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Hi, 

it has been a while since I have made any real attempt at a layout.  Things are a bit up in the air with numerous things conspiring to make me more of an observer, but I have recently brought a number of baseboards from Railway Laser Lines in Taunton and will be doing a small end to end layout (2.1m x 0.375m) for showcasing my US rolling stock.  We’re going through some changes at home, most recently, starting a new job for me, but also the relocation that comes with such moves.  So, rather than be in limbo, I decided that a lightweight layout of manageable size, such as this, would be a way of stopping me watching rubbish on TV in the evenings and allow me to break away from my job for small breaks during the day.   I have sold all of my UK stock and decided to concentrate on US, but more specifically HO Canadian, given I have a love for this part of the world and the rolling stock fascinates me.  The aim of this layout will be to run locos in a small switching area, and allow me to enjoy the hobby.  There will be some US visitors to the layout as well.

 

The new box of boards as they arrived.

50520282012_926cd7078b_c.jpgIMG-20201021-WA0000 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

And the flatpack contents

50520105161_4e114cefc7_c.jpgIMG-20201021-WA0004 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

After an evening, the baseboards are glued together. 

50562605197_1b737dd2b7_c.jpgBaseboards built by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

These boards were very easy to build, taking me a few hours one Sunday evening. They are 3mm MDF and, while there are no instructions, these are not really needed. The guys at RLL helpfully numbering the four sets of boards that I had ordered. I had ordered 4 x 575mm x 375mm and one 400mm x 375mm, which gives me around 2.1m, or 7ft of running length and takes up a small part of the room that has become the working office for me.  They took around 5 days to be made and delivered when ordered and were the cheapest I could find such boards, so plumped for them.  I highly recommend them, having no issues, with great communications and fast delivery for a made to order product.

 

The aim of the layout will be to represent a small shunt to a warehouse, with two diesel stabling lines to the front of the board.  This will feed to the other side for a diesel workshop and some kind of hidden siding for one of two locos.  The working area is quite small, but I feel after absorbing plenty of layouts, it can be done and provide me with fun to move stock around and also with the scenery.

 

Cheers

Edited by GEOEng03
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  • GEOEng03 changed the title to Willow Creek MkII

Hi, hope you are all well.

 

Overview of layout to date. Have made a start on track laying…  I am trying to keep this as simple as possible, and will just have stock out to suit my mood.  At the moment, the idea is that the left of the layout will house a simple single track warehouse, with two diesel storage and laydown areas to the front of the layout.  These tracks are large enough to fit three full sized ES44’s in, so will hopefully provide a useful storage and area of interest for when the locomotives are moving back and forth.  The intention is to have the building shown on the right as part of the central area, where further movement can occur, adding a bit more operational interest. The area to the right where the locos are stored, will be some kind of two to three bay diesel workshop area. I have one of the rather excellent Walthers diesel shop kits, but alas its way too big, so I will have to scratch building something for this area.  There will be a number of hidden tracks to the rear, where the building currently is.

 

50616260758_0019289384_c.jpg20201118_122213 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

These two pictures show the area in a bit more detail. To make this work, I have had to use a Peco double slip. A substantial investment to say the least, but it makes this area work really well, by condensing the track plan somewhat and allowing operation to different directions via such a small place.

 

50617109677_558308eaef_c.jpg20201118_122159 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

50616998261_895b0903b5_c.jpg20201118_122204 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

All track is Peco Code 83 and is ElectroFrog, and is being wired as such. I have a number of Tam Valley Frog Juicers that I will trial and play around with and thing off PM4 point motors for powering the switches. The layout will be controlled by a NCE Powercab and I will look to build a board for controlling the switches.  I am working on less being more with this, limiting to 3 buildings max, but also have a Walthers double track girder bridge that I may use as a scenic break and to provide some vertical relief.  I would like to install some track crossings as well, but need to see how that pans out when the layout starts to fall together!

 

Rolling stock is a mixture of Canadian from the 1970’s through to the modern day, with some special appearances by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern Stock.  The area is not specific to East or West at the moment, I just want to run the diverse collection of trains that I have been building for this area.

Cheers

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On 18/11/2020 at 13:57, GEOEng03 said:

Rolling stock is a mixture of Canadian from the 1970’s through to the modern day, with some special appearances by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern Stock.  The area is not specific to East or West atm, I juts want to run the diverse collection of trains that I have been building for this area.

