Alcanman Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 18 hours ago, GEOEng03 said: Great work so far. I really like the use of bushes to hide the end of the boards. I've been pondering what to do, and I may pinch this, for the sake of losing a few centimetres of track to put it in place. Cheers Thanks. I've used bushes and trees to hide the end of the layout on previous layouts. The seamoss can be 'squeezed' resulting in low relief bushes which are only about 1 inch thick so don't take up precious space on a small layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 5, 2020 Author Share Posted December 5, 2020 Shipping containers make useful low relief structures. These have been added as I continue to work along the back of the layout. Still a lot of work to do along the front of the layout. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 A little more progress. Static grass and grass tufts added to create an overgrown look on the layout. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 Discussing the next switching move, socially distanced. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 NS GP38-2 #5664 has just arrived on the interchange track with a short cut of cars. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 A photo showing the current progress of the layout. The left hand end of the layout is mostly finished but still a lot of work to do on the rest of the layout. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 Merry Xmas. Nice to see that not everyone has 'gone' and there still a few who still follow the 'USA and Canadian Railroads' forum. I'm enjoying my little switching layout more than ever. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 54 minutes ago, Alcanman said: Nice to see that not everyone has 'gone' and there still a few who still follow the 'USA and Canadian Railroads' forum. Yep, here Sir!! 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Keith Addenbrooke Posted December 26, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2020 (edited) On 24/12/2020 at 13:44, Alcanman said: Merry Xmas. Nice to see that not everyone has 'gone' and there still a few who still follow the 'USA and Canadian Railroads' forum. I'm enjoying my little switching layout more than ever. ....and good and enjoyable modelling like this is encouraging ‘newbies’ to the Forum (like me) to get more involved, too. Everybody wins Edited December 26, 2020 by Keith Addenbrooke 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 On 24/12/2020 at 15:44, Alcanman said: Merry Christmas! I am really enjoying seeing both the layout and this gorgeous switcher, so much so that I have started researching the Reading RR. The trouble is, that livery only appeared in the early seventies and the road had gone into Conrail by 1976. At least, I like the earlier liveries and I love Alcos, Baldwins and F-M’s so I might be tempted down that road instead. The original rather plain green was very nice anyway. Cheers and thanks for the inspiration! John 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
long island jack Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 43 minutes ago, Allegheny1600 said: Merry Christmas! I am really enjoying seeing both the layout and this gorgeous switcher, so much so that I have started researching the Reading RR. The trouble is, that livery only appeared in the early seventies and the road had gone into Conrail by 1976. At least, I like the earlier liveries and I love Alcos, Baldwins and F-M’s so I might be tempted down that road instead. The original rather plain green was very nice anyway. Cheers and thanks for the inspiration! John Wrong Reading, it's Reading and Northern RR 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendell1976 Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 The present day Reading and Northern Railroad is a regional railroad that is a totally different company than the original Reading Railroad. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Blue_Mountain_and_Northern_Railroad#History Wendell Idaho, USA 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 D’oh! So, this livery continues in service today? Intriguing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 27, 2020 Author Share Posted December 27, 2020 2 hours ago, Allegheny1600 said: D’oh! So, this livery continues in service today? Intriguing! Yes, and the Reading and Northern currently rosters several old end cab switchers including my Atlas MP15dc #1540. When I resarched the R&N, I discovered that the railroad interchanges with Norfolk Southern at a few locations in Pennsylvania. This gives me an excuse to run my NS GP38-2. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 More static grass and grass tufts added to create an overgrown look and NS GP38-2 #5664 makes an appearance. 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 R&N #1540 switches cars left on the interchange track by NS #5664 (see previous photo) 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 More progress as I work from left to right on the layout. A yard office and parking lot have been added and in the the background, shipping containers and another non rail served low relief warehouse. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 I've added more static grass and grass tufts. A lot of the tufts are home made. The advantage of making them yourself is that they can be any size you like whereas commercial products tend to be small and often all the same size. The layout is now finished, just a few details to add. I'm enjoying switching this layout more than than any other since my old 'Palmetto Spur' which was 10 years ago. Operation is different, as trains must first arrive at the interchange track before switching commences. The main industry spur has multiple spots for a covered hopper, corn syrup tanks and boxcars. There is 1 spot at the Transload area and 1 'off-spot' on the same spur. These 2 photos show most of the completed layout and show a NS geep shoving in 4 cars. The blue RBL boxcar next to the loco is destined for the Transload. The yellow Cargill covered hopper is 'off-spot' and will be re-spotted later at the silos by Reading & Northern. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Keith Addenbrooke Posted January 7, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 7, 2021 Operationally, I like the idea of using the middle track as the interchange - it gives a clear purpose to it, which can be a challenge on narrow layouts. The generous length spurs look great, and I’d guess are enjoyable to switch too. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam_uk Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Layout looks great!! It has given me inspiration for Oliver Springs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted January 9, 2021 Author Share Posted January 9, 2021 On 07/01/2021 at 09:16, Keith Addenbrooke said: Operationally, I like the idea of using the middle track as the interchange - it gives a clear purpose to it, which can be a challenge on narrow layouts. The generous length spurs look great, and I’d guess are enjoyable to switch too. Yes, the layout is enjoyable to operate. I'm currently trying out a sequence of switching moves and rotating cars on and off the layout. It's surprising how many permutations of switching moves are possible despite there being only 2 switches. Here is R&N #1540 switching a corn syrup car. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 A socially distanced discussion regarding corn syrup unloading at the food processor. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supaned Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Do you use a program such as JMRI for switching ? I've used it for Freemo meets and have set it up for the home layout I'm intending to build , which is useful as you can operate the layout virtually to see how it all works. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Supaned said: Do you use a program such as JMRI for switching ? I've used it for Freemo meets and have set it up for the home layout I'm intending to build , which is useful as you can operate the layout virtually to see how it all works. No. I'm happy just to simply rotate cars. Just finished an operating session which lasted around 30 mins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 NS GP38-2 #5664 passes the yard office as it shoves a short cut of cars into the interchange track. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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