Just got a package today with a few donations. Some rolling stock, a vehicle and a couple buildings to add to the layout. Will post pics shortly.
You know, working at a grocery store isn't the most prestegious job in the world, but, occasionally, there are perks to the job. I've scored a bunch of scrap cardboard that I'm going to use to create some mockups for the structures that I want to put on the layout, so I can start laying out the streets and how I want to orientate the town, the grain elevator complex and the engine servicing terminal. Cool, huh? Anyway, I'm going to get a little busy with things over the next couple weeks, as I'll be busy at work and with family gatherings for the holiday season. More updates to come, so stay tuned.
Had a short write-up in the FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL (one of the local newspapers) about the layout... http://www.fillmorecountyjournal.co...&SubSectionID=109&ArticleID=25618&TM=4172.377
Another newspaper article. This one in the Republican - Leader (not a political rag, but the result of two small-town newspapers, the Preston Republican and Lanesboro Leader, merging a few years ago)... http://www.hometown-pages.com/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=35043
Also, I received a package from Becker's Model Railroad Supply in the Twin Cities today. I ordered a 40' modern Santa Fe boxcar and a 50', outside braced boxcar. So, I think I'm doing good on boxcars. Also, two flats and two gondolas should be sufficient for the collection of rolling stock. What I really need to get now are a bunch of grain cars and tank cars for the agri-buisinesses. A friend of mine, has suggested adding a stockyard, which I may do, which means getting my hands on some stock cars... But, that'll be a little ways down the road yet. What I really want right now, is to get enough donations to partially offset the cost of the Digitraxx Zephyr system and the switch machines. That's the biggest expendature of the whole layout (and money I don't have at the moment), but one that would make the layout operational and would probably draw more attention to it while it was on display. Hopefully these articles will put a few sheckles in the RF&L account... Anyway, that's the latest from Lake Woebegone, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children... above average. (- Garrison Keillor, "A Prairie Home Companion")
Just a quick update here, kids... Well, the Holiday Season kept me busy with shifts at both jobs and celebrating with the family, so I haven't touched the layout in a couple weeks. So, I still need to make my mock-ups and figure out the layout of the streets, roads, parking lots, etc. Got a couple BLMA rubber and concrete grade crossing pads from ABC Hobbies. I'm going to put the rubber crossings next to the passenger depot, which, I'm hoping, will also eventualy have a cantileverd set of crossing signals and gates (good "eye candy" to attract people to the layout). Speaking of the passenger deopt, I just spoke with an authority on Milwaukee Road structures, and have figured out the paint scheme for the depot on the layout. I'm going to go with a tan and maroon scheme, which not only comes close to the Minnesota state colors, but also will appeal to a broader audience than would the two-tone grey color that most branchline depots had (espeically in later years). I'm also going to order the "Pink Lady Quartz" ballast sometime this next week, so I'll have that on hand once trackwork is finally done. (I've gotten a couple donatins this past week, but not near enough to cover the cost of the DCC equipment, so things are on hold on that front at the moment and why I'm working on planning for structures and streets etc. so I can get the ball rolling in that department.) But, that's the latest on the RF&L for now. More as things develop .
Ordered a few more structures yesterday and they should be here sometime next week. Not that I'm ready for them, but if I can get a few of them here, built and ready for instalation, the further ahead I am in getting the layout done (and I really don't want to be down to the last minute working on things!). Not to mention Walthers had them on sale, so I figured I should get them before they went back to full price. Something I am going to do, is to "tweak" the trackplan a little. Not that I really want to, but there are a couple things that just aren't working right that I'm going to remedy before I get too much farther down the road with that. Nothing too radical, but I just need to move a couple things a little, and change a couple things around. This is one of the upsides to not having things soldered and wired yet... a maluable track plan. On the downside... construction is being held up because of no DCC setup, no switch machines, wires or soldering. Hopefully I can get a few more financial donations in the next month or so... Anyway, that's the latest from the trenches. More to come.
