Mountain Modules One More Go Around

I have added a new article tonight describing the water on The Saguaro River Module. Check it out here: Water on Saguaro River.

 

Good evening ladies and joims.....did we have a good day today? Hope so, because I sure did and I finished this evening with a bang and a lot of fun.

Not too often do I have a work session on my trains that go so smoothly and quickly, but here is the results of this evening's efforts.....

I started at 6:30 and finished at 8:26 and I must admit I really surprised myself. 2 hours of work and I'm pleased as punch.

First off, I was thinking about the river bed....how to do it quickly and cheaply. I had mentioned I'd probably use expanding foam on window screen but as I looked at the module this evening a thought of genius struck me.....(is that possible?)

I thought to myself......'why not line the river bed with duct tape?.........it is strong, water proof and easy to work with.' So beginning promptly at 6:30 I began to cut strips and gradually built the basic bed from tape. I didn't worry about neat edges initially as I ended up finishing the edge with a sharp knife.

Took about 1/2 an hour and then I immediately set about laying down two layers of Woodland Scenic' plaster cloth. I couldn't believe how fast things were progressing, but who am I to complain when things go right for a change. Was this beginner's luck and should I hold my breath or should I forge ahead I wondered.

Following getting plastered, I turned the module upside down and cut out and installed a thin piece of door skin to cover and protect the bottom of the river bed from accidentally getting bashed in as can happen in transporting and setting up modules. By this time I was playing 'beat the clock' or 'how much farther should I go before the inevitable happens'

7:45 and I am feeling a surge of bravado and daring I didn't know I had at this age. I've begun to slow down in my exuberance for accomplishing tasks lately so I wondered aloud if I dared try yet another bit of creative license. Oh why not? Might as well go for the gold...

I unleashed the cork and contact cement gods and let them have at it. By 8:26 I had the river side roadbed down and ready for track.

Now, a word about my roadbed technique. Am I the only one in all of Z who likes to use contact cement to lay cork roadbed? For me it is fast and easy and immediately ready for track. From the pictures you will see that it is not uniform in width, but after I have 'carefully' drawn my 1" spaced lines for the track centers and cemented my flex track with CA, yes, you heard it right boys and girls, I lay track with only CA in spots and then when I ballast, I secure all the track with the white glue/water mix.

I'm either incredibly fortunate and lucky or too stupid to know better, but in 6 years of allowing my modules to sit in freezing and very hot temperatures, I have had no issues with 'moving' track. I even solder my rails and do not allow for expansion. Love that CA. Kind of like a pit bull, once it grabs hold, it doesn't let go.
I'm not saying that some day I won't come out to the garage and find my track has gone 'sproing', but so far so good.

Now, somewhat of a track design dilemma...........I have built four modules since 2004 and have yet to have a single section of track that is perfectly straight. Now I find the question of what to do with the other side of the double main line. You will notice in the last picture the faint red lines I drew to indicate where the parallel tracks will run and I'm doing exactly what we're encouraged NOT to do and that is run straight tracks parallel and close to the edge of the modules. So, I ask myself 'do I want to have a straight section just for kicks or do I want to put a little curve in it.......I guess I'll leave it straight, but I've had another brain storm I think?

Since this module has more mountains, and Joe says I have too many and need some flat boring areas, I am temped to raise the tracks a little as you often see in real life. The track goes up, the track goes down. I'm even tempted to have another waterfall and stream and bridge on the remaining side.

We'll see how the spirit moves me when I go back at it.

 

Three more pictures to show the last of tonight's efforts

 

You Go Loren!!!

 

Nice write up Svein I used the WS stuff for my ZoCal Mod very easy to use and gives a very good look without all the work...........

 

You might want to check the radius of the first part of the S bend. It looks a bit tight. Also be sure the curves are very gentle or that there is a car length straight between the curves to reduce the chances for unwanted uncoupling.

 

Got you covered Lindley. As I mentioned, the cork is more or less in bulk form now. I'll carefully lay out the track center line and be sure not to have a sharp S curve. Easy does it on the transitions........

 

On Track but a little set back.........for you Lindley

You want the good news first or do you want to laugh at my glaring mistake first?

Ok, hands down, good news feel better, but the bad news will make you wonder.

I did manage to get my track installed this weekend and the holes drilled in the ends of the module for connecting bolts.

I think the next project will be to solder the pickup leads to the track and then paint the track roof brown and the ties flat black. I can then ballast the track at any time.

Ok Lindley, this one is for you. You questioned the cork placement, thinking the curve might be a little tight. Last night late when I began to install the track something didn't look right even to my eye......and this after I thought I was doing so well. Turns out I failed to measure a distance from the same side on each end and I ended up with my curved section being off by a couple of inches. Don't ask me how that happened.......I only work here, plus I'll take the popular stand and say "It's not my fault man" Must be the class room dunce I hired for cheap who designed the cork placement.

Long story short, I had to tear up some cork and lay down new cork to get the alignment correct.

