I'll use this thread for topics that don't deserve a full build thread on my Sandy Lake & Northern (standard gauge) and Sandy Lake & Rangely River (narrow gauge HOn30) 1890s era railroads.
dave
My current small project is a farm road bridge over the tracks.
The bridge goes over these tracks in a relatively deep cut:
IMG_1347.jpeg
A mock-up:
IMG_1346.jpeg
To get the clearance worked out with the cliffs, I built a template of the bridge center span and bents from sturdy 1/4 plywood. That's a level on top of the template.
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Next step is to seal the base of the template, so that I can use it to 'smush' plaster in place where the bridge footings will be.
IMG_1349.jpeg
Once this is sealed, the idea is to put some Vaseline on this, put a bit of plaster or sculptamold into the hole, then push the template into position level in both directions. When the plaster dries, hopefully the template comes out without bothering the plaster.
dave
That worked as expected. The plug separated from the damp Sculptamold (colored with some paint). After I removed the plug, I worked the edges down so there wasn't quite the obvious ditch for the footers.
IMG_1351.jpeg
Now to let the Sculptamold completely dry, and do a test fit of the actual bridge...
dave
This will be interesting to see how this comes together, but to me right off the bat that ramp on the right looks very steep.
The center span and trestle bents fit into the holes from yesterday. (The Sculptamold is still damp, but no adjustments needed....) The right side ramp needs a bit of work to get the road to align. I'll need to build up the left side to reduce the slope of that ramp.
IMG_1354.jpeg
dave
Howdy Dave,
The farm road bridge looks terrific. Thanks for describing the process you used to create the cut and abutments.
Have fun,
mike
An update on the farm bridge: I've been struggling with how to get the two ramps aligned at the correct angle to the terrain. In the process, I've had a bunch of failures, including some stuff that broke loose and had to be reglued. The bridge as a whole needs to be sturdy, in part so I can attach the railings and so I can remove it to do scenery and ballasting. Once I have a technique that works, I'll tell you what it is. :P
dave
OK, I finally got the farm bridge ramps attached
IMG_1361.jpeg
Here's the approach that finally worked.
1. I put a piece of tape across the top of the span to hold things together. I put the bridge on location, making sure it was correctly positioned (center was level, ramps touching the abutments.)
2. Then I used a protractor to measure the two angles.
3. I drew the bridge to scale on a piece of graph paper, including the two ramp angles.
4. I measured the offset from the bottom of the truss to the top, the "batter". I cut 2 pieces of wood that thickness.
5. Then I laid the center span on one of the wood pieces, and clamped it to a 1-2-3 block to hold it into position and perpendicular/plumb.
6. I put the other piece of wood aliong the angle of one ramp (measured in step 2, drawn in step 3.) I glued the ramp to the center span, and after the glue was mostly set (about an hour for yellow wood glue), I moved the bridge back to location. I made sure the bridge trestle bents were in position, the center span was level in both directions, and the ramp rested on the abutment on the scenery.
7. After the glue was fully set, I carefully removed the bridge, and added the 2 diagonal pieces that go from the trestle bent to the joists under the ramp. I -carefully- clamped those into position.
8. The next day, I did steps 6 & 7 for the other side....
Now all I need to do is add the railing on both sides of the bridge. I've stained the wood pieces, I need to cut and glue them.
dave
Howdy Dave, congrats on finishing the farm bridge. It looks good. Have fun, mike
Dave, those angles look better now.
Nice job.
Dave,
Nice job on the road bridge. When looking at the mockup, the ramp angles looked to steep.
On the finished model, they look more natural. Well done.
Tom
The farm bridge is done:
IMG_1372.jpeg
I did stain the wood for a 2nd railing, but I don't think that's necessary.
dave
Dave,
Looking good. The stain looks great too.
I don't think that's a bridge for cars, right? You'd probably remove the front bumper on the approach and the rear bumper going up the incline. Then transitioning to the straight part you'd take off the exhaust pipe. But then being a TOC layout it probably be horse powered right?
Bernd
Quote from: Bernd on January 26, 2026, 02:28:47 PMDave,
Looking good. The stain looks great too.
I don't think that's a bridge for cars, right? You'd probably remove the front bumper on the approach and the rear bumper going up the incline. Then transitioning to the straight part you'd take off the exhaust pipe. But then being a TOC layout it probably be horse powered right?
Bernd
Yeah, 1 or 2 horsepower prime movers :-) The stain is HunterLine Driftwood.
IMG_1377.jpeg
dave
Dave, it looks good.
I'll put the scenery photos here, since they cover more than just the farm area.
So first I covered the plaster cloth with Sculptamold thinned by paint, so it's not stark white. They I glued the Noch grass mat over the farm pasture area, but not over that sliver of land between the tracks. I thinned out the grass mat, spraying with water to soften the glue, then scraping away the grass in spots, as well as along the road at the side of the barn. Then I applied static grass, a mixture of green and beige colors and lengths. I glued in some tufts, too.
IMG_1518.jpeg
On the hill, I applied static grass over the painted Sculptamold, then added tufts and shrubberies. I'll probably add a few trees here, but right now I'm not quite happy with this. I think it needs some more vertical shrubs (think small trees).
IMG_1517.jpeg
But the farm bridge over the tracks looks good.
dave
Dave, that looks very good.
What I noticed when driving to VT looking at roadside cuts, is right at the top of the cliff there's a lot of tall skinny weeds/shrubs. And those tend to be more brown than green. I'm not sure anyone makes a particularly good product for that. There were also a fair number of short (4'-6') pine trees interspersed with the tall weeds. So that's what I'm thinking about today.
dave
Howdy Dave, looking good! Have fun, mike
Dave,
Your scenery is coming along well.
Mike
Dave,
The added scenery really looks good. The scene is coming together nicely.
Tom
Well, sometimes things don't work out.... Today's plan was to make trees. Yesterday I spray-painted the armatures (not apertures :P ). Today I dug out polyfiber, sticky glue, and Scenic Express Superleafs. I coated the tips of the armatures with the solvent glue (Beacon 3 in 1. My several year old open bottle was no good, so I opened a new bottle.) Then I stretched the polyfoam over the armatures, and that looked good.