Called ABC again today. Ordered a couple vehicles that were on sale (wanted to snap them up before they went back to full price). Got a combination funeral coach (aka "hearse") and ambulance that will be parked in front of the funeral home (I'm good friends with the local mortician, who also happens to operate quite a few funeral homes in Fillmore County, so I am going to put his business on the layout), a classic '64 Mustang (which will be owned by a classic car buff) and a 90s-era Chevy Caprice painted to resemble a Minnesota State Highway Patrol cruiser. Something else I would like to have, but is not in stock at Walthers, is a black Peterbilt rig. 378, I think (whichever one looks like the one in Smokey and the Bandit), with a sleeper on the back. This will be mated to a silver trailer and parked next to a small trucking terminal. And, the reason I want to do this is to honor a friend of the family and a heck of a guy who was killed last year in a highway accident. His trucking friends made a memorial truck dedicated to him, with a black Pete and silver trailer. So, I'd like to have a scale replica that closely resembles that truck sitting next to the trucking company bearing his name. So, if someone has a 1:87th black Peterbilt 378 with a sleeper, and is willing to part with it, I would be greatly appreciative (PM me). Something else I'd like to get my hands on, is an operating cantilievered grade crossing signal with gates. If you've got one that's gathering dust, shoot me a PM. I think it would be an eye catching item on the layout that would attract people to it (hey, moving gates and flashing lights...). Another option would be to get a hypno-toad, but I don't know anyone who has one of those... On a happier note (or two)... I've received a financial contribution, or two, and have FINALLY been able to order the Zephyr DCC setup. I am VERY happy about that. I also have a couple local community groups that have expressed an interest in assisting with alocating funds to help purchase more of the electrical equipment (most notably, the Tortise switch machines). So, there's progress in that department. I was also approached by one of the local businesses, who offered to display the layout in the window of their store! They're located on Main Street on a buisy corner across from the Fillmore County Courthouse, so plenty of people will walk by and see it. So, if I can get the electrical equipment and get the layout wired up before March, I can have a train running on the track and generate some interest in it and the Relay For Life (and hopefully generate more donations). Other than that, I'm satisfied, for now. Progress is moving a little slower than I'd like, but once the layout is wired up, things will proceed more swiftly. Anyway, Just thought I'd update you guys on that front.
One other thing I should mention, is that I've also settled on a name for the small town on the layout. HOPE. I though about using the German or Norwegian word for "hope," but they didn't really sound like the names of towns. So, I'll leave it in English. And, why Hope? Hope for a cure for Cancer, Hope for a brighter future without the disease... HOPE. It just fits the cause.
Just received the first few structures that will occupy downtown Hope... * Walthers Merchant's Row II * Walthers Al's Victory Service And one of the first bits of an agri-business... * Walthers Stock Yard (which will be part of a livestock sales barn) The first house has also arrived... * RIX small house with front porch. I already have an atlas passenger station and two DPM or Smalltown USA buildings that will also be two other businesses downtown. And there will be a few more to come in the near future. But, that's all I have to report at the moment. Will update again soon.
More stuff came today! I received 4-5 bottles of paint and some modeling cement (my last bottle up and took a walk... and I have no idea where it went...) I also got another RIX house with a front porch and a couple more buildings for the businesses... Pikestuff - Shultz's Garage and KB Tire. I also picked up a set of Plaststruct horizontal storage tanks. I was going to use these as the fuel storage tanks for the engine servicing facility... but when I opened them up and saw that each tank was about the size of a tank car... yeah, no. Too big for what I was thinking. So, they will be used for the bulk oil/fuel oil/LP/fertilizer dealer instead. But, that's the latest on aquisitions. I'm planning on making a run to LaCrosse on Saturday to pick up some more material. Big thing on my list is some scale lumber to custom build a new platform for the passenger depot (see my thread "Scratchbuilding a Station Plafrom" here in the HO forum. Link provided below...). I think that will add some more visual interest to the depot scene. Well, that's the latest on the RF&L project. More updates to follow as progress continues. More pics to come after I can get to Rochester and print a few off to make room on my memory card!!!
