Bayside & Tidewater

Moving!

2007-11-09T15:34:00.000-04:00

I've moved my blog to WordPress. Check it out...

Bayside & Tidewater

http://bs-and-t.com

The Haggis List

2007-11-08T14:26:00.000-04:00

I was searching the internet the other evening trying to finds sites with tips and techniques for model railroad scenery. The search was coming up empty when I stumbled across the Haggis List Model Railroading FAQ.

I had discovered the list years ago but had forgotten about it. It contains hundreds of reader tips and solutions for doing just about anything on a model railroad - from layout design to scenery.

The only complaint I have is that it does not have pictures illustrating the ideas.

It looks like a great source of ideas. I've bookmarked it for future reference - so hopefully I won't forget about it again.

So, back to hunting for scenery tips and techniques. Anyone care to suggest web sites or blogs? Please leave a link in the comments section.

Scott

The Scrap Yard

2007-11-02T09:10:00.000-03:00

It finally looks like GM Metals has been around for a long time. Or at least some of the junk there does. This area became the new home of some of the trees I made up for the Truro show.

You can just barely see Dickie Clothing through the dense canopy. The big notch at the left is where my lift-out bridge fits in. I need to get more junk, although Kim says I have enough junk now! Ha!

Scott

Conifers

2007-10-31T11:00:00.000-03:00

These are some conifers I made to use on my modules during the Truro show. I "planted" them on "The Ridge" after the show.

These trees were relatively easy to make. I will take picture of the process sometime over the next little while and create a "how-to" to post here

The fire tower was the first structure I ever scratchbuilt. Being an ex-forestry guy it seemed like a natural thing to make.

Scott

A Service Shed

2007-10-29T09:33:00.000-03:00

This is a little shack I built for the service track in Stevenville a while back but haven't highlighted yet. It took about two evenings to build and paint. It is constructed out of mat board, scale lumber. The roof is plain mat board covered with paint and a facial tissue, then weathered. The windows and chimney are from Grandt Line. Total cost... about $5

The equipment details (compressor, pump house, tanks, etc.) are lead bits from Woodland Scenics.

The little shack adds a nice bit of detail to the area.

Looks like early morning in Stevenville as the local crew gets ready to start a busy day switching businesses in the industrial section of town. There are lots of customers in Stevenville and Charlie and Fred have their work cut out for them today. Picard Packers and Dickie Clothing have big shipments ready to go, so they'll need lots of empties dropped off and loaded cars pulled out of the way.

After a long day Charlie's looking a little sore. He's been up and down out of the cab quite a few times today and his back has about had it. Being a brakemen in a busy industrial area is hard work. He's not looking forward to having to do it all over again tomorrow.

Later!

Scott

Tidewater Gets a Backdrop

2007-10-26T09:12:00.000-03:00

You may have noticed the backdrop in the previous post about the new 0-8-0. Here are a couple more views of it.

It is from SceniKing. I think it looks great. Not glossy like some photo backdrops I've seen and just the right level of detail for a backdrop. There can be too much detail, which will draw visitor's attention away from the models.

One thing that completely surprised me is how close the sky in the backdrop matched the paint I used on the wall. I wish I could say it was good planning, but it was more like great luck!

I still have to ballast the yard and will add grasses and such to blend the backdrop into the foreground. Brian had a great suggestion to help blend things in even more - add 3 dimensional loading docks at the doors on the backdrop where space permitted. I'll definitely give that a try.

Scott

BS&T Times - Oct. 25, 1956

2007-10-25T15:32:00.000-03:00

After going through a long and exhaustive tendering (no pun intended) process, BS&T management has purchased an old CP 0-8-0 steam locomotive for excursion passenger service. Management has, in addition, purchased 4 coaches for this new train. The engine has recently undergone a boiler inspection and will soon be in service, when demand for the service (operators) exists.

Engineer Billie Tate says, "She sure is a beaut! She looks like she just came out of the builder's shop!" I'm sure that won't last long after she goes into service.

(Editor's note: The loco is a Proto 2000 Heritage Steam o-8-o, and it really is a very nice looking engine. A sound decoder has been requested from Santa)

Scott

The New Trees

2007-10-17T08:49:00.000-03:00

Well, the new trees turned out better than I had hoped. They received quite a few comments from the folks at the show.

The view looking down the road toward BigFoot Bridge.

In addition to the deciduous trees I was able
to create about 7 conifers.

Greg rerails a car at Hazard Bend.
The name is well deserved.

Perhaps I should start selling trees at shows? The only problem is that I like them so much it would be hard to part with some of them. But, if the price is right....!

Scott

The 2007 Truro Show

2007-10-15T10:07:00.000-03:00

The weather was worrisome as we headed to Truro for the Annual Fall Model Railroad Show last Friday. The forecast said "Rain", the sky was ominous, as we had a truckload and trailer load of model railway "stuff". We carried 21 modules in all, plus the accompanying tools, electronic gadgets, freight cars, and locos. We were not looking forward to doing what we had done the past 3 years at the Truro show - load and unload in the rain.

Fortunately, the rain held off long enough for us to get unpacked. It started pouring about a half hour later.

Don P. and Ron D. already had all their gear inside before we arrived. Don even had a few modules set up. We started setting up the layout about 4:00 after determining our starting point - thanks to a borrowed tape measure from the N scale guys. Guess what - it was a tiny N scale tape measure, but it could extend to 6' thankfully.

Trains were moving by 8:00, but a supper break and socializing pushed the completion of the setup to about 10:00.

The layout as seen from the stage (29' x 38')

Saturday morning started off with breakfast at Fletcher's. We were back at the show about 8:00. A few minor finishing touches and the layout was ready for visitors. There were lots of folks around checking things out. A lot of regulars from previous years came around to say hello.

Greg, Steve D., Dave T., Don P. & Shelley (sitting)

Will, Ron, Al, & Derwin

The biggest surprise was seeing Jean and Carol! Carol broke her leg, very badly, a while back and we did not expect to see them at this show. Other UMG members that stopped in for a visit were Dave and Pam, Jeff Keddy (all the way from Winnipeg where he is currently living), and Stewart Gibb. If I've missed anyone please don't be offended, it was a busy day.

We started packing up about 4:00 (maybe a bit before - sorry Will) and were sitting at the China Garden restaurant by 5:45.

All in all the show was well attended and the UMG gang had a great time, as usual. I spent more money than I intended, as usual, but more on that later.

Scott

Module in a Week - Conclusion

2007-10-15T09:48:00.000-03:00

Well, as you know I was building a new module to take to the Truro show last week. I was so busy between work, Kim's Crafts, and the module that I didn't get any time to post any updates on it.

I didn't quite get the module done, but it was done enough that I felt okay about including it in the UMG layout. The frame wasn't painted, and there was a little bit of blue foam showing through near the tracks, but overall it looked pretty good.

Since this was being used as an EoE (End of Earth) in the layout, there are a couple Railway employees warning oncoming trains that there is a hazard ahead. They set fusees a little farther up the line just to be certain. I don't see any blue flags though.

There's obviously more work to be done on the module. I'll leave that until the week before the Moncton show next spring.

Scott

A Module in a Week

2007-10-10T15:07:00.000-03:00

Well, I was going to post some pictures of a module I started working on last Saturday, but apparently the memory card in my camera has gone corrupt. Hopefully it is not the camera! The images are all scrambled.

Anyway, my plan (hope) is to have a module ready to take to the Truro show on Friday. Yes, 2 days away.

The module will be a new End of Earth (EoE) replacement for our Spring Valley set. It will also function as a run through module if required. I plan to model some sort of obstruction on the tracks, like a rock fall, that will turn it into an EoE.

I built the 2' x 3' frame last Saturday and glued the foam to it on Sunday and Monday. Last evening I shaped the foam into hills and rocks and applied a coating of plaster. This evening will be grass, track and ballast, I hope. If I don't get all that done this evening I still have one more evening to finish and still have time for the glue to dry.

It won't be the first time we've taken a module to a show with the glue still drying!

I'll get a new memory card so I can get some pictures at the show.

Scott

Commentary on DCC

2007-10-05T13:01:00.000-03:00

The goals of the UMG (Un-Named Modular Group) are to promote the hobby of model railroading and to expose people to the operations side of the hobby. Some would argue the primary goal is to have a good time with a bunch of great guys, but that's actually just a bonus.

One of the things that we encourage our "members" to do at public shows is to talk to visitors and explain what we do, why we do it, and how we do it, even at the expense of blocking the main line. During shows we have to have a "sweeper operator" go around the layout and move trains abandoned by operators engaged in deep conversation with a visitor.

One of the most common topics we get asked about is DCC. The amount of misinformation that is available on the web, and supposed "common knowledge" of non-DCC modelers, is astounding.

