Nice!

Nice!

Charlie

Fun huh?

I know exactly where you are coming from James! Seems to work well and looks great!

that was cool

Cant wait to do the same on mine.  I have to change the cross bucks on mine though to the canadian version, but I find the railing is very thin...

Motivation

Thanks gentlemen for the kind comments.

I have to say that it's the little victories that keep me personally motivated to move forward on my IAIS Grimes Line layout.  In the overall scheme of prototype modeling it's probably a minor thing, although I argue that grade crossings are important to do correctly since it's the one place we all come into contact with trains in our daily lives.

James

A Real Attention Getter

Photo Backdrop

Thanks Art,

I do have the photo backdrop from the actual road ready to print.  I'm just trying to track down a large format printer that can handle tabloid sized paper.  That's next on my todo list.

James

Epson Workforce 1100...

Will print 11x17. I have one and  have used to print backdrop prints.

Cost Savings

Let me rephrase that...

I'm trying to track down a large format printer that can handle tabloid sized paper without having to buy one .

Thanks Ken for the suggestion.  My fallback is WalMart's poster printing service, but I need to make sure the scene works with a photo backdrop before spending the money.

James

Priniting Large

James,

if the Wal Mart angle doesn't work out, Fedex Office (formally Kinkos) does nice large format printing at reasonable prices.  You can even specify cardstock (within reason), matte papers, etc.  And all done on the computer at your desk.

Printing

I would highly recommend using some type of print service in your area.  Granted, Wal-Mart generally does an okay/ good job with my family photos, but I have had issues with them when printing large.  Mostly the photos being very dark with high contrast.  Also, a place like Kinko's, Staples, or an actual print shop, may be able to adjust your photo on the spot if it is not printing to your liking.  Depending on the length you need, some of these places may have printing capabilities that will allow you to print as long as you need.  I had a 4 ft backdrop printing for my module and it looks so much better to have a seamless flow instead of 3 or 4 separate photos.

Great work on the crossing, by the way!

   Greg Cochenet
  Spring City & Northern Railroad
  "Follow the Fox!"

Photo Backdrop

Since MRH was nice enough to resurrect this post for their weekly email I'll be nice and share a progress photo.  I've finished up editing the background photo for the scene, a fun process since it's almost 3 feet wide.  I've identified a printing service to make the seamless print.  Until then I've mocked up the scene using individual sheets string together.

An amazing improvement compared to the blank blue wall.

James

Are those Walthers signals?

Are those Walthers signals? I have a grade crossing pro that i havent hooked up yet, but it looks like the walthers signals will work with it.

Forced perspective?

That's a very effective photo background. Terrific job!

Did you ever consider tapering the model street width inwards so the perspective angle matched? I had a modeling mentor in my youth who used to make his various layouts scenic viewpoints into forced perspective dioramas.

http://www.conwyrailwaymuseum.co.uk/Images/Diorama3.jpg

This is one that is preserved in the Conwy Valley Railway Museum. There are others if you explore the site, although the photos are a little small.

I'm re-inspired!   Now I just need to find an old 20's photo of Downtown LA taken from the Watts direction.

given your work to scale the thing

Why print seamless?  Those photos look really good as is, and if you do a slow careful paste-up it should work nicely.  But the effect is GREAT!

At last

It depends on your prototype and era

whether a fast rise and fall is realistic. Many current grade crossing installations are being converted to LEDs on the prototype signals, just like the wayside block and absolute signals. Of course, Logic Rail's GCP allows either option, to their credit.

I'm probably in the minority

I'm probably in the minority, but I didn't think the plain wall looked bad!

The photo is great - the only recommendation I can think of is to remove the near cars from the images. If you need help with that, let me know.

Questions Answered

Thanks everyone for your comments and support.  Let me try to answer a lot of questions at once.

@UP MAN - Those are Walthers Cantilever signals, which work wonderfully with the Logic Rail GCP.  Assuming you have the correct resistor depending on the input voltage you put into the GCP.

@proto87stores - Since it's a multi-road crossing that you can easily see all off in one view, plus the fact that the benchwork is only 8 inches deep I've passed on trying to make it work from all angles.  Still better than a plain blue wall.

@kcsphil - I'm planning on leaving the sky in place since cutting out those significantly small details, such as the traffic signals, would be impossible.  I'm sure I could be successful with multiple sheets, but this is the only area I have that will require a large format print and I want to do it well.

@Av8ercfi - I've been very happy with the Logic Rail GCP so far.  The only issues that have popped up have been from my half-assed wiring job.  The fade in/out is an option on the circuit called TrueLamp2 that does an excellent job of simulating that look.

@Scarpia - I admit I was originally going to leave it blue but it has added so much in terms of depth I couldn't imagine it without the photo.  I'll try to remove the cars...

More to come,
James

wow

well I am happy to see it turn out so well, I can't wait till I get to this point on my layout...please keep the progress report coming, I am sure we can all use what advantages you offer