Very Nice.Please keep the photos coming.It is great to see a layout come to life. :thumbs_up::thumbs_up:
Hey Kevin, OUTSTANDING !!!! I am in Charlotte tonight and came down from Greensboro, I can see what you are doing, was at the Yadkin bridge, Spencer shops and so on today. Great job. Bob.
Again, thanks all. I have been debating (putting off) posting a summary for awhile. I really need to get my website updated, but I have been spending ALL my free time on the building. Pete - As the building progressed thru the summer, I was concerned about how to cool it. I installed (2) 110v window units, each pulls 5 amps. They would get the room down to 68 degrees during those days we had temps in the upper 90s at 8-9 o'clock at night. Starting around October, I realized I was so worried about how to cool it, I didn't give much thought to heating it. Thought the warmth inside would just stay there. Big mistake. That has to be the coldest place in the southeast. I guess because there are no windows, no heat is ever generated by the sunlight. It can be 50 degrees outside and nearly freezing in the building. So, I have bought a 30,000 btu ventless propane heater. Just have to get it plumbed. I am currently uning my kerosene heater which does pretty good after about an hour or so. Still, I have to talk myself into leaving the nice warm house at night and go down to work. KB PS - I can't say how pleased I am with the CFL lights. That was 100% the way to go.
Those CFLs draw so little power, yet put out an awful lot of light. I'm changing out the incandescents in my house to CFLs as they burn out- the less money I give to Oncor, the better. I like what you did on the outside- staying with the tin roof. How are you going to do the outside- stay with the rustic look? Don't get me wrong, I like old country buildings. Please, keep us informed- awesome work so far!!
How does it feel to be envied by ALL model railroaders ? Being that you don't have windows , why not put a closed ckt camera mounted on the inside , and just have a small glass porthole for it to be aimed out . This way instead of a window you have a monitor placed where convenient . Its nice to keep in touch with the weather and the UPS delivery truck . Get the highest res possible with the least lums needed for clear night shots . They don't cost that much , and you will be glad you did it .
Kevin Beck, my compliments and thx for sharing the step by step building of all of this. I am in admiration of guys like you that can, in such a short period of time, go from 'green field' to a complete building to house the trains. Keep us posted.... what you've shared so far has been super inspirational.
Great job! You are doing what I would imagine most of us would love to do! I know given the opportunity (and yard space and money), I would deifnitely have a large room custom built for my dream layout. "SNAP!" HuH!? Oh, yeah, back to reality! Nut
Hey!!! I know those places!!! Kevin, Great job on the bridges! I recognize the WSSB's crossings of High Rock Lake and I-85 at the State Hwy. 8 interchange near Lexington. Look forward to seeing more of the new layout as it progresses. Robyn
The Hwy 8/I-85/WSSB intersection is about a mile from my house. I figured I had better do it right if nothing else. Hope to scratchbuild a Jimmy's BBQ and maybe the motel. Should have some better pics of it this weekend. I have just finished plastering it in place. KB
Progress has slowed a bit with the holiday stuff, but am doing what I can. As of yesterday: I have closed in the helix Started on the Abbotts Creek crossing Laid the spline and main track for the WSS lower left side Plastered in the mini-scene Hwy 8/I-85 crossing.
Laid spline track and plastered the WSS upper right side Laid spline and track for WSS lower right up to Bill Yard. On the upper level, I couldn't use ground throws because of the reach and didn't want Tortoises hanging down. A friend told me about an article he had seen about using ball point click pens for throw mechanisms. They work pretty good and are very cheap.
.....using ball point click pens for throw mechanisms. They work pretty good and are very cheap. Now THAT'S a new one. Whoever came up with that needs a pat-on-the-back.
Some pics from the weekend's efforts. KB I got the wood for the board & batten siding, but have had bad weather every weekend since. I finally got outside long enough to get some up. I have the first 8 feet done and landscaped. Only 324 to go. I am really happy with the way the Flat Swamp area is turning out.
Wow that looks really good!! I cant wait to see more pics as the scenery get done!! Keep up the EXCELLENT work!!
How about more info on using the pens for turnout controls... Like your not busy enough - amazing work!