I've discovered a few sites lately with a lot of great information about DCC that I'd like to share. They shed some light on the myths and misinformation.

Joe Daddy has a lot of great information about Model Railroading Urban Legends which covers more than just DCC. His Legend #5 is one that always gets me - "Use the biggest wire for your DCC bus that you can, preferably 12 gauge twisted."

First, have you ever tried to twist 12Ga. wire? Second, why would you need heavier wire for your layout than what's used to carry power throughout your house? Most home wiring uses 14Ga. wire to carry 110 volts at 15amps! Most DCC layout wiring carries 15 - 20 volts at 5amps.

The pundits of heavy wire state that there is less resistance in the larger wire resulting in less power loss. Some hunting on the web shows that 16Ga. copper wire will lose about 6.5v over 100m (328ft.), while 14Ga will lose about 4v in the same distance (at 5 amps). This would be a problem on some very large layouts but not so much for the average home layout. If voltage loss is a concern you should place the command station/booster in the middle of the section it is powering to reduce the wire run as much as possible. If your runs are really long, adding boosters to the middle of power blocks will help.

I used 16Ga stranded wire. Apparently, stranded wire should have less power loss because electricity runs on the surface of the wire. So, more wires equals more surface area equals less power loss.

Steve Jones has several pages dedicated to DCC Myths on his blog - Electric Nose. The one that irks me the most is the issue of DCC Friendly Turnouts (being in the UK Steve calls them "points"). Some websites scare modelers away from DCC by telling them they need to make a tons of modifications to their turnouts before they can run DCC. Steve points out that it is not a problem of DCC, it is more often a problem of wheels, or the turnout, being out of gauge.

I've built two DCC layouts of my own, and helped friends with several more. We have never had to do anything more than insulating the frog rails on power routing turnouts to avoid shorts. Well, there were a few used turnouts that we had to set the gauge of the point rails and some that we had to shim the guardrail, but those were more of a derailment issue than a shorting issue.

DCC command stations are much more efficient at detecting shorts than DC systems are. When trains are run on a DC layout there may be shorts happening all over the layout, but neither you nor the DC controller notice them so the trains keep rolling along. DCC systems are very sensitive to shorts since the power output (5 to 10 amps) is generally much higher than DC systems. They shut down at the first sign of a short to protect the layout. So a layout that seemingly runs fine on DC may not run quite so fine on DCC. But that not a problem of DCC, it's a layout problem and is rarely very difficult to fix.

You'll see a lot of layouts on the web that have what looks like very complicated wiring. Some people will think that's because they use DCC. On those layouts DCC is only a small part of all the wiring. Items like electric turnout controls, signal systems, occupancy detection, and scenic lighting all add to the wires running under a layout. You shouldn't just look at a picture of complex wiring and think "DCC". Read the text and see what else they've got going on their layout. Remember, DC layouts can have much more complex wiring than DCC layouts due to multiple throttles and power blocks.

Railroadman, Daryl Dankwardt, has a great post about complex wiring - Don't be Intimidated by all the Wiring - that shows photos of his wiring. It looks complex, but he uses DC and is doing a lot with all those wires. He has electric switch machines and has a control/dispatcher's panel with LED indicators, turnout controls, and throttle selection switches. His wiring is very neat, especially when compared to some other layouts I've seen.

Scott

Trees, Yet Again!

2007-10-04T19:54:00.000-03:00

Sorry for another post about trees so soon, but I had to share these ones.

I had read about using sagebrush twigs as model tree stems and tried to find an inexpensive source of twigs. All the commercial sources I could find were quite expensive. Then, one day I read a message from a guy in British Columbia who offered to send some twigs to someone else for the cost of shipping. I quickly shot him off an email asking if he'd consider the same for me. He said he would. A few weeks later a very large box arrived at my door full of fresh picked sagebrush twigs. The cost of shipping? Only $15!!

I made a few trees with them shortly after they arrived. Being the nice guy I am they ended up near a river scene on Derwin's layout - Canadisle Rail.

Considering I've been on a tree making binge the last couple weeks it was inevitable I'd pull out a few more of those twigs. When you start making a tree you never really know what it will look like in the end. I'm always surprised that they rarely look like I picture them at the start of the process. They always look good, but not like I imagined.

These newest sagebrush trees completely floored me when I finally got the leaves on them. So much so that I'm not sure if I'll risk taking them to the Truro show. Brian was in for a visit the other evening and his comment was that they were the closest thing to a real tree he's ever seen. I hope you agree.

I used the same process that I use for all my deciduous trees. The only thing different about these is the realism of the stem and the branching structure.

Scott

Tidying

2007-10-04T11:15:00.000-03:00

I am making some progress with the tidying up chores around the layout room. Remember this picture taken a while back?
It was taken just after I "reorganized" the multi-purpose room. Sure looks organized, doesn't it?

I call it the multi-purpose room, because it serves many functions. It's obviously home to the staging yard. I call it Wholinthall - a variation of "hole in the wall". It is the location of the Lenz stuff - command station, XPA/phone connections, programming track and computer for JMRI. It is a storage area for stuff that there is no space for under the layout. And, it is the paint room. Someday the room will also serve as dispatcher's office. Like we'll ever have enough operators to either need a dispatcher, or to be able to afford a dispatcher.
Anyway, I got the desk cleaned up a little more and have great plans for better organization in the future. Better organized? Ha! You always have to strive for something!!!

Later,

Scott

Crew Lounge - Part Two

2007-10-03T09:09:00.000-03:00

Well, I finally finished painting the room on Saturday evening. What a job it was trying to cover up those ugly stripes! (Sorry Kristopher)

So, here is the before picture as a reminder...

And here is the after picture...

It looks much better I think. Now, I just have to be patient while I try to collect some appropriate furnishings - we want the room to be used as a guest room so we'll be looking for a sofa/bed or futon. And I'd like to have a few more "comfy" chairs.

Now, we do have a few usage conflicts. Kim wants to move the computer here from our bedroom, and John wants to set up a recording studio in the room. So I'm going to have to get really creative with storage and workspace solutions really quick.

Later!

Scott

Trees. More Trees!!!!!!

2007-09-26T12:35:00.000-03:00

Well, sticking with my resolution to have trees for my UMG modules at the Truro Train Show in October I have been fairly busy. I've spent quite a few evenings since MudFest making trees while watching TV.

Two groupings of future trees.

I use natural materials for tree forms. The trees in the background are made using the dried flowers of False Spirea. I harvest these during the winter when the old seed pods are very dry and crumble off the stem easily. The trees in the foreground use a type of plant that I don't think we've identified yet. They grow in, amoung other places I'm sure, the field behind Jon Huneault's house in Aylesford, N.S. They have lots of fine branches and look like a very bushy tree.

In either case, I use Woodland Scenics Polyfiber for fine branches. Pull a small amount of the polyfiber off the bunch and roll it into a tight ball. Then start pulling it out, teasing it, until you have a very light and airy puffball. It should be teased out fine enough that you could lose it if you dropped it on the floor. I make a bunch of these, some small and some large for variations of branch sizes before moving on to the next step.

I put a fine coating of white glue on the branches that I will be attaching the polyfiber puff balls to. Then I either skewer the puffball with the branch or drape it over the branch. You can leave some branches leafless to simulate dead branches.

Remember the leaves of some real trees do not go around a branch in a perfect circle. You should also remember that not all trees are perfect globular forms. Real trees can have branches sticking out at odd angles and have clumps of leaves outside the main canopy of the tree.

The final step is to apply the leaves. I used to use cheap hairspray as adhesive to attach leaf material. It's fine for trees that get planted on a home layout and never get moved, but trees that are transported for a portable layout need something more. Lately I've been using clear, mat wood finish (Varathane). It's a little more expensive than hairspray, but I think it will hold up better.

I use different leaf material depending on the type of tree I'm attempting to replicate. I use regular ground foam for smaller bush type trees - ones that typically have smaller leaves. For larger trees I use a product I discovered a couple years ago by accident - leaves from Selkirk Scenery. If you've never visited Bill's site before you should check out his "How To" links. He makes some incredible scenery!

A tree made with Selkirk Scenery
leaves and False Spirea stem.

Anyway, spread out some newspaper to protect the floor from the adhesive and to catch excess leaf material for re-use. It's a good idea to have two areas of newspaper, one for spraying and one for excess leaf material. I start by spraying the underside of the tree and sprinkling a darker shade of leaf material over it, from the bottom up. This will simulate leaves shaded by the upper branches. Shake off the excess leaf material and spray another coat of adhesive to secure the leaves. Now, spray adhesive from the top down and sprinkle on a lighter shade of leaf material. Shake off the excess and spray another coat of adhesive.

Once the adhesive dries the tree is ready to plant.