Cheers

Go for it - run what you like & have fun, that's the whole point!! 

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On 18/11/2020 at 08:57, GEOEng03 said:

Rolling stock is a mixture of Canadian from the 1970’s through to the modern day, with some special appearances by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern Stock. 

 

One of the great things about the North American railways is how interchangeable everything is - and not just the obvious freight cars.

 

For various reasons they even borrow/lease each others locos at time, as this photo showing a CN freight in Paris ON being lead by a BNSF loco in 2006 shows

 

http://www.railpictures.ca/upload/bnsf-c44-9w-4749-leads-cn-train-394-around-the-s-curves-in-paris-ontario-while-making-its-run-to-mac-yard-in-toronto

 

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Just to be pedantic, if you are running prior to about 1995, American leased locos in Canada cannot be the lead loco. (radio compatibility, cab conditions mandated by unions, etc)  There are still some restrictions but generally anything built or rebuilt since the mid 90s is ok. Which leads me to a potential modelling scenario. The border crossing. Where the locos would be changed over. I used to see this frequently at Coutts AB and Kingsgate BC. 

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8 hours ago, mdvle said:

 

One of the great things about the North American railways is how interchangeable everything is - and not just the obvious freight cars.

 

For various reasons they even borrow/lease each others locos at time, as this photo showing a CN freight in Paris ON being lead by a BNSF loco in 2006 shows

 

http://www.railpictures.ca/upload/bnsf-c44-9w-4749-leads-cn-train-394-around-the-s-curves-in-paris-ontario-while-making-its-run-to-mac-yard-in-toronto

 


One thing I’m noticing in videos of the US is just how many Canadian owned Autoracks appear in the trains - which must presumably mean there will be a lot of US owned Autoracks running around Canada too?

 

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On 18/11/2020 at 13:57, GEOEng03 said:

Hi, hope all are well.

 

Overview of layout to date. Have made a start on track laying…  I am trying to keep this as simple as possible, and will just have stock out to suit my mood.  At the moment, the idea is that the left of the layout will house a simple single track warehouse, with two diesel storage and laydown areas to the front of the layout.  These tracks are large enough to fit three full sized ES44’s in, so will hopefully provide a useful storage and area of interest for when the locomotives are moving back and forth.  The intention is to have the building shown on the right as part of the central area, where further movement can occur, adding a bit more operational interest. The area to the right where the locos are stored, will be some kind of two to three bay diesel workshop area. I have one of the rather excellent Walthers diesel shop kits, but alas its way too big, so I will have to scratch building something for this area.  There will be a number of hidden tracks to the rear, where the building currently is.

 

50616260758_0019289384_c.jpg20201118_122213 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

These two pictures show the area in a bit more detail. To make this work, I have had to use a Peco double slip. A substantial investment to say the least, but it makes this area work really well, by condensing the track plan somewhat and allowing operation to different directions via such a small place.

 

50617109677_558308eaef_c.jpg20201118_122159 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

50616998261_895b0903b5_c.jpg20201118_122204 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

All track is Peco Code 83 and is ElectroFrog, and is being wired as such. I have a number of Tam Valley Frog Juicers that iw ill trial and play around with and thing off PM4 point motors for powering the switches. The layout will be controlled by a NCE Powercab and I will look to build a board for controlling the switches.  I am working on less being more with this, limiting to 3 buildings max, but also have a Walthers double track girder bridge that I may use as a scenic break and to provide some vertical relief.  I would like to install some track crossings as well, but need to see how that pans out when the lauout starts to fall together!

 

Rolling stock is a mixture of Canadian from the 1970’s through to the modern day, with some special appearances by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern Stock.  The area is not specific to East or West atm, I juts want to run the diverse collection of trains that I have been building for this area.

Cheers


Could I ask about  the blue background building?  Is it a kit / kitbash or scratchbuilt (I’m on the lookout for ideas at the moment, and several of the layouts in the Forum make good use of low relief structures).  Thanks, Keith.

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2 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:


One thing I’m noticing in videos of the US is just how many Canadian owned Autoracks appear in the trains - which must presumably mean there will be a lot of US owned Autoracks running around Canada too?

