix. This approach track is 18 feet long and is really the first loop of the helix straightened out. It has the same 2 % grade as the helix loops.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175736.jpeg)
My NYC streamlined stainless steel passenger car train is on the approach track here.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175645.jpeg)
Another view of the passenger train on the hill, led by a NYC E-8. More in a minute.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175801.jpeg)
Here the train is approaching the end of the helix hill.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175822.jpeg)
The approach track ends where it goes through the backdrop. I fashioned a tunnel portal from carved foam painted to a rock color. After this point, the track is off-stage and inside the helix. My painted backdrop wraps around this side of the helix, the back side of the helix is visible as it is next to the staging yards on the backside of the center peninsula.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421180006.jpeg)
This is a view of the inside of the helix, it has a 22 inch square opening at the top so that I can stand up inside the helix. You can see all of the helix levels here. The first two are the staging yard return loops and the next four are the helix loop. The plywood track base pieces are 6 inches wide and about 4 feet long. I laid out the 30 inch track radius on a piece of cardboard and then drew out the template for the plywood, leaving 2 inches on each side of the track. I then used the cardboard template to get as many pieces out of a 4x8 piece of plywood as possible. When laying track on the helix I first glued down cork roadbed and then spiked the track to the cork. I attached feeder wires on every level of the helix.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421180027.jpeg)
Here is a closer look at the helix trackwork and the risers I used between loops.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175846.jpeg)
This is a view looking down from the top of the helix. The opening in the top of the helix is not really visible when standing next to the upper level, remember that the upper level is 63 1/2 inches high. More in a minute.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175910.jpeg)
This tunnel portal is where trains exit the helix, Here trains have gone around four loops that are all 18 feet long and with a 4 inch rise, this means that trains have gone up about 20 inches at this point. Above the retaining wall in the picture you can see the upper level track.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-050421175937.jpeg)
This view is from the end of the upper level exit track. This section of track is 12 feet long and acts as the final loop of the helix, also straightened out. Overall I have 102 feet of track to get from the lower to the upper level. There are 18 feet in the lower helix approach track, four loops of 18 feet each and the upper exit track is 12 feet long. Trains make there way up the helix easily with the 2 % grade and I can keep an eye on them when they are inside the helix from the exposed backside. It took a lot of planning, but everything came out well. I got the idea for the construction of the helix from an old Model Railroader magazine article. That's it for now, more later as we start to go around the upper level of my layout.
Love seeing all those NYC passenger trains Jeff.....looks great. 8)
Hello Greg, thanks for looking in and I agree with you- the NYC passenger trains are beautiful.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090820215347.jpeg)
This is a drawing of the upper level of my layout. The helix is under the end of the center peninsula and the helix exit track runs along the top of the peninsula. We will start the tour of the upper level where trains come off the helix exit track and move towards the upper left corner of the track plan.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144237.jpeg)
This is a track level view of the start of the upper level track where the exit track from the helix reaches the upper level benchwork.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144310.jpeg)
As the track nears the city it first comes to a small wooded area. The large tree is from Scenic Express Super Trees. I ordered the starter pack to try my hand at what I have seen to be very realistic trees on other layouts on the forum. Some of the trees came out really well, like this one, but more than a few were lacking. I'm sure it was my fault and lack of experience. I will try some more of these in the future, they look so good when they come out the way they are supposed to.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144336.jpeg)
