Model Railroading and Railroad Photography

A Few New Additions to the Equipment Roster

railroadman — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:23:59 +0000

I recently made a few new purchases at the Woodstock train show. I was looking for 4-5 hopper cards to support the new coal industry and came back with an Atlas CP RS3 and an Atlas CP S2. Both run amazing out of the box but I am sure will run even smoother once checked over and a drop of oil is added. I also picked up a small yard office building, some coal as I plan on making loads for the coal cars and a book all about the history of the CNR lines through Simcoe Ontario and area. It is amazing how much is gone with no trace.

Here are a few images of the new power and coal cars all anxiously awaiting to go into service.

Layout Update

railroadman — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:29:11 +0000

It’s been quite awhile since my last post as work and other things always seem to take priority. I have been working on the layout from time to time but have not taken the time to update the blog. So lets get rolling with some updates.

I’ve almost completely finished the track work up the branch line with the exception of the one small industry town as I need to find out what industry will there and find a building that will fit the space. Then i will layout the tracks accordingly. I am thinking some sort of cold storage industry as I really have no reefer car activity other than the brewery and will add additional traffic.

This is the stub end of the branch at the highest elevation. It will facilitate a logging mill that has an in track(below upper left) as it will handle local lumber and delivered lumber and an out bound track for finished rough cut lumber(below upper right). There is also a siding to allow the engine to work the industry.

Below this industry town is a new coal industry addition I added for a couple of reasons. One is that I was not happy with the tight curve on the east end of Gainesville and I wanted to represent a small coal industry to create extra work and additional traffic on the main line. Plus it will allow for more interesting scenery in this corner of the layout. The left track seen below is the mainline that will have a nice bricked portal entering the mountain side. The middle track will enter the mine to be loaded and the right track will service the industry’s freight requirements.

Now with most of the track laying complete I am focusing more time on some scenery. The area I am starting with is a harder to reach area with a rock cut tunnel portal and a lift out section. I will have an update on this progress shortly.

Adding the fascia boards

railroadman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:50:30 +0000

Now that I have completed the track work, electrical and testing is complete, the only thing to finish off this area other than scenery is the fascia board. It is nice to get all the tools and clutter cleaned up and make the layout look presentable. The scenery will come later as I am focusing on finishing most of the track work and start an operating schedule amongst many other small projects that have been put on the back burner.

This image shows the fascia board butting up to the previous fascia boards installed a ways back on the left side and curving around the corner where a portal will be as the branch line track enters the mountain. Some interesting contours will make for a real nice focal scene with the trestle bridge.

On the right side as show below the grade steepens to blend in with the trestle bridge and the next town up on the mountain. This piece of fascia board is permanently installed as there is no electrical or mechanical systems behind needing access.

The next section of fascia is removable as all the towns switches and the lower level controls would need to be accessable. So as to not damage any scenery once installed, I installed this section in two peices. As seen below I fit the entire peice, screw it in place and then contour the top. Then I cut a straight line about 2″ to 3″ down from the contour which lines up with the 3/4″ plywood. This way the top peice secures into the plywood for strength and the scernery towling will form along the contour and will not be distrubed when the lower fascia is removed. This is the same technique I used for the fascia on Gainesville.

I mounted my throttle plugs and cut in a door that accesses all the layout light switches and power switches and a quick vacuum and I am finished.