The Little Rock Line

Allen H Dec 31, 2011

  1. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Not problem Doug, I got the email, thanks!
     
  2. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    I made some improvements to the basement, but nothing to the actual layout.:eek:hboy:

    Starting in late May, I moved all of the shelves moved under the layout, cleaned and covered the floor with coat of Thin Set and then painted it. I got the walls repainted and then lastly I covered the floor with a batch of the anti-fatigue mats.

    You can see more on the blog starting with the first posting in May.
    June
    and July shows the progress that I've made.

    Now I can get started relaying the yard at El Dorado, then maybe I can get some green and 3D on the layout as well as the some of the backdrop scenery started.

    Allen...
     
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Wow. That floor did look bad. I had no idea Thin Set could be used alone. Had believed it to be more of an adhesive. Must be really tough stuff!
     
  4. nscalerone

    nscalerone TrainBoard Member

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    Finally got a chance to go through the whole blog................the basement looks great!! Now......I'll have to come over and see it in person. :cool:
     
  5. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks JJ...anytime.

    The floor looks worse than it really was, I took the pics after I scraped most of the loose paint off. But still, it wasn't the best.
    Nothing seemed to hold to the mastic, which I didn't expect it would, then having some minor water damage didn't help either. The water soaked some of the paint loose, and just walking on it worked the rest loose.

    I wondered how well the Thin Set would hold to the floor as well, considering he spread it right over the old mastic and the paint that actually stuck.
    After it dried I had to take a chisel to knock down some of the high spots that got left by the trowel before I put the first coat of paint on it. It wasn't too easy.

    In my woodshop I had a guy do about the same thing on the floor, there was some low areas and large chips that needed to be filled and he used some sort of concrete vinyl patch compound. It worked OK, but within a year it must have shrank or let loose as it now sounds hollow when you walk on it now and is showing some minor cracks.

    I asked if the Thin Set would do this and he said..."NOPE, this stuff has an adhesive quality that is used to hold tile floors down." He also told me this wasn't the first time he'd done this to a floor. He said he used it on a old, well used garage floor for a friend who turned the garage into a Man Cave then painted it like I did to mine, said he had no problems with it several years later.

    So we'll see.
     
  6. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well I finally got the last of the basement remodeling done!

    Here is a teaser of the basement wall:

    [​IMG]


    The rest can be seen on the blog.


    Now I can go back to the layout and get started on re-laying the yard at El Dorado and maybe some scenery in Malvern.

    Allen...
     
  7. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Since I finished with the remolding I got back to work on the layout.
    Here's a sneak peek,
    Last night I finished a weeks worth of work. I had completely tore out the yard at El Dorado. I still need to fine tune the tracks and get them hot.

    I left the main and passenger siding in tact for the most part. I had to realign the south of end of these which increased the radius a bit and I added a station stub on the passenger siding that I forgot to add originally.

    The whole purpose of this project was to add a second A/D track to the yard. I also moved the engine facility tracks so they come off the yard lead instead of the ladder tracks for easier access.

    Originally I had 4 yard tracks and one A/D track [the first track off the ladder].
    Before:

    [​IMG]


    After:
    [​IMG]

    I'll try to get everything finished up this week and get the blog updated as well.
    Thanks for looking!
    Allen...
     
  8. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Not sure what happened to the first pic in the last post of the old yard , so I have reloaded it here.

    [​IMG]


    I also updated the blog with 3 new posts and some shots of the newly rebuilt El Dorado yard.

    [​IMG]

    Allen...
     
  9. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    The new version looks a lot better. Has there been a chance to test operate it?
     
  10. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    You bet......all weekend! :cute:

    I think I've moved the cars in and out of the yard a couple of dozen times now, and that doesn't count the numerous times I've tested it.

    Not having to foul the main with the goats are going to be so nice. I just love watching the them maneuver in the yard while the other trains roll through unimpeded.

    I wish I had or knew someone with a good video camera.

    I've also been playing with my new UT4r's since I got my rechargeable MaHa 9v batteries.
    Goodbye tethered controllers.
     
  11. Virginian Railway

    Virginian Railway TrainBoard Member

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    Great looking yard and I like the design!
     
  12. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks!
    Me too, can't for the next ops session to see how well it works.
     
  13. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    A couple of weeks ago we held another ops session to test the newly rebuilt yard at El Dorado.
    Happy to say that all went smoothly.

    Riceland Industries finally received their own switcher, a VO-1000.

