Nice work!

Very enjoyable to watch. Some neat details  as well....

Thanks for sharing!

Neal

Railserve Beverage Bottling Facility Video Tour

Very nicely done. Nice video also.

Thanks

Wayne

Looks Great

Looks great, Nice video

Nice Job!

Nice switching layout you have and all the details. Looks good and thanks for posting a video

Terry

Good Looking Layout

Thanks for posting your latest video, layout and structures look pretty good. ALSO thanks for taking your time and shooting the video at SLOW pace, makes it very easy to watch without getting dizzy, unlike some of the videos posted here. I like a couple of your scratch built structures - gave me some inspiration which right now I needed as I have hit a slump. I look forward to more videos on your layout.

Richard

Thanks

Thanks for the comments everyone... 

WOW

When I first started watching I thought I was looking at a friends layout which is very, very similar to yours.

Very impressive indeed.

Sorry but I have to point out one detail (and I really don't like rivet counters), your snow, if indeed you are modeling mid to late spring, your snow is way too white, the piles do look realistic mostly due to their placement, should have a lot of brown and black colour to the surfaces, maybe even some wood or other garbage sticking out.

As the roads and parking areas are cleared of snow during the winter, gravel and crap is pushed into those piles, then there is the blown dust kicked up by the wind and passing vehicles, now add in the grime and other crap from the railroad equipment.

I have also got some inspiration from your buildings for my layout, thank you for posting this video.

John

Snow

Thanks for the comment. Yes I am planning on giving the snow piles a grime wash as well as adding gravel to the piles. I have been experimenting with replicating the melting snow around the piles with some semi gloss clear paint. I still haven’t gotten the courage to attempt a winter weathering on the vehicles as it’s a pretty distinct grey/white spray from the dirty roads. 

My kind of layout and modeling

Hi John,

Thanks for sharing your excellent modeling via the video. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour! 

I love small layouts and your approach really appeals to me. I have a special affinity for small switchers and your SW1200 is a perfect fit. In the video you said you were working on another switcher and were going to show us but I think you forgot. I would love to see what you're working on. 

Also, if I may I have a couple suggestions: I've had very good success modeling different night light levels with blue LEDs. The LED strips are very inexpensive and come with a wireless dimmer where you can control the light level to simulate a moonlit or moonless night. It's a very cool effect for night ops.

 

Also, (warning: shameless plug) with a small layout like yours you could use a ProtoThrottle which would make your op sessions much more realistic because the throttle would, in effect, expand your layout's footprint by slowing down movements just like the prototype. 

And finally, I plan to include an actual riding conductor on my small branch line layout. I use micro neodymium magnets on the cars to easily attach a scale conductor and small magnets embedded in the scenery for when the conductor is on the ground. This would be another fun approach you could use to enhance your op sessions.

model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/31274

Awesome work!

Great job on the layout and the video! Your effort is top notch for a first attempt! I am doing a small 8 foot switching layout myself to Free-Mo standards but have gotten lost in freight and passenger car modeling. The lighting job you did is top notch as well, I am only about a third of the way through lighting my layout, but the effect is magic! I think we all want more videos!

Thanks

Sean, Thanks for the comment. I wish I could get into a Free-Mo group where I live... I am kinda of a "lone wolf modeler" and am not sure of any clubs near to me. 

Scott, Those lights look awesome.. I actually have a few RGB LED strips. I am going to try this! The other locomotive is actually in my display case. Its a GP7 that is waiting on a decoder. I realized I forgot to add the clip of it after I finished the Video. I will for sure go over it in the next video. I am actually ordering a Proto-Throttle shortly!! Once I have the new decoders in the 2 locomotives I will be ordering one.

Ops video, too!

John,

Please make an ops video, too, as I would love to see your layout in action. 

Just for kicks, below are a couple shots showing my riding conductor. You can see the micro neodymium magnet under his foot on the engine step. I plan to paint the magnets the same color where they are attached so they disappear. 

 

For night ops, I found lighted tweezers at Walmart that have an on/off switch. I also installed a small rod on the back of the conductor to make it easier to grab him off of cars, etc. 

 
 

Nicely done Scott!

Making a rod for someone else's back for a change...     I guess in O scale I could put actual steel toecaps in the brakeman's boots. Well, if I had the skills...  

JohnF, your layout looks excellent. Looking forward to the ops video!  

Figures

Scott what brand figures are those? I need to find ones like that. 

Ops session is definitely on the horizon once I have a new sound decoder installed 

Figures

John,

Brand of figures is Bachmann's construction set. Here's a link for the set on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Bachmann-Trains-33106-Maintenance-Workers/dp/B001RG7LSA/ref=asc_df_B001RG7LSA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309806158787&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13099440203009585439&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1015640&hvtargid=pla-584790072195&psc=1

The figure I liked best had a silly dusk mask on his face, so I carefully cut off the head and switched it with one of the others in the set. Worked great. I even slightly turned the figure's head when gluing with CA so that no matter which direction the figure is placed it appears to be looking somewhere. 

Great detail!

I actually came across your video's about a month ago on Youtube,I subscribed to your channel.You gotta lot of detail crammed into a small area,and it looks great!I like how simple your layout is.Your Landscaping looks really good,and your use of Martin Welberg scenery products.

You tube Channel

You can check out his videos here. https://www.youtube.com/user/yamaha167/videos