Blackwater Canyon Line - November 17, 2024 - Scratch Built Church

Hey Mark!  Remember - No tickee, no laundry! 

Yesterday I cut the pieces to fit and screwed them down to the stringers.  Then I laid the track out again, and marked the tabletop for where the Homasote will go.  It was certainly easy to roll the unit away from the wall 15 inches or so to get in there!  Worked great.

That may be the shiniest train table top I have seen!  That keeps eyes focused there so as not to see the ugly base.  

On this end, I am going to cut out the board to have the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River flowing underneath this bridge.  It is similar to the real one in Parsons, West Virginia that is now used for a bike/hike trail.  Oh, that is one of my two MTH Premier H9 Consolidations sitting on the track for fun.  I just received this one yesterday from a Forum member.  It is a PS-2 with 3-volt board.  My other one is a PS3 #839.

Mark, Great Work !

Mark what kind of bridges are you going to put there?

Leandro,  Thank you!!

Mike, I have this Menards single track truss bridge for the rear crossing.  It reminds me of the Shavers Fork crossing in Parsons WV that I shot last year.

The front bridge will be a girder bridge so it is easy to see over it since it is in the front.  This is the other bridge in Parsons.  Mine of course will be shorter.

Nice Mark, great plan! I like the sound of where this is going!

Thank you, Mike.  This idea has been in the works for 20 years, but I never had time or space to do it when the girls were growing up.

Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Mike.  This idea has been in the works for 20 years, but I never had time or space to do it when the girls were growing up.

 

Well now that you have the time and space! Make the best of it and enjoy the ride along the way!

                    here you go Mark... how 'bout taking a hike along your river...

                           looking towards your back bridge over the river...

                     walking along the shallow river coming out from the back hills...

                              water getting deeper it goes under the front bridge...

                                water picking up speed now... flowing pretty good...

                                     then dumping over waterfalls at the front...

                    can't wait to see trains running thru this awesome scenery...

Thank you Brian!!  That is it exactly!  I'll print them out and stand them up on the layout.  Project done!!!  

I was going to start cutting my Homasote for my roadbed, but it is extremely windy today, so I started working on the shelf part of my layout instead.  I had to move the 18" metal wall brackets up 4 inches to get a match for the height of the roll around.  Then I put stringers on the two I did and a fascia board on matched to the roll around.  I could clamp the roll around to the stationary part, but it is fine for now with the brakes set.  I think it is going to work pretty slick.  Here are two photographs.  My carpentry skills aren't very pretty nor is my used wood, but it all seems solid enough.  I still need to put an 8 inch section between the wall and the tabletop, but that material is out in my shed, and I was afraid I may blow away.  I thought the dog may fly like a kite at the end of her cable when I put her out.  LOL

          looking good Mark !    trains will be rolling soon !

Thank you, Brian!!  Whoo Hoo!!

Somehow I knew you were going to beat me. I've had some medical setbacks, but we've decided not to drive to Alaska this year, so I think I'll be able to start as soon as we get back from Georgia next month. Who knows? Maybe we'll both have trains running by Christmas. Keep up the good work, progressis the name of the game.

Wow Dave, Drive to Alaska!!  I would love to if I had a whole summer to do it.  I looked up, and it's 3600 miles for you to Anchorage.  Then I decided Juneau would be closer, which it is, 3000!  Are you driving or flying to Georgia?

I'm sorry about the medical problems.  I hope you are getting along better!!

Yes, I hope to have trains running by Christmas.  Not that I am saying all the track will be laid, but enough laid, wired, and checked out that I can have some fun with it.

Thank you!!!

Medical issues seem to have been resolved, so maybe I'll have better luck this year. I;ll send you an email about the rest so we don't mess up your thread.

Mark, Juneau might be closer, but you can't get there by car, unless it floats or flies. Your progress is lookin' good. Over 75% of my benchwork is lumber from shipping crates and other projects at the farm, so used is good. I have had my 215lbs. on it many times, and it is all 1" lumber except for the legs, and that's only because I had plenty of used 2x4s so I didn't have to rip them. Keep postin'.

John,

Yes, thinking back on my geography now, you have a point about Juneau.  However, Barney Google thinks you can drive there from Arizona, so it MUST BE SO.   I would say the closest I have been to Alaska would be central Illinois!!  