So I went to the garage, dug out my Loctite Spray Adhesive Professional 300. I warmed that up in a yoghurt container of hot water, shook well (at least I thought I shook it enough), and sprayed an armature. What came out was not a nice thin spray of adhesive, but rather something that looked like "Instant Spider Web" from Halloween. I did sprinkle the SuperLeaf over that (I was committed at that point), but the result looks lousy.
IMG_1523.jpeg
Since I also need that spray glue for the DACS pine tree approach, I'm stuck. I'll order different glue (3M 77), arriving Tuesday, and try again...
In the meantime, I have a couple extra cans of Loctite 300, if anyone wants them...
dave
I used a new can of 3M Super 77 for laminating paper, styrene etc. to acrylic when building my Hytron Warehouse structure. I remember the spray as fairly broad and the solvent flashing off quite quickly. By the time I put the can down the sprayed area's texture was kind of like I'd brushed on thinned Goo.
Another failure to report. I have the Scenic Express EXP531 "Easy Tree Kit" (3"-6" tall) The armatures have much more complex and nicer branch structure than the equivalent Woodland Scenics product (TR1122). BUT when I tried to bend mine to shape the tree (in particular, moving the branches from a vertical to a horizontal orientation), the darn things snapped off. There is a note I read that heating will help. So I tried a heat gun, with very little effect. The branches never got soft, until the point when they actually melted (I was using a single temperature heat gun.) I also tried holding the armature in boiling water (I had to dig out my big stock pot to get enough depth of water to cover the branches.) It helped a little bit, one armature bent OK, but the other just snapped off.
I've reported this to Scenic Express, I'll report back if I hear. I said "It would be best for a plastic that is pliable at no more than boiling water temperature."
update I heard back from Scenic Express: "We discontinued those kits 7 years ago." I guess I wasn't the only person with problems. Too bad, I do like the shape of those armatures when I can shape them...
dave
I had a big problem where the Scenic Express cement would ball up as I spread it over the terrain. But those balls aren't all that visible, thankfully, this just looks like rough terrain. (The stuff in the foreground.)
IMG_1532.jpeg
And the difference between the foreground rough terrain and the background (grass mat) farmland is not too noticeable. As I add stuff to the farmland side (fencing, cows ;D ), that should make things look appropriate. The foreground area is where the apple orchard goes. But first, I'll continue the static grass application along to the left off the picture. This area is relatively well framed by the land forms, so I want the entire area to be consistent.
dave
Dave, working out well. I really like the bridge.
I got 2 of the Woodland Scenics 'barbed wire fence' kits. https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/item/A2980
They take a bit of a process to install, particularly over static grass. After some experimentation, here's how I do it. First, lay out the fence and figure out where the corners will go and of course the start and end.
To plant a post, first I poke a hole into the hard shell using a push point. I leave the push point into position while I add some glue to the post. (I'm using Beacon 3-in-1 https://beaconadhesives.com/products/3-in-1 ) Then I plant the first post, and let the glue dry overnight.
What you'd want is to get the barbed wire stretched tight, but that's probably too hard to accomplish. So I'm ok with loose barbed wire, particularly when I'm laying the fence over slopes (where the length of the top wire would be slightly longer or shorter than the bottom wire.)
Continue with the posts up to the corner. "Drill" the corner location with the push point, use the separate corner post from the kit, and glue that into place, being sure the small notches for the barbed wire are properly aligned. Let that cure before continuing.
IMG_1550.jpeg
Then I ran the rest of the fence along the road, and at the bottom right, I used the post already attached as the corner post. The challenge is keeping the posts upright/plumb to add a bit of tension on the fence.
IMG_1551.jpeg
When this is dry, I'll go back and use the corner post angle supports from the kit. Stay tuned for photos of that tomorrow. The posts are on soft steel(?) pins so once the glue has set, I can lightly bend the posts to get them more plumb.
add Here's the first corner done:
IMG_1552.jpeg
I need to let the glue dry on the other corner (to the right on the middle photo) before adding the corner supports.
dave
Looks good Dave. But I've never seen a plumb BW fence post yet in my lifetime!! Well maybe when there first put in!!
So i wouldn't worry to much about them being plumb!
Jerry
The important question is, "do the cows like it?"
IMG_1553.jpeg
(I'll need to do the layout lighting to get this scene to photograph better...)
dave
That's a very good looking fence.
The slightly angled posts look good to me.
It does look good. But the 3-post braced corner might be a bit much for pre-1900. Pre-WWII barb wire fences I've dealt with used larger posts for strength at corners, and didn't show much evidence of modern-day tight wire.
Howdy, Dave. The barbed-wire fence looks great. It adds a lot to the scene. Have fun, mike
(THIRD TRY...)
Vegetation... I wanted tall (12mm) vertical grass tufts along the cliff edge. Instead I got grass thickets. Not bad looking, but not what I was trying for.
IMG_1558.jpeg
The orchard goes in on the right side.
And I've been filling in the slope by the bridge with tufts. I need to add some taller shrubberies.
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Also, I ballasted the track underneath the bridge:
IMG_1561.jpeg
Check out the 3/4 tree directly behind the bridge that wraps around the corner.
dave
Your scene is developing well. I've made late-summer weedy tufts from some vendor's long grass-colored fibers: Punch or drill a hole, collect a bundle of fibers, cut to length, dip in white glue and insert using tweezers.
Looking good, Dave.
I like the shingle road with the backdrop behind.
Cheers, Mark.
Nice scene, the rock strata in the cuts is right on to my mind. A concept of which I am having extreme difficulty executing on my layout.
Karl, on rocks: The best looking and most expensive solution are the Cripplebrush rubber rocks. https://www.cripplebushvalleymodels.com
A cheaper way is the Heki 'rock foil' large sheets from Scenic Express: https://www.sceneryexpress.com/Heki-Rock-Foil/products/1414/ I use hot glue to attach those to the cardboard scenery web.
But I've also done just straight plaster faces with rock treatment, that's on the left side of the bridge. The secret is in the finishing. I get a 2" bristle brush and cut it down so there's about 1/4" of very stiff bristles. Then I put a light layer of plaster on the plaster wrap scenery base, and draw the "stratigraphic brush" across the damp plaster to add strata lines. You know how plaster gets, there's that magic period when it's set but still workable. Just be careful to keep your strata lines parallel. With this technique, you can do level strata (like I did) or tilted strata. Then let the plaster dry. I prime the rock with dark grey or black. I've also used this technique to add brushed on strata to the Heki rocks.
