Planning for Phase 2 - End curves

Phase 1 of my layout is the front 3' x 12' section consisting of two modules which form one town.  I started with that to allow me to explore various new modeling techniques such as laying and wiring three rail track; working with 2" foam scenery; and detailing 1:48 structures. If I decided I didn't want to pursue O scale modeling, I could return to HO without having invested a lot of time or money into a layout.

But I have been enjoying it so far and want to press forward. Currently, I cannot operate my layout in any meaningful way because the mainline isn't long enough on the ends to perform any switching moves, and the ends aren't connected for round-and-round running (which is my ultimate goal). It was time for Phase 2.

The issue is my space isn't very large at roughly 12' x 16', and since it would be a walkaround style layout the real limitation would be the end curves. My sides are already 12' long, so that plus the ends had to fit (I could angle the layout slightly). Ideally, my track diameter would be 0-54 curves which would allow for all but the largest types of engines and passenger cars. (I have no intention of running Big Boys on my layout.) Of course, everyone says that in the beginning and many live to regret it. But not me. 

A lot of scale 3-rail equipment can run on 0-36 curves. Brian Inch, a custom layout builder, constructed a wonderful New England themed layout shown in the March 2018 issue of Classic Toy Trains magazine that used 0-36 curves and was only 4' x 16. I watched it operate at the Springfield Train Show in 2017 and was impressed by how much he squeezed in such a small area. 

However, the most important factor for me was that I wanted to run my MTH Amtrak Amfleet passenger coaches. They are nearly scale length and require 0-42 curves, so that became my minimum diameter. But, I would try and go as large as I could.

I can build rectangular benchwork, but for simplicity I went with a commercial product for Phase 1. For the ends I want rounded benchwork which would look nice and provide more space for walking around it in a cramped basement. I certainly cannot fabricate round benchwork myself. Thankfully, Model Railroad Benchwork offers pre-fabricated outside curve benchwork in various diameters including 48", 60", and 72". 

I took a diagram of my basement and tried to see what would fit. 72" diameter benchwork ends would allow me to have 36" deep benchwork on the back (Phase 3) but there wouldn't be much clearance with the walls or support posts, and trying to maneuver full laundry baskets around the end of the layout by the stairs would be difficult for my wife (an very important consideration!) Note the three black circles in the middle of the room which are support poles. They are dictating what I can fit.

Next, I mocked up 48" diameter benchwork ends and they worked except that if I used 0-42 diameter track would result in a scant 3" between the track and the edge of the scenery on the curves. For safety I could add guardrails, but a secondary concern was that the final back layout section would then only be 12" deep unless I added a "bump out". Scenery would be difficult, so I didn't like that.

That meant purchasing the 60" diameter benchwork end sections was the best option. But I wanted to be sure and couldn't visualize it by staring at a piece of paper.

So, I removed nearly all of my HO layout that was currently residing in the same space. Then, I bought some Foamcore sheets and made two 72" diameter half-circles. The process involved taping and gluing five sheets together for each semicircle, a process which took over 7 hours as I didn't have enough weights so I had to glue down a couple and leave it for a couple of hours to cure.

A homemade protractor and a knife cut them down into a pair of 72" diameter semicircles. I rolled my existing O scale layout into place and set the two semicircles on the end and realized quickly that it was a bit cramped. It was on wheels so I could try and force it against the walls as much as possible to allow for clearance, but I didn't like that arrangement. It didn't fit.

So, I trimmed them to 60" diameter, which would easily allow for my 0-42 minimum radius track and give me 24" benchwork depth for scenery or staging tracks in the back of the layout. 

When I mocked them up and walked around everything I was happy with the arrangement. True, the far end curve doesn't really have much clearance to walk around it but I am thinking of modeling a cut or a forest there anyway where the scenery will overwhelm the trains and you can see it all from the front. On the right side, there was plenty of clearance for a laundry basket.

Ideally I would use 0-48 diameter curves but no one makes sectional track in that size so I will need to bend flextrack for that. O-54 sectional diameter curves are offered by several manufacturers but they are dangerously close to the edge of the layout.

Because of the location of the ceiling support posts and stairs I am stuck with this arrangement. If I ever move I can ditch the ends and install my front/back modules into a new layout configuration. So it isn't permanent. And, at least it will allow me to run trains round and round which is what I enjoy most (and Harrison too). Ignore the mess on the left including a rolling train layout, a treadmill, and the remains of a wooden TV stand...

