Gevo Power on IAIS West End

Hi Joe,

why care about the "absolute" correct time , if a great model meets a great layout

Regards from Germany

Karsten

Nice work!

Beautiful work, as always, Joe- that bridge scene really turned out nicely. And I've always been impressed with everything you've done in Bluffs Yard- the detail, the weathering, the placement of the structures- just some really fine modeling.

Although I know almost nothing about modern diesels, they do look pretty cool.

Tom Patterson

The dark side

Joe

  Welcome to the dark side. It is an affliction that makes you like and purchase almost anything that runs on two rails. I have it in spades. With your talent and beautiful layout why not. Nice work on the bridge. I love the look of a railroad track by itself. Most of us are too greedy for more track to give up the real estate for such a realistic scene.  Now how about a nice steamer to complete the history lesson. LOL

                                                                                                                          Ray

Looking Good

Joe,

Great work on the bridge scene.  I really think you did a great job on the backdrop transition. Have fun with the new power!

Great approach

I like your approach to not sweating the era, Joe. 

I plan to stretch the limits of prototype modeling on my layout, too, and run an occasional Alco (IAIS 900) just because I love the sound. Who says we can’t make up our own reality once and a while – we can always revert back to our prototype ways. [All you modelers who don’t care for prototype modeling, don’t worry, we’re not judging you! ]

There might even be an occasional Milwaukee unit make an appearance. (Shhh, keep that quiet.)

awesome backdrop

really good work integrating the foreground with the background image, awesome job matching the colors and the perspective.

I love how the background and

I love how the background and bridge work so well together! Well done!

Thank you

Thank you all for the very kind comments.  I put down my first coat of Mod Podge for water in Walnut Creek this morning, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks when dry.  

Sounds fun, as afflictions go.   I was kind of surprised that, having broken my self-imposed era rule, I haven't been tempted to buy more, e.g. the Atlas IAIS C420 and RS36.  So far, so good.

Ray, you're a terrible influence.   A friend on the IAIS list was trying to tempt me with modeling one of their excursion steamers.  I can definitely see the attraction, but I've got more than enough projects to keep me busy with just my 2005 era.

"What is it with IAIS modelers and our secret MILW power?", asks the guy with the MILW F7 in his enginehouse.   I guess I kind of forgot about that one when I mentioned my passion for strict era confines at the start of this thread. 

Pictures please

Joe, 

Please don’t forget to post pictures of the stream after the Mod Podge is dry. I would love to see how the finished scene looks. Thanks.

eclectic

Joe

  I thought I had a lack of focus when I liked steam and diesels, but at least stayed in HO with just a few forays into O scale building a few O scale kits to run on a friend's layout. I rationalized my diesel purchases making believe I was buying for my son, Neil. Can't say that anymore he is a lot more focused than I am. I am usually buying Neil's gifts at AA Hobbies, whose owner knows that he may have to trade it back in exchange for one that fits Neil's prototype B & M or CP in the early 80's. I now blame it on the club I belong to. The club is set in 1985 so I get plenty of excuses to buy newer models. Although I got flack from club members when I built a SD90 mac (Overland chassis and Railpower shell) and painted it in club colors. Keep up the good work, at least you stayed with the same RR. 

A delay, and my next project

Will do Scott.  Unfortunately, it didn't work out as I'd hoped...and I'm embarrassed to say why.  Having not modeled water before, I made the rookie mistake of tapering the creek bed so it was about 1/16" deeper in the center.  I think that would have been fine if I was pouring epoxy for my water, but Mod Podge is dabbed on just like paint, so I ended up with a stream that had a concave surface.  Duh Joe!  The sleep-deprived should never model.  This morning I overcoated the Mod Podge with spackle, and once that's dry, I plan to sand it to a flat surface, repaint, and reapply the Mod Podge.

In the mean time, I'm starting work on my second bridge, the big structure spanning the East Nishnabotna River west of Hancock Jct.  Here's a prototype photo of the six-span bridge from Bing, looking north (opposite of the layout perspective):

...and here's a rough Photoshopped view of how I'm planning to selectively compress it, as a four-span structure:

Construction will be nearly identical to the Walnut Creek bridge, but about twice as long and 2-1/2 times taller. Unfortunately, the east approach will be on a curve, but hopefully that won't be too hokey.  Below is a view of the "before" scene as it stands today on the layout, with the C.C. Crow piers I'll be using:

That last photo also shows a couple more rookie mistakes I made:  Not accounting for river valleys when building my backdrop, and poorly estimating the depth of this channel when cutting my fascia.  Both will be corrected as this project progresses.

The trick to being an advanced modeler...

is you make more advanced mistakes...

Still, they are pretty darn good looking mistakes when you finish.

So what would you have to do

So what would you have to do to shift your era a few years. I would think going from 2005 to 2008 would not be a huge change. At least not compared to say 1959 and 1962.

Era shift

Actually, that was a really transformative time on the IAIS.  TOFC traffic went away in 2006, and they closed their intermediate pig ramps in 2007 and got rid of all their 89' piggyback flats, leaving only well cars carrying double-stacked containers,  Single car manifest shipments seemed to dwindle, but were replaced by huge growth in ethanol-related traffic. So instead of road trains having a colorful variety of manifest cars, intermodal, and covered grain hoppers, they now carried mostly double stacks, plain black ethanol tank cars, and plain gray DDG covered hoppers...in addition to those same grain hoppers.

