Blackwater Canyon Line - April 2, 2025, Brick Street Extension Planning

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. 

I have been looking at this building arrangement for a while and think I'm liking it.  Included is a curved main street with a couple of side streets, but not a four-corners intersection.  It allows for viewing the street and taller buildings in the rear since there are a couple of one story buildings in front.  Also, there is an industry and freight station on the north end of town and a power substation at a lower level just outside the south end of town. 

Here are some closeups from north to south. 

I'm going to pull up the temporary strips of wood that served as streets and layout the streets, including some sidewalks.  Of course, any of it is subject to change.  I do have a few more plastic buildings that I don't believe I'll be using.  Three are houses, and I don't see how I would fit a residential area along with business and industry.

@Mark Boyce posted:

I have been looking at this building arrangement for a while and think I'm liking it.  Included is a curved main street with a couple of side streets, but not a four-corners intersection.  It allows for viewing the street and taller buildings in the rear since there are a couple of one story buildings in front.  Also, there is an industry and freight station on the north end of town and a power substation at a lower level just outside the south end of town.

Here are some closeups from north to south.

I'm going to pull up the temporary strips of wood that served as streets and layout the streets, including some sidewalks.  Of course, any of it is subject to change.  I do have a few more plastic buildings that I don't believe I'll be using.  Three are houses, and I don't see how I would fit a residential area along with business and industry.

Very nice Mark, I've switched mine a 1/2 a dozen times in the last month. It's definitely not easy when you have a lot of nice buildings and want a good view of all of them.

Mark - looks awesome with the curved road.  Gives a great perspective.

Mark, I think that city planning is more difficult than laying track. While moving towards permanence, whatever that means, I’m on my seventh installment.
The curved street offers a good perspective to showcase your structures; especially your church.

Thank you, Dave, Fred, Jay!

It seems “city planning” is a common problem for modelers.  😀  Thank you for the encouragement!!

I agree with @RV Junke and @Tranquil Hollow RR. The curved street is excellent and something different. I feel like it stands out to me because I tend to see straight roads on layouts.

Mark- You can start a new career as an urban planner.....

The building layout look good. I like the curved road too. IIRC the view as you walk into the room is nice too.

The church came out great.

Bob

Is there enough room to separate the red brick drugstore building from the light brown building next to it and push that building closer to the church ?

That way you could run the perpendicular street out to the edge of the track (jersey barrier or a train triggered gate at the end of that street) and end up with a 4-way intersection in the middle of town. You'd also eliminate the gap between that building and the church.   

I'm a big believer in filling up the street with buildings and many small towns had a mix of both commercial and residential properties, so I'd also think about pushing the Bank/Post office building and the red one next to it (get rid of the Pepsi truck out back) up towards the edge of the street that will run through the center of town and seeing if you can squeeze in a couple of small houses in back of them on each side of the street towards the edge if you can fit them.

If the houses are too big, perhaps some smaller "plasticville" size commercial buildings or a school that are nicely painted and weathered.

Thank you, Bill, Bob, Richie!

Well Bill and Bob, by taking Richie's suggestion, the street ended up curved more; that is at the south (left) end.  I agree, most model railroads have straight streets.  FarmerJohn's is a great example of a curved street.  I can think of several in real life that have a curved or partially curved main business street.

Richie, I think I interpreted your suggestion correctly.  @Dave Ripp. knows I have some houses I thought I didn't have room for.  I actually have room for two of those houses as you suggested.  They are narrow, two story MTH built ups I got from a forum member that I had planned to repaint.  I could cut them down to one story since they are at the front of the layout, but I think I can still see into the Main Street.  So here are some photographs of this layout.

Here I swapped the drug store and three-story building since in this way the windows face the street instead of other buildings.

Thank you everyone!!

Looks good - I might swap the three-story building with the small brown building so that the three-story is next to the church - I think it gives a better perspective that way. I'd also re-orient the fire station the way it was before (perpendicular to the street).

Mark,

The curve is a definite improvement. It adds visual interest and realism. My concern is that your don’t look wide enough to have room for needed sidewalks  and at least two lanes for traffic, not to mention parking for cars. A standard lane is ten feet wide. Older standards called for 9foot lanes. Sidewalks are at least 3 feet deep plus a curb.  Doing the math suggests a minimum width of the street including one one lane in each direction plus sidewalks to be about 24 feet, or roughly 6 inches ( at 1/4” to the foot). While other streets may be one lane, your main curving street may need to be one lane in each direction, for credibility’s sake, if for no other reason ,.

I'm enjoying your posts and pics, as I always do, because I always learn something from them and because will be going through the same exercise in the not too distant future  keep ‘em coming .

Rubin

Thank you, Richie, Rubin!

Richie, I moved the buildings as you suggested.

I had turned the hobby shop entrance corner toward the aisle a bit was so more of the front.  That allowed me to turn the fire house side parallel with the hobby shop.  Also, it made it look like the fire engine had more room to get out of the fire house.  I think I am going to have to park the fire engine inside or partially out to look right.

Rubin, I was thinking about street widths over the weekend.  Here is a photograph of how I measured street and sidewalk to have the minimum width for 1:43 cars and trucks.  The seam between the two lift up sections dictated the placement of the edge of the street and sidewalk.  I have 3' for sidewalks and 8' for each traffic lane.  When cars are side by side like in the photograph, it is obvious the street is narrow.  If I made the curved main street wider, the buildings would be too close to the tracks.  The church is already at the only spot it will fit.

