nycjeff layout

[nycjeff]

The next area is one that I am still working on. It is a space between the freight line which is close to the wall and the passenger line which is close to the edge of the shelf. For now I have just painted the area with a brown base color and then sprinkled on some sifted dirt from my yard which is the first layer of all my scenery.

The first building that I have placed in this area is the warehouse building from the RDA Delaney Iron Works kit. I didn't use this building in my Iron Works scene. I put a new roof on the kit building and also opened up some of the freight doors to give the impression of a busy interior.



Next up is another RDA kit, this one is called Middleton Mills. I cut some Homosote to give the impression of a porch around the left side and the front. I then placed some foam "hedge" material, I think it came from Bosch, around the porch and also used some wrought iron fencing around the edge of the porch area. The entry steps came with the kit. I glued it all to a thin piece of styrene and since I haven't decided if this is the permanent location for this structure, I haven't blended in the scenery around it yet.



Here's a closer look at the building. I added a new roof to the kit and also a roof-top sign. This building, as you can see from the sign, is going to be the headquarters site for the branch line that inhabits a part of the lower level of my layout and the entire upper level, the Killbuck Valley Railroad. I added some downspouts to hide some wall seams and the "flowers" along the front edge are just some bits of colored foam. I copied this idea from one of Cliff Powers buildings.



That's it for now, more later.

[GPdemayo]

Excellent modifications to the brick HQ building Jeff.....the fence and hedge are great visual additions. 

[nycjeff]

Hello Greg, thanks for looking in and for the kind words. I like the hedge and fence, but truth be told the "flowers" are my favorite detail.

[Mark Dalrymple]

This came out really nice, Jeff.

The new roof works well.

Cheers, Mark.

[nycjeff]

Hello Mark, thank you. The new roof really helps the look of the build. It's just black construction paper cut into 3/8 inch strips and then the front edge of the paper strip is roughed up a little with some sandpaper. Some weathering chalks were also added.

[nycjeff]

Continuing on with another corner scene.

Here is a drone view of the small station. This is a Walthers Golden Valley Depot kit that I kitbashed a little. A new roof was added, a front freight door was left open to see a busy interior and a front and  side window was left open so that window drapes could hang out.



This is a view of the left side of the scene. The billboard is another Walthers kit. I got the sign itself off the internet. The fencing is from Central Valley and the streetlights and power poles are also Walthers. The station platform is some tempered hardboard painted red.



Here is a view of the right side of the scene. I tried to add a lot of detail castings to make things look busy.



A look at the station itself. The new roof adds a lot to the structure.



A closer look at the station.



That's it for now, more later.

[Jerry]

Nice job on the building and the flowers and fence.

But your last pictures didn't show up?

Jerry

[nycjeff]

Hello Jerry, thanks for looking in, sorry you had trouble with the pictures. They are there now, sometimes these computers are a total mystery to me.

[nycjeff]

Continuing on...

Behind the station and up against the backdrop in the curve of the corner is a factory type building that I made from extra walls leftover from a Walthers kitbash. When I installed my backdrop, which is tempered hardboard painted with several shades of blue paint, I curved the material at the corners. I know that some modelers prefer a 90 degree angle corner, but I wanted to try and curve the hardboard material and I've always been glad that I did it this way. I think that the end result is more natural looking even though doing it this way sacrifices some real estate in the corner.



Here's a closer look at the building. I thought that at some point I would add more details and some signs, but I've come to like it as it is. It's just sort of there in the corner.



A little farther along the backdrop is a building flat that I made from some more leftover parts and pieces. I think that the tanks came from a Walthers Industrial Tank kit.



Next along the passenger track down from the station is this rounded roof freight building. I forget where it came from, but I like to think that the railroad workers use it for supplies.



Here is a view looking further down the track. The tank up on a wood platform came with a Bar Mills kit, Tory Hill Lumber I think, it's a great casting. The small shack ia an old Atlas lineside building and the water tank is from Walthers. I have about three of these water tanks on the layout, it's a great kit and looks very authentic along the tracks.



Finally, here's a look back along the tracks to the corner. The freight line is on the right and the left track is the passenger track siding.



That's it for now, more later.

[nycjeff]

Continuing on...

The part of the layout that we will look at next is the lower right wall area. This wall shelf is 14 feet long and 18 inches deep. It stretches from the station corner scene to the next corner scene.

In front of the previously mentioned water tower along the front of the shelf is a scratchbuilt structure. It's called Lapp Mfg Co..  Lapp is a common Amish name and many of the businesses located in Holmes County, Ohio where my layout is based are family owned. I'm not sure what Lapp Mfg makes, I just like the shape of the building and I always like buildings with connecting skywalks.



Here's a look at the left side structure which I tried to give a stucco look. I first sprayed the walls with rattle can grey primer, then painted the bottom portion of the walls with a red craft paint. To get the stucco look I sponged on some heavily applied grey chalk paint. It took two coats before I had the look I wanted.



Here's a closer look at the stucco building and the side yard with some detail castings.