The first trackside structure is my scratch-built version of a CCK rural post office kit that I liked the looks of. ACL Tom did a very nice build thread of this kit and I decided to build my own version of the kit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144402.jpeg)
Here is a drone view of the area leading into the corner of the layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144423.jpeg)
The next structure is a Life Like general store kit. The fencing around the store is from Central Valley. They offer a reasonably priced fence assortment package that I have used quite a bit on the layout. More in a minute.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144448.jpeg)
A closer look at the general store. I used several Life Like plastic kits when I started to build structures for the layout, they are reasonably priced and look good for the money. Now that I have started to build wood craftsman kits, I am slowly replacing my old plastic structures.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144509.jpeg)
This small house is also a Life Like kit- the western homestead.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144531.jpeg)
This is a view of a city street running across the peninsula. I used cardboard stained with India Ink. I made a center stripe template from an index card and dry brushed some light grey stripes. I then used some weathering chalks on the road.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144611.jpeg)
My lumber mill is next up on the trackside tour. I used several different kits for this little complex. The stacked lumber piles are from Atlas and the logs are just twigs from my yard. I used a piece of homosote for the base and painted it with a tan base color and then sprinkled on sifted dirt from my yard.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144633.jpeg)
This is an Atlas kit. I made the sign on my computer- it is named after an actual lumber store in central Ohio that was near the family cabin we had in that area. This was an Amish owned business. Holmes County in central Ohio is one of the larger Amish communities outside of those in Pennsylvania. I've been looking for some Amish type buggies for the layout and haven't been able to find any. If anyone knows of something I can use, I would appreciate it. It was common to see horse drawn buggies on the road and parked in town on weekends in that part of the country.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144658.jpeg)
This lumber mill is an IHC kit. The IHC kits are also reasonably priced plastic kits that I used when starting out. That's it for now, more later.
Continuing on with a short update...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144723.jpeg)
Moving logs from a truck onto the track leading into the saw mill is done with this small traveling crane from Durango Press. I want to further detail this little lumber complex at some time.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144746.jpeg)
This is the town water tower, it is a kit from Bar Mills. The fencing around the tower is more from central Valley. The town name is on the tower- Killbuck. I placed individual letters from a decal sheet on the tank. Killbuck is the name of the small town in Holmes County, Ohio near the location of my old family cabin.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144807.jpeg)
Next to the water tower is some abandoned track-bed that runs through a small wooded area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-060421144832.jpeg)
Behind the lumber mill area is another wooded area with the approach road to a grain elevator located in the corner of the layout. That's it for now, more later.
Jeff
Very nice work. I am enjoying the layout tour.
Jeff:
All looks beautiful. Love the lumber yard.
Karl
Jeff,
Enjoying the journey around the layout.
Tom ;D
Good stuff, Jeff. You can almost smell the sawdust in the lumber yard.
Quote from: S&S RR on April 09, 2021, 02:11:06 PM
Jeff
Very nice work. I am enjoying the layout tour.
Hello John, thank you for looking in and I'm glad you're enjoying my layout tour
Quote from: postalkarl on April 10, 2021, 12:10:03 PM
Jeff:
All looks beautiful. Love the lumber yard.
Karl
Hey Karl, thanks for the kind words. I did the lumber yard many years ago and I am planning on updating and improving now that my modeling skills have improved.
Quote from: ACL1504 on April 10, 2021, 03:13:16 PM
Jeff,
Enjoying the journey around the layout.
Tom ;D
Hello Tom, glad you're along for my journey. I'm sure enjoying yours
Quote from: Judge on April 10, 2021, 03:22:19 PM
Good stuff, Jeff. You can almost smell the sawdust in the lumber yard.
Your Honor, lumber yards are sure a lot of fun to build. I'm so glad that you are well on your way to recovery.
The lumberyard makes an outstanding scene Jeff..... 8)
Hey Jeff:
You are quite welcome.