It may take a few trees to get the knack of which colors work best for your layout, and your lighting conditions. Before you know it you'll have a whole forest of trees on your layout.
I'll have more on making trees in future posts.

Have fun making and planting trees!!!

Scott

New loco on the BS&T? Maybe.

2007-09-24T15:27:00.001-03:00

I received an email a couple weeks ago from Joe Grubba at Factory Direct Trains offering to send a sound equipped Blueline loco for my club (the Half Nutters) to have a look at. He'd pay the shipping. If anyone in the group was interested they could purchase it at a discounted price. If not then we could send it back to him at his expense. He'd pay the shipping for future orders from club members.

Well, I could not resist the offer! Since I'd been half heartedly looking for an inexpensive steam loco with sound I chose the PRR M1. When I discovered the loco didn't come with a DCC decoder (the sound decoder works for DC out of the box), Joe offered to throw in a Lenz Silver decoder at no charge. So I told him to send me the loco and decoder post-haste. I couldn't wait to try it out!

My wife called me at work last Friday to tell me it had arrived. I wanted to take the rest of the day off, but had to curb my enthusiasm until I got home at my usual time. We had company when I got home so had to wait a little longer. They left finally and I was able to run to the train room to "play".

The loco, decoder, and "DCMaster" for
controlling sound on a DC layout. There was a
T-Shirt as well, but it didn't make the photo.

The decoder install was a breeze - definitely one of the simplest installs I've ever done. According to the instructions I had to move the wiring for the headlight from one plug to another, remove the small circuit board from the 8 pin NMRA plug, and insert the plug for the Lenz decoder.

Boom! On to the layout to try it on address 3. Wow! It was loud! But it worked wonderfully.

Back to the programming track to set the address. Oh, oh. I had read about problems programming decoders in Blueline locos, but had forgotten. After a few failed attempts programming the address of the sound decoder I started scouring the internet trying to find a solution.

Because there are two decoders, one for motor and one for sound, you have to lock one while you program the other. You can't program anything on the sound decoder using a Lenz system on the programming track. It has to be done using PoM (Programming on the Main), or Ops Mode Programming. But, you cannot set a decoder's address with Lenz using Ops Mode. I could set the sound volume, at least.

Joe did send me some information that I will try when I get a chance and post the results here. He's been very good with responding to email queries.

Anyway, the loco runs wonderfully, but seems to be a little less forgiving about poor trackwork than any of my diesel locos. Not that I have a lot of bad track, but I do have a few spots that cause problems every once in a while. The M1 will derail at these spots every time. I'll have to get busy and get those areas repaired.

I'm no audiophile, and no expert about prototypically correct locomotive sounds, but to me the sound from this loco is great! The only complaint I have is that you can hear a bit of a background noise (hiss) when the loco is stopped. During an operating session or a train show this shouldn't be a problem.

The M1 in Bayside Yard at the head
of the BS&T excursion train

If I can get the necessary track repairs done, the BS&T may just have new power for a new passenger extra - an excursion train from Bayside to Tidewater and back.

Scott

Shield's Up!

2007-09-19T10:14:00.000-03:00

So, I finally installed my Power Shield (PS4) from Tony's Trains a few weeks ago. I installed the thing the afternoon of an operating session on the BS&T. I only had time to install two zones. But it was enough to make a difference during the session.

The feature that really bugs me about using Lenz DCC is the way it handles shorts. Having to press a button to recover from a short is a pain. What usually happens is that more than one person presses the button - the first guy turns the layout back on, the second guy turns it off again. Now you wonder if the short cleared up? So everyone fiddles with their locos and the whole process starts again with a couple guys pressing buttons. You'd think we'd learn to assign an "official button presser". Nope.

Anyway, we only had a few shorts during the next session (there's still a few turnouts in need of repair), but we didn't have to press any buttons. The PS4 reset automatically after the short was cleared.

I installed the other two power zones on the afternoon of the last operating session. It seems an op session provides an incentive to get something done on the layout. It's great! Now only 1/4 of the layout is affected when a short occurs.

Both yards at Bayside and Tidewater are on separate zones, as are Stevenville/Derwin's Drop and Chappellton/Kenville.

The next project for the PS4 is to install short indicator lights around the layout. I think this is something that can be done, but not exactly sure yet how to do it.

I know, it'll be even better once I get the source of the shorting problems repaired. That's a project for another day(s).

Scott

Hangin' Around

2007-09-12T14:26:00.000-03:00

For many, many years (at least 10) operators on the SVR and BS&T have had to use the post at the bottom of the stairs to hang their coats and jackets. This was workable, and cheap, but if the first guy in was also the first guy to leave he'd have to dig through all the coats to find his own.

The other evening we were operating at Brian's NeverDone Railway and when we were leaving he asked if I could use some scrap wood for burning. He and Susan had just finished renovating their bathroom (a great job they did too!) and had some scraps left over. Always looking for free heat in the shed during the winter I said "Sure!". So we started piling the 2 or 3 armloads in my trunk and I discovered a piece with 4 coat hooks. "Are you sure you don't want this?", I asked. "Nope." was the reply.

Since this past Sunday had the BS&T on the op schedule I quickly put it up. Finally, a proper place to hang coats and jackets.

A lounge, coat hooks, what else will I do to keep operators happy? Kim's cooking sure helps! More on that later.

Scott

The BS&T gets a lounge!!!!

2007-09-11T15:11:00.000-03:00

Wow,! After years of waiting patiently, struggling through endless hours of changing diapers, feeding, cleaning, helping with homework, calming sibling rivalry, prom, graduation I finally have a crew lounge!! Well, not a dedicated crew lounge, but we'll be able to use it on operating nights - yippee!

Granted, it doesn't look much like a crew lounge right now (I have to question my son's taste in paint colour), but in my mind it will look like the inside of an old train station. There will probably be some influx of reality as I compete with the desires of my wife and "still living at home son" (who really wants a poker/movie room), but hopefully it will be close.

Does anyone have suggestions for the interior design of the train station crew lounge?

Later!

Scott

Model Railroading Weather?

2007-09-06T14:33:00.000-03:00

Is there such a thing as suitable weather for model railroading? I think so. Model railroading weather is when it is too chilly or wet to be outside doing other things. It certainly felt like model railroading weather this morning when I left for work! I could see my breath!

Anyway, on with the BS&T update...

I have no photos to show today. Sorry. I'll have some next week.

Since returning from the UMG RailFest I haven't done much on the layout other than put things away and tidy up a bit.

I thought I'd take advantage of having some things out of the "Control Room" and do some cleaning and rearranging. It looks a whole lot bigger now, especially since some of the stuff that was stored there got moved to the new "Crew Lounge" that I inherited after Kristopher moved out to go to university. I'd like to get a better storage solution for the supplies that I have stored on a shelf at the moment - something that takes up less space.

RailFest made me realize that I really must get busy making more trees. The ones I used on my modules were now gracing the BS&T layout and I didn't have the heart to pull them all out. So I had no trees for the modules at RailFest. My plan is to make a bunch before the Truro show in October, use them for the show, and then put them on the BS&T when I get back. Then I'll make more new ones for the spring show in Moncton, which will also end up on the BS&T. This way I have an incentive to make lots of trees.

I'll get pictures of the "cleaned up" control room, "Crew Lounge", and trees to show you next week.

Later!

Scott

Almost a Mud Fest, definitely a RailFest!

2007-08-20T15:14:00.001-03:00

(warning - long post ensues)

With all the rain we had in Maitland on Friday night and Saturday it almost was a MudFest. The event got its name this year from the location. Maitland Nova Scotia is located at the mouth of the Shubenacadie River which looks rather muddy when the tide is out.

Setup began Friday afternoon about 3:00. We, the P.E.I. group, didn't arrive until close to 4:30 unfortunately. We got to work right away and had the modules set up within a couple hours. By 9:30 the layout was pretty much up and running.

A "stitched" image of the layout (Ric Hamilton photo)

When we set up at trains shows the layout is much smaller (60' - 80' in length) and takes only a couple hours to set up. But with about 150' of modules it takes a lot more time.

It was the first time we used my PS4 from Tony's Trains Exchange and that took some time to get wired in. I was sure I had all the plugs installed so that the power phase would be right but somehow I messed up two zones and had to swap wires around at the board. At least it was a simple fix.

The crews get their instructions before the operations begin

Trying to sort out the shorting issue on David's modules was another matter. We probably spent at least 30 minutes trying to sort it out. We finally rigged it so that it wasn't shorting but the problem was not really solved. But, we were able to run trains.

The Fullerton kids

Some young railfans stake out Allegheny Paper as a great source of action.

