MORRISTOWN & ERIE RAILROAD - WESTERN DIVISION

[Erieman]

While I am waiting for some more trees, I decided to take on a quick structure build. FOS Darnell's Auto. All parts are braced and primed with A&I. Windows are primed. Next step is painting the main walls, door trim and windows. Hopefully, the trees will be ready later this week, then I'll be planting more trees.

Frank / Erieman

Frank,

Scenery, scenery and more scenery. Will we ever finish?

Now, you tease us with a FOS buld of Darnell's Auto and then don't post any pictures. You know we all love pictures. The layout is looking wonderful Frank. Keep up the fantastic job. Never mind I know you will.

Tom

[Erieman]

Tom,

You must have opened my thread just as i removed the above photo to make an adjustment. Here is the photo of the model I am building. I'll take a pic of the area where this structure is going tomorrow.

Frank / Erieman

[ACL1504]

Frank,

I'm very fast.

Tom

[Erieman]

Good Morning Speedy Tom and everyone else.

Here is a pic of the area that Darnell's Auto Body will reside. There are two Ulrich trailers in the pic. I have a bunch of other trucks and cars that will fill the scene. I will probably rename the building ( too be determined after some careful consideration) ( any name ideas would be considered).

Frank / Erieman

[Erieman]

Good Morning All,

The nice thing about hot weather is I get to spend a lot of time in the train room working on scenery or structures. I started Darnell's Auto Body the other day and the build has been moving along quite nicely. Here is the progress from yesterday. I am considering adding another building to the Darnell complex for trucks / trailers. I am also going to detail the interior of the main building. Because of its close proximity to the edge of the layout, it would be a shame not to detail a portion of the interior. The center and left bay will be detailed and lighted. This means a lot longer time to finish the build, but I think it is work it. In the meantime, here is the progress on day one.

Frank / Erieman

[deemery]

Looks nice!  What are you thinking for the cliff behind the building?  Tall retaining wall?


dave

[Erieman]

Looks nice!  What are you thinking for the cliff behind the building?  Tall retaining wall?


dave

Good Afternoon Dave,
You guessed it, a nice high stone wall with a little dirt, weeds, etc. on the top. I really don't like a wall this close, but have seen it on real railroads, so here it goes. Must be the artist in me. The SRMW building to the right already has a large retaining wall behind it.
Thanks for stopping by.

Frank / Erieman

[Erieman]

Bouncing right along, I have been working on the water that surrounds the structure at the waterfall in Essex Fells. I decided to use a piece of ABS plastic that will be painted and then a light coat of resin on top. Why? I don't know, just thought I would try it. The waterfall will be the dramatic element in the scene, not the water. Besides, most people are not tall enough to see the water. ( funny). The foundry building behind the structure at the waterfall was mounted to a subframe, the plastic was cut and cardboard strips hot glued to the plastic. I have glued the plaster mesh to the cardboard frame and will be using sculptamold material to blend in the ground surface. Let it dry, paint, throw on some grass, ground cover, trees and it will be done. Well almost!!! Soon, very soon.So here is a pic where I am now.
Scenery installation is taking a break until I get some more trees. Darnell's is still under construction. More soon.

Frank / Erieman

[RWL]

Frank,

Do the trailers get repaired outside in the yard at Darnell's or inside? I ask because, how is one of your LP going to back a trailer into the building, or for that matter pull a trailer out? I see that you cannot move the tower because it is sited on a slope, so things are little snug to my eyes.

Other than that you are moving right along with the structures and scenery, I believe you will meet your goal.

Bob

[Janbouli]

Can't wait to see the waterfall, great structures and great scenery falling together 

[Erieman]

Can't wait to see the waterfall, great structures and great scenery falling together 

Jan,

Good to hear from you. Took the weekend off of working on the layout and drove the family up to Flagstaff for the weekend. It was 112f when we left Phoenix and 66f when we arrived in Flagstaff. A shower in the area cooled it down real nice. We have friend that has a condo up there. It was great to cool down for a couple of days, but I am back in the desert again.

I admit, I can't wait to get to the waterfall. I am probably a couple of weeks away, or so I hope. Between scenery, structures and water, I am quite busy. Thanks for stopping by and the kind words.

Frank / Erieman

[Erieman]

Frank,

Do the trailers get repaired outside in the yard at Darnell's or inside? I ask because, how is one of your LP going to back a trailer into the building, or for that matter pull a trailer out? I see that you cannot move the tower because it is sited on a slope, so things are little snug to my eyes.

Other than that you are moving right along with the structures and scenery, I believe you will meet your goal.

Bob

Bob,

Thank for for stopping by. The trailers will have a covered roof, front and back will be open. The track in this area is cantilevered. The trailer roof will be open front and back with a small office in the middle. Yes it is in a tight area, but I think the small size makes it interesting and yes, it will be snug. Lots of details will  make the sight very exciting. Give me a couple of days and you will see what I have in  mind. Stay tuned.

Frank / Erieman     

[Erieman]

Well after some review of the finished model and the location under consideration, I have decided to move Darnell's Auto to Little Falls. It looks better and fits better. I'll post a pic later. I still have to put on all the billboard components, lights and signage; perhaps tomorrow. I also dug out FOS Hollis Pest Control. I am going to build that building and then see where it goes. Scenery is on a lull til mid week and then I will get back to it in high gear. Awaiting the completion of my tree order so I can continue planting my forest. Progress is slow but steady. Having delays because of two storms this week and quite a bit of yard work.

Frank / Erieman 

[Erieman]

BACK & FORTH -  Darnell's garage is done and final placement has been going back and forth between Little Falls and Edison. Most of the pictures that I have taken were in Edison. Next to Darnell's is a SRMW structure called Blackstone Paper company. My version of Blackstone does not currently have a name to it. Well after going back and forth between the two towns, I finally decided its placement. I moved the two structures around and found that Darnell's will fit perfectly on the right and Blackstone on the left. There is a lot of room on the right side of the building allowing for a lot of automotive junk, of which I have a nice collection. At the back of the buildings, I will be mounting several Chooch wall elements. Some of the wall will be hidden by the buildings and some will not. The stone wall will extend behind both buildings the appear, going out the where the tower is placed. The road by the buildings needs to be cast.
The wall and road project will occur tomorrow, or not.

Frank / Erieman

[ak-milw]

Frank, I like the last set up, short building by the short wall and taller by the taller. Just my opinion!