 

Auto racks have been subject to a pooling agreement since the 1960s and so run from Mexico to Canada, the flat cars underneath frequently belong to Trailer Train (now TTX). The pool arrangement also applies to boxcars in auto parts service either high capacity boxcars for light components like panels or interior trim, or regular height 50’ cars for heavy components like transmission parts, CP and CN both had large fleets.

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6 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:


One thing I’m noticing in videos of the US is just how many Canadian owned Autoracks appear in the trains - which must presumably mean there will be a lot of US owned Autoracks running around Canada too?

 

 

Other poster covered the pool arrangement, but as an example here in Brampton Ontario the autoracks have the big US railroads as well as Ferromex well represented - so you don't solid consists of the same thing even if there typically aren't much of a colour difference in the cars.

 

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9 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:


One thing I’m noticing in videos of the US is just how many Canadian owned Autoracks appear in the trains - which must presumably mean there will be a lot of US owned Autoracks running around Canada too?

 

 

More generally, it is best to ignore the 2 borders the US has and consider the rail network as a combined Canada/US/Mexico system (sort of like the UK rail system is England/Scotland/Wales with Northern Ireland isolated like Alaska is)

 

Then consider it doesn't make sense to needlessly transfer cargo to avoid a freight car from going onto another railroad.

 

Thus the interchange of freight cars has been happening a long time, so for example even in the steam era you would find Canadian boxcars in the southern US as they brought items like newsprint to customers, or you would see coal hoppers in Ontario from the northeastern coal roads like the Pennsy.

 

And the Pennsy was a special case, where for example they had so many box cars compared to any other railroad that you could find a Pennsy boxcar almost anywhere in the US in that era.

 

The bigger question in most cases to determine what you will see (or need for a model if you desire to be accurate) is what the freight needs are and then what is appropriate for that freight.

 

So generally in the more modern era the only time you tend to see a lot of home road freight cars is when there is a unit train of some commodity that is trapped to the host railroad - so for example both CN and CP in the last couple of years have bough thousands of new covered hoppers to carry grain, and most of that traffic stays on each of the respective railroad as it moves from the prairies to the ports for transhipment.

 

Generally, for the modern railroad the commodities that move between railroads (crude oil, containers, chemicals) are all in 3rd party owned freight cars.  In that respect the autocarriers (and the other stuff dealing with the autoplants) is something of the exception to the rule today in still having railroad owned equipment along with the now much smaller number of boxcars.

 

What this means is two things depending on what you want to do

  1. if you want to be accurate you need to do research and try and find photos/videos of the typical trains, or track down what the traffic flows are and where they originated.
  2. if you don't care about accuracy, then you can pick and choose what appeals to you and not need to worry excessively that it isn't your railroad of choice in the modern era, or as you go backwards to towards the steam era you gradually get more home road stuff but can still have others for variety.

 

 

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Further to my above, consider the freight train videos at the YouTube link below (from 2017) - eliminate the locos and the location from you knowledge, and how would you know what railroad you are watching?

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCckhaMjgJWhTiW328-L8uHA/videos

 

Also consider the one covered hopper in the one video - painted for the Rock Island which ceased to exist March 31st 1980 and merely had its number patched to reflect change in ownership.

 

So 37 years after a railroad ceased to exist you can still justifiably (either with research or as rule 1) potentially run an old freight scheme as a one off on a more modern layout if the equipment is still suitable.

 

 

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On 18/11/2020 at 13:57, GEOEng03 said:

Hi, hope all are well.

 

Overview of layout to date. Have made a start on track laying…  I am trying to keep this as simple as possible, and will just have stock out to suit my mood.  At the moment, the idea is that the left of the layout will house a simple single track warehouse, with two diesel storage and laydown areas to the front of the layout.  These tracks are large enough to fit three full sized ES44’s in, so will hopefully provide a useful storage and area of interest for when the locomotives are moving back and forth.  The intention is to have the building shown on the right as part of the central area, where further movement can occur, adding a bit more operational interest. The area to the right where the locos are stored, will be some kind of two to three bay diesel workshop area. I have one of the rather excellent Walthers diesel shop kits, but alas its way too big, so I will have to scratch building something for this area.  There will be a number of hidden tracks to the rear, where the building currently is.

 

50616260758_0019289384_c.jpg20201118_122213 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

These two pictures show the area in a bit more detail. To make this work, I have had to use a Peco double slip. A substantial investment to say the least, but it makes this area work really well, by condensing the track plan somewhat and allowing operation to different directions via such a small place.

