Rainier Great Western Const Update

RGW Feb 19, 2007

  1. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    I'm sure they'd like it to be a very few minutes.
     
    BoxcabE50 likes this.
  2. RailMix

    RailMix TrainBoard Member

    1,527
    3,829
    60
    Have been watching this thread for a while now. Truly superb!
     
  3. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Thank you for your interest in our layout RM, we truly appreciate it.
     
  4. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Had a productive work session last night with a short crew. Ed and Doug spent the evening installing our Renton Yard lights. They are 24" apart and we will use them for night operations in conjunction with our fast clocks.

    [​IMG]

    Here is a short video of how the dimmer system will work:



    I spent the evening laying down the road stripes on the pavement in Black Diamond. I'll admit I'm on the fence about the Woodland Scenics pavement pen, but I'm ok with the results.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    That's it for now, thanks for checking in.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2017
    cocotrain2, BoxcabE50 and dalebaker like this.
  5. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Another Tuesday in the books for the RGW Crew. Doug and Scott worked on ballast to get us started and then began adding trees along the upper fascia. In this shot you can also see the light standards in Renton Yard. Ed spent the evening getting them in place and getting them plumb.

    [​IMG]

    Reynold has been busy on rolling stock, here are two of his charges this evening.

    [​IMG]

    He spends an incredible amount of time on each car. Tonight he was in my garage using the drill press for holes in the chassis for the perfect fit.

    As for me, I started by laying out the light poles that will adorn the City streets. Just wanted to see where I may want them to go later on.

    [​IMG]

    I then added the gravel parking lot for the Eagles Hall.

    [​IMG]

    I finished the evening by starting to put in the Oak, Maple and Red Leaf Maple trees around downtown.

    [​IMG]

    None of them are glued in, just trying out the "look" for now.

    [​IMG]

    At the City Park scene, I put in one of our best Oak trees and our tallest red leaf maple. Just for kicks I brought out the family at the picnic table too.

    [​IMG]

    Much more to go here, just getting a feel for how it might all come together. Next I'll pull out the trees and add more static grass to dune of the skimpier areas. I plan on adding taller grasses to the periphery for more of a 3d effect.

    I have been really intrigued by the work of War World Scenery, WWS for short. Search YouTube for their videos, amazing stuff.

    That's it for now, thanks for checking in.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2017
    dalebaker, BoxcabE50 and cocotrain2 like this.
  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    Just the adding of those few trees gives it such a life-like feel. Amazing.
     
  7. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    I agree, there are some shadows that bother me however, which is why I take so many pictures. Your naked eye doesn't always see things as they are, whereas pictures reveal all. So still many tweaks to go.
     
    BoxcabE50 likes this.
  8. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    The work continued on the RGW last night as Scott began the process of turning the south wall upper fascia area from the heretofore "mown lawn" look to the far more appealing distressed and wild climes of the upper Cascades.

    He used a combination of Woodland Scenics earth (dark soil for reference), clump foliage and leaf scatter to convert the area to a more realistic look.

    [​IMG]

    After the glue dries...

    [​IMG]

    Doug worked on one of our deadfall trees from Moose Creek.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I continued on the trees in Black Diamond.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I also started the parking area on the outskirts of town.

    [​IMG]

    A fair night's work to be sure. Thanks for checking in. M
     
    cocotrain2, gjslsffan and BoxcabE50 like this.
  9. dalebaker

    dalebaker TrainBoard Member

    1,605
    1,865
    45
    Hi Michael!

    Remind me what it is that you all are using for the roads around the town? I'm getting ready to some at the port.

    Thanks,
    Dale
     
  10. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Woodland Scenics road system.
     
    dalebaker likes this.
  11. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Here's a quick update on the gas station build. Over the weekend I started gluing up the wall sections.

    [​IMG]

    One corner in particular was a bear. It's only 1/4 inch in length, so virtually no gluing surface. The directions talk about it firming up once the roof is applied. I was just hoping to get that far. My solution was to use a rite-way clamp on it and leave it be.

    [​IMG]

    I actually flipped it over to take as much stress off the joint as possible.