Karl
We are now entering the upper left corner of the layout plan for the upper level. So...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-200421162306.jpeg)
The corner scene is a rural grain elevator. The main line is behind the grain elevator and the track in front is a spur for the elevator. My main line track ballast is a lighter color- the New York Central used a type of limestone for it's mainline ballast so I tried to stay with the prototype in this regard. My yard areas and spurs use a darker color ballast- a mix of black and dark grey materials. The grain elevator is a Walthers kit as is the small grain warehouse building. The field in the curved corner area was elevated with carved foam, painted with a tan color and sprinkled with sawdust to represent a cornfield that has already been harvested, but not yet cleaned up. The two Big Four boxcars were a real find, I forget who made them, but I bought them a long time ago. The Ohio Division of the New York Central was called the Big Four because it served Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-200421162246.jpeg)
A closer look at the grain elevator
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-200421162332.jpeg)
And a closer look at the grain warehouse. I would like to revisit these two buildings in the future and update the roofs and other details. This part of the layout was the first area that I worked on and for that reason I think I could do a little better now.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421163010.jpeg)
We are now coming around the corner and entering the shelf which runs the length of the wall- 32 feet. The shelf is 14 inches wide and this picture shows how I attached it to the wall. The verticals are 2x2 which I screwed to the block walls with Tap-Cons- a type of masonry screw. The horizontal shelf support is two pieces- first a 1x2 that butts up against the vertical and then a 4 inch tall piece of 1/2 inch 5 ply plywood that screws onto the vertical 2x2 with 3 screws. The 1x2 and piece of plywood are screwed together. This gives me more of a surface to mount the 1/2 inch plywood shelf to the supports. It has now been almost 15 years since I installed this shelf system and I have not had any sagging.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421163035.jpeg)
This is a view of the front of the shelf support system. As you can see, I attached a horizontal piece of 1x2 between the shelf supports which are on 32 inch centers. This solidifies the whole support system and also gives me a surface to attach the masonite fascia. The two holes in the horizontal piece are for the low voltage track wiring to the left and the 120 volt wiring for the lighting on the right.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421163101.jpeg)
The lighting for the underside of the upper level is shown here. I used plastic lampholders which are screwed to the front horizontal support piece. I started out with CFL bulbs in 2007 and I am now replacing them as they burn out with LED bulbs which use less energy and seem to be brighter. More in a minute
Hey Jeff:
Love the farmers cooperative scene.
Karl
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-200421162355.jpeg)
The first part of the shelf is a wooded area. You can see the spur for the grain elevator. My ground cover is a mix of Woodland Scenics fine and course turf colors, some Scenic Express foilage colors and some moss that I buy at Michaels in their floral section.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162023.jpeg)
At the end of the wooded area we come upon my farm scene. This farm scene is about 8 feet long on the 14 inch deep shelf. The first part of the farm is an area with the farm outbuildings. I scratch-built the structures here and if you are interested, a build thread can be found in the Scratchbuilding section of the forum under farm outbuildings by nycjeff. The first building is a barn under construction.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162000.jpeg)
I had a lot of fun with this scratch-build. I used 1/8 square strip-wood for the timber framing and I even built a section of wood scaffolding which can be seen in the front. The farm animals are very interested in what's going on as you can see.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162304.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162545.jpeg)
I would like to add some little people workers to this scene when I can find some appropriate ones. To be really accurate, I would have to find some Amish workers. My layout is located in Holmes County, Ohio which is a large Amish community area and the Amish built most of the timber frame barns in the area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162045.jpeg)
Next to the barn are two more scratch-built farm outbuildings- a chicken coop and a hay shed. The chicken coop was inspired by the great job that John Siekirk did on his coop in his layout tour thread. If you haven't looked at that thread, you definitely should. John is one of the modelers that sets the bar that the rest of us can only aspire too. That's it for now, more later.
Quote from: postalkarl on April 21, 2021, 05:10:26 PM
Hey Jeff:
Love the farmers cooperative scene.
