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Vacation time equals progress Journals/Blogs
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MRH Author 5,541 posts Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

I've been on vacation this week and had to do the inevitable errands and honey do's  as well as trying to get my above ground pool ready for the summer season. But, amidst all that I did find time last night and today to start making some more progress on the layout  and knock out some items on a " punch list" I made up.

I had sort of worked myself in a corner as far as my ash pit and cinder conveyor was concerned because I didn't plan that well.  I knew I would get the kit eventually and I did but I wasn't quite sure where I would put it. I had two locations, one of which was on the same track as the coaling tower and the other which would have required another turnout and service track for it. I had reservations about putting it on the same track as the coaling tower because I was afraid that on the prototype, such a thing would have been considered a fire hazard. As usual, the folks on this forum came through and convinced me otherwise, even with some showing me examples of real life facilities that were indeed on the same track.  This was the simplest choice so it's what I chose to do.

Now we come to the sticky part. I had already laid the track running under the coaling tower and to the turntable but because of the indecision on where the ashpit would go, I'd never considered cutting a hole for it! Track is at a premium for me right now and one day I'd gotten the urge to ballast. (I know, who ever gets and urge to ballast, right??)  Anyway, I didn't want to rip up track or make a mess of the already installed ballast so I had to figure a way to make the hole without disturbing the track too much if possible. Took over an hour and some careful work with a drill and a hand keyhole saw as well as several dremel cutting wheels but the result is shown here....Pit.jpg 

It's rough but I'll be able to pretty it up fine after installing the pit.  Of course as "Murphy" would have it there was joist right where I chose for it to go and as you can see I had to bugger it up a bit but no one will ever see it anyway.  The pit and top base are in two pieces so thankfully I will be able to get things in without cutting rails.

The other piece of progress  I can show is what Charlie Comstock calls "terraforming", I think, but I call it "mountain imagineering"  It's the framework for a new mountain which I made using dollar store foam core, poster board cut into strips and low temp hot glue.  I will cover this in plaster cloth and probably embellish some places with wadded up newspaper as I do.  For the rugged scenery I like, I find this method much more suitable than carving foam.

mountain.jpg 

So that's the progress for now as of mid vacation week. Comments and or constructive criticism are welcome and as always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Michael

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
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g0 Regular poster 185 posts
g0

Murphy

Had the same thing happen to me today, I thought I had found the perfect spot to install a screw on a locomotive -- until I went to put the shell on, and a structural member was perfectly aligned with the screw!  Couldn't have done that well if I had done it purposely!

-Fuzzy
also on vacation, making a little progress
DM Rail Group/Husher Central
 
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Anthony Kueber New member 20 posts
Anthony Kueber

Mice and Men

Plan Ahea

 

d
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Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

A tad more progress to add....

Did the plaster cloth on the mountainMountain.jpg ....

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
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Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

Color and making the mountain more 3-D

After the rough in of the new mountain shown above, I wasn't happy with how flat it looked up towards the top so I came back with some crumpled newspaper and added to the contours some. Just cost me a little time and a bit more plaster cloth to do and I think it looks much better now.  Also added my "skim coat"  of plaster which is just plaster of paris mixed to a paint like consistency and retarded with lemon juice.  This allows me to take time and paint it on the cloth with a cheap brush which seals the mesh wholes in the cloth and gives the plaster a smoother  appearance. It also adds rigidity and results in a quite strong shell. Last was my basic ground color using craft paint.  I've had to adapt and change from my original tan color as it's no  longer available in my area but I found a close match. The swath of gray is just from where I had some on my brush from an earlier rock face painting endeavor. I've also completed ballast work on the coal tower and cinder conveyor track and now just need to actually build the ashpit/conveyor kit and get it installed.  That's next on the agenda as soon as I get a spot cleared on my workbench to do it. I must say I enjoy the convenience of my iPhone when it comes to taking and posting pics.  They are certainly not " contest quality"  pics and I think the daylight CFL's used to light my layout mess with the color a tad bit but all in all for showing "progress shots", it works well.

Michael%20color.jpg 

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
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dhatman Active Member 96 posts
dhatman

Color and making the mountain more 3-D

what are the silver blobs near the track?
Doug Hatman
Model Locomotive
Engineer/Conductor
Humble, Texas 77338
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Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

Soldered rail joiners....

That really are not near that noticeable to the naked eye but they stand out in the pic. They need to be touched up with paint. I had actually aibrushed the track before ballasting but then made some revisions later and never went back and touched up the newly soldered joints. It's on my " to do"  list.

Michael

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
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Bremner Prolific poster 1,217 posts
Bremner

funny....

due to a BIG dog that does not like strangers, my wife and I tends to take separate short trips. I tend to get more work done on my layout when SHE is on vacation!

am I the only N Scale Pacific Electric Freight modeler in the world?

https://sopacincg.com 
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Michael Tondee MRH Author 5,541 posts
Michael Tondee

I got a lot done.....

and a large part of it was because I was left alone in the house. My wife and kids are attending a wedding out of town in a couple of weeks, I couldn't get the days off so I have to stay behind.  Anyway, this past week was my daughters spring break and my wife and her were so busy running errands and clothes shopping for the trip that I was left alone in the house for most of my vacation time.   I'm in a spare bedroom but it's a relatively small house and you can still hear various stuff and commotion going on even with the door closed. With them gone and my son gone during the day, it was dead quiet and really conducive to getting  a lot done on the railroad.

Michael

Michael, A.R.S. W4HIJ

 Model Rail, electronics experimenter and "mad scientist" for over 50 years.

Member of  "The Amigos" and staunch disciple of the "Wizard of Monterey"

My Pike: The Blackwater Island Logging&Mining Co.
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