Thanks for the pics Mike. I sure would love to have a set of those pictures of the ramps! I need 3 or 4 for my unloading facility too. BTW those spiral tunnels are looking really good!
Someone sent me pics of one he had made from brass sections and etches, suggesting I should produce a kit.
Yes Alan, we need those BAD......I need a few myself as I will have an auto facility that will hold 40-50 racks ata time......get to work....
Nice shots, Mike. Thanks. Keep working! A 16 second exposure? What were you using, a night-light? Just kidding!
I took out about 25 feet of mainline last night, and have it all put back down. I moved it back so that it is about 3" from the backdrop, this will give me more roon for, you guessed it, MORE INDUSTRY! I had to pull out the auto compund I just put in, but I have that back down too. Here is a picture of it now. There is a very nice, gentle 'S' curve in the mainline now, just to the bottom left. I soldered 2 pieces of flex track together to make it seemless. The track the 2 GP9's are on will be the new industrial lead. And here is the area where the new industry will be, it is 13"x 9 feet. I'm thinking a saw mill, to get woodchips for my paper mill in Ottertail.
WOW!!! Your track work looks great! I am really, truly, positively sorry that I decided to use Micro Engineering track and turnouts...
Mike, The slight S looks great I found on my layout that S curves really improved the realistic view of trains on the layout. Great to see your still working on the layout.
HOLY MOLEY! 396 Feet! I'd like to visit and run operations with you guys. Once we build a new garage and get the old one to ourselves, I'm hoping to have a double decker layout. I can't decide which to model, Nebraska's Triple Track Main, or my "backyard" of Wichita to Emporia. Hmmmmm. Great layout. Woah.
I'm experimenting with a new way of making hills. I'm using that expanding foam insulation, after it's dry, I carve it and sand it with a wood rasp. I did a test area last night and put some paint down and ground foam, it's just an experiment, so let me know what you think. It seems to act just like styrofoam after it's dry. It will be easier than trying to carve a piece of pink foam to the exact size, especially on odd shaped curves and stuff like that. [ September 24, 2005, 03:05 PM: Message edited by: Mike Hagarty ]
I've used it in the past. It was a bit messy for me, and your results look much better. It's very strong when it sets. Nice job!
I think the finish is great. Probably worked well on the long stretches. I like the idea of being able to form the land at will (MENTAL IMAGE: ..a little more here... ..build this up over here... ). If I remeber right this stuff comes in a variety of exspansivenesses (if that's a word), and it aint cheap. Your gonna need cases for your layout . I would think the more pink foam blocks as a base the less exspanding foam you'll use. Have you concidered placing a rock cast in the foam while it exspands? If you want to remove the casting while rough shaping the foam, I'll bet a sheet of plastic wrap would do the trick.