Now, I just need to order the benchwork...

M.O.W. boxcar scene (part 2)

On my layout, the boxcar was left at the end of the siding and neglected. Over time, the trucks and rails rusted away and the boxcar was in danger of collapse until they put strong wooden cribbing made from old railroad ties under the ends. Then, the Maintenance of Way crews repurposed it as their storage shed and hangout place.

To make everything line up height wise, I glued down a strip of cork roadbed leading from the switch to the boxcar shed area. The next day I took the track outside and sprayed it with my standard Rustoleum camo brown paint, and finished that up by brush painting the rails Tamiya brown.

Though probably overkill, I ran a feeder to each outside rail as well as the middle one. The middle rail is isolated for this siding in case I want to park an engine (at least that was the plan when I designed the layout), and though I might not do that anymore it made sense to wire it that way. Thankfully, I remembered to remove the middle metal rail joining pin before gluing the track down.

The ties were painted various shades of brown and gray, and then drybrushed with black. This made them look like wood that had aged at different rates. 

The boxcar and base were then attached to the layout with caulk and left to dry for a couple of days.

A couple of days later, I lightly ballasted the track with cinders. Then, a healthy dose of dirt and ground foam were applied to the track. My plan is to leave space at the end to park a car permantently in place, and also leave space for another car to be spotted on occasion while still maintaining clearance of the road crossing.

This part is always painful, though the brown paint mixed in the glue makes it look especially bad. I have learned to simply walk away and just let it do its thing overnight. Naturally, a hole in the benchwork leaked while I wasn't looking but I caught it in time. I had caulked the hole, but not good enough apparently.

A day or so later, I mixed up ground goop and applied it in front all around the boxcar. I tried something new by first putting blue tape over the area I didn't want goop, and then spreading the stuff down. And viola, peeling back the tape produced exactly what I wanted! Why had I never done this before?

More dirt and scenery materials were applied.

I still wasn't happy about the last foot of track so I really buried it in dirt and weeds to really set the scene that it is overgrown.

But something wasn't right until I painted the tops of the rails brown to reflect that it hasn't been run over in ages. 

I left an open area in front of the boxcar so crews can easily get in and out without tripping. OSHA, you know. Then, I added some details nearby like a stack of newly creosoted ties cut from stripwood. They are not "scale" size but instead match the width of the Gargraves track ties that I used on my layout. I also included a pile of code 125 rusty tie plates on a pallet. These are 3D printed items from Ebay. A stack of joint bars was placed nearby too.

A rail storage rack was also built. I used code 215 rail that had been gifted to me by a friend who used it for G-scale trains, but rail is rail. Something smaller like code 148 is typically used in O scale (and that represents heavy rail in the prototype world) but Gargraves track uses rail that is equivalent to code 230 so what I used is actually slightly smaller. But it had the right profile. I painted it rusty brown and lightly sprayed it with flat brown. Some smaller pieces have fallen by the wayside. 

Some metal barrels are more 3D printed items that I painted and lightly weathered. I looked online for photos as reference and saw that they came in lots of color variations, so I painted them many different ways. If I put them together in one area they would look out of place, but a few of the rusty brown were located next to the boxcar. The green ones with the white lid will be used by Northeast Chemical. The others... into the parts box for future use. By the way, they are all the same size even though the picture makes them look different.

I took a plastic barrel that I got somewhere and filled it with HO scale track spikes that I had on hand. They are oversize for O scale, but true 1:48 spikes likely wouldn't be very visible. 

The Fairmont Speeder model fit right into the scene parked at the end of the track. A nice old hopper or boxcar or flatcar in maintenance of way service would be perfect to abandon next to it.

As previously mentioned, my Autumn scenery initiative hit this area too. Lots of the large green ground foam bushes were removed, and some fine ground foam and dead grass (Like Like earth) was added. Then, some of my colored lichen bushes were added.

I still need to add a few more details which I hopefully will find as train show season starts. It is a lot easier, and cheaper, to find them there then to purchase them individually on Ebay.