    [​IMG]

    Last night I pulled it off the jig and here's how it looks.

    [​IMG]

    Next step is the roof. That's it for now. M
     
  12. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Last night's work session was chock full of activity. Doug completed his deadfall tree and planted it on the layout. He made us search for it. Found it next to the Verizon tower scene.

    [​IMG]

    Wain was in the garage prepping the lexan for the next two steps in the control panel process. First was to match up the yard drawings with the lexan so that he can follow the pattern when laying down the striping.

    [​IMG]

    Next step was to peel one side of the protective film off the lexan and give the surface a light sanding as prep for paint.

    [​IMG]

    By next week he'll have all the yard panels painted and ready for drilling.

    Rey was busy building two more container top lifts for our yard.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I received my Shapeways order in the mail with the templates for road signage. To my huge disappointment they are way too large despite the designer's insistence they were HO scale. Bummer.

    [​IMG]

    Back to the drawing board on that project.

    Since that didn't pan out, I started putting in the street lighting.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Really excited for this to take shape. Well that's it for now, thanks for checking in.
     
  13. dalebaker

    dalebaker TrainBoard Member

    1,605
    1,865
    45
    Hey Michael,

    On the road templates, do you know anyone with a Cricut machine? Like crafters use.
     
  14. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    I might, why
     
  15. dalebaker

    dalebaker TrainBoard Member

    1,605
    1,865
    45
    I believe those things will cut thin vinyl or plastics. Bet you could make your own templates for signs and other details for the layout. I saw an article on using one in one of the model railroad mags one time.

    If it works, you have to name a building after me!(y)
     
    RGW likes this.
  16. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    I'll look into it, the boss says she knows a few of her friends have them.
     
  17. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Short staff this fine Tuesday evening, but plenty to review, so here goes. Scott starts us off with a clever twist to his scenery work along the south wall fascia. He raided the scenery cart in the garage and blended several Woodland Scenics products and colors to create underbrush.

    [​IMG]

    It has the look of blackberry bushes, very cool.

    Ed continued to put in the controls for our yard lights, including a main on/off switch and leads to a remote dimmer. Rey added ball bearing weights to the container loaders then set them aside to dry. He then pulled out a 6-pack of 100 ton coal hoppers and set to work on them, assembly line style.

    As for me, I brought out a Cadrail drawing I have been working on for the City Hall storefront. The actual City Hall is an adapted old fire station. I am using a Walthers fire station kit and designing my own storefront. Here is how that looks:

    [​IMG]

    And up close...

    [​IMG]

    I think it's ready for the construction phase. The main entry will be a revolving door, haven't decided if I want to automate it. We'll see.

    After that I set to fabricating the flower pot arms for the street lights. I used .02 brass rod from K&S for this step.

    [​IMG]

    A few bends here and there and a little CA held the arm in place. I put a simple half loop in the center, then used CA to adhere it to the post. Later I came back and painted the loop with Engine Black to hide it and make it look like the rod goes through the post. The next pic has a good view of that step.

    Later I painted the domes brass from Vallejo.

    [​IMG]

    Finally I started setting them in place.

    [​IMG]

    And a closer look...

    [​IMG]

    The brass dome really sets off the fixture, so much so, that after looking at them in place, I've decided to paint the hanging arm black and the hooks at each end Vallejo brass to make them stand out and match the dome.

    Very excited to see this all done. Next will come fabricating the flower pots. That should be interesting. Until next time, thanks for checking in.
     
    BoxcabE50, dalebaker and cocotrain2 like this.
  18. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    Wow. Just wow! This is fabulous stuff. Awesome. (y)
     
    RGW likes this.
  19. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

    2,018
    2,436
    64
    Thanks Ken
     
  20. NSseeker

    NSseeker TrainBoard Member

    189
    8
    24
    It's been a while since I've visited, and your progress continues to amaze me.

    About the road marking templates...how about laying them on a printer/ copier and using the reduce/ enlarge function to resize to your desired proportions? Then you can have numerous copies of paper templates for tracing or have new styrene templates produced.

    Keep up the fantastic work. I've gotten lots of inspiration from your layout.
     

Share This Page