2020-2021 Thirteenth Annual International Winter Layout Party

ppuinn Dec 11, 2020

  1. trainman-ho

    trainman-ho TrainBoard Member

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    RailMix
    That is an impressive structure! Well done!!

    Jim
     
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  2. RailMix

    RailMix TrainBoard Member

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    The previously posted answers all sound practical, with a combination of airbrushing and a bit of gesso where needed looking easiest.
    Question- Is that a crack or a crick? Looks like it would be fairly easy to pour some resin in there and make a good looking little creek (unless it already is and just doesn't show up in the photo.) Nice winter scenery.
     
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  3. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    When you're putting Nscale moels together there is nothing like a helping hand. Check out my miniature clothesline pegs, true saviours.


    IMG_20210116_185358.jpg
     
  4. ppuinn

    ppuinn Staff Member

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    Made some more progress on the Open Hearth Furnace interior.
    Plastic Version 1 of the charging portals from a few weeks ago had several flaws, which I attempted to correct in Version 2, but 2 of the 4 changes weren't working out, so I trashed it half way through the 1st bank of 5 portals.
    This morning, I finished and painted both banks of 5 portals in Version 3 of the charging portals.
    upload_2021-1-16_17-49-41.png

    Definitely better than V1 or V2, but despite extra attention to positioning the 36 vertical I-beams so they are parallel and exactly perpendicular, a half dozen are still out of alignment. The charging portal doors are resized (smaller, more prototypical dimensions), the inspection holes are better aligned (but 2nd and 4th from the left are still not properly centered), the charging portal covers are better, but not yet as square as I'd like and are not evenly mounted between the I-beams and the newly added portal sill dimensions need to be tweaked, so the sill does not protrude too far forward toward the tracks, or extend too far back toward the wall of the OHF. The E6000 cement failed to hold the one portal cover chain I used it on, but the Testers brush-on glue held all 5 of the remaining 5 chains.
    All things considered, there's a good chance all of these concerns will be successfully resolved in Version 4.

    Earlier this week, I printed out the gray fire bricks for the OHF brick walls and roof, so I temporarily added them on top of the red bricks for a test fit...FAIL! I forgot to reset the print page layout for narrow margins so I could get 10.25 inches of printed bricks, instead of just 10.0 inches when I print. I plan to mount the (10.25 inch long) gray bricks on sheet plastic or on cardboard reinforced with 1/8" square plastic rods and cut openings in the furnace wall directly behind each charging portal.

    I'm pleased with how the raised floor is working out: the floor surface will be just a little bit lower than the tops of the rails, and--when complete--none of the track ties in the charging room will be visible (sort of like trolley tracks in a city street scene).

    Before painting this morning, I made some cardboard mock-ups of trusses for the roof over the charging area, which I'll eventually use to guide my scratch building the trusses with Evergreen Plastic beams, tees, angles, and channels.
     

    Attached Files:

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  5. RailMix

    RailMix TrainBoard Member

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    Yeah, I like those, too. My wife bought a bunch of them one year and was going to use them for something for Christmas, she didn't, and I made off with them before they could go to the resale shop. Handy in larger scales also and when working in materials other than paper.
    Nice paper buildings, BTW. Love the elevator.

    IMG_1054 (2).jpg
     
  6. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    Got a coat of tan paint on most of the terrain now and the river has gotten it's first coat of black paint. The mountain side on the left won't get built up until after the track is in and tested. I have exhausted my supply of joint compound and am reluctant to visit the hardware store right now for that and some tempered hard board to finish up the edges. I will eventually get to it.

    2020TBLP31.jpg


    Here's the area just to the right of the scene above. The segmented concrete trestle goes here. It always feels good to me when I get to this stage of development on a part of the layout. I will soon start adding base scenery to all these area and even near finished scenery to the areas close to the bridges in preparation to installing the bridges and track.

    2020TBLP32.jpg

    My little helper has been hanging around with me while I am working on this.

    2020TBLP33.jpg
     
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  7. TrainzLuvr

    TrainzLuvr TrainBoard Member

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    I think your helper is there because of the heater. :LOL:
     
  8. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    I have to agree plus his own personal Foam Puzzle Mat. o_O
     
  9. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    So I finally got the little depot for the modules and put it in place. Chips ice didn’t fit well next to the tracks, so I think that area will just be a parking lot for the station as well. Chips was moved to the other side of the street, kinda like an old rail served business that was left when the tracks were moved. Yup sounds good... a rule #1 explanation. I started putting the sand down and will continue to do more here soon.


