illinois Central Chicago District - Monee Rebuild

Started by vinceg, September 10, 2018, 10:46:43 PM

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vinceg

Thanks, Tom. I know I will appreciate it when it's finished. It could be worse -- with reasonably narrow shelves and relatively rudimentary scenery in place now, I am hoping the pain will be minimal.
Vince

Protolancing the Illinois Central Chicago District from Chicago to Kankakee

vinceg

Pulled all of the scenery up at Monee this weekend. Here's the result:



A little bit sad to break it down but not too bad. I'm excited about that which is to come.

On the plus side, I remembered to wear work gloves for the demolition so all the pain was just emotional, not physical. That screen wire can getcha.

You can see where the town was with the glue line on the wall. Also, I decided to rip out the fascia as well. As I think I mentioned earlier, I used non-tempered hardboard for that before. It led to some permanent buckling as it was exposed to water during scenery construction and also basic humidity changes. I'll use Masonite or something else going forward for a little more stability (as I am doing with the backdrops).

Next step is to glue up some wood 1x2 supports to the concrete wall using Heavy Duty Liquid Nails. I'll post some pics when I have some up there.
Vince

Protolancing the Illinois Central Chicago District from Chicago to Kankakee


postalkarl

Hey Vince:

I agree with Dave. Will be following along.

Karl

jbvb

Looking in, I note the right angle between Monee and Peotone, and the track rather close to it.  I don't know how that stands out to you, but it will complicate photos.  You don't have a lot of room to wrap that corner, so I'm not sure how effective anything that would fit would be.  Maybe a 'Bellina Drop' using a tunnel (if prototypical) or an overpass with a mirror sitting atop it?
James

vinceg

Quote from: jbvb on September 23, 2018, 04:33:15 PM
Looking in, I note the right angle between Monee and Peotone, and the track rather close to it.  I don't know how that stands out to you, but it will complicate photos.  You don't have a lot of room to wrap that corner, so I'm not sure how effective anything that would fit would be.  Maybe a 'Bellina Drop' using a tunnel (if prototypical) or an overpass with a mirror sitting atop it?

Neat - I learned something new. I had never heard of Bellina Drop before you mentioned it but found quite a few references online.

Thanks, James. Yes, you're right. That 90-degree corner on that wall won't look good if caught in a picture. There's one other convex corner in the basement where that will happen. Of course, there are many concave 90-degree corners as well. I thought long and hard a year ago whether I wanted to do something about that....cove the concave corners, for example. What I ultimately decided was that I wasn't going to try to do anything to fancy with the backdrop. In the case of this Monee/Peotone corner, I am actually planning to add a little benchwork to extend the switching area with a few small peninsulas, making Peotone unprototypically industry-heavy. I will likely also have some body of water on at least one of the peninsulas to allow me to more easily put in a couple of the kits I have that require water. (This will almost surely keep all my prototype modeler friends from ever speaking to me again.) Anyway, the point is that the Bellina Backdrop probably isn't practical in that space (assuming I actually understand what the Bellina drop is).

I will give some thought to disguising the corner. I hadn't considered a tunnel but I do expect there will be some opportunity to insert an overpass and a mirror or two as you suggested.

It's interesting - I find I am in a constant battle with myself now trying to find the right balance for things. Backdrops are just one of many examples of where there is a continuum on which I'm trying to find the right point. At one end, you see that early on I chose to just paint the concrete walls sky blue (and not a very good paint job at that). That was clearly wrong given my scenery interests. On the other end, I considered coved corner backdrops, specialty lighting with highlighting and perhaps night lighting. If I choose something too simple, I end up unhappy with the result. If I choose something too complicated, I end up not getting enough done. We've all read about "good enough" in the press (originally coined by Tony Koester?). I assume that Good Enough point is different for each of us. The magic is finding it.
Vince

Protolancing the Illinois Central Chicago District from Chicago to Kankakee

Mark Dalrymple

Very true, Vince.

I think its also true with the kits/ scratch-builds we do.  There is always more that can be done to a model - the trick is finding the balance between what makes us satisfied, what our bigger modelling goals are, and how much time we have available.  For me the biggest way of achieving this is to not get too side tracked!

Regards the use of mirrors - there was a great John Allen article many years ago in model railroader magazine called (I think) 'the art of using mirrors'.  I'm sure you would find it very interesting and potentially very handy.  Dec. '81 issue of MRR.

Cheers, Mark.

Vietnam Seabee

Very nice, Vince.....my primary interest is buildings and I like what I see...well done...anxiously awaiting more updates...anywhere near ready to begin the Foundry project from SWSM?

Terry

vinceg

I'm back. Sorry for the long silence. Work has been a bit busy but the main problem is that I had an issue with my backdrop. Interestingly, the day I was going to start gluing up some more 1x2 strips to put in a backdrop for Monee I happened to glance over at Manteno and noticed a funny shadow. Here's why:



Yep - my affixed-by-Liquid-Nails-only 1x2s pulled off the wall at Manteno. This is about a year and a half after I put this up. I was depressed and furious all at once. Then, I realized how fortunate I was:


  • If you look a few pictures up, you can see that I was temporarily storing Barongould's Tannery here. It could have been the case that after pulling away from the wall, the backdrop could have fallen forward and destroyed my FSM building. But, it didn't
  • This happened before I started doing this in the rest of my basement so at least there's only a limited amount of rework - or at least less than there could have been

So, what to do? I considered other options.....using Tapcon anchors, using longer studs that could rest on my benchwork (probably using a horizontal piece of some sort against the wall) and/or reaching up to the ceiling, even skim coating and not using hardboard at all.

