Working on Sn3

 Please note that I have not updated the

Madisonville Sub Blog in some time.  I have

decided to convert the upper level to Sn3 and have been

working on Sn3 projects since mid September.

If you would like to see what I am up to, there are Sn3 updates at

https://sn3arroyolobo.blogspot.com

 

Sn3 P-B-L K-28 #476 and P-B-L K-27 #463 (Both of these locomotives are still in service on the Durango & Silverton and the Cumbres & Toltec).

The Sn3 Arroyo Lobo Lube House and Foreman's Office (P-B-L Kit)

The Arroyo Lobo Section House (Building & Structure Co Kit)

The Arroyo Lobo Engine House.  It still needs stacks. (Scratch Built)

 

If you would like to receive notifications for the Sn3 blog updates, let me know and I will add you to the list - sdepolo@outlook.com

Construction Update #50 - Trying to disguise the entrance to the lower staging yard

 

Entrance to Lower Level Staging

 

There are only two ways to effectively disguise the entrance to a staging yard; a tunnel portal or a view block like a building or a cut.  Anything else, in my mind is a compromise.  Unfortunately, neither will work on the lower level of the Madisonville Sub.   A tunnel is geographically inappropriate and there isn't room in the foreground for a view block.

So, the compromise.  At this point, it should be noted that I am not entirely satisfied with the results, but unless somebody else has a better idea, it's the best I could come up with.

There is about 6" of clearance between the backdrop and the garage door so I decided to use that space to add some depth and extend the scenery through the backdrop and use two photo background building fronts as view blocks.  

One of the buildings, needed a partial side wall due to the viewing angle.  I took a picture of the front, matched the scale, adjusted the color, and printed the resulting image on matte photo paper.  

Then the photo was trimmed, glued to a piece of styrene with spray adhesive and glued to the back of the original building front.

Another building flat was used on the left hand side and a cut down Rix overpass was used to disguise the top of the opening.  The bridge is about a 1/2 wide on the left side and about 2" wide on the right.  That's the southbound EVCH-1 passing through the backdrop and arriving at Memphis Jct.

The pass through was finished off with another photograph.  This time, a photo was taken of the existing Trackside Scenery backdrop behind Preston Miller yard.  The resulting photo was spray glued to a piece of cardboard and stapled in place.

 

 

 And here is what it looks like from the back side.

 

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Here's a current view of the area just north of Memphis Jct.  There's still a lot to be done to include figuring out what to do with the relatively large area between the fascia and the tracks on the left.

The Pig Ramp

There isn't a lot of TOFC traffic on the Madisonville Sub but there is some.  During the 1970's TOFC ramps were pretty common on most railroads so I thought one would be appropriate adjacent to the yard at Preston Miller.  The only thing I needed was a little more real estate to park a few trailers.  I found the space by pulling out the fascia about 6 inches.

The new real estate was filled in with pink foam and the cracks were filled with Polyseamseal.  Now there is plenty of room for trailers.

Memphis Jct. - More details

 

Adding detail is an ongoing process.  New to the scene are the cabs, bus, flagpole, VW convertible and some freight on the far end of the platform.

As always, your comments, suggestions and questions are welcome

sdepolo@outlook.com

Construction Update #49 - Mock-ups and other stuff

Mockups

Mock-ups are useful tools when developing a scene.  Some modelers use cardboard, foam core or some other inexpensive material to build them.  My local hobby shop has 12" square styrenepieces left over from a sign making company for $1 a piece.  I built the mock-up shown below to represent Berry Global in Bowling Green.  Berry Global makes plastic packaging and receives plastic pellets in covered hoppers.  The Berry Global mock-up will serve as a stand in until the actual model is built by my friend Kurt Boyd.

 

 

Kurt's a busy guy who is also building a HO-Scale layout so it may be some time before he gets around to building the actual model.  In the meantime, I decided to make the mock-up a little more presentable.  Years ago, I used photographs to build both a HO and N-Scale model of Greenbaum's Home Furnishings here in Woodinville.  Out of expediency, I used the same photos, slightly altered with Photoshop, for Berry Global.

 The original photograph.

Photograph modified with Photo Shop

The original N-Scale Model

For those of you who are interested in this tecknique, I can email you a PDF for  the Power Point presentation I did for the 4th Division of the NMRA or you can find it on YouTube by searching "Madisonville Sub" and scrolling down to "Building Model Railroad Structures with Photographs".

