D&RGW narrow gauge: Back to scenics.

[JZ]

Next pack of concrete walling arrived today, so got on and finished the wall between and behind Wallschlager Motors and Dari-King.

 

 

The wall has been mounted a half inch clear of the backscene so I can add some vegetation to further break up the border.. And a different view of the gas station.

 

It needs a little more work in this area, then it'll be on with the main street in the town, though a lot of work is done and I'm using some ready made structures. With 3 more shifts to do before two weeks off, I can start planning the passenger depot, small goods yard and cattle pens.

[rockershovel]

On 04/07/2019 at 07:57, JZ said:

Another kit I have put together is this ancient Pola (Tyco) water tower. This was done before my visit to Colorado and with hindsight, the bands should be the same colour as the rest, but I will leave it for now. The spout should be black and this will be repainted.

 

The next photo is posted with permission of the owner and should give a good idea of what I am hoping to achieve.

This is H0n3. I love the way the scenery has blended into the backscene.

 

That is really rather special, very effective indeed 

[JZ]

Felt the roadway was too dark, so I've painted a lighter grey, which looks even lighter in the photographs. Painted a few repair patches and cracks. Next in will be the next section of backscene.

Still to add some street furniture and figures and I've purchased some tyre marking pens to do the road markings with. Had hoped to put in the crossing lights, but after searching through the my tool boxes, I can find a 3.5 and 4.5mm drill, but not a 4mm that I need. Tomorrow is shed maintenance day. Two sides of the shed face the prevailing elements. One is protected by my neighbours fence, but the front has is showing signs of the T&G warping and gaps starting to show. Tomorrow sees a delivery of 19mm T&G from my local timber yard and this will be clad over the existing. I will  get the other 3 sides done over the coming months and the shed should then see out another 15-20 years.

[JZ]

1:1 modelling today.

The original shed front has shown the signs of facing the prevailing weather. Some board have warped and others have shrunk. It's two years past it's 10 year guarantee, so time for remedial action. Apart from the problems outlined, the wood is still sound, with no signs of rot , so I decided to clad over the top with timber from my local yard. They do build their own shed and guarantee them for 15 years, so went for the same cladding, pressure treated. Took the opportunity to panel over the second door, it been that way inside since it went up.

Before.

After.

The bare strip down the side of the door is to allow it to open, as the hinges are now set back from flush. And the odd cut-out  is to clear the step in the decking.

 

Now going to have a well earned couple of ciders and back to modelling tomorrow.

 

 

[JZ]

A few around the depot. Still some more blending in and clutter to add.

 

Drill arrived today, so I have installed the crossing lights. They will work eventually.

Mr Harrison's dog doing his best to stop pedestrians while the train passes.

One of the backstreet. Hopefully the marking pens will be here tomorrow. One the road is marked, I can weather it and add some figures.

 

Finally.

Inspired by the Shady Lady in Silverton,

I bought some figures to frequent the sidewalk next to Saulena's Tavern.

 

It was a year ago today that I flew out to Denver to start what ended up being a field trip for this project.

[JZ]

Forced to stay indoors due to waiting for Parcel Farce to collect a package, they gave me an 8 hour window, so I made some road signs. Printed on 160gsm card, I downloaded the signs from a site in the US, rescaled them to what I thought was about the right size and printed them on an inkjet printer. Sprayed silver on the back and a coat of varnish over the front and mounted them on 0.9mm Plastruct. Did think of putting a few bullet holes in them, but I haven't seen that much of that this side of the Rockies.

My white marker pen arrived, so I got on and marked what I could with it, parking bays, stop marks and road limit marks(is that what they are called?) Hoping the yellow arrives tomorrow, so I can do the centre lines.

Pen was £2.06 with free p+p on ebay, against £13 to £14 for the WS ones. And probably the same thing.

Put up the chainlink fence around Trollope's Furniture Works.

Barely shows from normal viewing distance.

Later I put the gates up as well.

We finish off tonight with a couple of cameos in the used car lot.

OK, buy it. But you're not getting another bus. (reference to a work colleague, who may see this)

 

I tell you my dear, I can see the this marque going from strength to strength.

September 2016, Seligman, AZ

Edited March 6, 2021 by JZ

[JZ]

Assembled thenext structures  today and in between, I put some figures out.

Breaktime.

Streetlamps are cheapie LED ones from China, but they look the part.

Building on the left background are yet to be fixed in place, then I will add some clutter down the alley.

