Colorado Midland Railway Engineering Report

[Dave V]

Off to the mountains to ski this weekend...  Traveling via the old Midland grade through Ute Pass, South park, and Trout Creek Pass.

So I had a tree thought...

I have about 100 Woodland Scenics "pine trees" of the kind seen here:



They're ugly, but they look a whole lot more like western Ponderosa than they do Carolina yellow pine.  Can they be redeemed?  I thought about using dark green static grass like needles.

I'd love to recycle them if they can be improved upon.

[Philip H]

I make most of my oaks out of WS deciduous tree armatures and then add other foliage.  I'd say grab a couple of the trees, dry brush the trunks to see what they look like and static flock away.

[Dave V]

I make most of my oaks out of WS deciduous tree armatures and then add other foliage.  I'd say grab a couple of the trees, dry brush the trunks to see what they look like and static flock away.

Heh, if this works, I could do an article.  You can usually find bags of these trees at the WS booth at bigger train shows for cheap.

[Philip H]

True dat!  and if it works, and you publish, you get more to invest in CM rollingstock and such.

[Scottl]

I've experimented with static grass to build up conifers from armatures and I'm less enthused about the look than I hoped I would be.  It gives a random look of branches radiating out, rather than the more subdued semi-horizontal structure of the branches. It works on deciduous trees in many cases because that is what the branch structure is like. Some of the European "drooping" conifers can be done well that way, but the North American species look kind of strange.  JIMO.

[Dave V]

I've experimented with static grass to build up conifers from armatures and I'm less enthused about the look than I hoped I would be.  It gives a random look of branches radiating out, rather than the more subdued semi-horizontal structure of the branches. It works on deciduous trees in many cases because that is what the branch structure is like. Some of the European "drooping" conifers can be done well that way, but the North American species look kind of strange.  JIMO.

If that's the case then maybe I should just stick to fine ground foam.

[Scottl]

You might be able to make it work, but just my experience to date.  I've reverted to using finely ground up and sieved floral moss as a branch material, as it is nicely irregular, has a good base color and application is fast and easy with spray glue.  For my trees, I've found I can skip ground foam as a finishing touch by just lightly spraying the moss the finish tree color (mixes of greens are nice).  The stuff is cheap at craft stores and goes a long ways.  I've posted pictures elsewhere, so I won't pollute your thread.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've experimented with static grass to build up conifers from armatures and I'm less enthused about the look than I hoped I would be.  It gives a random look of branches radiating out, rather than the more subdued semi-horizontal structure of the branches. It works on deciduous trees in many cases because that is what the branch structure is like.

Oh... *****. Do they make static grass in "branch" colors? I think I might've found my next winter tree experiment. Unless you don't think it looked that good.

[Scottl]

I have brownish grass, not sure the source, maybe Siliflor.  You could paint it after too, so color is not critical with the grass, I think.

With deciduous trees without leaves (winter), you might make it work by gluing only the branch ends so the grass sticks there.  Most trees only have fine branch structure near the outside edges where leaves grow and light is available. 

[tappertrainman]

Oh... *****. Do they make static grass in "branch" colors? I think I might've found my next winter tree experiment. Unless you don't think it looked that good.

Noch makes all kinds of wacky colors (what those Europeans won't think of next!) so check them out if you're looking for odd stuff not normally seen outside of the Sound of Music.

James

[Dave V]

Lettered the other side of #34 tonight.  At some point that little steam pipe that comes out of the steam generator got bent over.  Trying to right it predictably led to it snapping off and disappearing.  It'll be replaced with wire.

Eventually I'd like the 34 to get a box headlight.  In the beginning of the century, often the oil headlights were retrofitted with an electric bulb but retained their box-shaped housing.  A steam generator was added just ahead of the cab.

Sister engine #33 displays just such an arrangement:



...as does #34 herself:

[Dave V]

Sorry about the grainy photo...  I finished lettering and weathering Colorado Midland #34, so mocked up a photo on Jacob's old layout to get a feel for things to come.

[Mark Lewis]

Dave- Very nicely done...looks "just right"!

[OldEastRR]

There isn't much re-work to do on that Bachmann loco, is there? A longer more slender stack, make a box light out of thin styrene and put it over the round one, shorten the cab and build a huge air tank in place of the small one? I mean not rivet=counter perfect but very close.

[tappertrainman]

The grainy photo adds to the effect, looks great!

James