My New Helper

 

My ten year old grandson, Adam, has been running trains on my layouts since he was about five.  Over the summer, when he's not storming up some hill on his dirt bike or doing some other outside activity, he's built a couple of models entirely on his own.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, he painted and assembled this little office for Southern Recycling.  I made the sign and Woodland Scenics provided the vehicle. 

 

Then he found this Accurail kit on the shelf and asked if he could build it without my help.  Here is the end result.  He built the kit per the insturctions, added some metal wheel sets, and installed Kadee scale couplers.  I did help him change the number since there was already a factory lettered car on the layout.  Next, he wants to weather it so I will probably have to give him and hand with that.

Adam also got his first "real" locomotive.  He used $40 of his own money and $100 loan from grandpa to acquire this Union Pacific GP-50.  It's an Athearn RTR model with added details and a Tsunami2 sound system.  All I did was add a TCS keep alive and programing to bring it up to Madisonville Sub standards.  It looks and runs great!

 

Recent additions to the roster

 

ICG GP-38-2 is a Athearn Genesis model with factory equipped Tsunami2 sound.  This model showed up on ebay and seller accepted an offer of $190.00.  ICG pools power with the MBG&C between Paducah and Preston Miller.

While I have had these Athearn RTR models for some time, they are next up for a motor upgrade and the addition of Tsunami2 and a current keeper. I suspect they will spend a lot of time shuffling coal hoppers around at Palmer and Coalmont.

 

The Preston Miller engine facility.  That ICG GP38-2 adds a little color.

 

As always, your comments, questions and comments are welcome

sdepolo@outlook.com

 

Construction Update #48 - Memphis Jct, Palmer & Cookeville Jct

Memphis Junction

While the L&N has a small yard at Memphis Junction, all the industries near the junction are on the Madisonville Sub and serviced by the Southern.  In order to reach the Sherman Williams paint factory at Memphis Junction, a section of street running is required.  Here, Southern GP38-2 #5011 is shoving a couple of box car into the plant.  While this section of the layout is operational, it still needs ballast, ground cover, vegetation, and other details.

Three down and one to go.  Berry Global, the last rail served industry to be built, will eventually fill the space to the left of the covered hoppers.  Berry Global receives plastic pellets for the manufacture of plastic packaging.  Kurt Boyd has volunteered to build the structure.  It was designed to occupy a odd shape that wraps around the outside of a corner on the left.  Sherman Williams is on the right.

 

Cookeville Junction, TN

 

Cookeville Junction is a new addition to the layout.  It will be added to the upper level of the layout just outside the entrance to the upper staging level.  It will accomplish two things.  First it well create a scene in a area that was originally supposed to be out of view and second, it with will create a crew change point were trains are turned over to or received from the staging track manager (probably me during an operating session).  This will alleviate the need for a train crew, who may or may not be familiar with the mostly hidden staging yard, from having to deal with a lot of hidden track.

 

I decided that two American Model Builders laser kits might work for Cookeville Junction: Kit #709 Yard Office and Kit #713 Railroad Rooming House.  Rather than spend the money for the two kits, only to find out they weren't quite rights, I built a couple of mockups from styrene.  I pulled the dimensions off the AMB website and went to work. Here are the finished products.  I spent two hours of my time and $2 worth of styrene to build them.

Here are the mockups sitting on the layout.  A couple of more auxiliary building should fill out the scene.  As a result of this test, the kits have been ordered and received.  Theoretically, the actural junction is just out of view to the left (staging).  Cookeville Junction is where the Sparta and Rockwood branches divert from the mainline.

 

Palmer, TN

 

Preliminary planning is also going on for the town of Palmer.  Another friend, Randy Anderson, is helping me here.  Randy has planned a bunch of structures for the small company town and I have build a few more mockups to represent those structures.

Here is a picture of Palmer.  It sits directly above the helix on the upper level.

The mockup at the lower left represents the Boone warehouse kit from Rail Scale Models.  The prototype for this simple warehouse was in North Carolina,  While I like to support the manufactures, this kit costs $72.50 plus shipping.  Based upon it's simplicity I may decide to build it from scratch.

The mockup in the upper left, partially hidden by the tipple, is the NP Easton Hotel from Builders in Scale.  While this kit is relatively expensive, $165, the quality, attention to detail and complexity make it  well worth the cost.

