Playing with REAL train

Gentlemen,

Model railroading is great - but it's not the real thing. As most of you know, I'm a volunteer on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad. As a Car Host I assist people on & off the train, make sure the safety rules are followed, and chat with the riders. It's a great time, and being on a real train really helps me enjoy model railroading even more. I'd suggest that all you guys try & ride a real train from time to time - it's a blast! Check out this little video of the ride.

God Bless,
Rick

Friday night at Keith's 4-16-10

It was scenery night at Keith's house: In attendance were:
Coalfinger Ken
Packrat Paul
Steve-bay
Popsicle Rick
Concrete Keith (of course)
and drop by guest Gator Perry

Here Paul & Ken scope out the job of installing foam board for the base of scenery.


Keith shows how it's done while Ken & Steve look on.


If you ever wondered what the top of Paul's head looked like...... He's doing the tough work of getting under the layout to mark the foam pieces for cutting. We had a good system going with Paul & Ken doing the measuring fitting while I did the cutting. My pocket knife came in very handy!

Safety first - never cut towards yourself (unless you just have to!)

Scott showed up briefly to say hi and chew the fat. Being a new Daddy is time consuming!

The whole gang is putting the moves on and making good progress.

The guys keep a close eye on things to make sure that they are being done correctly.

We took a nice long break to see Keith's improvements on his control software, look at a few engines, and take in some needed calories. It was a great time and we accomplished a good amount.

April 2 NCI work night on the ONR Ramore Sub

What a great night of progress on Bob’s Ramore Sub. We decided to focus more on scenery this time but further north up the main line at Swas Junction. This is a complex area since the wye occupies a focal area and space with tight radii and several viewing angles. The station is further north (about 2.5 feet) so we need to make the viewer’s eye focus on the great scenery and rock cuts in this area of the wye.

ONR GP9 1602 and van on the east leg of wye in August 1974, highlighting a typical rock cut.

Another view of the wye 30 years later but looking in the opposite direction. The pine trees have grown.


Before the work started we backed up a 20 foot train from the layout on to two of the wall shelf cartridges. Steve did this without a hitch under the watchful eyes of Scott, Ken, Keith Mark and Bob.

Scott guided us in laying out the scenery topography so that the viewer’s eye focus down to the appropriate area, not over the hills in the distance.

We then got to work.

Steve found his favorite spot in Englehart yard doing what he is enjoying more and more, hand laying rail. Word has it he will be doing so on his new B&O layout.

We then started applying plaster cloth on the foam we shaped for the east side of the junction main line.

The room is small but we have found the way to make it work. Here we see Mark, Keith, Ken and Scott applying the scenery cloth while Steve is on the other side of the scenic divider working in Englehart yard.

One of our traditions is to play RR videos during the night. Sets the mood and helps offset the occasional boost of vocal singing by certain members of the NCI. (Excuse the messy work bench, I call it progress). Yeah, I know, I need to tidy it up!

Scott handing Keith a piece of wet plaster cloth (Scott is thinking baby diapers) while Ken wonders what all the fuss is about and Mark spreads a strip of it. The scenery modules are removable as you see here to make then easier to work on.
We used Scenic Express Plaster Wrap which is almost $2.00 cheaper than Woodland Scenics. Seems to work the same.

We then applied some precast rock molds pieces and rock out-crops along the right side hill that transitions into Kirkland Lake in the foreground. We did this by cutting out pockets in the pink foam with a hot knife so the rock would sit flush with the terrain. We then painted everything except the rock pieces with a green / brown coat of woops paint.

Here is how the junction looks this morning with all back in place. The station will be in the top right corner of the photo.

Early in the evening, Keith and Ken also installed the first Tortoise on the layout. I have decide to do this on a few turnouts that need a stretch to operate.

Thanks Keith, Ken, Mark, Scott and Steve. A great night of progress and a lot of fun doing this with you guys as well.

Bob

Rick's Layout Extensions

Drawing #1

Drawing #2

Drawing #3

Friday 3-26-10 Work Session at Rick's

What a night we had at the Richlawn Railroad! Tonight was labeled "Delicate Demolition" as we were removing a wall right next to the railroad.

