Simple answer- Yes The MoPac actually crossed the Rock several times in that area. According to the latest timetable I have, between Benton and Bauxite, between Haskell and Butterfield and then again between Malvern and Manning. I did not model the line exactly. I actually chose the town of Malvern because of the name because it was different sounding than Haskell so during OP's it didn't get confusing. That was my thought at the time. But more importantly I didn't know the line that well. I was just kind of winging it until I got a TimeTable, but then I didn't understand how to read one. Here's a map I found that shows the line with town names. I knew there was a WYE at Haskell and it was close to Little Rock and I was able to fit that branch line along the wall in that part of the basement. But Malvern had a better sound than Butterfield. So in my own timeline in 1983 The New shortline W&OV bought the Hot Springs branch and set up shop at Malvern. Why? Because it sounded good at the time, lol I know, more info than you asked for. If I had to do it all over again, it would have been much different. When I started designing this in my head I didn't have much info or the internet to help me.
This afternoon I caught the SB Winnfield local picking up a few bad orders that train #35 left on a siding in Haskell, AR. the previous night. I finally got a chance to play around with some SuperTrees this weekend.
I don't know, I'm so tired of trying to figure this site anymore. I can't find and don't see the ability to edit the post. I'll just post a duplicate post in a while.....hang on.
OK, see if this works now?? This afternoon I caught the SB Winnfield local picking up a few bad orders that train #35 left on a siding in Haskell, AR. the previous night. I finally got a chance to play around with some SuperTrees this weekend.
After getting some trees made and planted in July, I started working on the unloading platform at Gavilon. I also picked up a copy of Helicon Focus software and started playing with it. Although the scene at Gavilon is not complete, I decided to move onto the next town of Fordyce and try to get the buildings built and scenery roughed in.
Last friday I got the first building close to completion in Fordyce. This is the new Walthers kit: The Modern Concrete Warehouse that I'm using for the processing and cold storage building for Flappers Chicken complex.
I still have more work to do on it. I started laying out some of the other buildings and may have to rip up some of the tracks to make things fit as my original plans may not work. The siding that the reefers are sitting on may come out so I can slide the warehouse over for a little more room, then I'll probably have to find another place to load the tank cars? Ugh...
Once again I've neglected to keep this thread updated. Since the last post over three years ago I've continued to work on the layout doing little things here and there. In late 2019 I was kept busy by remodeling my bathroom and finished it just before Christmas. During the crazy year of 2020 when a lot of modelers took advantage of the lockdowns and worked on their layouts, I opted to take up railfanning again. A bit later I updated my camera gear, this time getting a decent digital camera and some new lenses. A few months later after receiving the first stimulus check, I treated myself to a DJI drone. By early fall of 2020 I started to get the itch to work on the layout again after the weather turned colder and decided to rebuild the staging yard. It was way bigger than I needed and it was showing its age. Here is what it looked like, this was built and used for our Bend Track modules as a staging yard. This is a plan that I sketched up. At first it was meant to be nothing more than another staging yard, but much smaller. The blue line would be an industrial section that I could use as a mini switching layout that would not be part of the overall operations. Just something to switch when I felt the urge. Plus the buildings could/would provide a quasi 3D backdrop and semi hide the rear tracks. So I got started tearing everything up. I decided to keep the outer track and two of the original rear tracks that could a hold a couple of trains. The whole purpose of the rebuild was not only to update it, but I also decided to reduce my operations on the layout. Upto this point I was able to run a full session that included running about 8 trains as part of the main Ops and the yard could hold another 18 through trains that ran during the session. Over time my crew numbers dwindled and we were lucky if we ran the 8 work trains and less than half of the through freights. So I decided to go back to the reason I started to model this line. It had one local, the Winnfield Local that ran from Little Rock, AR to Alexandria, LA one day and back the next day. I think there were two through freights each day that ran opposite of the local. This would allow me to focus on Ops instead of running all those trains and reduce the staging for each session. By January of 2021 I had the yard about done, but was still in the throws of how to layout the engine facility? After searching the internet for facility ideas, I stumbled across Mike Confelones New Sharon engine facility. It was a small and simple design that provided just enough for a believable facility without overpowering the scene. I chose to use the Walthers Machine shop (which I had on hand) for the main building and adjusted the tracks to fit then added a caboose track. The rightmost track will be used for the drill track for the industrial section once it gets built. Now that I had all the basic elements in the new yard, I could start getting the scenery in place. I'll follow up with a few more updates shortly.
Here's the rest of the story. After getting the wheel stops placed and the fuel track extended I set about adding more ground foam for the static grass base. I've got a bit more area to cover, but I'm waiting on some detail parts for the scene before adding the static weeds and weed tufts. I still need to get the sanding tower weathered yet. I also got the industrial lead set in place, the track to the right. At this point I feel I've gotten to a comfortable stopping point and can move on to another area of the layout that needs attention. Once the detail parts show up I'll get them added to the scene and then stick the fork in it. Then over time and at my leisure I can add many more details. I've had a lot of fun doing this scene but was very nervous at the same time. Most of the time I've been flying by the seat of my pants. The biggest share of what it took to make this scene is a culmination of methods and techniques that I've soaked up over the years and finally got a chance to try them out.
Nice job Allen ! I especially like the weathering....all of it ! The smoke stains above the shop doors reminds me that I have to do that to mine too.
Great to see the progress Allen! Everything is looking great. I really like those storage tanks in the service area. Very cool looking!
That's how you know you've weathered it correctly!! How does one model the spilled fuel and oil stains? Glossy back paint?
Thank you. It's a mixture of Woodland Scenics fine earth ground foam and a Mocha colored unsanded grout. I painted the area first with a latex brown and then sifted the grout mix over it. Then glued it down with a thinned glue mix and added more where I needed it.