Thank you very much for the compliment and reporting your success with used lumber!!!  Reading posts about people buying birch plywood, and clear pine from some contractor only lumber supplier sometimes makes me wonder how mine will make out.    Your comment makes me feel better! 

The current plan is to drive to Skagway and take the car ferry over to Juneau. In Google Maps you have to set it to avoid the ferry or it will look like you can drive. Google Maps defaults to using a ferry if there is one. Prince Rupert is actually the closest, but the ferry from there to Juneau costs a LOT more.

Dave, That does make a lot of sense Dave!!  Thank you!  I would like to go there someday!

I did some cleaning up and some experimenting with the backdrops I bought from George (G3750) last year.  The town on this side is at the bottom of the canyon, so I want a lot of mountain showing.  Track height will be 44".

Then there will be a climb of 5" to 49" on the other end of the room.  That town will be at the top of the mountain, so I will have mostly sky.  49" comes to less than an inch below the window sill.  In such a small room, I don't know how well I'll pull it off depicting a climb from the valley to the mountain top, but we will see how it goes.  Since there won't be any backdrop at the big window except some sky above it, I think I will have the top of the mountain on the backdrop a little lower to try to help this.

I love what's happening, Mark!

Peter

Nice Mark, sounds like you have it all figured out! 

         that's going to look nice Mark !!

Looking good Mark.

Alaska is on my bucket list. A former coworker did a cruise up the west coast to see Alaska several years back. He said the highlight was a train trip up to Denali National Park.

Bob

Mark,

Looks like you really have something special going here.  Keep it up! 

George

Jealous of your big room ! 

We have a 9x9 room to expand into ...

we started with this , year 2000 27”x36” Thomas playset , “Micro layout” and will , eventually , expand outward ...  

Id love to expand into full scale cars and bigger steam , for now , it’ll be  027  sized cars , pulled by027 sized.  1656  , 2026 and 2025 steamers , a 6220 Diesel switcher ...and Thomas , of course 

Peter, Thank you!! 

Mike, Well I "think" I have it figured out.  But I think we all make some alterations as we go along!!  

Brian, Thank you!  I thinks it will look good too!

Bob, Thank you!!  Yes, that Inside Passage is the only "cruise" I have seen advertised that I think I would like.  The train trip to Denali would be a highlight for sure!!  

George, Thank you!!  And thank you for the backdrops again!  I have looked over the sections and think I have a good plan how they will work out.  I'll be able to match up the sky colors with my artist daughter's assistance.  She will help me select the right colors from her massive "collection" even though scenery is not her thing.    

Dprasse, I certainly understand!  This is the most space I have ever had for trains since I bought my first set in the late '60s.  The adult kids have married and left home.  9 x 9 can be a challenge for O gauge.  We have a Lionel Thomas, and some younger child train sets my wife has picked up at thrift stores, just in case we have any grand children.

          your background with river added for your bridge...

                                                                a little more work for your daughter...

Very nice, Brian!  Yes, a little more work for my daughter!!

          another nice scenery shot for your lower front bridge...

                                              imagine your 0-8-0 pulling cars across the bridge...

Brian, Wow, yes I can imagine that!!  Great idea!  Thank you!

Great to see you making progress, Mark. Looking forward to seeing your layout take shape. 

Pat,  Thank you so much!!

As an added note, I bought the rest of the 18” metal brackets at Lowe’s today.  I hope to get them installed soon.

Today I installed the 6 remaining brackets on the wall that will hold the stationary shelf part of my layout.

I decided to break down and buy two 1x4s to cut up for the stringers.  That is the first wood I have purchased for this project.  Here they are attached and waiting for something to be mounted on top.

Here are the table top boards all cut and mounted.  It's a good thing they will be covered with Homasote, track, and scenery!  

I also measured and trimmed two sections of backdrop I got from George (G3750) last spring, just about this time of year, now that I think of it.  The sections are just sort of propped up there to get an idea of how it will look.  Once I have them mounted on supports, I think they will look great!  Thanks again George!!  

That is very sharp lookin' Mark 

Adriatic posted:

That is very sharp lookin' Mark 

Thank you very much!!

Handsome work there Mark. Looks great! 

I like that you're recycling so much of the decking and I like the use of shelf supports to minimize the need for legs.

Thank you JD and Dave!!!