Next up on my workbench is the Yuletide Marble Works. I need to cut this back some to reduce the footprint to fit the smaller layout designs I am messing with. Also getting rid of the dormers for a straight roof. Also for the last week or so I have been doing some more layout designs and have come up with three similar designs to fit in a 10' by 10' space. Once again they are all point to point with one having a switchback. One almost exclusively has 8 inch rad. curvature and Peco 9 inch rad. turnouts. I have a total of 14 locomotives that have been tested on curvature that sharp and all work flawlessly. The theme of a road with no outside connection other than car ferry carries through with all three and again all feature a port facility, sawmill, quarry, and mine. The left side is about one foot higher than the port area and all consists are to be double headed except for the 2-6-6-0 Mallet. Train lengths will be kept at 10-12 cars and the cars consist of 28 ft. ore cars and 34 ft. log cars. The remaining cars are mostly 40 footers and passenger service uses 34 ft. Overtons. In keeping with the K.I.S.S. principal are turnout are manual except for the turntables which are powered.
Here is what I am working on at the moment. Getting a few GHQ and Showcase models done. Mainly working on the construction equipment for the lumber yard. The tank trailer is a kitbash I have yet to finish. Log loader just needs glass and forklift is done. Log Crane is not in the picture. Thanks , Mike
The Yuletide Marble Works kit is underway soon to be Simon Sabat's quarry. And as usual the instructions leave a few things to be desired. Just into the main bldg. and already have found that a few steps were left out but since I have been here before I was able to wing it. As usual a few things have been changed such as no roof dormers and changing out the big built up wood door for a nice rollup already in my parts box. The loading dock crane which is a spar and boom version of a log camp crane has had a few changes also to improve it and it is in the clamp above to roof letting some ACC dry.
Cabooses I'm completely vacant of ANY 'BASHED' cars. Sooo, I'm in the early stages of building 3 cabooses...one each GN, NP aqnd SP&S. Using Bachman and Trix bodies. I've reduced them to 25 and 24 foot. I cut out the sides of one bachman leaving the ends and roof. Added Evergreen siding for the sides and cupola. Got to scribe the other two and start on the windows. Long way to go....
Decals applied to the first car for my PROVINCIAL MUSEUM train - this is power car CHEAKAMUS RIVER: I picked up a Prairie Shadows bulkhead flatcar to see if the ladders could be modified without ruining the model - pried the side ladders away from the body with a #11 blade until I could get the photo etch shears in for the cut. Some minor paint remediation will be required prior to weathering but this is now a more accurate car for BCR: These cars are nicely done and look great with the custom lumber loads from my friend Dave Mac Kinnon (Details N Scale): I also purchased a CN car as Keith Hansen's NAR book illustrates one being pulled out of the Northwest Wood Preservers mill at Dawson Creek. Here is my car at my temporary rendition of the mill: Back to PWRS on Saturday for the other five BCIT numbers, and I will need some more loads . . . . . Tim
The 2nd section of the Yuletide Marble Works is done and now awaits attachment to the first bldg. Finished the spar and boom crane on the loading dock and rigged it to be positional for later on when the bldg. gets placed on the layout. Next up is to construct the overhead traveling crane and the stone dollies on rails that deliver stone off the flatcar to inside each of the four doors. The differences in colors between the two sections is due to weathering of India Ink applied to tone down the yellow on the first bldg. and has yet to be applied to the 2nd section. Main bldg. has yet to have tarpaper roof applied and I'm deciding on adding some roof details.
Another beautiful day! Backdrop painted with the first coat...ties painted (siding and branchline painted gray-mainline painted black), the rails were painted with a grimy brown, then the ties were weathered with other browns... Rust was used to accent tie clips and branchline rail... Also, the siding and branchline roadbed wad trimmed to represent lighter rail...ballasting will show this to effect. Thanks for looking, ~Bruce
I like how the sidings set lower then the mainline. With flex and trimming down the trackbed its looks fairly simple to do. A long time agao I tried to figure how to do the same with half the thickness of Unitrack built in trackbed. The idea I had woulda worked...untill it came to turnouts...and the realization that that attempt would be foolish and unattainable. Thats when the idea went in 'file 13' !! I am going to attempt to 'trick the eye' with ballasting methods on my yard tracks and the mainline that runs thru it in hopes the yard will 'look' lower. Cant hurt to try ;-)
Here's the beauty of the different paint and roadbed width of the 'secondary' and siding track...it's not actually lower than the mainlines; in fact, because it's a Ntrak standard it HAS to be the same height... but the appearance is that the siding and secondary lines are at a lower level and/or are lighter rail... Also, using a different ballast and weathering the track and roadbed a little differently, will help the illusion...I'm going to use non-operating switch machines for the switches on the mainline and switch stands on the siding and secondary lines... the basic foam forms are on the module as of last evening, and this week will see them glued down in anticipation of forming... Thanks, ~Bruce
Yup....hope i can pull off the same illusion with Unitrack. I cant manipulate the trackbed....but I can the ballast
Darn Foamers. Actually that is a misuse of the word here. There's foamers, that stand by railroad tracks and froth at the mouth. While others of us take a more serious look at our layouts and are foamers of a different kind. I'm guessing a desert scene is about to evolve here.
Made some more slow progress on the Yuletide Marble Works kit. Added some of my own details to the main bldg. roof. Something the kit designers over looked, chimneys and a exhaust for the stone dust. Finally finished the 2nd bldg. section and now installing the stone dollies that the over head traveling crane transfers from the flats to small wheel dollies to roll into the cutting section. For the dollies I am using some Z scale track and trucks.
