Stein's Minneapolis Warehouse district 1957 (HO)

[LynnB]

Not sure on what color but be sure to give your base coat before doing anymore glueing.

[Russ Bellinis]

If the color in that photo is correct, you might want to darken the green that you are using as CNW green with a bit of black. I think that would get you pretty close. The photo looks like it is a dark green that is very close to black.

[steinjr]

Hi --

Not sure on what color but be sure to give your base coat before doing anymore glueing.

Will do

If the color in that photo is correct, you might want to darken the green that you are using as CNW green with a bit of black. I think that would get you pretty close. The photo looks like it is a dark green that is very close to black.

Makes sense - it looks dark green/black to me too.

Hasn't had a chance to get started on this project yet - looks like I caught something called "Weekly Overload Recreational Killer" (or WORK for short) from my boss, and it has eaten up most of my spare time this last week

Hopefully I can get started on this project next week.

Smile,
Stein

[steinjr]

If the color in that photo is correct, you might want to darken the green that you are using as CNW green with a bit of black. I think that would get you pretty close. The photo looks like it is a dark green that is very close to black.

Well, I finally got started on the water this weekend. Got a couple of coats of very dark green/black on the surface - will have to let that dry before I can continue on that. Looks okay in person, but looks too bluish when using the flash on the camera - and it is too dark in the room where I leave stuff to dry to not use the flash.

Also picked up some materials for my fascia on Saturday - something called "Huntonitt" in Norwegian - I think it is similar to what Americans call Masonite.

Got a coat of primer and the first coat of white on the elevator extension and the head house - ran out of white before I could do the second coat of white :|

Finally got my second switcher (the GE 70-tonner) masked off and painted with the dark green over the yellow. This time I tried my hand at masking the sebra stripes on the front and rear with trape before painting the dark green, instead of using decals for the stripes. Works for now, but still plenty of room for improvement:



Have ordered some more decals from Microscale - won't be here for a week, at least. Got to try to pick up some more white paint tomorrow.

Smile,
Stein

[Russ Bellinis]

Try an orange filter over the camera lens. If I remember how color works correctly, the orange will filter out the blue, leaving a more correct color rendition. Before you spend money on a filter, you might try putting a pair of amber sunglasses over the camera lens to see what happens.

[steinjr]

Progress on the layout continues, albeit at a fairly slow rate. But it is not a race, so I guess that's okay.

Some minor projects lately:

- Finally got decals and a little weathering done on my second switcher, CMO #53 - a GE 70 tonner.
- Got the surface for my barge terminal water painted.



- Have started putting up a fascia



And I have started contemplating building a mill somewhat similar in configuration to Dr Wayne's famous GERN plant in Port Maitland - with the curving main passing through the plant, between two buildings connected by enclosed walkways, and with several tracks inside the plant area.

Maybe something like this in shape:



Well, guess I should finish mounting the water part, and add the fascia before I do more about mill buildings.

Smile,
Stein

[Ralph]

Your water surface looks appropriately shiny. Is that a miniature paint roller on the water by the barge?

Ralph

[LiveSteamer]

Looking good.

[steinjr]

Your water surface looks appropriately shiny. Is that a miniature paint roller on the water by the barge?

Ralph

Uffda - those little people didn't only take quite a bit of time painting the river - they left their roller in the river as well

Nah, just a track pin holding the plywood piece with water in position so I can cut a joist (isn't that what the "crossbars" across the L-girders are called ?).

Urk - 0200 hrs. I am getting too old for these night time deployments of software for customers. But now it looks like everything is up and working, so it is time to head for bed. Guess I'll sleep in a little in the morning, unless our customer finds any errors when they do the final test at 0700 hrs - in which case I no doubt will be woken up at 0700 hrs

Grin,
Stein

[steinjr]

I have started contemplating building a mill somewhat similar in configuration to Dr Wayne's famous GERN plant in Port Maitland - with the curving main passing through the plant, between two buildings connected by enclosed walkways, and with several tracks inside the plant area.

