Okay, I'll add my 2 cents in. Mark, have you ever seen the movie "The Attack of the 50 foot Woman"? Since it is a presidential election year, you can put your favorite or least favorite candidate in front of the pipe as a statue attacking a village. If that doesn't work for you, how about a sexy photo of Marilyn Monroe, believe me no one would notice that pipe (or your layout for that matter.)
Ummm.... Except for the wife, or girlfriend. Then the bare pipe could be a much safer solution. Boxcab E50
I just wouldn't worry about it too much. Do what flash did, paint and structure treatment. A last final option would be to build a square housing for it and then put mirrors on the outside of it. ( I still think Flash has the right idea though) We all contend with certain unrealistic elements on layouts. How about the fact that most trains on my layout will be about ten cars long. Ten cars is about one tenth the length of a unit train. A short one at that. My little brain sees ten cars and somehow transforms it into a huge string of grainers. LOL after a while you just won't see the pipe anymore. Or... has the option of a simulated tornado come up? LOL
Okay BoxcabE50 if we put our two ideas together, what would we get? How about this, Mark could hire a Marilyn Monroe look-a-like to be a pole dancer on his layout. People would come from miles around just to see Mark's pole. He could be the first Model Railroader to actually make a profit on his hobby. (I can't wait for this writer's strike to be over, I've got way too much time on my hands. Hope you have a sense of humor Mark)
Mark, I'd put one fairly tall structure around it, not up to the ceiling, but perhaps 15 stories high. Then I'd place a few 7 or 8 story buildings nearby, so it doesn't stand out like a sore finger. Paint the rest of the column background blue and crop it out of pictures. You may have to wrap it to hide the tiles. A big sheet of stryene would do the trick, and it's cheap. Here's an early construction shot of my layout, where five buildings support the upper deck. They are simple boxes made of foam core, wrapped with printed paper. I've replaced one of them with a kitbash, and will replace the others as time permits. I rarely shoot this far back, as I hide the bottom of the deck by shooting closer, at a down angle.
Pete- Is that a string of Christmas type lights? Or are you using the LED strip I saw noted in a topic a couple of weeks back? Am curious as to the best place I could shop... Boxcab E50
That was very early on! Visit my blog or Railimages albums for much better shots. Links are in my sig line below.
Yes, they are sold as Christmas lights. They are called "rope lights," bought at Lowes or Home Depot. They too will be replaced as the white lights are too yellow. I think I'll go with thin-strip fluorescents instead, or add more of the mini-spot halogens. I hate the rope lights!
Zinc? Just as I thought. Most older homes in your neck of the woods are most likely built the same way. You are absolutely 100% right...it's not moving. Texas UFO? Why not? LOL Have fun!
It's probably a cast iron-zinc-lead compound, joined with heavily leaded solder on a braided rope. You don't want to mess with that. I've seen way too many pictures of bomb or fire damage where the only thing left standing is the fireplace and the sewage plumbing. Back in the 70s, a church friend tried it while remodeling his house. He could have been killed when the upstairs toilet crashed through the floor. The toilet had been leaking for years, so the flooring was rotted and, once he cut that pipe--well, he had a nasty and foul-smelling disaster landing too close for comfort. Back in the 80s, my dear wife convinced me that I could help one of her friends re-floor a bathroom, which had been subject to leak damage for years. When I yanked off the toilet, I puked. Yuck, what a job that turned out to be. I was surprised the toilet hadn't fallen through the floor! But it was supported by the waste piping. Unless you have a very strong stomach, don't even try it with PVC plumbing. The puke factor is pretty strong.
Lobster Boy- I am going to have to box it at least a foot and a half up. It is covered with mosaic tile popular in Pompeii before the eruption and in mid century Long Island Let's Dress Up The Basement By Decorating A Vent Pipe school of home decorating. I do not want to fill between the mosaic tile before painting.
You could , instead of boxing it , sleeve it . Turn it into to one of those checkerboard gas storage tanks , similar to what was removed from near the LIE in Queens some years ago .
Agreed It's Not moving! I just got back to this thread and figured I better respond, Just in case I haven't already. Looks like I just had a senior moment. Yes, I did respond but what the heck the message is somewhat different, the plot thickens and the outcome is the same. Me thinks Pete Nolan is right on the money with his response. If you tried to cut it and remove the portion infringing on the layout the pipe above it would come crashing down. Agreed it's not moving. Safety first! Have fun with the over sized smokestack. LOL
After reading all the solutions I was surprised that no one hit on the most camoflaging treatment of all. It appears that the location of the pipe is in the middle of the benchwork, right where one might locate a view-blocking backdrop. The pipe could actually be the end where the backdrop wraps around to the other side (although I would make a larger radius curve to further hide the obvious end of the view block). Of course this all depends on your track plan and if there is actually room on the backside for an isle. Planning around obstacles is key to successful model railroad empires. Good luck!