Little did they know they'd get monstrous action!
(Check out the top of the building and the girl's hand)

We left the school about 10:00 and went back to Will's. Dave Thompson, Al Bishop, Ryan Nelson, and myself stayed at Will's. Everyone else came back to drop off cars and arrange car pooling back into Truro where they were staying. Before they left we arrange the schedule for the next day. We were to meet at the school at 8:00.

The next morning I woke up about 6:00 and went into the house for a shower. I figured someone would be waiting to use the shower when I came out, but there was no one. Actually, there was also no sound of life from within the house at all. I went outside to see if Al and Ryan were up. Everything was very quiet. It was raining so I sat in the barn where there was some shelter.

Al and Ryan got up about 7 so I went into the house with them to wait. I was sure someone would wake up with all the activity in the house. But after half an hour we went back outside to wait.

David running a Port Yarmouth Turn. Some of these were too long!

Another Port Yarmouth Turn

At 8:00 I was getting a little impatient so I got Will's phone # from information and dialed it. I guess that created a stir. Dave T. finally got up, followed closely by Will. We were at the school before 8:30 where everyone was waiting and a red faced Will had to take the heat for the late start.

The first thing we did was to get the coffee on (I was really croaking for one after having been awake for two and a half hours with no Tim's within walking distance). We got the rest of the rolling stock on the layout and populated the industries with freight cars to start. We were ready to start operating by 10:30.

Al working the Hazard Bend Wayfreight.

Ryan running the Spring Valley Wayfreight

Shawn had worked out a great spreadsheet to create car movements on a modular layout. But never having seen the layout before he wasn't aware of the length of passing sidings. Some of the trains were a little to long. But the nice thing about the spreadsheet was the flexibility to change things on the fly resulting in slightly shorter trains.

Operations went quite smoothly. We discovered a few turnouts in the yard that created shorts when locos went over them. They'll have to be replaced before the next setup. Greg's new Wye modules set worked quite well, except for a few shorting issues with some locos and the long reach required to throw the far turnouts.

A rare sight indeed - Steve's got an almost empty yard!

Steve's new 90 degree curve set looks great so far. He is using a new construction method found on the internet. It should create a fairly sturdy and lightweight module.

The PS4 worked perfectly except for about 4 times when it wouldn't recover from a short. It would recover after I disconnected one of the leads for the zone. I figure it's related to having several sound equipped locos in the zone at once. It was odd though because most times the PS4 would recover on it's own. I will include a switch for each zone on the board to handle this situation a little easier.

One really stubborn situation we had over the weekend was some decoders that would get reprogrammed once in a while (usually after a short occured, but not after every short). What made it more interesting was that even though all three engines had different types, and brands of decoders they all got set the same way - Deceleration = 96, Vstart, Vmid, and Vmax = 0. Fortunately we had programmer set up connected to a laptop running DecoderPro so the fix was fairly painless. It was still a nuisance having to deal with it every 30 - 45 minutes. I'll have to ask some of the experts on the DCC groups.

The Saturday evening slow-down. Our legs were pretty tired after standing for 10 hours!

Supper on Saturday was a barbecue in the rain at Will's. We put Will outside with the barbecue while we set up a table and chairs in the barn. I think everyone was full by the end of it.

We went back to the school after supper to run a few more trains and called it quits about 10:00. Some of the folks staying in Truro enjoyed a video of trains running on P.E.I. that Shawn did many years ago. Then went chasing a real train in the Wentworth Valley. They had a slightly later night than we did in Maitland.

Hmm... a new fad in the memorial business?

Ray spends time railfanning.

Sunday started out like Saturday should have, although I still beat Will to the shower at 6:20. We had a great breakfast prepared by Sue Ellen, Will, and myself (I felt guilty sitting there not helping!) and got to the school about 8:00. We ran a few "formal" trains while we waited for the "public" part of the weekend started. Except for a few teachers that had some summer work to do, and Will's family we didn't have very many visitors.

Shawn enjoys running the yard.

Steve's back in Hazard Bend

We started packing up about 1:00 pm and were saying our good-byes by 3:30. Everyone heading west met at a restaurant near Truro for a group meal to end off the weekend. We arrived back on P.E.I. about 7:30. By the time we done distributing and unpacking the gear it was about 9:00. My own bed sure felt good last night!

Dave has Port Yarmouth figured out finally!

Al switching the Spring Valley Turn

All in all it was a great weekend, as usual. It's great that everyone in the UMG group gets along so well. I think it's the informal nature of the group that makes it less stressful and a whole lot more fun. I'm looking forward to the Truro show this October. With all the new members and modules we are accumulating we should be able to set up unique layout with new modules no-one has seen before.

A common site during MudFest.

Coffee and spare locos were the order of the day.

Later!

Scott

Summertime Operating

2007-08-13T11:26:00.000-03:00

I guess it's time to get back into the swing of things. Summer is not over, but I really need to get back into this on-line stuff. It's been stagnant way too long!

I haven't done anything new to the layout all summer. At least until this past weekend. I've had a PSFour from Tony's for almost a year. I finally got around to installing it yesterday (sorry no pics of it yet). So far I only have two zones set up, Tidewater Yard, and the rest of the layout. Eventually there will be four zones: Bayside, Stevenville/Derwin's Drop, Kenville/Chappellton, and Tidewater. The guys noticed a big difference last evening even with only two zones. The biggest difference was not having to press the reset button after a short.

The reason I finally installed the PSFour? UMG's annual RailFest weekend is this weekend coming and we needed a circuit breaker. So I had to install in on my layout to make sure I knew it worked. And it did, flawlessly, right out of the box.

This year's RailFest is called "MudFest, since it is being held in the mud capital of eastern Canada - Maitland N.S. We've rented a school gymnasium to set up our Free-Mo Style modules and operate the layout all weekend. It should be a blast!

You can see what the layout should look like, provided all the modules show up. There will probably be a module or two constructed at the last minute due to no-shows.

Anyway, back to last evening's operating session. Summer operations are usually quite a bit different from winter operations in that fewer people attend. There's usually two or three that have other things come up and one that takes the summer off completely. So, I have created scenarios for operations on the BS&T based on the number of operators on hand. For example if there are only two operators everything is switched by Wayfreights - TuB Rambler (East Bound) and Backwater Crawler (West Bound) and I run the staging train (Wholeinthal Turn) and the Transfer Turn. If there are three operators the third guy runs the two turns and I spend more time helping in yards or with helper service on Devil's Ridge.

Derwin ran the Wholeinthal Turn last night. Here he is running past Chappellton shortly after departing Wholeinthal. Eventually you won't be able to see the train running through this area because of buildings and other view breaks in front of the tracks.

Once he arrives in Tidewater he'll hop in the company van and head to Bayside where he'll make up the Transfer and run it into Tidewater. Back in Tidewater he'll have to make up both return trains and run them out to their destinations. He'll be a busy guy!

(Actually I helped him out a bit and did some sorting and made up part of his trains for him while he was out on the road)

Shawn is one of our summertime regulars. He's operated with us the past few summers while he is on break from teaching in some exotic places around the world (like Taiwan, the Philippines, and Togo). Here he is getting the TuB Rambler ready for the trip to Bayside. It's a fairly small train (5 cars) leaving Tidewater, but by the time it gets to Devil's Ridge it'll require a helper engine to make the grade up to Derwin's Drop. He's got a lot of work ahead of him since he has to pull all the east bound cars in the four towns along the way and put away cars that he has in his train for those towns as well.

Well, the way the evening progressed the Tub Rambler didn't make it past Stevenville. Here it is parked on the Stevenville work siding. It'll give me something to do while I wait for the next BS&T operating session in 3 weeks

Unfortunately, I got too busy myself to take many pictures so I don't have any shots of Greg running the Backwater Crawler. He did make it all the way from Bayside to Tidewater though.

All in all I think it was a great evening for us. I certainly had fun!

Anyway, I'll post a little something next week about our "MudFest" in Maitland N.S. this weekend. I'll try to take lots of pictures!

Scott

The Summertime Slow-Down

2007-06-22T11:05:00.000-03:00

It has happened. Summer is finally here and with it are new things to be done, extra chores that aren't required during the winter. Mowing the lawn, weeding the flower beds, and other outdoor maintenance tasks are taking time away from model railroad activities. There probably won't be much progress on the BS&T until the fall, but then it will be crafting season. :-(

I may not be posting many updates over the summer except perhaps some operating session reports, since we are still going to be doing that every Sunday evening over the summer.

Speaking of operating sessions, we had our first two man crew on the BS&T last Sunday. Greg and Ken MacQuarrie were the sole crew members. The two wayfreights did everything from yard work to local switching since, apparently, the local switch crews were on strike - or at Tim's. Management even had to chip in to run the transfers and trains to and from "Points East". I think a lot of credit goes to the crew to be able to complete a full session short staffed. Great work guys!

