The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

Yes, the problem with in-scale couplers lie that is that your track has to be built to the same precise standard that 1:1 track has. Especially when the track transitions from flat to grade up or down.  That has to be a very smooth and gentle transition. That requires lots of distance (just like real trains need). It might be tough on a small H0 layout to have that much real-estate for that.  Unless you have flat right of way with no grades.

Not trying to knock those couplers (and they look awesome) - but it more complicated than one first imagines.

Yes, sir!  I only attempted this, because the track that my passenger train will run on is flat.  Remember, although it's HO scale, my layout is pretty much just an overgrown HCD-like layout.  I anticipate that I will have one trouble spot, but that is purely due to a bridge that has not yet been permanently installed.  The track over the bridge settles ever so slightly, so I may just have to move up the plans to install the bridge.

DFF

[basementcalling]

It may be hard to tell, but I formed a swale to allow drainage away from the foundation and towards the drainage ditch near the track:


DFF

That building vaguely reminds me of one in N scale that had @Ed Kapuscinski drooling over the possibilities for a brick structure on his soon to be old layout. Think it was made by that Chinese company that prints some of its buildings instead of injection molding them, but I forget the name of the company.

The new layout is looking spiffy, to use an 80s term for an 80s era layout.

[jpec]

That building vaguely reminds me of one in N scale that had @Ed Kapuscinski drooling over the possibilities for a brick structure on his soon to be old layout. Think it was made by that Chinese company that prints some of its buildings instead of injection molding them, but I forget the name of the company.

I think that's a Tomix building. Little too high quality to be an Outland Models offering.

[davefoxx]

Terraforming continues on the Seaboard Central 3.0.  This time, the nasty scar that was formed when I tore out the branch to increase the grade from 3% to 4% to gain the necessary clearance to get over the SBD line below (see pictures in previous posts) has been repaired.  This won't appear as much effort, but I have been procrastinating for months because I was concerned about blending the new grade into the existing hillside.  Thankfully, a lot of work with 1" and 2" thick foam scraps, a 3" snap-blade knife, and some lightweight spackling found that it really wasn't as bad as I expected, and the hillside is not at an unreasonable slope.  Please note that the far side of the track on the grade will get a hill above the track, similar to the effect I had on the Seaboard Central 2.0.  This will make the branch appear to be built into the hillside and not merely resting on a ramp:



At the same time, I also worked on the both sides of the cut, smoothing the hillside but leaving the area untouched on the left side of the lower track where an abutment for the trestle will go.  I spent some time cutting 2" foam blocks to build up the hill around where the abutment on the right side of the lower track will be.  Sadly, I was at a LHS yesterday, and it never occurred to me to look for abutments.  Today's work was done on impulse, so I hadn't planned ahead:



Here's the result of reworking the grade several months ago.  I have plenty of clearance, as the TOFC shown below is my tallest rolling stock.  Also, the track will actually be another 3/16" taller, because the bridge track does not have cork roadbed under the approaches:



This last shot gives you a different perspective of the cut that the upper track has to leap.  Gonna need another skewed trestle!  But first, I need those abutments to figure out where to cut into the hillsides and to start designing the bridge:



DFF

[davefoxx]

It's time to get on with the scenery.  However, I must first install abutments under the SBD bridge in front of the lake and finish the terraforming around that area, i.e., the bridge at the bottom of the following photo held up by those sweet foam piers:



While I would prefer not to model the water before the main scenery is in, it is necessary to get the lake bottom at least painted before the bridge is set for the final time.  I can probably get by applying the Gel Gloss medium under the bridge after that, but painting the lake bottom could be a problem.

So, I made a form to pour concrete abutments.  The form allows the pouring of the abutment from the bottom, i.e., the mold is upside down, to, hopefully, allow its reuse.



I'm using anchoring cement, so the abutments will be made of the real thing.  I used this product on the Seaboard Central 2.0 several years ago, and I was pleased.  I pulled out that same bucket of anchoring cement, and, surprisingly, it's still good.  The dry mix had not hardened.  Unfortunately, in my impatience, I tried to remove the abutment from the form too soon last night, and the concrete broke apart.  Attempt #2 was made a few minutes ago.  I'll probably leave it in the form until tomorrow, even if that means I have to sacrifice the form to get the abutment out:



As you can tell by the raggedness of the top right corner of the mold in this last picture, I held my random orbital sander against the mold to vibrate out any air bubbles.