Karl
Hello Karl, thanks for looking in. Corner scenes like the farmers co-op are always fun to do. When trains curve around a corner they look so good.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162326.jpeg)
A closer look at the hay shed and chicken coop. The hole in the hay shed roof was made by cutting a jagged hole in the roof card and then gluing some 2x6 strip-wood underneath. I then cut uneven edges in the roll-roofing where it met the hole. An easy method for a good looking mini-scene. The fence posts are pieces of wood skewers from the grocery store cut to length and painted. I did not attempt to model the wire of the fence, I have not come up with any method that looks good to me yet.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162501.jpeg)
The chicken coop was a fun little build. I used 1/16 square strip-wood for the framing and 2x6 and 2x4 for the smaller pieces. I used some material leftover from a Walthers chain link fence kit for the "chicken wire". I then put on some AI and weathering chalks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162524.jpeg)
The hay shed was built using the 1/16 square strip-wood as well. I used 2x8 for the wall cladding boards. I distressed them by using my Exacto knife to cut corners and some middle areas. I then sprayed the walls with rattle can dark grey primer and when dry, I dry-brushed the walls with a barn red color. I was pleased with how it came out. The hay pile is carved foam with glue and sawdust.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162413.jpeg)
A track level view behind the farm outbuildings. The small incline to the left of the track is just some carved foam with various ground covers. Above you can see my upper level lighting, it is just plastic lampholders with CFL lamps to start and LED lamps to replace them as they burn out. For the valence I bought some fabric at Joannes Fabric and cut 12 wide pieces which I mounted on metal channel left over from my drop ceiling material.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162117.jpeg)
Next to the farm outbuildings is a small paved county road. I make my roads with cardboard painted with India Ink and then weathered. The center stripes are dry-brushed on with light grey craft paint using an index card with small holes cut in.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162347.jpeg)
A drone view of the county road and the next portion of my farm scene. I used 2x12 strip-wood stained with AI solution and then dry-brushed with brown paint for the wood crossing. More in a minute
Continuing on with my farm scene...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162136.jpeg)
Next to the county road is the small farm house. I scratch-built this little structure. The porch roof sagged at the corner, but I decided to leave it. Farmers are always more concerned with the rest of the farm buildings than their own house anyway.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162606.jpeg)
A closer look at the farm house.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162628.jpeg)
And a look at the rear of the farm house.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162201.jpeg)
Next to the farm house is the beginning of the plowed field. I don't remember where I got the hay wagon, but I think the hay bales are from Busch.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162655.jpeg)
Looking down the plowed field from the farm house end. The field is some formed cardboard from Busch.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162854.jpeg)
Looking down on the plowed field from the other end. I believe the tractors and plow are from Woodland Scenics. That's it for now, more later.
Lovely work, Jeff. Your scenes are really popping with life!
I just wish your camera was up to the job more!
Hey Jeff:
Just beautiful. I always enjoy your layout.
Kael
Quote from: Keep it Rusty on April 23, 2021, 09:16:37 AM
Lovely work, Jeff. Your scenes are really popping with life!
I just wish your camera was up to the job more!
Hello Craig, thanks for the nice comments and I am with you, my camera sucks ! I am saving my pennies so that I can upgrade my little point and shoot camera to a SLR that I can manually adjust for better results. In past years I used a lovely Minolta SLR film camera with a nice assortment of lens, a 70-210 telephoto, a wide angle, several filters- none of which is doing me any good now in the digital age and unfortunately none of which is worth any money. Oh well, I got my moneys worth through many years of use.
Quote from: postalkarl on April 23, 2021, 09:30:20 AM
Hey Jeff:
Just beautiful. I always enjoy your layout.
Kael
Hey Karl, thanks for looking in and I'm glad that you are enjoying my layout tour.
