The Car Builders Dictionaries, 1879, 1888 and 1906, are my key reference books for rolling stock.  Those are augmented by John White's books on passenger and freight cars.

For modeling, my primary go-to/starting point is Dave Frary's "Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division" project layout book.  (My copy is signed   )  The one thing Dave does not explain is HOW he 'Tom Sawyered' Bob Hayden to doing the trackwork for him.  That's my least favorite part of the hobby, too.  

The other book I'd mention as really important for me is Roger Moss "A Century of Color:  Exterior Decoration for American Buildings, 1820-1920"  That's my go-to for how to paint structures.  

Finally, I'd mention the Frary & Hayden tips books, and Bob Hayden's Styrene Modeling as particularly influential for my skills.

Probably the two best documented railroads are the Rutland and the Rio Grande Southern.  I have the 'magnum opus' multi-volume history sets for both railroads.  And I should also mention the "Logging Railroad Era" series of 13 books (I have the 3 hardbound volumes that collect those together.)  

dave

I'm looking forward to seeing how you 'scenic-in' the arch bridge.  That's certainly a dramatic piece on the layout.

dave

I'm trying to get HO scale white pines, which tend to be a bit scraggly.  So I more-or-less followed your technique, cutting some green hemp/jute rope and unraveling it.  I spray-glued the armatures, then dabbed on the rope fuzz.  If necessary, I trimmed pieces that were too long, or where instead of single strands of jute, I got thicker pieces.  Then I spray-glued again, and dusted with Woodland Scenics fine turf. 

I did try static grass, but wasn't as happy with the result.  So you can see some white pines mixed in with the deciduous trees, and one less successful pine on the far right.  That one looks more like an Eastern Cedar, so I'll use it too.  One lesson learned from this:  Make sure your flock/turf/etc is well mixed, on the right side failure some clumps came out of the shaker bottle.   (And that one deciduous half-tree will go flush against the backdrop.)

dave

Dragon boats are a big deal in Vancouver.  My company fielded a team, and somewhere I have a (30 year old) T-Shirt from one of the dragon boat festivals.  I think part of the appeal was that paddling Dragon Boats was akin to paddling the large canoes used by the Pacific Northwest native peoples.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_International_Dragon_Boat_Festival

dave

Skunks love eggs and peanut butter.  When I was on Boy Scout camp staff, we'd prank other guys by breaking an egg and smearing peanut butter around their tent.  That would bring 'nighttime visitors'.  And once I remember a thunderstorm.  I heard some snuffling, and in the flashes of lightning, I watched a skunk come into my tent, do a couple of loops and settle down to sleep out of the rain.  He was gone when I woke up that morning (thankfully!)

dave

rant
I had a nice post of medieval carvings, but I couldn't get the damn thing to actually 'stick'.  So no photos from me today.  It seems the forum software is starting to 'rot'.  What is wrong with the people who code this stuff?  Are they really that incompetent?  It sure seems so.
/rant

dave

Quote from: labdad on April 08, 2026, 07:30:52 PMThe belts are done!  
Thank God!

Been there, done that!  It's really an accomplishment, the belts really make a difference.

dave

I'm up from the train room after checking out the scenery I worked on yesterday.  (https://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=7372.new#new )  That turned out better than I hoped.  So today, I'll probably finish applying the static grass to that area.

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.)


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   ), 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

Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 08, 2026, 10:14:29 AMMike I was thinking you could put an eye patch over the uncorrected eye then talk in pirate until that eye surgery. I'm sure your wife would love it.  

A co-worker/group lead (Mary Proffitt) had surgery around her eye and wore an eyepatch for several weeks.  Her group was renamed "Proffit's Pirates," and my wife made a logo and printed stickers for her to put on stuff. 

dave

Two photos from Athens this morning.  There's more to see than just the Parthenon:




It's still cool (down to 24 last night) but it's bright sunny today heading to 47.  The little bit of snow still on the grass from yesterday will be gone quickly.  I'm still debating on what to tackle today.  I did some scenery/static grass yesterday but had problems with the adhesive balling up as I spread it before shaking the grass.  I'll see how it looks this morning.

dave

Mike, great to hear on both eyes!

Did you wear glasses full-time before?  I'm wondering what I'll do "between my eyes", when the first eye is done but the second eye still needs the (significant) prescription lens for both near and far viewing.

dave

Postcard snow.  Big flakes coming down in clusters:


dave

You'll need an extra set of hands (preferably attached to long arms...) to hang those backdrops.  I'm using the Deluxe Materials backdrop glue, it works pretty well, but you have to get good coverage, particularly along the edges.  Then I use a rubber roller to seat the backdrop.

dave

Karl, I attended a scenery clinic by Jim Elster, Scenic Express.  He recommends Elmer's White SCHOOL Glue for scenery.  That stuff is water soluble and also apparently has a bit better tack than the more conventional Elmer's White Glue.

dave