Whoops! Forgot the link to the thread on building the passenger station platform... http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=128297
Well, this afternoon I pretty much tore up all the industrial trackage that was inside the mainline "loop, because it just wasn't working for what I want to do. The biggest annoyances were the two-track yard and one stub track that ran parallel with the switching lead. I tried to figure out a purpose for both of those, but space restrictions negated any of my Ideas. So, I decided to do a major re-vamp of the industrial track. I've retained the switching lead, with the grain elevator track running parallel to it. Now, the local crew can do a run-around while working the grain elevator, instead of having to shove the cars down the previous stub arangement and drag them back. So, that takes care of the grain elevator. However, I'm still toying with where I'm going to put the track for... * The feed/seed dealer. I'm thinking about either adding a stub just for that track, or have it located somewhere on the existing track for the elevator. * The creamery. One of the biggest agri-businesses for my hometown of Preston, MN, is the Foremost Foods creamery. Tanker trucks bring raw milk in from the local farms and haul pasturized milk out to various customers. From what I understand, when the Milwaukee Road ran through town, the plant had a contract to provide powdered, whole milk to the Hershey Co. So, I want to include a similar operation on the layout. * Bulk oil/Fuel Oil/LP/Fertilizer Dealer. * Engine Servicing Facility. I'm thinking I might run a spur off the main next to the passenger depot and then branch the stub to the engine house off the stub to the petrochemical dealer. I know it's kind of confusing, but you'll understand what I mean after I get things figured out, and post pics of the remodeled track plan. So, I've gone and made more work for myself, but I just couldn't make things work as it was and it was better to make it a more functional layout than to wait until after everything was soldered, wired and ballasted... and THEN decide to change it. Oh well... But, that's it for now, I'll post more again soon.
Wishing I could get up to my local lub and get some inspirationsl pictures for you. But at best right now I can do descriptions. For our rural town of "Thomasville", the grain elevator sits ON a rnaround. There's eassentially two mains that split around town, the back track passes the station and is used for fly-throughs on their way to points East/West, the front track services te industries. The runaround for it passes in front of the grain mill. which is where the cars are loaded. At the end of the run-around, the switch moves up one more ladder rung, and services Sunrise Feed & Seed and the teamtrack. There's a pallet company on the track next to the grain, which is nothing more than an oversized shack. As you might tell, it can get interesting if every industry is loaded, and the grain mill is in Peak season. As I think about it thoiugh, that would sit in one side of a 4x8, let me see what I can play with. Thge engine facility at West Marmon might also prove useful to you. It's a completely open siding long enough for an SW1500 and a caboose, or a visiting road switcher. There's a suspended horizontal fual tank, a scale 8-10 feet in diameter, and probably 25 feet long. Sand is in a shed, probably hosed into the loco. a tank car wouldn't make a bad fuel supply though, be an old one that the road kicked the trucks out from under and set on the ground. Alternatively, they could also just buy the fuel as needed from your on-line dealer and either pump directly or be serviced by a truck.
The latest on the RF&L... The roadbed for the grain elevator, feed/seed distributor, creamery and bulk oil/fertilizer dealer have been replaced, ready for track to be re-layed (to be done today). I still need to figure out the track arangement for the engine servicing facility, which will branch off the switching lead by the depot. I'm contemplating whether to leave it a single track, or make it a double track (with the second track also used to serve Vander Plas Lumber Supply. (The brothers who run Preston Lumber, and who have donated the boards to build this railroad are named Vander Plas, so that's my nod to their contribution to the layout.) I also have strips of cardboard down on the layout and am getting the streets/roads figured out for downtown Hope, as well as the other streets/roads in and around downtown. Also, thanks to the donations from one of my cousins and a local community organization, I have been able to purchase the Zephyr DCC controler. I am going to be a guest speaker for another local organization and they may make a minor contribution to the layout fund, which would then make it possible for me to purchase the Tortise switch machines. (As well as other electrical odds and ends to get the trains rolling!) Anyway... Just a short and sweet one. Hopefully, I'll be getting up to Rochester this week to print some pics so I can clear out my memory card and get some new shots up here for you guys. More to come...
