Wiley City

[Barry Ten]

Excellent and convincing, as others have said. Love the general store/crossing scene.

[John B]

Superb, Andy. Like Al, I love that crossing and general store scene.

[Longers]

I really like this! Looks like another reason to try and get to TVNAM

 

Many years ago I was lucky enough to operate a friends layout at several exhibitions. It was called the Yakima Valley RR, a stunning On30 logging/mining line populated by shays, set in 1930's Colorado mountains. As far as I can remember they simply chose the name because they liked it, having seen it on a map in Washington!

 

At one exhibition a British guy commented that it was a great layout but where was the overhead wire. Later that same day an American shouted out how well the layout captured the prototype...! The American did have an eye for detail though - he pointed out that one of the Model T trucks had a jerry can on the back and jerry cans were not invented until WW2....

 

Cheers,

Longers

[298]

Superb, Andy, just like being in Wiley City itself. Have not been there myself since autumn of 2004, but your modeling evokes memories and certainly makes me want to go upstairs and find my copy of "Apple Country Interurban."

 

 

Not too many photos of Wiley City in ACI, but i'll try to do a photo-match later for you. It's worth a look if you're in the area, as the in-use buildings seem to be in better condition lately than before, but unfortunately the large brick warehouse burnt down not long after your last trip.

 

Thankyou all for your comments, it's quite scary that there aren't too many "final bits" left to finish, apart from the dreaded details and cameo scenes. I had a quick play last night and soon realised a layout of this size doesn't need alot of clutter and twee "finger-pointing" bits as too many spoil the scene.

[298]

I really like this! Looks like another reason to try and get to TVNAM

 

Many years ago I was lucky enough to operate a friends layout at several exhibitions. It was called the Yakima Valley RR, a stunning On30 logging/mining line populated by shays, set in 1930's Colorado mountains. As far as I can remember they simply chose the name because they liked it, having seen it on a map in Washington!

 

Cheers,

Longers

 

Was that the layout that appeared in a Peco Narrow Gauge plans book, or excellent Rio Grande On30 layout with sound effects that called themselves "Team Yakima"....? I briefly spoke to the owner about 10 years ago just before I started modelling the YVT and it quickly became apparent he had only borrowed the name....!!

 

One of the nice things from operating the previous layout were the comments from spectators who actually recognised the prototype, either through magazines or their own trips to ride the tourist trolleys or photograph the electrics whilst still in service.

[F-UnitMad]

.... soon realised a layout of this size doesn't need alot of clutter and twee "finger-pointing" bits as too many spoil the scene.

An excellent point - it is very easy to 'overcrowd' a layout...

[Longers]

Was that the layout that appeared in a Peco Narrow Gauge plans book, or excellent Rio Grande On30 layout with sound effects that called themselves "Team Yakima"....? I briefly spoke to the owner about 10 years ago just before I started modelling the YVT and it quickly became apparent he had only borrowed the name....!!

 

Not sure about the Peco book, but the RG On30 layout with sound was from the same owner/group (Paul Stapleton) but was the follow up to the original Yakima Valley.

 

Cheers,

Longers

[John B]

Paul Stapleton (and "team Yakima")'s On30 RGS layout was "Echoes of the Black Canyon". Superb it was, too. I got to know Paul initially through being a regular visitor in the 90s to Bernie Victor's establishment in Islington, where Paul often helped me part with cash. The sound effects (pre-DCC, solid-state technology from PFM) and the lightning flashes were something to behold..

[298]

Paul Stapleton (and "team Yakima")'s On30 RGS layout was "Echoes of the Black Canyon". Superb it was, too. I got to know Paul initially through being a regular visitor in the 90s to Bernie Victor's establishment in Islington, where Paul often helped me part with cash. The sound effects (pre-DCC, solid-state technology from PFM) and the lightning flashes were something to behold..

 

Thanks for clearing that up, the name sounds familiar now. I suppose he's responsible for the On30 "logging line in the Pacific Northwest" cliche layout that are common on the exhibition circuit.

 

Anyway, here's one of the came scenes I tried, the Bikini Carwash is a bit of a long running joke amongst local US modellers:

 

[Jon Gwinnett]

Can't beat a bikini carwash. Not common here in chilly Scotland sadly...

[298]

Over the last few days, I have mostly been:

 

Adding the "STORAGE" sign to the concrete building, from a tidied up image of the original...:

 

 

Lightly weathering a few Intermountain 57' Reefers using diluted washes of raw sienna and raw umber, before and after photos...:

 

 

And adding licence plates to the fleet of road vehicles I have available for the layout. These are produced either from photos of originals, or by using http://acme.com/licensemaker/ . The 200x100 pixel images are collated and printed so each plate is a scale 12" long. Licence plates seem to be a minefield (Washington State ended up with three numbers and three letters, latterly separated by a hyphen, although i'm told they've recently gone to seven characters), so these are only temporary until I can get some accurate information...:

 

 

There are also a few 2mm round magnets embedded around the layout, and matching magnets glued to the engine block on vehicles helps to stop them from rolling off the edge. I've also found a HO figure can have his leg drilled out and an iron wire inserted, to make them easy to remove and yet self-standing. I can't have the crossing flagman stood in the road all of the time...