 

50617109677_558308eaef_c.jpg20201118_122159 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

50616998261_895b0903b5_c.jpg20201118_122204 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

All track is Peco Code 83 and is ElectroFrog, and is being wired as such. I have a number of Tam Valley Frog Juicers that iw ill trial and play around with and thing off PM4 point motors for powering the switches. The layout will be controlled by a NCE Powercab and I will look to build a board for controlling the switches.  I am working on less being more with this, limiting to 3 buildings max, but also have a Walthers double track girder bridge that I may use as a scenic break and to provide some vertical relief.  I would like to install some track crossings as well, but need to see how that pans out when the lauout starts to fall together!

 

Rolling stock is a mixture of Canadian from the 1970’s through to the modern day, with some special appearances by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern Stock.  The area is not specific to East or West atm, I juts want to run the diverse collection of trains that I have been building for this area.

Cheers


Sorry, another question: is there sufficient cross-bracing under the boards for them to simply rest on top of the cupboard without risk of toppling over if you lean on one end?  (Reason for asking: I have just been conversation about doing exactly this).  Thanks, Keith.

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On 19/11/2020 at 23:48, F-UnitMad said:

Go for it - run what you like & have fun, that's the whole point!! 

Agreed, I do like to have some factual consistency, where possible, but that is the beauty of American railroads, there is a prototype for a lot of things! 

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On 20/11/2020 at 08:07, Keith Addenbrooke said:


Could I ask about  the blue background building?  Is it a kit / kitbash or scratchbuilt (I’m on the lookout for ideas at the moment, and several of the layouts in the Forum make good use of low relief structures).  Thanks, Keith.

Hi Keith 

It is a Walthers Cornerstone Kit.  They have quite a few low relief buildings if you keep an eye on eBay, though a few have just gone for double the dollar price, so you just have to be patient.  I have slightly kitbashed it to sit how I want it on my layout, but that is the beauty of Walther Cornerstone and many other US kits, they are modular in quite a few instances. 

 

https://www.walthers.com/bud-s-trucking-company-background-building-kit-19-x-1-1-8-x-4-quot-48-2-x-2-8-x-10-1cm

 

Cheers

Bryn

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On 20/11/2020 at 21:02, Keith Addenbrooke said:


Sorry, another question: is there sufficient cross-bracing under the boards for them to simply rest on top of the cupboard without risk of toppling over if you lean on one end?  (Reason for asking: I have just been conversation about doing exactly this).  Thanks, Keith.

Hi Keith, 

Yes there is plenty of support under there and each section is held together with 5mm bolts.  I will upload some pictures when i get chance later this weekend. I need to just see if I can brace the ends a bit, and may do that with some 9mm ply underneath that I have (for it to sit on). 

 

Worthwhile doing and I had about 30mins of fun the other night with the simple area I have, moving stock back and forth...!  I don't have the time and space for a large layout at the moment, but love playing with trains, so this is a happy compromise. 

 

I highly recommend these guy's and the prices are quite good for what you are getting - I just wanted a quick easy layout that I could build, so accepted the uplift for that - I had sold some UK rolling stock from the FGW region and made a reasonable profit, so was quite happy. 

 

https://railwaylaserlines.co.uk/

 

Cheers 

Bryn

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On 20/11/2020 at 10:03, DanielB said:

GEOEng03, looks like you're off to a great start. I'll be following with interest. :)

 

 

Keith, Clevermodels do a bunch of photo realistic printable kits that work great as background buildings.

 

Here's one I kitbashed. :)

 

Thanks for that. 

 

Love the scene that you have set up there.  It is quite realistic from a relief perspective. Will have to check these guys out, they certainly show the buildings as being old, grimy and what you'd expect in a area such as that.  I always get frustrated with card kits, hence I always fall back to plastic, but i know how much £££ or $$$ they can save 

Cheers

Edited by GEOEng03
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1 hour ago, GEOEng03 said:

Hi Keith, 

Yes there is plenty of support under there and each section is held together with 5mm bolts.  I will upload some pictures when i get chance later this weekend. I need to just see if i can brace the ends a bit, and may do that with some 9mm ply underneath that i have (for it to sit on). 

 

Worthwhile doing and I had about 30mins of fun the other night with the simple area i have, moving stock back and forth...!  I don't have the time and space for a large layout at the moment, but love playing with trains, so this is a happy compromise. 