Fairmont Speeder

I wanted to include a Fairmont Speeder on my layout in my M.O.W. scene. Companies make operational 3-rail models but they don't look very realistic, and some of the 2-rail non-operational models appear too old-fashioned for the era I was modeling. I don't really know what type the Maine Central or B&M used in the 1970s-1980s, but more than likely they just used company pickup trucks. But that wasn't going to stop me.

Walthers originally released a built-up Speeder house kit, complete with nonoperational speeder to park outside on the ready track. Atlas later acquired the tooling and still offers the item today (item #W2701).
I didn't need the speeder barn (there really isn't place for it on my layout near the MOW siding) but I decided to buy the set anyway because I can store the building for the future, and the speeder looks like what I want.

I bought a used copy of the Atlas set, and for some odd reason the speeder was speckled with green paint all over. The seller fully disclosed this on the internet listing and priced it accordingly, and I figured I would just repaint it anyway so it was fine. The building looked in perfect condition.

After looking for prototypical pictures of a speeder painted for the Boston and Maine or Maine Central (and striking out), I decided to "proto-freelance" one. Is the Atlas kit even based on a real speeder? I dunno, but I was ready to have fun. 

I first painted everything with yellow, but it didn't look quite right. I later went to the store and bought a can of Rustoleum "Golden Sunset", which seemed to be a perfect match for construction equipment yellowish/orange. 

After letting it cure, I used brown and black and silver paints to pick out various details. I consulted online pictures but I can't quite say I got it all right. Or wrong, for that matter. Because of the current interest of operating speeders, many owners paint them up in fanciful paint schemes which are nice but make it hard to determine what an "original" looked like. 

Next, some extra details were added inside like a red toolbox and a can of something, perhaps grease. Some foliage was glued on to give the impression that it had been sitting outside for a while and the wind had carried debris onto it.

Finally, I installed window glazing on the front windows. I left the sides open for now, but it would be pretty easy to go back later and add it.

And there you have it. It was pretty simple to upgrade i and I am pleased with the result. Mine will be parked at the end of an abandoned siding, though if the crew ever need it they can easily dig it out and press it into service. Putt putt...

The bushes are changing colors

As mentioned last week, my layout is undergoing a scenery makeover. The ground had been stripped of all the dark green bushes and grass, and in its place was dirt, dying grass, and lighter green foliage. It was now time for some bushes. Unfortunately, based on what I observed outside I needed round, light-green bushes with splashes of red, orange, and yellow color. Now how could I model that?

Not knowing what to do, I hiked down to the nearest hobby shop to see what they had. The answer was not much. I noticed some bags of old Woodland Scenics lichen labeled in various shades of green, but quickly dismissed them because lichen was "old school" and they looked faded and dead. However, I quickly realized that the dying muted green lichen was EXACTLY what I needed for my bushes! The prices weren't great, despite having tags indicating that this was at least the third hobby store to have them in their inventory. But, I brought them home anyway.

Digging through my stash, I also found some small bags of fall colored ground foam that I had received as a gift during a model railroad event years ago and never knew what to do with. How fortuitous!

I have never worked with lichen before and expected it to come out of the bag in bunches or roundish blobs. Instead, it was large, stringy pieces that I had to cut apart and massage into bush-like shapes. I can't imagine building a layout 30 years ago with only this stuff. But... it did look like bushes. The light green stuff was nice and soft, but the dark green bag had much firmer plants.

As an experiment I tried painting some lightly with red paint in places, almost highlighting certain areas. It was okay but not vibrant enough. The three on the left in the picture below show what they looked like. Okay, but not great.

Then, I dipped parts into thinned down white glue and lightly dipped them into piles of red, orange, or yellow ground foam. I made all sorts of shapes and sizes, not really knowing what I would need. A James Bond movie was on in the background so it wasn't all that tedious, and in fact I had fun. That's good, because I will need to make a bunch.

After about a half-hour I had a pile of ready-to-plant bushes. I took them to the layout, along with some plain green lichen, and started to glue them in place. I attempted to go for natural positioning, and also not overdo it to start. I could always add more later. I quickly realized that I had made many of them too large to be bushes, and for my next batch I will aim for the size of an acorn. But, a pair of scissors quickly sorted it out. 

I also scattered some of the extra ground foam onto areas that already had green bushes, just to give them some color transformation.