The painting techniques are the same for all the rock variants.
I paint in the strata using a 1/4" nylon brush that gives pretty sharp edges. I use various rock colors :) to get some different strata layers.
Now here's the secret for the rock strata I worked into regular plaster: Once the painting is done, I go back with an utility knife and carve joint cracks perpendicular to the strata lines. Not a lot, but you can see those on my rock face above. Then I use a thin point Sharpie to 'paint' the joint cracks. (You can paint the joint cracks on the Heki or Cripplebrush rocks, too.)
Finally, I drybrush with a light tan color using a fan brush from the top down, to pick up the (faint) relief on the rock, and then an overall A&I wash to blend things together.
It helps to have good photos of rock faces to consult while doing this.
dave
Dave, I like the composition of this scene. The bridge over curved track with factories in the distance. And of course the rock cut, which with the bridge reminds me of the first place I collected fossils along a similar bridge over the Lehigh Valley RR south of Batavia NY.
Mike
Quote from: Michael Hohn on April 27, 2026, 08:48:23 AMDave, I like the composition of this scene. The bridge over curved track with factories in the distance. And of course the rock cut, which with the bridge reminds me of the first place I collected fossils along a similar bridge over the Lehigh Valley RR south of Batavia NY.
Mike
Mike, thanks! I remember finding fern fossils in shale beds near where I grew up in Pittsburgh...
dave
Dave,
I like how the scenery turned out. I'm also a fan of the old wooden road crossover.
Tom
Although it doesn't have his name, "Aladdin Foundry" (the brick building in the background) is in my mind dedicated to Don Ball.
dave
Dave,
I have a few of Don's RR photo books. They are excellent. I'm assuming we are talking about The Don Ball.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on May 01, 2026, 03:09:11 PMDave,
I have a few of Don's RR photo books. They are excellent. I'm assuming we are talking about The Don Ball.
Tom
Actually, I think there are 2 railroad guys named Don Ball. The guy I knew who modeled 1880s/1890s California and wrote a book on the Bedford & Billerica, first 2' gauge railroad, is not the same as the guy who published photo books of more modern subjects. But I could be wrong about that.
dave
Dave, the scenery looks outstanding.
Two photos framed by the farm bridge in the foreground and Aladdin Lamps in the background:
IMG_1575.jpeg
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Fortunately, the mess in the train workshop area is blurred out ;)
dave
Great looking scene.
You've made a lot of progress since my last visit, Dave. Apropos of your comment in today's Chat thread, you could use a half-barrel for the pigs' water, maybe hemmed in with biggish rocks so they don't push it around or dump it (yes, I've owned pigs). The lazy alternative would say the fenced area includes a small stream out back.
Quote from: jbvb on May 03, 2026, 07:37:24 PMYou've made a lot of progress since my last visit, Dave. Apropos of your comment in today's Chat thread, you could use a half-barrel for the pigs' water, maybe hemmed in with biggish rocks so they don't push it around or dump it (yes, I've owned pigs). The lazy alternative would say the fenced area includes a small stream out back.
I can cut down one of those Grandt barrels I have somewhere, that would be appropriate. The feed would just be tossed on the ground, no need for a separate feed container?
dave
Quote from: deemery on May 03, 2026, 07:56:31 PMQuote from: jbvb on May 03, 2026, 07:37:24 PMYou've made a lot of progress since my last visit, Dave. Apropos of your comment in today's Chat thread, you could use a half-barrel for the pigs' water, maybe hemmed in with biggish rocks so they don't push it around or dump it (yes, I've owned pigs). The lazy alternative would say the fenced area includes a small stream out back.
I can cut down one of those Grandt barrels I have somewhere, that would be appropriate. The feed would just be tossed on the ground, no need for a separate feed container?
Maybe the other half of the barrel, or a crude crib - pigs make mud for their own entertainment. While they aren't at all picky, they won't dig small stuff out of mud in my experience.
I painted the background rock cliffs. This is the valley that will eventually have 3 bridges. The one in the back, HOn30, is a wood truss. The one in the middle, HO standard gauge, is stone arch. The one in front, for a road, will probably be an iron truss. But first, I'll have to finish the scenery in the gorge.
IMG_1581.jpeg
The primary texture is, of course, horizontal to represent sedimentary rocks, and that's highlighted with drybrushing on top of the texture in the rock substrate pieces. The vertical lines (joints) in the rock add a bit of vertical texture, and it's always surprising to me how effective those few lines are. A Pilot brand fine point marker works better than a Sharpie fine point marker... (Test results from this morning's experiment... )
IMG_1583.jpeg
And here's the larger scene. The farm is on the hill to the right, and to the left is Lamson & Goodnow, from a build challenge a couple years ago.
IMG_1585.jpeg
As you can see, A LOT of scenery to work on in this corner of the layout. In the top left, there's the start of a forest. The idea was good, but my execution was poor, so I'll need to redo that, and then probably work from the back down towards the front. Doing the edge of the scenery to backdrop transition will take some work.
dave
Nice rock strata. A lot of progress overall since my last visit.
The Woodland Scenics rail fence kits arrived late yesterday. They're quite nice, actually. The gates are a different color from the rest of the wood, but that was easy to fix. (The contrast between the gate and the rails was excessive.) The idea is to use that to fence off the orchard, the open space between the dirt road and the cliff.
IMG_1532.jpeg
I already have the apple trees, but I don't want to install them until I finish the scenery against the backdrop.
The WS order also included some "Fine Leaf Foilage" kits. (https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/Fine-LeafFoliage/ ) These are flocked twigs, and will make good small trees/shrubs to fill in underneath the armatures and along the edge of the backdrop. The only problem is the leaf color exactly matches the larger trees, but that's easily fixed with the airbrush... A light tint of a different color will provide a bit of variation.
dave
Quote from: jbvb on May 10, 2026, 03:29:27 PMNice rock strata. A lot of progress overall since my last visit.
Agreed.
Today I've been pondering lighting and valences. The layout makes a nice U shaped curve, but the LED lighting strips I have don't curve at all in the dimension to follow the layout shape. So I'll have to cut and construct segments of light strips, and connect them together. Connectors for that project are on order.
