On the Office Park zone, I want to use track and turnouts from my existing supply instead of buying a bunch of new track. All of my available Micro Engineering code 70 #6 turnouts will be for the shop layout.  That leaves the Shinohara #4 turnouts for the Office Park zone.

Given that I'm modelling a relatively remote, difficult to access part of the world, that few others model (except you, Tim...), it can be a challenge to get an idea about how to do the scenery.  I'm currently on a work trip to a different part of northern Canada than I model, however there are similarities to the topography and forest cover that I model.  I'm taking advantage of my ability to wander around the bush - no one calls it the forest except tourists - to cast my eye about, looking at how I can capture the look of the land around me on a layout. 

Good News Everyone!

For those of you interested in the original Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway as well as its smaller Alphabet-Route partner, the Pittsburgh & West Virginia, I've created a sort-of all-time map of both roads and their routes that existed. I've embedded the map into this post for others to see and view but am also looking for people to help make this map better and more detailed information-wise than I could make on my own.

Encouraged by others who are sharing their experiences here, I thought I'd try to create a thread about the process of creating a HO scale GP9 of Northern Pacific Number 261.

Not sure how many this will work out to be but here is the start of how I do Colorado scenery but can be done on any layout. this is the first 3 videos.

Pelsea's "Supersize" topic got me thinking that I needed to commit a plan that has been circling my brain lately to paper, or more properly, electrons.  

I am considering a fairly major change to what I consider to be the "backstage" area of my layout. Perversely, it is the first area you see when entering the room (garage) from the house or the back door. 

Yesterday I met a retired IAIS engineer, Jay Ellis. Jay worked for the IAIS since it’s inception and had a railroad career that spanned over 40 years. Amazing! He worked for the Rock Island, CNW, and finally the Iowa Interstate. 

But what was even more interesting to me was that Jay held the engineer spot on the Milan branch for many years, including the year I model the branch – 2003. We spent a very enjoyable day talking all things Milan, toured the branch, enjoyed lunch, and forged a new friendship. 

A recent thread discussed the need for feeder conduits in foam. The consensus was that permanent conduits are not necessary, but temporary conduits might make the installation go a little faster. Having occasion to add some feeders to the LT&SS, I thought I'd give it a try. Here is what I came up with.

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Greetings, 

I just updated my blog with a new post about experimenting with filling in a spot on the backdrop using digital images of shipping containers.