The other big change was IAIS's 2006 purchase of the Council Bluffs Great Western (CBGR), a terminal road in CB whose ex-MILW yard paralleled IAIS's ex-RI Bluffs yard.  With that change, there was a huge growth in traffic in CB, especially ethanol coming out of a plant located on the CBGR.  The combined yard operation here is now far too large for me to model.

I'm busy enough just trying to keep up with 2005-era projects, so I'm fine with just having the Gevos around to run now and then strictly for entertainment, keeping my other modeling focused on 2005. 

I still suggest...

to develop ON PAPER, a list of equipment (locomotives and freight cars) a roster for both time periods (and the third earlier era you had mentioned in another thread IIRC).  While focusing on the 2005 now, once in awhile, when you see a great deal on a piece of equipment that  is from the other two era's purchase it, and check it off the list.  In 40 years who knows, you would be surprised on how much equipment you can acquire.  To go out and buy all of it at once to fulfill the needs for all three eras at once would be only possible to a multi-millionaire, but amortized over time, I think it's possible. 

By having the roster on paper, you ensure you would only purchase what you would need, so it would be orderly and planned, versus "spur of the moment". 

This is why I am doing at the moment.  While focusing on 1953, I also have plans for 1933, 1943, and 1963 rosters.  Granted several pieces of equipment crossover each of these, but obviously not all of them, and I have no plans on buying all of the equipment for all of those years now, however, if I see a great deal on a piece of equipment for the other 3 years I buy it.  The focus is still on 1953, but on occasion I buy for the other years when an opportunity presents itself, and i'm on a fixed income budget, so I can't just throw money at everything I want. 

Ken L.

Multiple eras

Hi Ken - That's sound advice for someone working their way toward modeling multiple eras.  For me though, I'm content with just focusing on 2005.  My forays into modeling a late 1970s RI or a 1997ish IAIS are sometimes tempting, but in the end, they could soak up a lot of funds without adding anything to my enjoyment of the hobby.  I prefer to just keep things simple and do the best I can to recreate my chosen era.

That is always the goal.

To enjoy the hobby.  Just wanted to perhaps give you "options" so that you maximize that enjoyment. 

Your logic is sound as well.  That is why I figured if it was on paper, and you say saw one of the locomotives on the paper list for an incredible deal you could pick it up and know that it would fulfill a future need.  Then again, that could be a trap as if you find a whole bunch of great deals at once, it could overwhelm the other needs to focus on the year you are working on now.so there are potential downsides.

I am all for focusing on one specific year, foregoing all others, for the sake of simplicity and expense.  Nothing wrong with it.   FOr the most part, that is what I am doing.  My concern (for the lack of a better term) is, and it is something I have done myself, where my logical mind has overridden deep down what my heart wants to do and part of the enjoyment I might have had has been denied.  If that makes any sense. 

As is often said, there is no "wrong way" to do things, just different ways. 

Keep up the enjoyment.  I have been enjoying your progress reports.  I was hoping to make a progress report of my own soon, however, my health took a bad turn, and i'm still recovering from the complications.  Nothing terminal, but a serious setback enough where I couldn't get to the basement for a month to work on the railroad.  Things are starting to imporve so hopefully progress will resume soon.  Seeing your work has been an inspiration and kick in the pants for me to make my own.

Take care!

Ken L.

Well the  U.P is always

Well the  U.P is always short  of motive power, You  can send them my  way .. Thats' the hardest part I find is  focusing on one era.

As so much  stuff comes out  every month.

Ken

Ken, I'm sorry to hear about your health issue, but glad you're bouncing back.

Yard/Bridge Scene

Your yard is a close as I have seen to what a yard should look like but the bridge scene is out of bounds.  You did a great job blending the background and foreground together.  I have a very similar scene to complete and I hope it turns out anywhere near that good.  Did you make your own backdrop from photos??  I would love to know how you did that.  Outstanding!!

Phil Utley

Phil

Thank you very much Phil.  I appreciate the encouragement.

Those are photos I shot at the prototype location on my iPhone.  I then merged them together using an old copy of Photoshop Elements (v2) I found on Amazon for $4, printed them on high quality matte photo paper, and glued them to the backdrop using adhesive caulk.  

I still need to touch up the seams and feather the top edge with acrylics, but I plan to wait on that until all backdrop photos are done throughout the layout, as it involves a fair amount of custom color mixing.

I reworked the creek bed this morning and repainted it, so I hope to reapply Mod Podge over lunch today.  Since I now feel comfortable using it, I'm also taking this opportunity to add some puddles around the Bluffs engine facility.  It is May, after all! 

blending backdrop

Curious about how you blended the water into the backdrop as I'm about to try that as well.  Tom Johnson did this with roads by building a fillet at the point where the road meets the backdrop and blending the foreground and background in that way.  Did you do the same thing on the water surface?

Thanks,

Herman

Water transition

That's correct Herman.  I added about a 1/4" fillet, and as the 3D stream neared the backdrop, I added more blue and white to the paint I used for the creek bottom so it better matched the color in the backdrop photo.  I then blended that color up onto the backdrop photo creek itself.

Mod Podge went down about five hours ago, so I probably can't get updated pics until it's dry sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks Joe, that

Thanks Joe, that helps.

Herman