Housatonic RR Progress Update.

[Pomperaugrr]

I have been puttering around with the layout a few evenings here or there. It really does help to make progress, even if it is just a half hour or so. I have been mocking up structures for kitbashing and scratchbuilding. Since this is a prototype based layout, I want the structures to capture the the feel and look of the prototype structures. I have also been doing some scenery work as well. Here is a teaser shot of some of the recent progress. Please pardon the mess on the layout, as I took this while the glue was still drying.

The teaser shot shows only the base layer of scenery. I will still add more clump foliage, static grass, dead leaves, undergrowth and trees. I need to weather the track, install the servos and ballast it before proceeding too far, as I like the layers to overlap for realistic texture. The gaping hole in the wall will be screened by trees and hills, similar to where the road goes through the wall on the left side of the steel trestle. I just need to realign the trackage through the opening first.
            
The steel trestle is pure fantasy, as there is nothing remotely like it on the actual Housatonic, but I like bridges, so it is there.  There are also no MP15's in the HRRC's roster, but I like them and they are there too.  



Next are closer shots of the new hillside and the Pharmco scratchbuild. It is mostly scratchbuilt, but I did bash in one wall of a Kato engine house for the office facade. The roof still needs to be trimmed down a bit and glued down, some more detail added and paint, but I'm happy with the overall size and appearance.




Next up is a riverbank and culvert Toxie installed when he was visiting last week. I really like the representation of overgrown, cinder backfill around the culvert walls.  That is the New Milford, Kimberly Clark plant in the background.



I'll post some more industry mock ups in the next post.

Eric

[Pomperaugrr]

Here are some industries served by the Housatonic that I need to scratchbuild and kitbash. I like to do mock ups, using actual kit parts or photocopies of actual parts for planning my cuts in the parts and for track placement.

First up is Becton Dickenson, in Canaan, CT. (medical supplies, including plastic items). The track arrangement is very close to the proto, but the plastic pellet car capacity is short by two car lengths. I really like how the truck loading dock is inset in the side of the building. This was a prototype feature I had to capture on the model.



This is the Kimberly Clark plant in New Milford. I had to compress and alter the layout of the building a bit.  It does represent the actual track arrangement of the plant and the car capacity. Each rail bay accommodates 7 box cars inside the building. I will have occupancy detection to prevent hitting the back wall.




Finally, I have Specialty Minerals in Canaan. This is the former Pfizer plant. It processes a specialized limestone that is sent out in powdered form in covered hoppers and bagged in box cars. I need to do a ton of building here, including loading towers, silos, conveyors crossing all over the place, etc. Most of the track will need to be buried in pavement to allow truck access everywhere. The final plant will be about 6.5 feet long.

This is a really rough mock up. I also relocated the tracks from the bagging building into the main plant area. The proto bagging building is at a 90 degree angle to the main plant and is about a 1/4 mile away. My artistic license has a provision that allows me to move it all together to get full operational fun out of this area.




Well, that's where I am right now. Hopefully I'll make more progress as the winter goes on. The holidays are a hectic time with young kids, but putting in an hour or two here and there keeps things moving forward. I still need to tweak the track in a few places and install 50 servos with decoders and turnout indicator panels, so I know I won't be bored.

Eric

[Philip H]

Indeed it does, and I need to do more of the same . . .  great work here though . . .

[conrail98]

I really like the layout of the industries, they look large enough to be served by rail. Also, the culvert looks great. I don't think enough people model those types of trackside details, it really adds to the detail of the layout,

Phil

[Pomperaugrr]

Thanks guys.

I am extremely fortunate to have the space to model larger industries. One of my pet peeves is that manufacturers make N scale buildings so small, they are usually no larger than the freight cars serving them. As was posted in another thread here, I agree that it would be great to see more of the Walthers industries offered in N scale, but taking up the same footprint as the HO versions.

Having the space gives me the opportunity to combine kits and scratchbuild buildings that look like they warrant rail service. Having the real prototype structures I am modeling located within about an hour's drive for me helps too. I get the sense of size and scale when I see them in person, so I want to convey that in my compressed N scale model versions.