A short update to finish the tour of my upper shelf farm scene.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162811.jpeg)
Another view of the plowed field, I can see that I have to put some more glue on the raised seam.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162440.jpeg)
A view down the track behind the plowed field. I really like the fact that I can have long straight sections of track. It's nice to be able to walk along the aisle with the train as it runs down the track.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162243.jpeg)
Another track level view. It's a challenge on shallow shelfs to get an interesting scene. I only have 14 inches to work with here, so I kept the track near the back of the shelf so that trains could seem to run through the landscape. The challenge is to get something that looks good in the 1 1/2 inches between the track and the backdrop. I used carved foam with various ground covers and some small trees to give some sort of three dimensional effect, rather than the train running in front of a painted backdrop.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162941.jpeg)
A better picture of the plowed field. I really am looking forward to being able to take better pictures with a better camera. You can see the water tower in this shot.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162721.jpeg)
A good look at the water tower, It is a Walthers kit. I have several of these on the layout, they make a nice looking example of the prototype. I think that the little shack is from Atlas. I am not using an operating system on my layout yet, but when I do the water tower will provide a stop for the steam engines along the long narrow shelf.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-210421162747.jpeg)
Another look at the water tower. I used brass wire for the spout supports. The kit comes with some string that doesn't really look very good. I have also used some black chain from A-line on these towers. The 40 links to an inch is a good fit for HO scale. That's it for now, more later.
Moving on from my farm scene on the long narrow shelf of my upper level we come to an interchange with another railroad. I represented this interchange with a 30 degree crossing and a separate track which connects to my mainline. This interchange takes up almost 12 feet of the shelf.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170506.jpeg)
The beginning of the interchange area is marked by a turnout for a passing siding which leads to the interchange track- with the dark ballast.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170532.jpeg)
Here is a view of the three tracks. The three tracks take up the full width of the shelf, but that's alright because an interchange is really a structure-less industry which can afford a lot of railroad action.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170558.jpeg)
Here a train of empty coal hoppers is on the interchange track. My plan is to use this track to switch entire coal trains. On the prototype, the New York Central brought coal up from the coal mines of southern Ohio to Cleveland for the huge engine facilities located there. My plan is to start a train of empties from staging and run the train all the way to the junction where a train with full hoppers will be waiting. The engines will pull the full cars onto the main and leave the empties on the interchange track and then take the full hoppers back to Cleveland which is the staging yard on my layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170620.jpeg)
This picture shows the end of the passing siding and a glimpse of the crossing track.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170928.jpeg)
Here is the crossing, a 30 degree diamond made by Atlas. I used all Atlas code 83 track, crossings and turn-outs on my layout. More on the interchange tower to come.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170906.jpeg)
Here's a track level view of the crossing. Again I used different colored ballast her to show the difference between railroads. That's it for now, more later.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170816.jpeg)
The interchange is looked over by a couple of Foscale kits- Yard Office One and Tower One. These were my first Foscale kits and I really enjoyed building them.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170731.jpeg)
A closer look at the yard office- the signs really help make the kit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170754.jpeg)
And the tower structure. Both of these kits are small, but are both really interesting visually and they both look good on the layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170707.jpeg)
As you can see, the interchange track runs off the edge of the layout seemingly to meet up with the crossing track. The hillsides are carved foam with various ground cover materials and a few real rocks stuck into the foam. The pine trees are from Grand Central.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170949.jpeg)
A closer look at the pine trees and the hillside. I really like the look of trains running through scenery on both sides of the track.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-230421170839.jpeg)
Another look at the interchange scene from above the crossing track. The interchange gives me the possibilities for a lot of railroad action in a narrow space with very few buildings, just what rural Ohio looks like between towns. That's it for now, more later.
Hey Jeff:
Lots of great pics. Keep em coming. Love your RR.
Karl
The plowed fields are absolutely great , your scenery is top notch.
Very nice Jeff...I've used those plowed fields too and I definitely like howyou've put scenery between the trains and the viewer. Great work!
Excellent job Jeff.....neat empire you've go going there. 8)
Quote from: postalkarl on April 25, 2021, 02:56:36 AM
Hey Jeff:
Lots of great pics. Keep em coming. Love your RR.
Karl
Hello Karl, glad that you like my empire.
Quote from: Janbouli on April 25, 2021, 03:44:14 AM
The plowed fields are absolutely great , your scenery is top notch.