My neighbor owns a sign shop. We were discussing valence materials, and he suggested 1mm PVC. He'll get me a sheet and I'll cut the valances from that, after I get the LED lights installed.
Also, I've continued reading about DCC-EX and I2C connections. I got parts for a simple project using that stuff, and I'll start experimenting with that, soon. Before I do that, I'll have to clear out the stuff sitting on top of the workbench I use for electronics...
So if this inertia ("manic session") continues, I should make some visible progress on the layout.
dave
Dave,
I like the rock strata, looks natural to me. The area is coming along nicely.
Tom
The parts to connect the LED strips arrived. My plan is to use a combination of screw connectors and polarized plugs (rather than soldering the entire assembly together.) This should make it much easier to install. The solderless connectors for the light strips arrived today, and I've tested the combination, and cut the longest single light strip (almost 8', going along the back of the layout.) I'll start installation probably Friday. (First, though, our exterminator is coming tomorrow, and she'll want to see the farm scene. Once she's gone, I'll remove the buildings from that part of the layout.)
But in the meantime, I spent a frustrating couple of hours looking for very specific LED strips. I typed in what I wanted, and got all kinds of stuff that didn't match. (12v, 4000k, 10mm wide, 60led/meter, high CRI). Amazon's search was the worst by far, with Google second worst. DuckDuckGo and eBay were better, but still displayed non-conforming results mixed in with what I asked for. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification I finally found something that should work and ordered it.
dave
I removed the structures, then did a test-fit of the LED lights against the back edge and powered them up. They look good, the illumination level is what I'm expected, with no obvious shadows against the backdrop. Then I drew a line 4" away from the back wall. The plan was to put double-stick tape on that line, then peel and stick the LED lights to the black double-stick tape. (The extra tape provides both strength and is easier to position at the correct distance. The LED light strip tends to pull away because of its weight and curl, so I figured keeping that at 4" would be one hassle too much.) The problem is my black double-stick tape is no good, the adhesive seems to have failed. So I've ordered more tape, arriving tomorrow. Sigh...
dave
I got the first, and arguably most difficult, LED strip hung today. Big lesson learned: Test (and retest) everything on the bench before installing.
IMG_1591.jpeg
You can't see it in this photo, but there's a dropped ceiling over this part of the layout. That makes working on the back edge painful. I really should construct a new stool that's about 4" shorter than the one I usually use, so I'm not constantly bumping my head and straining my back to fit under that drop. BUT anyway, that's done.
I'm happy with the result. The big concern here is to get relatively even lighting over the whole space, without adding any shadows, particularly on the backdrop. The big square light is 4000k, matching the color temperature on the LED strips.
My idea to lay down double-stick tape and then apply the light strips to that tape (rather than fussing with the light strip tape itself) worked well, but I have to admit I didn't really get as good a straight alignment on the black double-stick tape as I wanted (see above for 'pain in working there....') Tomorrow I'll tackle the remaining light strips on the right side:
IMG_1592.jpeg
Once those light strips are up, I can finish the scenery and details on the farm.
dave
A couple lessons learned from the LED strips so far.
1. If the connectors say "18-22 gauge", it'll be easier to use 20 gauge than 18 gauge.
2. Solid wire is better for the connectors. I had one strand that poked out of the hole and shorted out a connector.
3. A bench power supply, that includes short indication, is really handy.
4. Test EACH connection as you add it.
5. Add some tape to hold the wire that leads out of a connector. Otherwise, the weight of the wire will either (a) pull the connector off the double-stick tape or (b) AND MUCH WORSE, pull the wire out of the connector.
And Murphy says, "That will happen at the connector that is least accessible (the one in the far corner...)
6. Carefully plan your wire runs, remembering the net result is a single connected strand. In my case that will require at least one long wire run, maybe 2. (And yeah, there's probably a graph theory 'minimum path' algorithm that some AI could probably apply to the drawing of the lights....)
dave
Howdy Dave, thanks for the lessons learned. They all make sense. Have fun, mike
Well, I went down and reconnected (and tested!) the back wall light strip. Then I grabbed my roll of gaffer tape and taped the wires to the ceiling near the connection points, to relieve strain. Hopefully that's a permanent fix.
Off to the eye dr in a bit, not sure when I'll get back to the layout with one eye done and the other still needing correction.
dave
Looks great Dave!
Philip
Well, I didn't get all of the strips done, but that's because I added 2 small fill strips:
IMG_1641.jpeg
What's left is the string that goes along the front, following the curve of the benchwork just out of sight on the bottom of the photo.
A new lesson learned: Just because connectors bought at different times -look the same-, that doesn't mean they'll actually mate!
dave
Watching your progress with interest. Almost all of my layout is illuminated by fluorescent tubes and LED strips more or less above and slightly in front of visitors. I like the effect, more or less "cloudy bright" with no sharp-edged shade. Your photo shows several different sources illuminating parts of your scene. I'm curious how much shade you'll have and how it will look.
Changing topics, did you see the article Create Realistic Rocks with Custom Molds by Ken Harstine in the June RMC? He's modeling specific locations high up in Donner Pass with lots of exposed rock. And he's paying more attention to geology and rock type than many.
The lights are complete above the farm corner. This is the darkest part of the layout, and shows just the LED lighting (no overhead room lights).
IMG_1642.jpeg
The lighting here is frankly not even, but that's OK. I did orient the strips to provide the best light over the tracks, to highlight the trains (if I ever run any... :) )
The troublesome connection on the strip at the far corner is loose. So today's project will be to try to fix that. It'll be painful (literally, that's a nasty contortion to reach the connector...)
add: I did get that loose connection resolved.
dave
More on lighting. I decided to tackle the other side of the drop ceiling area. Here's an overview:
IMG_1650.jpeg
Here you can see the drop, the existing large room light, and the layout underneath.
The idea is to get the LEDs particularly over the tracks and structures/areas of interest, to prevent dark spots.
IMG_1651.jpeg
I traced the line of the benchwork onto the ceiling, and then used chalk to sketch out where to put the strips.
IMG_1650.jpeg
Chalk, of course, is easy to wipe off (although I have to use a damp towel.)