The mock ups also act as a space filler, so I can switch out the industries before I have a chance to actually build the final versions.

I have a lot of detailing to do still, but with such a large layout, I want to get the base scenery layers down then add other details.

Eric

[Blazeman]

Had the opportunity and pleasure to stop at Eric's the other month and view his effort. Pictures of his sceniced area around the bridge don't do it justice. Very detailed and thorough. They would be to the left end of the bridge.

He explained his strategy with modelling the actual buildings the real RR serves and is taking advantage of the modern architecture that is more friendly to scratch building so he can portray the real railroad.

This will be one modern day depicting layout that has a purpose other than moving intermodal, grain and coal trains back and forth. It is built high as well, something one may not gather from his views.

[chuck geiger]

Eric - Do you have a link to your site?

[Pomperaugrr]

Chuck, I'm sorry but I do not have a website.  I do have a thread going on Nscale.org though, in the layout section.  There are more photos in my gallery there.

Larry, it was great to have you guys visit.  Thanks for the kind words.  This is definitely a work in progress.  I don't mind showing the unfinished gritty in progress shots.  It will be awhile before there are detailed, finished scenes.

I am new to scratchbuilding and many recent scenery techniques, so all feedback and constructive criticism is welcomed.

Eric

[DKS]

Eric, at this point I have only one piece of constructive criticism to make: you really should start a blog. Your modeling is top-notch, and I think you'd have a line of N scalers waiting at your blog door. Making a blog is free and easy, and to be honest there just aren't enough of them out there. I agree with the others that your industries are of a believable size, as compared to the little outhouses that often pass as industries; and I'm particularly intrigued by that swatch of scenery at the back, around the bridge. Would love to see more of that.

[Pomperaugrr]

I like the idea about a layout blog.  I may have to try that.  I lurk here a lot, but don't post all that much.  Now that winter is approaching, I hope to make some decent progress, so this may be the time to start documenting the layout.  Thanks for the suggestion and the comments.

David, the bridge scene is not prototypical, as there is no bridge like that anywhere on the HRRC.  I just wanted it for photos and I like bridges.  It is a ME steel viaduct that I kitbashed.  I cut off the solid plastic tower legs and grafted in smaller Central Valley HO bridge girders for a see through effect.  I still need to put in the beaver pond and beaver dam, plus guard rails.  The trees are cheap Chinese trees from e-bay that I need to recolor.  That flourescent green is horrible.  The ground cover and color are not final, as this was an experiment.  I will come back and add many layers of texture and foliage to fix the appearance.  The rocks are a combination of home made molds, a few commercial ones and hand carved.  The scene is far from finished.  The Chinese trees will be painted and flocked for use as background trees.  I like the texture they provide and I don't like puffballs and clump foliage.  I hope to have distant views open up between some of the trees.  Then I have to make thousands of super trees for the foreground.  I have three boxes of the supertree bushes already, but no time to work on them yet.  That will happen eventually though.

Here are some quick and crappy progression shots.







One last one showing an experiment to hide the track pasing through the wall into the next room.  Again the colors on the trees are horrible, but I like the texture overall.

Eric

[Ian MacMillan]

Looking good Eric, I cant wait to come down and run on it.

No blog, go website! Blog boooooo!

[jsoflo]

Eric,
I LOVE the progress, as you are aware, your layout is of particular interest to me as I was raised in the Newtown area and still have family all around the Housatonic so its awesome to see your excellent work on areas I know quite well and am now a great distance from. I would love to follow your progress on a blog or website! Love your stuff and keep the updates coming! Any shots of Hawleyville? Are you modeling the scrapper in Newtown?

my best,
Jan

[James Costello]

Eric, the building on the right of the industry tracks with all the trailer loading docks looks very nice too! Can you show us some more of it?

Thanks.

[MEC_FAN]

Eric,

Nice progress can't wait to see more.

John

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Oh man this is sweet. I really wish I had the money and time to start waterproofing the basement and start something like this. I thnk you are right about the tree texture... its about right but a bit loud. I know if you take the colors of real trees onto the layout, things can look a bit wierd which is why most like muted colors to some extent.