Stay tuned,
DFF

[Chris333]

lol I poured a bridge abutment last night myself   

[davefoxx]

I bet @Chris333's abutment turned out better than mine.  But, here it is.  I'm not sure that I like the overall shape.  I do, however, love the spalling, and I got the overall size correct to fit the bridge.  If I commit to this abutment, I'll fill in around it with lightweight spacking to place it in the scenery, so that broken corner at the left end will be hidden.



Thoughts?

DFF

[DKS]

Looks good to me! It does appear to be a tad on the pink side, but I'm not sure if that's an artifact of the photo or not. Usually older concrete leans toward the orangy-tan side. Some rust blotches/streaks under the pedestals would wrap it up.

[Chris333]

Mine was just OK. Used plaster and a wood form mold. The wood got wet from the plaster and the whole thing was soggy when I de-molded it. Then I stuck the in a furnace vent to cure. In the end it worked, I got 2 out of it, but it wasn't fun.

[davefoxx]

Looks good to me! It does appear to be a tad on the pink side, but I'm not sure if that's an artifact of the photo or not. Usually older concrete leans toward the orangy-tan side. Some rust blotches/streaks under the pedestals would wrap it up.

The color is probably because of my lighting.  I’ve got fluorescent overhead and grabbed an incandescent shop light for fill to try to minimize the shadows under the bridge.  It’s also still curing, so the color is getting lighter and lighter.  That said,  I’ll probably weather it to make it look older; it is real NEW concrete and not exposed to the weather, after all.  I’ll definitely add the rust streak, as I did on the similar bridge on the Seaboard Central 2.0.

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

Mine was just OK. Used plaster and a wood form mold. The wood got wet from the plaster and the whole thing was soggy when I de-molded it. Then I stuck the in a furnace vent to cure. In the end it worked, I got 2 out of it, but it wasn't fun.

Heh, what you usually consider a failure beats my successes.  Can’t wait to see the pics!

DFF

[eric220]

@davefoxx I see what you mean about the shape. I thought about it a bit and realized that the large shelf all the way across is probably not something that the prototype would do. It would tend to collect water and direct it past the metal bridge shoes. It also uses a LOT of extra concrete, and that would drive the cost up.

I did a quick google search for “railroad abutment on a fill” and figured out why yours looks off to me. Most of the abutments I saw were solid faces with a notch in the top for the bridge. Suggestion: use some clay or something temporary to build up the shelf on either side of the bridge up to the full height of the abutment and see if that looks better. If it does, you might be able to build a couple of small molds and do another pour to make the modification.

[davefoxx]

@davefoxx I see what you mean about the shape. I thought about it a bit and realized that the large shelf all the way across is probably not something that the prototype would do. It would tend to collect water and direct it past the metal bridge shoes. It also uses a LOT of extra concrete, and that would drive the cost up.

I did a quick google search for “railroad abutment on a fill” and figured out why yours looks off to me. Most of the abutments I saw were solid faces with a notch in the top for the bridge. Suggestion: use some clay or something temporary to build up the shelf on either side of the bridge up to the full height of the abutment and see if that looks better. If it does, you might be able to build a couple of small molds and do another pour to make the modification.

Your theory about the shelf is my thoughts exactly.  I don't think I can fix it with clay and another mold, though, because the seam/patch will be very obvious.  I'll just have to go back to the drawing board and make an entirely new mold.  I have an idea for a different abutment, and, if I can find a picture, I'll post it.

Thanks,
DFF

[Chris333]

Heh, what you usually consider a failure beats my successes.  Can’t wait to see the pics!

DFF

In all their glory:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=41787.msg601843#msg601843

It was just funny I came up from making forms in the basement. Hop on the computer and here you are doing the same.

[davefoxx]

Well, you're up early, I see.  Yes, it is quite coincidental, since out of nowhere I got hit with the inspiration to build a form and see if my anchoring cement was still any good.

Your piers (and those bents!) look awesome.  As always, the quality of your modeling is top notch.  I love the picture of the trestle on the [Tom] Manns Creek RR in your thread.

DFF