Operations

"Behind the scenes" I have been developing an operating scheme for the railroad. My goal is to design sessions that best replicate what a chunk of the day on the Cascade Sub actually looks like for train crews. Time on the ground railfanning has been extremely valuable in guiding this process. That being said, I have, in many ways, pushed aside some traditional operating norms found in many model railroad operating sessions to best represent the modern experience of moving trains up and over "the hill."  I hope to write more about the fruits of this labor in subsequent posts where I can better explain some of the concepts I have developed. 

Terrain

This summer I continued to push on forming the terrain specifically on the lower deck. My approach is relatively simple and cheap! I start with cardboard webbing or insulation foam to form the basic landforms. I follow this with a layer of contractor's paper. Everything is held together with hot glue. I continue with layers of glue, plaster, and fillers to finalize the terrain forms before adding scenery. 

Above: Initial terrain forms in the Salmon Creek/Pope & Talbot area.

Above: Terrain forms between Oakridge and  Pope & Talbot.

Above: Initial terrain forms at Salmon Creek and the entrance to the helix. 

Above: Exit of the helix. These landforms transition seamlessly from the scenery on the lower deck (see previous photo).

Above: Terrain forms at Fields. This area was completed by Cam Nealy, a fellow model railroader and good friend who I trusted with a hot glue gun!

Above: The Oakridge helper set rolls down grade through newly completed landforms in Fields. 

Scenery

For anyone who has traveled to the Cascades, you will know that is is very lush! This provides quite the challenge when trying to capture the dense and varied vegetation found along the mainline, especially in spring when the colors are equally unique and varied. I made a second pass of scenery through Westfir which has now become the unofficial scenery test ground for the rest of the layout. Using a plethora of reference photos from trips to the line in April and May, I added an additional layer of dirt and ballast, weathered the ties and rails, thickened previous added vegetation, and began adding trees. This area is looking much better, but still has a long way to go. Many more trees must be constructed and added and much of the dirt and rock work still needs touching up. Nevertheless I am pleased with how this area and others are progressing. 

Above: Scenery progress around Tunnel 22. I began adding background trees along the backdrop as well as a layer of small trees/large bushes. The rock cut still needs to be repainted/weathered but this scene is looking more and more complete with each pass of scenery. 

Above: Scenery has begun on the other side of Tunnel 22. This side has gone much faster as I have been able to apply techniques and lessons learned from the other side of the tunnel. This will be a great place to watch trains enter Oakridge. 

Above: The first lawn! Now I need to finish the house. 

 Above: I started the initial dirt layers in Oakridge along the mainline and in the yard itself before running out of material. There is so much more complexity in the dirt, gravel, and ballast level of scenery that I want to try and capture. This is a time consuming process, but will be well worth it!

That is where things stand at the moment with the railroad. I still have some foundational projects like fascia work and lighting still to complete. Nevertheless, everything looks more and more as I once envisioned many years ago. Now when I step into the room, I am starting to feel that I am being transported to the forested hills of the Cascades! 

Very Nice!

Really liking what you've got going on there! Engines are too modern... but I'll forgive you.

Andre

John

You've got a beautiful layout going there! That is great work and some awesome talent behind it.

Transported

John,

You're not the only one that feels like they've been transported to the Cascades.  Me too!  Amazing work.  Keep up the great job.  Can't wait to see more! 

Thanks!

Andre,

Thanks for the forgiveness! I have only experienced the modern era so it is hard not to model it!

Rick,

Appreciate your kind words. If stumbling in the dark at times is a talent then I must have it! Many happy accidents along the way, but thank you. 

Paul,

Glad you feel the same! I hope that the feeling of being in the hills of Oregon will only continue to increase with each new project and layer of scenery. I plan to add some puddles and other indications of fresh rail which I am sure will increase that feeling!

Happy modeling to all and thanks for following along!

John

Nice

Looking great so far!

"Lush" I suppose is a word to use. It's more like the density of a jungle in many places. This is one of those places where you can't have too many trees or too much undergrowth in a model of that area.

John,

you hit the nail on the head there!     I've traveled Hwy 58 at one time or another my entire life.  THAT IS, what the tunnel portals look like.  Are you going to have the bridge crossing the Willamette  near Hampton on your layout?

Cardboard strips FTW

Enjoyed the updates.  Nice looking photo's there.  I also used cardboard strips and hot glue on my last layout and liked the results.

Cardboard strips & Plaster Cloth

Jim Fitch,

I use the same process with two differences,

Your work on the cardboard is impressive, looks great! My difference there is to weave the strips.
I wrap a bunch of masking tape on my index finger for protection, then I take each strip and roll it over my taped finger and collapse the corrugations in the cardboard strip to make it more mailable. Then I weave the stripes tightly.

Next comes the plaster cloth, before placing the cloth I cover the cardboard terrain with 2” masking tape and placing the wet plaster cloth on top of the tape. With each piece of cloth I place, I massage the surface so that the plaster in the cloth spread out and closes the holes in the cloth mesh.

I find by doing this it forms a stronger surface and because of the relative humidity during the summer, the tape stops mildew or mold from forming on the underside of the terrain. That’s my way that works for me!

Ralph Renzetti

FB - A Touch of Yesterday, 

Custom Weathering

Raster scanning with cardboard strips..

Hi, in the pictures I posted, I was experimenting with the idea of making landforms with the cardboard strips.  Sort of like raster scanning to use an old fashioned term, from right to left.  In other places for a field, it was more a grid.  I too massaged the plaster cloth to help the plaster fill in the holes. As for humidity, I run a dehumidifier from around May to Oct to keep the humidity low in the basement.

Hampton Bridge - Modeling Considerations

Jerry,

Unfortunately my space does not allow for that awesome bridge crossing across the Willamette near Hampton. In the mythical Cascade Sub 2.0 (which at this point only exists in my head) it may appear on the "must have" list.

Your comment got me thinking more on the bridge and what it would mean to include it on a future railroad.

From a modeling perspective that area is very fascinating because it is right where Lookout Point reservoir "begins" and you have a distinct transition from the more "rugged" upper Middle Fork of the Willamette to the much flatter more "mundane" stretch downstream that traverses the reservoir. Next the scene is long with three (or more?) bridge sections plus some "transition infrastructure," for lack of a better word, leading up to it. Adding to that is the vertical depth! The bridge is significantly higher than the current river level and HWY 58 is even higher than the bridge. From a space perspective a modeled area would need to be vertically deep and provide enough length. We could go on talking about which side of the river to model it from, etc.! 

The point is in that small little area, relative to the entire line, is a huge amount of thought and consideration that would be a ton of fun to work through and eventually create!

John

John

That is the bridge that made me want to have a similar bridge on my layout, so I got a CV punch plate truss bridge, albeit without all the approach structures, no room for them. As I'm fairly new to layout building, is this a place were you could use selective compression  to create this scene?

Selective Compression

Jerry, I think you would likely have to or else the scene could end up being quite large. Maybe you don't make the canyon as deep, or like you suggested take out some of the approach. 

If I were to model it I would try as much as possible to not compress the bridge area itself but maybe reduce the distance to the boat launch crossing and Hampton siding or compress elsewhere. Just thoughts. I imagine there are realities of construction that would force compression in some ways regardless of intention. 

John