 

I highly recommend these guy's and the prices are quite good for what you are getting - i just wanted a quick easy layout that I could build, so accepted the uplift for that - i had sold some UK rolling stock from the FGW region and made a reasonable profit, so was quite happy. 

 

https://railwaylaserlines.co.uk/

 

Cheers 

Bryn


Thanks Bryn, that’s really helpful.  
 

In my own case, I’m quite happy making simple ply and softwood  baseboards (though they’re obviously not as good as the Laserlines ones - by a long way): it’s the sub-frames and supports / legs I’m not confident with for narrow boards, so if a bookcase / cupboard works without the boards sliding off it could solve my problem.

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I have had a delivery from ScaleModelScenery for some consumables to allow scenic progression on the layout.  These are predominantly to allow me to get on and add concrete hard standing to the low relief depot area on the top left of the layout and start to lay ground for the diesel maintenance area on the right lower side of the layout.  I have a collection of LX096 for the rail area and then extension kit LX103 to create the larger laydown areas. 

 

50651997188_d4291fdb48_c.jpg20201126_203243 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

So I have laid the track and extension concrete for the small low relief area and I have yet to decide whether to paint or use the relief sheets that come with the kit.  The sheets are pretty good to be honest, but I feel painting will give a much better depth of realism - depending on how I fair at painting!  The blocks for the extension area are 4mm MDF and break into the sections as you see them.  I really do like the way the track and concrete area have joined together and certainly gives this area an industrial feel. 

 

50651996548_44ed02b306_c.jpg20201127_122032 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

With building in place 

 

50652738801_298335507a_c.jpg20201127_122057 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

With a loco and trailers in place 

 

50651996143_b9cca17f67_c.jpg20201127_122251 by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

There will be a boundary wall/fence separating the two tracks to the bottom of the layout and the industrial yard area.  I appreciate it is small progress, but i was quite pleased with what i got done over the course of an evening.  I just need to work out how to end the concrete at the approach to teh point area - the plan is to assume that access to this area by Vehicles, is from the left (end) of the layout. 

 

I have decided that I will scratch build the diesel workshop, so will concentrate on laying the track in this area first and then go from there. 

 

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Brief update.  I have now finalized the track plan.  After mulling over, I decided that the building to the center rear and track was a bit too much and didn't really serve a purpose, so i removed the two points from either end, and this has given me a slightly longer, second hidden track for storage.  So the plan now is

  • Left side - will remain as a low relief industrial, with two diesel tracks to the front - I have a number of detailing kits including fuel tanks to populate this area; 
  • Central part - at the back, I have now started to break down the Geo Roberts building I had built and will scratch build this as a lengthened stretch of low relief buildings, to occupy that area at the back of the board; 
  • Right side - the back will have two hidden storage tracks, while I will use the former building from the central area as a diesel shed of sorts. I need to see what I have in the spares box, as this was a low relief structure and may not lend itself to being a two bay building - but I may cut up the Walthers Cornerstone Diesel building I have for this.  I will add further hard standing to this area as well. 

All the track is in and live for DCC, by reducing the points by two, helps to simplify this when I come to wiring for control of these as well. I now only have a total of 3 #6 points and a double slip, but have plenty of playability (I think) from this. 

 

50671376071_753d3de438_c.jpgTrack work in place. by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

I am mulling over the center front area as well.  I have a Walthers Transformer set that I am thinking I could scratch build to be smaller and cross the track overhead to provide power to the printers over the track.  I want to provide some scenic relief as well, and have brought a number of the Woodland Scenics kits to have a good at making trees and other scenic areas.  One of the kits has a road creating system and I am thinking of a car par in this area as well.  Otherwise, access roads could be another alternative. 

 

50671409046_46f687ff1d_c.jpgScenic purchases by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

A shot of the Geo Roberts building now broke down.  This has been quite a lengthy paint and prep, it had not place on the layout in its intended by Walthers layout, but with a bit of work, should make a great back scene for the layout.  The door in the center is to be cut out and replaced with some spare parts it came with, to make it more in keeping with the limited space at the back of the track.

 

50671418066_020db9a3dd_c.jpgGeo Printers by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

Edited by GEOEng03
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On 20/11/2020 at 13:33, mdvle said:

Further to my above, consider the freight train videos at the YouTube link below (from 2017) - eliminate the locos and the location from you knowledge, and how would you know what railroad you are watching?

