Conrail Windsor St Yard (York PA) Engineering Report

[Ed Kapuscinski]

All in due time.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

And the structures begin to multiply... awesome!

It's what happens when I leave them in the dark in close proximity to the beer fridge.

[MichaelWinicki]

I like what you've done so far Ed, but I have to add my voice to the other that suggested a scenic divide down the center...

Even with a mix of 4/6 story buildings I believe the eye is going to take in too much of the scene at one time.

I used a simple sheet of 1/8" styrene "sunk" into the table-top.  Work's like a champ!

Then between stencils, photographs and back-drop buildings you populate the thing.

If you're sticking to the late-fall/early winter theme, the sky part of the back-drop could have that "grey" color that we'uns are use to in this part of the country over the winter months, which would serve to help set the time-of-the-year tone for the layout.

[seusscaboose]

a scenic divide down the center...

that sounds familiar

[MichaelWinicki]

that sounds familiar

Sorry Suess... I think it was you who earlier said the same thing.

Right now that part of the layout looks too much like "The HO Railroad that Grows" because you see too much of it at one glance.

I'd run the divide deep into the outer curve so if you're on one side of layout you don't see the full extent of the curve.  The only place you would see the entire curve is if you were standing at the end of the layout.  Backdrop buildings placed at the end of the divide would do a fine job of masking the... end of the divide.

[wm3798]

Agree whole heartedly on the need for some topography.  You need to nest those building in and among some hills to really make them pop.  Raised foundations, rail spur at the basement level, street entry on the first floor, etc.  This can be easily attained with 1" layers of foam.  And, while the 7 hills of Rome were not built in a day, they were there BEFORE the streets were built...  Don't get too attached to your painted street grid until you get your head around the topography.

Ambivalent about the scene divider.  Yes, it will "expand" the visual environment of the layout, but it will take your dense, large-ish city scape and reduce it to a 16" wide swath.  Upside, less buildings to make more impact, downside, you lose the visual depth for photography (reference some of the cross-campus shots on Vollmer's Juniata Div, which uses some topography (that word again!) and structures to extremely good effect.

So add some undulations above and below your main line grade, then think about building placements and street grids.

Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I agree about the topography. I'd love to use a low ridge down the center to hide the opposite side, except... that part of York is flat:
https://goo.gl/maps/uwJEKM5uoNT2

[crrcoal]

Very cool Ed. It's starting to come to life!

[Dave V]

I agree about the topography. I'd love to use a low ridge down the center to hide the opposite side, except... that part of York is flat:
https://goo.gl/maps/uwJEKM5uoNT2

Yes, but I see a nice tree canopy a few blocks back.  Boom; there's your scenic divider.  Except for you they'll have to be bare, so they won't be quite as effective.

[nuno81291]

I think at most you would be looking at extremely subtle undulations. Of course I don't think it will matter when you view the layout from a rail fan perspective, the helicopter view does no ones layout any favors.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Very cool Ed. It's starting to come to life!

Thanks!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I think at most you would be looking at extremely subtle undulations. Of course I don't think it will matter when you view the layout from a rail fan perspective, the helicopter view does no ones layout any favors.

Yep. There are definitely subtle grade changes. In fact, there's a good one over by where I'm putting the houses in that I'll definitely be doing. It might just mean a shim of foam core, but it'll do the job.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Did some playing with a quickee photo backdrop today.

[C855B]

Did some playing with a quickee photo backdrop today.

Plays very well with depth of field in the pic. The question, tho', is does it look as good in person?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Plays very well with depth of field in the pic. The question, tho', is does it look as good in person?

Nope. That's why I need better photos to work from. I'm kicking myself for not going and shooting some good pics back last December. Now I have to wait another 7 months, or hope I can find some good ones online.