Vignettes

One thing I like to do is create small scenes or vignettes on my layouts. I try to avoid the more dramatic things and keep to simple life activities. 
 

Motive Power

Like the prototype my version only rosters Plymouth switch engines. I think this is the perfect HO scale locomotive for a Micro Layout. 
 

Nice details and rustic look

Nice details and rustic look for a still functioning but low budget operation.

Barry

Thanks for the kind words Barry

Caught the Union Railroad of Oregon #1 picking up a empty from the building supply. 
 

Light power backing down to building supply.  
 

Car has been picked up and ready to be taken to interchange. 
 

With the single car the train trundles along at 5mph rolling towards downtown Union Oregon. They will gather a few more calls at the sawmill to take to interchange with the UP. 

How not to build a layout.

I am very happy with the results, but this layout is a very ‘BobRossian’ affair with many “happy accidents.” I had originally planned to use this for an article on modeling “bad track” and it morphed into this micro layout. Let me walk you through the lack of process, as I hope you can learn from my mistakes “happy accidents.”
 

The layout started out as a plain piece of 1/4” plywood cut to a 30”x12” I knew I wanted to have one live turnout and one turnout that had been taken out of service with one point removed and the switch stand missing. Other then that, no real plans. 
 

it would be large enough I could spot and pull a single 40’ or shorter car from one track using my Plymouth switch engine at this point I still had no real plan. 
 

After deciding on the track arrangement, placing the cork, detailing the track, adding feeders, etc. I placed the track down and secured it with adhesive caulking. 
 

The track was the given a coating of Krylon brown camouflage paint and set aside. 
 

I then painted the ties various shades of grey and browns, painted the rails, and highlighted some of the rusty spots. 
Next I gave everything a coating of tea dirt mixed with some woodland scenics fine gray ballast. Like I said, I wanted this to look like a barely operational rail line. 
 ok

Union Oregon

I decided I wanted to add a gravel road so I could have a grade crossing and also I could completely cover the out of service track with a road that got graded over it.

 
I then went ahead and added a bunch of grass and shrubs to the track thinking that would be it for my track detailing article.

At this time I remembered photos of Union Oregon and thought I would use it as inspiration for the layout. What I had started resembled a section near the end of the railroad which was just past the downtown area of Union.
Next I cut a few bases for structure out of some “door skin” material I had laying around. This would allow me to build the structures on the bench then just add them later. So I then completed the base scenery up to each of these locations where buildings or sidewalks would go in.

Structures and what not

Union Builders Co-Op started life as a Branhline LaserArt Ice House that I cut down to size  I changed the roof to a metal roof using evergreen plastic. 

The Union hotel is a DPM kit I had sitting around that I made into a building flat and added some details. 

The Red Barn warehouse is made of Evergreen styrene except for the door which was salvaged from a Walthers kit.

Door Question

First I was and am really interested in the work you are doing and like how it is coming out.

Your freight doors on the co-op building don't have any bracing on them. It looks like they are suppose to slide open and closed. What holds it together?

I have the same issue with a Built-Rite model I am working on. It has 3 freight doors of the same design and nothing in the directions except glue them on where indicated.

Then there's the Red Barn door. Do we trust that that the kit designer got the bracing correct on the door? I also have some of those. If this door was one solid door instead of being 2 doors that swing open would the bracing be different?

Must be time for a search, but what do you engineer types know out there on how this should be done?

Jack

Diagonal bracing

Dear Jack,

I'm not an engineer, but my understanding is:

- Wood doors/gates : Diagonals go from TOP of the OPENING side/edge to BOTTOM of the HINGE side.
This keeps the wood diagonals in Compression, which is the material's best/strongest mode

- Steel doors/gates : Diagonals go from the TOP of the HINGE side/edge to the BOTTOM of the OPENING side.
This keeps the steel diagonal in Tension, which is the material's strongest mode.

Given the above, the "Red Barn" doors, assuming there are 2 doors,
IE "open in the centre, and hinge on each side of the doorway opening"
and are Wood, appear to be diagonally-braced "correctly"...

 Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Doors

Jack- the building supply doors would slide open and it is split down the middle. There would be an internal frame that would be holding the door together. I have seen many of these styles of doors on warehouses all over the country. As for the barn door ‘The Prof’ has provided the proper explanation of bracing with the door opening in the middle and having two parts open. 

Now to add a backdrop and supports

As mentioned before, this was not a well thought out build and I did something’s a bit out of order. So with the buildings figured out and part of the scenery started I decided to change the turnout control from manual to a RailCrew switch machine from Rapido. This involved cutting off the ties drilling a hole in the scene and mounting the switch machine. I then had to rebuild the scenery around it to get it back to where it was. 
 

This also required me to add to braces under the bird to raise it up enough to clear the switch machine and allow the wiring to clear. I also decided at this point to add a backdrop. I really recommend adding this as part of the initial build of the benchwork, but again, not well planned. 
 

Painting a backdrop

I decided to do a fairly detailed backdrop, even though I knew most of it was going to be obscured by trees and buildings. I started with figuring out where the structures were going to go and doing a pencil sketch. 
 

I then worked from far away to closer starting with the sky then the distant hills. 
 

I then added some distant trees and started to work on the buildings that would be along the street. 
 

I just kept adding details and layers until I was happy with the look. 
 

Micro Max

Thanks for showing and explaining everything  that happened back stage.

Ever-evolving rough plans has been my primary method in model railroading. If you can call it a method.

Now the question remains. Can that kind of talent be learned, or must one be born to it?

Thanks

Thanks for the replies about doors. Got busy with our dog and the vet and didn't get a chance to look them up until now. Lots of examples of front doors. The few freight door photos that showed up backed up Greg's and the Prof's comments.

I found it interesting that the older freight door photos showed some pretty ornate doors.

I took a look at my freight car wooden doors and it seems that most of those had 3 horizontal rails, top, bottom and one across the middle.

Jack

Nice

That's a fine looking layout and I love the detail work you've done. It really looks the part, as I've been to that part of Oregon several times and you nailed the look.

BTW, I loved seeing the tiny scale concrete blocks. I'd never seen that modeled before!

Very Nice

Very nice work.  Thanks for posting.

DEW

Answers and thanks

Kent: I think that there are people that see things differently then others that allow to more easily complete some tasks. For example I have the ability to visualize something in 3D even before I start to build it and can sketch up an idea pretty quickly. Things don’t always end up exactly as I had envisioned, but it usually is pretty close. 

Jack: Glad to help on your query, that’s what these pages are for!

Lee: Thank you so much! I am not exactly sure where those castings came from, but for some reason I think they were part of a DPM kit I had. I usually take all the casting from all my kits and sort them into “themes” for use later 

DEW: Thank you! I am really excited to get the finishing touches done so I can post true “Finished” photos. 

Amazing track work!

Greg, the trackwork looks very realistic. It reminds me of the 60 lb. rail used by the Columbus & Greenville in Mississippi in the 60's and 70's before they finally upgraded the track.

Is your track hand-laid or commercial? Is it code 70?

Dr. John

Dr. John

This track is actually all code 83. The operating switch is a Peco #5 and the one with the points removed started as a Walthers #5 turnout that I modified with PC board ties and Central Valley Model Works ties. The rest of the track is all Micro Engineering flex track that I have modified. I have placed a few wood ties in here and there along with other details to really make the track a model too. 
 

Real Miniature Trees?

Did you find some real HO scale trees to use on your creation? They look great!

HughMorgan

All the trees you see I hand make myself. They are a hit time consuming, but nothing looks quite like well detailed, handmade trees.