Here's a look at the right side of Lapp. I had fun with this little scratchbuild. I built it to fit the space available. As you can see, Lapp is next to Fred's One Stop gas and as you can also see, I still have to blend the styrene base into the surrounding scenery.



As I said, next to Lapp is Fred's. I recently did a build thread in the Kit Building part of the forum for this Showcase Miniatures kit. The building flat along the wall behind Fred's is the rear wall of a Walthers Merchant's Row kit. When I built the Merchant's Row kit I knew that it would be situated on the layout where the rear wall would not be visible, so I just used a piece of cardboard for the rear wall and then used the actual rear wall to make a background flat structure. I'm pleased with how it came out and it gives the background of this area something else to look at.



That's it for now, more later.



 

[Mark Dalrymple]

Enjoying the tour of your layout, Jeff.

Looking good.

Cheers, Mark.

[nycjeff]

Hello Mark, I'm glad that you are enjoying my layout tour, it's fun for me to go through what I have done scene by scene. It also gives me a chance to see what I can improve on the layout. Pictures show everything.

[nycjeff]

Continuing on...

Next to Fred's is a country road that goes through the town. I made the road with a piece of tempered hardboard painted black. I cut some middle stripe road lines in an index card and then used some light grey craft paint to mark the stripe on the road. Simple, but effective I think.



On the other side of the road is a Walthers Merchant Row kit. I added some store awnings and some little people to complete this mini-scene.



Next to the stores is anothe railroad's track that crosses the Killbuck Valley tracks. I used Atlas junction track pieces here. All the track and turnouts on my layout are from Atlas, all code 83. I use Midwest cork roadbed under all my track and the track and cork are all placed on 1/2 inch homosote strips. This combination raises the track level above the surrounding scenery and gives me natural looking drainage ditches along the track.



Here's a lower level look at the junction. All of the power poles on the layout are from Walthers Utility Poles kits. I try to paint the poles to get rid of the plastic sheen. The insulators are all painted green and I like the various transformer options you get with these kits. I don't string wire on the poles on my layout, I just don't have the patience to do that and my shaky hands won't allow me to do it.



Another angled view of the junction. The tower is an Atlas kit, but I scratchbuilt the tower base from styrene pieces from my stash. Many towers on the Big Four in Ohio had this type of base. The building flat in the background is just the walls of a basic styrene kit stretched out flat. I try to make the background flats simple. They are there to give a little more depth to the scene and this is not always easy on shelf type layouts like mine.



That's it for now, more later.

[nycjeff]

Next we come to a very special part of the layout to me. On my layout drawing you can see that in the middle of the bottom part is a big "S" curve. The first part of the curve is another corner scene which has a grain elevator scene. The grain elevator is a Walthers kit which I have expanded upon with some scratchbuilt structures.

Here are a couple of overall shots of the area.





Now we'll take a closer look at the scene, starting from the left side. The small office building comes with the kit. The main l;ine runs behind the elevator and the end of the grain elevator siding can be seen in the front.



Panning right we can see the grain storage building and the exit ramp from the truck dump area, which are also part of the kit. I scratchbuilt the wood platform that is used for boxcar loading, I model the late 1940's which is before covered hoppers were regularly used,and also added the loading pipe coming from above with the flexible hose so that the "guy" can manuver the grain load.



Moving further right we can see more of the wood platform and also the storage silos that were added to the elevator when increased capacity required it. The silos are a couple of plastic jars that I covered with construction paper. The ladders and safety cages came from a Walthers kit. On top of the silos is a scratchbuilt head house. I studied many pictures of 1940's elevators and thought that this style was representative of what I saw. The top of the silos is a cardboard platform also covered with construction paper. The head house base is made of stripwood dipped in my A&I solution as are the safety railings.



Lastly we see the entry office building which is a kitbash of an old structure kit. I added the front porch and the porch roof. I also added a grain load to a couple of stake bed trucks using a piece of foam covered with some yellow sawdust.



That's it for now, more later.

[nycjeff]

Let's take the drone up for some roof views of the elevator scene.

Again, starting at the left side. I used wood skewers from the supermarket for my piping. I first painted them with some rattle can flat grey primer and then drybrushed some red and black craft paint colors for rust and weathering effects. The front loading pipe that leads down to the track is a piece of plastic sprue. I found one with the bend that I needed.



I'm pleased with how my scratchbuilt storage silos came out, particularly the headhouse base and roof. The dust collectors on the side of the main elevator building are from Walthers.



The grain trucks from the farmers are lined up to unload. Elmer, the grain office manager, is out checking in the trucks. I used some carved foam covered with some fine yellow ground foam for the grain loads.



A slightly lower view, I think that the piping adds a lot to the scene and it was really easy to add. You can see a Mail Pouch roofed barn peeking out from behind the elevator here.



Here's a better view of the barn. I scratchbuilt this using an old kit as a guide. The windmill and water tank are from a Life Like kit, I think. There wasn't a lot of room in the corner behind the track, but you can always fit another barn in somewhere, this is rural Ohio after all.



That's it for now, more later.