Summer Shunting Shelf Project

[MichaelWinicki]

Hey M.C. consider getting a Noch "Puffer".

That will do an acceptable job of throwing down static grass.

I have a GrassMaster also, but use the Puffer in tight areas.

One thing I did to modify the Puffer, was to wrap a flexible magnet around the opening in order to help create a charge.  Between doing that and then using either a vacuum or the balloon-to-the-hair trick to give the static grass a little more enticement to stand upright, the results were decent.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Thanks for the ideas!

Would like to share my first published article in Model Railroad Hobbyist.
http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2012-01-jan/railcar-barge

2012 is off to a good start! 
Thanks to all who gave feedback during construction!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Been adding little details here & there while I build the cannery for the Mt. Coffin layout:
 






Scott: I tried the super-gunky Aleen's tacky glue.  Worked well to get the grass in, but it dried a little shiny.
Need to go back & trim the grass & then maybe toothbrush some dirt at the base to cut the shine.
Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Next up: wiring a Stonebridge Models e-Z throttle to take a wall wart and using it to replace the current power pack brick.
This will reduce weight and give a mobile, tethered throttle to the layout, and 9 volts should be fine for a layout this small.
 
Thanks for looking!

[nscalemike]

Looking better and better every day!  I am amazed at the speed and quality of your progress.

Mike

[davidgray1974]

Let me know if your ever willing to sell it! 

[Dave Schneider]

Let me know if your ever willing to sell it! 

Or if you want to rent out your kids with their tiny fingers and good eyesight!
Love this thread!

Best wishes, Dave

[Scottl]

It's a beautiful layout.  I just noticed you have not ballasted it- any plans to do that?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

It's a beautiful layout.  I just noticed you have not ballasted it- any plans to do that?

Thanks, Scott, and Mike & Dave & Dave

I'd probably sell the Mt. Coffin & Columbia River layout before this one, as this one can easily travel with me wherever I move (averaging a move a year for the last 14 years!) and can take to shows.
Plus there's the sentimental value involved, with the time spent with the kids as co-creators.
But we'll see: nice to have older layouts pay for the new one 

Scott: Alameda in the 1940s on is truly a man-made landfill of sludge inches above the surrounding water.
I ballasted the SP interchange track with cinders:



as a nod to the intense steam past of the area, but the rest I was trying for the "settled dirt & gravel" look.

In the harbor area I layed down some gravel to separate the carfloat and the storage tracks that serve it from the rest:



But most tracks just have dirt & weeds.
I can lay down a little more gravel / cinders on the rest of the tracks, but I think compositionally more in terms of textures, and so would rather have lighter gravel vs darker dirt vs light concrete road vs SP cinders to visually clue in the viewer.

Any suggestions to help blend / differentiate or improve the scenes is greatly appreciated
Thanks, & Cheers!

[Scottl]

Sorry, I see that now.  I was so focused on the loading track in the foreground...

[MichaelWinicki]

M.C. I think you've done a terrific job choosing the right texture and colors for the ballast/ground.

I would consider a very light sprinkling of "weeds" between the rails.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Thanks for comments and suggestions!

"Sacrificed" a Fine N Scale 36' boxcar to build the yard maintanence shed:
 




Tried a salt-weathering technique for the first time, but the weathering powders over it seem to have obliterated the effect.
 Boxcar still seems too new, so will hit with some more weathering soon.
 Probably should have done some dry-brushing ahead of time, but oh well.
 Will come out okie dokie in the end.
 
Some wider shots of the right 11"x36" section of the layout:
 




Still working on the building "cover" for the powerpack (which, because we use the e-Z throttle, now is a storage area).
 Should have that done pretty soon: trying to get the layout done for show-&-tell at the NMRA Coast Division Meet March 11.
http://www.pcrnmra.org/pcr/calendar/PDF_Files/Coast-Flyer-March2012.pdf
 It's free and you're all invited!
 
Thanks for looking.

[DKS]

I think you've produced an extraordinary layout. It serves so many positive purposes--

placing N scale in the best possible light;
demonstrating how much can be accomplished in a tiny space;
N scale is capable of any sort of operation one could conceivably want;
youngsters can achieve great things in the hobby;
"roundy-round" isn't necessarily the only way to enjoy model railroading;

and many others I can't conjure at the moment. You and your kids are to be congratulated.

[GaryHinshaw]

Well stated David.  This is exemplary work MC.

[Mr. G]

I think you've produced an extraordinary layout. It serves so many positive purposes--

placing N scale in the best possible light;
demonstrating how much can be accomplished in a tiny space;
N scale is capable of any sort of operation one could conceivably want;
youngsters can achieve great things in the hobby;
"roundy-round" isn't necessarily the only way to enjoy model railroading;

and many others I can't conjure at the moment. You and your kids are to be congratulated.

Exactly.

[JSL]

MC, Stunning!