Delaware & Northern Construction version 1.0

[GPdemayo]

I like the extra depth the photos give the scenes on the layout Jerry.....well done. 

[jerryrbeach]

Greg,

Thanks for checking in and the nice comment. 


It is that time of year again where I spend as much of my time as possible outdoors.  Work on the layout is mostly suspended until some time this fall. 

[Jim Donovan]

I don't know Jerry, your background looks great to me. At the end of the day background is something needed to help focus interest on the layout. From what I see in the photos you've got that done great. Looks like you have a great project for those raining NY days. Thanks for the photos.

Jim

[ACL1504]

Jerry,

The photo backdrop looks good to me as well. Great job. We've all be to the point of not being in the modeling mode at one time or another.

Tom 

[jerryrbeach]

I don't know Jerry, your background looks great to me. At the end of the day background is something needed to help focus interest on the layout. From what I see in the photos you've got that done great. Looks like you have a great project for those raining NY days. Thanks for the photos.

Jim

Jim,

Thanks for your comment.  I'm still not in love with my backdrop, I wish the horizon line was higher.  Then again, if I had raised the height of the layout closer to eye level I think the backdrop height would have looked much better to me.  Live and learn...

[jerryrbeach]

Jerry,

The photo backdrop looks good to me as well. Great job. We've all be to the point of not being in the modeling mode at one time or another.

Tom

Tom,

As I said in my comment to Jim, I think if I had built the layout closer to eye height that the height of the backdrop photos would have looked much better to me.  Since I am looking down at the layout the treeline, and thus the horizon just looks too low for me.  However, fear not.  I have a plan to pull everything together. 

[jerryrbeach]

The weather has gotten less outdoor friendly in the past few days and it is once again "indoor time".  Well, not completely, as bare trees make it easier to follow abandoned railroad roadbeds.  I have a few of those trips in the planning stages.  But I digress.  There has been some progress on the layout as the photos will show. 

I thought that I had covered this earlier, but after glancing back through the thread I cannot find this information.  I'm not sure if I failed to post it, or if it vanished into the nether regions of the web prior to Craig and Jim restoring as much of the content as possible.  Then again, it could be there and I missed it.  If you already know this, feel free to skip ahead.  Otherwise, read on. 

I read on another group some information about when the use of creosote to treat railroad ties became common practice.  I found out that it was several years after the construction of the Delaware & Eastern, shortly to become the Delaware & Northern after bankruptcy reared its ugly head.  That led me to a closer examination of photos of the prototype D&N roadbed.  Sure enough, even in black and white, the ties were a lighter gray than the rail.  I had used brown rattle cans to spray my track before I laid it.  Now my ties were too dark.  What to do?  Obviously, get out my paint brush and paint each tie with some gray paint. 

I found a photo taken during construction of the D&E that shows a portable crusher being used to "make" fill and ballast for the line.  That led me to the decision to use sifted sand, i.e., gravel to ballast the tracks.  While this is a different look than most layouts, I think it works for a low budget short line railroad. I differentiated the tracks along the back of the layout that represent the interchange railroad by leaving the ties dark brown and using cinder ballast on that track. 

After moving forward with some scenery for the trackage in the small yard area I turned my attention to the scenery along the end and back of the layout. In the interest of protecting the backdrop from damage while working on scenery I picked up three "For Sale" signs from Walmart. The signs have a slick finish on the front side and have worked well for me in protecting the backdrop while I am working on the scenery.  Enough already, time for some photos. 

[Mark Dalrymple]

Coming on nicely. Jerry.

I always look forward to the winter here.  Those pesky weeds stop growing - along with the lawns - and I find myself with a bit of a respite.  Great for modelling!

Cheers, Mark.

[Zephyrus52246]

The track looks great.  I've been coloring some ties recently as well.  Using about 5 colors, mixing, etc.  Tedious, but doing 3 to 4 feet at a time isn't too bad.  

Jeff

[deemery]

Jerry, a clever idea using those 'for sale' signs as protections.  I've used 'sensitive locations' masking tape to hold wax paper over my backdrops when doing scenery, etc.  

dave

[Jerry]

Very nice Jerry.  At first I thought you were selling the RR!!

Jerry

[ReadingBob]

I'll add my "very nice" as well.  It's really coming together!

[jerryrbeach]

Coming on nicely. Jerry.

I always look forward to the winter here.  Those pesky weeds stop growing - along with the lawns - and I find myself with a bit of a respite.  Great for modelling!

Cheers, Mark.

Mark,

Thanks for looking in, I hope to continue working on the layout, though I often get distracted building rolling stock.

[jerryrbeach]

The track looks great.  I've been coloring some ties recently as well.  Using about 5 colors, mixing, etc.  Tedious, but doing 3 to 4 feet at a time isn't too bad. 

Jeff

Jeff,

I have settled on using three colors when painting ties, though I do use the same brush, so they get blended together somewhat as I paint.  I agree, somewhat tedious, but worth it IMO.

[jerryrbeach]

Jerry, a clever idea using those 'for sale' signs as protections.  I've used 'sensitive locations' masking tape to hold wax paper over my backdrops when doing scenery, etc. 

dave

Dave,

The signs are not a perfect solution, sculptamold does stick to them despite the slick finish, but the help keep damage to the backdrop to a minimum.  I like the wax paper idea, I will borrow that for a few spots if you don't mind.