Layout Construction - January 2011

Laying track to Geraldine.
With the helix finished, it was now time to continue laying track to the next station on the line. Geraldine was originally created as a stop on the Milwaukee Road railroad. It was named for Almira Geraldine Rockefeller (or perhaps her daughter, Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge), the wife of William Rockefeller, the director of the railroad at the time. It is located 54 miles northwest of Lewistown and 48 miles southeast of Great Falls. Geraldine will feature a stock yard, the large Montana Elevator company and a gravel loading ramp. The ramp is not really located in Geraldine and not really for loading gravel. With artistic and operational license in mind, I attached the ramp to the end of Geraldine. The ramp was used as a different way of loading grain into box cars during the early years (see the photos below).

Turnout Control
I have mentioned the use of Bull Frog turnout controllers before, but hadn’t really discovered the best way to use them. On the upper level, I needed to make sure the control rods would be able to clear the lower level lights and operate reliably. It looks like I achieved success in the following photos. A big problem was the linkage from the fascia to the actuator. I cut apart a barrier strip and used only one at a time. Small screws located in the holes are tighten to clamp on the rod (actually another name for coat hanger wire). This allows for adjustment and easy assembly or disassembly.

Train Show – January 2011

We attended the Ophir, Tintic & Western Model Railroad Club 20th Annual Train Show at Thanksgiving Point on January 29th. This always an interesting show. A smaller show then others, it is well attended by the public with a good selection of vendors.

I was able to pick up several structure kits and a new DCC decoder for a locomotive. All of the structures are kits that need to be assembled and painted. Most will be located in the town of Denton.

Layout Construction–December 2010

Building Construction
I built a Feed and Seed building kit for Lewistown. This industry will receive covered hoppers of grain, fertilizer, chemicals and box cars of other agricultural products. It ship box cars of bagged fertilizer and other agricultural products. The name of this company is the Lewistown Fertilizer & Grain.
The building need to be modified to it in the space. One half inch needed to removed from the rear of the building to allow enough clearance on the track side. I added a door on the left side to create a small office area and truck loading dock. The roof on the main building are individual shingles created by making small cuts every 1/4” along the length of heavy brown paper. Then a strip 3/8” wide was cut. The strip was then applied to the roof. A lot of work, but worth the final result. Final weathering and details will be added when the surrounding scenery is finished.

More Buildings
I have been looking for a propane distribution center. This particular kit has been out of production for several years. After searching hobby shops locally and on the internet, I finally was able to win one eBay for a reasonable price. The building had already been assembled. In shipment there was some damage. It will be a challenge to resurrect the building and make it fit in to the space.

Loot Day - December 25, 2010

Yes Virginia There really is a Santa Claus
Probably one of the greatest days for a model railroader has got to be Christmas. This year was spectacular. First off, to help speed construction of the track and reliability of running trains, Santa brought the Fast Tracks switch jig. Wow, this system really does help make the process of constructing a turnout much easier.

I received six “Bullfrog” turnout controllers for the layout. These are easy to assemble and add very reliable operation (More on these later).
A new Milwaukee road boom truck for the local maintenance crews. This model from Athearn will make an interesting scene with crews and details.

A new addition to my Lego train collection was this steam engine with tender. Actually it is not a Lego original. The Lego corporation moved production of some kits to China. An enterprising (whatever) individual made slight changes and created a new line called “Enlighten”. A Lego knock-off at a third the original price. Isn’t capitalism wonderful or do I mean commu-capitalism, or how about just greed, great.
Also received a gift certificate from Warrens Train Shop at the Union Station in Ogden. That will go to good use.

Layout Construction–November 2010

Helix Construction
The next step in construction was to complete the helix to the top level. After cutting the circle for each level, construction continued with drilling holes for 1/4” threaded rods. These rods will allow the adjustment of each level to gain the proper height in each turn of the helix. The 1/4” particle board turn is held in place with a washer and nut from both the top and bottom.

To make the transition from the helix to the upper level easier, I applied roadbed to the last piece. This piece was lowered to the level of the previous curve. By adjusting the nuts this allowed a smooth continuation of the track surface.

Here is a video of the test run of the helix.

Layout Construction – September 2010

New Scenery
Now it is starting to look a real railroad. This corner will my experimental area. It has been a long since I did any scenery work. This area will probably change over time as my skills increase and new techniques are tried. I used various sizes and colors of ground foam for grass and weeds.

The road was created using sheets of black craft foam about 1/8” thick. I tried several ways of covering the foam to simulate blacktop. The first method I read about on a website. You coat the foam with a coat of colored plaster. After the plaster has dried, you use a small object to press down on the foam and create realistic cracks in the pavement. This method did not work for me. The plaster was scraped up and coats of chalk were used to color the foam. Cracks and pot holes will be added over time.
A small dry creek bed was added to vary the terrain and add some interesting scenic possibilities.

Back Drop Painting
After thinking about it for quite awhile, I decided it was time to try some background painting. I originally wanted a detailed background, but decided on doing something simple. I wanted to avoid the background becoming a distraction to the main thing I want the viewer to see, the trains. This kind of the same principal as a stage play. The background sets the mood or helps to define what, where and why the actors are there. I will probably continue to refine the background as the foreground comes more into focus.

 

The wheat field will become an area of interest as it develops. In these photos you can see the one row of wheat stocks. It will take quite a few rows to fill this scene. The harvester will be in the process of cutting the wheat. It will be fun to create a convincing harvest scene.

 

New Acquisitions
New cars that were added to my collection over the past few months. Some were from eBay, one purchased at a local hobby shop and the others were acquired at a recent auction held at the Union station in Ogden.