I drew the lighting pattern on a piece of scrap paper, and added the wiring trace (the dark lines)
IMG_1657.jpeg
The power feed is in the top right corner.
It's difficult to see, but the feed wire for the power will come up through the coving in the back corner in the first photo. I got a 12v power supply, this is probably significant overkill for the lighting:
IMG_1656.jpeg
A question for the assembled experts: I want to mount this under the layout, but I want to make sure dust, etc doesn't get into the supply. I'm thinking about building an open box, with a cloth cover, that's larger than the power supply. That box would be open to the bottom, allowing air flow from underneath but protecting from dust from above. What do you-all think?
dave
Well, bleep! The light strips I installed were supposed to be 4100k. Instead they're 3600k, and they're dimmer than the new strips I just got. Removing the existing strips would be a lot of potentially messy work, but I think I'll bite the bullet and do that. Mixing 2 colors on either side of the aisle will just look funky!
dave
Making some good progress, Dave.
Cheers, Mark.
After much cogitation and angst, I've decided to get one more strip of 3500k lights to finish that particular corner of the layout. Anything else would entail removing lights from the ceiling, and they're -stuck on there permanently-.
So that'll put the lighting project on hold, until the 3500k lights arrive. I'll move onto another project, I can do some scenery on the farm side of that corner. But first, I'll hook up the 12v power supply so I don't have to jury rig the power to the existing LED strips.
dave
One of the things I didn't get saved from RR-Line was the discussion of LED light strips about 15 years ago. Not sure I can determine exactly what I bought at this late date (it's NOT REASONABLE to have to keep ALL the packaging, so I didn't).
My initial room lighting used 48" 5000K fluorescent tubes with 85 CRI. So that's what I aimed for when supplementing it with LEDs. Later I bought more LED strip that looks like 5000K but with a poor CRI. Almost all my post-2010 layout photos have been lit by the fluorescent/LED combination. My incandescent floodlights are still on their tripods, but dusty.
What kind of NG engines do you have? Looking great and it seems the different lumens would be ok? I swear it's overcast! ;D
I have a couple HOn30 Forneys and an 0-4-0T.
Starting with the train room, and then throughout the house, we standardized on 4000/4100k lights. They look good to my eyes.
dave
I got a 12v power supply for the LED light strips. This probably also has enough juice (amperage) to power the 12v DC auxiliary bus running underneath the layout. The question was how to protect this from layout construction dust, while still allowing heat to escape.
The power supply is wider than my benchwork. I found a scrap piece of 1/2 MDF, and built a 3 part frame, with back, top and one end. Then I glued some fabric as a drop over that, so it's open to the bottom. Here's the view from below:
IMG_1660.jpeg
And the view from the side. Note the small tongue I added to provide a place for a cable tie to provide 110v feed strain relief (and the notation to remind me of the polarity of the DC contacts...)
IMG_1661.jpeg
And with the drape in place:
IMG_1662.jpeg
I'll rerun the DC feed wire once the connectors on the other end arrive today.
dave
Well, I noticed some of my LED strips are flickering. That probably means a loose connection somewhere in the network. Also, I compared color temperature on 3 sets of LED light strips. There's not much variation between them, the ones that are supposed to be 4000k are a bit less, and the one that is supposed to 3500k is a bit more.
So once I find the loose connection, I'll get back to more installations. But boy, this has been more frustrating than I would have expected when I started it!
dave
Dave, I find that the simplest projects cause the most problems :o Hope you find the loose connection.
When I helped a buddy install LED Strip lighting on his layout he bought all the LED strips he thought he required at the same time from the same supplier. After string the lights he was 2 strips short so he bought them from the supplier he bought the originals from and the new ones were not quite the same colour, probably a different batch, but was close enough to work.
Dave, you sure have been busy adding the lighting.
Hope you get all the little bugs figured out and fixed.
Keep plugging away it's looking good.
As I said on MRH, your power supply is causing that flicker. It isn't filtering out the AC component causing the LEDs to flicker. Us a pure filtered DC supply. Batteries supply the purest DC voltage possible.
Bernd
Howdy Dave, good luck with the lighting. ~mike
Bernd, I don't think that's the case, but it's definitely a good thought. 2 reasons: (1) only some of the light strips flickered. (2) the flickering went away when I tightened up the connector I thought was at fault. But the voltage from the power supply is a bit less than 12v, I wonder if that's part of the problem.
James, do you happen to have an oscilloscope that you could bring to my layout at some point?
Anyone got experience with cellphone based 'scopes?
dave
The lighting project, at least for this part of the layout, is finally done!
Here's the LED strip lighting, without the room lighting.
IMG_1667.jpeg
And the normal viewing, with the room lighting:
IMG_1668.jpeg
No flickering!
Next step on the larger layout would be to add the valence. But I also need to think about the lighting and valence for the rest of the layout that doesn't have the dropped ceiling.
But first, some actual -modeling-. I'll go back and finish the farm scene, adding fencing, the orchard, etc, and the scenery/trees/etc along the back wall.
dave
Very nice Dave. I guess it was worth the effort it took.
Jerry
This had a surprisingly high aggravation factor that I wasn't expecting. This afternoon, I got back to 'real modeling', doing some prep work on tree armatures and playing with 'chenille strip small pine trees".
dave
Dave,
Well done on the LED lighting. It does change to look of the layout.
Tom
When I get around to adding the valence, it'll look even better. If you look at the far right side of my last photo, you'll see a piece of paper taped to the wall. That's the wiring diagram for the LED strips. But, the bottom of that paper is approximately where the bottom of the valence will go.
dave
I've been doing 'shrubberies'. On Amazon, I found this interesting drying rack, I think it's for "unmentionables", but it works well to hold armatures for painting:
IMG_1670.jpeg
I got these armatures on eBay, they're similar to the Woodland Scenics vinyl, but a bit less positionable and they have more branches.
Now I want 'tree flats', trees with flat backs against the backdrops. So I use shears to trim away the back branches, and then do the leaves.
IMG_1671.jpeg
This is a combination of several vendors trees and shrubs.
IMG_1674.jpeg
And with the farm buildings in place. I really need some taller armatures than what I have here so far to go on the left corner. I also have to do some touch-up on that backdrop boundary.
