Tehachapi, BC

[Angus Shops]

Hmmm... in light of the discussion about synthetic steel wool and it apparent lack of availability, I decided to walk down to the local Benjamin Moore store to have look. No luck; all they have is regular steel wool and Scotchbrite pads. That brought me home and into our “pantry” where we would normally have a supply of cheap dollar store green Scotchbrite type scouring pads which I thought I might play around with. None. This took me up to the kitchen sink where I hoped to find an ‘in use’ sample. What I found was a really worn out specimen, so worn out that all it really consisted of is a little green flakes in a mesh of whiteish plastic fibres. No good for scrubbing anything. I’ve found that you can  pick out a little ball of this material and form it into a ‘shrub’ that looks not to bad. The fibres are very fine, and the green flakes are distributed quite naturally to look like a drought struck shrub. The fibre could be a little more grey, but good enough for background material in combination with other foliage materials.
Geoff

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks for the updates gents.  I just went ahead and ordered some supplies from Amazon.ca (after spending a horrendous hour on their site*).  The only grades of synthetic I could find there, aside from the #3, which doesn't seem suitable, were 000 and 0000, so we'll see.  I also ordered some of the stainless variety which I am quite optimistic about.  In the meantime, I'll forge ahead with test patch and the regular steel wool.  I really appreciate the input.

* I hate Amazon.  Their business model is insidious, and my order of 8 items is coming in 4 separate shipments.

[Chris333]

The last time I tried a search from the Amazon website I couldn't find nothing close to what I typed. But I Googled what I was looking for and the first result was it on Amazon. 

[GaryHinshaw]

[Dispatch from dream world]

Yesterday I got an update from Amazon that the stainless steel wool has shipped and should arrive in a few days.  In the meantime I have been running a few more signal cables between the controller boards and their respective control points on the layout.   

Last night I had a dream that I had to spin my own wire from steel wool to finish the wiring job.  I'll wager that I'm the first person in the world to ever have that dream.

[C855B]

I've read academic papers alleging dreams are the subconscious mind doing a little housecleaning. When was the last time you tidied-up the layout room?   

[GaryHinshaw]

Well, my order of synthetic steel wool finally showed up and it was a bit of a disappointment.  I  ordered both 000 and 0000 grades and they look very similar to Scotch Brite pads, and indeed probably are cousins to Scotch Brite.   Here is a close-up of the 000:



It's basically a random mesh of fine plastic(?) strands.  I cut a little square piece out of the corner and started to pull it apart.  You can tease it out to a less dense structure, but there is a tendency for it to retain the shape of the piece you started with.  Here is an example, on the right, next to a regular steel wool armature:



This probably has potential for things like brambles, but not so much for creosote.  Oh well.

I'm still waiting for the order of stainless steel wool from a different vendor.  I'm pretty optimistic about that material, but not sure when I'll actually get my hands on it.  The tracking info shows that it has taken 10 days to get from East LA to LA... At that rate, it should be here by 2021. 

[GaryHinshaw]

6 hours / 6 years

Here's and entry from the "things I wish I'd done (six) years ago" category.  The layout is at the stage now where the biggest eyesore (to me) is the upper deck "tunnel district" shelf, shown here on the upper right:



The flimsy card-stock spines and profile boards were literally put in 6 years ago and have been essentially untouched since then.  Seeking a quick thrill, I decided to go ahead and take another roll of kraft paper and mock up the land-forms, which took all of a few hours to do.  Here is the scene now from about the same angle:



(This is not a very flattering angle for this mock-up.)  Here are a few more, taken from my eye level:





And one from a higher vantage point:



This very simple step really changes the feeling in the room, and gives the layout a more finished look.  But more importantly, it really helps give me get a better sense of how this scene will ultimately work: e.g. how the heights and slopes of the features look en masse (still some tweaking to do there), how things look flowing out beyond the nominal fascia plane, and how the scene interacts with (or doesn't) the lower deck scene.  Overall, I'm happy with the scale of the scene, i.e., how small the trains look in it.  Go N scale!

[Philip H]

Start gluing down some grass tufts And some of that mesquite (?) @C855B was working on and call it good

[ednadolski]

Looking great Gary!   Have you decided about 'waterfalling' the scenery, or going with a traditional fascia?

This tunnel stretch (w/backdrop) might be a good candidate to consider as the first finished scenery area.

Ed

[ednadolski]

Another (random) thought - what about tunnel liners?  would that keep things easier to retrieve when there is a derailment inside a tunnel?

Ed

[davefoxx]

Have you seen Gary’s trackwork?  Nothing derails on that.  In fact, rolling stock has been reported to automatically rail itself upon being placed on the tracks, it’s so meticulously done.    Gary’s track is the Chuck Norris of the model railroading world.

DFF

[GaryHinshaw]

Start gluing down some grass tufts And some of that mesquite (?) @C855B was working on and call it good

Oh, you know me better than that Phil.  I need to obsess over each step for ages first. 

Have you seen Gary’s trackwork?  Nothing derails on that. 

LOL, thanks Dave.  Now that you mention it, I can't recall a single derailment in that section of the layout.  (Jinx...)

Another (random) thought - what about tunnel liners?  would that keep things easier to retrieve when there is a derailment inside a tunnel?

Ed

I'm definitely going for tunnel liners, but more for looks than concerns about derailments.  Not sure how I'm going to make them yet, but I'm thinking of strip-wood (to mimic the concrete forms), then painted concrete and heavily weathered:

https://hewgill.com/photo/trips/tehachapi-loop/IMG_5432.JPG.html

Looking great Gary!   Have you decided about 'waterfalling' the scenery, or going with a traditional fascia?

This tunnel stretch (w/backdrop) might be a good candidate to consider as the first finished scenery area.

Ed

Great question about the fascia.  I definitely don't want to slice it at the edge of the current benchwork, but I'm not 100% sure what I do want to do.  Here's a shot that shows the relation between the two decks a bit more clearly:



I would like to maintain a clean break between the two decks, if nothing else because they are such different landscapes, and I really like the openness of the lower deck scene.  (Need to cover the last hole over Bakersfield too.)  One things I've noticed since putting the paper in place is that I like the way the ends of the ridges over the tunnels are angled up ~45 degrees (just by accident, for now):



This looks much more appealing (organic) to me than the horizontal fascia I have under the Tunnel 17 ridge at the moment (highlighted in red below):



Not really sure how to pull that off though.  I don't really want angled hard board.  Maybe just carve the foam with a rough upslope, then paint the exposed underground bits in the fascia colour?  Suggestions welcome!

[Steveruger45]

What about mixing the two approaches?
Waterfall the scenery but to a thinner facia say 1.5 inches tall painted to the base scenery color.
The hard line that the facia affords would tell the eye this is the end of that scene but not be too overwhelming to the general aesthetics.
Just a thought.

[bdennis]

The paper make such much difference. Looking great.

[Cajonpassfan]

Hi Gary, amazing what a difference a bit of butcher paper will make! Very nice landforms...
About the fascia treatment at the tunnels, since you ask... I have a few places on my layout where  I find too much vertical fascia surface to be out of proportion with the scenery, the rugged contours at the edge competing with it. I tried to minimize it by using colors that don’t contrast too much with the scenery, but still not quite happy with it.

I don’t fully understand your access needs at the tunnels, but here is a wild idea: what if portions of your fascia were a simple 4” band with the ridges running past it, in other words rather than cutting off the scenery vertically, cut it horizontally and cantilever key portions of it over the fascia/beam? I think diagonal cuts would look awkward, but maybe not...I’d mock it up and see?
Good luck with that, you have a marvelous opportunity there.
Otto