Seaboard Central 2.0

[davefoxx]

Junior DFF

This made me laugh!  Thanks!  The road looks good, Chuck.  You will be really surprised how a little weathering, especially in the travel lanes will bring this together.

DFF

[basementcalling]

Ballast? I missed it checking out the greenish building to the left of that most excellent turnout.

I can only hope my efforts come out half as prototypical, Dave.

[davefoxx]

Ballast? I missed it checking out the greenish building to the left of that most excellent turnout.

I can only hope my efforts come out half as prototypical, Dave.

"Pay no attention to the green foam stand-in building at left."   



DFF

[chuck geiger]

This made me laugh!  Thanks!  The road looks good, Chuck.  You will be really surprised how a little weathering, especially in the travel lanes will bring this together.

DFF

Curves are a bitch, still need to close a couple of small gaps with putty and this road has no white lines nor crossing warnings on the asphalt.

[davefoxx]

Still piddling with ballast in Aberdeen, but I'm in the homestretch.  This afternoon, I ballasted the yard ladder, which consisted of five of the turnouts seen here:



I only have the two turnouts at the bottom of the picture, leading to the A&R enginehouse and the Southern Ry. interchange, as well as about four feet of the A&R line on the grade to Raeford left to ballast, and then the entire original HCD portion of the layout will be ballasted.  That's a significant feat for me.

DFF

[Chris333]

Now if I could just get as much done 

Looks great, when the scenery comes the real magic happens.

[seusscaboose]

needs more kudzu 

[Philip H]

needs more kudzu 

And junker cars under leaning metal sheds . . . .

[davefoxx]

needs more kudzu 

Are you kidding?!  I'm doing my best to keep the kudzu contained to the trestle scene, but it's a full-time job to keep it from going out of control and taking over the basement. 

DFF

[davefoxx]

And junker cars under leaning metal sheds . . . .

That's the key purpose of kudzu: to hide the junk.   So, I don't need to actually model the leaning shed; it's under the kudzu. 

DFF

[conrailthomas519]

Dave, I do have some ?'s for you. What type of businesses are there in Aberdeen? notably the 3 DPM unpainted structures against the track. This looks to be a highly visible viewing area from the trackside edge of the layout. because of this, I was thinking you might be missing the services that take place behind these buildings.. example local deliveries, and the trash services. With this in mind, shouldn't there be at least an alley way before the tracks?
Perhaps an improvise here is needed. Idea, a dirt or paved out section on this portion of track.
Another idea might be to make that track into a spur track ending just a little past the pikestuff building.
 Might be too late to think about that now that this area is ballasted.

[davefoxx]

Thomas,

Well, not only is space on the layout at a premium, but the following pictures are my inspiration (actual shots from Aberdeen, North Carolina).

It's reeeeeeal tight behind these buildings and the tracks.  Honestly, this is a leg of the former Southern Ry. wye downtown.  Look close at the right side of the picture and you can see the former SAL station near the caboose and ACW locomotive: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1307041,-79.4281362,3a,75y,351.94h,84.63t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s8bSD0mbfeLGFkAaVVHxziQ!2e0

Here is the actual A&R track modeled.  I had to turn the buildings ninety degrees, so it probably seems like the model should have access between the tracks and the buildings.  But, the railroad doesn't serve any of these buildings (if it ever did), and the track is really only used for storage.  I'm cheating on the layout and am using it for a needed passing siding to allow runarounds: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1314641,-79.4265518,3a,75y,201.17h,79.61t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sY-wgycp7ypq2kOLc3ydqrA!2e0

Thanks,
DFF

[glakedylan]

Dave...with the look at the "from street view" google maps
images...one can see how you really nailed getting it right!
what a spot on modeling of that town and railroad...and
thanks for sharing...keep the photos coming!
sincerely

[davefoxx]

Gary,

Obviously, I don't have the space to model Aberdeen accurately on a HCD, so I have just been trying to capture the flavor of the town.  It's good to know that someone feels that I have been successful at that.  One day, I'll build a model of the SAL station and the A&R office.  Those should really nail down that this is Aberdeen.

Thanks,
DFF

[OldEastRR]

Buildings can be very close to RR tracks but there usually aren't any doors opening right out onto the tracks, unless they are loading doors.  Even windows (at least first floor) facing directly onto a track only an arm's length away are rare. So even though having buildings close upon the track is prototypical, your scene would do better with the rear doors (and even some of first floor rear windows) bricked in. For the end building you could do a little surgery to swap the first floor of the rear wall with part of the first floor of a side wall and move the "rear" doorway access to the sidestreet.
You can see how the corner turret building wall facing the track looks plausible -- there's no entry for the stink and noise of a passing train to shoot directly into the first floor.