Weekend Photo Fun 3-29-24-??

Here is a Youtube video of an internet/radio station interview done with myself and the president of the Roanoke Valley Model Railroaders.

Scott Smith

This week, I don’t have one of my usual photos of a train running through the rural Pennsylvania scenery on my layout. Instead, I have images of a kitbashing project. I have started work on the last part of the layout, the town of Mapleton. It’s not exactly the nicest town I’ve ever seen, and I wanted to capture its flavor by including a half dozen of the ordinary frame houses in the town.

I started with the house in the first picture which was originally made by Model Power. The dies were purchased by Lionel a few years ago, and was offered both as a built up model and a kit.  The photo is taken from the box the kit came in. As you can see, it is very toylike with way too many windows (how could you ever get furniture in the rooms of a house with this many windows?) and covered with shutters. But I did a massive kitbash on the kit version and converted it into a much more realistic house as you can see in the second picture:

In order to accomplish this, I replaced four of the original seven walls with scratchbuilt replacements using Evergreen Styrene clapboard sheets and strip styrene, and eliminated most of the windows. I got rid of the vertical window mullions and converted them into typical double hung windows, left off all of those shutters, eliminated the second front door, replaced the Victorian porch posts with plain square posts, got rid of the railing, modified the concrete front stairs to look like wood, and painted the foundation to resemble stone.

Here is a picture of a replacement wall being built and the entire structure under construction:

The final picture obtained from Google Street View shows a typical house on Campbell Street in Mapleton and is of the same general style as the model I built. I found a color of dead flat Rustoleum chalked paint that was similar to the color on the prototype house. The house will be lightly weathered:

My only disappointment was not having an extra plain roof panel so I could eliminate the dormer, but getting an exact match for the shingles with a styrene shingle roof panel would have been impossible and I did not want to scratchbuild an entire replacement roof.

This is the second ex Model Power/Lionel house that I have modified with one more to go.

I really enjoyed this project and perhaps some of you might want to give it a shot. It’s not hard to do!

That’s it for this week…enjoy!

Scott: enjoyed the interview!  You sure get around.

Here's a 2023 Christmas Layout memory of mine

Time to start showing the lower level since I exhausted all of the pictures of the plateau that I have.  This shot shows the 11'x7' right side of the base level.

walt

another angle of it

Busy week!

A meeting at Main Street Station to see if there was a spot for our modular layout.

A train getting ready to pull out for Williamsburg and Newport News….

The pillar is I-95…….if you have ever driven on I-95 through downtown Richmond, you’ve passed this station

The inside of the former train shed. No dead-ending here…..this is now event space.

Looking south towards the Triple Crossing……

Have a great and safe weekend, everyone!

Peter

Photos and videos for this weekend show New York Central 2-8-0 Consolidation #960 (Lionel 2231120) and New York Central Alco RS-3 #8223 (MTH 30-20689-1) on my 12’-by-8’ layout.

The steam engine is a Southern Pacific prototype (Harriman Consolidation) – not New York Central. RS-3 diesel #8223 was the first of 137 RS-3s purchased by the New York Central Railroad.

MELGAR

Running some trains after a week starting to plan the downtown section. Newly painted foam core board…..

Have a great and safe weekend, everyone!

Peter

A salute to the 2024 Baltimore Orioles!

Big win at yesterday’s Opening Day!

@scott.smith posted:

Monday I drove by this train guys home/farm.

Nice little home R.J. has, huh, Scott? Business must be good! And with all the derailments and related problems we're seeing these days, I can well understand that his trains are keeping the rails well polished.

A view from my kitchen this sunny morning here in CA featuring my new UP Doodlebug carrying a full load of colorfully dressed passengers:

I have decided to build a model of the F.A. Straus Worsted Yarn Mill in Hamilton Township NJ.  Yes that is the correct spelling with one "s.” This mill can be seen on the south side of the Amtrak Electrified Line just north of Trenton.  Look for the distinctive clock tower.  It is now being converted to condos, called Mill One.

I have always admired the character and architecture of this building.  The brickwork on the cornices, on the simulated vertical columns, and around the windows is both simple but distinctive.  So is the brick itself. The windows are simple double hung 6/6 windows, but they are hugely oversized: 4 feet wide by 8 feet high belies the buildings size.  And of course the clock tower is quite distinctive.  By the way, the building is huge. So selective compression is called for.

I took a road trip up there two weeks ago and took 90+ photos of the place.  Here are two more:

I still have not decided how I am going to build this, but kitbashing is off the table because of the unique style.  I just don’t think I can capture the essence of the place with commercial windows or doors.  I am thinking of laser cutting brick sheets from Monster Modelworks, but I will make those huge windows from scratch.  Photo etched, molded, laser cut thin plywood, photos of the real windows, etc.   I could even make the whole buidling from my photos, per Lance Minheim or Paul Dolkos.  I don’t know at this point.  As a first cut, I put together a mockup of the front using the photos I took:

By the way, when I was taking one set of pictures from across the tracks, I was criminally photo bombed:

John,

When I saw the first photo and had not yet seen your name, I thought of the clock tower you have around the lolly column. Obviously this is a different building. Will this be a full size building or a flat/low relief model?

