Long Island Rail Road-Oyster Bay Branch

@Steamfan77 posted:

Thank you Mark! I’m currently experimenting with different “looks” for the scene.

Andy

That's a good idea! 

I started to create the hill/landscape area on either side of the abutments. My thought was to have it meet the benchwork at the top so the scene would blend in overall.
This is just a starting point, I’ll let this sit for a few days and think about it some more, and consider any other options.

Andy

It looks great, Andy.  What material are you using for the hillsides?

Andy,

Nice start. I'm curious, just like Mark, to what you used for the landforms on either side of the bridge. Will you put rock faces on the the front of the landforms or just keep them as is? I guess these are the type of things you will sit on while making a decision. I really like where you're going with this.

Dave

Thanks guys. It’s Florist’s foam. Much easier to shape than the pink stuff, but the down side is that it creates a fine dust. A mask is a must. In the prototype, these are just sloped hills with mostly dirt and some ground cover here and there with some small and a few larger saplings. There is also some ballast coming down towards the abutments.

Andy

Andy,

You can really do something special here with all of the overhang foliage, etc. It will be fun to see what you come up with. Sometimes I wish I would've modeled my entire layout in the fall. Those first two photos would be fun to recreate.

Dave

Andy, I see the florist foam now!  Yes, I can imagine there would be a fine dust!

Andy, really like your hillsides. They slope just like the ones I see. Good tip on the florist foam, thanks.

Tom

So the million dollar question is.....what season are you going to model?

Looks good so far Andy.

Bob

Dave, I’m torn because I’m going to model late summer. I took the first two pictures in order to see the details of the bridge more clearly. I have a ton of Super Trees that I’d like to use around the layout, but I don’t want to go overboard and hide too much of the bridge.

Mark, it took some getting used to. But I have a system to minimize the dust.

Thank you Tom, I was going for a slope that was more realistic but that also fit in with my benchwork, etc.

Bob, I think I’ll stick with late summer or early fall just before the leaves turn. I’d really like to plant a bunch of the Super Trees around the layout. I think that might be my next project.

Andy

Great layout. I just spent a week taking down my old layout and I’m planning for my new 19 x 21 room which, unfortunately won’t be ready until July. But I’m really learning from what you’re doing. I’ve always done L girder, but I am seriously considering Mianne this time around.
as to the H-10, I’ve been looking for one with the Lines West tender for quite a while but the only ones I’ve found were 20 years old and I haven’t found much success with MTH engines of that vintage,

I look forward to enjoying and learning from your progress.

Rubin,

Thank you for the kind words. I have learned much from the many talented members of this forum. Best of luck with the engine search and your next layout, I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Andy

OMG! Andy I'm glad I found your build thread. I really enjoyed seeing your postings on the other forum.

I'm all caught up and impressed. Your work is so clean. I see the newly added pup. How is he doing?

Getting my layout ready for a video just so folks can get a better idea of how things are situated. I’m almost done cleaning up the room so you can actually see the layout 😁.
Showing my S-2 in the black paint scheme as it was delivered from Alco. It would soon go to the shops to get the Long Island paint scheme with orange ends as seen below.

Andy

Hey RJ! Glad to see you too. I’ve seen some of your posts and have enjoyed them as well. The pup is doing well, his name is Ben. Lots of energy and gets into mischief, he’s a good dog, thanks for asking.

Andy

Andy look forward to the video. They are usually a big help in understanding a layout.

Thanks Bill! I will post in a few days.

Andy

That's very nice looking track and ballast, Andy!!

Thanks Mark! It’s Atlas track with Dennis Brennan’s ballast.

Andy

I made a video overview of my layout. Hope this gives more insight to folks following along. Thanks for watching.

Andy

Andy, thank you for the great video!!  You really doing a great job building the Oyster Bay Branch in O gauge.  I didn't realize you have such a large space.  That certainly lets you fit in lots of buildings and sidings found on the Prototype!  Very informative video.  I like the signs for each of the towns.  They look like they were taken right off a building.  I'm glad the Oyster Bay Branch is still in service.  Do you live near there?

Thank you Mark! I live on the south shore about 17 miles away. It’s a short drive. The Oyster Bay branch runs through Mineola where I grew up.

Andy

Having grown up on the south shore I love your work. Resisting the urge to pack in all the possible track and instead doing compressed but recognizable scenes leads to great modeling. I follow with great interest (and the wish I had the space, energy and etc to emulate your work).

Thank you Scotie, high praise from a fellow Long Islander. I thought long and hard about what to show, and what not to show.

Andy

Commented on the other thread Andy but gotta add my $.02 here. Until the Third Track project, I listened to the long-long-short-long horns all day long. I can walk to the interchange in about 10 minutes.

I really like the old power house in your video. Too bad it's been reduced to landfill.

I know what you mean Bob. I’ve visited the Mineola, Locust Valley and Oyster Bay area  many times, and I can tell you how sad it was to see that the sub station and Nassau tower had been demolished. Glad I took lots of pictures of both structures. The trainsarefun website has some nice interior pictures of the tower before it was removed.

