Boardman River Branch switching shelf

[dcarrell8]

Looks great!  I agree with all the above statements and also remember no one will be comparing it to the photo but you! 
~Dennis

[freedj]

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I added a bit of ground foam and shrubbery to the scene behind the tracks and like the way its turning out!  Im considering trying to make a 3d underbrush line right in front of the background and then add some trees in front of that.  I also got some scenery base on the helix lift out and am pretty happy with how thats turning out.  I was originally planning on painting the roadbed black there and trying to make it disappear but now that i've got some scenery there I actually really like seeing the train at the bottom of that 'hill'.  I may press on to ballast it but i'll need to come up with a solution to hide the gap where the section lifts out.

The lift out comes to a pretty sharp point there to give enough vertical clearance for the inner turn of the helix and in a few places I actually cut it too high which leaves a 1/8th visible gap from some angles.  I considered trying to use some static grass on that edge to feather out the gap but That might make getting the lift out back in really difficult, and there isn't much room between the edge and the track. 

The lower photo is the view from my office chair.

[freedj]

Here is a close up shot of the gap I would like to reduce, and a few shots of how little room there is to work with.

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The last picture shows the inside of the helix with the lift out removed.  The PC boxcar is right below the gap shown in the first photo.

[freedj]

I was able to patch on a small strip of foam and get it shaped and painted in last night.  Is there a trick to getting static grass to stand in a non 90* orientation to the base?  If I could get some grass attached to the edge of the removable hill I think it might help disguise the lift out.

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[Philip H]

Static grass will sort of stand at non-vertical angles IF you can lean the applicator at the angle once you shake it.  Of course you need to hold that for a bit to get the glue to set, but it is doable . . . ish

[davefoxx]

Is there a trick to getting static grass to stand in a non 90* orientation to the base?

I use my wet-dry vac to try to straighten those static fibers.  You might be surprised at how aggressive you can get with the vacuum, even though the glue is still wet.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[OldEastRR]

This is a first draft of a track plan for the other side of the room that includes an attempt at scenery and non rail served building placement.
While I do have some structures noted, everything is open for suggestions including track and road placement.

I wonder why the buildings are not aligned to the road grid. Usually in a grid of roadwork the lots are laid out with one or two dimensions parallel or perpendicular to the grid.

[freedj]

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The modeling bug has bitten again!  The tracks are clean, the trains are running, and my thoughts have returned to the other side of the room again. 

The main shelf in the room models areas in and around Traverse City, while this side models Cadillac, one city south on the line.

In this draft the track leading off to the right goes behind my computer, and then connects to the section that was in progress a few pages ago.  The track coming off of the left hand side will generally just end there, but a lift out bridge could connect it back across the width of the room to create a loop if I want to watch trains run.

The shelf is 11 x 73 (to the end of Brooks Perkins) and could be extended a bit in any direction.  I've tried to leave more scenic space in this, while still making it operationally interesting.  I am liking the city scene to disguise the left side tight radius, and Mitchell Street offers a lot of DPM style options to choose from.  Buildings are aligned to the grid, but the benchwork is not.

While most of the industries here were probably not rail served in my time period (late 70s), they were at one point in their history.

I would appreciate any thoughts on the track plan, or industry / structure choice.

Inspiration  / Prototypes:
Brooks & Perkins: https://www.wexfordcountyhistory.org/wp-content/gallery/factories-and-plants/Cadillac-Business-Acme-Truck-Factory-101-Haynes-Street-4.jpg
Chris Craft: https://www.wexfordcountyhistory.org/wp-content/gallery/factories-and-plants/fp_01_02_0000031.jpg
Engine House: http://www.railroadmichigan.com/aacadillacenginehouse2.jpg
T&SB Freight Depot: https://goo.gl/maps/tjzvXFqXtexCS1y89
Wyoming Warehouse: http://www.railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=35556
Mitchell St: https://goo.gl/maps/HWsfi8jE4237YJ1fA

[freedj]

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https://goo.gl/maps/g6zQXR8GPmVqWBWbA

The kitbash of converting the Water Street Freight Depot into the Cadillac Freight Depot has begun.  It was a reasonably close match to begin with and to make it closer I have:
* Sliced the office down from 4 segments to 3
* Sliced the crenelations from the top of the office
* Sliced one segment from the freight section
* Moved the main door from the front of the building to the truck side
* Designed modern windows for the office section.
* Designed a new inset stair that replaces one set of windows.
* Reduce the trackside doors from 6 to 2
* remove the trackside platform

Still Undecided:
* Re-pitch the roof and lower the number of steps on the freight section roofline from 3 to 1
* Cut in some small windows near the freight doors
* Add additional lighting (there is a spot for a 3mm led in the new stair print)
* Move the freight door on the endwall to the edge

Im running out of places to get matching brick so the semi door relocation might be out of the question.

