The JACALAR RR

Michael,

Thanks -- the bridge here in the photo isn't using any expansion track. It is just "easy" to lift out because the tracks at the front edge are still not fixed down hard, so I can just disconnect the unitrack. Will become much more difficult rather soon, depending on my progress.

As to the lift out bridge, yes, the four "end" pieces on the lift out are Unitrack Expansion. The track on the main bench are normal, and the expansion tracks are on the bridge. They are in "expanded" mode when attached. I've cut off the clips on the unijoiners to allow the tracks to slip onto the track smoothly. Yours isn't the first question about this, so I'll go take some pictures this afternoon and post.

 

Here are some shots of how the expansion track works on the lift out bridge

Here's the city/roundhouse side of the bridge -- connected and open





And here is the mountain side of the bridge (all three showing)






Yes, there is a bit of overhang on a couple of the expansion tracks, so I have to be careful of the track when the bridge is out. Also, while I have done no scenery on the bridge as of yet, there will be no ballast on the expansion track, except the inside ends of the bridge.

All 4 tracks leading onto the bridge have between 15 and 18 inches of track that are powered "from the bridge". They are isolated from the rest of the track on that is on the bench, and require interlocking connectors on the bridge itself to bring the power back to the feeders for those lead in tracks. I did this to prevent any dramatic "the bridge is out" moments, where the hero has to apply the brakes, while the buxom blonde holds on to his neck, and the little girl in the 3rd class passenger compartment sleeps peacefully on her mother's lap.

This bridge would have been perfect for a true 3-way switch!

 

Here are close ups of the two right hand expansions on the mountain side






And here is a detailed close up of the modified unijoiner, vs a normal one. I clipped the spring tabs on the outer parts, so the tracks slide together smoothly. No twisting or pulling necessary for connect / disconnect. (Don't modify the part that is permanently "inside" the track it is normally attached to, so that it stays there.)

 

Started getting some of the detailed scenery done on the newly terra formed area.

Here's an overview of the big rock that hangs out near the over/under track crossing



and here's a close up of a visitor on the rock, checking out my work, or looking for lunch!



You can also see my weathering attempts on the Kato black bridges. The bridge piers are a work in progress.

 

Buffalo Grass

Here are some views of the new Silflor buffalo grass I put in last night, along the tracks. I've mixed the different seasons to give the varied look, but focus on summer/late-summer. There are also some "home made" dead clumps in there, using cut twine

 

a different lighting view of my bridge weathering



Not quite so stark (more what the eye actually sees)

 

Well, after a week in Bogota, Columbia, to attend my cousin's wedding, I finally got back to working on the layout this weekend. Made quite a bit of progress on the road along the river, including getting some "California Golden" grass put down, changing the look of the Kato bridge piers, and building a rock embankment under the road down into the river.

Here's a look at the road running from Laurel Gulch to Cherylton. It isn't 100% complete, yet, but I even got some striping done this week



The road down to the lake will come of the curve, and run to the left, that will be a dirt road. I extended the guard rails down from the bridge, using extra Rix guardrails. I used a heat gun to allow me to gently bend them to conform to the contour of the roadbed. You can also see the camouflage job I did on the Kato bridge piers. While they are perfectly fine for modern viaducts (such as for the Shinkensen), they looked very out of place. I used the Chooch flexible rock wall, and cut it to fit around each pier

A close up of the piers, as well as the roadway up to the bridge. Still have some more weathering to do on the road, and need to blend the two sections together, of course (it still lifts out, right now).



Here's a wider view of the road going up to the bridge. Will also need to add some signage for "Narrow Bridge", and reduced speed limits

 

Laurel Gulch - Cherylton River Road

The road from Laurel Gulch to Cherylton runs along the river. This is (will be) an exciting part of the river, as it narrows and descends from Laurel Gulch down to the <yet to be named> lake. The road runs under the bridges and parallels the lower tracks as they enter Laurel Gulch. There is a steep embankment from the road into the river, and the highway folks have used boulders to shore up the bank. (I haven't started the staining on the far bank, hence everything looks white, except right at the bridge pier)



Looking the other way, we can just make out the coyote on the big overhanging rock above the tracks. And, down in the field, we can see what he has been watching



A general overview shot of the road as it leads into Laurel Gulch.



I used real stones to build the embankment.

 

The road is 0.030" sheet styrene, cut to shape (and heat gun contoured for the rise). I prime it with light-grey primer, and then paint it with a PollyScale grimy black wash (about 40:60 grimy black to windshield washer fluid). The stripes on the flat part of the road are WS dry transfer yellow stripes (I did these long ago), while on the road up to the bridge, the stripe is a traffic yellow paint pen (used narrow Tamiya masking tape, and paint between the strips).

For the concrete bridge, it is a RIX highway bridge. I used Testors Aircraft light grey, and then the same same grimy black wash. The aircraft light grey gives a very nice concrete background color (what I also used on the roads in Cherylton).

The different sections of the road acutally show the difference in my wash! The flat section I did a long time ago, and is clearly darker. Since, on the JACALAR, it is a "newer" road, the fresher asphalt look works well, while the older pavement has a more washed out look.

 

Thanks, Mike. I was just working along, and staring at what I had designed myself into, thinking "how am I going to go from the road (which needs to be as wide as it is) down to the river?" And then, I thought about all the roads where Cal Trans (and other highway depts) just shore up the embankments with boulders. Went out in the garden, sifted through the gravel along the side of the house and found a cup of small "boulders", some tacky glue and VOILA, a rock embankment!

Yesterday morning, I had no idea that there was a rock wall there - but it made perfect sense! I keep telling folks, the layout is designing itself, I'm just tasked with implementing.

 

Those are Gold Medal Models N-Scale Highway Guardrails and Reflectors. You get 200 ft of guardrail, and 20 reflectors (I could probably put some of those on the opposite side of the road) per package. Fifer Hobby and Feather River Trains (both TB advertisers) carry them (and possibly others). I paint the posts dark brown, to look like wood posts, and then use Bragdon weathering powders to rust/age them.

I've also used them across from Sonny's Garage, and along the city street opposite The Caboose bar