    [​IMG]


    More on the Blog

    Allen...
     
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  14. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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  15. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    After getting El Dorado yard rebuilt, I took a break form the layout to add more chipped power to the roster. In order to get some ops session flowing, I was leasing power from a couple of guys in the group. All told, I added 6 units, three were some older KATO F units that I had planned to sell off until I remembered I could slip the newer DCC ready frames under the older shells. Two more were a pair of KATO E8A/B's that are second hand units that Rock Island got from the UP and the last was a GP7, 1 of 10 they bought from the D&RGW.

    Since I had these units on the bench I decided to go for broke and weather them up as well. If you click on each thumbnail, it will take you to their respective blog page.

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    It's been a little over 16 years since I've done and major scenery and four years since I started construction of the layout. 95% of the track work is done and all of the major wiring is finished, so it's time for some scenery.

    I decided to start with the town of Malvern. The first thing I did was to get all the track secured in place and fill in all the gaps with sleeper ties. Next, I painted the ceiling tile with coat of latex brown for a base color and then painted the tracks with Floquil Rail Brown.

    [​IMG]

    I have never used a backdrop before, so this will be something new for me. I've done a lot reading and research on how to paint a backdrop. I don't want anything elaborate, just something to give an illusion that the world does not end right there. I'm no artist but I've seen several threads, blogs and layouts that have accomplished this quit nicely with a few simple colors.

    My first attempt did not turnout as I had hoped. Although not bad, I took some notes and then re-painted it blue. The colors were too rich and I think the hills were too tall and bumpy for Arkansas. Even though I have nothing else on the layout, my eyes were drawn to them more than I feel they should be.
    So I went out and picked up some bottles of lighter green paint along with some blue to mix in so as to give the green a more faded, bluish appearance. All in all, I think I managed to capture a little of the "distant look". Part of the problem is that the paint dried darker than what I had expected.

    [​IMG]

    We'll see how well my next attempt turns out. Any suggestions are welcomed.

    You can check out the blog for a few pictures.
     
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  16. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I have a feeling that when you get some foreground scenery installed, your eyes will not be drawn to the backdrop as much. Right now it dominates the area. Trees, buildings and railroad activity in front will help.
     
  17. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    I agree, it's very dominating.
    If the colors hadn't dried so dark, it might have looked better.

    I think if I would have started with the lighter green for the front color, then used an even lighter color behind that and mixed with some blue it might have gotten closer to what I had pictured in my minds eye.

    I might even lower the horizon a bit as well. I like the height of what W NEAL is doing on his latest thread, but maybe a bit taller. I also like the way he has added the photos of buildings and structures to the back ground, I think helps force the perspective as well.
     
  18. MRL

    MRL TrainBoard Member

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    You could try a lighter wash onto the colors to lighten them up...
     
  19. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    MRL,
    Thought about that, but then I just grabbed the blue paint and made it disappear!

    Here's what I came up with the second time around:


    [​IMG]

    Bare in mind, I lightened the picture a bit, so the colors got a little out of whack. Here the light green turned out looking more like a Mint green due to the lighting and camera, and the blue sky is actually darker in the picture.

    I also took Boxcab's advice and set some structures back on the layout to give some foreground objects to draw your eyes away.
    There's a few more pics on the blog.
     
  20. Allen H

    Allen H TrainBoard Supporter

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    Let there be clouds...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    These were created using pastel chalks; White and a light Gray. I started with the white chalk applying it with a bunch of little "C" shaped motions, then I added some of the light gray to the bottoms of the clouds. Once I got the basic shapes I used my finger to spread and smudge the chalk onto the backdrop using the same "C" shaped motion that I used with the chalk. I started with a small area but by the time I worked the chalk with my fingers, I was able to spread the cloud a little larger and at the same it dissipated the chalk so the cloud wasn't as stark as the freshly applied chalk.

    I got this idea from Michael on another forum, who also told me that if you don't like your clouds, you take an old Tee shirt and you can wipe it off and start over. Something was said about fixing them with a dullcoat after you get them done, He said it wouldn't be necessary because how many time do you touch the back drop? This would also allow you to change your mind in the future.

    The only problem I have with this is that I used a latex paint for the blue and it's a satin finish, so the chalk doesn't adhere very well and it can be simply wiped off with a big soft brush!. I thought about spraying a clear matte finish on the sky before applying the chalk, hoping that it will give the paint more tooth so the chalk will cling better, but then wondered if it may yellow over time.

    As always, there a few more pics on the blog.
     

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