Wow! What more can I say! ? The eye level and near track level pics are really nice and show off all your attention to detail! It came together very well AND quickly, which says a lot for planning ahead. Now you just need to find a reason to run a steam excursion for your trainboard railfans!!
Thank you so much. I would love to run a steam excursion, but unfortunately I don't have any steam locos at the moment. Let's see how soon I can buy one...
All right - I am back from the (unwilling) break! In the last 2 and a half month, since my last post, it has been a tough time, deaths in the family, work pressure, itty-bitty issues cropping up here and there... I had also broken my beautiful Life Like GP 38-2 when I dropped it accidentally while cleaning it, breaking one truck completely, and causing severe damage to the shell and the railings. Thankfully, Wealthers obliged with a complete new truck assembly, though it did cost $20 for the tiny piece, and the loco is running as smooth as new, and I could successfully perform the 'plastic surgery' (literally!) to restore its looks. But hey, with all this, I still managed to make some significant progress and reached an important milestone for the project - I have concealed all the tracks in 'concrete' and finished the top surface of the concrete dock. It was a large surface to cover, and with this, a major task came to an end - a task that I started over 1 year back, and was halted due to several other reasons, but mostly because I was lazy! Now you can find the detailed description of what I have done in my blog. And for a quick review, here are a few shots post that development:
I am shure that it is said somewhere in these 17 pages, but this is easier: what did you use for the concrete between and around the tracks?
Thanks guys. Around the tracks, high grade card boards, wrapped in Scalescenes.com product. Between the tracks, 1 mm styrene. If you are interested in the details description, you can look at here: http://wrightsvilleport.blogspot.in/
Check this new video - the most comprehensive so far. Detailed description attached! Enjoy. <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; ">[video=facebook;429471687098924]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=429471687098924&set=vb.159843104061785 &type=2&theater[/video] This video shows three operational elements in Wrightsville Port, my N scale layout. First, pickup of the container consist, second, pickup of the covered grain hoppers and the oil tankers and third, dropping the containers back to the container dock. These straight forward operations are shot form various angles to reveal the track side scenic elements developed so far. Hope you enjoy it. For those who are interested, here is a HD version in YouTube.
Another quick video, including a night time shot. [video=youtube_share;fxn2qWWZk4Y]http://youtu.be/fxn2qWWZk4Y[/video]
And More Photos! I am still indulging myself in finding various new angles in the layout at track level. Most of these spots will vanish for my bulky camera once I the buildings are raised.
WAAYYYY cool videos . and the choice of music is spot on . The set is awsome under the lights !!! I worked in the Navy ship yard in Long Beach CA and the portal cranes are perfect , hats off to your wife for the weathering in and around the port. The sea air really plays havoc on any metal and the sea gulls turn everything white everywhere... Paul
Thank you so much Paul. glad that you like the videos. I actually referred to actual engineering drawings of a few cranes, used photographs as references, and studied one of the busists ports in the country during a vacation (!) to ensure these cranes are as close to the prototype as possible. You're 'certificate' makes me really happy given you've seen them live in action - thank you. I will pass on the compliments to my wife as well. and that reminds me - I actually need to make N scale models of sea gulls! that will be interesting (and tough)!
Here is a record time build - completed in 3 days. All that is left to do is painting and a little bit of detailing. This building is going to represent the main freight house of Wrightsville Port. For this one I am not going to bore everybody with all the step by step construction procedures. Just some shots and features: Here is the top view of the building that shows it's unique shape. This building has four large shutter doors on the curved side of the building for the loading/unloading of the box cars as well as big trucks - there is a similar one for 1 box car on the other side. There is a large platform for loading/unloading of only vehicles as well. The most challenging part in this building was definitely the lighting. I wanted to make sure that the lighting is as prototypical as possible. So I went for Circuitron's Micro lights - 1.5 mm bulbs as lamps outside the building and two white LEDs inside. The lamp fixtures are basically the tiny coffee stirrer straws and the round shades are thin card boards punched out using a punching machine. And just to scare you a little, here is the wiring below the building!
Here is something new that I have started with - a Pneumatic Grain Unloader. Not sure if anyone has built such a model before, especially in N scale. Even if someone has, I am not aware of it. Here is the detailed step by step construction details: http://wrightsvilleport.blogspot.in/2012/09/pneumatic-grain-unloader.html. Please note that given the complexity of the whole grain portal thing, this madness is here to stay for a while! And here are some photos of the progress so far:
Wow, what a build thread! I just read all 9 pages of it, and the transformation is incredible. You and your bride have great skills and working as a team in your fav hobby is even better.
