Jersey City Industrial Railroad Micro-Layout

[DKS]

Frank, thank you for that report. The detailing on those sheets also looks a bit coarse--for example, the joints between sidewalk blocks look rather large. Might be good for a different effect than what I'm after.

[DKS]

I managed to muster enough energy to tinker with some components for the el.



Much more detailed information here: http://www.jerseycityindustrial.net/track_c.htm

[Scottl]

LOL, you will use sooo many of those Central Valley parts 

[DKS]

LOL, you will use sooo many of those Central Valley parts 

I already have all that I need on hand. It's a lot, but not outrageously so; three packs of HO lattice girders, three packs of N scale lattice details, and five packs of plate girders.

BTW, I fixed the build page link, so now you can read all about it.

[DKS]

Almost all of the buildings now have permanently-installed roofs. The only structures with any significant work left are the Rearden main building addition re-do (nearly dead center), and the General Crucible Company building flat (far right).



Also, with the completion of the water tower, the skyline is pretty well established; all that remains are some smaller rooftop water tanks, more chimneys and additional vents.

[Ian MacMillan]

Looking really good. I cant wait to see how the streets turn out... what I am really waiting for.

[Dave V]

Unbelievable hawtness...

[Rich_S]

The layout looks great. It reminds me of the many concrete canyons I've visited. On a side note, I'd hate to be the guy that has to put all of those windows in those buildings 

[Chris333]

What is the plan for the rear of Rearden?

[peteski]

Looking really good. I cant wait to see how the streets turn out... what I am really waiting for.

You did see the preview, right?

[pwnj]

Man, I sure hope this layout goes on tour.  I'm totally sleeping outside the Ticketmaster overnight to get front row seats! 

[DKS]

What is the plan for the rear of Rearden?

I was increasingly unhappy with that chunk of American Hardware grafted onto the back of Middlesex Manufacturing--the architectural contrast was too great (plus, I haven't found an example of this sort of combination in real life). I wanted something more subtle, so that it all looked more cohesive.



The new addition makes use of the enormous pile of leftovers from six Middlesex kits: I slice the parts horizontally into single-story strips, then reassemble them with plain strip accent rows. This results in an addition that has similar architecture that's just different enough to provide interest. The difference is mostly a result of making the stories taller than they were originally, so four stories end up almost as tall as five on the original building. It looks like this--



The only downside is that it's a serious PITA to reassemble the floors so that all of the trim strips line up at the corners. It's harder than it looks like it should be, and really tedious: each floor has to get sanded a little at a time until it matches--even the mini table saw isn't accurate enough. So it'll be a while before we get to see the rest of the addition completed, but I think the extra work will be worth it, as I'm much happier with the results.

[wm3798]

On both I'm not sure I like the disparity between the floor levels.  I know it's not unusual to have some transition in floor levels, but the middle floor of the addition is particularly glaring, landing smack dab between two floors of the main building.  I suppose there could be no connection between those floors on the interior, but if there are, god help the forklift operator moving from one side to the other!

I  guess the smaller bit is the older part of the building now used as offices or something...

Being an amateur architect, and having a fondness for old loft buildings, I worry about these things...

Lee

[Dave V]

I was increasingly unhappy with that chunk of American Hardware grafted onto the back of Middlesex Manufacturing--the architectural contrast was too great (plus, I haven't found an example of this sort of combination in real life). I wanted something more subtle, so that it all looked more cohesive.

'Cause that would look stupid, LOL...   



I agree; I'm not sold on mine either.

[wm3798]

Step 1. Make a mini-diorama: brick wall, sidewalk, fire hydrant, attached to a street.



Step 2. Make snow along the base of the wall. Consists of shaped and manipulated dense foam from the core of Gatorfoam board. Bond in place with white glue, blend into sidewalk with Gloss Heavy Gel.



Step 3. Add snow piles to edge of sidewalk. After shaping, gluing in place, more shaping, and blending with Gloss Gel, it's "grungified" with India ink wash, applied sparingly and drybrushed onto the sides of the piles.







Processed to look like a vintage photo--



I had thought of using floral foam, but the samples I saw were far too coarse. I chose the Gatorfoam core because it's much denser, and also easier to manipulate. I found that the best looking piles were made by simply tearing into a scrap with my fingernails, then fine-tuning the shape by picking at it with a tweezers. These are only preliminary results; lots of work still to be done to refine the process.

I wonder if you brushed a bit of solvent cement on the piles if that would give you the third day melt look a little faster.  Gorgeous work, just the same.
Lee