IMG_1676.jpeg
But overall I'm pretty happy with the results.
dave
8) Good looking scene!
Lighting looks good.
I don't see any distracting shadows.
Trees also look good.
Dave nice lighting effect.The house and barn look right at home amount all that great looking scenery.
Dave, that came out nicely. Output voltage less than 12V might be a crummy power brick, but when I saw it on my layout it turned out to be overload - a 2nd brick and divided feeds cured that. A freak accident (screwdriver bit through the screen) killed my scope and I haven't had a real need since I got my DCC and signal color issues resolved.
I also like the "cloudy bright" effect. My own layout has a mix of exposed fluorescent tubes and LED strips, so no sharp shadows and no objects with two or more shadows.
There's a voltage adjustment thingie (resistor?) on the power supply next to the terminals. I suppose I should "tune" that to 12v.
dave
Quote from: deemery on July 04, 2026, 08:17:17 AMThere's a voltage adjustment thingie (resistor?) on the power supply next to the terminals. I suppose I should "tune" that to 12v.
Yes, though I'd explore just what the ?knob? does without the LED strips connected. And I'd check the no-load voltage before touching the knob. One can build a good regulated power supply for small $ these days, but not everyone pays for a designer who knows how.
My power bricks have no adjustment, they just drop voltage in the face of excessive load. Completely reasonable IMO.
Howdy Dave,
The scenery is looking good. It's bringing to scene to life.
Have fun,
mike
Some more treeing...
IMG_1681.jpeg
I need to add underbrush, and another line of trees along the front of that ravine.
The viewing distance for this scene is about 2'-3' away, I leaned in for the photo. Here it is from the aisle:
IMG_1682.jpeg
dave
Looking good, Dave!
A very natural looking scene taking shape!
A couple days ago, I painted the Sculptamold with my paint & white glue mixture, and sprinkled on some fine foam as the base layer. Today is forestation, adding trees, shrubs and plants along the cliff and in front of the forest backdrop:
IMG_1696.jpeg
I'm doing a relatively small area here that's easy to reach, to work out components, glues, techniques, etc.
I got this cheap battery pencil rotary tool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GJ6JQKF2 I'm using a couple different size bits to drill holes for the trees and tall shrub trunks. It turns out that the bright silver Dremel collets fit in this tool (the dark anodized do not), and That's A Good Thing, since those collets hold drill bits better than the collets that came with the tool. The thin diameter of the rotary tool just fits in front of the backdrop, MUCH better than my battery Dremel or my conventional battery drill.
The trees are a combination of Woodland Scenic 'forest edge' and the plastic armatures that I got from the internet a while back. There was no brand name on the bags, unfortunately. For the latter, I cut them more-or-less flush along the back, to make a half-a-tree. Then it's polyfiber stretched thin over the armature, with hair spray then coarse foam for leaves. The idea is the rounder trees represent one species, while the tall skinny WS trees represent a different species. The smaller tall shrubs are JTT products (inexpensive at Hobby Lobby), and I'll add a couple more of those. Then underneath it's a combination of WS Scenery Clumps, coarse foam and some plastic shrubs I got from Scenic Express.
To glue the trees, I'm using Aileen's clear tacky glue. For the clumps, I'm using the thick JTT white Scenic Cement. For the larger plastic bushes, I'm using clear tacky glue. There I lay down a small clump/line of tacky glue onto the terrain, then grab a pinch of scenic material and press into position. I've also tried a scenery layering spray (WW Scenics), but that doesn't have quite as much tack as I'd hope to capture fine foam.
So, overall, this is coming out as I was hoping. It looks like some stuff clinging to the steep slope, then a relatively thick but still 'see-through' woodline in front of the forest backdrop. Once I remove the protective wax paper, that'll be much easier to see.
One other thing I'll do the next time I work on this. I'll lay some cloth in that valley underneath the cliff, to recover the scenic material that falls down into the valley. Next time, I'll do a wider area.
dave
Looks like you're protecting the photo mural backdrop with plastic? In my experience, New England and NY steep slopes rarely have bare dirt; either it's in the process of washing away, or the ground cover will grow back in weeks or months. Steep rock often gets moss.
Thanks for the link. I need one.
The scene is really taking shape. The background is amazing!
Quote from: jbvb on July 19, 2026, 06:46:22 PMLooks like you're protecting the photo mural backdrop with plastic? In my experience, New England and NY steep slopes rarely have bare dirt; either it's in the process of washing away, or the ground cover will grow back in weeks or months. Steep rock often gets moss.
Good point! I think if I stipple the brown spots with glue/matte medium, I can add some ground foam.
dave
Howdy Dave, nice work on the scene. ~mike
I tried to add a green flock/grass base over top of the existing shrubbery, by stippling matte medium and then applying the grass. It's a mixture of a relatively bright green and a moss green color:
IMG_1703.jpeg
It's better, but I'm not quite convinced it's green enough. It's really tough to apply grasses, etc to a vertical slope. I'll have to work on that.
dave
Dave, you're doing an outstanding job on the scenery.
Definitely better. I associate steep slopes with woody plants and vines that root deeper than grasses.
Quote from: jbvb on July 20, 2026, 09:49:25 PMDefinitely better. I associate steep slopes with woody plants and vines that root deeper than grasses.
And tall grasses... That's a look I haven't figured out how to achieve 'at scale'. ('scale' here being both HO scale and over a long area...)
dave
Howdy Dave, the scenery is looking realistic. The weeds, bushes, and soil blend well. Have fun, mike
'Forestation' continues along the edge of the backdrop:
IMG_1721.jpeg
That paintbrush on the left is gently holding the tree plumb while the glue sets. The approach here is do the back line of trees, then add filler foilage clumps mixed in with smaller shrubs. You can see that on the right side of the photo. My thinking is there's a primary species of tree, represented by the lighter colored round trees on armatures. I intermix that with the taller and skinny twigs from Woodland Scenics, and an occasional other species of tree from the WS armatures.
add I added the small shrubberies and vegetation.
IMG_1722.jpeg
You can see how this fills out the scene, and de-emphasizes how steep that slope is.
dave
8)
Coal dock for the yard switcher, test fit:
IMG_1729.jpeg
To get those side stakes to line up with the posts, I inverted the deck, positioned the sides, and glued the stakes into position on the sides, lined up with the posts (but not glued to the posts.)
