Cedar Creek Gravel Company

[Dave V]

On30 is actually no more expensive than HOn3...in fact, in many cases it's considerably less so.

I think what "stays my hand" every time I think about On30 seriously are the structures.  Sure the trains are smaller, and most Bachmann On30 stuff can run on a layout scaled to HO, but those structures...those structures are still huge in O.  I could easily run On30 on the same footprint as my RGS layout but I can't imagine how huge the depots, enginhouses, etc. would need to be.

[VonRyan]

On30 is actually no more expensive than HOn3...in fact, in many cases it's considerably less so.

I think what "stays my hand" every time I think about On30 seriously are the structures.  Sure the trains are smaller, and most Bachmann On30 stuff can run on a layout scaled to HO, but those structures...those structures are still huge in O.  I could easily run On30 on the same footprint as my RGS layout but I can't imagine how huge the depots, enginhouses, etc. would need to be.

I’m right there with you on that. That’s why this layout won’t have a whole lot of structures. I’m more focused on the construction/finishing and operations aspects as opposed to making a “complete” railroad. That’s why besides the wood pier that will be the terminus at the other end of the layout, the only other structures will be the gravel loader, a very small engine shed, and what will either be a small maintenance/storage building or a company office of some kind.

[CRL]

I’m at a point in life where my cheapness has eased up a bit. When prices are fair I’d just rather reward makers of quality products instead of going and hunting for a suitable patch of soil, sifting it, screening it, removing non-dirt stuff from it, removing magnetic particles, and then finally baking it.

My original plan was to actually go and get soil from the area around the gravel pit near where I grew up, but the site is still very much active, at least six days a week, and is now fenced in on the non-swamp side, so at that point spending the money was much easier.

I don’t disagree, especially if you don’t have access to acceptable “local” dirt, but since I do, I use the bucket collection approach.

[dcarrell8]

Acquiring dirt for my modeling involves a big plastic bucket, a shovels, a couple of kitchen strainers, and driving around until I find road or utility construction area with an appropriate pile of spoil dirt... preferably where a rock saw has cut through some limestone and left some nice rock dust behind.

I live in an area where I have two kinds of dirt.  1.) Blow sand, which no mater how much I strain it, it still looks like sand to me.  2.), Red dirt, which is not suitable for my prototype.  I've heard folks have had luck using asphalt next to the road but I have not tried that yet. 

I do plan on visiting Leadville, and Basalt Colorado this spring though, I plan on bringing my entrenching tool and empty coffee cans!

[VonRyan]

Time to turn my attention back to the other module.
I figured I should at least get the hard part out of the way.
So, out went the switchstand for painting, the throwbar was painted, and then the points area was very carefully ballasted.

Here it is with everything dry and the switchstand reinstalled.

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[narrowminded]

That's gorgeous!  The switch parts look like switch parts should.  I've got my work cut out in my N scale efforts to accomplish something as nice.   This is going to be super cool.

[VonRyan]

The entire turnout is now ballasted and still works perfectly.

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And the switchstand looks so much better now that it has been painted.

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[Hawghead]

Cody,

Looks great as usual.  I would suggest, that if possible, you turn the target on the switch stand 90 deg.  In most applications, if the switch is lined for the straight through route the target will not be seen.  If you see a target the switch is lined for the diverging route.  This is not chiseled in stone however.  In cases where the switch is normally lined for the diverging route, often times you won't see the target as in the case on your module.

Scott

[VonRyan]

Cody,

Looks great as usual.  I would suggest, that if possible, you turn the target on the switch stand 90 deg.  In most applications, if the switch is lined for the straight through route the target will not be seen.  If you see a target the switch is lined for the diverging route.  This is not chiseled in stone however.  In cases where the switch is normally lined for the diverging route, often times you won't see the target as in the case on your module.

Scott

I keep thinking about it, but I’m not sure if I want to clean off the paint and unsolder the target. Cause if I remove the target, I’ll be tempted to just replace it with a better one, which I would then have to make. The supplied target is actually a lost-wax casting, so it’s not the greatest, but I also didn’t want to dive into a whole side project just to make a new target.

I’ll have to see if I have any extra sheet brass on hand.

[Hawghead]

Cody,

Well either way it looks great and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Scott

[VonRyan]

And now the “loader” module has a complete base layer of scenery, albeit the glue is still moist right now.

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[nuno81291]

Nothing like getting a base layer of scenery treatment down. Looks great!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'll say it again: I'm into this!

[VonRyan]

For the past two days I have started building a whitemetal 1934 Ford BB dump truck kit.
Had I known that whitemetal kits were so labor intensive to get parts to line up right, I would have sprung for buying an already built dump truck.

Everything but the included dump bed and the dump bed subframe is cast metal.
The bed subframe is just two strips of styrene, and the bed is a so-so resin casting with a bit of a warp in it.

I’ll probably go ahead and scratchbuild a new dump bed so that I can make one that matches some photos of original trucks.

The addition of this truck also firmly plants the era of the layout in 1934. Other than a paint job, the truck will receive very little if anything in the way of weathering.

Here’s the progress as of yesterday evening:

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[Mike C]

  @VonRyan  I also have one of those in HO scale , I'm pretty sure it wasn't any easier to put together