I spoke to several contractors. the skim coating sounded most interesting to me as that would consume the least amount of space (using 1x2s and 3/16" Masonite brings my walls in about an inch) but I couldn't find a single contractor that thought that would be a good idea. In fact, everyone I spoke with said pretty much the same thing: Use Tapcon anchors AND Liquid Nails and it ain't coming down.

So, I'm getting some help. First order of business was to anchor the fallen backdrop. Here it is back in place:



Will need to go back and mud and repaint, but, at least it was salvageable. This is the town of Manteno. It is on the right side of this roughly 20' x 11' alcove. On the left side is Peotone as you saw in earlier pictures. That has not yet fallen but clearly will some day. So, that will all be anchored in as well. It shouldn't be that bad to bring out the rollers again to repaint. The biggest bummer is those clouds - using rattle can paint and cloud stencils is smelly. I use a respirator and take it a little at a time so that I don't fill the house up with Rustoleum fumes.
Vince

Protolancing the Illinois Central Chicago District from Chicago to Kankakee

vinceg

I know this is a thread about Monee, but as long as the whole backdrop thing came up (came down, actually....) I thought I would post a few pics of the backdrop progress as it is happening. It is also a good excuse for me to take pictures and memorialize the process. I guess it will also give you a tour of my basement. Here's the north end of Indian Oaks - next town south of Manteno:



Immediately to the left is the circuit breaker box that you saw on the right above. As you can see - glued and screwed. Here's a longer shot of Manteno:



You'll notice that the double track main is close to the aisle here. You can also see a left-hand turnout on the east-most track. That will lead to a substantial switching district here. The plan is to plunk down a few zillion of my kits here. This is the "lancing" part of my protolancing.

Working with a contractor is nice. Aside from the fact that he actually knows what he is doing, it gives me an excuse to be in the basement (helping hands now and again) so I get other stuff done - right now, I'm trying to get caught up on the big wiring job that remains for much of the railroad. You can see my DCC 12 gauge twisted pair bus just below the nearest L-girder.
Vince

Protolancing the Illinois Central Chicago District from Chicago to Kankakee

Vietnam Seabee

Vince...good timing on catching the backdrop letting go....oh my, hope the 4" 'drain' line above never springs a leak ;-))

Terry

vinceg

Quote from: Vietnam Seabee on October 05, 2018, 10:39:31 AM
Vince...good timing on catching the backdrop letting go....oh my, hope the 4" 'drain' line above never springs a leak ;-))

Terry

Thanks for the jinx, Terry  ;D

Meanwhile - thanks for your comments earlier. And, regarding your question about Morton's Foundry, I think I am going to push it down further in the queue for a few reasons, now. First and foremost, now that I see all the detail that the SWSM have from all angles, I want to put that kit (and O'Neill's) in a position where all of the sides can be seen. Monee doesn't offer that opportunity. I think the small peninsulas that I have planned for Peotone will. The next several kits I will build will be targeted at populating the town of Monee.

Second, I wanted to build the foundry early because of its masonry features - I wanted to see what I could learn so that I could apply it to Rugg. But, the timing didn't work out and I ended up doing the brick and stone work on Rugg, anyway.

Last, I would like to build some more model building experience in general so that when I do build them, I can do the best job possible (for me, that is).
Vince

Protolancing the Illinois Central Chicago District from Chicago to Kankakee

vinceg

Quote from: mark dalrymple on September 24, 2018, 01:41:50 AM
Very true, Vince.

I think its also true with the kits/ scratch-builds we do.  There is always more that can be done to a model - the trick is finding the balance between what makes us satisfied, what our bigger modelling goals are, and how much time we have available.  For me the biggest way of achieving this is to not get too side tracked!

Regards the use of mirrors - there was a great John Allen article many years ago in model railroader magazine called (I think) 'the art of using mirrors'.  I'm sure you would find it very interesting and potentially very handy.  Dec. '81 issue of MRR.

Cheers, Mark.

Thanks for the reference, Mark. I checked my stack of MRs (that I am actually trying to convince myself to get rid of to make space) and I don't go back to 1981. I'll try a call to Kalmbach sometime to see if they have a reprint for sale (they must since they digitized their whole library). Or maybe I can just find a pack rat friend.
Vince

Protolancing the Illinois Central Chicago District from Chicago to Kankakee

ACL1504

Vince,

I like the new look of the back drop. Your 1X2" furring strips are the way to go in your situation and will support the backdrop material.

I'm very envious of your space but when I work in my own 20X50' space I think I'll never get the layout finished.

Great work my friend, wonderful layout.




Tom ;D
"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Thomas Jefferson

Tom Langford
telsr1@aol.com

pbltrains

Hi Vince,

You also may want to try something I did.  I used underlayment paper (for flooring) on my masonite.  It's an idea I read about in a Bob Hayden/Dave Frary book.  It comes in 2 foot wide rolls and I applied mine like wallpaper (using wallpaper glue).  It's feels like thick construction paper.  You solve a couple of things at one time.  You don't have to bother with drywall mud at the seams and the backdrop will never crack.  I've had mine up for almost 18 years without any issues.  It takes paint great too.  I think I bought mine at Home Depot, but I would guess you could get it at just about any wall/floor covering store.

I think your layout looks great.  I see what you mean about having a lot of real estate to cover.  I still think the 1 square foot at a time applies.  Besides, does it really matter how long it takes?  Just have a good time building it!

Seth P.

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