IMG_1728.jpeg
I did it this way as it will be easier to drill NBW holes on the flat walls.
dave
Easier is always best! Are you going to add a pusher timber to the turntable? It looks a lil close to the dock?
Quote from: Philip on August 02, 2026, 02:15:58 PMEasier is always best! Are you going to add a pusher timber to the turntable? It looks a lil close to the dock?
Well, I need to either trim the dock, or ignore the pusher and the pathway for people pivoting the turntable. I haven't decided which...
Part of the problem is that I mis-calculated clearances, when I added the support timbers for the bin.
dave
Needs NBW and weathering & coal load:
IMG_1734.jpeg
This won't go down as one of my best models, but it looks OK in its location. Seems I've lost some of my structure building skills after doing all that scenery... :P
dave
Dave, You making great progress here.
I like the engine service area.
Bob
I'll add a water column across from the coal. That can feed both the turntable lead and if necessary the main line.
dave
Dave, scenery and coal dock I think look very good.
The ballast cement, on both the track and the coal inside the dock, is still setting. But this is done.
IMG_1735.jpeg
'acceptable' quality. The good thing is my loss rate on those tiny NBWs was only about 10%, that's really good for me.
(The yellow ladder in the coal gon belongs to the Erie reefer behind it...)
dave
Dave, the coal dock looks great.
Done and looks good Dave!
I reviewed your tread here and you gotten a lot done this year. I like the bridge too. The farm looks good. You did an excellent job on the rock layering also. Is this your main thread? I reconize a lot of names of the responces here.
Bob
Quote from: railman28 on August 06, 2026, 02:53:41 PMDone and looks good Dave!
I reviewed your tread here and you gotten a lot done this year. I like the bridge too. The farm looks good. You did an excellent job on the rock layering also. Is this your main thread? I reconize a lot of names of the responces here.
Bob
This is my main thread, but occasionally I'll do a build thread on a larger project. It is interesting to get back to smaller projects after the 9 month marathon that was my machine shop.
dave
I would like to see your shop. Where did you post it?
Bob
Quote from: railman28 on August 06, 2026, 05:27:07 PMI would like to see your shop. Where did you post it?
Bob
Here: https://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=7040.0 I put it in the 'kit' forum because both the structure and the machine tools are kits.
dave
Here's the apple orchard. I started by doing the back and right parts of the (Woodland Scenics) fences. I'm using a 1/32" drill bit in that pencil rotary tool. I needed to do some cutting of both fenceposts and 'drilling' into the scenery to get the fence to fit along the terrain.
I think these are Noch apple trees, there's 4 trees on a 'sprue' to represent a commercial orchard's planting.
IMG_1737.jpeg
Then I cut the trees from the sprue. There's not much trunk, so I carefully held the tree trunk in pliers and used a needle file to separate tree trunk from sprue:
IMG_1739.jpeg
Then I dressed the bottom with a fingernail file, pricked a pilot hole, and drilled #67 for .032 (soft steel) wire. I used Beacon fast setting (solvent) glue, and where the hole broke through the trunk, I added thick CA and let that dry. Then I drilled the holes with 1/32" bit in the pencil rotary tool and planted them.
IMG_1740.jpeg
IMG_1741.jpeg
I still want to add tufts around the posts and along the fence line and do some more scenery outside of the orchard. But overall, this came out good.
dave
I added some shrubberies around the fence:
IMG_1743.jpeg
I'll need to add more bushes in that general area.
dave
Dave,
Great job on the apple orchard. I see you fenced in the apple trees to keep the cows from eating them. ;D
Quote from: elwoodblues on August 09, 2026, 04:44:19 PMDave,
Great job on the apple orchard. I see you fenced in the apple trees to keep the cows from eating them. ;D
Yup. But fences that low won't keep the deer out!
dave
Quote from: deemery on August 09, 2026, 05:04:37 PMQuote from: elwoodblues on August 09, 2026, 04:44:19 PMGreat job on the apple orchard. I see you fenced in the apple trees to keep the cows from eating them. ;D
Yup. But fences that low won't keep the deer out!
A nurseryman I know built 12 foot fences to keep deer out of his nursery. But even that tall the deer sometimes got in. Until wire mesh fence became common, I think fruit growers were more likely to rely on an outdoor dog to protect their orchards.
Quote from: jbvb on August 09, 2026, 07:35:56 PMQuote from: deemery on August 09, 2026, 05:04:37 PMQuote from: elwoodblues on August 09, 2026, 04:44:19 PMGreat job on the apple orchard. I see you fenced in the apple trees to keep the cows from eating them. ;D
Yup. But fences that low won't keep the deer out!
A nurseryman I know built 12 foot fences to keep deer out of his nursery. But even that tall the deer sometimes got in. Until wire mesh fence became common, I think fruit growers were more likely to rely on an outdoor dog to protect their orchards.
I have some scale dogs, looks like one of them just found a home in the orchard...
dave
Very nice job on the orchard.
Looks like will have apples in the fall!!
Nice job.
Jerry
Jimmy the guard dog:
IMG_1745.jpeg
After consultation with the 'artist-in-residence', I mixed a little of the dark silver paint with white, to get a light silvery grey. I painted the inside of the bucket, then added a drop of glaze.
IMG_1746.jpeg
This will go in front of the barn.
IMG_1750.jpeg
That reminds me, I need to add the ramp up into the chicken coop, and the chickens.
dave
The apple orchard looks great Dave. We all do lots of wild trees on our layouts, but often forget scenes like this with planted trees in an orchard. And you've even got the apples too. Especially suitable if doing farming scenes.
I do like the shingles on that roof in the photo above. Looks like a lot of work.
Rob, those are the Bar Mills shingles, which I rework a bit with drybrushing. https://barmillsmodels.com/product/coastal-brown-weathered-gray-shingles-ho-s-o/ (Unfortunately, Bar Mills will no longer ship Down Under, too expensive. :( )
dave
Sharp looking orchard Dave.
bob
Continuing forestation along the back edge of the backdrop:
IMG_1758.jpeg
What those tracks actually do is enter a tunnel underneath the piece of wood with chicken wire on it. I'm still thinking about how to make that a removable plug, in case there's a derailment.
