Blackwater Canyon Line - December 22, 2024 - Misc. Small Projects

Thank you, Jeff, Dave, Bill, George, Bob!

Jeff, yes velum of the right color would work.  Since I ordered the Tamiya, I will go with that.

Dave, yes the surrounding scene.  I have a general idea of leaving the street curved with side streets radiating off similarly to what is crudely roughed out.  I have decided on one thing, and that is that the auto dealership is out.  The building even kit bashed and a small lot for cars would take too much room away from the small town.  I will certainly keep everyone posted.

Bill, I am pleased with how the windows turned out.  Best of all, they were made at no expense, just paper and some thin styrene I have had for 30+ years.

George, tell your friend that I was only authorized to terrorize the electric grid in Virginia and West Virginia.  That authorization was terminated in 1995 when I was terminated and returned to Pennsylvania to then terrorize the telephone company system. 

Bob, I was thinking the same thing about someone working all day to make these Evan Designs units.  The issue isn't magnification, it is that the wires are so thin I can't even feel them, much less make them go where I want.  They do give excellent results, though.  I will be buying more of them in the future.

Mark, The church looks fantastic!  I really love the way you made the stained glass windows.  The exterior lights and cross really complete the look.  Thanks for sharing your progress.  Awesome job!

@RSJB18  Great recommendation on the exterior lights!

Thank you, Steve!!

I received the Tamiya clear yellow paint yesterday and painted over the LEDs inside the church today.  The difference is a little more noticeable in person than in the photographs, but I think the photographs show the difference to some extent.  Thank you for all the suggestions!!

Before

After

@Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Steve!!

I received the Tamiya clear yellow paint yesterday and painted over the LEDs inside the church today.  The difference is a little more noticeable in person than in the photographs, but I think the photographs show the difference to some extent.  Thank you for all the suggestions!!

Before

After

Mark, that looks great! One thing I don't like about LED lights are they are too white. The yellow tone you've added looks much more realistic. Overall, the church looks fantastic.

I concur Mark, that’s a masterpiece you have created. Jay

Thank you, Dave, Jay!

As all of us know, there are flaws in this model as in any of our models.  I am pleased with it, and so is my wife.  Many thanks to everyone for the suggestions and encouragement!!

@Dave Ripp. posted:

Mark, that looks great! One thing I don't like about LED lights are they are too white. The yellow tone looks much more realistic. Overall, the church looks fantastic.

Warm white leds are easily obtained in all sizes.I keep over a hundred on hand because they are so inexpensive.

It's the flaws that prove it was made by hand! It's also those flaws that keep us stiving to do the next one even better.

Mark you are so right about all of us having flaws on our layouts! The main thing is that you and the wife are pleased with it and it brings a smile your face and a happy memory from the heart!

Amen!

I wonder if your camera is compensating for the lighting and that's why it's subtle in the photos.

This really came out nicely! Well done!

Thank you, John, Myles, Mike, Rubin, Bill!

John, Yes, I am going to make sure to buy warm white LEDs from now on.  They look better to me and mimic incandescent lights that fit my loose time period of 1950s.

Myles, those are certainly words of wisdom that you continue to experience in your own modeling.

Mike, I was glad to finish the church, aside from the exterior lights, by our 40th anniversary 2 weeks ago.

Bill, you may be correct.  I am using the camera that is in my iPhone 10.  It certainly could be compensating.

The first little side project that I addressed during the last two days was to fix the place where the lower bridge seats down on the layout.  I used the linear actuator that Mike showed me from his old layout, and made a "fixture" to align the bridge end to the track.  I think I have been having trouble with it for a while where cars derail.  It was only the 2-bay hoppers that derailed at first.  About half are MTH and half are Lionel.  Lately other cars and finally a couple engines derailed and I looked more closely at the bridge end itself.  I think I fixed it by replacing the guide with simple angled pieces of wood.  So far, all is working well.  I have no idea how far back a photograph of the previous arrangement is, so I will just show the "fix".

I'll address some more little projects later.

Looks good Mark. Simple sometimes is the best fix.

Bob

Mark, if it works with no more derailments, you have accomplished your goal. Nice work, now on to the next small project. Hope they will all be successful. BTW, the church came out excellent!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Gene

Mark easy fix, I should have pointed out that I had to do the same thing for my lift bridge, I guess it just didn't cross my mind back then!

Mark,

Forgive me for forgetting, but exactly what was the problem with the bridge. I’m about to build two bridges for aisle ways so your pics are very germane to me. Also, I am now a bit confused ( not by you). In the late Jim Barrett’s article and book, he references the need to ensure that the hinge point is above the railhead and even shows how he bent the hinges into shape. But in the recent Fall CTT article by the very talented Stan Trzoniec, who’s downsizing his large island layout to a smaller “ age friendly” layout, he does not elevate the hinge point at all. So I’m wondering about how you ( and anyone else who wants to join the discussion) has resolved this design issue and why.
Thanks for the groups’ and your sage advice.
Rubin

Thank you, Bob, Gene, Mike, Rubin!

Bob, Gene, KISS!  I emphasize the second 'S' that stands for stupid.  I haven't shared much about all the Messes I have gotten myself into on this layout. 

Mike, You had pointed it out for your bridge.  I had done something similar to this, but the wood brackets were too thin and slipped in this gap I left when the bridge is down.  I might add that the thicker, more obtrusive white strips of wood aren't touching the gray bridge, they are touching the plexiglass below.

Rubin, I used two different methods for hinging my bridges.  The lower one is a copy of a pivoting arrangement Mike shared from his old layout.  The big upper bridge uses big offset hinges like you described.

Mike's pivot.  His looked better than mine, but mine works too..

Here is the upper bridge.  Tom Gilly from the River City HiRailer's shared the Amazon link to find these.  They are big and ugly, but so far I don't even need any guides at the other end of the bridge.  It always lowers true.

I hope these photographs help.  If you have more questions, just ask.  I will say that after fighting to get the pivot to work for me on the lower bridge, I would go with big hinges again.  Yes, both arrangements would be a bit messy to scenic.  Quite frankly, relatives who aren't into model trains have been impressed with the bridges and haven't commented on much else on the layout.