    B34FE630-376E-48D4-A7A5-5641D757C67A.jpeg 89133F38-884D-4780-9C90-8872D3C8A050.jpeg 31E654CB-6B5A-4440-8AB6-2B8794E0E46E.jpeg
     
  10. Tim Holmes

    Tim Holmes TrainBoard Member

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    Not a good weekend for trains here -- feeling pretty rotten most of the weekend, and spent most of it sleeping. I have gotten a few power drops down today, and May get a bit more work done on them tonight, I have also continued to get things set up in JMRI Operations -- At some point im gonna have surgery, THEN I'll have energy!!!! (Cant Wait)

    Have an awesome week everyone
    Tim
     
  11. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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  12. TrainzLuvr

    TrainzLuvr TrainBoard Member

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    I feel like that every day...Wish I could spend some days sleeping though. Unfortunately the alternative is grim, so gotta keep plowing ahead.
     
  13. Atani

    Atani TrainBoard Member

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    Things have been a bit crazy with work lately and so I've not accomplished much on the layout but I was able to find a couple more modifications for @TrainzLuvr to do on his copy of my ESP32 CS PCB...

    Below is the ESP32 CS PCB I've been working with on my desk and on soon to go back on the layout:
    IMG_20210118_130026.jpg
    I've removed two ICs that were having thermal issues (likely a short) and now added an LM358 which is on the perf board to the right of the PCB. I'll be doing some additional testing of this setup on the layout but so far it seems to be working almost as it should. Once I'm happy with the hardware tests I'll start the rework of the PCB design and get another batch made up so I can start placing ~150 components on the PCB (almost all being SMD in 0603 or SOT-23 packages).

    I've also upgraded the OLED that I'll use on the layout but I need to figure out how I'm going to mount this monster on the fascia. I'm thinking of 3D printing a frame and mounting it on top of the fascia with a 1in hole for the wires to poke through to the back:

    IMG_20210118_064533.jpg
     
  14. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I had plans to get so much done tonight.... Ok, so I planned to work on the snow scene, but then a heads-up hit my inbox...

    _MG_5956.jpg _MG_5919.jpg _MG_5926.jpg
     
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  15. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    Damm that's nice, be on my layout one day. Thanks for sharing, where did you capture this one!
     
  16. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Due to some other things interfering, I didn't get much done over the last week. Installed metal wheels on 20 cars and inventoried 32 during the evenings. Over the weekend, got the dust collectors and some roof vents installed on the main building of the grain elevator.
    20210117_134106a.jpg

    Then I was able to get two more silos cut along with a filler section and start the attaching them to the rest of the silos
    20210117_120254.jpg

    I also put up a few shelves for displaying rolling stock.

    Biggest project of the weekend was a small water leak between the basement guest room and the main floor of the house. Its repaired but there is some sheetrock work in my future.
     
  17. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    We intercepted 45 miles east of Minot at Drake and chased west. We also had a family retreat at a winter resort, so we weren't home at all most of the weekend.
     
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  18. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    What's in your kit, camera/lens of choice for Railfanning. Did you keep track of aperture and shutter settings a curious mind wants to know?
     
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  19. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    My "kit" is a Canon 7D mk2, a Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2, Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 Art, Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 manual focus, and Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L mk 1. I used the Tamron all afternoon in that chase, mostly 1/400 sec @ f/2.8 (wide open). As light really faded, I slowed shutter speeds to 1/250 sec to maintain motion freeze and keep the ISO lower. Slower than that with a 50+MPH train, things get blurred. ISOs ranged from 640-8000. The first photo was ISO 6400. I consider 8000 the upper limit of a quality photo due to digital noise, although I have used 10000 and 12800 a few times with varying levels of success. Lightroom's noise removal is pretty good, but has limitations. I am seeking a full frame (FF) camera body upgrade (such as a Canon 5D mk 3, or a 1Dx mk 2) for low light work, as the higher ISOs are not as noisy in FF as with my crop sensor camera. The issue with a 5D-series camera is the autofocus system and shutter burst rate is not as good as my 7D2, unless I step up to a used 1Dx2, a $3000 flagship-level sports camera. The 1Dx3 is the real flagship (used by pros shooing the Olympics and professional sports), but costs way more than everything in my camera bag ($6500).
     
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  20. okane

    okane TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thank you for its always nice to have the settings as a reference when viewing an excellent picture. I was particularly interested in the ISO and Shutter speed for your pictures are very sharp, especially in low light conditions. You have a steady hand. Nice work sir... and a great country to go chasing trains in. Lots of grain elevators and silos in around your area. Must be great for long grain and tanker trains.
     
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