 

While that may be more true today than in the past, on a particular railroad, at a particular point, you can tell where trains are going or came from based on the cars in the train.

 

The classic example I use is the UP at Ft Worth, TX.  The UP has an east-west line that crosses a north-south line.  On the N-S line you will see coal trains, grain trains and auto parts, lots of tank cars, virtually no intermodal.  On the E-W line you will see lots of intermodal and some autos/auto parts, virtually no coal or grain.  Same railroad, two completely different traffic mixes.

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Couldn't sleep last night, so I spent a few hours kit bashing the Walthers Geo Roberts and Diesel House kits to make them both fit the layout. 

 

First picture is the progress I am making on the Geo Roberts structure.  I will need to fill in the area where I have cut the kit to allow use as low relief (either side of the center section), plus I will need to make a new roof to fit the new layout - so need to purchase some plasti-card to allow this.  I will at the same time, add some interior flooring and LED lighting to try and provide some extra relief to the unit.  Then detailing around this can occur.  My wife is working over the weekend, so around chores, this will be a main focus. I have some etched ladders available, so will be using these to finish the fire escape and have ordered some cages to add some more depth. 

 

50675461603_db974a33af_c.jpgKit bashing by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

50676209426_39a790fa89_c.jpgKit bashing by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

The second cut and shut is the Modern Diesel House kit.  This was originally three bay and I am doing an average job of cutting this to two bay to fit the layout in this area.  I have also had to reduce the length of the structure, because of the curved track from the point I have - and I still need to remove a few more cm's I think!  Again, once it has been filled and painted, I am sure it will look much better.  I need to cut the roof quiet considerably, but that can wait until i have detailed the interior.  I can recover some of the interior detailing from the kit, but wont be using the base in this instance. 

 

50675460938_2c11d4f229_c.jpgKit bashing by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

50676292522_2569c76cfe_c.jpgKit bashing by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

50676292202_db9909a5f5_c.jpgKit bashing by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Hard standing in this area is not fixed at the moment and I need to try and see what works best.  This is likely to take a bit of time to get sorted (kit bashing), but i feel the layout has a generally ok feel to it now, given the size! 

 

Cheers

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Not had a massive amount of time this week for the layout, but a few new additions have arrived this week, a CP ES44 and a few SD70's in UP from Athearn.  The UP 'For our People' is an amazing print job by Athearn and was worth the amount paid for it. 

 

Anyway, the point of this post is to say how impressed I am at how well the Walthers Mainline ES44 stands up to the Athearn Genesis version - this extends to the SD70 as well.  Ok, the Walthers needed the additional detailing fitted (grab irons etc...) and the radio pod on the roof, but for the difference in price, it is actually much better than you would expect from a cheaper locomotive - thinking Hornby Railroad here :D.  Anyway, a quick review of the two next to each other below. 

 

Overall, the Athearn is a slightly darker red for the CP red, but is crisp and printed well.  The detailing (warning stickers etc.. is much better as well).  But surprisingly the Walthers is quite a bit heavier.  Both are sound fitted and the Tsunami2 is much better than the Walthers chip, but it is only really the sounds of horn etc... that are markedly worse.  In fact, the Walthers needs less alteration to CV's out of the box to be more representative of the loco at low speeds. 

 

Front end shows that the Athearn (right) is has a much better array of fine detail, but not as much as you would imagine.  The ditch lights are much better quality on the Athearn, but only as they are new LED.  The Walthers has had the MU houses fitted as well, as additional details - as well as the grab irons.  Grab rails are much finer and look better, but again, this is where the additional cost comes in.  Wipers were added separately, but really add to the realism of the Walthers unit. 

 

50701982507_ca12c12db3_c.jpgAthearn Genesis / Walthers Mainline ES44 comparison by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Much the same at the rear as above, with the detailing been just that little bit better, but the additional pack adds to the shapes, which are overly similar.  I am sure that more of the detail could be added by scratch building, but this is a part of the engine that is rarely seen! 

 

50701155608_d74bcccdb7_c.jpgAthearn Genesis / Walthers Mainline ES44 comparison by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Same from above, the roof pod is scratch built and added, but there is a a good level of detail moulded to both units. Etched grills and the warning stickers/depth of moulded detail really do bring out the Athearn unit though! 

