Progress - slow but steady.

[rogertra]

From this: -





To this, so far.  Freshly roughed in scenery.





And this: -





Well it's a start.  And yes, I just noticed I didn't replace the roof correctly.  D'oh!

If you click on any of the above images, it will take you to my album where can can see more, if you're interested that is.

[RAM]

It looks good.  You can many hours of fun switching.

[rogertra]

It looks good.  You can many hours of fun switching.

Thanks Ram.

That's the plan.  Through trains will drop off and pick up cuts of cars to be either switched into the local industries or interchanged with the  branch line trains that operate out of the unseen yard or interchanged with the NYC, D&H and Rut trains that terminate in the yard and the CN and CP through freights.

As you can tell.  I like a model railroad that has clearly defined goals and purposes.

In this case, we have a branch hub serving  a couple of home road branches and connections to the USA and the CNR and CPR.  Track plan based on Alburg Yard on the Rutland, location roughly where Farnham Quebec is located.

[Doneldon]

Roger-

It all looks great to me. One of the real advantages of photos is that you have a tangible record of progress. We don't necessarily see the changes day-to-day but they sure are there when we look at a picture from a week or a month ago.

Has anyone mentioned that "A. Cousin and Son" in the second pic looks like  large scale white caboose sitting on your HO layout? It's a nice structure but from that one angle and in a railroad context it reminds me of a way car.

Thank you for posting the photos.
                                                           -- D

[rogertra]

Roger-

It all looks great to me. One of the real advantages of photos is that you have a tangible record of progress. We don't necessarily see the changes day-to-day but they sure are there when we look at a picture from a week or a month ago.

Has anyone mentioned that "A. Cousin and Son" in the second pic looks like  large scale white caboose sitting on your HO layout? It's a nice structure but from that one angle and in a railroad context it reminds me of a way car.

Thank you for posting the photos.
                                                           -- D

Doneldon.

Thanks for the kind words.

Now you mention it, "A Cousin and Son"  (Named after a friend with a young family, who died way too young) does look like a caboose.  A caboose with a loose roof. 

I never noticed that before.  Another advantage of taking photos.  They show what is there and not what you think it there.  What makes the camera a great modelling tool, especially these days with digital cameras.  Instant results.  For example.

The other day I took a photo of my engine facilities and for the first time in ages the caboose track was empty.  From the normal viewing angle it looked fine and here I was thinking it was nice and straight but, when I looked at the photo, taken from an angle a viewer would not normal use,  it looked like a dog's hind leg.  Way too wavy.  A soaking with 'wet' water and half an hour later the ballast was loose enough to slew the track back into a nice straight line.  Hold it in place with push pins, a soaking of diluted white glue, put on the fan to blow air over the track, and an hour later a nice, dry, straight caboose track. 

Too bad, I should have saved the before photo for comparison.

[jonathan]

Wow!

I want to come play, um operate, on your layout.

Great stuff, Roger

Regards,

Jonathan

[ebtnut]

Roger:  What are you using to represent the street paving? 

[rogertra]

Roger:  What are you using to represent the street paving? 

I use a product called "Foam Sheet" by "Creatology".  I find it in "Michaels Stores Inc." and I believe it's unique to them.  It comes in 12 x 18 sheets, in multiple colours but I use black as the base colour.  I then over spray with, believe it or not, "Armor Coat" Galvanising paint to give the grey colour of old black top.  I then use a track cleaning eraser to make the darker stripes for the traffic lanes.  Like everything else in the photos, the roads are a work in process and still need more work.  Manhole covers, cracks, signs of repairs etc., etc..

Foam Sheet is very easy to cut and work with as it's made for use by children to make cut-outs from.  You'll find it in the children's craft section in Michaels Stores.  I glue it down with Elmers white glue.  It's so cheap, less than Can$1.50/sheet that if you make mistakes, just tear it up and do it over again.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

If I might just add, here in Pennsylvania I've found the product Roger uses for streets--or at least something very similar to it--at A.C. Moore, another chain of craft supply stores. So if there is no Michael's near you and there is an A.C. Moore, you might check out A.C. Moore.

I second Roger's recommendation of the product--inexpensive and easy to work with. I even use the white to represent roads and pathways of "packed snow" for my annual Christmas village.

[jbrock27]

...taking notes on "Foam Sheet" by "Creatology"  .  That looks great!

I don't know the same applies to Michael's stores in CANADA, but their weekly flyer in the newspaper in the States often has coupons, usually at least one for 40% a regular priced item.  If you don't get the flyer for some reason, you can go on-line and print off such a coupon to use at the store.

[Jerrys HO]

Roger
Thanks for posting new pics. I think I threw enough hints your way.
Looking good, I like your industrial section. How's the new TT.

Jerry

[rogertra]

Roger
Thanks for posting new pics. I think I threw enough hints your way.
Looking good, I like your industrial section. How's the new TT.

Jerry

Posted just for you Jerry.  

More on the way showing the yard and the engine facilities.

The new Walthers turntable is, how can I put it, acceptable?  It's a dog to program but works well.  The instructions seem to be a translation from German (TT designed in Germany I've been led to believe) into Chinese and from Chinese into "English".  Very confusing and unclear instructions.  There are two buttons that have absolutely no use and if you press either one of them, the TT goes into error mode.  The old TT control was dead easy to use and required no instructions.  You pushed the left arrow and TT started to turn left.  You pushed the right arrow and the TT started to turn right.  As it was approaching the track you wanted to stop at, you pushed either one of those buttons again and it stopped in the correct place.  Now it's way more complicated than that.