Anyway folks, have a great summer. Catch you later!

Scott

Picard Packers & Operations

2007-05-29T09:22:00.000-03:00

Finally - I have some pictures! The new building for Picard Packers is more or less finished. I still need to do some weathering and scenery work around the building, but here are some pictures of it as it sits now.

The main structure is made from sections of a DPM bulk pack. The rear of the building is just plain matt board since it will "never" be seen. The loading dock shelter is a modified Pikestuff car repair shop.

In an effort to try to make operations as stress free for operators as possible I am trying many different things on the BS&T. In these images you can see two of these things. The first is the multi colored sheet that lists the towns in each direction (East & West) as well as the expected order of trains through the area. The other new item on the valance is the track diagram showing the industries and sidings and their intended purpose. These items should help acquaint new operators with the layout and operations.

Speaking of Operations....

The BS&T saw it's first operations since I completed service on the nearly 140 freight cars on the layout. The maintenance identified that almost 90% of the freight cars had wheels that were out of gauge, quite a few with trucks that were too tight to the bolster, only a few underweight cars, and a lot of dirty crud. There is a large pile of old wheelsets outside Fixum Car Repair as a result of this process.

As a result of the maintenence process there were certainly fewer derailments, especially at one pesky little spot on Daredevil Ridge. I think the new rule about stopping at the start of the grade and proceeding slow helped there as well. Part of the problem on the ridge was a turnout with points out of gauge. There were a few other derailments in Stevenville with the same cause. I'll check those turnouts as I install ground throws on them before the next operating session.

The first operators to arrive last Sunday noticed a strange smell in the air. I had just completed wheel cleaning on most of the locos and the smell of rubbing alcohol was fairly strong. Dirty loco wheels was one of the things that caused problems during the last op session and I left it to the last minute, of course.

Well, that's it for this update. Later!

Scott

Car Service

2007-05-17T10:28:00.000-03:00

My original plan was to work on the new building for Picard Packers last weekend, but since the next operating session on the BS&T is May 27th I decided my priority should be car service. So I've been working on that.

I'm checking weight, coupler height, coupler springs, wheel gauge, and cleaning wheels.

Most of the cars on the BS&T are weighted properly, but there are a few that are a little light. So I'm adding old wheel weights where necessary. Some flat cars and ore cars will be getting new weighted loads.

Coupler height has been an issue with lots of cars so it's taking some time to get this one resolved. There haven't been too many coupler spring issues.

Wheels and wheel gauge are another big issue. The wheels on almost every car are out of gauge - usually too narrow by a hair. As I've read, metal wheels are cleaner, but when they are dirty it's a big job to clean them. Plastic wheels, on the other hand get dirty faster, but are a breeze to clean. Wheel cleaning is the dirtiest part of the process. Hmmm.... perhaps I should give Mike Rowe a call.

Anyway, I am about 1/2 done of this. I will finish over the weekend, hopefully, and get back into buildings and scenery next week.

Later!

Scott

Posting For No Good Reason

2007-05-11T09:29:00.000-03:00

I am creating this post for no reason other than to thwart some of the emails I will receive if I do not. Ha!

Other than working on freight cars this week I haven't done much on the layout. Last Sunday I started a new building for Picard Packers - putting some of my DPM Bulk Packs to good use. I hope to get most of it finished this weekend.

In the way of pictures I will cheat and post some I didn't use last week.

I've decided to call this area "DareDevil Ridge", at least until I think of something more suitable.

I haven't done much in the harbour area around Chappell Seafood in quite a while. But this should make a good "before" picture.

I have done a little bit of work to the Fred-Ex building. A couple weeks ago I put a foundation under it and started working on a fence along the street. Eventually there will be a fence all around this building with gates for freight cars and trucks to load and unload.

So, there it is - a post just for the sake of making a post. I should have some pictures of the new Picard Packers factory next week. The old one has been cut down in height and placed in the town of Stevenville where it will be the Corporate Headquarters for the conglomerate.

So, until then....

Scott

Better Late Than Never

2007-04-30T11:26:00.000-03:00

I know it has been more than a week since my last update. I'm sorry, okay!? Life has been a little busy lately.

I finally got to the basement on Saturday and spent about 6 hours there. I went down with the intention of working on cars - checking weight. wheel gauge, couplers, etc. - but saw all the stuff not unpacked from the Moncton train show. So, I went about doing that and saw half a box of trees that I hadn't unpacked and thought I'd put those in Stevenville. Well, I figured Stevenville needed a little scenery work before I planted the trees. Four hours later I still had not worked on any cars but part of Stevenville had grass, there's a bit of a weedy mess around the tenement, and the main line tracks through town are ballasted.

Then I decided I'd install a bolt alignment system for my main lift-out. I needed something very long in order to be able to adjust them through the benchwork. So, off to Canadian Tire to pick up a couple 8" eye bolts and nuts. The nut is countersunk and epoxied into the main support for the lift out (centered side-side and front-back). The eye bolt goes up from the bottom of the benchwork into the nut. A few turns and no more shims needed. Works like a charm! So far I haven't had any horizontal alignment problems. The notch for the lift-out is a very snug fit from side to side.

Since I'm in the tip giving mood, here's a floor covering solution I found. Tired of sore feet and legs from standing for long periods in a room with concrete floors? I got these inexpensive anti-fatigue mats ($10 for 4 sq. ft.) at WalMart, but I'm sure other stores carry them as well. You really notice the difference when you walk form these onto bare concrete.

Sunday was spent doing an actual cleanup in preparation for the operating session that evening. I took 2 shopping bags of compostables and 3 bags of waste out to the cans! After 4 hours of work the train room sure looked tidier than it had! The next cleaning project will be the staging room/dispatcher's office/storage room/paint room/... (and it's only 6' x 8')!

I hope I have redeemed myself with this post. Happy modelling!

Scott

Moncton Train Show - Apr. 14, 2007

2007-04-16T13:40:00.000-03:00

Last week I was busy getting ready for the Moncton train show so I didn't get anything done on the layout. So, for this update I'll post some pictures from the show.

The weather didn't look good Friday morning, it was Friday the 13th afterall. The snow started falling early and got heavier as the morning progressed. Then the wind started picking up. We didn't want to start out on the drive just to get there and find out the show was canceled or we couldn't set up that day. It is a 1.5 hr. drive, on a good day, and a $50 bridge crossing, so we wanted to make sure things were going ahead. A few hasty emails confirmed the show was still a go. Fortunately the snow stopped around noon and turned into a very light rain. We were on the road by 2:00.

We arrived and started unpacking the trailer about 3:45. Jean and Ryan showed up shortly after we did, so most of the modules were there and we were able to start setting up. By 7:00 the skirting was on the layout and trains were running. We still had buildings and details to add to the modules but we could do that in the morning. Supper was waiting for us at Jean's house. So, off we went for pizza and a layout tour at Jean's. Jean is progressing very well on his first layout. We were all quite impressed. Great work Jean!

After supper we were off to Dave Wood's for an operating session. I, stupidly, left my camera in the van. Damn! There would have been some very good pictures. Lots of fun! Dave's layout is very nice and chock full of operational activity.

We got back to Ryan's a little before midnight and hit the hay.

We arrived at the show venue about 8:00 Saturday morning. We started putting buildings, trees, and other details on the modules, and added our emergency module when we determined the last guy was not coming. We were ready just as the doors officially opened.

The day went very well, although the relatively poor weather kept some people from attending. We saw lots of old friends and met some new ones. We had a great time as usual.

I wonder how many lies are being told!
Brian and Jean survey the show as Ryan talks to Doug Whitman.

Brian and Greg talk to attendees while some other UMG members take a break (right, in the background)

One of the things we love about train shows is talking to attendees. We try to answer all questions, and if we can't we try to find the answer. We also love to provide an opportunity for someone to try running a train. We go along with them as breakman and give them a taste of model railroad operations.

Some views of the UMG layout.

The layout at this show was an arrow shape (very different from past shows). We try to not have the shame shape we've used in previous shows. The main part of the layout was 40' long and the edges of the arrow were about 20' long each (total 80'). This layout was definitely fun to operate.

Some details on Brian's Northern Light and Power module

We try to keep modules fresh from show to show by adding new details, but some modules are in their 5th season. We'd like to rebuild some of them to keep the layout fresh looking. So, our goal is to completely rebuild, and redesign, about 20' of modules (Hazard Bend) for the Truro show next fall. The Northern Light and Power module is one of them.

Well, that's all for this update. I hope to have new pictures of the Bayside and Tidewater nest week.