Maybe something like this in shape:

I just had to cut some foam core and try some possible building shapes for a mill connected to the elevator. Still haven't tried the covered walkways between the flat and the building inside the mainline curved track.

I am not sure about this one (overhead picture, taken from a chair):



A couple of views from a more normal viewing angle:




What do you guys think - is letting that building corner jut that far out and having a track going into the mill building just a little too much?

Would it have looked better with wall more like in my sketch above ?

Smile,
Stein

[Trucklover]

Looking Good Stein!!

I actually like how you extended the building out over that track, it will also give you another building to switch a loaded/empty car into/from...

[doctorwayne]

I agree with Josh: not only another switching destination, but it also makes it look like every square inch of real estate is needed. The trains will look good coming through those "concrete canyons", too.

Wayne

[steinjr]

Looking Good Stein!!

I actually like how you extended the building out over that track, it will also give you another building to switch a loaded/empty car into/from...

I agree with Josh: not only another switching destination, but it also makes it look like every square inch of real estate is needed. The trains will look good coming through those "concrete canyons", too.

That's the effect I was hoping for - that effect is one of the things I have admired about your GERN plant, doc. And like Josh, I was thinking about getting another destination within the plant.

Now, if I can pull off the effect of connecting the building on the inside of the main loop with the elevator/mill complex, I would have the following destinations for this one plant:
- hopper cars unloading along elevators
- assorted loads and empties in boxcars and on flatcars to the main factory (new part in black)
- boxcars to load flour (or Flux :-) from the old factory/warehouse (currently still being labelled "Hunts Baking Powder")
- and maybe a tank cars point at the innermost end of the warehouse track

We'll see. Thanks for your advice, guys!

Smile,
Stein

[doctorwayne]

Now, if I can pull off the effect of connecting the building on the inside of the main loop with the elevator/mill complex....

Smile,
Stein

While the components of my GERN complex are now fixed in place by the scenic ground cover and ballast, the overhead connecting structures were easy to build and install.
I first selected where I wanted to place them, then cemented a support of strip styrene to the front (visible) wall of the rear structure - the floor of the connecting way rests atop this strip. Next, in the rear (non-visible) wall of the front structure, I cut a hole the same shape and size as the cross-section of the walkway - it can be a little loose on the fit, since it won't normally be visible anyway. Make the connecting-way longer than the gap between the two structures, then, to install it on the layout, insert the one end into the opening, put the two buildings in place, then slide the connecting-way until the rear end sits atop the supporting strip. I didn't bother to cement any of mine in place, as I may have to remove the rear building in order to modify it when I install the support brackets for the second level of the layout.
[album]95[/album]

[album]85[/album]

Wayne

[steinjr]

While the components of my GERN complex are now fixed in place by the scenic ground cover and ballast, the overhead connecting structures were easy to build and install. I first selected where I wanted to place them, then cemented a support of strip styrene to the front (visible) wall of the rear structure - the floor of the connecting way rests atop this strip. Next, in the rear (non-visible) wall of the front structure, I cut a hole the same shape and size as the cross-section of the walkway - it can be a little loose on the fit, since it won't normally be visible anyway. Make the connecting-way longer than the gap between the two structures, then, to install it on the layout, insert the one end into the opening, put the two buildings in place, then slide the connecting-way until the rear end sits atop the supporting strip. I didn't bother to cement any of mine in place, as I may have to remove the rear building in order to modify it when I install the support brackets for the second level of the layout.

Brilliant! Thank you very much for that, Wayne! Perfect timing - I will be wanting to start on that part of the project!

I have started on the first subproject - replacing the rectangular three story foamcore w/printed paper building in the foreground with a more substantial five-sided building that has a couple of faces towards the mill buildings on the other side of the track.

Before (right side of building):


Before (left side of building):


New building (sides just taped together for test fitting) right side:


New building, left side:


New building, view from standing on a chair:


To allow room for a platform on the track side and on the truck side (right side of building), I had to move the building a little - I need to adjust the walls a bit to allow for this.

And I need to paint over again that ugly "grass". I had some leftover stuff that looked more ugly than I remembered when I got it on the layout

Smile,
Stein