Holland Odessa R.R.

[Jim Donovan]

Jerry really glad you like the progress so far, thanks your stopping by. Little by little I am figuring things out and starting to understand why things are done a certain way instead of just doing it because it works.

Work on the Cundy Village Hotel stopped until I finished this scene but now I am back at it. The Hotel is almost completely laser cut. So far I have learned that the key will be making damn sure the tolerances are tight. .25 mm off will screw things up. Don't ask how I know, you already know the answer.

Jim D

[Jim Donovan]

Hi Greg;

Thanks for dropping in and for the compliment. Azzie was indeed happy. However when I told her the story for Azzie's Apples she told me 'Papa, I don't want to get married, boys are ugg'. I suspect that thought will change, or maybe not, time will tell.

Jim D

[Jim Donovan]

Jerry thanks for stopping by and for the encouragement. I learn a lot from this group and enjoy participating.

Jim D

[Jim Donovan]

Hi Curt;

Thanks! I've been watching you put your new layout together and it looks like warp speed compared to my efforts. Looking forward to seeing your layout take shape.

Jim D

[ReadingBob]

That's simply a terrific scene Jim!  Thanks for all the photo's and information on how it came to be.  Love it! 

[Jim Donovan]

Bob;

Sorry for the slow response but really glad you like the scene, it was truly fun and seeing the smile on Azzie's face made it more then worthwhile. The reason for the slow response is a lot happened shortly after finishing this section of the layout.

The decision was made to sell our NW Ohio Townhome and just reside in Florida full time. The usual reasons; two homes take more work, we are not getting any younger, the townhouse is two stories so the wife and dog were beginning to have issues going up and down (but not me, I bound up and down like I was 21, ish). So we put it up for sale. It sold in two weeks for asking price. Interesting times we live in indeed. I am sure we will see the kids and grandkids as much as when we were up there but I will miss my little home away from home. As I sat for the last day there having my morning coffee, reading the news and catching up on the Forum here was the view I always talk about:


So the Holland Odessa North was boxed up, put in our van and brought to Florida. The little layout is now being unboxed and put back together.


I will eventually connect the northern layout with the southern version so the people in my 1910 world can zip back and forth from Ohio and Florida in the blink of an eye. While I have put the better part of two years enjoying building this layout I was amazed at how small 4 x 6 really is. Here you see it in Florida on the right side of photo. The southern layout is on the left so they form an L shape.


So once I get things up and running we will get back into the swing of things. Since the Florida home is single floor the wife and dog won't have to run up and down all day to see the layout.

[GPdemayo]

Welcome back to Florida Jim.....looking forward to seeing the HO RR expand. 

[Jim Donovan]

Well I got the message that I have note posted in over 120 days. Hard to believe time has flown by that fast. The world sure has seen more changes this past year then since the fall of the USSR.

I have been modeling, and tinkering with the layout and have made enough progress to share. First I needed to put the two layouts together. I accomplished this by using some scrap lumber I had and raised the Ohio portion of the layout to the same height as the Florida section. I am using the NCE power cab to operate everything so I just attached the Florida layout to it for operations. The switches and such remain on two panels. Both sections are on casters so I can still move the connected layout on the tile floor.



In order to get some good lighting I swapped out the two right side recessed lights with 4 bulb extended sockets and put 4000 K Flood lights in the sockets. This provides 8 bulbs positioned to light the layout. They have their own remote controller so I can turn the on and off, even dim them if I want. As you can see from the picture it really did the trick.

I intend to connect the two sections but at this stage the tracks are separated.

[Jim Donovan]

Welcome back to Florida Jim.....looking forward to seeing the HO RR expand. 

Forgot to officially say thanks to Greg but we talked on the phone a couple of months ago.

Jim

[Jim Donovan]

The main project I have been working on was the Cundy Hotel by Bar Mills. To say it was challenging is an understatement. I gave up counting the number of opps- redo's I had while working on it. But it was a great addition to the layout and I had fun. I did a build thread on it that can be seen in the kit building section.





I will post a better picture soon but you get an idea of how it looks on the layout from these two. I am still in the process of finishing the scene around it. I continue to try different things I hear about or think of. For this scene I decided to affix two sided carpet tape to foam board. I then used various sizes and shade of static grass to directly apply to the two-sided tape. Here is how it turned out.





I have never had grass stand so straight and be so even. I used a PECO static grass applicator and you could watch the grass shoot straight down and hold in place. The tape itself seemed to improve the electric current flow. When done you can not see the tape under the grass unless you are directly over it and using a flashlight to get a reflection, even then it is hard to see. I tried 3M 465 tape as well but the carpet tape worked best. It has been down on the layout for two months and shows no sign of coming apart. Indeed the grass springs back if something is laid on it for a minute. I think the tape is a good idea where you want a 'lawn' type look. I am going to see if it works better when on a hillside but that's for another time.

[Jim Donovan]

I added a small Inn/ Tavern next to the hotel called the Flying Kettle. It is where the servants for the wealthy staying at the B Alan Hotel rest. Owned by the B Alan the Flying Kettle is where all the cooking happens for the hotel as well. So while the rich may dine on fine china at the Alan, the locals have an Ass Kicking Good Time at the Kettle.

It started life as a broken plastic building I had picked up at an estate sale in Ohio when I first started. You can see it on the layout in different places as I used it for 'placeholder' to get an idea of what a structure would look like on that location. I remember talking to the daughter and she said how much her dad loved trains. I don't think I paid a dollar for it but I am sure glad I did. THe Wiley's are having a 'plastic' fun contest so I decided the little guy was going to become more than a placeholder or parts. Here is how he was when I bought him:



And this is how he wanted to look, at least I hope it is:



Here is how the Flying Kettle its the layout:

[Jim Donovan]

Finally, my favorite picture for this posting, a picture of the Kettle and to the left Miller's tack shop. A member of this forum Jim Millar made this little Woodland Scenics kit. Jim passed on and Tom Langford has been helping dismantle and sell the layout. I was fortunate enough to get this little gem along with several other items I will share down the road. I am pleased to have a part of his layout now living on mine. This is only a stage stop of Miller's Tack Shop. Carriages and horses are cleaned and prepped for the people at the B Alan, The actual stalls and shop will be located elsewhere.



That's all for now.

[GPdemayo]

Looking good Jim.....

[PRR Modeler]

Beautiful scenes Jim.

[cuse]

Very nice Jim. Welcome to full-time FL.


John