The Western Maryland in Free-moN Modules

[PiperguyUMD]

Thanks for the help! The rail on the right in the photo is the movable rail, and the next joint is about 6 inches out of the photo. As I study this, I wonder if I could trim that rail at then next joint and pull the kink out on that side from there. Then I'd come back and use Mark's suggestion on the fixed rail - cutting it on the near side of the bridge and adding a pcb tie. Does that sound feasible to anyone else?

[jargonlet]

Had an hour to kill this afternoon and took the opportunity to work on some locomotive projects. I picked up the Life-Like FA2 a while back, and Santa brought the new old stock P2K RS2s. Added the grills the the WM installed over the radiator fans. I found the brass mesh on eBay some time ago and it works pretty well as long as you cut it with a brand spanking new blade. Pretty happy with the RS2s, but looking at the photos, it appears my blade was dull by the time I got to the FA2. That edge isn’t quite up to snuff.

Any progress on the layout? Also who did you get the mesh from on eBay. I could use some for a project?

[PiperguyUMD]

@jargonlet I bought that off of eBay probably a decade ago, I doin't actually remember who I bought it from. If I remember correctly the search evolved from brass screen to brass mesh to brass filter. How much do you need? I might have some that I can part with.

Actually yeah, a bit of progress on the modules over the summer. I never had large of chunks of time to work on things, always odds and ends here and there, but when I looked back at the thread, I realized I've actually done a lot! The coal dock in Owings Mills is nearing full integration. I wish that I had a little more space for this scene to breath, but ultimately its a back drop to photos taken at the station. I may also add some kind of wooden fence along the "concrete slab" where it abuts the back of the module faceplate. I don't think there was anything like that on the prototype, but it may help the plywood disappear a little more.







I added EZ lines to the power poles on the Long Run module. Owings Mills will get these at some point in the future. It's a nice touch, but I'm not entirely sold on the aged copper green.



Also on Long Run, my heat kink seems to have taken care of itself over the summer. I don't really have a good explanation as to why more heat and humidity would make it better, but alas its nearly gone. I will keep an eye on it through the fall to see what happens.



So here's things as they sit. It finally feels like I have a layout again, and it's really nice to be able to JFRTM, even if it is a roundy-round! I'll probably leave it up through Labor Day, but once the fall semester starts up again, it becomes too much of a distraction - plus I've been parking outside all summer! This fall I'm hopping to start work on two pairs of straight modules that will allow expansion to an oval. Two of which have already been discussed here but the other two have entered the planning stage. Any guesses based no the track plan? 

[glakedylan]

great modeling. your roundy round is a fantastic piece of work. the addition of the yard and the like is only going to take this more excellent.
thanks for sharing...


sincerely
Gary

[PiperguyUMD]

Picked up a BLI Pacific this weekend. The specs looked fudgably close to a WM K2, but more importantly, the construction is such that it is a good candidate for a 3d printed boiler. It runs like a champ and sounds good too! Was able to get some of the front end parts done this weekend. The tender frame is within a few inches on the specs I have so it all it will need is a new shell, which is good because I won't have to mess with the electronics. This one will most likely become one of the coal burners that stuck out steam on the Thomas sub, but if all continues to go smoothly, I may do a tender shell with an oil bunker too. Hopefully I can knock that out next weekend.

[PiperguyUMD]

I managed to make a little progress on Owings Mills this weekend. I planted a few more trees, added some more fauna around the coal trestle and stuck in a few telephone poles.

I'm feeling more optimistic about making the module endplate less offensive in this scene. From up close, the scene does seem to end abruptly, but covering up the hard edges of the plywood with leftover bits of super trees makes it a bit more believable.


This shot surprised me! I really like it!


This is the money shot though - this is the same angle as one of my reference photos. The treatment of the endplate really makes this a believable shot. I'm happy with it!


You can see the beefed up forest and telephone poles here. I'm guessing at the placement of the poles and the number of crossbeams on each. Photos from the 60s and 70s show a pretty dense tangle of lines, but I'm guessing in the early 50s there wasn't as much demand.


Thanks Mark for the crossbeam file!


I chopped up an extra and added insulators to the pole that takes the lines into the station. I may be a glutton for punishment, but I'd love to sting wires on these!


Finally, what seems to be becoming a Labor Day tradition - the modules are packed away until my schedule slows down. It's been really nice having a layout up during the summer, can't wait to add some more pieces! In other news, I found out a little over a week ago that I'm a finalist for a position in the USAF Academy Band. These are great jobs for musicians, and since I'm closing in on the enlistment age limit, this will most likely be my last chance to win such a position. This is the third time in four years that I've been in finals for a spot in one of the premier service bands, I'm determined to seal the deal on this one! So, gotta pack away the distractions and practice, practice, practice!!

[dem34]

Beautiful shots down low, and yeah, jeez even with the lightened quantity that's still going to be an adventure stringing the signal wires. As an aside I'm assuming you went with the basic standards with these modules?

[wazzou]

I’d really put most of my money on there being more lines and even more cross arms in the 50’s than in the 60’s-70’s.
Nothing you’re doing looks wrong, in fact it all looks terrific.
I’d be interested in your cross arm and insulator print.  I don’t have a printer, so a file would be less efficient.   

[Chris333]

I'm a simple man. I see a coal trestle, I upvote. 

[PiperguyUMD]

Beautiful shots down low, and yeah, jeez even with the lightened quantity that's still going to be an adventure stringing the signal wires. As an aside I'm assuming you went with the basic standards with these modules?

Correct. These modules have 12" faceplates, 22" radius curves with easements, and 4" straight sections at the end. As I look at footage from various meets, I don't think I've ever seen similar small 90 degree modules. Truthfully, I didn't have any intentions of traveling with these when I built them - they were designed strictly to fit my storage space and complete the roundy-round home setup. The straight sections that are yet to come where the ones that I always thought would be the travelers.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ok. You're gonna hate me, but it needs more green.

One thing I've learned from modeling the dead season is that even though it's no longer the dominant color, there are still plenty of green things around.

Take a look at a few of the photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UzuQoC6tstsCPVsg7

[PiperguyUMD]

@Ed Kapuscinski I don't disagree. I'm still planning to beef up the forested areas a bit more and was planning on adding a few more greens, but wasn't a fan of any of the shades of green that I had in stock. I do plan to vary the amount of colors based on the elevation of the spot modeled, i.e. more green closer to sea level. In definitely need more evergreens in WVa! On the flip side, there's no shortage of WM photos with epic fall foliage 









None of these are my photos, but came from various places online and used for reference only

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh yeah, I think you're doing well with the trees. I was talking more about the grass. Take a look at the grass areas in the photos and you'll see the variation I'm talking about (including darker browns too).

I am so in love with what you're doing here, btw. Us dead season guys gotta stick together!

[PiperguyUMD]

Ah I smell where you’re coming from. I’ve been wanting to up my static grass game, may add some foam for texture too.

[dem34]

I will forever be the weirdo that gives my static grass a couple passes with an airbrush on the lowest pressure. Gives a lot of fine control of color without having to futz with bags upon bags of different colors.