HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Sherrel is a great guy. Some of the wood he brought over for me once has found its way into structures on the layouts. Jim
Building the Pinnacle Creek Mining & Timber Co. RR
- Thread starter HOexplorer
- Start date
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Do you validate parking?
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Sirfoldalot
Days Gone Bye!
Thanks guys:
Jim, one of these days I will arrange another visit, if you will have me.
Louis, I always enjoy your comments and postings too!
Jim, one of these days I will arrange another visit, if you will have me.
Louis, I always enjoy your comments and postings too!
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Of course you can visit, as can anyone else here. Jim
Bruette
Well-Known Member
Do you validate parking?
Jim. Second half of my operation done last Wednesday and I'm home from the Hospital. I will be going to Cali to visit my first Grandaughter in April, visiting the Master seems like a great way to spend a day, what do you say? If you have an Islands coffee shop there I'm dying for a Islands Chili Burger...... should be healthy enough by then for sure.
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Welcome back JPIII.
Jim, Let me know when you're coming. We do have an Islands somewhere. Jim
Jim, Let me know when you're coming. We do have an Islands somewhere. Jim
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Anytime Jim.
I just took this photo. I haven't taken a photo on the other side of the layout for awhile. Jim
I just took this photo. I haven't taken a photo on the other side of the layout for awhile. Jim
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HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Remember, if any of you visitors have a question feel free to ask. Jim
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
An interesting topic came up on an N scale site I visits. Sculptamold or plaster. Naturally either one of these methods go ON TOP OF the plastercloth and are not a foundation for hills and cliffs in there own right.
I think both have their place. If you want a look like this:
Then plaster castings wlll work just fine. If you need a steep cliff or a river bank the plaster will work too. I think Sculptamold has more uses on our layouts but I would only recommend it if money is not an object. Jim
I think both have their place. If you want a look like this:
Then plaster castings wlll work just fine. If you need a steep cliff or a river bank the plaster will work too. I think Sculptamold has more uses on our layouts but I would only recommend it if money is not an object. Jim
Isn't Scuptamould a paper mache type of product, or does it have other ingredients to make it more stable/workable?
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Toot, I would say Scuptamold is a paper mache LIKE product. It seems like mache after mixing with water. Upon drying it is entirely different. You can walk on Sculptamold not on paper mache. Jim
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
T.C., Hold on a minute. Don't get too excited about future earnings. I got a certificate of appreciation from the NMRA yesterday and they spelled my name wrong! Go figure? Thanks for playing and hope you enjoy the photo. Jim
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Sometimes even 'reject' photos have some value. Here is one where the Helicon Focus operation didn't quite come out right. My fault, not the program. What I was able to do was used this photo to practice making steam from the stack. Practice makes perfect. Jim
Breor47
Brakeman
Hi HOexplorer.
First off, fantastic layout... really motivates me towards building another of my own. In fact, I might have an opportunity to do so in the near future, hence why I signed up for this forum. Hopefully I'll pick up some tips, tricks, and techniques. I suppose this can be considered my introduction as well
Anyway, I had a couple questions for you.
1)Though this might be a strange thing to notice first, I was immediately impressed by your groundcover... it seems busy and at the same time realistic. I guess my question would be how to I achieve a similar look?
2)This layout seems to have some elevation changes, considering there are three levels. Are all of your locomotives able to handle that? I'd also like to make use of vertical space in my layouts but I'm not necessarily going to have the short steam locomotives capable of handling large grades.
3)How often do you take things up and do them over?
Again, great layout!
-Ron
First off, fantastic layout... really motivates me towards building another of my own. In fact, I might have an opportunity to do so in the near future, hence why I signed up for this forum. Hopefully I'll pick up some tips, tricks, and techniques. I suppose this can be considered my introduction as well
Anyway, I had a couple questions for you.
1)Though this might be a strange thing to notice first, I was immediately impressed by your groundcover... it seems busy and at the same time realistic. I guess my question would be how to I achieve a similar look?
2)This layout seems to have some elevation changes, considering there are three levels. Are all of your locomotives able to handle that? I'd also like to make use of vertical space in my layouts but I'm not necessarily going to have the short steam locomotives capable of handling large grades.
3)How often do you take things up and do them over?
Again, great layout!
-Ron
Hi there Ron, as Louis say's, welcome to the forums, you've started in a good place. By what you've written it sounds like you're just near the start of this thread, lots and lots of reading to do then.
HOexplorer
Well-Known Member
Thanks fellows.
Ron, Welcome. How did you find this thread?