All is well now, but I am ticked at myself for making such a glaring mistake.

Anyway, on to the next phase.

 

The fun begins. Used Liquid Nails to stack some blue foam and then this evening began blasting away at it with tons and tons of Z scale TNT.......'hot knife'

Kind of slow going but good things take time so I must be patient. Almost ready to share the prototype picture of one area I'll attempt to duplicate on this module.

We'll see how successful the powder monkeys are in the next few days. Taking some time off to take Karin to the coast so there will be a 'friendly' work stoppage temporarily.

 

Loren,

This is the fun stage, because your imagination can run wild. It will look great with hundreds of your homemade trees. Will the other tracks run through a tunnel, or will they be on the other side of the mountain? Looks like it might be another first place winner for Z modules at a future train show.

 

Pat, the fun stage? Are you kidding? ) I'm so tired of blue foam after an hour of carving that I now wish I had been much more conservative in piling foam up.

The straight tracks will not go through any tunnels this time around, just along the base of a slope covered with trees, both evergreen and deciduous and a lot of talos.

By the time I get most of the foam carved, I'll be knee deep in blue. Maybe I should just blow it into the attic for more insulation?

Time to fire up the old hot foam knife. I do have an idea I may try out for some 'faster' basic shaping. Hope I don't cut my module in half doing it.......yikes !!

 

Loren, put the chainsaw and the rotozip down and step away. Oh and forget that blowtorch too! tongue:
-James

 

James, I must confess.............I did get out my electric chain saw and did a bit of 'selective pruning'. It works, but oh the mess!!! I thought it was raining blue snow. I guess that is better than yellow snow. I thought about having Karin take a picture of the mad woodsman with his trusty chainsaw, but Karin wanted no part of my madness. I would have entitled the picture 'Don't try this at home'

Ok, back to sanity. From these pictures you will see I have cut enough foam off the blocks to feel reasonably pleased with the basic contours. I will add side trim board edging to finish off the corners where the foam comes to the edge. I'm simulating the mountain rising from the river bed.

I began covering the foam with Woodland Scenic plaster cloth and was going great guns until I ran out a few minutes ago. Oh well, there is a good excuse to visit the guys down at the hobby shop for more plaster cloth.

I will cover the plaster cloth with a thin layer of tinted Sculptamold and add rock castings where I deem necessary. This module has more loose shale type rocks showing and fewer trees are planned.

Guess it is time to show you a prototype picture of one area I'm trying to model fairly accurately.

 

Lookin' good! Keep destroying that STYROFOAM. The more you use, the more you will have to buy therefore contributing to my retirement check. Keep it up!
Seriously, looks great. I am sure you will be very happy that there are no tunnels so that the track can be easily cleaned and derails will not require catch nets.
Lindley

 

Derails? Lindley, you cut me to the quick. I don't derail, I just fall off the table )

 

Looking great Loren, but I have a question: Why are you covering it with plaster clothing when you also plan to cover everything with a thin layer of Sculptamold? The foam will be an excellent base for sculptamold and rock castings without the layer of plaster clothing.

 

Svein,
You are absolutely correct.......I don't really need a layer of plaster cloth, but I've found that Sculptamold does not stick as easily to foam as it does to the textured plaster cloth. I will try again to just add Sculptamold to the foam directly. Maybe the rough surface which I created by my carving with a saw blade will be enough to make the Sculptamold adhere better.

I will give it a try tomorrow and report the findings. Eliminating a step sure wouldn't hurt my feelings any.

I'll most likely tint the Sculptamold a dark gray to make it easier to hide the surface with rocks, shrubs, grass and dirt.

This needs to be done by November 23rd at latest so I have much to do.

 

Loren,
I had reference to other people's trains derailing. I am fully aware that your trains NEVER suffer that fate.
Lindley

 

Well Lindley, you are partially correct. My trains never derail, but they seem to 'slip' off the tracks on rare occasion. Seriously, I do have catch nets under the large end module with all the tunnels. In the early days of train shows there were more of those derails under the mountain than I like to think of, but in looking back, many were caused by a stalled loco, (what?.....say it isn't true) being rear ended by another from behind, or too long of a train perhaps on a curve.

Of late though, I've had entire train shows with nary a mishap inside the mountain. Kind of surprises me to say that since each year the module gets a bit more banged up and the heat and cold of storage has caused a few cracks in the earth which get covered by more bushes.....an easy fix.

For this module with the straight track near the edge, I will end up with a slight incline on the outer track scenery just in case some one bumps the layout. I'd hate to see a loco fall approximately 1000 scale feet.

I recall painfully on one occasion down with the BAZ boys where one of Jeff Merrill's SP locos fell the 1000 feet to the cement floor. Good fortune shined on me that day as the loco apparently landed flat on it's side with no visible damage. Jeff was very gracious and didn't hit me in public, or in private, but I would have replaced it of course had been broken. Now just you watch......Jeff will contact me and say, "Oh Loren, about that loco that dropped once long ago........"