Happy New Year

Happy New Year and best wishes in the new year!
Scott

Layout Update

I have developed the building/street layout for Walnut, Illinois.  Below are two photos showing the paper templates that represent the various buildings and streets that will make up the town.

 The long and narrow rectangular shapes represent the state highway (Illinois Route 92) and various side streets.  The highway will cross the mainline from the top left of the picture and turn west (down in the photo) to follow the tracks toward Prophetstown.  The larger rectangles to the right represent buildings.  The buildings are multiple story store fronts with the exception of the one closet to the foreground.  At this location a gas station is proposed. 

This is another view from "the air" showing the track arrangement relative to the town.  The track with the three cars is the interchange track between the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad (CNW) and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad.  The track from the lower right to the upper left (through the diamond) is the CNW mainline from Nelson, Illinois to Peoria, Illinois.  Although this at-grade crossing did exist, I cannot find any evidence that there was an interchange track located at this location.  But, since this is, my railroad and I wanted some additional industries to serve by rail (and an interchange track is a great industry because it can handle any type of car) I decided to use some modeler’s license and include it.

More updates coming!  Stay tuned for updates on building the structures that will become part of downtown Walnut!
 Thanks,
Scott

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!  I hope your Christmas Season is a blessed time with family and friends and that 2012 is a year that your hopes and dreams come true!
Scott

Scenery Progress Part II

Included in this post are several photos of the scenery near the Green River.  As mentioned previously, the scenery is no where near complete, except for the "prime coat" which helps to begin the transformation from blue foam to realistic scenes.

 

The base scenery for the Green River area.  I have still not decided exactly how to complete the river.  The bridge is an Atlas steel deck bridge that has been painted and weathered.  The concrete abutments are 1x4's painted and weathered to simulate cast-in-place concrete abutments.

CB&Q 900 (GP-20) rolls through the cut and over the Green River on it's way to Walnut, Illinois.

Another look at CB&Q 900 as it meanders along the line to Walnut.

One more shot of the 900 on it's way to Walnut.  The Great Northern 40-foot boxcar is destined for L.D. Spaulding Grain in Walnut.

Now that the base scenery for the Green River area is complete, my next focus will be the town of Walnut, Illinois.  I have developed a basic footprint for the town using paper cut-outs to simulate the building sizes.  Walnut will be the largest town modeled on the Dragonfly.  It will include several buldings, streets, a city park, and other details.  

Check back soon for the next blog post and more information on the progress of the CB&Q Dragonfly Subdivision.  Happy Railroading!

Scott

Scenery Progress

I have made substantial progress on the scenery around the Green River area.  For the most part I am pleased with the look, understanding that it is really just the base scenery and that a lot more detail will be added.  Items like trees, bushes, rock outcroppings, and other things will help make the scene look more realistic.  It is wonderful to watch the "fields of blue" foam slowly disappear!  I will post updated pictures soon.

On another portion of the railroad, I am laying out Walnut, Illinois.  So far, I have identified several structures that I will use and have cut paper to the size of each buildings footprint.  Using these footprints, along with 24' wide (HO Scale) paper roadway, I am developing the city around the railroad.  I will snap a couple of pictures of this process to include in the next update as well.

Happy Railroading!

Scott

Photo Update

As promised, the blog has been updated with a few photos of the scenery progress at/near the Green River on the Dragonfly Sub.

The scene at the Green River and Ohio, Illinois is to the right.  The mainline bridge (track at back) has been temporarily removed during the messy scenery work.  The stub track is the tail of the track serving the Tampico Elevator.

This is a view from the "air."  The tracks have been covered with tape.  Ohio Elevator is along the wall next to the light.  The cross hatch area at the lower right is an area slated for a state highway.  When viewed from eye level, at the fascia, the viewer's eye will be drawn along the road and into the scene of the Ohio Elevator... at least that is the goal.

The hillside immediately to the left of  the mainline will be built up with rock castings to represent a rock cut.  Not exactly prototypical for the Midwest, but I wanted to try my hand at working with rock molds/castings.

As mentioned above, a state highway will be constructed in the area of the cross hatch.  The goal is the draw the viewer's eye from the foreground to the back of the layout and the scene at the Ohio Elevator.

More photos as the work progresses!

Scenery Update

I have been working on the base scenery in and around the Green River area.  I decided to add some "relief" to the otherwise flat benchwork and model some hills in the area between Green River and Ohio, Illinois.  I have started with the basic newspaper formed hills covered with paper towels soaked with plaster of Paris.  I have also incorporated the Green River riverbed into the scenery project, as it seemed to flow naturally from the hillside into the riverbank.  I will post some pictures of the progress.

Green River Bridge Update 2

A quick update on the Green River Bridge construction.  Below are some photos of the project.

The area of the Green River was originally built with the standard 2" foam base and cork roadbed.  I planned to come back and remove the material when I was ready to construct the bridge.

Proposed location for the steel girder bridge.

I used a trustworthy fine-toothed saw to make the precision cuts, after laying out the exact location of the steel girder bridge.  I was careful to allow for adequate clearance for rolling stock negotiating the turnout to the left.

 

With the sawcuts complete, the spikes can be pulled and the track section removed.

Foam cut and gently removed with a wide blade putty knife.

First train across the new bridge!

Next will be the scenery including river banks.

Scott

Update

It has been a very long time since I have posted an update.  I have been working on the railroad off and on lately, but progress has been slow.  I have removed the temporary roadbed placed during initial mainline construction over the area that is to be the Green River and replaced it with an Atlas steel girder bridge.  I will post pictures of the project when I have a complete set. 
That's it for now!
Scott

A New Hobby??? Say it isn't so!

Oh, it be so!  The train room is now a multi-purpose room... well at least dual purpose.  I recently got involved in a new hobby, Radio Controlled Airplanes.  I am the proud owner of a Super Cub!

I have the plane assembled and ready for its first flight!  Unfortunately, the weather is less than favorable and the maiden flight will have to wait until Spring!

Work on the railroad continues (slowly), even with the new distraction.  Additional base scenery is in place in Walnut, Illinois, making that area of the railroad about 75% complete as far as base scenery is concerned.  The next major project on the radar is the construction of the bridge/trestle (not sure which to do) at the Green River.  This will involve not only the bridge itself, but also the surrounding embankments, riverbed, and Woodland Scenic water.  Stay tuned for updates and pictures of this exciting project!

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Railroading!

Scott