Rainier Great Western Const Update

This thread will be dedicated to periodic construction and layout design updates on the Rainier Great Western (RGW). These updates will be brief, as much more detail is provided on our website. Please ask questions, provide suggestions and or general comments, all are appreciated.

As of Feb '07, we just completed the perimeter wall backdrop painting phase of construction. While further painting will be necessary when scenery details are added, we have determined that this phase is well in hand and that the next phase; NW and North wall construction is now a priority.

For more details on this stage of construction, please visit our website http://rgwrail.com, visitors welcome. Michael

Here is a sample of the painting, the first is our rendition of Mt. Rainier (for those unfamiliar with the NW), the second is the N/NW wall of the train room:

 

Impressive! Very Nice - cept now Rrrr wants me to do something like that. Hmmmmmmm

 

Very nice work. Can't wait to see how the rest of the rr ties in with the backdrop.

 

Thanks Gents, your kind words are appreciated. For the better part of my life I thought my artistic talent was limited to finger paint, needless to say I surprised myself by the outcome. Michael

 

Michael,

this is awesome. I need to do a version of Mt Rainier as well, but I am afraid that it looks "toylike", as it is basically one HUGE mpountain just sticking out on the backdrop. But you have done it very well.


This is what I have in mind....

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=52666&PHPSESSID=67040a016407b36e11f82f875625c3c1

Cheers
Dirk

 

Thanks Dirk,
One thing that makes the mountain look better is the angle chosen, I am looking south by southeast, hence I get to see Iron Goat Peak, which adds significant character to the mountain's profile. The angle you have in your photo is what we refer to as the bowl of ice cream view; because it looks, as one might surmise, like a heaping bowl of ice cream. That view is more east by southeast.

Be that as it may, what we did is project a photo onto the wall with the computer and a projector and trace the outline. Once that was in place, I tacked the pic on the wall next to the drawing and just started to mix grays, blues and whites to get the colors where I wanted. Brush strokes gave the illusion of cliffs, darker areas were of course heavy shade and rocks and perhaps the most important part is the misting of white using an airbrush. It gives the painting depth and realism, and one side effect, it takes away the feeling of a "toy" as you call it. The entire painting took weeks, mostly because we started and finished, then stopped to add coved corners, which necessitated covering part of the mountain and then repainting it. Trust me, I was not happy to cover that up after geting to the point of being "done" and satisfied. But to be honest, i think the revised version is better. Thanks again. M

 

Great idea projecting a photo on the backdrop. I never thought of that (though I do have a laptop and a projector...)

Painting the backdrop behind tidewater yard is currently on slot 3 on my project list (DCC operationable and completing the streets in Tacoma are slightly higher...)

Thanks for the inspiration!
Cheers
Dirk

 

Anytime Dirk, let me know if you still want those current day photos of downtown Tacoma. M

 

March Construction Update

This weekend, our bracket project took shape. We are beginning the construction phase of the NW and N walls. In each case, the table sections have a depth of a foot or less. It was and still is our goal to eliminate table legs along both of these walls to assure safe footing. We believe that these brackets will do the trick. Table sections will be hung between the brackets and held together with bolts.

I have enclosed pics of the installed brackets, yours truly checking "plumb" on one set of the brackets and a final pic where we set up temporary risers and subroadbed to check out our projected grades.

For more detail on this construction update go to:
http://www.rgwrail.com/layout-const-mar07.htm

Visitors Welcome. Michael

 

Wow, website just had it's 4000th hit. Many thanks to those of you on Trainboard that have clicked to see it. If you have thoughts on improving it, email me. Hoping to have new pics on the NW and N wall phase this weekend. M

 

Boxing Day

With all due respect to those who celebrate the real "Boxing Day", the RGW held its own version today as we built and installed 8 boxes along the northwest and north walls of the layout. The pictures below provide a representative sample of how our brackets and boxes form a "bracket sandwich". The opposing box ends are held to the bracket with threaded bolts. The center hole is for running wire through later. Pic 4 gives you a look along the NW wall, including a temporary riser and subroadbed to illustrate our grade exiting staging. The final pic is a pull back shot of the entire area.

Please feel free to visit the website (link below) for more pics and more detail on our progress today. Thanks for visiting, Michael

 

Those brackets are impressive. I like the modular style construction. Great way to make good headway.:thumbs_up:

 

Thanks John, I learned the hard way you should design with a move in mind, you never know when one will be planned or unplanned!

 

April 25, 2007 Update

Construction along the Northwest and North walls moved one step closer to completion with the fabrication and installation of our "curved" box sections. The boxes, while not actually curved, use illusion and the flexible properties of masonite to provide the look and feel of a curved section within the box. In the actual corner of the room, we used 5/8" plywood to form the corner. The corner has no structural requirements, we only need to hang the fascia from it later on in construction. The pictures below provide a couple of views of the finished product and the methods used. For more information, place visit our website by means of the link in the signature section of this post. As always, comments and questions are appreciated. Michael

 

Michael,
Forgive me if I missed it when reading this thread. I printed off your track and staging plan and looked at what your doing. I was just wondering if the benchwork in the middle is the transition from staging?

I do love your layout. Your website is great and the bencwork is awesome. I can't wait to see it all done keep up the great work.

Lucas
Sitka, Alaska

 

Thanks Lucas, I appreciate the feedback very much. As for the benchwork, all of the benchwork will play a part in the operation of the railroad. We intend to have switching operations on the lower, middle and upper sections. But the real answer to your question is yes, the SW "blob" is home to our second major staging yard (lower level) and then the line runs along the NW and N walls twice (once outbound, then back again) to gain elevation and ultimately become part of the main level at Black River Jct. That same table section is then the terminus of the point to point, after the line runs completely around the room a third time and ends in Ravensdale, which is also the highest point in the line at 57 inches. Hope that made things clear, if not, let me know. M

 

Back from Hibernation

After months of inactivity and enjoying the pleasure of watching my two year old grow up (in progress), it's time to get the layout back in forward progress mode. As such, over the last few weekends we have been finishing the base benchwork along the north wall and laying the foundation of our NE "blob", as it is affectionately named. The pictures below will give a solid representation of the blob, the first looking NE, the second due north and finally as you will see it from the front entry, due west. It is at this point that three levels of track will circle around and return to various destinations on the layout. The blob will be a complex work of track support and scenery. It will include scenery windows on the lower and middle levels and they will be situated so that you can see different views from whichever side of the blob you are standing, but you will not see what another person is seeing from their angle.

Our next update will take us back to lower staging, where the homosote is down, the subroadbed is in place and our first track has been laid. A momentus day in the new RGW.

For more, please visit our website.