Here's part 1 from Tuesday night. For a long time now we've been contemplating how to cover the exposed areas of plywood and all the tortoises in South Seattle Yard. The first part was to repair an old swap meet find that would allow the track to go behind it. As you can see however, there's still a lot of area to cover, including the exposed plywood edge. The first thing was to decide on what we would use. We chose to use a concrete facade and tie it into a large abutment. So we cleared everything out and set up a cardboard cutout. Then Wain did the measurements and took enough styrene home to fab up what we needed. On Tuesday he started putting the styrene in place. Here's how it looks before putting the building back. And then with the building in place. Finally we used some 1/8" foamcore to cover the area under the bridge so you won't see the tortoises. I'll eventually figure out how we'll blend that in. The last step will be to build a separate structure on the right side of the old shed. It will be a semi-modern look and will include the scale houses and Homeland Security office for the container yard. That's it for part 1. I'm constrained by the number of pictures per post. Thanks for checking in.
Part two for Tuesday. We had great news, Scott and Ed made it back to the layout for the first time since before Thanksgiving. Obviously we spent several minutes getting caught up. Thankfully everyone's fine so off we go. Ed got to work on adding a new mini switch for some of our gadgets. I'll be showing you that next week. Scott completed a jersey barrier project. Some time back we created a mold for jersey barriers, but the mold had issues because of irregularities in the barriers we used. This time we have sanded, gap filled and sanded again, all of the barriers. We anticipate the rubber doing a better job of finding its flow this time, so when we do take out the resin barriers there won't be as many issues. Reynold and Doug continued track cleaning. Here Rey is up on his perch working the high line near Mt. Rainier. He can volunteer for that anytime. I received some Tamiya "curve" masking tape and started the process of painting the wing area of the 737s. You can see a portion of the container in the lower left. It's white, not yellow like their primary masking tapes. One coat of sealer and the first coat of primer is in the books. You can get an idea where we're headed with the plane from this picture. Well, that wraps up a busy Tuesday. So great to have my friends back and to be at full strength. Lots to look forward to. M
Just a quick note of thanks to all of you who follow this thread and the progress of the Rainier Great Western. We have surpassed 150,000 views on this thread (granted probably half of them are mine) and I want you all to know, whether you contribute or just keep up with our progress, we appreciate your interest. Michael
Well gang, we're homing in on getting this bad boy running. Four of us spent the evening rearranging the mess, vacuuming the layout and the rubberized floor. Finally, we removed everything from the tracks in several areas, including our main yard Interbay/Pasco, so we can add CRC fluid to the rails. The feeling of accomplishment seeing this yard without clutter is simply beyond words. It has been two years since we operated the layout and during that time this area became the repository for every tool, gadget and assorted scenery product we use. Now, knowing we are close it's tantalizing. Rey moved to the west wall to continue his cleaning and prep. In addition to CRC, he's making sure there is no ballast in the flange areas. Tedious, but necessary. He seems to enjoy it. As I mentioned last week, Ed is adding an on/off switch in the SE corner for track accessories. In this shot you can see the switch in the fascia just above his cap on the right. He is also adding a junction box, which is mounted on the post below the switch. After I was able to complete my work in Interbay Yard, I spent about 10 minutes adding ground foams and vines to the crib wall on the center island. It is the first step of many. Finally, Wain is completing the wall in South Seattle Yard. It's tough work adding the cap rail. Small pieces of styrene mixed in with a cramped location, doesn't make for much fun. But the result is very well worth it. Well guys and gals, that's where we stand as of tonight. More soon, thanks for checking in. The Rainier Great Western HO Scale Railroad
You are so lucky Mike, to have such talented, dedicated folks helping in your endeavor. Wain is doing a great job, as well as all the others. This just tells me, you must be a good guy, they are enjoying the tasks that FWD your journey too.
Michael, I have been following along for a long time. I must say it’s been a fine trip watching you guys progress along. I’ll be watching to see your operational posts as well. Good show! Thank you guys for the inspiration along the way! Looking forward to the next part of this journey gentlemen! Dale
This will be a short recap of tonight's activities. Once again a full house on hand. Ed continued making progress on the accessories switch while Rey and Doug cleaned the last of the track. Here is Maple Valley: Here is the main Renton Yard: It's stunning how well she cleans up! Scott completed the pre-mold work for our jersey barriers. Then I poured the Oomoo30. We'll see how well this worked out, tomorrow. Wain started to scenic around the South Seattle Yard. Eventually we'll use scenery as a view block for the track going behind the shed. While Wain completed this, Ed, Rey and I fired up the Lenz dcc system and after a bit of panic and trouble shooting, we have this.... I need say no more. The Rainier Great Western HO Scale Railroad
Michael, Are you de-airing that mold material? I see a lot of bubbles in it. Didn’t you have bubble problems last times?
I took that picture right after the pour. Scott and I took turns tapping the box and I think most of them were displaced. The Rainier Great Western HO Scale Railroad
Hi John, thank you for your question. We use Smooth-on Oomoo 30. It's a very easy product to use BUT, you need to use it in 30 days or less from purchase. It will go bad if you let it sit too long. The Rainier Great Western HO Scale Railroad