Hey Jan, the plowed fields look good for just some textured cardboard. When I received the kit from Busch I was very skeptical, but once they were glued down and weathered a little, they looked great. As far as the scenery, I've learned quite a bit from members here on the forum and it's always an ongoing process. Thanks for the nice words
Quote from: cuse on April 25, 2021, 07:25:45 AM
Very nice Jeff...I've used those plowed fields too and I definitely like howyou've put scenery between the trains and the viewer. Great work!
Hello Cuse, thanks for looking in. It's been a trial and error method doing scenery on narrow shelfs on my layout. There's not much room, but trains do look better when there is scenery on both sides of the track.
Quote from: GPdemayo on April 25, 2021, 08:32:38 AM
Excellent job Jeff.....neat empire you've go going there. 8)
Hello Greg, I'm glad you're enjoying my layout tour.
Jeff
I got caught back up with the tour, tonight. Real nice work, great layout. I love all the details.
Hey Jeff:
I surely do!!!
Karl
Jeff,
Nice photo array of this part of the layout. Puts is all in perspective. Very nice.
Tom ;D
Jeff - Very nicely done. Proof you can have a lot of railroading in a small space and still make it look real.
Your Honor, thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments. Working on a shelf style layout presents many different challenges, but a narrow shelf does accurately represent a real railroad right-of-way.
Jeff - I am waiting for someone to model the Florida East Coast Railroad (FEC) It runs from Jacksonville to Miami along the East Coast of Florida. It is a straight shot with very few curves and no grades. It is slightly above sea level. Years ago, I was assigned as the probate judge in Brevard County and my courthouse was next to the FEC tracks. Trains came by regularly and my courtroom had an excellent view. No passenger trains on the FEC. No union labor. But that is another story. The model RR layout could be twenty feet long and a foot wide.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-090820215347.jpeg)
As we continue our tour of my upper level, after passing the interchange scene we come into the lake scene at the upper right corner of the track plan.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102115.jpeg)
A drone view of the corner scene. After the interchange, trains go through a small wooded area with a couple of Super trees and onto a super elevated curve. Since the shelf and therefore the track is flat I wanted to give the corner some elevation change so I added a wooded hillside. The hillside is stacked foam pieces painted with a brown paint and then various ground cover materials and trees. There are even a couple of HO deer on the hill. On the other side of the track is the lake, here I painted the plywood shelf blue and added a couple of layers of Mod Podge. This gives the corner a nice top to bottom flow with the trains running through the middle.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102359.jpeg)
A closer look at the corner curve with the hillside and the lake on both sides of the track.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102221.jpeg)
I carved some open spaces into the foam hillside and inserted some real rocks and then blended the scenery around them. The "boulders" along the lakeshore are pea gravel from my front yard with some sifted dirt and ground cover mixed in.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102136.jpeg)
The first view of the lake has a couple of small structures, first a scratch-built wood dock and then a FOS Gas and Bait kit that I did a build thread on in the Kit building section of the forum under Two small FOS builds. The super tree is one of the ones I had success with, the motorboat came with the FOS kit and the canoes were from a kit that I can't remember the name of. The streetlights are from Walthers.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102158.jpeg)
A closer look at the FOS kit. I really like the small FOS kits, they have so much character packed into them. More in a minute
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102424.jpeg)
Here is a track level view from behind the gas and bait building heading into the curve.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102446.jpeg)
A drone view of the other side of the lake scene corner.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102246.jpeg)
There are a couple of small structures at this end of the lake, the small house is scratch-built and the signal bridge is either Plasticville or LifeLike.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102310.jpeg)
A closer look at the small scratch-built house. This was one of my first scratch builds and I had fun with it and it encouraged me to do more.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102335.jpeg)
The track splits here so I thought that it called for a small elevated watchmans shanty, it's from Atlas.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102511.jpeg)
After rounding the corner, trains go through my oil loading scene. There are quite a few oil and natural gas wells in central Ohio. We had one on an adjacent property of our family cabin and we got free natural gas for the place as a result of agreeing to let them drill the well. About once a week a tank truck would come and empty the tank next to the well and take it to an oil facility, so the oil loading scene is appropriate for my layout. The shelf going down the right side of the track plan is 18 inches wide, this gave me some space for multiple tracks. The freight mainline is on the right and the left hand track goes past a passenger station that is coming up. The two center tracks are for the oil loading scene and some other industrial areas coming up. That's it for now, more later.
