Installed backdrop for the lower level last night and cleaned up the mess a bit. I need to build 5 more left hand #6 turnouts for the south end of the classification yard. After cleaning the work space up a bit, an accidental scene caught my eye. I am out of flex track now and I want to go ahead and get the rest of the upper level benchwork in place. I think I’m going to invest in the new DCC system within the next month or so and work on getting the bugs worked out and trains running from staging to the lower level. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The wood trestle for the Division modeling challenge is finally upright and mounted to the scenery base. Test fitted the ties and rail this morning, very pleased with how this is turning out. I definitely plan to incorporate this into the layout somewhere. Little else was accomplished this weekend since we were out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, I did spot 5 cars for Capitol Appliance at Charleston. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Another productive weekend. Started off Friday with cutting more backdrop and getting about 38 feet of material installed overall in various locations on the layout. Saturday, I built and installed one more section of upper level benchwork and applied decals on three boxcars that are now layout-ready. This morning, I finished up the wood trestle kit that I will display at our Division meeting next weekend. I forgot a few bolt heads on one side of one of the bents, so I’ll have to add those in place as-is. Finally, with the arrival of a DCC system coming this week, it is time to start working on the power for the KY&N. This locomotive was numbered 464, but I reorganized the roster last year and several units have to be renumbered. 464 was no exception, now carrying 3306. The green patch under the number didn’t work as well as I hoped, so I may strip the cab and start over eventually. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looks great like the alco couldn't figure out why the number looked off until you said something about it Enjoy the color scheme of your road power
Foam scenery base cut and set in place around the ouside of the curve at Charleston behind the roundhouse. This is the only place in which the layout is 42” in depth. I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to easily reach the backdrop once the second level benchwork is in place. So, time for scenery in this one area. This will be mostly be a large rock cut, so I’ll need to experiment with rock castings sooner than later. Once the base is painted, I’ll paint the backdrop. Hopefully benchwork will get done next weekend. I also got my new DCC system hooked up and running. Found a few minor shorts with easy fixes, but at least trains are running again, although in a limited area. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had a long weekend and we’re now going into a 2 week staycation over the holidays, so I am anticipating significant layout progress in the near future. Most of the weekend layout progress was spent on working on the mountain side and rock cut at the south end of the yard at Charleston. The deepest part of the layout is here at 42”. It is necessary to go ahead and get scenery started here before installing the upper level benchwork, etc. Here is a shot of S4 #2231 drilling cars near the rock cut. There are two #8 turnouts I built a couple months ago that were installed right at the yard throat. I used the #6 point tool to make the #8 frog, but I didn’t pay attention to the over sized gap in the frog. That became a big problem when testing as the wheels dropped into the frog and derailed or jammed. Using an stainless steel ruler as a base, I added solder into the frog, then reopened the flange clearances very carefully with a Dremel and cut off wheel. The switches perform much better, and should look better with ties, weathering and ballast. I had planned to work on some freight cars, but the 500ft spool of buss wire arrived a couple days early on Saturday. So this morning, I finished up the buss installation for the lower level and attached some more feeders. So far, so good! I should be able to run trains from staging to lower level in a couple more days. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
At 0532 12/21/21, the first train arrived at Charleston from the lower staging yard. The train consisted of Kanawha Youngstown & Northern U23B #426 leading a train of 20 cars for the Bulltown Turn (13 hoppers & 7 QD). The first run uncovered some track surfacing issues, but was an overall success. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Friday, I weathered the rock cut behind the roundhouse and engine service facility. I simply applied a wash with craft acrylics to add a brown tone to the tree bark used for the rock. Christmas, I got an Ender 3 V2 3D Printer from my wife. I mostly avoided the layout that day. Sunday morning, I assembled the new 3D Printer, leveled the glass table and promptly scratched the glass and damaged the nozzle before I ever printed anything. So I ordered new nozzles and corrected the table leveling the old fashioned way. (Verified clearance manually throughout the top). Hopefully print something over New Years. Finally, this morning, I weathered the ties and glued down some ballast in the one scenicked area. Planning on ground cover and trees around the rocks tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This morning, I painted backdrops and applied some ground cover above and below the rocks. Hoping to be able to get a large number of trees planted over the coming weekend. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk