Wow, now that's Railroading! Warren Buffet would be proud. [Perhaps he'd like to invest in your pike... ]
Jim, these are awesome, talk about trains-to-scenery ratio!!! Isn't N scale great?? Terrific job!!! Keep'm coming, Otto
The layout is looking awesome Jim.BTW, are you coming to Nashville this weekend for the Great Train Expo?If so please stop by our n scale layout and say hi.
Thanks, Bob. On the long shot the camera isn't even in the room! It's maybe seven feet from the forest on the right - the far wall is eighteen feet away And thanks, Jerry! From the builder of Pinole and Franklin Canyon that's high praise indeed. Thanks, Gary. Maybe he'd like to help pay for those #^%$&*^$% trees. My main tree is the Woodland Scenics TR1571 assortment - 23 trees in a box. In the last week I went through fifteen boxes. And I just ordered four more, which I hope will finish things up - all I have left to do is the east side of the peninsula. But the REAL kicker is what I do to the trees before I plant them...I cut off the useless plastic pin at the base of the trunk (while also cutting off those fake looking bare branches and pulling off excess foliage, drill a 5/64 hole, and ACC a cut-in-half #3 finishing nail. This gives a sharp half inch to play with and allows you to plant and have the tree stay put. It works especially well on my hard shell. My left index finger and thumb are numb for a week from holding the trees while drilling. The puffballs are a real pain. I used the white poly-fil for this batch because I had it left over. Which meant I had to spray them black after I pulled them. I figure there were at least 300, maybe more. One poly-fil bag goes a long way. Thanks, Thom! I guess I live under a rock. I wasn't even aware of the show. I normally don't go to things like that, don't particularly care for crowds...but it might be worth coming just to meet you guys. And I'm sure the layout will be killer. I've got some grandkids staying for the week but they'll be heading back to Illinois Friday - that would have been a great excuse!
Beautiful Jim. The layout is looking gret! The additional tress have made a huge difference and it was really good before that.
Keeps getting better all the time. Now need some deer grazing along the tree line, and a golden eagle flying overhead.
Very inspirational! Just the right amount of trees placed in just the right locations! I love it! TB has the best N scale modelers, bar none!
Our youngest daughter's family was visiting last week but I managed to get a few things done - here's the Oakville fuel facility in it's debut appearance.
I love this shot and can't wait see this beautiful layout. So how's those BNSF Sd70ace? I see them and WOW!!!
Another great photo Jim!!! Did you end up scratch building the fuel cranes or did you find someone that had them?? As always thanks for sharing!!!!
I'm pleased with the picture also. The ACes are typical Kato...Note the GEVO on the left also...I DON'T like that I have to paint the steps (or the handrails for these particular models; Kato has them in yellow but the prototype is white) and the little things that Atlas and FVM do as a matter of course.... I scratched them. Went to the crane manufacturer's site and eyeballed the construction - how hard could it be? It was a bit on the fiddly side, but I was waiting for the last of my trees and had the time, sooo...I think they are a lot better than the three foot rule. One thing I've learned is not to be afraid of making a mistake. You can surprise yourself at what you can do. The sand hoses had to be changed also, too wide for my setup.
Jim...Do you happen to have that crane manufactures website url handy? I could sure use the info...TIA. .
Looking forward to see your progress shots reminds when I was a kid reading those serial comics which makes you longing anxiously to get hold of the next episode! Your layout is inspirational and awesome, something to (if possible!) emulate. Thanks for sharing. Cheers,
Here ya go, George - 104 HP-2 Crane You'll need to download a pdf for a photo... And Jerry and Cliff, thanks for the encouragement.
I got an error loading also...for the record it's snyderequip.com - I got it by googling snyder fuel crane...
Have you took the picture of the Kato C44-9w with Fox Valley Model GEVO's ES44AC I love to see the detail different betwwen them.
