The Very Last White River and Northern Railroad

[DKS]

I'll be watching the construction progress here with baited breath.

OK, at the risk of thread drift, I can't figure out why you'd use the wrong spelling and then emphasize it. (It's "bated breath", bate being a form of abate, or to hold.)

Wondering if there is anything you might need to finish the layout? Perhaps one of us has it laying around.

So far, so good. Thanks!

[peteski]

OK, at the risk of thread drift, I can't figure out why you'd use the wrong spelling and then emphasize it. (It's "bated breath", bate being a form of abate, or to hold.)

So far, so good. Thanks!

Well, I thought I was being funny. Backfired. 
My brain works in weird ways. I'm really good at being weird.  Back to the regularly scheduled layout construction topic.

[DKS]

-"Look at me, I'm being weird!!!"

[peteski]

-"Look at me, I'm being weird!!!"

Good one, but my signature (thanks rivet miscounter!) is at its length limit. I can't add another line to it. It would have to replace one of the existing lines. Decisions, decisions . . . 

[DKS]

Good one, but my signature (thanks rivet miscounter!) is at its length limit. I can't add another line to it. It would have to replace one of the existing lines. Decisions, decisions . . . 

Still holding a grudge? Time to move on, pal...

[DKS]

So, today I cut the roadbed Gatorfoam layer cookie-cutter style with an X-Acto knife. Note that I left the section of roadbed where the trestle goes intact (dead center, below); this will ensure that the slope is perfectly matched at both ends. Once all of the roadbed is secured to the base, I'll remove that section.



After cutting Gatorfoam "risers," I glued the roadbed to the base. Below, I've posed a number of structures on the layout to get a sense of how they fit in their 3D setting.



Then I built the "special" control linkage for the last turnout at the back of the layout.

[Chris333]

Love the special linkage 

[Kentuckian]

Really like the concept and track plan. It reminds me of of another masterwork, John Allen’s original Gorre & Dapthetid. Also reminds me of Cass, WV.

[central.vermont]

Good one, but my signature (thanks rivet miscounter!) is at its length limit. I can't add another line to it. It would have to replace one of the existing lines. Decisions, decisions . . . 

Well you could pull

-"Look at me, I'm snarky!!!!"

We know that!!! 

[squirrelhunter]

You know DKS you really are a master of the small layout. That's just such cleanly executed benchwork...I've always been intrigued by the potential of gatorfoam for benchwork purposes after seeing a fairly large layout made out of it in Houston.

[DKS]

Thanks, all, although I'd be reluctant to refer to it as a "masterwork." It's just a layout, as @VonRyan would put it, "in the style of DKS."

Today I did some lightning-quick scratchbuilding. I had no kit that captured the simple lines of a classic little New England freight house, such as this one in East Andover:



I wanted something similar but smaller. I started with pieces of milled wood siding and some Grandt Line windows and doors. I also went on a scavenger hunt for laser-cut materials with which to make platforms.



Once all of the window and door openings were cut out, the worst was over.



The little building came together quickly and was ready for paint.



The roof was covered with 3M Washi tape and sprayed with dark grey primer. The finishing touch was a simple handrail.





Roughly six hours start to finish.

[nickelplate759]

What do you use for paint in this kind of project?  You mention spraying primer for the roof color - are the sides also sprayed?  And what kind of paint gives you such nice results on something that could easily warp with the wrong paint?

[DKS]

I brush Floquil on the walls. Even when it's only applied to one side, the models have never warped.

[DKS]

With the addition of a shingle roof (Slater's Plastikard brick) and a scratchbuilt platform made from individual boards, the station was completed last night.

[DKS]

Structure placement study.







As an aside, just past the windows behind the layout, no less than a half-dozen red fox pups are frolicking...

Also... in the interest of full disclosure, in case anyone was wondering, the Code 40 turnouts were kindly handmade for me by our very own @Chris333