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The Hills Line - Waterways in Iowa City Journals/Blogs
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Frequent poster 589 posts jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Progress update on The Hills Line, as the creeks, rivers, and other waterways have been carved, along with the bridges, piers, and abutments being painted and installed. First up is the multi-span crossing of the Iowa River, south of Iowa City.

wariver1.JPG 

The prototype features two spans, a Lattice Truss and a Warren Truss, and two approach trestles. For space limitations I’ve chosen to model the Lattice Truss on the north side of the river along with its trestle. The deck was constructed first, then painted with various spray paints. With the deck positioned track can be installed and wired without needing the rest of the bridge. Eventually the truss will be kit bashed from a Central Valley kit.

The abutments are modified from AIM/Monroe Products to best match the prototype and were painted and weathered with numerous acrylic paint washes. I won’t permanently secure the bridge deck until after the river is painted and poured and the track is installed.

oodplain.JPG 

A small wooden trestle crosses the flood plain between the Iowa River and US Highway 6 in Iowa City. Again, space limitations prevented me from modeling it anywhere near the prototype length, but it still does a good job of representing what’s actually there. The trestle was from a Walthers kit, painted and weathered to (hopefully) look like wood. The foam for this and the rest of the watercourses were carved with a variety of tools, including a hot knife, surform rasp, and a few serrated knifes.

Unlike the rest of the waterways, there won’t be water at this location. Rather the trestle will be surrounded by large old-growth trees and low scrub, per the prototype.

ralston.jpg 

Also planned to be hidden amongst the foliage is the steel stringer bridge over Ralston Creek in Iowa City. Again, the piers and abutments are from AIM/Monroe and the I-Beams are from the same Walthers kit as the trestle. Bridge track and a safety walkway will be installed during track laying. What’s unique from a modeling perspective is that the Ralston Creek bridge is the only one with guardrails on the line.

wariver2.jpg 

We finish at the north end of the modeled section and what’s planned to be the signature scene on the layout, the Iowa Interstate’s deck-girder bridge over the CIC Hills Spur. The abutments and piers were heavily altered to best match the prototype, including the notch on the south side of the first pier and the stair-step edges on the eastern abutment.

A fascia extension has been added to the aisle-side pier, both to protect it and to prevent the “bridge to nowhere” look common on a lot of model railroads. Luckily the IAIS main is shrouded in a tree tunnel just beyond the bridge, so the intersection with the backdrop will be covered.

Up next is filling all the gaps in the foam and the fascia with spackle and wood filler, then slathering on a coat of CTC Green to eliminate the pink monstrosity in our basement.

James
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Thomas Klimoski Active Member 81 posts
Thomas Klimoski

Excellent progress

Hi James,

Excellent progress on your new model railroad. It is so nice to see you modeling again after all that transpired with your old layout. Your bridge scenes will certainly be the signature scenes on your layout and I really appreciate the in progress shots of your work. I think the wood trestle looks good, if you did not tell me it was a Walthers kit I would have thought you scratch built it from wood and stained it. The weathering on the deck-girder bridge abutments is outstanding and looks exactly like the one I have seen in your photos. It is amazing the transformation that will take place once you paint all the foam, even though you have a lot more to do, the layout will look more finished. I look forward to many more updates as you build your new layout.

Tom Klimoski

Modeling the Georgia Northeastern Railroad
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Inspiration

Thanks Tom. Needless to say I'll be "borrowing" some of your techniques for my layout.

Best,
James
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Flatpenny Active Member 89 posts
Flatpenny

Very Nice

The progress looks awesome so far James.  It looks like your layout will be a great place to railfan with all of those waterways.  The color of your sky is quite convincing as well.  It just 'looks right', especially in contrast to the weathered abutments and bridge beams.  Very nice!

Brant Schmell

Modeling the SOO LINE Kansas City Sub in the early 90's
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JeffBulman Regular poster 459 posts
JeffBulman

Very nice James! I admired

Very nice James! I admired the work on your Grimes Line and it looks as if this one will be exceptional as well.

Like Tom I am also looking forward to your updates.

Jeff
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TomO Prolific poster 1,238 posts
TomO

Great

James, the start of beautiful scenes. I enjoy the layouts, insights and backstories of the Iowa Cartel. I don’t normally when reading about a layout scene go to Google Earth and check out the real scene. With you guys I do and do not come away disappointed. The faithfulness you are exhibiting is rare and to be congratulated. Is the Ralston Creek scene right off of Lafayette Street?  Great show and thanks for sharing your process.

Tom 

TomO in Wisconsin

It is OK to not be OK

Visit the Wisconsin River Valley and Terminal Railroad in HO scale

on Facebook
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jfmcnab Frequent poster 589 posts
jfmcnab

Lafayette and Ralston

Thank you everyone for the kind comments.

Quote:

Is the Ralston Creek scene right off of Lafayette Street?

Correct Tom. Lafayette Street is a prime example of the CRANDIC Railway's Interurban heritage.

afayette.jpg 

James
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Ken Rice Super User 5,884 posts
Ken Rice

Nice progress

Very interesting for me at the moment since I’m still pondering wether to use foam and if so how much - looks like your 2” layer is plenty to get some nice bridges/streams/rivers in.  Knowing the quality of layout you’ve built before makes it all the more interesting to see how you’re proceeding with this one.

- Ken

My blogspot blog: http://rices-rails.blogspot.com/
My MRH blog index
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TomO Prolific poster 1,238 posts
TomO

Thanks

That will be a great scene and can’t wait to see you bring it to life on your layout.

Tom

TomO in Wisconsin

It is OK to not be OK

Visit the Wisconsin River Valley and Terminal Railroad in HO scale

on Facebook
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Lancaster Central RR Frequent poster 574 posts
Lancaster Central RR

Looks good. That is one thing I need to work on.

There are many creeks and drainages in my area and I should put at least one on the layout. I never modeled water before. I lost interest in my last layout before actually modeling the bridge and water scene. 

 

Lancaster Central Railroad &

Philadelphia & Baltimore Central RR &

Lancaster, Oxford & Southern Transportation Co. 

Shawn H. , modeling 1980 in Lancaster county, PA - alternative history of local  railroads. 
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creston New member 1 post
creston

Great Views

Great work! These scenes are well designed to have great realistic perspectives. I agree that the texture and coloration on your abutments is spot on. Thanks for sharing. 

Creston Parker
Canton, GA
Modeling the Kentucky Division of the Illinois Central Railroad, circa 1945
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Pcfan60 Regular poster 390 posts
Pcfan60

Great progress!

Looking good, and looking forward to future updates!
https://hitopmodelrailroad.com/
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