Layout Photos

A few photos of various scenes on the layout.  As I have mentioned before, the trackwork is 100% complete, while the scenery work has just begun!

Houghton Lumber Company in Prophetstown, Illinois

Standard Oil Company, Prophetstown, Illinois

Downtown Walnut, Illinois

Looking East in Walnut, Illinois.  C&NW mainline and interchange track (red boxcar) in the foreground.

Happy Railroading!
Scott

Deep Clean Update

I believe the Deep Clean of the train room is complete.  I managed to haul a lot to the trash and sort through things at the same time.  It is amazing what a little time spent organizing and cleaning can do.  I now have a room that is clean, orderly, and pleasant to spend time in.  As mentioned in a previous post, I have discovered several projects to add to my list, an added bonus!  Below are some pictures of the train room and how it looks after the Deep Clean!

Happy Railroading!
Scott

Scenery Cart

Happy New Year!

I have purchased a small plastic three-drawer cart for my scenery materials.  It was inexpensive and worth a try.  It may be too small as I have already filled it with supplies.  It does have wheels and can be moved easily around the train room to the area of activity for the day.  Sometimes, one can get so bogged down in analysis that nothing gets done.  You have heard the saying, "Paralysis through analysis"?  With that in mind I decided to make the purchase and give it a try.

Again, Happy New Year to all!
Scott

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!  

It is time for a blog update on the Dragonfly Sub.  I have been slowly, but steadily, working to do a deep clean on the train room.  You know the point when things get overwhelmingly messy and you go into the train room to work on the railroad and you spend more time organizing and looking for things than you do working?  Well, that is the point I was at a few days ago.  I said no more.  I made the decision to stop working on the railroad and to make time to clean and organize the train room.

This effort, while you may think would be quick, has been a long process.  It has been fun though!  I have discovered tools, un-built car kits, TWO undecorated F7A units along with one B unit that were stashed far back in a file cabinet drawer, and countless other items that have triggered memories from days gone by of rail fanning and model railroading.  It has been a treasure chest of found items and a whole host of memories!  

The F-units were slated for a project to paint and detail CB&Q F-units (Covered Wagons as they were known) in the white body paint, along with the red CB&Q stripe.  This project had long been forgotten... I am talking about 20 years or more!  Ya you are right, the units are old Athearn Blue Box units, so I will have to update with DCC decoders and review the drive mechanisms and motor... but what a find!  A project for the workbench!  

Below are a couple of photos taken this morning showing the progress to date.  I have the area under the staircase cleaned-out and reordered.  I have rearranged bookshelves and filing cabinets for better use of space, and I have also removed a large white shelf from the workbench top and placed it next to the bench.  This will give me more room on the workbench and better access to the lazy-susan tool holder.

My cleaning will continue around the room and primarily under the railroad now.  Next up will be tools and scenery material.  I really need to develop a better way to store tools and scenery material.  I have seen other modellers use a cart on wheel that has several drawers.  I am thinking this may be the way to go.  What are some of your thoughts?  What do you use to store and display tools for easy access and use?  What about scenery material?  I do have a multitude of re-purposed Tupperware/margarine containers that hold the ground foams and ballast.  I would be interested to hear other ideas!  Please comment!

As I started the post, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I hope your time with family and friends is memorable and your holidays are filled with joy!

Until next time...  Happy Modeling!
Scott

Early February 2016 Update

I have been working on the railroad as time allows.  Some recent projects include, weathering rolling stock and locomotives, building structures, and working toward completion of the base layer of scenery.  I am amazed that a little bit of work on scenery can so drastically change the look of the layout!  I guess I have been seeing pink foam for so long, that any little change is a welcome change!

A couple of recent photos show some of the changes...

Recently added DCC Throttle Pockets... in lieu of sticky-back Velcro, which can be temporary at times and allow throttles to fall to the floor!

 Various photos of some base scenery work underway.

