Building the Pinnacle Creek Mining & Timber Co. RR

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JPIII said:
I'm sure Jim will make a desert RR interesting without sending track in to an area that no RR engineer worth his salt (& valuing his job) would go.
Sometimes access to a mine doesn't offer much in the way of alternatives.....kinda like loggers. Dramatic rock work is very pretty, but prototypically rare for anything but mainlines.
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Yes true, and the line in that photo with the red sandstone domes is a spur to the big potash mine near Moab. I've been four wheeling back around there several times.
 
I was wondering about that photo. The ballast is not the native color of the surroundings. Generally, mainline ballast is ground up from a source nearby especially back in the day. Except for the size of the motive power I thought it might have been a spur with some hopper transported black ballast. Jim CM&T:)
 
Announcement: Things are progressing nicely for a Sept. teardown and new beginning. I'm experimenting with rock color right now. (hard) I will probably spend the remainder of this month taking some higher resolution photos after the open house and I think you will like them. Secret stuff for now. Jim :eek:
 


While we're waiting, here's a another low res photo from me. Some thing's amiss but I can't figure out exactly what.:cool: ......
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HOexplorer said:
Announcement: Things are progressing nicely for a Sept. teardown and new beginning. I'm experimenting with rock color right now. (hard) I will probably spend the remainder of this month taking some higher resolution photos after the open house and I think you will like them. Secret stuff for now. Jim :eek:
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I know where you live .. Better keep the secret stuff "under wraps" LOL
 
JPIII, Great photo. Are you a collector? I would love to have that loco to paint and weather. I really like your scenery. Looks more "used" than mine. Jim:)
 
Sunset Models. I was cruising the bay & came across it.....looking relatively cheap. Pulled out my sniper rife & kablamo!

Now, you're right, it needs to be painted & weathered. It's waay too pretty for the rowdies on my RR.

I had a few extra bucks & bought 3 engines I didn't need this week...my rifle got a workout.... the wife just gave me multiple stink eyes & promised to get even.....but I'm still married.:cool:​
 
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Jim, I'm just getting back into the hobby after a 15 year hiatus, and came across your thread. All I can say is WOW! I've spent the last 2 days meticulously reading every post in the thread, carefully analyzing every picture. Thank you for taking the time to document your project...I will be using many of your techniques as i start to design and build my layout. I have a million questions, but I will stick to what is relevant at the moment. i seem to remember reading that the distance from the upper track to the top of the mountains is aprox 12 inches. how far is the upper track from the wall? I'm trying to figure out deep those upper mountains are. Also, approximately how far off the floor is the upper track?

This isn't the last you'll being hearing from me :-)

-Joe
 


JPIII said:

I had a few extra bucks & bought 3 engines I didn't need this week...my rifle got a workout.... the wife just gave me multiple stink eyes & promised to get even.....but I'm still married.:cool:​
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You missed the bonus prize then. :p
 
Hello Joe and welcome to this thread and back to the hobby. Free info is always good.

The height of the upper track from the lowest track below it is 9 inches. The high points (ridge line) above the upper track is 12-13 inches. The upper track is 8 inches out from the backdrop. This all equates an angle between 50 degrees to vertical in some places or and average of about 65 degrees. This is a steep cliff as far as many model railroads go. This steep slope is necessary to get more layout it less space. When folks first come into the room they see a pretty small HO layout. After a minute they seem to see much larger layout. It is all in my design to allow this visual trick. They all go away mentioning how big the layout seems.

Anyway, welcome again and ask your questions. I or someone else will give you an answer. Jim:)
 
Thanks for the reply Jim. I am especially interested in your layout because my space is almost exactly the same as yours. I have a 10 x 11 room, which is my workshop, and I have managed to clear out almost 2 full walls giving me a 10 x 8 "L" shaped space. I am trying to cram in as much track as I can, and seeing what you have done with your triple level layout will help me achieve what I am looking for.

I do not remember reading about how you created your backdrop. Is it just one color blue? I've been reading about other peoples techniques of blending blue and white, but that scares me as I am not artistic when it comes to painting.
 
JoeTedesco said:
Thanks for the reply Jim. I am especially interested in your layout because my space is almost exactly the same as yours. I have a 10 x 11 room, which is my workshop, and I have managed to clear out almost 2 full walls giving me a 10 x 8 "L" shaped space. I am trying to cram in as much track as I can, and seeing what you have done with your triple level layout will help me achieve what I am looking for.

I do not remember reading about how you created your backdrop. Is it just one color blue? I've been reading about other peoples techniques of blending blue and white, but that scares me as I am not artistic when it comes to painting.
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I have the same situation.....including the lack of talent. I look at the wall behind my layout and give a huge sigh......clueless. Now I try to avoid looking at it........
 
JPIII and Joe, While I admit to painting my backdrop with my left hand, because my shoulder was hurting, it only goes to show that backdrops and clouds in particular can't really be messed up. Light on top and dark on the bottom you can't go wrong on a cloud. As for the blue I got my blue paint at Lowes. The back drop is mostly 4 ft tall so every one foot down I added a drop of white. Dark on top light near the horizon is the rule. I have decided to repaint my backdrop this time around so there will be a section on Backdrops in the new Southern Division. I'm not really and airbrush guy and I like their 'cloud' efforts. I'm just use a brush and my finger to paint my clouds. More later. Jim:)
 
Joe and JPIII, Is there no way to make a U shaped layout in your space available? If you have the depth you can make a sharp loop for a runner layout, but even an L shape is limiting. Joe you can copy my switchback layout, but remember you probably need a Heisler loco to 'pull off' the reasoning behind the design. Logging or mining. No 2-8-0s allowed for example. Just something to preplan and think about. Jim:)
 
Jim, I've been wrestling with my design plan for weeks. I could do a U shaped, but my max dimensions would be possibly 10.5 feet on the long wall and 8 feet on one side of the U and 6 feet on the other side of the U. I definitely want a runner layout, and really want the ability to run 2 trains independently at the same time, so my assistant (daughter) can be involved ;). I really like the look of your triple level layout, it is exactly what I envision in my mind for my layout...so I definitely want to incorporate it into my layout. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
-Joe
 


I wasn't clear. I meant the same situation in regards to the backgound.
I have 3-4 feet of track work to go and all but just a smallish area of land form is done......still have the ugly wall tho. That back wall is gonna be a PITA to work on but I have to do it before I add trees.....lotso big trees. It's 18-19 feet along the back wall

The 2-8-0 is for running around the lower loop....a trash hauler for my short line. The show is up above.

.
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