Anyway, you ask some good questions. As pointed out by Toot, you still have some work to do! Remember this thread is about two separate layouts. Since you started at the beginning that is the layout modeling somewhere in the Alaskan Panhandle. The most recent layout is the Southern Division located in Southern Colorado/Northern New Mexico. Let me answer your questions out of order beginning with No. 2. Yes, the first layout was three separate and distinct levels. It was a point to point mining layout. Locos simply went back and forth doing their jobs. Looks like you've spotted the steep incline pictured in Post 48. It was 6.7 degrees! Too steep for realistic operation with HO locos. Some made it on their own, but hauling ore cars was tricky. I got bored with the P to P idea and reworked the layout to have a loop of track for 'running.' The slope was reworked to 4.8 degrees and all my locos, ariticulated locos, had no problems. This was a mining layout. A slope like 4.8 degrees on a layout modeling even West Virginia wouldn't be even close to prototypical and would look plain wrong with any tradition loco, steam or diesel, going up that steep of slope. Try to build using no more than 2.5 degrees if you can.
No. 1. Ground cover. I love doing scenery. Check out the photos on Page 15, posts 144 and 146. Also check my thoughts in post 151. Lastly check out photos on posts 165 and 172. This is what realistic modeling is all about. By reading the posts you will know all my secrets, but the short of it is "when you think you are finished laying scenery, you are not. Do some more." Mother nature layers scenery for thousands of years, we can't do it properly with a couple of shakes of scenery bits. Keep adding and adding.
No. 3. Do overs and replacements. I really didn't ever do anything like I've done in the "redo" category that I've done in this thread. While I had valid reasons to do them I will admit that to keep the thread interesting and have it still be a place for learning I didn't have a mental issue with any redo. Adding trees to this layout's left side was very rewarding to me. Adding the loop of track to the original PCM&T Co. layout was rewarding to me as well. Doing so showed all participants here that these things, redo, can be done, and in some cases should be done.
Hope this helps. As always to everyone keep participating and ask questions. Learning if we can do it is a good thing.
Lastly a side note: I've not been feeling 'right' for sometime now. My back always hurts, but the issue this time is my heart. I go into surgery tomorrow, Wed, for a procedure. If something goes wrong my wife will let you folks know. Best of luck and modeling to you and me. Jim
Ron, Welcome. How did you find this thread?
Anyway, you ask some good questions. As pointed out by Toot, you still have some work to do! Remember this thread is about two separate layouts. Since you started at the beginning that is the layout modeling somewhere in the Alaskan Panhandle. The most recent layout is the Southern Division located in Southern Colorado/Northern New Mexico. Let me answer your questions out of order beginning with No. 2. Yes, the first layout was three separate and distinct levels. It was a point to point mining layout. Locos simply went back and forth doing their jobs. Looks like you've spotted the steep incline pictured in Post 48. It was 6.7 degrees! Too steep for realistic operation with HO locos. Some made it on their own, but hauling ore cars was tricky. I got bored with the P to P idea and reworked the layout to have a loop of track for 'running.' The slope was reworked to 4.8 degrees and all my locos, ariticulated locos, had no problems. This was a mining layout. A slope like 4.8 degrees on a layout modeling even West Virginia wouldn't be even close to prototypical and would look plain wrong with any tradition loco, steam or diesel, going up that steep of slope. Try to build using no more than 2.5 degrees if you can.
No. 1. Ground cover. I love doing scenery. Check out the photos on Page 15, posts 144 and 146. Also check my thoughts in post 151. Lastly check out photos on posts 165 and 172. This is what realistic modeling is all about. By reading the posts you will know all my secrets, but the short of it is "when you think you are finished laying scenery, you are not. Do some more." Mother nature layers scenery for thousands of years, we can't do it properly with a couple of shakes of scenery bits. Keep adding and adding.
No. 3. Do overs and replacements. I really didn't ever do anything like I've done in the "redo" category that I've done in this thread. While I had valid reasons to do them I will admit that to keep the thread interesting and have it still be a place for learning I didn't have a mental issue with any redo. Adding trees to this layout's left side was very rewarding to me. Adding the loop of track to the original PCM&T Co. layout was rewarding to me as well. Doing so showed all participants here that these things, redo, can be done, and in some cases should be done.
Hope this helps. As always to everyone keep participating and ask questions. Learning if we can do it is a good thing.
Lastly a side note: I've not been feeling 'right' for sometime now. My back always hurts, but the issue this time is my heart. I go into surgery tomorrow, Wed, for a procedure. If something goes wrong my wife will let you folks know. Best of luck and modeling to you and me. Jim
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