 

[Supaned]

Hmm there's a couple of vehicles missing in that line up:

 

1) a dirt-splattered pick up with a big "whip" aerial

2) a Plymouth police cruiser complete with Sherriff bedecked in beige shirt , brown trousers and stetson/smokey bear hat B)

[F-UnitMad]

The magnets under cars idea is inspired!! An excellent way to hold cars in place without actually gluing them down - especially on hills!! Thanks for posting!!

 

Subtle weathering on the Reefer, too. I find 'Subtle' a lot harder than 'Rust-Bucket'...

 

I'm not entirely sure of the date/Era of this layout - but doesn't it Pre-date the very '70s-sounding Pick-up with whip aerial and Plymouth Sheriff's Cruiser with Hill-Billy Sheriff..?

Have them and you should have a Dodge Charger in 'General Lee' paint... B) ... possibly also in mid-air... :lol:

[298]

The era will be the early 80's as with the previous layout, to fit in with 298 missing its footboards. I do have a Plymouth Fury cruiser, although its banned from the layout as stolen cars wrapped around poles are a bit of an overdone cliche.

[F-UnitMad]

... I do have a Plymouth Fury cruiser, although its banned from the layout as stolen cars wrapped around poles are a bit of an overdone cliche.

I saw a very subtle version on a layout once; just skid marks approaching a bend in the road, and the remains of a fence...

[Taigatrommel]

Andy, you're a wizard. This is one of those models that to me could be called art, full of life but not crowded, fantastically well observed and quite simply attractive. Your pace of work puts me to shame as well! Brilliant.

[298]

Hmm there's a couple of vehicles missing in that line up:

 

1) a dirt-splattered pick up with a big "whip" aerial

2) a Plymouth police cruiser complete with Sherriff bedecked in beige shirt , brown trousers and stetson/smokey bear hat B)

 

Thinking about it, one popular vehicle I've seen in Yakima is a Chevrolet Blazer with the rear top taken off to make a convertible, and I do have a spare in the bits box...

[298]

Just to show i'm also having a few last-minute panics and work is ongoing, I've been re-decaling a couple of the first release Intermountain R-70-20 and R-70-21 from black square PFE to UPFE (on black square), and black UPFE. The factory printing soon comes off with a little electrical contact cleaner on a cotton wool bud, and the decals are Microscale 87-17...:

 

 

 

I've also been "playing" with the Reefer weathering (after the discussion on the Harrington thread), as it seems there are so many variations and informed theories out there it's not just a case of spraying Tamiya Flat Earth over the undersides. For starters there is the regional variations in weathering colours and even over the seasons, and the general myth that Southern Pacific never washed anything, which wasn't the case for some customers carrying food produce. So after applying thin washes of Raw Sienna and Raw Umber Acrylic thinned with IPA and dusted with grey tile grout, and rust from MIG Vietnam Earth, I cleaned most of it off. I don't like the out of the box look and prefer to use a generalised condition that highlights the details, even if this is still too much for the average clean car. 458494 above is supposed to be in washed condition, and you'll notice the lack of Grafitti which although you could argue is unrealistic, is the way I prefer my models.

 

I've also been pondering over the layout height, during construction the layout used 1.05m length 32mm square pine which gave a height to rail of 46" and was only chosen as a pair of legs could be cut from the standard 2.1m length B&Q sell. This seemed fine until I lowered the lighting pelmet by about 5" in order to obscure the top of the backscene from a normal viewing height, and the only cure seems to be to raise the legs by 4" in order to get rid of the letterbox viewing effect and ensure the average viewer looks into the layout, rather than down on it. But is a height to rail of 50" too high for exhibition use (even though the operators have to stand, and it's primarily a home layout that'll be escaping for six hours in June)....? I need to finalise this before the curtains are sewn up....!!

 

(Apologies for mixing imperial and metric measurements, which probably explains why i'm not a Surveyor anymore....).

[F-UnitMad]

... is a height to rail of 50" too high for exhibition use (even though the operators have to stand, and it's primarily a home layout that'll be escaping for six hours in June)....? I need to finalise this before the curtains are sewn up....!!

 

I posted about exactly this dilemma with Schiller Point, which I aim to have pretty high to force the viewpoint.

General consensus is that as TVNAM is a fairly specialised show, go with what you intend. At a more general "MaPaKids" sort of Show, maybe a bit lower. It's one of those things where you'll never please everyone. Chances are though, that there'll be more adults grateful they don't have to bend down, than there are wheelchair users (for example) who complain they can't see...

[298]

On the subject of Reefer weathering, how can you explain this attempt at cleaning....:

 

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/up/upfe458104ak.jpg

[F-UnitMad]

On the subject of Reefer weathering, how can you explain this attempt at cleaning....:

Someone confused a polishing mop with an angle grinder...??

 

Or maybe it was an apprentice painter's first attempt at weathering....