The mockup on the upper right represents the Gomez general store.  The prototype for this building still stands in Pagosa Junction, CO.  I picked up one of these former Grandt Line kits off ebay.  It is my understanding that this kit is currently available from San Juan Details at a cost of $38.00.

The fourth mockup, on the lower right, represents the Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company company store in Palmer TN.  Clint Crow has volunteered to design and create his exquisite hand crafted hydrocal casting necessary to build this structure.

 Other Projects

 

About two years ago, I came across a nifty Southern Caboose on ebay for about $65.  Yes it was cheap but it was also missing the underframe and trucks.  I bought it and stowed it away with all my other "future" projects.  Last week, while looking for a structure, I stumbled accross the caboose and finally got around to taking a good look at it.  Other than the missing underframe, it was in perfect condition so while I had it in hand, I decided to build  it a new underframe out of styrene.

 

The basic floor/underframe was cut from .080 styrene

 

 

My research indicated there were several hundred cabooses in this class built over time and that all were gone by 1962.  Based upon the only two prototype photos I came accross, the cars were built with truss rod underframes.  I decided that my model would represent a rebuild, with a new underframe, that lasted into my modeling timeframe, the mid 1970's.  This caboose will be perfect for the local serving the mines around Palmer and Coalmont. 

 

The center sill and bolsters were also built from styrene.  The coupler assemblies are scale size Kadee's

 

Unfortunately, while I did find a nice set of Kadee caboose trucks in my "stash", I couldn't find any AB brake sets so here it sits.  It should probably have a tool box too.  This caboose is going to be painted a shade of oxide red which is appropriate for the period 1962-69.

Added 7/13 - Memphis Jct

As always, you comments, suggestions & questions are welcome

sdepolo@outlook.com

And check out my videos on YouTube.   Search "Madisonville Sub" and subscribe.

Thanks again for your interest in the Madisonville Sub

Construction Update #47 - Memphis Junction & Lower Level Staging

 

Memphis Jct Background Structures

 

Henkel’s Bowling Green manufacturing facility makes a variety of laundry products and currently employs about 900 people.  Henkel didn't actually own the Bowling Green facility until 2016.  Before that, the business was owned by Sun Products and before that Huish Detergents. Henkel was built using left overs from other projects.

 

The Southern Recycling scrap yard fence was built using a couple of Walthers kits.  Note, that like the prototype, the spur passes through the yard, travels down the center of the street behind the depot, and serves the Sherman Williams paint factory. 

 

The gondolas are from Atlas.  They were weathered with  oil washes.  Then Chooch loads, which fit perfectly, were originally made for Roundhouse 50' gondolas. 

The loader was assembled from a Kibri kit.  It was given a coat of Tamiya flat finish and weathered with a oil wash and some Bragdon powdered pigments.  It should really be equipped with a electromagnet.  The fence still needs to be painted and weathered.  And the yard desperately needs some scrap!

 

 

Here's another background structure built from left over parts.  It sits between Henkel on the left and Hills Pet Nutrition on the right.  Like Henkel, it has no spur nor does it have a name at this point.  I'm pretty sure the block wall panels originally came from the Walthers Magic Pan bakery kit.  The doors are Pikestuff and the skylights were cast by a friend.

 Here is an overall view looking south.  That's Hills Pet Nutrition on the far right. The L&N's Memphis Jct yard is in the foreground.

The third addition to this group of background building is Parker Loyd.  It was built, right out of the box, from a Walthers kit.  This building is just a "filler" for the time being.

The Lower (North) Staging Yard

 

For those of you who have been following these update, you know that the visible throat of the lower level staging yard is now occupied by the General Motors assembly plant.  The change opened up a lot of "new" real estate for Memphis Junction, some street running, and four new industries.  The old staging yard consisted of 5 tracks that went through the backdrop and into the dispatcher's office; the longest track being about 12' long.

 

Following the change, the entrance to the staging yard moved south, to the right, about 6 feet, with a single track passing through the backdrop on an angle.  Originally, I planned  for three 14' long tracks , between the garage door and the backdrop, which led to an additional two short tracks in the dispatcher's office.  When I finally got around to installing the tracks between the backdrop and the garage door, there was only room for two.  I forgot to consider the garage door hardware that eliminated about 2" of clearance.  While I did loose one of the three long tracks, the current two tracks are about six feet longer than the original staging tracks.

 

Here is the entrance to the staging yard.  The cut out to the right of the turnout was made to clear a garage door hinge.