In attendance were:

Coalfinger Ken

Concrete Keith

Glue Bob & his guest Brian

Steve-bay

Band Camp Mark

Here's the gang all serious and everything. The gentlemen next to the door is Bob's friend, Brian. He also is from the Great White North and a model railroader (and a very nice guy!) Mark is out of the picture in the lower right. We split into two teams with Keith & Ken inside the train room and Mark and Steve in the closet. I ran tools to the guys, took pictures, and provided moral support.

Here Keith gets right at it tearing out the drywall inside of the room. Ken mans the trash bag and the team made short work of the wall.

Bob & I gave Brian a tour of the railroad while the de-construction when on and it was great talking to Brian. He is the proud owner of Bob's previous layout, which has been sitting dormant for a few years. Bob is going to visit him and get it back in working order.

What's this? Me working? In a rare moment Bob snapped this shot after the guys "forced" me to do some cleanup work. So this is what it feels like to work!

Wall.....what wall? The guys are putting the finishing touches on the demo.

The Wrecking Crew! After the wall was down the plastic was removed covering the track and we ran trains.......without problem! This was a testament to the great care and workmanship of the team. If I had attempted this project by myself it probably would have taken a week and something (or somebody) would have been damaged. Thanks, guys!

Here's a little video of some of the action!

Trees, please!

Recently we were at Scott's for a tree clinic where we learned a number of ways to make "homemade" trees. One of the methods used floral wire twisted to make the tree armature. I really liked that method and have made a few trees to practice and see what the final product looks like. The pictures aren't very good, so you can see the real things when you visit.

NOTE: To really see the detail you will need to click on the pictures and use the zoom in feature.

Here's a completed tree with poly fiber covered with various shades of green ground foam.




This is a different tree using the same method.


I tried applying the poly fiber and foam using two methods: 1.) Apply the poly fiber to the tree first, spay with adhesive, and then sprinkle with the foam. The problem with this method is that some of the spray adhesive gets on the limbs, so you end up with "leaves" directly on the branches. 2.) I made little clumps of poly fiber first, sprayed them with adhesive, sprinkled on the foam, and then applied to the tree. I'm still debating which I will use.



A shot of some of the armatures and finished trees. I coated the trees with a mixture of plain white glue, concrete liquid concrete color (gray) and a thickener (secret ingredient). After the coating dried I scribed lines in the material and then dry brushed on dark gray.

A close up of an armature.

It takes some time to make trees this way, but they come out fairly nice and are cheap. Sounds like "TV time" project to me!

Raffle Layout 2011

Dear Mr. Goodwin;

It is with pleasure that I reply to your request about having the number one operating group in Georgia, the North County Interchange Operating Group provide the Division with a raffle layout for 2011.  Our team has met and decided that we would be most willing to help in this endeavor, and in fact, have already finished!

We feel that one thing that could help sell tickets, other than the quality of the layout, is the notoriety of the layout.  Often the layout is not finished in time to do any real marketing.  The layout we propose to the Division is not only complete, but has its own fan club!

We will be providing the Heart of Georgia Layout....most commonly known as the HOG!

This trend setting layout design has been made popular all over North America, published in Scale Rails, discussed in the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HOGRR/ egroup, written about on the http://hogrr.blogspot.com/ blog, and has become quite popular nation wide.  You won't find a more famous layout anywhere and we already have the photos with which to market it.

The layout is owned by member Steve Berkheimer who has so kindly agreed to part with it for the Division.  While there is extensive costs in the layout, Steve is willing to accept $1,500 for materials of construction.  The only thing missing will be the DCC system which Digitrax donates every year.  Because the layout was not build as a raffle layout, we do not have receipts.  Rest assured that much more than $1,500 went into it, especially on the highly custom locomotives.

Our team will spruce up the layout and maybe add some additional detail over the next year and will have it ready for the next train show.  It is in great operational shape and has been shown at two Piedmont Pilgrimages where it ran flawlessly.

If the Division is amenable to this offer, please let us know and we'll begin work immediately.  Photos are attached.

Highest regards,

Scott G. Perry, CPM