Here’s the fire truck poking out of the fire house.

I noticed this as well.  The roof lines match up in an odd manner.

I may remove the front steps and high stone foundation from the one story building.  That would lower the roof making it look better.  Time will tell.

Hi Mark, Sorry i haven't commented earlier, to be honest no excuse. But now that I am up to speed I really like the curved street! As far as the buildings I cant help you there as I would be tripping over my own 2 feet! As for the roads and side walks I think you will be fine if you even have cars close to each other just now side by side! Just stagger them along the road  and see how that looks!
I think everything is looking great and am excited for you getting closer and closer to spending more time running trains then working on the layout! Of course we all know that is not true! LOL

Wow @Mark Boyce! Everything is coming together nicely!

Thank you, Mike, Tom!

Mike, I had been staggering the cars, but moved them side by side just to see how the lanes worked out.

Tom, I think I have a solution to make the foreground buildings work a little nicer.  Instead of this:

I substituted this one story house.  It has a smaller footprint and the proportions work out better I think.

I haven't liked that other building as much as I thought I would when I bought the kit.  Keep in mind, the houses are just place holders until I build some more detailed kits or scratch build replacements.  We will see how it goes. 

Looks good Mark, I am sure you will find something that fits your fancy for that area!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Here’s the fire truck poking out of the fire house.

I noticed this as well.  The roof lines match up in an odd manner.

I may remove the front steps and high stone foundation from the one story building.  That would lower the roof making it look better.  Time will tell.

Really like the symmetry of the buildings now and the fire truck poking out of the fire house. 

Thank you, Mike, Richie!

Richie, I am one who likes symmetry as well.  Our artist daughter would say I like things to symmetrical to be artistic.  I know towns and cities aren't normally built that way, unless city planners come up with a master plan for a portion of property to be developed.  We have that luxury, to a certain extent.

Here are a few thoughts before I continue.  I was thinking about wires for lighting.  Since most of the town is setting on the two lift ups for access to the two-track yard and mainline below, I thought I should consider where the wires for lighting will go.  The coffee company and freight station are on the solid base as is half of the fire house, but I will still have to make sure they don't dangle done and hook on traffic below.

The wires for the rest of the buildings will have to be attached to the lift ups and not cross under the seam between the two lift up sections.  They could then be passed under the solid section near the upper track.  Also, notice the street running perpendicular to the layout edge would go over one of the hinges and the tracks at the switches for the passing tracks and incline down.  I like the blocked off street idea, but instead of Jersey barriers, I would use some posts in the "ground" and cross braces with a sign.  That would b e more in keeping with the mid-century era.

I cut a couple of pieces of Bristol board to represent that street and sidewalks.  This view is from the laundry room leaning over the washing machine.  The wires are temporary wires from Menards powering the lights for the Menards hobby shop and church.  I can't really move the street over so it crosses the track between the two switches because the buildings won't fit.  The church really can't be moved over any more than it is.

It’s great that you saved a chunk of real estate for the town.  So many little scenes can develop over time.  Thanks for sharing!  The post office in my home town has the huge concrete steps out front like the building that was removed.  That’s what it reminded me of.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Mike, Richie!

Richie, I am one who likes symmetry as well.  Our artist daughter would say I like things to symmetrical to be artistic.  I know towns and cities aren't normally built that way, unless city planners come up with a master plan for a portion of property to be developed.  We have that luxury, to a certain extent.

Here are a few thoughts before I continue.  I was thinking about wires for lighting.  Since most of the town is setting on the two lift ups for access to the two-track yard and mainline below, I thought I should consider where the wires for lighting will go.  The coffee company and freight station are on the solid base as is half of the fire house, but I will still have to make sure they don't dangle done and hook on traffic below.

The wires for the rest of the buildings will have to be attached to the lift ups and not cross under the seam between the two lift up sections.  They could then be passed under the solid section near the upper track.  Also, notice the street running perpendicular to the layout edge would go over one of the hinges and the tracks at the switches for the passing tracks and incline down.  I like the blocked off street idea, but instead of Jersey barriers, I would use some posts in the "ground" and cross braces with a sign.  That would b e more in keeping with the mid-century era.

I cut a couple of pieces of Bristol board to represent that street and sidewalks.  This view is from the laundry room leaning over the washing machine.  The wires are temporary wires from Menards powering the lights for the Menards hobby shop and church.  I can't really move the street over so it crosses the track between the two switches because the buildings won't fit.  The church really can't be moved over any more than it is.

Mark,

Have you ever considered copper tape? It has adhesive on one side. When I decided to put up a tin plate table; I was not thinking scale and I no longer crawl under tables. I laid out my small town, and then then set up the tape connections. Here is the supply.

. I was able to reach under the table and grab the wire. I stapled it to the tape and then soldered it. Here is a “T” splice.
Again not going scale I grabbed a roll of grass. I measured the spot for each house and exposed the tape. The brown ground cover is in the middle with the tape on both sides. I soldered connections for a lamp in each building.
Here is a portion of the town lit up.

Thank you, Dan, Bob!

Dan, I thought the building with the steps resembled on a smaller scale some coal country company stores in days gone by.  Certainly it could be a post office.

Bob, that copper tape worked great for you.  That certainly beats wiring underneath the layout!!  Thank you for the great idea!

@pennsyfan Bob, I ordered a roll of conductive tape, and it arrived today.  Thank you for the tip, and I'll be posting how it works out for me in upcoming days!!