Stil waiting for my yellow pens. Sent by Whistl, picked up on Monday and still in transit.

Howard Wallschlager seals another deal.

$10 for one hour, or $50 for all night.

 

[JZ]

Last buildings for Lucyville. Sunset Motel, another Blair Line kit.

This stands in front of the track and further gives the impression of the railway going through the town. I've raised it up by 6mm to get away from the flatness of the rest of the town. The area needs sanding and probably a bit of filling before bedding in the buildings. Nine days in to my two weeks off and still not laid an inch of track.

[JZ]

Yellow marker pen arrived this morning. Happy bunny.

[JZ]

Finished the area around the Motel today. Then did a few shots. Unfortunately the green doesn'r come out too well on the phone.

Still needs a fence or two, but for now, I am happy and can move on.

Did a couple of depot shots. Just posed the K-36 and K-37 tenders as they are still not DCC.

One from around the back of the roundhouse.

I know the clearance in real life would be much greater, but to me, it conjures up the image I want.

And a coupkle crossing Main St.

I have a few YouTube videos I did in the next post.

[JZ]

Had to end this one there as it ran out of track.

 

 

 

 

[JZ]

One thing that's been bugging me, is the siding behind the coal tower. Shunting is not my thing, I prefer to just sit back and watch trains go by and keep shunting to the minimum. To that end, I put in a dummy point to this siding, knowing that it can't be seen from normal viewing angles and that it would only have the odd car sat in it. Now getting Hon3 on the rails is a right PITA, as everything is on bogies, L&B 009 modellers will know what I mean, and as the siding isn't straight, I can't get the railer on it. So tomorrow it gets fitted with a point. I won't bother with a motor, as it will rarely be used, I can hand change it.

In other news.

I am seriously considering getting rid of the C-19. It's livery doesn't fit with the period I am modelling. 342 was actually scrapped in 1942 and although a couple of 2-8-0s have survived, the late 1950s wasn't exactly a time of preservation. And it doesn't fit in with my larger engine policy. Although I paid £415 for it, they are now fetching over £600 and the money would be better put away for a brass K-28, or the Blackstone model, if it ever appears.

[JZ]

That's the point/switch/turnout in. You can see the change from code 70 to code 55. The 55 has pre weathered rail. As for joining the two together. It is filing the bottom of the 70 until the rail height is the same, then soldering a Peco N rail joiner on to it. Then the 55 needs packing up to the correct height. Glad I don't have too many of these joints to make.

[JZ]

After cutting in the point yesterday, it got me to thinking whether I really need to have any point motored. The prospect of clambering under the boards with a soldering iron, is not one I enjoy. It wasn't fun last time and six years later, now wearing glasses and having had severe back pain recently, I have decided to operate them manually. They are all in easy reach of the front of the layout, it will never leave the shed, so why bother? Answers on a postcard(or better still, leave them here).

[SonOfMike]

24 minutes ago, JZ said:

They are all in easy reach of the front of the layout, it will never leave the shed, so why bother?

 

Personally I'm in agreement with you. I actually like interacting with the layout; uncoupling and operating points by hand either with a lever or just one of my big fat fingers. If I were building an exhibition layout then I might think differently but even then I would probably use wire in tube to a switch / lever or pull rod rather than a motor. But that's just me and I am also far from being a dab-hand with a soldering iron.

 

By the way, I absolutely love this layout; I really should have commented to say so sooner. The scenes you have created simply ooze with atmosphere and character. It was seeing photos of a K37 and a shay when I was a child that got me interested in modelling American railroads.

[JZ]

Back at work for the last week, so progress has slowed somewhat. Laid the most of the loop and 2½ sidings, bought another building to fill a space. Next thing is to demolish the next section of Gurney Slade, get some timber and, when they reopen, get rid of some of the rubbish at the local recycling centre.

[JZ]

I have been pottering on with the layout when time and work permit. A week of rest days from Tuesday will see me out in the shed again. In the meantime, a few jobs have been done.

Last of the siding in Lucyville has been laid. It left a gap that needed filling and I bought a feed mill.

 The whole length of the Lucyville section is about 15'. It will end with a tunnel into the scenic break.

Loosely modelled on the east portal of the mud tunnel on the Cumbres & Toltec.

When this comes out the other end, we will be into the mountainous section for the rest of the layout.

 

Picked up some reefers and a caboose last week on eBay.

Not an authentic colour and I don't know what D&W on the 30ft one stands for. I have been playing around with some artwork for it and have come up with this.