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[amato1969]

Love your kitbash approach to this structure @freedj !

  Frank

[freedj]

The depot continues.  I've got the Structure assembled and painted.  I ended up repitching the roof and lowering the end wall.  I made the two sections attach to each other using magnets and I am very happy with how they auto-locate.  It's a strong enough hold that I can pick it up by one half and the other half comes along for the ride. 

I designed and printed up new, less ornate, windows and freight doors and got them all installed.  So far I am very happy with how the roof painting is coming along.  I started with a very dark grey roof, taped off a few strips, and mixed a little white into the airbrush cup. Then I oversprayed the roof kind of fousing on the areas without tape.  Add more tape, more white, and repeat 5 or 6 times.  It went quickly because I printed guide lines into the roof surface and pre-cut the tape to the correct dimensions for a full roll.  After I finished that I mostly liked it but it looked a little too stark.  A few days later I came back with the original dark grey color and thinned it way down to a filter and sprayed the whole thing back to a more uniform color.

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[freedj]

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Work continues on the Cadillac shelf plan.  This track plan has remained unchanged for a week now with the only tweaks being in the non-rail served building selections and turf / hardscape outlines.

Trackwork details:
* ME Code 55
* 1.25" centerline spacing on the run-around
* Fast Tracks #8s and #6s
* Hand laid code 40 once off the runaround, including the switchback turnout.
* 16" Radius on the 'lift out bridge'  turn in the lower left corner
* 22" Radius on the Mitchel Bently Lead
* 45" + everywhere else

Scenery Unknowns:
* How to handle the road / backdrop transitions on Mitchel & Chestnut streets
* Road Transition for lake street on the right edge
* Uncolored triangle by Sandell Storage
* how to handle the lift out attachment and make it invisible when not in place (most of the time)

The room entry is right there by Sandell storage, so that triangle is going to be front and center.

I've printed the left hand section of the plan and have been playing around with mockups to make sure the scene will work.  This led me to change 2 DPM style buildings across the street from Sandell to something less downtown like.  It just didn't seem likely that a large warehouse would be right in the center of town.

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After hunting google maps for a long time, to find any evidence of where Sandell Storage was, i called the cadillac library and talked to the research desk.  They were happy to look up the address in an old phone book.  Address in hand I discovered that that part of town has been redeveloped into housing sometime between 1990 and today.  I was able to find some ariel phots where I can see the general building shape / construction.  I'll have to make my mockup taller!

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[freedj]

The new shelf design continues.  I sent it out for a consult and got back some feedback thats taken time to integrate.  The main issues I thought I was having was with my backdrop transitions for the roads, but I also was strongly advised to not transition to a lift out on a curve.  Once I got my head around the lift out exiting on a tangent, the only option I had if I wanted to keep the facia curve was to move the track to where the road was.  I had to make make the shelf a bit wider, and also reduce the radius of that piece of track in order to make it fit, but that also let me move Mitchel street to the edge and avoid a backdrop transition there.  The last compromise was a FastTracks 24/18 #8 Curved turnout.

Building selection has come and gone, and I have found a few prototypes that look like they will fit the space really nicely.  The section of Mitchel street in this version is the last block as it transitions out of 'down town' proper.

I made poster-board / card stock / 3d printed standins for the buildings and have been moving things around to see if I like the look of the left end.

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[freedj]

I've opened up the rest of the space for the Cadillac shelf and printed and mounted it to some foam core.  I've started hand laying a Fast Tracks 24/18 curved turnout into a #4 wye.  Its the only piece of complex trackwork on the shelf and I want to make sure I get it nailed down first.  I've also made card stock & foam core standins for all the structures on the shelf and have begun the process of refining them.  The white and buff buildings in the photos are both hardboard and baltic birch cores that I may skin with styrene.  The buff building got some extra details designed and printed out, as well as a quick coat of paint to make it a long term standin.

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[freedj]

I've designed the benchwork for the Cadillac shelf and have started to cut pieces.  The shelf will have 5 drawers for rolling stock built into the facia.  The drawers require the whole structure to be built at 4* from the wall, but I think the end result will be worth it.

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