Weekend Update 12/6/20

[jereising]

Thanks for the kind words, Dave.
I had planned to do the Nashville convention layout tours and then take it down; we all know what happened there.  Then when the convention committee said they would try for Nashville again in 22, I talked to the wife and we decided to try and stick with it until then - hey, it's only two years, right? 
She's still not overly happy with all the stairs in the house, but so far so good.
Stairs seem like a trivial thing but when you're pushing 80 suddenly they get more important.  Understand, I'm not having a problem getting up and down.  And she wants a single level house.  Which are not all that easy to find around here.
Anyway, so far so good!  And I needed something to do...

[CRL]

My wife & I agree with the stairs issue, and we’re both still south of 70. She has 2 bum knees and I have 2 marginal knees and a marginal hip, so we’re building a new home with a downstairs master bedroom. The 2 other bedrooms are upstairs, but we won’t have to go upstairs for our normal living situation. We did have a second handrail added to the stairs for added security just in case.

[mark dance]

Very nice. What’s your source for the rectangular steel grating?

My bag of etched brass material has lost its labeling but I believe it was Gold Medal Models. Unfortunately I couldn't find it on their web site...

md

[glakedylan]

Finished the oil/water separation pit...the last of the small service facilities in the eastern end of Nelson yard.
Have a great weekend!

md

hey Mark
your attention to detail and your skill at making things look so good is very appreciated.
your scratch building, along with the rest of your modeling, is top shelf.
thanks for sharing


sincerely
Gary

[peteski]

My bag of etched brass material has lost its labeling but I believe it was Gold Medal Models. Unfortunately I couldn't find it on their web site...

md

I don't recall GMM ever offering N scale stainless steel grating.  If not, maybe it is from Plano? Maybe some N or H0 roofwalks or E-unit grilles?
http://www.planomodelproducts.com/

[BCR 570]

Fine work as always, everyone.

This week I completed installation of the interior bracing for my nine Railwest chip cars.  It will be painted to match the interior of the cars:




The tenth car in front is an HSC car I built in 2009.  I am correcting some of the decaling, replacing some of the bracing, and installing the gusset plates.

Decals are next.


Tim

[hegstad1]

i Pratted a Walthers Warren bridge.

[peteski]

i Pratted a Walthers Warren bridge.

You're such a Pratt! 
Small, but very visible difference.  Good modeling!

[hegstad1]

You're such a Pratt! 
Small, but very visible difference.  Good modeling!

HA!  Thanks!

[mark dance]

hey Mark
your attention to detail and your skill at making things look so good is very appreciated.
your scratch building, along with the rest of your modeling, is top shelf.
thanks for sharing


sincerely
Gary

You're far too kind Gary.  I can't hold a candle to many people here...so I try for a "good enough" overall feel.  As I am slowing down I am much more aware of how much even what should be a simple project can eat time...

I don't recall GMM ever offering N scale stainless steel grating.  If not, maybe it is from Plano? Maybe some N or H0 roofwalks or E-unit grilles?
http://www.planomodelproducts.com/

Maybe but it is etched brass not stainless.  If I said or inferred otherwise, my apologies.

md

[peteski]

Maybe but it is etched brass not stainless.  If I said or inferred otherwise, my apologies.

md

 I don't really know it either way - just don't remember seeing this type of item from GMM.  Maybe we can ask @Loren Perry  ?   He doesn't post here much, but he  is GMM.

[wazzou]

[Bob]

I’m continuing to work on Shenandoah Junction, now southeast of the interchange tracks where I intend to model the local post office as well as a few mobile homes (I wish there were some kits for these).  The post-office is an interesting looking old building (left photo, obtained from the web).  This time I decided to take a different approach to scratch building, being inspired by part @jsoflo’s CPR Philly Waterfront layout thread in which he used photographs downloaded from Textures.com that he then printed and laminated.  I have certainly seen others do this as well.  So, I went to Textures.com where I downloaded images of metal roofs that looked similar to those on the postoffice (the main roof and porch roof are different), as well as stucco for the walls and photos of windows and a door.  I laminated these and glued them to 0.1” styrene and put everything together.  I can’t decide how much I like this approach.  It enabled me to construct the entire building this weekend, so it was less work than the other buildings I have put together – I sure don’t miss making door and window openings.  I also used thin styrene for the walls, and this made cutting things much easier. The stucco image does not show up as such – the texture is too fine – I guess I should have made it more ‘oversize’ in the hopes you could see the walls were actually stucco.  I guess there is a place on a layout for many different building styles, and so I will keep on experimenting.  I over-did the weathering powders, which I tend to do, and need to put the building on its base and add the pillars that hold up the porch.  The post office will be situated close to the backdrop, so perhaps this building style will work well for structures further away from the viewer.  When I photographs things, all of the blemishes become more evident, so I am glad I am trying my hand at buildings in these small scenes rather than learning as-I-go while constructing Harpers Ferry.  I’m not going to touch Harpers Ferry or Maryland Heights for at least another year as I need to continue to learn how to do scenery and buildings, and these will the signature scenes on the entire layout.

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[SD452XR]

i Pratted a Walthers Warren bridge.

Andrew, Are the bridges at Reed Point and Livingston, Pratt bridges?

[Spades]

I don't recall GMM ever offering N scale stainless steel grating.  If not, maybe it is from Plano? Maybe some N or H0 roofwalks or E-unit grilles?
http://www.planomodelproducts.com/

GMM did offer brass industrial walkways. https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/gold-medal-models-n-160-59-industrial-walkways-192-scale-feet/