Along the fence, more bushes were added. This was the place for the larger ones, which ended up looking like small trees.

At a craft store I also found these premade flowers by JTT, and I may use them eventually. But having seen how much nicer my lichen bushes are these may go into the stash for the future...

I am happy with my first results, and I may start working on other areas of the layout. I also need to experiment with static grass again. 

Autumn season is here

It was bound to happen eventually. As I was working on my layout a couple of weeks ago something was bothering me, and I realized it was the scenery. It was too lush, too green. And perhaps took uniform and "fake". It needed some static grass to help break everything up. This was especially true near the gully I had carved for my water area.

I started with some 4mm long "light green" static grass from Woodland Scenics. In reality, it is a blend of yellow (dead) grass and green grass and not light green at all. I thought it would capture the partially living, partially dead look of grass in the fall. But after I applied it, it looked terrible and just stood out like a sore thumb. 

I used some light green craft paint to add highlights to the static grass and that helped, but it still didn't look like what I envisioned in my mind. It didn't look like fall. It reminded me of what I had done on my previous layout, which was set in May.

Assuming I had just used the wrong color of grass, I added a different shade of green grass to the patch of land between some of the train tracks. To mask the track I used strips of posterboard.

The result at least had the right texture, but I had gotten sloppy along the edges and grass had landed where it wasn't supposed to. But it was also too vibrant for some ground surrounded by dirty train tracks and a lumber yard. In all reality, it should be filthy, probably polluted, and have bits of trash here and there. 

Eventually, I stopped working on my layout. It wasn't right. Part of it wasn't entirely my fault: I had never attempted to model autumn before and I didn't know how to do it. I was used to modeling spring. And autumn came late this year, so I was doing it from memory. (Not a good thing, I admit).

However, on a family drive the next day I saw what I was trying to achieve... and how my layout wasn't cutting it. All along the edges of the road were either piles of dead grass and leaves or bare earth. I needed light green grass as a base color, with patches of reddish/brown dirt and grass showing here and there. Accents would be some lighter grass in areas, with lots of collected leaves and brown dirt on the edges. 

Trees were still mostly green and only starting to turn yellow, orange or red. It was beautiful. And not like my layout. I had gone too far down the "green path", focusing on mid-green and dark green and then attempted to highlight it with straw and light yellow static grass. My work was hideous.

So, I came home and used my shop vacuum to forcibly strip all of the green clump foliage off, as well as any loose static grass and turf that was willing to go. It looked better already. I didn't do every area at once, though, because I wasn't sure how my next steps would turn out. I guess that is why scenery takes practice just like anything else. 

Then I started in one area and applied some brown stuff that came from Life-Like many years ago. It essentially looked like ground up leaves or grass, and I had never known what to use it for. I applied it along the edges of the scene I was working on. Next, I went over it with some real dirt to lighten and muddy it up, with some fine light green ground foam was sprinkled on. I could tell I was on the right path, so I glued it in place. No large bushes were added.

I redid the area with the bad yellow static grass, I applied more leaves, dirt, and light green ground foam. Instead of leaning into dark green, like I had originally, I completely left it off. Mid-green and a little brownish-green foam were also added. I wasn't going for the final look now, because I would try some static grass again later. Just an initial coat base layer for now.

Then, the rest of the right side of the layout was given the same treatment including the back lot by Northeast Chemical.

It isn't finished, but it is a start in the right direction. Now to add some bushes and larger foliage (and not those large green clumps of foam).

Roughing in a Gully

New England terrain is anything but flat, and I wanted to represent that on my layout. Even in the railroad town area, where most of the land would be level, I thought a little dip and bump along the front might be nice. Also, I wanted to add a little water feature along the edge such as a gully where trash collected and weeds grew.

I started out by using my hot wire tool to cut away a portion of the foam. I didn't really know exactly what I had in mind but I was sure I didn't want it near the edge of the benchwork. Like before, I struggled to find how to optimally use the knife. 

Then, a layer of ground goop was added.

I smoothed it with a chip paintbrush and water, and then sprinkled on a layer of real, fine dirt.

Finally, some ground foam and brush were added. I need to finish more of the scenery in the back and sides before I work on this further, as the water should be added last. I also need to add the fascia boards before the water, and that is likely several months away. But it is a start.

