Gibbon, Cozad & Western - "The 100th Meridian Line"

[GaryHinshaw]

Nice commentary Mike.  I think you get right to the point about mainline railroading benefiting from big space, but I think you're missing an opportunity to point out that the right figure of merit for planning is complexity, not size.  One way to measure that is with part counts (e.g. # of turnouts to lay, # of individual benchwork pieces that need to be measured - and re-measured - and cut, # of feeders to solder, etc.).  The amount of time and money needed to finish a layout depend heavily on this (though obviously different parts have different costs in both time and money).  So a large mainline layout with relatively few turnouts might not have a much higher part count than a switching puzzle with a staging yard.

Just my two cents.

[C855B]

Thanks, guys.

Excellent point, Gary - complexity vs. "white space". It's not necessary or even desirable for a mainline-oriented layout to fill every square inch with a railroad function. I found myself in this trap in initial planning, and as it evolved hacked-off quite a few "wanna-haves" that would have made life more difficult in execution.

Let me sleep on this issue to craft the words in the a.m.

[CNscale]

Well done. (I think you missed a word "where" in the sentence after "Phased Construction").

While I think the article makes your point very well as is, having followed your progress through this thread I would have thought you would have expanded the "Experimentation" topic a bit more. One area where many would-be layout builders get in trouble is diving into the actual construction and solving problems as they arise. One of the things I admire about your approach is the amount of time and effort you invest in experimentation to devise the best techniques or materials that then enable you to accomplish the actual job efficiently and without compromises. Your paragraph "Test new methods off the layout" doesn't really capture what I think is one of the keys to your success.

[C855B]

Grammar checker was OK with what was there, but you're right, in re-reading, the action verb was so deep into the sentence it was awkward. Fixed.

I think the experimentation thing is an article unto itself, if not a small book. Ignoring the sidebars (apartments, etc.), at 111 pages, this thread attests to that! 100+ more to go.  

[C855B]

Suggested changes have been made, and I'm going to mull on it a couple of hours before making a fool of myself committing the article to MRH.

In other news, another milestone is shaping up - the Kelso depot. As mentioned before, a friend in my N-Trak club has been honing his 3D printing skills using the HO files I reduced to N that were so kindly passed to me by the author of the Model Railroader 3D printing article a couple of years ago. Here's where Craig stands as of last night:



So, nearly done, or at least the big pieces are there.

I chose the pic with Craig's hand as the "dime". I don't know yet if he has test-fit the main structure into the colonnade, but it's coming. After that comes my turn with windows and doors. I believe the HO version used Grandt Line castings for most of the windows and doors, with some 3D-printed custom bits. I will need the building in-hand to verify dimensions before finishing my own CAD for the details, which I intend to send off to Shapeways [unless one of our friendly Photon denizens on TRW will let me buy some machine time from them... hint hint hint. ].

[C855B]

Sent it to MRH at 5:30... and... WOW! 

From: Joe Fugate
Re: Form submission from: Submit an article idea (article query)           7:01 PM
To: You

Good one!

You got it, we'll run it as the August guest editorial.

--Joe Fugate
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist

A tip o' the hat and big "THANKS!" for everyone's help. 

[TLOC]

Congrats Mike. My feeling was you wrote it so well that JoeF would use it as a response. I am glad he is.

Tom

[jereising]

Excellent and well done, Mike!

[Cajonpassfan]

Yes, Mike, let me add my thanks and support.
Otto

[C855B]

Reveling in a little bit of scenery that is making progress:



It's amazing how a trivial little bit of detail - the Blair Line crossing inserts - makes the scene pop even as incomplete as it is. The hills are slated for static grass and a handful of trees. Robyn has promised progress on the trees, to which I respond, "Well...?"   Seriously, she is poring over the dozen or so photos we are using as guides to get a sense of color and shape. "All over the map!" she says.

Suggestions are solicited on the road that goes along with that crossing. On a mini road trip yesterday I was pointing out how the drainage ditches along the highway were carved out while the roadway was otherwise at the same elevation as its immediately surrounding terrain. How do I carve even, parallel ditches? For the road itself, I'm experimenting with a modified plastic putty knife...

[...interrupted here by train horn, again... that's the third CN southbound since starting this post. This one mostly potash. Back to work...]

...with a road pavement profile (9" crown) milled into it. Works OK-ish, biggest issue is the thickness of the plastic makes a crosswise groove each time the stroke is paused. Next attempt will be modifying a metal blade. For the swales I have a hunch another custom tool is in the offing.

[C855B]

... How do I carve even, parallel ditches? ...

I'm now thinking some manner of modified hot wire or hot knife. If I can carve both sides - roughly 2-1/2" apart - in a single stroke guided by a straightedge or curved guide...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If you're talking about roads, I'm a huge fan of using DAS clay and the Rail-N-Scale rollers (or if you just need a road, anything round and smooth should work).

[rodsup9000]

 Back in the early '90's when I built my 24' of ntrak modules, I took a piece of music wire and bent the profile that I wanted for the "ditch". I was using a homemade hot wire machine and don't remember what size the wire was. It was mounted to a 1"X1" that had two groves cut for the rails with some slop for curves. I just used the track as a guide and it work surprisingly well.

[C855B]

OK, Das Modeling Clay it is. It comes in black, so I'd mix it with white for an asphalt base. I have a couple of other goodies to get from Dick Blick, so now's as good a time as any to pull together enough of an order for this week's discount.

I'll drop a PM to Maurice inquiring about a "US profile" road roller. What he's showing seems to be flat, although I need to jump on that grade crossing profiler. I spent a while yesterday trying a hacked drywall taping knife with lightweight spackle, and it sorta worked in the test, but I wouldn't want to do 50' of roadway that way. Criminy.

Rodney, your idea seems to be the direction I'm going.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

When it comes to the roller, keep in mind the tool is flat, but that doesn't mean your road has to be.

I don't use it as a "one pass" solution but keep rolling until I get the profile I like. I did a LOT of paving with it, so have a lot of experience.

http://conrail1285.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018-05-23-22.47.39.jpg