I'm explicitly going for a forced perspective, the idea is the tracks continue between the section with the trees and the section on the left that will get trees.
That's a bit more clear here. The HOn30 tracks are in the back, with green tape on them for where the wood pony truss will cross '3 bridges gorge'
IMG_1759.jpeg
The standard gauge tracks in the front, also covered by green tape, curve to the left. That's the space for Lamson & Goodnow behind a spur, underneath the white fabric.
dave
Orchard and water pump are looking good.
Trees are blending in nicely with the background.
Here's the one rock face, after drybrushing and drawing in the vertical joints, plus the scarp for a fault running diagonally on the left side. This will need a bit more blending, but you can see how difference the drybrushing makes to reveal the strata.
IMG_1764.jpeg
dave
Howdy Dave,
The orchard looks fantastic. The dog adds a lot to the realism.
The layout is progressing nicely!
Have fun,
mike
The scenery is looking great Dave.
Back wall is vegetated.
IMG_1767.jpeg
Next step is to work on the removable piece that covers the hidden trackage. You can see that as the lighter (wood) colored piece on the far left. I need to work out the terrain on the removable section and how it will blend into the rest of the forest. That needs to be removable for cleaning and derailment.
Then I need to work out the closer-in vegetation, both here and on the other side of the gorge near the farmhouse.
dave
8) Fantastic!
Looks great Dave!!
Jerry
I'm working on the removable scenery section. I want a pretty good fit (doesn't have to be perfect, since this entire area will be forested.)
I shaped the styrofoam subterrain. After a test fit, I removed it and covered the hole with wax paper, taped into position.
IMG_1768.jpeg
I replaced the 'plug', then applied several layers of plaster wrap. Then I laid down a layer of wallboard nylon mesh tape. (Photo adjusted to make that tape stand out.)
IMG_1769.jpeg
And another couple layers over top of the wallboard mesh.
IMG_1770.jpeg
I'll let this dry thoroughly, inspect, and add at least one more plaster wrap layer. Then the plan is to mark where the boundary will be, trim the plaster wrap, and -back fill- underneath where the plaster wrap is not well supported.
dave
A question for those of you who grew up/around farms... Consider this terrain:
IMG_1771.jpeg
There's a steep drop-off to the front and to the left. I'm presuming the farmer who owns that property would install fencing to keep cattle, etc, from wandering off the cliffs. But what about that space directly in front of the house? Should I run the fence along the road in front of the house, writing off the relatively usable land in front of the house? Or should I run the fencing towards the cliff? If the latter, what should the farmer do with that terrain? Just some pasture? Maybe a vegetable plot?
Thanks in advance!
dave
In your era, fence was expensive enough that it was only used around specific parcels or fields that needed it. In the Northeast, stone walls would surround any cultivated field because each year's plowing brought up more. Cattle pastures got fenced to keep the herd from wandering, but pasture land was often steep and/or rocky areas difficult to cultivate. Pigs were (and are) hard enough to fence in that they were sometimes let run free to eat nuts in the forest and whatever in the bog. Farmers relied on feeding food waste in a pen to eventually capture them just as cold weather brought slaughtering season.
Your house dates the farmstead to before maybe 1820, but the barn looks later, maybe after the Civil War. The arrangement suggests the road coming in from the right and passing close to the house is owned by the farm, rather than a public way. I suggest fencing the area R of the barn and behind the road using barb wire (I strip strands out of lamp cord for this). The area across the road from the house could include a kitchen garden. A dug well is era- and area-appropriate, but it would likely have been behind the house or barn. Dug wells above cliffs are pretty scarce.
Quote from: jbvb on August 23, 2026, 02:23:33 PMIn your era, fence was expensive enough that it was only used around specific parcels or fields that needed it. In the Northeast, stone walls would surround any cultivated field because each year's plowing brought up more. Cattle pastures got fenced to keep the herd from wandering, but pasture land was often steep and/or rocky areas difficult to cultivate. Pigs were (and are) hard enough to fence in that they were sometimes let run free to eat nuts in the forest and whatever in the bog. Farmers relied on feeding food waste in a pen to eventually capture them just as cold weather brought slaughtering season.
Your house dates the farmstead to before maybe 1820, but the barn looks later, maybe after the Civil War. The arrangement suggests the road coming in from the right and passing close to the house is owned by the farm, rather than a public way. I suggest fencing the area R of the barn and behind the road using barb wire (I strip strands out of lamp cord for this). The area across the road from the house could include a kitchen garden. A dug well is era- and area-appropriate, but it would likely have been behind the house or barn. Dug wells above cliffs are pretty scarce.
Thanks!
Geographically/geologically, that whole area of the layout makes -no sense-. :o The cow pasture to the right of the barn on the far side of the road has barbed wire already. Fencing off and making a vegetable garden on the near side of the road in front of the house would probably work. I do have more of the Woodland Scenics rail fencing to use for this. The problem with doing stone fences would be getting them to run along the topography; stacking small stones would be as much work as for the prototype (the difference in weight would be made up by the problem of having to bend over underneath the dropped ceilings, either would end up with significant back pain. :P )
dave
I've collected pebbles included in winter salt/sand mix from the shoulder of my street, then stacked them using white glue. Maybe 20-30 minutes a foot for a 2-layer wall.
Ignore the dog Dave ;D It looks great!
Quote from: jbvb on August 23, 2026, 10:36:06 PMI've collected pebbles included in winter salt/sand mix from the shoulder of my street, then stacked them using white glue. Maybe 20-30 minutes a foot for a 2-layer wall.
Twenty minutes of pain bending over, unfortunately. But I wonder if there's a way to construct these on a flexible substrate on the bench, that could then be relocated to the layout.
dave
Quote from: deemery on August 24, 2026, 10:59:13 AMQuote from: jbvb on August 23, 2026, 10:36:06 PMI've collected pebbles included in winter salt/sand mix from the shoulder of my street, then stacked them using white glue. Maybe 20-30 minutes a foot for a 2-layer wall.
Twenty minutes of pain bending over, unfortunately. But I wonder if there's a way to construct these on a flexible substrate on the bench, that could then be relocated to the layout.
With an adhesive that stays flexible as it dries, yes. Maybe clear silicone bathtub caulk on top of a paper strip? But I haven't tried that...