Progress On The New CCSB

Have done a little work so far this week.

This is the view coming up out of Danville staging thru Edna Signal by Reidsville. The back side of the street will be a city block.





Looking south from Edna, the woods separating Reidsville from Jamestown. That looks like 20 miles, right?


I've went back and updated the train tags with the new symbols and added EOT tags.

 

A couple of pictures from the work this week.

Area just beside of Jamestown. Homeland Container track is just to the rear.


Southern Film siding just to the left


Thomas Bus building behind High Point Yard


The road to nowhere at Jamestown

 

Great job !!!!!:tb-cool::thumbs_up:

 

Have a couple of pictures of last week's progress, but to tell you the truth, they are all starting to look alike to me. Lots of fall scenery but I only have another 25 feet and then I can try out some winter scenes.

There's more pics and description on my blog: ccsb2007.blogspot.com

 

Hey, Kevin let some of the people that's coming to the operation session next month to do some of the work or it will start looking the same don't want that now do we? I wish I can show up maybe next time or may just call you sometime to operate trains.

 

Kevin - I always look forward to your updates. I really like your track/scenery ratio so I hope you don't burn out on scenery...

I'm curious about your fall to winter comment. Are you modeling a change in time or a change in elevation?

-Gary

 

Anthony, what, you want an engraved invitation ??

Gary, really neither, other than one season to another is I guess a change in time. My daughter has been my design assistant since I started this thing. One day, I tongue in cheek suggested maybe doing different seasons. She thought it was a good idea and I ran with it.

I'm way behind on updating a track plan but here's an overall from 13 months ago. There are 2 completely independent layouts. One, the NS, has long runs thru the country and some locals. The other, the WSS, has lots of switching in a small space.

This picture is exactly 1/2 the total room. The NS starts on the upper level in the picture, left side. At the far end it drops 3%, to the right side wall where it is a single level, back along the right wall, behind the picture, and then into frame along the lower level, to the back and terminates in a yard. (1 1/2 turns on a nolix)

The WSS is an island to the right of the picture with a mirror side opposite and 2 levels with a helix on the far end.

Sorry, but we had to get there so I could explain the seasons idea. Both levels on the left of the picture are the Fall scenery you see. The WSS island is spring/summer both sides, both levels. The right wall will be winter. You can't really see the fall and winter areas at the same time, and the island seemed like a good break.

So, I hope that's somewhat clear.

 

Oh your so funny But the operation session falls on the weekend I'm working don't worry I will be down to run some locomotives. I want to ask you have the hump yard area becoming operational yet?

 

I'm still trying to figure the hump yard out. I really got caught up on covering some of the foam with scenery and haven't worked on it lately. The rest of the yard trackwork is done: Receiving Yard, Forwarding Yard, Car Shop tracks, Engine Shop tracks, Service tracks, Thoroughfare.

The problem I see is that I can set up a batch of cars (all weighed the same regardless of length, with similar metal wheels, etc) and they'll all roll about the same distance. Problem is, that as cars stack up, the second car needs to roll a little less than the first, and the third a little less than the second....By the time 5 cars stack up the 6th is slamming pretty hard.

So, one idea is to set a cam under the hump to vary the height of the hump. Is seems it only takes about 1/8-3/16" to change the roll quite a bit. The other idea is some kind of variable retarder. That's as far as I've got.

I need to test if I can glue down the class track switches and use the cam and still have enough give and take in the tracks.

 

I took a break from the east wall and went to work on the Spencer Yard section. I got started ballasting and before long I had most of the forwarding yard and car and engine shops done.





I worked yesterday to create some scenery breaks between the yard and mains passing between the yard and wall. Since they are right at the wall in some places, there was little room for background scenery.

This evening I added ground cover and trees. Most of this is to be winter, but I thought I'd try a light dusting of snow at the far end and will feather it out back towards the upper end of the yard.

PS - Please ignore the misplaced scenery. I wanted to take some test photos and didn't stop to clean up good.

 

Outstanding winter scene, are those the scenic express trees with no foliage on them?
awesome work,
my best,
Jan

 

Thanks Jan, I tried the Scenic Express Trees just picking out the pods or leaves or whatever they are and hitting them with a shot of brown spray paint. The other ones are from a decorative broom with a cinnamon scent. (Smells good).

That's about as much snow as we've seen here in years. Glad I didn't try to model the northeast.

 

While off work for the long New Years' holiday weekend, I finally worked on the Yadkin River section. I had to add the railings to the highway bridge, add in the shoreline and landscape both sides.

The river provides a scenic break between the winter side and the fall side.

The real Yadkin River bridge, 685' long.


My version with associated Hwy 29 bridge in the foreground.







Also, on Christmas Day there was a 2 page article on my layout featured in the local newspaper. It was fitting as it was the 5th anniversary of my wife buying me the Little Joe set that started it all. I called her at work the day after and wished her a Happy Anniversary, but she didn't appreciate the significance quite as much as I did. Hmmmm.

An online version is here

 

There's one other recent item I forgot to add. Seeing Jamie's helix progress reminded me.

This is the cover I built to house my helix. There is a CCD camera hooked up to a tv mounted on the left to monitor the inside of the helix. At some point I hope to light and recess mount the drumhead.

 

Kevin...

Someday...someday...I plan a nice BIG layout like yours too.

But dont we all...:tb-cool:

*btw...nice article in the paper... :thumbs_up:

.

 

Ok, that bridge scene looks just about perfect, especially the water. Have you described your technique anywhere? Of course I have no use for it - just dry creek beds in SoCal, but I recognize a good thing when I see it.

Now about that article - very nice coverage. But I guess you're a Serious Modeler, I expected a goofy grin from someone named [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Georgia, Verdana]justTRAINcRaZy[/FONT]! wink:


Gary

P.S. Nice helix cover!

 

I saw your Yadkin River scene and thought... wow, your river looks more realistic than the real river! Then I saw your helix enclosure and thought, WOW! I wish I had something like this! Then I relized I haven't painted mine yet. Hmmmmmmmm...what the heck can I do with my big cylinder? Nice work! Jamie

 

Yes please... Share! Share! I keep looking and thinging it REALLY looks better than the water in your prototype photo. Amazing! Jamie