Seaboard Central 2.0

[Philip H]

Dave,
Thats a well executed design.  The curve looks really nice - how did you lay it out?

[davefoxx]

Dave,
Thats a well executed design.  The curve looks really nice - how did you lay it out?

Thanks, guys!  Philip, if you're referring to the curve on the bottom of the cassette, that is the exact radius of a lid on a bucket of joint compound.  Thankfully, I had the sense to temporarily screw the two pieces of Masonite together before cutting the shape out with a jig saw.  That made for two perfectly matching sides of the cassette.  Honestly, I changed my design as I built it, and that's why the curve doesn't stop at the bottom corner where the cassette meets the layout.  It's probably stronger this way, though, so I'll leave it alone.

Interestingly, the only piece of track I had left, besides scraps and a few turnouts, was a piece of ME Code 55 bridge track.  Well, that's not completely out of place for this use , but I'm not sure that I have enough Code 40 rail to install both guardrails.  However, the track functions perfectly well without the guardrails.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Not a ton of choo choo time this week, but I did start laying out the first industry on the Seaboard Central.  I'm going to squeeze a propane dealer in between the SBD passing siding and the hill against the A&R track.  I also roughed in the road access and started the railroad crossings:



DFF

[joem5127]

I loved the Seaboard Project Layout series way back in the day. I've really enjoyed watching this, your doing a great job and I can't wait to see it "finished".

[wm3798]

Oh, we never finish anything here.  We get it to a point, then take it over to RockGP40's house and dump it in the basement.  It's how we roll.

[conrailthomas519]

Too funny Lee!

[davefoxx]

I loved the Seaboard Project Layout series way back in the day. I've really enjoyed watching this, your doing a great job and I can't wait to see it "finished".

Thank you!  I can't wait to see it "finished," either.  Scenery is not my forte, so I tend to procrastinate and make slow progress.  That said, I must pat myself on the back for getting the rough scenery forms in and building the lake.  At present, I'm taking my time trying to get the roads as correct as I can.  I have a lot of work left to figure out the road and sidewalks in Aberdeen.  I have a large piece cut in that is oversize while I ponder how to best fit it all in.

Just tonight, I finished construction of the last highway crossing on the layout.  I basically worked on this project for an hour here and an hour there, and, finally, after a couple of weeks, I installed the last section of timbers and the pavement in that triangular section near the turnout tonight.


At first, I was going to model a gravel parking lot on the far side of the crossing.  Now, I'm thinking that I might just pave it, which will only require replacing the one small piece of blacktop.  None of the pavement in this crossing is glued down yet, so I can easily replace the piece if I decide to do so.

DFF

[Chris333]

Sweet road work 

I wouldn't glue it down till it's painted.

[davefoxx]

I bought a bag of Highball Products limestone ballast yesterday and finally started piddling with it.  I hate ballasting.  This is about how much progress that I can make at one time, because I have very little patience for it.  OCD and ballasting don't mix.   



I also got what is quite possibly the last piece of Atlas Code 55 flextrack in stock at MBK's yesterday.  Thanks to John Hale, who discovered one piece of track that had a 4-5" section of damaged rail at one end in MBK's clearance section.  Since I only needed about 24" of track, it was perfect and only cost $0.99!  Win.  I used it to replace the ME bridge track I originally used on the cassette.  Unfortunately, I was having problems with the guardrails popping loose, so I replaced it.



DFF

[Ian MacMillan]

...OCD and ballasting don't mix.   

No it does not. Which is why I spend like hours on a small section. I just keep telling myself "the prototype looks like crap the prototype looks like crap!"

[davefoxx]

A really crappy smartphone video of my newly ballasted section of track.  Needless to say, I've done no further ballasting this week.    Did I mention that I hate ballasting?  On the bright side, JUICE TRAIN!!!

DFF

[eric220]

On the bright side, JUICE TRAIN!!!

I see what you did there.... 

[wm3798]

Is it the actual ballast on the track or the edge between the ballast and the rest of the scenery that confounds you?  Odds are it's the challenge of making BOTH look right... 
My advice, worth the paper it's written on, is to do the track so it looks the way you want it, then go back and worry about the edges later.  I think your green grass is a little too green and a little too even anyway.  Figure along the ROW you're going to have a variety of debris, scrub bushes, and MOW leftovers.




and don't forget puddles and pallets!

Along a lot of busier line, you'd likely have a service drive, or just a cinder shoulder under the ballast. 



Consider the following, although of course, your prototype may vary:


Adding the fringe of black cinders helps you go back and "tidy up" the edges if that's what you're after.



Lee

[wm3798]

...oh, and thank you very much for the topic for January's N Scale Approach!!

Lee

[davefoxx]

Lee,

Thanks for your input.  I wouldn't say I'm necessarily confounded by ballasting, but it takes forever to get it to the point that I'm satisfied.  I'm pleased with what I have ballasted so far.  I especially like the short siding with darker ballast and grass growing between the tracks.  I'm just embarrassed to admit how long that 30" or so of ballasted track took me.

As far as the cinders, I really like that look and always thought you did a good job of capturing that look on the WM.  But, in the area that I'm modeling, the SBD didn't have cinders as the subroadbed.  It was pretty much ballast into the grass.  Admittedly, there were some "service drives" alongside the line in many places, but I don't have room for that on the layout.  I will say that the "grass" alongside the ballast on my layout is only a base layer.  It definitely needs more weeds, trash, and overall weathering.  Coming soon!

DFF

P.S. You're welcome.  Glad to help.  I can't wait to see what you write for the January N Scale Approach.