Looks great as always!

Sure is amazing how this little detail really makes the track look complete. The bars from Precision are the best I have used an drew the variety really helps tell the story. Did you get any with the bolt holes empty so you can scatter them along the track? Also did you cut the railroad to show the track sections? 

Great detail!

Funny I'd see this now, as last week I ordered a batch of these for the exact same reason you did. My intention is to place them on a section of flex track for a diorama to shoot outdoors with. If they work well, I'll be placing a few on my layout as you did.

That's cool!

I always enjoy seeing photos of the Grimes line and the joint bars really add a nice touch. Hoping to see some more pictures soon.

Trashing the Line

No empty bars (but I should have) nor cut track. But the next plan is to trash the line a little more. The Grimes Line is dirtier than I've modeled, so I may need to place another order with PDC.

James

Ah, nice to see. . .

Really nice looking track.

Really nice looking track. Could you imagine trying to do that on a club layout or a really large home layout. It would look great when finished but it might seem like getting a second job. I know I have spent some time detailing different things to a level greater than what is often done for cars that will run on a layout but it is something I enjoy. I suppose if one was doing it to a big layout you would just have to work on it till it was completed. I suspect there would be nothing wrong with taking breaks along the way.

Nice!

I spotted those orange joiners on my visit. Yours is the first layout I'va seen them installed on in person, and I have to admit, and they do look great.

no problem 'cause shipping's free!! 

cheers!

Hey!…

The 715 shows its face. Cool! 

’Bout time the 708 took a back seat.

Research

See... now I've gotta go back and double check to make sure there aren't approach joints as well. And here I thought I was done with prototype research!

James

Hmmm, might be. . .

Joints

WOW

Jim 

Boy the track looks great anyway,but that is the icing on the cake.

                                                                                                   Ray

While drooling over ...

. . . the IJs, I finally notice the shed in the background, which exudes realism from every pore. James, can you tell us a bit more about that?

Looks great James

Glad to see The Grimes Line back in action. The joint bars look great and add another level of realism. Also the prospect of making the right of way "dirtier" sounds intriguing. I don't know about up there but down south one thing I have noticed is a lot of old tires that can be found every now and then next to the tracks. No clue how they get there! 

Can't wait to see more of your Layout.

Tim Garland

Pallet Recyclers of Iowa

The shed is the home of Pallet Recyclers of Iowa. While not rail-served, the structure is located immediately next to the right of way along Meredith Drive in Urbandale. That fact, along with its unique "texture", made it a required object on the layout.

There was no way I could ever hope to match the color variation or detail with traditional modeling methods. Pallet Recyclers is a styrene core overlaid with photo wallpaper, ala Lance Mindheim. Ultimately it's one of those scenes that allows anyone familiar with the area to be immediately familiar with my layout.

James

Excellent Photos

Hi James, Those are excellent photos of your layout and the new joint bars. The joint bars are that little extra detail that really makes your layout look so realistic. The Pallet Recyclers structure has that worn down and used look you captured so well with the photo wallpaper technique. I also have to go back and "dirty up" my layout to make it more prototypical, it is just a little of my OCD kicking in that makes it so difficult to trash it up. Great to see you posting photos again of your layout.

Thomas Klimoski

Modeling the Georgia Northeastern Railroad

"There was no way I could

     Do you know the story behind that triangular hole in the wall? ........DaveB 

A "Hole" nother story

Your guess is as good as mine. It's been there as long as I've been researching and modeling the Grimes Line.

James

Thanks, James

Clickity-Clack every 39 feet?

That's what I was wondering as well as Joe was......I was planning on just making enough of a scribe across the railhead to try and get that sound.  With a feeder wire every 3 feet from the DCC buss, wouldn't think that should introduce too much of a dirt problem, and it would be really "short-lived" so to speak. I've got a small enough layout that doing all those joints would not be a problem.  And they add so much.  Not "knock you in the face" detail, but they are just visible enough to make a difference.

Pat Flynn
Leland, NC

Looks good, I assume the

Looks good, I assume the 39ft  was originally chosen  to allow for  rails to be dropped into standard 40ft gon with a bit to spare. Interestingly joint bars are fish plates, 60ft is still the standard length for jointed track(CWR now very common even on low speed lines) here in the UK and joints are not staggered .

The old club layout for the

The old club layout for the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club had one area where the rails had been notched every 39 feet.  it looked neat and sounded okay, but...

When standing trackside, you tend to hear the clickety-clacks from the joints closest to you, so it's easy to hear that nice distinct pattern as the wheels hit those one or two joints.

However, on the model, you end up hearing the noise from every joint in the whole scene, so the sound can end up getting muddled from all the wheels hitting all the notches.

I like to have notches at key areas (switches, insulated joints) so that way you can direct the viewer's attention and focus while still getting a nice clickety-clacks in the scene.

Craig

"However, on the model, you

      That's an interesting observation and might indicate that a few strategically placed joints might work better on a layout? ......DaveB 

Termination

 Turns out there are additional insulated joiners at the Meredith Drive grade crossing. Out came the bottle of Floquil Reefer Orange and the aforementioned PDC joint bars and we're in business.

The other two grade crossings are apparently AC/DC, since neither have IJs at the crossings. Meredith Drive appears to be DC only since they've had the IJs since at least 2007, which is the earliest that I have photos from the crossing. It would make sense, since Meredith Drive is the newest grade crossing as far as it relates to my modeled era.

Moral of the story: If you're going to take photos to document your prototype then take the time to study said photos.

James