I had a nice little blog post ready to roll out last night.... and I hit the wrong key and blew it away. Serves me right for not following my own instructions in doing long posts in Notepad or some other text editor and then doing the cut n paste thing.... 

This morning I rewrote it... about 3 times as long as it was. This is going to take several follow-on comments. Now, for the blog entry:

Another little update on D&D Mining & Steel.

I recently completed several company houses and thought I would post a few pics. The structures are scratch-built using Evergreen sheet and strip styrene, Grandt Line windows and doors and Central Valley steps. The design is based upon a drawing that was in the C&O Historical Society magazine many years ago and observations I've made of company homes in West Virginia and Kentucky.

Tony Koester answers questions after his Multideck Layouts clinic at the
X2011 West NMRA Convention in Sacramento, CA.

TONY KOESTER on Multi-deck layouts

At (YD),   http://www.yankeedabbler.com/  Gene, Mike and I have had the pleasure of working with Tim and Ring Engineering developing and delivering  a new HO model RR technology.  Touch screen DIRECT Radio controlled GUI hand held controllers.  Rail Pro is now on the scene and it is Fun and Fantastic. It is now available at dealers and is on the www.yankeedabbler.com website along with Rail Master speakers. This new technology is going to change the way we PLAY.

While the artist I hired to paint the backdrop is doing her thing I wanted to continue to make progress so I decided to work on the scenery in the back left corner that is between the wall and the upper track.  I already had envisioned what I wanted the area to look like including a deep rock cut, some lush mountain area, a road, and a couple of homes.

The 2” extruded foam in my benchwork has a much larger role than just a “supporting actor” (i.e., supporting the roadbed and scenery). It is an integrated part of the light weight benchwork for my upper level.  I have been using foam benchwork for a number of years and have learned a few tricks along the way.  Some of the tricks may be unnecessary but as I’ve always said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.”

Hi Jack from Star, Idaho.  A while back in a post I said I had torn out a great deal of my railroad simply because I didn't like it.  Here are a few photos showing some of the rebuilt part and especially home made trees using furnace filter, dowels, and ideas from Joe's DVD's.  I plan to show a lot  more of my layout soon but this will give you an idea that I love the wooded regions of the Pacific Northwest.  So far I have built dozens of the furnace filter trees and I find it rewarding to create different looks in each and every

We leave around 5:30am tomorrow morning... need to be there in time for Charlie Comstock's first clinic at 7:30pm on Avoiding the Pitfalls of Model Railroad Photography.

BTW - I just opened up my Guidebook app for X2011 and it told me there was an update available. I like this thing! See http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/5394 for more information on getting the X2011 Guidebook app for both Android an iPhone/iPad.

I'm ready - let's get to Sacramento!

Update July 7, 2011 - Today the artist redefined the hill areas and adjusted the horizon accordingly.  She also started adding some of the trees on the mountains.  Here are a few pictures of her work.

This is a work in process and she said that she "paints a little here and a little there".  It's good to see some of the green!