The two staging tracks pass through the wall and into the dispatchers office.  The track nearest the window is about 20' long.  The second track branches out into three tracks, the longest about 14' long and the shortest about 6' long.  The short track with the covered hopper sitting on it is the GM spurs that goes into the plant.  The track on the far right represents the L&N line (staging) to Guthrie, TN.

And here is a view from the other side.  Note that the covered hopper shown in the above photo can be seen through the hole in the backdrop.  The GM plant is on the right and the two staging tracks between the backdrop and the garage door are on the other side of the backdrop behind the plant.  The hole in the backdrop can't be seen from normal viewing angles. 

Historically, I have hosted a open house for those who live in the Seattle area in late July or August.  I should have a date nailed down in the next couple of weeks.  Last year, I ran over my leg with a farm tractor and had to cancel.  The year before, it was the "Virus".

And finally a quick note that several friends have recently joined the effort.  They have teamed up to work on the company town and tipples around Palmer and Coalmont.  I look forward to sharing their efforts in the not to distant future.  I should also have a new YouTube video posted in the next week or two.

As always, thanks for following along.  Your comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome... Steve

Construction Update #46 - Memphis Jct.

 

Background Structures - The Rooming House

This background building was built by kit-bashing two Walthers "Row House" kits to make a taller 28" long by 1/2" thick front..

 

 

The 3-story section was made by using two side walls from one kit and adding the third floor, cut from the top half of the two side walls, from the second kit

 

 

The one story section on the right, was made from the lower half and the two side walls from the second kit.  The original recessed entry doors were replaced with a pair of doors left over from another kit-bash.  The structure was painted with "rattle cans" from my local Ace Hardware and weathered with a combination of washes and powdered pigments.

 

 

Background Structures - Sherman Williams Paint Company

This large structure is another Walthers kit-bash that includes a scratch built addition on the left end.  Again, because I think most Walthers industrial and/or factory kits are two small, two kits were used.  Originally, this structure was located behind the Preston Miller yard where I never thought it looked right.  Later it was replaced with the Kentucky Grain Growers elevator and silos.  After kicking around the shop for a year or so, it finally found a home at Memphis Jct at the end of the spur that runs down the center of the street behind the depot. 

I tried something else for the window treatments on this building.  Normally, I would put black construction paper behind the clear glass windows to block out the vacant interior.  In this case, since it has no back wall, I installed all the windows and spray painted the back sides black.  Two of  warehouse doors have the doors rolled up.  Photographs of factory interiors were pulled off the internet and glued in place to provide some depth.

Original location behind Preston Miller Yard

 

Street Running

 

I finally got around to painting the roadway and parking lots around the depot.  I found that by giving the concrete paving around the tracks a light coat of asphalt gray spray paint and then sanding it  lightly with 600 grit sanding film made it look pretty good.  The asphalt roadway still needs some weathering.

 

Other Developments - Southern Recycling

 

Southern Recycling is a interesting industry that exists in Bowling Green.  Note the two loaded gondolas inside the yard and three outside the gate on the right.  On the left, the tracks exit the yard, cross through and intersection and enter a lumber dealer.

 

Here is the Southern Recycling location on the layout just south or to the right of the depot.  The spur goes down the center of the street to the Sherman Williams paint factory.

 

Other Developments - Berry Global

 

Berry Global, Inc is a Fortune 500 global manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.  They have two facilities in Bowling Green, a large complex east of downtown and a smaller facility to the west.  Both receive plastic pellets by rail in covered hoppers. My friend Kurt Boyd is building the main structure to represent Berry Global.  I think the model will be a lot more interesting than  prototype which is a plain tilt-up style concrete building with silos and a spur along one side.

 

Berry Global will eventually occupy this space (white cutout).  The cork roadbed, without track, is the Madisonville Sub mainline to Madisonville, KY and Evansville, IN (staging). 

Kurt is building the main structure, I volunteered to build the silos from a Walthers Pellet Plastic Transfer Facility which turned out to be a bit more work than I planned on.  Only one silo has a ladder while all four silos have the indents and mounting holes for a ladder. It took three applications of putty and sanding to smooth out the other three silos and eliminate the holes and indents.   There are other problems with this kit to include the piping which doesn't line up properly.  While I think the end result will be fine, I wouldn't recommend the kit for someone who isn't prepared to fix a poorly designed and executed kit.

 

As always, your comment and suggestions are welcome.

sdepolo@outlook.co

And check out my videos on YouTube.  They can be found by searching for "Madisonville Sub"