Fictitious I know, but looks OK. 

The 40 foot pair, of which one has decals on one side only, the other completely bare, will be beer/ cider reefers.

I have also been chopping some standard gauge 40' cars. Taking about 6mm from the height and width.

The bodies are sitting straight on the rails without trucks, which is why they look rather low and long. I have another two to do, one reefer and a boxcar.

While looking through another Facebook group, I came across a company in Canada, Miniprints.ca , that produce 3D printed animals. Initially I bought some Pileated Woodpeckers.

I initially bought two packs, 4 woodpeckers. Unfortunately only 1 pack arrived. After emailing the owner, Bernard, I got a very quick response, an apology and an offer to send them out on the next post. But after viewing the website, I noticed that the range had increased to include mountain goats and bighorn sheep, ideal for the mountain section. I told Bernard I would be placing another order, so just stick them in that. His reply was could I please also order another animal(s) and he would add it FoC. So I ordered this.

So, great service and very quick. I've now had two orders from him in the time it took for one order of of-the-shelf items from New York(that was posted before) Since then, the range has expanded further and my next order will include a pair of Jackolopes

and some rattlesnakes.

[JZ]

I'm wondering if this would  get better coverage in the USA & Canadian Railroads section. Yes, I know it is narrow gauge, but the locos are similar in size to British standard gauge locos.

 

Any opinions?

 

[pH]

On 27/06/2020 at 08:22, JZ said:

Picked up some reefers and a caboose last week on eBay.

Not an authentic colour and I don't know what D&W on the 30ft one stands for. I have been playing around with some artwork for it and have come up with this.

The “1948 Handy Railroad Atlas of the United States” lists the “D&W” as the Danville and Western. Originally narrow gauge line in Virginia:

 

https://sites.google.com/view/va-rails/home/railroad-articles/danville-western-railway-history

 

(How that fits with the Rio Grande, I do not know.)

 

I hope you haven’t gone too far with the (very nice!) artwork - check your American English.

Edited June 28, 2020 by pH

[JZ]

21 minutes ago, pH said:

The “1948 Handy Railroad Atlas of the United States” lists the “D&W” as the Danville and Western. Originally narrow gauge line in Virginia:

 

https://sites.google.com/view/va-rails/home/railroad-articles/danville-western-railway-history

 

(How that fits with the Rio Grande, I do not know.)

 

I hope you haven’t gone too far with the (very nice!) artwork - check your American English.

And there's me correcting other peoples spelling. Ha. There is no D in the English spelling either.

[JZ]

A little out of focus, but so are photo's of the "real" thing.

[Oldddudders]

On 28/06/2020 at 21:32, JZ said:

And there's me correcting other peoples spelling. Ha. There is no D in the English spelling either.

True - but we all talk about and write fridge. 

[rockershovel]

23 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

True - but we all talk about and write fridge. 

 

True - but “FRIGE” wouldn’t be pronounced FRIJ in British English, would it? 

 

FRIDGE is consistent with the spelling of other short-consonant words like budge, cadge and lodge. FRIG would be pronounced, well, FRIG https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/fridge-vs-frig-spelling-short-for-refrigerator

Edited July 3, 2020 by rockershovel

[Oldddudders]

In his early life John Betjeman was a journalist. At one point he was an Agony Uncle to some publication - was it the Architectural Review? Whatever, in came a request for help, which said something like "The man in the next flat has a huge frig, which goes on all night."!

[JZ]

Progress on the layout continued during my week of rest days, but was rather boring as I was building the hill for the scenic break, so I didn't bother with photo's. But this did give me a chance to have a go at a home-made version of Sculptamold, using paper mache  mixed with the Heculite 2 I bought for the rock casting. Rather than making my own pulp, I bought some of this stuff to try.

Must say that it takes a while to dry, but only time will tell. If it works OK, I will be using a lot more in the section.

In between, I have got on with the feed mill.

Still a few parts and signs to go on and that roof desperately need weathering, but I am out of suitable paint for a base coat.

Also put together a couple of cabins.

These come in pairs and are from eBay seller naaron88 in Hungary. I've had a few bits and bobs from him, including the rocking chair on the balcony. They come with a plain wood roof, which I have covered with corrugated sheet and added a chimney. Although H0, I suppose they could also be used in 00 for beach huts or summer houses.

 

The chap I have bought the 3D printed animals from, is now starting to do figures. One of my suggestions was for a figure with a banjo for the rocking chair,

from which I received a positive response.