Wisconsin Central - Heritage Division

[nscalemike]

Yes, excellent picture! 

[w neal]

Got nothin' done on the layout this week, save cleaning it up a bit. I thought I'd at least post a picture from Galesburg last weekend.

This is one of only a couple surviving Q signal bridges that have not yet been replaced along the Chicago (former Galesburg) division. Kind of a tribute to the past, as it were. When I first started visiting Galesburg, these signal bridges lined the tracks nearly every mile or so. Today, they have nearly all been replaced. I will miss you old friends. This is yet another Detroit Edison coal train headed east.

[w neal]

Yeah. Another week of no layout work, although some items to place on the layout did get paint. So as a substitute; here is another shot from the 'burg: Just a quick grab shot of my first BNSF heritage hopper. I missed the NS heritage locomotives that passed through town that weekend, so here was my consolation. I did not realize what I was seeing until it was speeding by. 

[w neal]

[Philip H]

That looks really fabulous, especially with the signals and the grade ccrossing flashers

[w neal]

Thanks. I dunno about that though. Always more work to be done.

[mcjaco]

^ Couple tuffs of weeds, and I'd call it a day there.  Great scene. 

[Philip H]

^ Couple tuffs of weeds, and I'd call it a day there.  Great scene.

And a couple of railfans in a pick-up truck . . . .

[conrailthomas519]

w. neal that is a big hit! there at the grade crossing. Nicely Done

[JSL]

Excellent scene as always. Thanks for sharing your progress.

[w neal]

Pulling together some structures for Waupaca. They even kinda look like the real ones in a pseudo - prototypical way. I plan to weather things here, in time...


A jumble of some warehouses. Obviously, its one that has been added to over the years. The different styles seem to add proto-credibility in a strange way.













I used a couple Walthers kits here to resemble structures found at the real place. Here the stub - ended tracks "disappear " into the mud (I'll work on that later). One structure is obviously from an older era. I'm told the real tracks here were original Waupaca & Green Bay; later absorbed into the better known Green Bay & Western. A picture of the real place follows...











I've got my work cut out for me here eh?














Another of my famous structural "cop-outs". The real warehouse/industry is an old wooden warehouse. In the grand scheme of things, I need to plop something close here and get on with layout building. I may return someday to make a better model, but not likely. I can dream.













Some close clearances here, but frankly Scarlett...

[nscalemike]

I've got my work cut out for me here eh?

Maybe so, but I already see the scene developing.  Those two buildings are certainly close enough, and you put that yellow house on the backdrop, a row of modeled trees right next to the backdrop and weather those buildings I'd say you there.  I enjoy this layout . . .

[PAL_Houston]

Pulling together some structures for Waupaca. They even kinda look like the real ones in a pseudo - prototypical way. I plan to weather things here, in time...


A jumble of some warehouses. Obviously, its one that has been added to over the years. The different styles seem to add proto-credibility in a strange way.

I used a couple Walthers kits here to resemble structures found in the real place. Here the stub - ended tracks "disappear " into the mud (I'll work on that later).....

Another of my famous structural "cop-outs". The real warehouse/industry is an old wooden warehouse. In the grand scheme of things, I need to plop something close here and get on with layout building. I may return someday to make a better model, but not likely....

Some close clearances here, but frankly Scarlett...

I truly admire your modeling philosophy, as well as your modeling skills!!   

I hope to be able to emulate it someday ...I will to start practicing soon, right after I get all my back-ordered Atlas track!

[w neal]

"Summore" work done on Waupaca/Nelsons. Its exciting, for me you understand, as I'm nearing "finishing" the upper level of the layout.

This generic indusrty is not exactly prototypical. Its main function is to represent some of those found south of Neenah. Its secondary function is to try to help hide "where the bridge goes", (but don't tell anyone...) Yes, I will be adding more bridge supports.










Most viewers will notice the odd "bump" in the skyboard. This was a necessary evil to help hide my staging loops. Since Neenah has a bridge like this south of the yard, and since I wanted to help hide the holes in the "sky", I decided to try a "bridge and it's approach" concept here. So far, I guess it works.    It kinda, sorta helps mask things. (The "bump" is the bright spot in this picture):









The other bonus, is that it masks this unrelated scene behind it. In reality, the two scenes are miles apart:




Oh yeah, the other thing I got done was to plaster cloth and texture paint the holes in the scenery in the above scene.




Also did some of the above activity around and behind the Waupaca Foundry 1. It was fun try to plaster cloth and texture paint around a "completed" stucture and not break off any smokestacks. That was a challange indeed. The part that struck me as funny was that I completed all this and then realized there was nothing behind the mainline tracks (in the background).  I had been looking at this scene so long that my mind just filled in the gap for me. Not until I was actually doing some work here did it hit me. 















Just some texture paint applied to the plaster cloth here, helping to complete the work started by my friend Pete. One may notice the "Hellacious" grade in this picture. Yes it is prototypical. The original Soo Line tracks were elevated through town here years ago. As a result, a way was needed to get to the orginal mainline's industries in town. Hence, both sides of the original mainline are accessed by a rather steep grade. Its fun to represent in N.







It'll be time now for painting the tracks and applying some ground cover...

[w neal]

No layout work this weekend. Time for my yearly fatherly consultant duty for 4-H fair projects. My specialty is serving as hands off advisor in the diorama competition. I spend the hours of my day serving as task manager. The only breaks are for food etc.






The older son wanted to try a WW1 trench scene. Painting all those figures is fun for him. 
















The younger son sought out his grandfather's legacy as a B-29 pilot. (The view is out of a gunner's window):







They'll be more detail work soon, but not on the layout...