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Frequent poster 589 posts jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

eninsula.jpg 

I’ve been able to make some recognizable progress on the final scene of my IAIS Grimes Line layout, the Clive peninsula. The past few months have left me with little time to work in the basement, but a lull in my professional career has finally opened up the opportunity.

The Clive peninsula features the PDM Spur and the Swanson Blvd industrial park. It’s a small collection of light industrial buildings and businesses, most of which will not be modeled due to space limitations. This afternoon I finished the first scenery layer, including painting, striping, and weathering of the roads and parking lots, along with the base layer of static grass and ballast.

I actually ran out of my mix of static grass in the process, so there’s a lot of touch up spots left to cover. Followed by about a million trees for the Clive Greenbelt and the usual scrub and underbrush. My to do list on this area is still a mile long, but it’s nice to at least see the end of this long quest.

James
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H Kemp New member 13 posts
H Kemp

Gorgeous!.

Gorgeous!.
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Greg Baker Mountaingoatgreg Prolific poster 1,337 posts
Greg Baker Mountaingoatgreg

Simple and elegant

Another great example of the idea that less is WAY more.

The trackwork looks really good and I look forward to the details to be added.

"Mountain Goat" Greg Baker

https://www.facebook.com/mountaingoatmodels/
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pschmidt700 Prolific poster 2,584 posts
pschmidt700

Looking good, James

I like that you decided to angle the right of way and the street across the peninsula, rather than parallel to the edges. The scene looks larger and more active. A small fortune in Scenic Express trees, eh? The results make them a good value, though. Paul Schmidt
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Michael Whiteman Frequent poster 519 posts
Michael Whiteman

Lookin' good

This looks fantastic James.  I really like the color of your fascia also.  Keep the pictures coming.
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Marty McGuirk Regular poster 464 posts
Marty McGuirk

Been waging my own Peninsula Campaign

for several years now. It looks like you have victory in your grasp, now press the attack!

 

 

Marty McGuirk, Gainesville, VA

http://www.centralvermontrailway.blogspot.com

 
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pschmidt700 Prolific poster 2,584 posts
pschmidt700

Forward!

Marty's right. No time now to be McClellan-like. But have fun in the struggle. ... Paul Schmidt
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kleaverjr Prolific poster 2,869 posts
kleaverjr

LOL..

.... I was waiting for Bernie K to make a reply referring to the Peninsular Campaign.  I wonder how many model railroaders are amateur US Civil War Historians?

Ken L
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Joe Atkinson IAISfan Super User 3,775 posts
Joe Atkinson IAISfan

Well done

That looks great James.  Very nice work!  I'm looking forward to seeing this develop.

Joe Atkinson
Modeling Iowa Interstate's 4th Sub, May 2005
https://m.facebook.com/groups/iowainterstate4thsub

https://www.iaisrailfans.org/gallery/4thSub

My MRH blog index

https://instagram.com/iaisfan
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Seven Days Battle

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.

Quote:

I wonder how many model railroaders are amateur US Civil War Historians?

Majored in the subject, so maybe I'm quasi-professional. McClellan gets the credit for forming and training the Army of the Potomac. He just didn't have the initiative to do something with that army once he had them. That would take two more years and countless commanders until Grant.

Back on topic... Like Paul said the next plan is to go broke on Scenic Express SuperTrees for the Clive Greenbelt just south of the spur. More to come!

James
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Trevor at The Model Railway Show Regular poster 179 posts
Trevor at The Model Railway Show

A great start

James:

Well done!

Even a first coat of scenery such as this makes all the difference, doesn't it? I'm looking forward to watching your progress.

Cheers!

- Trevor

 

Trevor Marshall

Port Rowan in 1:64

An S scale study of a Canadian National Railways
branch line in southern Ontario - in its twilight years

My blog postings on M-R-H
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kleaverjr Prolific poster 2,869 posts
kleaverjr

Same here James...

Quickly Off Topic....My Degree is in History with a heavy Concentration in US circa late 18th to mid 19th Century!

Back on topic.  Why not grow your own Super Trees and save a ton of money!

Ken L.
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pschmidt700 Prolific poster 2,584 posts
pschmidt700

I'm one

A military history buff in general, but particularly the Civil War and WWII. Paul Schmidt
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pschmidt700 Prolific poster 2,584 posts
pschmidt700

Oh dear, the "Pun-insular" campaign

James, will you call the tree-making phase "Seven Pines" or "Fair Oaks"? Paul Schmidt
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BOK Prolific poster 1,121 posts
BOK

Great looking scenery, James

Great looking scenery, James to add to an already beautiful layout. This gives me some ideas for my industrial park scenery.

Thanks,

Barry
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Seven Pines

To the victor goes the spoils... although Seven Pines was rather inconclusive.

Quote:

Why not grow your own Super Trees and save a ton of money!

To be fair, SuperTrees... especially when purchased in bulk... are very cost effective. I'm able to use a lot of the scrap pieces as underbrush. I bought one of their massive boxes of the Norwegian Spruce over 6 years ago and still have more than enough to finish this layout.

Maybe I'll call my next blog entry on tree making "Seven Oaks", just to be fair.

James
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pschmidt700 Prolific poster 2,584 posts
pschmidt700

Off topic

Time to delve into Shelby Foote's trilogy again. It's been awhile. Paul Schmidt
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pschmidt700 Prolific poster 2,584 posts
pschmidt700

Train length

James, I'm curious to know what the typical train length is on the bigger Grimes Line. Sure it varies some, but does it range widely or stay within a fairly predictable range? Paul Schmidt
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Short and Sweet

Hi Paul, The customers on the Grimes Line are all served on an as-needed basis. With that train-lengths can be all over the place, depending on traffic levels. I've see locomotives deadhead to pull a single empty, and I've seen 8 to 10 car length trains head out. Back when Geneser Feed was in business in Grimes, you'd get 25 to 30 covered hoppers in a single train for grain loading. On my layout, three to five cars is normal, with the occasional single car train. James
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dick green Regular poster 102 posts
dick green

behind lumber yard

I looked for beisser lumber on bing maps. and saw a small spur and ramp behind it Do you know what that business is.

Thanks

Dick
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Ryko Manufacturing

The spur and ramp is behind Ryko Manufacturing, which specializes in automated car wash equipment. To my knowledge they never used rail service, and I'm still trying to locate what the spur was originally built for. In 2012 the Iowa Interstate added a switch to the north end and turned the spur into a runaround. The most recent images from Google Maps show the current configuration. James
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