Weekend Update 4/5/15

[Jeff AKA St0rm]

Installed the double crossover in Clinton, IA that are between the west staging and the Mississippi River bridge. The double crossover uses four #10 turnouts and will allow access from all 11 staging tracks to both the #1 and #2 mainlines heading across the Mississippi River and eastward toward Chicago.



Here's an overall view of the west staging throat and the turn to head across the Mississippi River and eastward.  I'm not a fan of peninsulas and turn back curves, but there will be a scene divider so only half of the curve will be a part of the modelled layout.  Also, the unmodelled portion of the curve is 24" radius while the modelled portion is 36".

You might not like turnback loops but they are part of model railroading and if you look in Sparks NV you will see a rail line the goes north out of the city that has at least 3 turnback loops that go around housing developments. I know you don't model this part of the US but it does happen in real life.

Have a look.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Sparks,+NV,+USA/@39.5510656,-119.8099813,2858m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x80993ed409896c93:0xf189599a50856df9?hl=en

Jeff

[crrcoal]

I'll continue my habit of the past year (all three times I've posted to the Weekend Update anyhow) of posting stuff not train-related, as I continue to use my limited modeling time on 1/35 stuff.  I wrapped up this 1/35 D9 this past week.     For giggles I should whip out one of those 1/160th D7s that David made and do some similar treatment to it.  See how the techniques scale down to something  much, much, much smaller.  That entire D7 is less than the width of the side of the blade of this D9.

Saw one of these monsters at a checkpoint on Camp Victory in 2004. Very cool dozer..

[randgust]

Well, since this project originated here, you can be the very first to see it:





That's the first one out of the mold, I certainly needed more than one, and I'm NEVER making another one with all those ribs again.

I'll have this on the randgust web page as soon as I can get instructions written.

[up1950s]

Nice Randy , those rIbs look a lot like bigger N scale Plastruct white ladders . Does the company make HO ones , and would they work for you ?

[randgust]

Nope, I'm done, made it as a master.   I can make as many as I want now, I've already made half a dozen and they will be for sale on my web page in a bit here.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do about decals.   I can do mine with individual yellow alphabets for the XTRZ and number but I should come up with something else for a kit.  I don't have an ALPS, and I haven't seen anything in the Microscale collection that would work.

For those of you that haven't been following the piggyback thread:   http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/227094 and http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/227095 

I've been looking at those funky horizontal-rib dark trailers in Super C's for years and wondered what in the heck they were, you guys helped.

 

[mu26aeh]

Well, since this project originated here, you can be the very first to see it:





That's the first one out of the mold, I certainly needed more than one, and I'm NEVER making another one with all those ribs again.

I'll have this on the randgust web page as soon as I can get instructions written.

Looks like something one could use as a trash hauling trailer for those who model waste transfer stations.

[mu26aeh]

Nothing railroad related this weekend, other than trying to tie up some acquisitions on some more cars (like I need them) and some more switches.

I did manage to get two stools for seating around my layout while my wife and I were out furniture shopping.  Started with getting new floors and now the paint on the walls didn't work with new floor and neither does the furniture.  Funny how it starts with one thing and it ends up being everything.

[eja]

Funny how it starts with one thing and it ends up being everything.

Oh yea .. been there done that ... more than once.


We are men .. we can do this !!!!

[Kevin C]

Chris. Your little town is looking great.

I have a question please, how do you model your pavements / sidewalks in front of the shops. I am planning a small town on my layout and would like to do the same. I have a sheet of evergreen paving but it does not have the nice corners as you have done.

Please Help !!!.

Thanks
Kevin

[Ike the BN Freak]

Didn't do any modeling this week, however welcomed my daughter into the world March 31 @ 1251pm.

So now with two rugrats, time is getting more and more limited.

[Chris333]

I have a question please, how do you model your pavements / sidewalks in front of the shops. I am planning a small town on my layout and would like to do the same. I have a sheet of evergreen paving but it does not have the nice corners as you have done.

Please Help !!!.

Thanks
Kevin

Those sidewalks are .040" evergreen #4517 sheets with 3/8" sidewalks molded in. The curbs are .040x.040" strips. The roads are .040" black styrene sheets (from ebay) You can see more of "how I did it" here:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=32219.510

Some other areas are .040 styrene with groves made by dragging a blade upside down along a straight edge.

[nkalanaga]

Jeff:  Was the railroad at Sparks built that way specifically to go around the development, or was it an attempt to gain elevation, and the developers filled in the empty spaces?

[rochsub]

You might not like turnback loops but they are part of model railroading and if you look in Sparks NV you will see a rail line the goes north out of the city that has at least 3 turnback loops that go around housing developments. I know you don't model this part of the US but it does happen in real life.

Have a look.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Sparks,+NV,+USA/@39.5510656,-119.8099813,2858m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x80993ed409896c93:0xf189599a50856df9?hl=en

Jeff

Wow, that's pretty crazy.  At first I thought it was just an industrial spur, but it does head out of town.  Seeing how I am modelling class 1 mainline railroading, it does not really apply.

Turn back curves are a part of model railroading, but they do not always have to be.  An around the room layout can be constructed without turn back curves. I am only allowing for this one on my layout because it won't be completely a part of the modelled part of the layout.  A tendency that many modelers have is to cram as much railroad as possible into the allotted space with peninsulas, turn back curves and double decks.  Personally I rather have less railroad and a more open, less crowded layout. But that's just my on personal preference. There are many really cool, well done layouts that are double deck and have peninsulas.

Daryl

[MVW]

Didn't do any modeling this week, however welcomed my daughter into the world March 31 @ 1251pm.

So now with two rugrats, time is getting more and more limited.

Congratulations! Enjoy every minute of it. Next thing you know, she'll be 18.

Jim

[Scottl]

Starting to make trees now that the weather outside is suitable for spraying.  This scene will take a lot of trees, the first batch of 30 was swallowed up pretty easily.