Andrew Lapp's N Scale New York Central System HCD Layout Build

[andyl913]

I haven't had a chance to work on the layout in a couple weeks since work has been busy, plus I had to send in the controller for my Walthers Turntable to have a malfunctioning part replaced. I should be receiving it in the mail today or tomorrow. There isn't much else to do on the layout until I can lay the track in the roundhouse, and I need to have the controller for the turntable, so that's been the hold up. I should be working on it again next week, and I'll post pics along the way too!

[wm3798]

Really nice work, Andy.  I'm a big fan of those old Con Cor/Heljan round house kits.  Their components have found their way into all sorts of projects on my layouts.


including this 22 stall behemoth...  (Lots of used kits and built ups purchased cheap at train shows and on Ebay... no way I would pay retail to Walthers for 40 year old tooling!)

One thought on yours, by the 1940s/50s, I'm sure the old hinged wooden doors would have long ago been reduced to mulch.  I suggest you modify your roundhouse doors to show that they've been "modernized" with steel roll up doors, such as I did on the project below:





I used some simple Plastruct shapes to make the door tracks, which helped mask the big hing pockets, and the roll up housing is some Evergreen tube stock with ends cut to fit.  That helps mask the European arched doorway.  You could also install a lowered door using some Evergreen corrugated sheet.  Don't forget to put some dents in it... sometimes the hostler isn't paying attention like he should...

You could also modify those giant arched windows, which again, have a bit of a Bavarian accent to my ear.  Post war, the NYC wasn't spending money on maintenance like it should, so maybe some replacement windows and plywood would help set the period of the piece.



I can see I'm going to have to go back and re-color my brick work... Nice job there.
Looking good.  Can't wait to see more progress!

Lee

[wm3798]

It's a little hard to see, but I also cut some fans off the top of an old diesel shell and inserted them into the little round window openings at the top of the wall.  I still have that building, I might go back and build a nice rusty shroud to put over one or both of them...

Lee

[chicken45]

This is amazing stuff. Can't wait to see it all unfold!

[andyl913]

Really nice work, Andy.  I'm a big fan of those old Con Cor/Heljan round house kits.  Their components have found their way into all sorts of projects on my layouts.


including this 22 stall behemoth...  (Lots of used kits and built ups purchased cheap at train shows and on Ebay... no way I would pay retail to Walthers for 40 year old tooling!)

One thought on yours, by the 1940s/50s, I'm sure the old hinged wooden doors would have long ago been reduced to mulch.  I suggest you modify your roundhouse doors to show that they've been "modernized" with steel roll up doors, such as I did on the project below:





I used some simple Plastruct shapes to make the door tracks, which helped mask the big hing pockets, and the roll up housing is some Evergreen tube stock with ends cut to fit.  That helps mask the European arched doorway.  You could also install a lowered door using some Evergreen corrugated sheet.  Don't forget to put some dents in it... sometimes the hostler isn't paying attention like he should...

You could also modify those giant arched windows, which again, have a bit of a Bavarian accent to my ear.  Post war, the NYC wasn't spending money on maintenance like it should, so maybe some replacement windows and plywood would help set the period of the piece.



I can see I'm going to have to go back and re-color my brick work... Nice job there.
Looking good.  Can't wait to see more progress!

Lee

Thanks a lot for sharing that. I love the custom features you've added, and the idea about the doors is really interesting to me. You definitely gave me a lot to think about here... and I like it! Thank you so much!

As I continue working on the layout, if you have other good ideas to share as well, please do so! 

[wm3798]

Well it helps to have a junk box full of spare parts the size of a small dumpster...  But yeah, keep up the good work!
Lee

[eric220]

This is amazing stuff. Can't wait to see it all unfold!

Heretic!

[txronharris]

I don't even have the words to say how awed I am with your layout and abilities. Hand laying the track alone with what you've done would be enough to impress me, but the extent you've gone through is far beyond my capabilities and is like a technical "how to" lesson. I'm actually interested in your progress on the other side of the layout with the scenery as well when you make some more progress. Thanks for the "how to make an awesome layout" thread and keep those pics coming!   

[andyl913]

It's been a while since I have posted any updates for my layout. I built a blog website where I post all of my updates at www.NYC-Railroad.com. I will still post updates here too!

I decided to start building the mountains on the scenic side of my layout. More details are posted in the photo descriptions on the website above, but here are some pictures with the mountain with plaster cloth, then again with paper mache and rock castings made from plaster, then painted with a wash for a base coat:

[andyl913]

Today my goal was to figure out the right “recipe” for painting and weathering the rocks on my model railroad. Here is a before and after pic. The first pic is what the plaster casting looked like before I painted it. The bottom pic is the same exact rock casting painted and weathered.

[Chris333]

You forgot to list the recipe! 

[davefoxx]

This looks really nice.  But, in true TRW fashion, can I coax you into ripping a hole into your mountain to clean, paint, and ballast the track and to install tunnel liners?

DFF

[andyl913]

You forgot to list the recipe! 

Haha I'll make sure to do that. I'll write up a blog post and post step by step photos of what I did. I may lighten it up a bit more too... not sure yet.

[andyl913]

This looks really nice.  But, in true TRW fashion, can I coax you into ripping a hole into your mountain to clean, paint, and ballast the track and to install tunnel liners?

DFF

I've already thought about that. On each side of my layout where I have track in the mountain, I have a door where I can access the inside of the mountain. There is more than enough room for me to work inside the mountain and detail it as much as I want. I will add side walls and also ballast the track using an eye dropper. This opening also lets me add wiring down the layout when I am ready for structures. It is also good to have this access for troubleshooting in the future if needed.

The only thing I forgot to do is put down painters tape on my track work. I actually got it cleaned up now, and when I paint the track, it will look perfectly normal. I hand paint the track with a rusty primer color then weather it. I use that because it also acts as a glue to hold down the code 40 rail. Using Pliobond alone is not the most reliable because the base of the rail is so tiny that you can barely add any glue onto it.

It looks messy and rough right now, but it will be cleaned up, and the fascia will be painted black.

[andyl913]

I was very excited to start painting the mountain today and added the base layer of dirt, grass, and flock.
I will tone down the color of the grass, add some different shades, and add my early fall foliage and trees once everything is the way I like it for this base layer. I will have to touch-up my rock faces again since some of it got washed away today when going down the grass.