Weekend Update 1/4/15

[davefoxx]

Fair enough...  No offense was intended.  I just know how much you hate ballasting, and I've just found it's easier and neater before the rest of the scenery, that's all.

And no offense taken.  I always appreciate your constructive criticism, Dave.  Maybe I hate ballasting so much that I developed my method of ballasting after the scenery out of sheer procrastination and for no other reason.   

DFF

[Dave V]

On the subject of ballast, I have no idea what I'm going to do for the Colorado Midland.  Again, modeling a railroad that was scrapped before the invention of color film has its challenges!

The closest thing I can find is that "no ballast was purchased as natural ballast from the country traversed was considered adequate."

That would suggest--and photos would seem to confirm--dirt.  A railroad that bought the best engines available, built iron bridges (one of which still stands today), and eventually built two tunnels under the Continental Divide seemed to be satisfied with rough-hewn ties, no tie plates, and dirt for ballast.

I'm guessing by my era there'd be a decent sampling of cinder on the ROW too.

[davefoxx]

The closest thing I can find is that "no ballast was purchased as natural ballast from the country traversed was considered adequate.

This is what I would have suggested.  Figuring that there might have been quarries online or the CM used the granite blasted out when building the right of way, local granite seems logical.  But, it won't be a razor-sharp ballast edge with a deep cinder shoulder.   

DFF

[Dave V]

At least on this end of the Midland, it would have used the pink decomposed granite typical of the Pikes Peak massif.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The benefit of modeling something gone before color photographs? Who's gonna call you out on it?

Although, there's another thought. Is any of the former ROW undisturbed? Or even close? You could go do your own archaeological dig.



Of course, that could just be the fact that we watched the Indiana Jones trilogy over the past few days.

[Dave V]

The part through Ute Pass is relatively preserved, but that's because it lasted until 1949 as part of the Midland Terminal Railroad.  The MT probably upgraded the track and ROW over the years.

The Hagerman Pass section is very well preserved.  Color photos suggest crushed rock of the same color as the surrounding rock.  However, it is also a four-wheeling road and it's possible it's been resurfaced.

Most of the rest of the ROW is pretty overgrown and or washed away.  Much of the line was converted to highway when the ROW was sold to the state of Colorado.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The part through Ute Pass is relatively preserved, but that's because it lasted until 1949 as part of the Midland Terminal Railroad.  The MT probably upgraded the track and ROW over the years.

The Hagerman Pass section is very well preserved.  Color photos suggest crushed rock of the same color as the surrounding rock.  However, it is also a four-wheeling road and it's possible it's been resurfaced.

Most of the rest of the ROW is pretty overgrown and or washed away.  Much of the line was converted to highway when the ROW was sold to the state of Colorado.

Sounds like a challenge then, but not an impossible one.

Although, it might be a good bit even more difficult this time of year.

[jpwisc]

I finished up an EMDX SD60 for a friend, not too shabby:

[Roger Holmes]

I can't take credit for most of the modeling.  I was building the CMR Fyfe Building which is a laser cut acrylic kit that is built up in modules.  The very top module was supposed to have the mechanical room on it with large vertical fans behind louvers.

With the top two modules sitting on the bench I saw "Church."  I cobbled up the bell tower from Evergreen strip, the fan louvers, the carrier sheets from kit which held detail parts and topped the pillars with N scale metal fire hydrants with the plumbing bits removed.  I am working on a roof now and just got back from having FedEx/Kinko print some stained glass on clear sheet.   The recesses were supposed to have shields but I replaced them with crosses cut from the muntins in some leftover Walthers windows.  I need to create steps and a foundation then off to the paint booth.

Here  is the Fyfe Building from CMR's website--a highly recommended kit.  I built the rest of the building and the add-on floors and created a new top cornice in place of the two upper modules.  Just need to add windows and light weathering and the main office tower will be done.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I finished up an EMDX SD60 for a friend, not too shabby:

Not at all. That's really nice looking!

Although, those grills... I think you might want to try the trick I use, taking a thin black wash and "painting" it into the recesses. Then, clean it off of the grills and surrounds if any has gotten on them. I think I see the effect you were going for, but the wash technique will really make them "pop".

[late breaking modification:] I also realized I have a good example of the technique here: http://conrail1285.com/n-scale-conrail-gp10-5863/

[bbussey]

Care to share that secret? I just bought a dozen for a stone train.

It takes a moderate amount of time to do, but it's tedious.  It also requires #1015 knuckles and modified #2004 coupler boxes, #00-90 flat head screws, one #00-90 round head screw for clearance on cutting the cavity in the Bachmann frame for the MTL coupler pivot pin, .030" diameter styrene rod to plug the existing screw holes.  It's too in-the-trenches for a magazine article, so I'll see if I can document the procedure in a thread here in the next few days.

[sirenwerks]

It takes a moderate amount of time to do, but it's tedious.  It also requires #1015 knuckles and modified #2004 coupler boxes, #00-90 flat head screws, one #00-90 round head screw for clearance on cutting the cavity in the Bachmann frame for the MTL coupler pivot pin, .030" diameter styrene rod to plug the existing screw holes.  It's too in-the-trenches for a magazine article, so I'll see if I can document the procedure in a thread here in the next few days.

It would be much appreciated.

[nkalanaga]

I suspect that the CM, being cheap, used whatever local rock it could find.  Run spoil from cuts, waste from mines, talus slope material, etc through screens, crush and rescreen the too-large stuff, and don't buy anything.

I have read that the Milwaukee Road liked creek/river gravel for ballast.  Most roads wanted sharp rocks, that would lock the ties in place, but the MILW wanted smooth stones so they wouldn't wear the ties out.  That could explain their less-than-ideal track in later years...

I also did ballast after the scenery, to an extent.  I had to put the basic scenery in first, as there were places where there was nothing to support the ballast shoulder until I did.  Also, as Mike and DFF said, the railroad came after the scenery, so the ballast should be on top.  Finally, I spent so long shimming and tweaking the track that, if I hadn't done the basic scenery first, nothing would have gotten done!

That said, Dave V. also has a point.  The final scenery most places is vegetation, litter, etc, and most of that came after the railroad.  So I put those things in after the ballast, so it looked like the weeds and such were growing on or through any stray rocks.  It also made cleanup much simpler if I spilled any ballast, I didn't have to worry about soaking the finished scenery while gluing the ballast, and trees, poles, etc didn't get in my way.  The basic scenery is sand, glued with real Elmer's white glue, so respraying didn't hurt it.

[Jeff AKA St0rm]

Work on the layout Continues.

Here we have the start of the yard that takes up 20'.



Here is most of the Yard side of the layout. Opposite is the City.



This is the other side of the Peninsula with the station and industries on the right and where the intermodal yard will be on the right.



Here is the start of my wiring setup. Can't find my wire crimper so for now the wires are just set in without connectors.

[Iain]

For a long time, NS used oyster shells on the Eastern Division.  I figure I'll model that with a mix of light gray/white and black ballast.

I ballast first, as weeds in the ballast was very common on the NS.