MRC Sound... a decent option

I like sound effects for a layout... in moderation. Sound equipped locomotives are fun for about 10 minutes and then start to get on my nerves. Most people have them turned up too loud anyway. Other sound effects like car horns, crossing gates, animal noise, etc. can also be enjoyable in the right setting but are easily overdone. I think they should be just barely heard, not in our face. 

On my old HO layout, I had purchased the MRC City and Country Sound Station and the MRC Sound Station 312. Both are now about 20 years old, and both are simple sound systems with a handheld controller that features about 18 buttons including a couple of on/off slide switches, a power switch, and a volume knob. They are hardwired into a pair of speakers, and my version of the Sound Station 312 has the power supply also hardwired in (the City and Country one has the power cord on a plug that disconnects from the back of the speaker).

They are pretty basic but I enjoy them. I actually own three of each, with the first being used on my N scale layout and the second used on my HO layout. The third pair are new in box from my local train store that I bought during a going out of business sale for $5 each. Not bad.

For my O scale layout I wanted an easy way to mount the speakers underneath. They have no mounting holes or brackets and are designed to just sit on something. So, I built some L-frames out of scrap lumber. Then, the speakers were cinch-tied in place to the wood. A pair of metal L-brackets from my stash were attached to each wooden frame and then they were screwed to the underside of the layout's plywood. 

Since the speakers are physically hard-wired together, I had to move it all as a unit and that made installation a bit awkward. But it worked. I could always cut the wires and then splice in longer ones in the future, but it isn't a problem now.

I mounted the Sound Station 312 under my left section of benchwork because it features railroad and automobile sounds. That is where my road crossing with flashers will go so it seemed to make sense. The City and Country system with animal sounds is being reserved for another portion of the layout that will feature a farm.

The sound isn't as crisp as modern sound systems and the sounds are just generic noises but that's okay. It makes Harrison and me happy, which is all that really matters. 

A new flatbed truck

With the dearth of 1:48 scale vehicles appropriate for the 1970s-1980s period on the market I tend to jump at anything I can find. Previously I purchased an Atlas F-100 pickup truck and I would buy as many more as I could. But, I accidently fogged up the windows when I got careless with the Dullcote and thus it doesn't look great. I want to move it from being so prominently visible in the lumberyard to somewhere else. Hopefully, with its cab facing away from the aisle my mistake won't be noticeable.

That meant I needed another vehicle for the lumberyard. I found some 1950s era box trucks from Menards which would work but they are a little too old for my liking. Then, I stumbled on a listing for a Menards Gold Line Green Mack Truck Limited Edition in 1:48 scale. It looked good, but I wasn't sure if it fit my era (I can barely distinguish between a pickup truck and a DeLorean). I asked on the O Gauge Railroading magazine forum and was informed that it was common during my time frame, so I bought one.

When it arrived I unscrewed the chassis from the body. I had hoped to remove the cab window glazing to avoid it getting obscured from Dullcote, but it was fused in place. There was no easy way to remove it without cracking it so I did a quick mask with blue tape and then gave everything a flat finish. 

I considered repainting the cab or at least changing the graphics from Menards to something else. They don't have any stores in New England so it doesn't quite fit my layout's theme. But, for the moment I can live with it. 

Burnt umber oil paint washes were applied all over to give it a dirty appearance. The deck bed received a bunch to highlight the planking. Then, I let it dry for a week.

I painted on some tail lights with red paint, and I added license plates front and back from the Microscale set (#48-509). I used Texas plates because I had come to the realization that from 6" away you can't read them, much less from two or three feet away. To hide a large visible gap in the chassis between the rear wheels I glued in place some styrene pieces painted black.

Then, I took some of the brown latex paint that I use for my scenery and watered it down and weathered the underframe and wheels of the truck. This helps to tie it in to the rest of the layout, as the color of the dirt matches.

A load of scale 2x12 lumber, cut 12' long, finished up the truck. I didn't add any strapping to secure it, but I am thinking of adding a figure that suggests the truck is currently being loaded. The lumber is glued together but not attached to the truck, nor is the truck glued down.  That way, I can change it up in the future if I want..

Finally, it went into the lumberyard and the pickup truck was driven to another location. I am still working on sourcing an appropriate forklift and found a 3D printed kit online, but that is another project.