Scott

Ground Throws & Montain Scenery

2007-04-05T14:22:00.000-03:00

Well, after the 1st anniversary operating session on the BS&T I vowed I would install ground throws on all my turnouts before the next op session, before I did any more scenery work. So far all the turnouts in Chappellton and Kenville have ground throws installed (about 30 turnouts). Then I hit a snag. I have no more ground throws! I might strike a deal at the Moncton show, so until then it's scenery time!

I started at the tunnel coming from staging. The basic land forms were done a few weeks ago so all I add to do was color the earth and add details. This is what it looked like when I started. Pretty bland.

And this is what the area looked like after a few hours of work.

It's amazing what happens to a picture when you have the white balance settings in the camera wrong. The layout lighting in these two pictures has not changed, but look at the difference with the white balance set for fluorescent (left) and auto (right).

The long grass is an idea I got from Harold Minkwitz. It is faux-fur from Wal-Mart dyed with Dye-Na-Flow fabric paint.

I'll be getting ready for the train show in Moncton next week so I'm not sure if I'll have an update. I will next week though with some pictures from Moncton, at least.

Scott

1st Anniversary Op Session

2007-03-28T13:10:00.000-03:00

Last Sunday evening marked the 1st anniversary of operations on the BS&T. The week previous was a mad rush to get things back together and cleaned up from two months of scenery and rearrangement work. Add to that figuring out how operations would work with the addition of the new staging area.

First of all I must apologize for not getting any pictures from the evening. Between trying to figure out the operating scheme, helping the operators figure out the operating scheme, and running a train once in a while, I didn't have much time to take pictures.

So, here's the train/job line-up:

Bayside Yard
Tidewater Yard
Stevenville Local
Chappellton Local
Kenville Local
Derwin's Drop Local
Hotshot Freight (turn)
East/West Transfer (turn)
East Wayfreight
West Wayfreight

Things went fairly well, overall. There were a few track issues. Not all the ballast was cleaned up through some turnouts which caused a few problems until it was cleaned out. The over-center springs on some turnouts are a little weak. I will be adding proper ground throws to most turnouts over the next little while (as of last evening, all the turnouts in Chappellton have ground throws).

Early on in the session the Chappellton switcher developed some mechanical difficulties and a replacement loco was called in from Kenville. The repair crew had a look at it on Monday, fixed the problem, and moved the replacement back to Kenville.

The operating scheme must change to reduce the minimum number of operators required. Actually, I think I'll have a couple scenarios I can use depending on the number of operators that show up. I've got it down to as few as 4 people (4 very busy people), or as many as 8 (16 with brakemen).

Anyway, at the post-session review the guys said they had a great time. The things they said they would change were mostly related to turnouts that the ground throws should fix.

So, until next time!

Scott

Roundy, roundy

2007-03-19T09:30:00.000-03:00

One thing I like about looped layouts is that when you have someone in to visit you can start a train moving and let it run unattended - at least until a derailment happens. I have not been able to do that on the Bayside and Tidewater, until now. The loop track was completed last Thursday evening. This track also provides access to the layout from staging. Trains from "points east" must run 1.5 times around the layout, roughly 100', before reaching Tidewater. I'll try to employ some scenic separation ideas and hidden track to disguise the fact that it's going through a scene twice. Derwin completed the staging yard last evening.

The picture below shows the new location for Chappell Seafood. You can see the loop track running behind Chappell Seafood. I'll use buildings through Chappellton to hide the loop track as much as possible. The area just in front of Chappell Seafood is the yard storage and warf for the new barge. The harbour will be to the left of Chappell's.

Turning 90 degrees, you can see some of the other changes in Chappellton. Der-Win Coal and Oil is in the foreground. The lead track for it is also the storage track for Naylor's Nails. That should make for some blue language during operations. :-).

The two storey building with the truck parked at it is Fred-Ex and behind that is Fixum Car Repair.

The disguised hole in the wall is the entrance to staging. Behind this hole is a 5 track, 6 foot long, staging yard. It's a little small, but we'll be able to make do.

The building flats at the far end of Stevenville hide the loop track as it rises up into the city. Clayton made these up as fillers for the city, but I think they may work out just fine here.

There have been so many things to do that I only do a little bit here are there. So there's not a huge amount of change in any one area. You can see that I have done a little scenery work around the tenement building.

Until next time!

Scott

2 Weeks since last pictures!

2007-03-02T09:17:00.000-04:00

It has been two weeks since I took pictures of the BS&T. As you can see, there have been some minor changes and some major changes.

In the minor changes department, the Stevenville engine service track is starting to take shape. The little building was scratchbuilt in two evenings. I'm hoping to have enough space between tracks to put a fence and gates around this area to make it more secure. The second photo (right) shows the developments on the oil dealer's track with a loading/unloading platform.

In the moderate changes department is the harbour area in Chappellton. Chappell Seafood has been relocated to this area and will have part of the siding on a warf. The barge will have a small yard to facilitate loading and unloading freight cars. I'll likely build a small freight house for this area. The barge has not been built yet.

Derwin Coal & Oil has been relocated as well. It's right up front now so will require lots of detailing. The little bit of detail I have from the original Derwin Coal doesn't go far in the new version. One things operators may not like about switching this area is that to get a coal car off the ramp they will have to pull one or two other industries to clear a lead and then pull tank cars spotted at the oil tanks.

FredEx has a foundation so cars now fit under the awnings. It hasn't moved much from its original location.

I think I've come up with a name for the rural area between Chappellton and Kenville. I think Shiner's Road might be fitting. The one idea I will incorporate into the layout resulting from our trip to Saint John last week will require some changes to this area. The moonshine still will have to be moved to make way for tracks from staging

In the major changes department, Kenville is a mess! You can see the tunnel entrance in the upper right of the photo where trains will enter the layout from staging. You can also see the future location of the east bound main to staging under the paint cans. Ugh! More blue foam to cover up!

So, there you have it. This weeks summary of the continuing saga of the construction of the Bayside & Tidewater Railway. Hopefully I'll have more next week.

Scott

Day Trip to Saint John

2007-03-01T14:29:00.000-04:00

I wanted to post this entry earlier, but...

Anyway, here are some photos of our trip to Saint John last Saturday. We visited and operated the layouts of Lou McIntyre, Doug Devine, and Steve McMullin. It was a very full day, to say the least. It was also well worth the trip (leaving at 6:30am and getting home at almost midnight)!

Lou's St. Martin's Railroad is one of the best detailed layouts I have ever seen!
Here are some scenes from Lou's layout...

Doug's Island Central layout is one of the largest I have ever operated on.
Left: Derwin and Ryan wait "in the hole" - Hmmm... I think they were running 104!
Right: Dever Road and Saint John are busy places - Clayton, Brian, and Ken

Steve's Carleton Railway is definitely one of the most comfortable layouts for operating.
Left: Steve explains operations on his layout.
Right: Brian and Greg check their orders to make sure they aren't forgetting anything.

So, it was a great trip. I'm sure we will do it again some day. The drive home was just long enough to talk myself out of making major changes to the Bayside and Tidewater. I'll have to wait until the next version is constructed.

Scott

No pictures today

2007-02-23T12:52:00.000-04:00

I almost didn't make an entry this week. There haven't been any big changes in the last week so I didn't take any new pictures of the layout. Just so you don't think I was lazy all week ...

I built a little shed to put at the end of the engine storage track in Stevenville. It's a little too big, I think, so I'm going to build another one. The new one will have a couple side doors that will be open to view a slightly detailed interior. I have some etched brass tools and some welding equipment that would look really good around a workbench. Because this area is close to the aisle it's a prime candidate for some extra detailing. I also assembled and painted a Woodland Scenics fueling station kit and placed it beside the track.

The big hole in Chappellton where the harbour will be now has a bottom. I still have to seal all the gaps before I start detailing the seawalls, bridge abutments, and building the warf. There will be lots of track in this area since I've squeezed in a small yard for the barge and Chappell Seafood. The siding for Chappell's will actually be out on the warf.

I've completely rearranged the industrial sidings in Chappellton. I am much happier with this arrangement than I was with the previous 4. It makes way for a nice arrangement of streets and buildings. I moved every building I had to this area and started moving them around until I had something I liked. Then I figured out how I could get tracks in there to serve the businesses. There should be some interesting switching challenges here.

Tomorrow (Feb. 24th) the Half Nuts gang will be hitting Saint John, N.B. for a day of layout visits and operating. It'll be really nice to operate on a couple of new layouts and see some different scenery techniques. I'm sure we will leave there with lots of new ideas. It may even result in a little bit of destruction on a couple local layouts.

The guys are coming over Sunday evening to continue scenery work, so I'll have lots of pictures next week.

Later,

Scott

A little progress

2007-02-15T09:30:00.000-04:00

Well, I had hoped to get a little more done before this update, but the week hasn't been cooperative. But, I did promise to post a weekly update, so... Major progress or not, here it is!

