Weekend Update 8/4/19

[GaryHinshaw]

I bit the bullet, finally, and started laying the permanent turnouts in Kern Junction, where the BNSF double track line merges with the UP double-track line for the climb over Tehachapi.  Crews got started last night:



Hoping to have it in service for the next session on Aug 17, but we'll see how long it really takes me.   We had another session last Thu Aug 1 with a guest crew of 7 (the most ever) and we kept the dispatcher plenty busy.  But having powered turnouts and block detection in place at Kern will help the dispatcher's and yardmaster's work flow quite a bit.

[Dave V]

No modeling for me.  However, I started obsessing over the idea of doing 1940s urban Pennsy in HO scale, so I decided I needed some narrow gauge therapy:

[shark_jj]

I had my two grandsons for the day last week.  Ethan the older one had helped me make some Fir trees as well as some Super Trees.  I needed some on 2 or 3 places on the layout.  The plan had been to take the boys trainwatching, but a derailment on CN at Paris put paid to our plans so I suggested we do some scenery on the layout.  The boys are 14 and 11 and they pitched right in.  You will remember this photo from my last update when we did the water.



Last time the guys were over, Ethan (the 14 year old) who is now a member of our group, added sculptamold to the base and painted the rock castings.  Now he and his brother added some trees, some static grass, and some bushes and this is the finished result.  They were happy, I was happy, and hopefully they learned a little something.



We went on to plant trees in a couple of other locations.  This one we filled in the area right besides the track. 



And in this area, we started by putting trees in towards the rear of the scene.  Still a lot of work to do, but we have a start.



The fir trees are some cheap plastic trees that one of the guys in the club picked up.  He got about 2000 for 10 cents a tree.  He gave me about 200 of them.  Ethan has been covering them in material from Woodlands Scenics and Scenic Express to good effect. 

[OldEastRR]

No modeling for me.  However, I started obsessing over the idea of doing 1940s urban Pennsy in HO scale, so I decided I needed some narrow gauge therapy:

I can understand your Pennsy urges coming to the fore, even in N: T-1 (even tho its not a scoot loco), decent P70 coaches, and other impetus would be stoking those banked but not extinguished PRR fires. That's the breaks: you leave one railroad because there's not much proto equipment and as soon as you've sold what you had, the floodgates open with new ones.
Lost loves never die.

[diezmon]

Going for my second ESU sound install

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[Specter3]

We have owned the house with a “layout room” for over two years. Have finally started actually changing it into a layout room. Started reworking the wire for independent control of layout poser and lighting. Moved the workbench to it’s permanent home and moved the former washer hookups into the corner for an 18in utility sink. Dryer vent will be the spray booth exhaust. Now to go through 15 years worth of records from the 90s and 2000s to make sure nothing needs to be kept to clear out the last of the true junk.
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[Dave V]

I can understand your Pennsy urges coming to the fore, even in N: T-1 (even tho its not a scoot loco), decent P70 coaches, and other impetus would be stoking those banked but not extinguished PRR fires. That's the breaks: you leave one railroad because there's not much proto equipment and as soon as you've sold what you had, the floodgates open with new ones.
Lost loves never die.

Agreed with everything with the caveat that N scale no longer appeals to me at all as a medium in which for me to work.  I will continue to admire the amazing accomplishments of so many TRW a$$hats in N scale, but after returning to my native 1:87 scale I don’t see a future for myself in 1:160.  N scale was only ever a temp gig for me while I was in the Air Force.

[Dave V]

...and one more from me!  On Wednesday my convalescence from foot surgery was given a nice break with a visit from Otto K, aka @Cajonpassfan !  We ran a few trains on the RGS First District.  Otto was particularly keen on running Silverton RR #100, the Ouray.

[MK]

Just returned from Altoona.  Tons of show pics, some rail fanning pics and a visit to the Altoona Model Railroad club (the place is jaw dropping!)

Also got the TRW  family photo.

I should have all 150+ pics on my website by end of day tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

[Cajonpassfan]

...and one more from me!  On Wednesday my convalescence from foot surgery was given a nice break with a visit from Otto K, aka @Cajonpassfan !  We ran a few trains on the RGS First District.  Otto was particularly keen on running Silverton RR #100, the Ouray.

Heck yea, good times!
Dr. Vollmer (and his RGS) kick a$$, metaphorically speaking, given the crutches😆
Photo proof below..
Otto K.

[narrowminded]

Just returned from Altoona.  Tons of show pics, some rail fanning pics and a visit to the Altoona Model Railroad club (the place is jaw dropping!)

Also got the TRW  family photo.

I should have all 150+ pics on my website by end of day tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

It was an excellent time.   Agreed on the Altoona Club.  Quite an N Scale layout in the works and the very complete "O" and HO layout upstairs is something worth seeing.

[railnerd]

My day job and FIRST Robotics have limited model railroading activities.  The other day I happened upon an interesting kit on the shelf at the Train Shop, and I decided it was time to dig in on a "quick" project to "get back in the modeling saddle." The Bates House from Psycho. The kit was designed for easy assembly, but not necessarily easy decoration.  "Skill Level 2" was real a throwback to my youth with SNAP-TITE cars:



After perusing some online photos of the Universal Studios set, I decided to push myself harder than usual.  I had not built anything in a few months and it was time to put a few evenings of effort leveraging my new skills with AK Interactive paints and try some new things.



I had thought of trying "hairspray" paint chipping technique on this "large scale" structure, but after getting a nice coat of primer, and dark brown wash on the model, I followed a different route. After watching a YouTube video about the AK weathering PENCILS, and decided I'd see if I could make this plastic house look more like a weatherbeaten wooden structure.  Using the pencil was a throwback to art class, and I like the results:



At the end of the weekend, the kit is almost finished— I still need to clean up some blemishes, add the window glass, add some minimal interior walls, and a few "creepy" LED lights:



Mother is home...

-Dave

[rochsub]

Post yet another weekly update on the UPRR Geneva Sub.

[MK]

My day job and FIRST Robotics have limited model railroading activities.

Dave, I'm a volunteer FIRST Robotics mentor at my high school but we are only active from around December to March.  Just curious what FIRST Robotics activities are there in the summer.

[DKS]

Agreed with everything with the caveat that N scale no longer appeals to me at all as a medium in which for me to work.  I will continue to admire the amazing accomplishments of so many TRW a$$hats in N scale, but after returning to my native 1:87 scale I don’t see a future for myself in 1:160.  N scale was only ever a temp gig for me while I was in the Air Force.

It's good to know what your "native scale" is. Some don't know theirs, some don't have one. After gigs in Z and T Scales, I've come to know N is mine, now and forever.