Final entry for the evening. Wain continued the next phase of the golf course scene. Sculpting then painting the landforms. He also started working on the out-of- bounds perimeter fence. They are 4 ft long 3x3's. In this pic they have been dipped in sanding sealer and left to dry. If you look close, you will see a hole drilled in each post for the retaining wire. It is after all, a perimeter fence. Later these posts will be painted white, with a red end cap. Bob was back in action, albeit a bit slowed from the cracked rib. He cut out a cardboard template for the access road which he will use to construct the road out of styrene. Daniel killed it on the scenery end. Adding more along the south side of the peninsula: His detailing of the shear rock wall was off the charts: Wanted to finish with this shot of the hill brake mechanism. Many thanks to Scott for getting it done. My blood pressure dropped about 40 points. Been a great night. Thanks for being a part of our build here on the RGW.
Just a quick note for this week's work party, with 4 of our 6 guys in Portland for NMRA National, we didn't get a whole lot done. Basically, Doug continued work on the roads in the Renton yard and Rey made good progress on his flatcar upgrades. As for me, I spent the evening grinding up dead leaves in the blender for future ground cover. It was very taxing and I'm exhausted....
Tonight's work session was a personal highlight as an old friend returned after a 17 year absence from the RGW. One of the first gents to work on my railroad, Jackson Peters, found his way back to the layout. He is quite the character and is good for a story or 10 once you get him started. It was a personal trip down memory lane and an enjoyable evening's entertainment. We also had the benefit of Ed's return from his injuries. While the visit was brief, the mere fact he came by was a great treat. He let us know that next week he'll be back to normal! Last week we chopped up leaves for ground cover, here is what that looks like in the container: Fantastic stuff. Here is what it looks like on the layout: Scott started work on the wood cribbing at the log load site. This is a Chooch Enterprises product; rubber and flexible, with an adhesive backing. Bob, back from the NMRA convention, brought in the road surface for the lumber mill woodchip loop. It is still in black styrene and will get painted concrete soon. We also tested our clearance around the bridges: Our final effort of the evening was to install our second transformer that powers the center island turnout and accessory bus. Works like a charm. Great evening, more next week. Thanks for checking in. M
Yikes. It would have been a mess if you found some clearances which were inadequate. I do like how that chopped leaf ground cover looks.
Just received this little beauty from Shapeways. Compliments and thanks to my good friend Chip VanGilder for the design. This will look fantastic on the Boeing 737 plant building. M
Thanks Dale. I am doing some research on the LED's necessary to backlight the sign. It was designed with a hollow back for the purpose of lighting, just performing some due digilgence on the correct LEDs. M
Last night's work session hit some of our favorite themes, sawmill road, scenery, flexible walls and structures. Daniel kept working on the "canvas" he asked for, the Southside of the peninsula. He added some trees, some of our crushed leaves deadfall and other assorted scenery products. Coming along nicely for a rookie! Bob finished the layout of the sawmill road and took it outside for priming. The paint pulled apart some of the glued sections, nobody sure why, so that needs to get fixed before final color and install. As for me, more brick painting on city hall. Scott made great progress on the chooch flexible walls, but like a goof I forgot to snap any pics, will get those tonight. We were also glad to see Ed back in full stride. He is nearing completion of the under deck lights, a project we are a excited to see. Thanks for checking in. More later. M
Short evening of progress last night, punctuated by a special occasion at the end of the evening. Bob continued to home in on the final stages of the lumber mill road. During the last week he etched the seams in the concrete and gave the roadbed two coats of paint. Unfortunately, you'll all have to wait until next week to see it, because he got it glued in place and covered before I could get over there. Scott did some touch up work on the timber cribbing walls. Here they are as of last night. Chooch Enterprises has a nice tutorial on its website on how to weather these walls, we will get to that next week. Reynold continued work on the flat car bolsters, the sure sign he's here, all the car stuff spread out over creation. As for me, finished the City Hall brick extravaganza, next week mortar. Our final event of the evening was celebrating Ed's 80th birthday. His wife Gay sent along a cake and we thoroughly enjoyed it and sharing the occasion with our good friend. Happy Birthday Ed! Till next week.....