Happy Railroading!
Scott

Mid March Update

This update is long over due... some significant progress has been made on the Dragonfly Sub in recent months.  I have focused on many things including building structures, scenery, operational changes, and adding/modifying industrial tracks.  Some on-going projects worth noting:

•  Eliminated towns, in favor of modeling two towns (Walnut, Illinois and Prophetstown, Illinois).  This major change will require modification to the Operating Plan.  It appears now that two local turns will leave Mendota (staging) with one traveling to Prophetstown and the other traveling to Walnut.  The turns will switch the respective towns and return to Mendota.  This scheme would work if multiple operators are available... if not...  then a single turn could be run to handle all of the work.
• Removed the Green River in favor of more Midwest style flatland.  My initial thought in including the Green River was to provide a visual barrier between towns (switching areas).  In the end, this was not effective and was more of a stumbling block, trying to tie two industrial areas into a "country scene".   It has been removed and replaced with flatland.
• Started to build structures and place them on the railroad.  This is a trial and error process.  A building can look very different if placed at various locations on the railroad.  With that in mind, some time has been spent moving structures around and determining if 1) Does the building look believable in that location, does if fit (both physically and conceptually) and 2) Can rail be used to serve it?  This has been a fun process and the moving about of the buildings seems to be about done.
• Added a coal unloading dock in Walnut.  This will add some coal hopper traffic from both the Q at Mendota and the CNW at Walnut.
• Added two additional industrial sidings in Prophetstown to generate more traffic.  The tracks will serve a grain company, warehouse, bulk oil dealer, and lumber yard.

As time allows, pictures of the various projects will be posted.
Happy Railroading!
Scott

Fall-Winter Update

The weather has turned cold and the model railroading bug has bitten me!  I have been working on some major changes to the Dragonfly Sub. 

• The preliminary scenery at the Green River has been removed in favor of a different method.
• A Masonite backdrop has been installed along the perimeter of the railroad.   In the corners, the Masonite is curved providing a smooth transition between the walls.  (I have always thought that was cool, but in the all years of building have never done it)
• A "sky" backdrop is being installed on the Masonite.  (More on  that in a later post)
• The siding at Ohio has been removed by Maintenance of Way crews to make room for the curved backdrop.  The Engineering Department is now on site conducting topographic surveys in order to design a new siding for the Ohio Elevator Co.  The notion of cost sharing for the improvement with the elevator company has been suggested by Q management... but no final agreement has been reached.
• New industry is planned for Prophetstown- an oil/bulk fuel dealer and a lumber yard.  Typical mainstays for Midwest towns.  The fuel dealer will receive tank cars and the lumber yard will receive boxcars and flatcars.  
• A possible tunnel will be added to help mask/hide some trackage and give more scenic relief.  The area under consideration is the former location of La Moille.  The plan is to place the new industries mentioned above close to the front edge of the benchwork with the mountain/tunnel providing a backdrop.

The list above is a quick run-down.  I plan to post pictures of the various projects, starting with the Masonite backdrop.

Thanks for visiting!

Scott

An Update... of sorts.

Greetings-
Based on the last date that I updated this blog, it has been over one year of inactivity.  While the blog postings have been missing, work on the Dragonfly Sub has continued, slowly.  I have been working on the following items in no specific order:

• Masonite Scenic divider for Walnut, Illinois.
• Removal of the industries (E.W. Houghton Lumber Co. & Eclipse Lawn Mower Co.) at La Moille, Illinois.
• New scenery constructed in the area of La Moille, town has been eliminated from the modeled portion of the railroad.
• Working on laying track to two new industries (oil company and lumber company) in Prophetstown.
• Installed a mirror at the staging yard (Mendota, Illinois).
• Revised the layout of the town at Walnut, Illinois (on-going process)
• Continued to work on building new structures.
• Continued to swap out plastic wheels for metal wheels on freight cars.  Estimate about 60% complete.

In future posts, I will examine each of these points in detail with photos and more discussion.  A quick update but an update none the less!

Scott

Structures Update

I have been focusing on building some structures I received for Christmas.  This is my first experience in building structures for many years.  I have identified several Walthers kits for the downtown area of Walnut, Illinois and it is those structures that I am constructing.  A few pictures of the progress so far.

The last photo shows a small piece of styrene I added to the model to fill the gap left between the door and the building walls.

That's it for now.
Scott

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

Base scenery work continues!

Happy New Year to everyone!  I had some help today working on the railroad.  Both Makenna and Carter put on the work aprons today and helped with the base scenery in Walnut, Illinois.

The first layer of paint and earth tone Woodland Scenics foam was already in place.  We added the fine green foam and coarse green foam, wet the entire area, and then applied a diluted water/glue solution.  I added an updated album of the days activities to the slide show at the right.  What a great way to wrap up 2010!

Happy Railroading!
Scott