Amoskeag Northern - Simonds Industrial Branch

[Ian MacMillan]

The color is Polyblend "Fawn". I get it at Home Depot. I have it in Sanded and non-sanded. I prefer the Sanded as I like the texture that it gives. Also the un-sanded gets in your throat quite easily.

[Smike]

I'll push the ego notch up a bit and say this is coming along with some of the best NE urban modeling in N I've seen. Also the tips/info you have been throwing out all along is what makes this fourm stand out.

I need to make time to see this in person at one of these shows someday.

[Ian MacMillan]

Thanks everyone, its coming along.

I'm waiting for a pack of scenery and details to arrive from MBK and Scenic Express, so after working on some items on the Amtrak Administrative building I ended up on the computer doing some work on signage.

Having not been able to take any pictures of some road signs I needed from I-93, and it being a crappy day out I was not in the mood to drive over and take the needed shots...Then it dawned on me that Google had already done everything I needed with the Maps car. Bam;



I was able to use street view to see the 1 mile sign I was in need of for Exit 24. A little time in Photoshop with the RoadGeeks fonts got the sign to how I need it. Just need to bang out the informational blue signs below it as well.

[DKS]

...Google had already done everything I needed with the Maps car...

Ain't it great? It's become one of my staple modeling tools. Saves a lot of time and gas.

[peteski]

I was able to use street view to see the 1 mile sign I was in need of for Exit 24. A little time in Photoshop with the RoadGeeks fonts got the sign to how I need it. Just need to bang out the informational blue signs below it as well.

Very nice, but does that sign fit the period you're modeling? 
But you are correct: all the info freely available on the Internet makes research *SO* much easier!

[Ian MacMillan]

Very nice, but does that sign fit the period you're modeling? 
But you are correct: all the info freely available on the Internet makes research *SO* much easier!

Of course it is! NHDOT hasn't done sign upgrades north of Concord yet, so its a 1995 sign still! This one in the Streetview is still sporting non breakaway supports.

[peteski]

Just need to bang out the informational blue signs below it as well.

Hereyago:  http://www.trafficsign.us/reccult.html

[Ian MacMillan]

Hereyago:  http://www.trafficsign.us/reccult.html

Already had em done 

I need to edit the advanced exit sign though. I just noticed that in the proto the US Rt. 3 shield is aligned with the A in Ashland. I have it off to the right a tad.

[Philip H]

http://www.kurumi.com/roads/signmaker/signmaker.html

This one lets you do custom signs with all the fonts, colors, etc.  Getting it to print isn't straight forward, but it's at least a finished image to work from.

[Sokramiketes]

Already had em done 

I need to edit the advanced exit sign though. I just noticed that in the proto the US Rt. 3 shield is aligned with the A in Ashland. I have it off to the right a tad.

"MILE" needs to move left as well.

[peteski]

"MILE" needs to move left as well.

...and the word EXIT is too small.    But when printed out in N scale, who will really notice these small discrepancies? 

[Ian MacMillan]

http://www.kurumi.com/roads/signmaker/signmaker.html

This one lets you do custom signs with all the fonts, colors, etc.  Getting it to print isn't straight forward, but it's at least a finished image to work from.

Yeah I have used that before years ago. There are some issues with it as well though, which is why I do them by hand. Aside from trains I'm a big road geek as well. I hang out quite a bit on aaroads.com.

Yeah I saw the MILE as well Mike.

The EXIT is actually the right size, look at the photo and you can see that EXIT goes from the top of the base of the 2 to the bottom of the beginning of the hook of the 2. It's the height of the exit extension that is too tall.

[peteski]

The EXIT is actually the right size, look at the photo and you can see that EXIT goes from the top of the base of the 2 to the bottom of the beginning of the hook of the 2. It's the height of the exit extension that is too tall.

Ahhh... I know that something didn't look right.

[central.vermont]

Of course it is! NHDOT hasn't done sign upgrades north of Concord yet, so its a 1995 sign still! This one in the Streetview is still sporting non breakaway supports.

Not quite true Grasshopper!
This sign has the breakaway as well as the tapered supports. You will also notice that the
sign is square and the boarder stripe is what is curved. One other thing you notice from the rear view is it is the
type that is not a solid sign but one that is put together horizontally panel by panel. A pain in the A$$ to
disassemble and move to a new location..............trust me on this one!!!! Steel bolts and aluminum frame
parts don't weather well together!!! 
It's to bad that the Google shot isn't clear enough to read the date in the lower left corner of the sign.

Jon

[Ian MacMillan]

Not quite true Grasshopper!
This sign has the breakaway as well as the tapered supports. You will also notice that the
sign is square and the boarder stripe is what is curved. One other thing you notice from the rear view is it is the
type that is not a solid sign but one that is put together horizontally panel by panel. A pain in the A$$ to
disassemble and move to a new location..............trust me on this one!!!! Steel bolts and aluminum frame
parts don't weather well together!!! 
It's to bad that the Google shot isn't clear enough to read the date in the lower left corner of the sign.

Jon

Yes the signs are square and the stripe curved that's pretty much standard per FHWA. There is supposed to be a 1" space between the white stripe and the outer edge. I figured it would be to small to accurately print it and cut it.

I'm starting to think this is a 2000-2004 sign. I'm searching through NHDOT records now to see when the Ashland exit was last worked on.  Jon, as you pointed out the breakaways have been installed. I also noticed there are no black backgrounds on the  NH 25 decals. NHDOT started adding the black background from their state route emblems just after the fall of the Old Man in 2003. 1990's resignage signs would be multiple panels as well though.

I am going on 93 today so I will try and get the date code off of it.  Im guessing it is gonna be 08-03!  No worries though as the signs did not change that much. The 1990's resignage was the biggest upgrade when they started replacing the reflective dot (not cat eye glass) signs.

Edit: Just got off of I93, went though Exit 22 and now in Plymouth. Exit 24 has a date code of 11-93...older than I thought! Looks like they did the breakaways and reused the sign. First Plymouth Exit, 25, has a date code of 06-04 on all of the signs. Exit 26 has a mix of 06-04 and 08-93, with 06-04 on I93 and 06-04 and 08-93 signs on the Rt. 3 underpass.

Found a Mid 80's BGS next to a newer BGS


and one from up in Lancaster.