Greg started working on detailing the oil dealer in Stevenville. He got the platform constructed Sunday evening, and will work on adding extra details and piping over the next few weeks. It's already starting to look good!

A couple Sundays ago Derwin added the parking area for G-Mac Transfer. Not much has been done to it since then.

The tenement structure itself is pretty much done. This structure has turned out quite well. Can't wait until all the details are added to the surroundings.

Here's another little scene that's starting to take shape. Clayton started working on this a couple Sunday evenings ago. It's really coming along and should add lots of visual interest.

Derwin started getting Kenville ready for ballast.

Brian is progressing on his rural scene.

I was in a destructive mood last Sunday. I tore up about 1/2 the track in Chappellton in order to add the harbour area. It's still a mess, but I hope to get things back together over the weekend. The car float/ferry will be a major addition to this area.

Here's a close up of the future harbour area.

So, that's it for this week. It's great having a bunch of guys working on this. Rather than one scene developing at a time, there are several scenes being worked on at the same time over the whole layout. I love it!

Later!

Scott

Tenement, Black Pavement, and more

2007-02-08T11:38:00.000-04:00

There was no major progress this past week since we decided to operate on Sunday evening instead of work on my layout. It was nice to have a change of pace.

So, here's the Stevenville side of the layout. Almost all of the white plaster and blue foam has been hidden under a coat of paint. This sure looks a whole lot better than it did before!

As you can see I managed to get some more work done on the tenement building. Platforms have been added at each door and a metal roof added over them. Some basic weathering has also been done. You'd think the owner would want to replace the broken siding. You can also see one of my other scratchbuilt cardstock buildings in the background - Picard Packers.

Front Street is now basic black. I need to tone it down some to get it to look more like aged asphalt, then add center lines, parking space lines, manhole covers, cracks, repairs, .... There's still lots to do here!

Here are some shots of Dickie Clothing Company and GM Metals. More details will be added over time.

I may have mentioned the little diorama (64 sq. in.) that I did a year or two ago. Well, here are some close ups of it. I call it "Still Life". Can you figure out why?

So, that's it for this week. I think I'll be spending the weekend making changes to the track arrangement in Chappellton to incorporate a rail barge/ferry. This is the result of a layout visit this past week - thanks Alan!!!!

Until next week,

Scott

Finally Up to Date - More or less - Jan. 29, 2007

2007-02-02T15:04:00.000-04:00

Ok - I'm finally up to date with this thing. These really are the most recent pictures of the layout, well, of Stevenville at least. From this point on I will try to post a new update within a few days of taking the pics, as close to weekly as I can.

So, this is an overview of most of Stevenville as of last Monday (Jan. 29th). Things are really starting to take shape. I really like using the craft foam for roads. It sure is easier than trying to smooth out plaster. The foam even makes great sidewalks!

Here are a couple closer shot of the "city". I really like the shot looking eastward (the second photo). I can see real promise in this area. I simulated expansion joints in the sidewalk by making a cut every 4 scale feet. It is noticable in the picture.

I still have to paint the roads and weather them up. One of these days I might even finish the large storefront section.

The building on the left is a new structure I'm working on. It will be a tenement with rickity platforms at each floor. If I get creative I might even string some clothes lines with wash on them.

I got the urge to cut up the Picard Packers building and make two structures out of it. You can see the top section of it behind the tenement. It will become Picard Packers Worl Headquarters and a new structure will replace it trackside. The bottom section of the building is to the right, out of the frame.

I have the platforms constructed and I'm working on putting the rafters under the roof section over the platforms. I hope to get it "finished" this weekend and start installing it in place on the layout.

I'll have more progress shots next week.

Later!

Scott

Scenes Taking Shape - Jan. 21, 2007

2007-02-01T10:49:00.000-04:00

There are a few scenes finally starting to take on some semblance of life. It's amazing the difference a few hours can make, once you get beyond a certain point. Getting things ready for plaster and waiting for the plaster to dry take time and scenes don't look a whole lot different afterward. But an hour or two with paint and ground foam really makes a BIG difference!

Brian started working on his section of the layout. He's decided to construct a road crossing over the tracks by bridge into hilly country where there will be some rural type structures and lots of trees. There will be a small brook also crossing under the road bridge. The hill will continue over to the large river which will feature a two tiered waterfall (behind the tressel bridge).

I've been working on the river area playing with carving foam to simulate rocks. So far the results are promising.

Streets are starting to appear in Stevenville. I've been using black craft foam for the pavement. With some painting and weathering I think they'll look pretty good. Banjo Bob's is a structure from one of my UMG modules. It normally sits across the street from Keepemphartin Natural Gas. Hence the sign "Free Beans for Keepemphartin Employees" over the window.

These are some of the more complete scenes. GM Metals is really getting a junkie look to it. Still needs more junk and other details for the complete junkyard effect. Dickie Clothing is getting a little more presentable looking, and GMac Transfer has some colour around it at least.

So, now I'm only one post behind. Almost up to present day. Stay tuned!

Scott

A little bit of colour - Jan. 14, 2007

2007-01-30T09:15:00.000-04:00

Almost a week has passed since the last pictures were taken.

Derwin and Greg got Stevenville's industrial area pretty much all ballasted. Greg got a start on some details in the junk yard area. It's appropriate that Greg work on this area since it is called "GM Metals". So, the blue lagoon look is now gone and has been replaced by white fields! Sure will be nice to get rid of the bland colours!

Meanwhile, Clayton and I have been busy working on the city side of Stevenville. The plan for this area has changed a bit since the last update, and I'm sure it will change more than a few more times before it is complete.

Hopefully next week will see a bit more colour added to the layout. Stay tuned!

Scott

2 Days Later - Jan. 9, 2007

2007-01-29T15:28:00.000-04:00

After I cleaned up a little from the onslaught of the scenery crew Sunday evening, this is what I managed to pull together. I made some quick and dirty foam block buildings to help give me an idea of what Stevenville might look like, someday. They certainly help.

Later!

Scott

Out of the Blues - January 7, 2007

2007-01-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

Well, I am finally posting pictures in the same month they were taken! We're almost caught up to the present!

As I mentioned last time, the guys were getting fed up with the "blue lagoon" look of the layout. So, before Christmas we decided to work on basic scenery for the Bayside and Tidewater in the new year instead of operating on Sunday evenings. January 7 was the first evening of work.

Clayton started working in the city of Stevenville, Derwin and Greg got the industrial area. Ken took off like a flash for the, as yet unnamed, river beside Kenville. I played with my new airbrush and got some track painted.

Clayton brought this neat little foam cutting tool powered by 2 "D" batteries. After 3 weekends of use the same batteries are still cutting foam

This is what things looked after they left. The aftermath of a Half Nuts tornado! We now have half an idea of how things are going to look in the city, the industrial area of Stevenville has a coat of plaster and the river area is starting to take shape. There's still a lot of blue, though.

Later!

Scott

Operating on the BS&T - July 9, 2006

2007-01-19T10:59:00.000-04:00

We're almost caught up to present day. These photos are from an operating session held over the past summer. The crew is pretty slim in the summer and guest operators help to round things out.

Derwin tries to keep up with things in Tidewater
as Shawn makes his way to Chappellton.

Greg checks out yard operations. Shawn works
in Chappellton.

Shawn's very busy at the far end of
Chappellton. Derwin's trying not to break
anything.

A closer look at Chappellton.

Next time - the guys are itchy to get a start on scenery!

Later!

The room is tidy looking, at least - May 9, 2006

2007-01-12T09:15:00.000-04:00

Another month has gone by with very few changes. The room does look a bit tidier finally with the addition of the curtain to hide all the junk. The following pictures follow around the room to give you an idea of what little I've been up to in the last month.

Bayside Yard

Stevenville

Derwin's Drop

Kenville

I did get some scenic work done on the grade from Kenville to Derwin's Drop. I'm not too happy with it yet, but lots of people tell me the rock face looks like the Canadian Shield area of Ontario.

Chappellton (right) / Tidewater Yard (left)

On the far right is the only bit of green on the whole layout. It is an entry I made in a 64 sq. in. contest a while ago. The idea was to build a 64 sq. in. diorama based on a theme - this one being "Trees". I called mine "Still Life" since it had a moonshine still in a grove of trees.

Tidewater Yard

That's it for this entry.

Later,

Scott

Slow Progress - April 9, 2006

2007-01-09T15:18:00.000-04:00

It's been almost a month since my last photos were taken and not much has changed on the layout - so this will be a quick post.

There is a replacement structure at Dickie Clothing Company in Stevenville, and Chappellton trackage has been rearranged a few times. I'm not really happy with Chappellton. I just can't decide how I want it to look. Oh well, it'll come to me eventually.