 

50701982152_01b419a8af_c.jpgAthearn Genesis / Walthers Mainline ES44 comparison by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Finally, the sides.  The relief on the moulding is not as good as the Athearn, with the detail standing proud somewhat... However, both units have limited etching on the side grills (something that really shows ScaleTrains as being top drawer here) and is something that I feel Athearn have missed a trick with.  Handrails are very similar in depth as well.  Overall, i feel the sides are not worlds apart, given the price point of the Walthers.  Trucks are well detailed on both, and only just a bit worse on the Walthers version. Printing on both is excellent. 

 

50701155388_07bc1b9ba7_c.jpgAthearn Genesis / Walthers Mainline ES44 comparison by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

50701155383_26043bded6_c.jpgAthearn Genesis / Walthers Mainline ES44 comparison by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Overall, the Athearn is the better unit, but at the price point and a few hours work, the Walthers is really standout and doesn't look too bad when stood on the layout.  Sound could be better, but again, the price point allows this as being ok.  I have two of these ES44s from Walthers and won't hesitate to get more when in the States or Canada at the prices i have seen you can get them for.  Over here, they do sell for not much less than you can buy Athearn over the pond and adding the detailing does add the realism that they lack otherwise.   While i can't fault either unit, i just would like Athearn to up it slightly to provide etched grills at the price point - something that the Genesis 2.0 range will add i am sure. 

 

All my own views and wanted to share these, add a bit of a different slant to my progress.  May do the SD70ACe if there is interest. 

 

Cheers

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Small update. I get two weeks off from today, so as well as the usual holiday chores planned and with the extra time from not seeing any family or friends during the festive relaxation of rules, i intend on trying to get a good chunk of the layout in place from a scenic aspect. 

 

I have been busy building some air ducts and cage ladders for the building and a set of Wills fuel tanks for the diesel laydown area.  The diesel shed has now been cut to the size I need and I will start to get that pulled together.  There has been a bit of switching of stock, with all my pre 2000 Canadian stock bar a sole C630M being shifted for some newer modern arrivals, including the two below.  I have decided that I want a bit of variety on the layout and UP/BNSF are ever common west and east, north of the border, giving me a reason to have some nice US locos involved as well.  I seem to have developed a thing for the GE ES44's... 

 

Anyway, i will try and report back with progress, amongst the lazy days planned for my stay at home and hopefully, we will see some real progress over the next 2 weeks to properly show the rolling stock i have.  I will do a review of these Primed for Grime Genesis locomotives, which provide an excellent starting point to weather nastily... 

 

50732697361_9ce70d50cf_c.jpgNew arrivals for Willow Creek by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Cheers

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Brief out f the box review.  Both are faded and patched up  as seen in service for a number of years.  Both represent the units at a point they have been in service and a good look around the net shows pictures of both in service in this condition for a number of years in the noughties and tenses.  They are quite a good start to showing this condition and in my eyes are quite good in this regard and look as good as pristine.  

 

Side view showing the 'Primed for Grime' Fading and replaced panels on both units. These really are quite dull with little sheen when compared to the pristine versions and I actually quite like having something prototypically a bit different at a similar price point to the pristine versions.  

50733210361_806e7fb64b_c.jpgAthearn Primed for Grime ES44 UP/BNSF by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

The other side, showing the small priming marks on the BNSF version. 

50732480848_224479e673_c.jpgAthearn Primed for Grime ES44 UP/BNSF by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Closer detail of scorch mark decals and primed panel on the UP version. I am not sure i am convinced with this, and have seen one of the NS modellers on YouTube doe a proper from scratch scorching of of one his ES44's.

50733210301_3a0b1b8087_c.jpgAthearn Primed for Grime ES44 UP/BNSF by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Front of units. 

50733210101_2d59c6cff6_c.jpgAthearn Primed for Grime ES44 UP/BNSF by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Comparison of the two UP (new and faded colours). This really shows the difference in service fading can do to the model and I do think the faded colours, look much better. 

50733309897_380c6fc6a7_c.jpgUnion Pacific Faded vs fresh Yellow by Bryn Jones, on Flickr

 

Both impressive starts to griming the unit and i look forward to having a go at applying weathering to these units to really bring them out - which they will need to really take advantage of this detail. The 'Prime for Grime' detailing is meant as a base start for getting the weathering/in use look going and i quite fancied these units for them being a bit different. 

Cheers

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