Andy

Andy, your Jericho Turnpike bridge is in much better shape than the actual one, in need of scraping and painting.

Beautiful work!

So many of us ( including me) are seeking an H10 and/or a G-5 that you would think that one of the manufacturer’s would hear us. I wouldn’t mind having a shot at a PRR F 2-6-0 and a D16 4-4-0 as well.

@RubinG posted:

Beautiful work!

So many of us ( including me) are seeking an H10 and/or a G-5 that you would think that one of the manufacturer’s would hear us. I wouldn’t mind having a shot at a PRR F 2-6-0 and a D16 4-4-0 as well.

If MTH ever does the H10 again, that's the one you want.

Andy,

Simply awesome video Andy it really portrays the size and scope of your layout. Very nicely detailed visually also enjoyed a little of the history of the Oyster Bay Line.  Being a south shore man, I only took the Babylon line into the NYC. Well done, Andy

Mike

Andy, really nice layout. I’ve enjoyed your posts focusing on certain scenes and how you finish them. The video posted. Ties it all together now.  I like the way you modeled the mainline that virtually goes nowhere on the layout but was true to the prototype. HO guys do this but you seldom see it done in 3 rail where space is at a premium. Very well thought out as far as operations, placement of buildings and appropriate era rolling stock. You focused on a running a RR rather than giving in to seeing how much track you can put in a given space. Very Nicely done.

Thank you Arthur! I wanted to at least start in a good place with the bridge. Hope the real bridge gets some attention soon.

Thank you Rubin! I had to wait a long time for G5s #35. It’s my favorite engine. Try one of the auction houses or maybe eBay. Trainworld may have something in stock. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

Thanks Mike! I wanted to provide a little history so things made more sense.

Thank you for the kind words Dave! It means a lot. I try to have a balance between scenery and track work. I’ve been fortunate to have the space to indulge in both.

Andy

@Steamfan77 posted:

First, a little background. The Long Island Rail Road was chartered in 1834, and is the oldest continuously running railroad in the nation still operating under its original name and charter. Now primarily a commuter railway, the LIRR played a key role in the development of Long Island from mostly farmland to the suburbia it is today, moving freight to and from New York City. The Oyster Bay Branch comes off the main at Mineola, which is approximately 35 miles east of the City, and travels north and east to the North Shore next to the body of water known as the Long Island Sound. The branch ran through Mineola where I grew up, and I'm excited to bring this to life in O scale. I will be modeling 1948-1957. Steam made its last run on Long Island in the fall of 1955.

Attached is my track plan. In the PDF, the first page is the main part of the layout, and the second page is the staging west of Mineola, which is below the Oyster Bay yard. The staging allows me to turn and store the trains.

My inspiration to build the Oyster Bay Branch came from an article written by Steve Lynch in the 2004 issue of MR Planning. Dave Keller and Steve Lynch have written two excellent books, The Long Island Rail Road, and Revisiting The Long Island Rail Road. Steve also runs a great site for all train things Long Island at: www.trainsarefun.com

Steve and Dave have been very generous with their advice and time regarding my layout. I can't thank them enough for their guidance and friendship.

Thanks for checking it out.

Andy

thank you for sharing! Nice job !

New knee allows for extra time to review videos. We really like yours. It looks great projected onto the new “smart” tv in the den, another challenge.

This afternoon we found an orphan building right near the end of the video which appears to be a Dennis Brennan plaster kit. You explained all around it but we can’t find where you said what it will be, thus the orphan designation. If by chance you don’t need it, please let us know as we have it’s brother designated as my Grandad’s Webb’s Transfer and could use a second to serve as Lummis Peanuts.

Seriously, nice building and layout with a fantastic plan. It will be fun to watch as progress continues. We may check it out again after dinner. There are quite a few ideas that we want to borrow.

Thank you ThatGuy.

Bill, sharp eye. That is in fact a Dennis Brennan plaster kit. The building is not in my plans and does not belong, and as you said, is an orphan. I just wanted to build a plaster kit. It’s yours if you want it. Send me an email. Feel free to borrow anything you like.

Andy

Working on a fix for one of my street crossings. This has been an issue for a while and would cause an engine to stall or hesitate going over the crossing. I’ve made the pieces next to the middle rail thinner so that the middle rail is the highest point (as it should be). I repainted last night and tonight I’ve glued them back in place. Below shows one side installed, the other waiting to be installed. Tomorrow is the acid test.

Andy

Completed the fix for the crossing. #35 runs smooth as silk. Not sure why the light is blinking, I don’t see that when the engine is running.

Andy

Fix one thing and another pops up!  Congratulations on the crossing fix

Andy you did a nice job on the crossing. Problem solved but you did not exorcise the gremlin. You gotta start with that.

Appreciate the offer on the plaster building but better turn it down. Refrain from trying to move a plaster building if you can possibly do so. Don’t ask how we know.

Thank you Mark. Isn’t that always the way?

Bill, I wanted to give you first right of refusal.

Andy