Weekend Update 9/5/21

[TiogaTracks]

Wait until the frost heave.   

That’s why final grading will be with fine gravel.  Re-leveling the track each spring shouldn’t be too bad.  Bridges may be a little harder.

I made some more progress tonight, got nearly half the loop covered in weed block and coarse gravel.

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-Steven

[chuck geiger]

Getting there.

[wazzou]

Getting there.

TWSS.

[davefoxx]

A tree every . . . now and then.





More on the Carolina Sandhills Lines thread in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF

[craigolio1]

A tree every . . . now and then.





More on the Carolina Sandhills Lines thread in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF

Those trees look spectacular!  I checked out your layout thread hoping yo see some more detail about them. Do you cover their production elsewhere that I could look for?

Thanks.

Craig

[nkalanaga]

"Wait until the frost heave."

Bridges shouldn't be a problem, if you can set the piers and abutments below the frost line.  If your ground is dirt, and not a little soil over rocks, treated 4x4s and a posthole digger should be enough to have a firm foundation.  Cut the post even with the ground and you can put whatever visible support you like on it.

[cbroughton67]

I finished detailing and patching this LV C628 this week. I'm hoping ESU will get around to offering a sound decoder that'll fit before long, since the hardwired micro is slightly too wide to fit under the shell.

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[davefoxx]

Those trees look spectacular!  I checked out your layout thread hoping yo see some more detail about them. Do you cover their production elsewhere that I could look for?

Thanks.

Craig

Craig,

Thank you!  They’re just SuperTrees with SuperLeaf #SE6133 Medium Green leaves.  I paint the tree armature with Rustoleum Chestnut Brown (then misted with primer gray) in a spray bomb, let that dry, dunk the armature in matte medium, sprinkle on the leaves, and hang them on a clothesline I strung up near the workbench to dry.  I also clip clothespins on the tree as a weight to pull them straight until the glue dries.  Not perfect, but it really helps straighten some of the armatures.  I don’t lose sleep over straight trunks, because real trees are not perfectly straight, either.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[fcnrwy23]

Happy Labor Day to ALL..

I have been changing my rolling stock inventory.  "Out" are the Coal trains and "In" is a "Potash" train and a "Generic Hopper" train. (Which, I could use for Coal or Rock).  The Roundhouse Thrall Gondolas, that I had painted up, are being sold off (one set sold yesterday, online) the other will go "live" tomorrow.
I finished the final cars for the Potash train, last weekend. And the last cars for the Generic Hopper train (featuring: Atlas 90 ton hoppers) was finished this morning.  I have had about a dozen and a half of these undecorated 90 tonners sitting around for several years now. 


The group of Atlas 90 tonners.


Different paint schemes on these cars...


One of the Thrall Gons with before and after.  (after the decals were removed)
I figured that they had a better chance of selling, without being marked in a "fantasy" roadname.. So the markings had to go..
Before I resale cars, I put NEW Micro Trains wheels sets on. (that's why the axles are missing.. )


A trick I stumbled upon several years ago, was that I could safely remove decals by using Scotch Tape to pull them from the body.   Which, is less evasive than using Solvset or Micro Set. Though, It DOES take a few tries.   


Jerry G.

[Ghillieman777]

Did some modifications/additions to the coil car models in CAD.


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Added provisions for grab irons post print, brake system details, and appropriate walkway details for both CS-32 and CS-31A.

[chuck geiger]

Until next visit.

[SP-Wolf]

I completed another F7 set.
DF-7 class

Starting point. I renumbered the "B' units to the correct numbers for the class and I removed the steam generator details.



In service



Thanks,
Wolf

[packers#1]

Been a while from me:
- Move back to SC from Memphis - check
- Buy house - check
- Move possessions from Memphis to house - check
- unpack some - check
- friends and family dominate life now that we aren’t 8-10 hours away - check
- finish unpacking - CHECK
- Time to finally pick a layout plan from the bullion I’ve kicked around - check

So here it is! Still have to build the frame, but that’s on tap for Tuesday or Wednesday because I took a couple days off. Basically, it’s a Carolina Central, minus the interchange track and extra spur to make switching a little more interesting. I’m doing a what-if of the Greenville And Northern. Not copying any industries they served because that information is far and few between, but basically what if the traffic base had existed in 2007/2008 to make it worth upgrading the bridges that condemned the line so the Swamp Rabbit trail could be built? I’ll be creating a layout thread once the frame is built, but today I got the time to lay out the track plan to make sure it fit, and huzzah, it fits LIKE A GLOVE! The spur to the right serves a paper recycler, and the left is a plastic film packing producer (will function in switching similar to a corn syrup facility, three spots, off spot, each spot is for a different plastic type). Along the spur will be a trans load spot for several off rail industries that still benefit from car loads; I’m thinking regional brewery occasionally unloading a hopper of malt or barley or wheat, or an oil recycler like Safety Kleen unloading a tank car of spent oil. Just something to be in the way and have a third industry. Operations will be as an end of turn destination, so use of the run around to serve industries and re block the train to return will also be a part of the fun.

[davefoxx]

Sawyer,

Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssss!  Looking forward to following along.  I would suggest adding the passing siding in the back at a minimum for staging.  On my previous Carolina Central style layout that I built fifteen or twenty years ago, I even added two stub tracks in addition to the passing siding back there.  You’ll be glad you did.   

DFF

[dnhouston]

Started working on some details for my yard area.
A small fuel oil stand for the caboose track


and the 1st of two ramps for the stockyard