[signalmaintainer]

The era will be the early 80's as with the previous layout, to fit in with 298 missing its footboards. I do have a Plymouth Fury cruiser, although its banned from the layout as stolen cars wrapped around poles are a bit of an overdone cliche.

 

Andy, if it's early 1980s you're after, then the blue-and-white license plate is too late for the Chevy on the far right. That version of plate wasn't introduced here until 1987. Here's a link that might help: http://www.15q.net/wa.html

 

I get deja vu every time I see this layout!

[Prof Klyzlr]

...I've also been pondering over the layout height, during construction the layout used 1.05m length 32mm square pine which gave a height to rail of 46" and was only chosen as a pair of legs could be cut from the standard 2.1m length B&Q sell. This seemed fine until I lowered the lighting pelmet by about 5" in order to obscure the top of the backscene from a normal viewing height, and the only cure seems to be to raise the legs by 4" in order to get rid of the letterbox viewing effect and ensure the average viewer looks into the layout, rather than down on it. But is a height to rail of 50" too high for exhibition use (even though the operators have to stand, and it's primarily a home layout that'll be escaping for six hours in June)....? I need to finalise this before the curtains are sewn up....!!

 

(Apologies for mixing imperial and metric measurements, which probably explains why i'm not a Surveyor anymore....).

 

Dear 298,

 

I personally prefer 1550mm track height at home, which is about "top lip" level for me when standing straight-yet-comfortably up,

and gives me an entirely absorbing scale 10' - 20' eye-altitude viewpoint in HO scale.

(I'm not a particularly tall guy...)

 

For show work, I drop that to 1350mm, which over many years has proven to be a good compromise between

- at an altitude which gives the parents a good view and re-inforces "this is a bit more than your average 'trainset'"

- while still being low enough to be "eye level" for min 5yo children standing on the crowd-barrier chairs oft supplied by the exhibition hall/host club,

(and with the full knowledge that children under 5 are unlikely to be able to appreciate the style and scene/theme being modelled,

and are going to better-appreciate the Thomas layout accross the way...)

 

Just my $0.05c...

 

Happy Modelling,

Aim to Improve,

Prof Klyzlr

[298]

Andy, if it's early 1980s you're after, then the blue-and-white license plate is too late for the Chevy on the far right. That version of plate wasn't introduced here until 1987. Here's a link that might help: http://www.15q.net/wa.html

 

I get deja vu every time I see this layout!

 

Thanks for the link, the ACME license plate maker also lists the Mt. Rainier design as 87 onwards. It did it as a temporary one to see how it reproduces, and a few modern vehicles will get this type for when I want to keep the YVT moving freight past 1985. This actual Suburban needs a few details, a white stripe, and the registration IVP214 adding to represent the 1977 model that YVT historian and author Ken Johnsen was driving at the time (and also apppears in the Green Frog video and was used as a camera car for the scene where 298 chases you along North 6th Ave).

 

 

BTW, what's the connection between Washington License plates and the YVT...? Excavating the Selah Gap and manufacturing WA plates both used labour from Walla Walla Prison.

[298]

Dear 298,

 

I personally prefer 1550mm track height at home, which is about "top lip" level for me when standing straight-yet-comfortably up,

and gives me an entirely absorbing scale 10' - 20' eye-altitude viewpoint in HO scale.

(I'm not a particularly tall guy...)

 

For show work, I drop that to 1350mm, which over many years has proven to be a good compromise between

- at an altitude which gives the parents a good view and re-inforces "this is a bit more than your average 'trainset'"

- while still being low enough to be "eye level" for min 5yo children standing on the crowd-barrier chairs oft supplied by the exhibition hall/host club,

(and with the full knowledge that children under 5 are unlikely to be able to appreciate the style and scene/theme being modelled,

and are going to better-appreciate the Thomas layout accross the way...)

 

Just my $0.05c...

 

Happy Modelling,

Aim to Improve,

Prof Klyzlr

 

Hi Prof,

 

I've found the smaller the layout, the taller it usually is (although it seems the maximum height for a layout such as this would be around the 4' mark. My previous Traction layout was slightly short of this, and only recieved one adverse comment and that was at a show with most layouts set up on tables, which I find quite off-putting. The layout has currently been jacked up to 50", and that height seems to work really well. At this stage, the eye level view looks a bit un-natural compared to what I'm used to seeing, and the better photographs I take are usually from above. I did consider some sort of jacking arrangement to raise or lower the layout, but that'd only end in disaster....

 

The subject of kids at shows does sometimes annoy me, I'm not suggesting for a second this should be a grown-ups hobby but there is a difference between a junior having a layout at home and being able to recognise and enlightened by new areas of our hobby, and someone dragging their kids in out of the rain for some cheap entertainment but expecting something akin to a "theme park" attention to service.

 

Our own 2yr old has been to a few shows and seems to like N gauge layouts with quick operation (although he's a bit cynical about tail chasing). When he's older I'll be taking a stepstool (or a few, to rent out), as the sight of a parent swinging their kids legs near to a layout so they can them on the barrier scares me, especially when they had an eye level view anyway....