Finished up a whole lot of detailing the of a structure. Pics don’t give it justice. This video helps but I did t get the whole interior with it.
What is the large black and red towerlike structure at left? Look like it could be slightly out of scale. Seriously, though- Looks nice. You are making excellent progress.
So I guess all the work is paying off. Earlier this year I joined the NMRA. In June I submitted some work and received the golden spike award, Achievement in Scenery and the Achievement in Engineering Electrical. Today I was surprised when I was surprised when I was handed a Merit Award for the sentry that was used in the achievement program. Totally unexpected. I need to get six structures receive Merit awards for the AP on structures. I have one ready for evaluation. .
It’s been a while since I’ve updated this thread. I’m moving back into the train room so I will actually be doing work on the layout again. I am In the process of cleaning up the mess first. Picked up Some carts for storage. I can move around again.
Looks like you getting all the NMRA stuff in order Kevin.. I am glad for you. I did the same thing some 30+ years ago. I was so proud. And I wish you the best, looks like you are doing a great job.
Glad to see you back Kevin! I’ve been in a bit of a slump here lately. Just a lot of IRL stuff going on right now!
I am working toward it. I need 5 more AP’s. I should get two of them at the end of the month. I am shooting for Prototype and structures right now. The next one after that should be civil, all I need there is the hand laid track pieces (boo), not looking forward to that.
Believe it or not the hand laid track is not really that difficult. Yes a bit tedious but not hard. At least not hard in HO scale. Lol. I did it last by making a couple tools. First a track gauge tool which was 2 pieces of square birch (or any hard type of wood) that had notches in them in accordance with my NMRA gauge. Then I would place those on the tracks in 2 places, usually the spot I just spiked down and the spot I’m about to spike, and used a pair of needle nosed pliers to lay the next spike. The second tool was a 2 inch long dowel that allowed me to space ties every 2 inches for the initial spike down to get the track down. Then I go back and instal the rest of the ties and spike them down too. I was actually surprised on how fast it went. My trains seemed to like it well enough. Unfortunately I moved away before my local NMRA reps could give me the credit on the work. Oh well. I will just have to do it again with the NMRA out here.
Here is an update on the layout. I had a great weekend. I got a lot done. I installed five sound cards for the scenery. Two chain saws for the logging camp (only one is working for some reason), the saw mill now has sound, the kids playing baseball in the park has sound, and a mine dump house has rocks falling down a chute. Speaking of the mine dump house. It now has lights as well with a small upgrade to the building too. This is a scratch built structure on the HOn30 section. I also heavily painted and weathered all the saw mill structures. I added a couple scratch built lights above the man doors too. And I finished the brewery off as well. Looks like Wreck it Ralph’s repair crew is having a bit of trouble. Here are the pics.
I’ve come to a decision on my layout. I have removed an industry, I’m going to extend the track about 3 inches and turn it into an interchange track with another railroad. A good way to move cars on and off the layout. Now since I am proto freelancing the area I’m modeling I need to come up with another railroad to interchange with. The location I am in is southeast Utah and southwest Colorado. I was thinking of the Frisco. I already have UP and BNSF run through trains that start and end in staging. I have a small branch line that is already serviced by the Uintah RR. Any other ideas out there?