Good things come in narrow packages - Printable Version

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Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Steve - 08-29-2010

Sumpter250 Wrote:One thought........Where the actual throw bar would be on the trestle, and not the safest place for the brakeman, determine which end of the trestle would be where the brakeman would be most likely to be when the switch needed to be thrown, and put a switchstand there, with a bell crank and rod assembly, to the throw bar. That would keep him on solid ground for the coupling, uncoupling, and turnout operation.
Or.....
mount a switchmotor casting on the trestle, and a control box at each end of the trestle ( if that is era appropriate )
Great ideas Pete! Thumbsup
I will definitely need to do one or the other....Thank you! Wink



tetters Wrote:Steve,

I'll be doing a Remote Tortoise Install shortly. It will be a first for me, so it should be interesting to watch. Big Grin Perhaps this might give you an idea. Although, your solution is simple and actually quite elegant. Thumbsup
I don't think that is something I want to get into for myself, but I would love to watch you do it (and I will be watching Popcornbeer ) Thumbsup




ocalicreek Wrote:Looking at the overall scene...the green of the Gallimore Coal and the red of the Wollenberg Grain seem to act as anchor points visually - they grab your attention right away and allow your eyes to come back to them again and again. And not only the colors, but the size of the structures. The three smaller structures in between are in muted tones with little bits of color from the signage, people and details that draw you closer to the scene and suck you in. Then when you're done examining them closely you follow the tracks down to the left or right to those scenes, then back again...it's going to be something when you get a little further along. That rhythm and pacing you've established with the existing structures should carry through somehow. Not sure if I'm just reading all this into the scenes or you're even thinking about composition in these terms, but either way it works!



Galen



Galen , my friend, you really need to write a book.......the way you paint with words, allows me to not only understand what you are saying, but "see" it as well. Wink Thumbsup
Kurt deserves much of the credit for the "flow" of the layout. As you may remember, Wollenberg was built before this layout was designed. There was an earlier trackplan that was going to be 2ft deep instead of 1. In both plans, Wollenberg was going to be close to the center, kind of like a "big red jewel" to anchor it. It seemed natural to give Gallimore Coal a vibrant color as well since the prototype it is based on is red. I however, did not want another big red structure, so I chose green. I will let others decide if it was a good choice or not. The danger then was having too many bright colors, so the rest became more muted (the house next to Wollenberg is white like its prototype).
I have to admit, when I saw the pic of the overall layout, I was really shocked (and pleasently surprised) to see the ballance and natural flow of it. It is not very often that I step back and take a good look of the whole thing. I usually have my attention on the small area that I am working in and forget about the larger picture (probably not a good idea).

Any way, it has all been fun for me, and I hope fun for all of you as well . Wink


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Russ Bellinis - 08-31-2010

Steve, you mentioned the need for more light for photography purposes. I would suggest that you might want to check out portable halogen flood lights at your local big box home improvement store. I think you can get a couple for a reasonable price. They put out a lot of heat, but you would only set them up for photography purposes, and you might find them useful in the garage or shop for lighting when doing home improvement projects as well.


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - ocalicreek - 08-31-2010

Quote:Galen , my friend, you really need to write a book.......the way you paint with words, allows me to not only understand what you are saying, but "see" it as well.

Smile Thanks for the compliment, Steve. A book is down the road a ways, but not totally out of the question. I need to do more modeling in the mean time to have more to write about! For now I'm putting some energy into an article, with more in the works if this one goes well. Don't forget, my way with words is part of my 'day job' Wink .

Thanks again for sharing your modeling with the rest of us. Looking forward to more, as always.

Galen

Oh, and I think green is a great color! Misngth


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Steve - 09-05-2010

Thanks Russ....I will check them out Thumbsup
Galen...I am glad that you approve of the green Wink  Thumbsup

River

I have used acrylic paints to color the river and then gloss medium over that:
[Image: SGnPZv.jpg]

[Image: 21Vp4E.jpg]

At this low angle, the river gives the impression of running on into the distance
[Image: QkI2PS.jpg]

I have not finished the greenery yet. I want more trees overhanging the water but don't have any that look right.........I'll have to take care of that. I also need to scatter trash about because the river really separates the rural/small town left side of the layout, from the dirtier/urban right side. I still need to make the abutments as well.


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - mountaingoatgreg - 09-05-2010

Steve,

Looks great...as usual...

Figured out what you are going to do for walkways and switchstand?


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - doctorwayne - 09-05-2010

Your disappearing river looks great, Steve - very effective, especially within such narrow confines. Thumbsup Thumbsup

Wayne


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - tetters - 09-06-2010

Amazing! Man I gotta get to work! Worship Worship Worship Worship


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Sumpter250 - 09-06-2010

Steve Wrote:I have not finished the greenery yet. I want more trees overhanging the water but don't have any that look right.........I'll have to take care of that.
Two thoughts...
1. Pictures of a river with trees, similar to what you are building.
2. Trees grow so that their leaves get as much sunlight as possible. River side trees have a lot more "clear air" to grow into, so they will fill that available space with leaves.
I have found that building trees, and then putting them where they look best, works better than building a tree for a specific location. ( I've built a couple of trees )
   
   


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - ak-milw - 09-06-2010

Steve,
I like the small island very much, it is a real nice touch.


8-)


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Steamtrains - 09-06-2010

That is XLN...!!! Terrific work on that scene. That river is muddy enough to walk on... Goldth


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Gary S - 09-06-2010

ak-milw Wrote:Steve,I like the small island very much, it is a real nice touch.

I like that detail too. And, I want to say Welcome to The Gauge, congrats on your first post! Hope to see you around the forum. And ya gotta admit, Steve;s layout is quite awesome, eh? Again, welcome!


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - doctorwayne - 09-07-2010

Hey Andy, Welcome to Big Blue.

Wayne


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Steve - 09-07-2010

Thank you all for the kind words! Thumbsup

I just wanted to say that ak-milw (Andy) is an outstanding modeler and all around good guy.....in short, he should be right at home here on The Gauge! Wink Thumbsup


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - ak-milw - 09-07-2010

Thanks Steve!! the check is in the mail Goldth
And to the other folks, thanks for the welcome, I was a member of the original Guage a long time ago with a different name and railroad. But what I have heard about the forum from Steve I thought I would jump back in, now to get back to this great looking layout!!


8-)


Re: Good things come in narrow packages - Sumpter250 - 09-08-2010

ak-milw Wrote:I was a member of the original Guage a long time ago with a different name and railroad. But what I have heard about the forum from Steve I thought I would jump back in, now to get back to this great looking layout!! 8-)

In that case, Welcome BACK !! Cheers Cheers