Continuing on...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521101945.jpeg)
The track near the front edge of the shelf presented a problem when it came to ballasting. The edge of the cork roadbed beneath the track is only about 3/4 inch from the edge of the shelf as shown in the picture. The problem was how to ballast the track without most of the material falling off the edge of the shelf.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102008.jpeg)
The solution that I came up with was to build a dam with masking tape along the edge of the shelf. I then spread full strength wood glue along the edge of the cork roadbed and then applied my base ballast material. After laying down some ground cover foam, I soaked everything with my alcohol and water solution and then liberally applied the Mod Podge and water solution.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102031.jpeg)
The next day I removed the tape dam and only a small amount of the ballast material came loose with the tape removal. The end result is a clean looking ballast edge.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102054.jpeg)
Another view of the shelf edge with the ballast in place. I was pleased with how this came out and it goes to show that sometimes a simple solution is the best answer.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102624.jpeg)
Here is a look at the various tanks at the end of the oil loading area scene. The large black tank is either from Tichy or Rix, I forget which and the smaller tanks are from Walthers. I used some cork roadbed material for the berm around the tall silver tanks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102604.jpeg)
The truck unloading area is from Walthers Interstate Fuel kit and the truck is from Classic Metal Works, I think. More in a minute.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102645.jpeg)
Here is an overhead view of the tank car loading area, the structure is two Walthers kits, with some kit-bashing to show the piping from the tanks to the loading dock. The tank cars are from Tichy.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102711.jpeg)
A track level view looking back at the oil loading area.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1239-190521102733.jpeg)
A look back along the freight main track to the corner along the back side of the oil loading area. That's it for now, more later.
Beautiful scenes, Jeff. You almost feel like you are there. I guess nearly every railroad had switchman's shanties stuck up on a pole. My uncle, Rex, worked in one in Lakeland, Florida, during the 40's and '50s. He was a telegraph operator and had one switch to throw, which was to route traffic from the mainline to the yard throat.
Hey Jeff:
Scenery and structures look just beautiful.
Karl
Jeff,
Nice photos and the ballast on the edge came out looking great.
I appreciate you taking the time to photo, crop and add them to the post for our viewing.
Tom ;D
Quote from: Judge on May 20, 2021, 06:33:41 AM
Beautiful scenes, Jeff. You almost feel like you are there. I guess nearly every railroad had switchman's shanties stuck up on a pole. My uncle, Rex, worked in one in Lakeland, Florida, during the 40's and '50s. He was a telegraph operator and had one switch to throw, which was to route traffic from the mainline to the yard throat.
Thank you, your Honor. It seems like no matter what the occasion, you always have a railroad related story to tell. I, for one, appreciate all of your contributions.
Quote from: postalkarl on May 21, 2021, 04:51:33 PM
Hey Jeff:
Scenery and structures look just beautiful.
Karl
Hey Karl, thanks for looking in and for the kind words.
Quote from: ACL1504 on May 21, 2021, 05:10:43 PM
Jeff,
Nice photos and the ballast on the edge came out looking great.
I appreciate you taking the time to photo, crop and add them to the post for our viewing.
Tom ;D
Hello Tom, thank you for the nice comments. I was very pleased with how the edge ballast came out- it's a nice look at almost eye level as it is the upper level of the layout. I'm slowly getting better with the whole picture thing and I'm enjoying going around the layout with fresh eyes. It's showing me that I always have something to do to improve the overall look of the layout.
Wow, I can't believe it's been almost three years since I've posted on this thread. I guess I should get my butt in gear.