The Carolina & Southern Railway

[packers#1]

Howdy ladies and gents, first post here. Guiliford Guy (Alex) recommended I came here to get constructive criticism and take my layout to the next step. I'm currently building a small layout to take around to shows for the TAMR (Teen Association of Model Railroaders). It's four feet long and two feet 6 inches wide, and the benchwork is so over-engineered I could probably drive my civic up onto it and change the oil or bleed the brakes (if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing hehe). The layout base is Lowes foam (don't buy it; stick with DOW and Owens-Corning), although I'm building the river base with joint compound and sculptamold. I've gotten to the point of final sanding and then painting. I'll be using mod podge for the water, as it's available locally at Hobby Lobby (I already have a small jar). The river is a bit freelanced, although it's based off of the Great Pee Dee River (which we pass over to get to my dad's family in Latta, SC).
Anyways, here's a couple pics. They're EXTREMELY dark so the relief is more visible
This is the most recent overall pic I have. I've since added some banks with sculptamold, and widened the center island.

And just for kicks, here's ex-ATSF U23B #6330 crossing the river with a then-new WM 2-bay trailing

So a couple of quick questions:
Is Mod Podge going to give me a good finish?
Does the riverbed look ok? I'm fine with changing up whatever's needed, and yes, I have sanded the joint compound smoother.
Thanks for any/all feedback!

[Dave V]

Welcome to the Dark Side, aka The Railwire!

I remember you from the Model Railroader boards, and if I recall correctly you made some pretty big strides in improving your modeling skills in a short time.  If you're interested in honest, constructive criticism that will challenge you to be a better model railroader, I can think of no better place than here.  I quickly found a home here after years on Model Railroader's forums, and found the Railwire crew has the optimal balance between supportiveness and honest feedback.  And you will find that membership here surrounds you with some of the finest modeling in every scale, but especially N and Z, going on today.  I'm lucky they let me hang around!  Their suggestions have made be a better modeler than I would ever have become had I not joined.

Might I suggest popping over to the Introductions board to introduce yourself?  As a teen you will be one of a small, but very talented, subgroup here on the Railwire.

And once again, welcome to the model railroad forum world's best kept secret!

EDIT:  Oh, by the way, with respect to the river bed, I don't think the contours are in issue, but flat is critical.  If you can squeeze in a small level gauge, check to make sure you don't have a gradient there.  Otherwise, Lee Weldon can help you with the Mod Podge.  His article in this month's N Scale Magazine explains the process quite well.

And the fact that you've chosen an Eastern prototype invites you into the Inner Sanctum...  LOL. ;D

[packers#1]

Dave, yeah man, I've always been a big fan of your Pennsy/Conrail layout
I didn't see the intro board when I scanned through the other night, but I'll be sure to go over there and drop a line
The flat has been my biggest concern. I've been working on the dang thing for probably a week, week and a half, worrying about that. I'll check with my dad and see if he has a level

[wm3798]

Introductions are located in the N Scale board...

Good to have you on board.  Do you have a track plan you can share?  We likes them tiny layouts!!

Lee

[packers#1]

Thanks Lee, I managed to find it 
Sorry, no trackplan, but fortunately, it's pretty easy to describe. All I have is a Kato Unitrak loop, with two straight sections on one side and two truss bridges over the river. The curves are 11" radius. In the past I've used atlas Flex and Micro-engineering flex, as well as turnouts from both brands. All I can say is Ithe price of kato unitrak is something I can overlook for a small layout.....  ;D I'd like to use Kato track for the mainline on my future alyouts, while industrial areas will have ME turnouts and Atlas Flex.

[packers#1]

ok, no pics, but an update on where all my hobby money has gone.
I stopped by Blue Ridge Hobbies the other day and got the styrene to build a decent stand-in highway bridge, as well as a bunch of woodland scenics ground foam etc. The guy then pointed out some k-rail barriers, and well, I blew the august budget. I got those, a rattle can of reefer white (there weren't any bottles), and between the two purchase waves, four cars. one boxcar looked modern, but turns out it has a roofwalk. anyone know how long a railcar with a removed roofwalk could run for?

[packers#1]

Well, today I went white water rafting on teh french broad river in north carolina, and it turns out there's a railroad track (Norfolk southern) for basically the entire route. so this got me thinking about my current layout: what if I move the layout setting to the lower Appalachians and model one of the CSRY's connections to the interior area? This will take some thinkin, as the joint compound work is already set up for the lowland crossing, and I planned the track with that in mind. I may build a second, modular layout for the CSRY in applachia. which plan do y'all like better/think is more feasible?

[packers#1]

Ok, go light on me, cause these paint jobs suckkkkkkkkkkkkk, but CSRY power is FINALLY in blue and white! The blue is polly scale B&M blue; the white is Reefer white. The blue was sprayed with an airbrush; the white is a ratle can. Why a ratle can you may ask? The hobby shop I stopped at (Blue Ridge Hobbies) was out of the bottled reefer white in both polly scale and floquil, but they had reefer white rattle cans. Soooooo anyways, after spraying the white, I did touch-up with a brush, and then remembered my microbrushes. I sprayed some of the reefer white into a hairspray top and jsut dipped the microbrush in there.
Don't mock. The pics were snapped quickly, and I didn't overspray B&M blue since it was enamel versus acrylic, but overall, I'm pleased. Three foot rule in effect  ;D
The B23-7 pic is blurrryyyyyyyyyy, so here's the C420. There will be a Carolina & Southern logo on the long hood in black and the number in white under the windows.


Here's the CSRY logo (the white lettering will be in black on the long hood and the green should be B&M blue, but still, you get the idea)


And just for laughs, kicks, and giggles, here's a shot from the only 'completed' scene from my last layout


As for current progress on my layout, I think the riverbed is finally to where I can paint it! then I'll be scratchbuilding the highway bridges and adding all the scenery, then it's mod podge time!