Dave

Dave

Good memory!  It looks like I will have now two clock towers.  This one will work as well, but it won't have illuminated dial.  Maybe external lighting.  This will be scale height, have scale width and height of the windows, and scale width between the windows. But the walls will have less window columns just to make it fit.  Already that stand-in made from the photos is 60" long!  It will be a 3D building, but will not be as deep as the prototype. Probably 6" deep.   The clock tower and the tower on the far right will have full scale depths

Of course, this is the plan before I start. Let's see what gets compromised the more I get into it

By the way, I don't think I could get that Acela shot in a hundred tries. I put the camera on a concrete barrier, set the timer on the shutter for ten seconds, and pushed the button.  I did not even know the Noreteast Regional was coming.  Pure luck

Made some progress on my Trolley run through downtown Boston, across from South Station passenger terminal.  Nice Western Hobbycraft trolley that I've had boxed up for awhile.

WSL #8 heading back up the hill with some explosive cargo.

Video from last year.  For some reason I could not get it to move today.  Will troubleshoot tomorrow.

@walt rapp posted:

Scott: enjoyed the interview!  You sure get around.

Here's a 2023 Christmas Layout memory of mine

Time to start showing the lower level since I exhausted all of the pictures of the plateau that I have.  This shot shows the 11'x7' right side of the base level.

walt

another angle of it

Walt, they are your best pictures yet.

I agree, Walt; great shots of the holiday layout. Just a terrific amount of work that I enjoy seeing/appreciating over time. Thanks for posting.

PD

My uncle passed away a few years ago. His layout was featured on OGR run 203, Oct 2004. He sold off most of his trains before he passed. My cousin has been calling me to “come get the trains”. I thought it would some random track or box car. Apparently my uncle saved and hid 13 of his favorite postwar Lionel sets in the back of a closet!

@romiller 49 and @pd - thanks for those much appreciated comments!  Really!!

- walt

Thanks Scott for getting us started!   Here are my photos of the fun kind for this fine weekend!

My latest yard addition. My Son-in -Law found this in a storage unit that he bought. I elected to put it in the side yard to avoid the wrath of the Property Manager. We are allowed up to five ornaments in the flower beds in front of the home. It would be an interesting discussion about is this an ornament. Besides I can see it out the window from my chair.


Some random shots around the layout.

@Sam Jumper posted:

My uncle passed away a few years ago. His layout was featured on OGR run 203, Oct 2004. He sold off most of his trains before he passed. My cousin has been calling me to “come get the trains”. I thought it would some random track or box car. Apparently my uncle saved and hid 13 of his favorite postwar Lionel sets in the back of a closet!

Wow! Please let us know what you find……..I’m excited because brown basket weave boxes usually mean 1957-58 Super O!

Peter

I've been a long time admirer of the work on this thread. I finally have something to post myself. The first section of my layout, which has been a trial to see if I can do scenery work.done.

Vinny, great scene and detail.  Wondering what is the roadbed system / ballast you used?  It appears to my old eyes to be cork, but it looks much more realistic...

@Vinny DeAngelis posted:

I've been a long time admirer of the work on this thread. I finally have something to post myself. The first section of my layout, which has been a trial to see if I can do scenery work is done.

Congratulations ! You graduated with flying colors! Great looking scene!!

@Capetrainman posted:

Vinny, great scene and detail.  Wondering what is the roadbed system / ballast you used?  It appears to my old eyes to be cork, but it looks much more realistic...

I used Woodland Scenics coarse gray ballast for the main line and medium cinders for the siding.

@Allan Miller posted:

Nice little home R.J. has, huh, Scott? Business must be good! And with all the derailments and related problems we're seeing these days, I can well understand that his trains are keeping the rails well polished.

RJ Corman Railroad Group of companies is alive and well. Unfortunately, cannot say the same for RJ Corman, himself; he passed away in 2013.

Several projects going on and keeping me pretty busy. Sometimes you have to take time to enjoy the work  you have done. In photo #4 can you see part of the locomotive through the trees? Anywho, here are a few photos from around the layout...

Dave

Vinny you can do scenery!

@luvindemtrains posted:

Several projects going on and keeping me pretty busy. Sometimes you have to take time to enjoy the work  you have done. In photo #4 can you see the part of the locomotive through the trees? Anywho, here are a few photos from around the layout...

Dave

Dave, I usually don't like reposting other's photos but I must say your rock work especially is superb!

Can you tell us a bit on how you achieved such realism?

c.sam,

Thank you kindly. In photos 1, the rear of photo 2,  and 4 I used rock molds and resin. The subterrain is insulation foam followed by plaster cloth. This process is much more involved, not only with pouring the resin and getting it out of the mold, but also with the coloring. With that being said, I prefer the end results. The key with coloring resin rock work is layers and patience. Those sections took me about 4-5 days of light washes of various colors. I used tans, browns, greys, and a bit of red.  By the 3rd day you start to see things transforming.

Photos 2(front) and 3 were done with plaster of paris. I used insulation foam as the subterrain, followed by plaster cloth. After plaster was mixed and poured in manageable sections it was then picked, chiseled, notched, and molded into shape. Again, washes of various colors were used and then everything dry brushed using a cream color acrylic.  The plaster method is much faster.

Dave

On time delivery of my wife's Easter basket from the PennCentral!

Have a great and safe week, everyone!

Peter

I just transferred the Easter Basket load into two open cars for local delivery…

Posted elsewhere, but an addition to my "Lines North" railroad collection in this Weaver Royal Hudson.

@Craignor posted:

I just transferred the Easter Basket load into two open cars for local delivery…

Considering the price of a ton of cocoa increased 300% over the last year, that is one expensive pale

Wishing you a blessed and joyful Easter surrounded by the love of family and the beauty of springtime.

Thanks Ron,

Happy Easter to you, and yours.