I made this structure for Dickie Clothing using a DPM Bulk pack that I picked up from a retailer getting out of model railroad stuff. I made this building and a large storefront from the same pack. I used cardstock for unseen portions of the structure to make the walls go farther.

Later,

Scott

The Big Shock! - March 26, 2006

2006-12-19T14:14:00.000-04:00

What's the big shock, you ask? We are operating on the new layout less than two months after starting destruction of the old layout. We had the first operating session on the BS&T on March 26, 2006. There's still lots of things to do, and problems that need to be repaired, but trains are moving. Actually the first several sessions will be "break in" sessions to work out track and operations issues.

Anyway, here is the view looking east to Stevenville. I still have the cheap dollar store CF bulbs. Those will be replaced soon. I have a few of the buildings from the old layout scattered around, but it's going to take a whole lot more to complete this layout. The few that I do have look pretty measly.

This is a westward view toward Chappellton. Tidewater Yard is on the left. I'm not sure what the scenery will be on this side. The curved section on the right may go around a hill to visually separate Chappellton from Kenville. I wasn't exactly happy with the track arrangement in Chappellton. I'll have to work on that.

The Tidewater transfer is arriving in Tidewater Yard. Derwin did a fairly good job of keeping this yard running smoothly through the session - especially considering it's the first time the yard has been operated. Oh, and the fact that it is Derwin makes it doubly surprising! Ha!

Next time - a few more buildings, the fascia, and a start on "scenery".

Scott

Let The Light Shine - March 19, 2006

2006-12-12T10:24:00.000-04:00

Well, a week later and things are really taking shape! I've gotten all the layout lighting done. I used inexpensive incandescent fixtures fastened behind the valance and compact flourescent bulbs. You'll notice some areas have a yellowish cast to the light. There I used some cheap dollar-store CF bulbs. The more natural coloured light comes from daylight CF's I purchased at Home Depot.

The walls and backdrop are painted and track laying has begun in ernest.

The first photo shows Stevenville on the left which bends around into Bayside Yard (bottom photo).

As you can see by the sign on the valance this area is Derwin's Drop. I won't get into the details on the origin of the name but it involved a person named Derwin and something very expensive dropping to the floor.

It appears there will be quite a grade here, but the benchwork was built like this to accommodate an open-pit mine of some sort here. The track will be on a grade but not nearly as much as this benchwork would indicate.

I made a sign for each town using a computer and laser printer. The letters are white on a printed black background. I cut the excess paper from around the sign and glued it on the valance with 3M Photo Mount (or something like that). I was surprised at how closely the printer's version of black matched with my paint store's version of black.

This is Kenville, at the bottom of the grade from Derwin's Drop.

This is the west end of the layout. Tidewater Yard is on the left and Chappellton is on the right. In the bottom photo you can see the background painting from the old layout. I left it there just in case I would be able to use it on the new layout, but I don't thnk it will blend with my plans for this area.

That's it for this installment. Be prepared for a big shock with the next entry!

Scott

Fresh Paint - March 12, 2006

2006-12-08T10:02:00.000-04:00

If I remember correctly this had been a busy week of finishing walls, installing fascia and backdrop painting. I think you'll agree that the layout sure looks a lot differeant from my last post. It really only was a week!

This picture is a view of Bayside Yard. You can see a rough track plan against the backdrop and some track has already been laid out ready to be installed. You can see the wooden layout supports used in this area just under the yard.

This picture is a view toward Stevenville (left) and Bayside Yard (far right). Not all the backdrop has been painted at this point and walls still need some finishing.

This is the other half of the room. The area cluttered with pieces of foam will eventually be a rural type scene. Chappellton is in the far right. Tidewater Yard is in the dark on the left. I still have to install the layout lighting over the peninsula.

You can see some of the painted backdrop from the old layout in the distance.

Here is a better view of Tidewater Yard. Bayside and Tidewater are about the same size - roughly 12' long x 18" deep. Room for lots of storage and sorting capability.

Next - layout lighting and walls are completed, most of the foam base is installed, and tracklaying begins in ernest.

Scott

The Room Takes Shape - March 5, 2006

2006-12-01T15:13:00.000-04:00

Ok, the benchwork is all up and I'm at the point of laying down the foam to support everything. One the left is the peninsula and Tidewater Yard (with the milk crate sitting on it). The approach track to this yard runs under Bayside Yard and curves to the right at the far end of the room through Chappellton. You can see I've reused the old benchwork at the far end of the room. You can also see the bottoms of the new benchwork supports on the near right.

This is a closer shot of the new supports. They were originally "U" shaped but were cut in half to make "L''s. They are 1" square tubing and a VERY strong. I screwed a length of 2x4 onto the top side each one to fastend the foam top to and then screwed them to every stud. This benchwork is very solid.

This photo is a view from Derwin's Drop to Stevenville (far left). Bayside Yard is on the far right but cannot be seen from this angle. The height difference between Bayside Yard and Tidewater Yard is about 4.5" and is achieved in one 4.5% grade between Derwin's Drop and Kenville. This will provide an excellent opportunity to incorporate a helper service on the layout.

This picture is a view from Chappellton (near left) to Kenville (far left). You can see Tidewater Yard on the far right.

You can get a better view of Bayside Yard (far right) from this photo. Stevenville is on the left.

So, there was a lot of work accomplished in a little more than a week. Many hands make light work! Next time there's fresh paint!

Scott

Reconstruction - February 23, 2006

2006-11-29T12:08:00.000-04:00

Finally, the old layout is gone, walls have been torn down and rebuilt, and the room is almost ready to start building the new layout. I now have a 12' x 31' room to fit a model railroad into.

These pictures were taken on February 23, 2006, a little over 2 weeks after we started work. The first one is a view toward the part of the room that used to be the Summer Valley Railway. You can see the old benchwork and supports for the new valance hanging from the ceiling on the left side of the room. You can see lots of junk too, but more on that later.

There was a wall 14' from the far end when we started.

This picture is a view toward the other end of the room. The entrance to the room is on the right just around the corner past the tool rack on the wall. The wall had to angle in for a bit on the right to accommodate a landing at the bottom of the stairs. The door at the back of the room leads to the future Dispatchers Office / Control Room / Staging Area / Paint Room. At this time it's being used for another purpose (more later...)

The wall at the far end and the wall on the right were not there two weeks before this picture was taken.

This photo shows the output from my project management application. It's nice to get printer paper that sticks to the wall. And the handwriting font looks sooo... much like my own writing, it's amazing!

I mentioned junk earlier. The main room looked a lot more cluttered before I moved most of it into the Dispatcher's Office. Yikes!

Next, construction of the new room progresses and benchwork construction begins.

Scott

The Destruction - February 2006

2006-11-28T15:03:00.000-04:00

One weekend around the first of February, 2006 we began the grand destruction. In one day the Summer Valley Railway was no more. While the work crew furiously tore up track and plaster we tried to save whatever we could.

Thankfully I had used track nails and good ol' wood glue (wink) to secure things so I was able to salvage about 90% of the track and turnouts. They would certainly come in handy later on the new layout.

All the buildings, vehicles, trees, and other scenic items were packed away long before the crew arrived, of course. It sure wouldn't have been good to have those around when Brian and Clayton got started working! There wouldn't have been anything left!

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of this phase of work. It all happened so fast I didn't even think of it. We left the old benchwork where it was, tore down the wall between the train room and family room, built a new wall at the bottom of the stairs, and another new wall at the far end of the room for a dispatcher's office/storage room/staging area. As far as Kim new it was to be a room to spray clearcoat on her tole painting (which it just might be used for some day). Ha!

The next update will include pictures of the nearly empty room after the basic destruction/construction was completed.

Later!

Scott

Momories of the SVR

2006-11-02T14:37:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from the old layout. Next time I'll post some destruction/construction photos of the new layout from last Februrary.

Backtracking

2006-11-02T11:07:00.000-04:00

I used to have a website for my old model railroad - the Summer Valley Railway - but after the free hosting server "went away" I didn't bother finding a new server. Now, since a friend of mine started a blog for his model railroad - the NeverDone Railway I thought it would be a simple way to get a web site going for my new layout - the Bayside and Tidewater.

So, I thought I would backtrack a bit with the first few postings to let you know where I've come from to get to where I am now. This group of pictures is from the last run of my old layout which was 12' x 14'. The next few posts will show you the changes that happened last winter to creat the new 12' x 31' layout.

Scott

The local has to wait at yard limits for the Jordan Yard operator to clear an arrival track. Photo taken during the last Summer Valley Railway Op session on Jan. 8, 2006 (Greg, Steve and Brian)

The sun is setting on LookQuick Pass as the last train to ever run on the Summer Valley Railway makes its way from the UMG Subdivision. The MOW crew have gathered to bid farewell.