Just a short progress report. WIth help from NWNTRAK and AMRAIL members I am happy to report that the main train room, north and south, are finish painted and carpet tiles are on the floor and shelf bracket installation for supporting the two levels of railroad is well underway. Small trim work left to do (semi-gloss paint coat on baseboards and trim, cut carpet tile around perimeter of room) but the room is finished for all intents and purposes. The plan is to use cardboard to mock up the layout sections and then use the cardboard as a full size template to construct the modules (in the garage so sawdust and masonite dust stay out of the finished areas of the house). BraNchTRAK modules will be mounted first to provide inspiration to forge on. The scene is below is staged on one of the NorthWest NTRAK BraNchTRAK modules that I did the scenery on (details such as guard railings, telephone poles, etc. are yet to be added).... the modules are being incorporated into the Galesburg & Savanna. Formerly a 16" wide outside corner, the module has been cut down to 10" wide and will be used as an inside corner. The track is MicroEngineering Code 55 and has a 0.020" superelevation on curves with Arizona Rock and Ballast ballast. Construction of the BraNchTRAK modules were described in an article in the March/April 1997 N Scale magazine. The picture was taken on 24Jun2002 using a Nikon Coolpix 995. Charlie Vlk G&S Rwy.Co. Galesburg & Savanna pacific 2901 rounds the curve at Illinois Route 167 north of Wataga
Charlie, thanks for the update and photo. You do VERY NICE work! Were the rods and wheels also painted when the Pacific was re-painted? I'm adding details to my Mikes, and am wondering if I should dull the rods and wheels with a light spray of Grimy Black when I re-paint them. [ 25 June 2002, 14:37: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
Jank- The Pacific was painted prior to the Bi-Centenial when it came in an Atlas box...... no, the rods were not painted.... I would use PBL (????) darkener to blacken the rods as most paint will have a tough time staying on plated surfaces. Daryl- I hope to have all the benchwork up by the end of the year. I plan on NOT laying track until the rough foam contours are in.... we'll see if we have enough patience to do that. Alan- I will update my trackplan and post it in the future..... the G&S does exist, its just in many pieces, some of them disguised as raw materials. Charlie I have many switch machine assemblies to build before track gets going very much.
No sweat Charlie, I'll answer to just about anything. What is "PBL"? Where do you find this stuff? I heard rumors of a do-it-yourself plating technique a while back, but heard nothing lately. Figured it was just one of those "bright ideas" that didn't work out. [ 26 June 2002, 02:45: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
Hank, PBL makes all that neat Sn3 stuff. They have a website but I don't have the url (wrong n furr me )
Progress Report Addendum: Had a big NWNTRAK Work Session turnout last night and the crew got ALL the shelf brackets up for both levels. Have to get the garage organized this weekend so we can reduce lumber to sawdust in process of making layout sections! Charlie
Charlie: I enjoyed reading your layout progress report. I'm especially interested in the Savanna angle as I am an ex-Savanna resident. We had a house high on a bluff that gave a full view of the Milwaukee Road yards. Watching the lights of passenger trains crossing the Mississippi River at night was a thrill. I spent a lot of railfanning hours in the yards. John G. Adney Marion, Iowa
John- Savanna Yard will be my major yard. It is exactly half way between Indianapolis and Minneapolis on the entire G&S; on the modeled portion it is about two thirds of the way from the south end. I will be building Savanna as one of the last chunks of railroad as it will be a legged section of benchwork in the middle of the room and I want to finish all the wall supported parts first so I am not fighting with the 3' minimum aisles. Charlie
