Northwest 22nd St, Miami

[dave_long]

Well I ventured into US ho so that I could model modern day and make use of some great rtr rather than having to make a lot of stuff myself including track. I model P4 for my UK stuff so in all honesty even the ME track wont please me entirely but I'm not going to venture down the P87 route. Most of the track will be hidden under layers on ballast dust grass and garbage.

Its each to their own really regards what track to use, i find that if you know something about a part that you model and if its stands out to you then you need to do it the way it should be, reading that back sounds like waffle but its the only way I can think to explain it, Lance knows that code 70 is as close to the track thats in Miami than the code 83 so he had to change. you get it.

[jonte]

Well I ventured into US ho so that I could model modern day and make use of some great rtr rather than having to make a lot of stuff myself including track. I model P4 for my UK stuff so in all honesty even the ME track wont please me entirely but I'm not going to venture down the P87 route. Most of the track will be hidden under layers on ballast dust grass and garbage.

Its each to their own really regards what track to use, i find that if you know something about a part that you model and if its stands out to you then you need to do it the way it should be, reading that back sounds like waffle but its the only way I can think to explain it, Lance knows that code 70 is as close to the track thats in Miami than the code 83 so he had to change. you get it.

Absolutely, Dave - no matter how much something appeals, or otherwise, to others, the lowest common denominator for your own work is whether it's satisfies you; I believe renowned artists throughout history have faced a similar dilemma so we're not alone there

For what it's worth, you've obviously suffered enough over the years with P4 - so take a break, and just enjoy making the most of some RTR stuff; you never know, it might just provide an unexpected eureka moment!

Jon

[fast car]

[Anyone any views on shinohara v ME code 70 track and turnouts good,bad, indifferent.

Dave[/quote]

Dave,

Having never used Shinohara, but having utilized ME, from my experience I can say that the ME Code 70 was more difficult to work with than say Atlas and Peco. Unlike the Peco that has one fixed and one sliding rail, the ME has basically both rails fixed. I found the easiest way to work with ME is to cut the railroad tie supports that attach tie to tie on the bottom side of the track sections to allow the track to curve. Micro Engineering track can probably kink easily if care is not taken. However, this allows curves to be gentle as apposed to sharp.

The wood grain in the ME is slightly better than Peco and allows for better weathering if you follow Mindheims techinque.

I also went ahead and ballasted with N scale ballast from Arizona Rock and Mineral (CSX Gray) instead of HO scale. Since the rail height above the tie is relatively low, N scale ballast will give you the ability to nearly cover all the visible tie is this is the look you desire. The other way to do this is to remove sections of ties and allowing the ballast to fill in the entire area giving the illusion that all the ties are covered under ballast. The integrity of the track is not compromised if you do this intermittantly down the length of track. I found that large ballast (HO scale) when trying to cover the entire railroad tie, allowed the wheels to ride up on the ballast, but you may have better luck than I.

Larry

[dave_long]

Thanks Larry,

I do have ME track its just the switches that I've not had from my order yet, I've had not reply from the company dealing with my order today as regards the status of his deliveries from ME, so my only other plan is to get the Shinoharas as I can get them in this country for a better price. I have the weathered track too which is difficult to shape but with a bit of care I've got the curve I was after and its still that shape before being glued to the board which is a little bonus over working with peco for years.

I like the tip about cutting the sleepers to get that fully covered look I'd never have thought about that and I have ballasted a UK layout like that in the past. I cant really try Lance's ballast mix as it would cost too much to get shipped but I've got a few bags of sand and stone that will crush to almost a fine powder, I might try what Kurt (cnw1961) has done on his old Miami layout and add a little tile grout powder to the mix and see how we go from there.

Dave

[fast car]

Thanks Larry,

I do have ME track its just the switches that I've not had from my order yet, I've had not reply from the company dealing with my order today as regards the status of his deliveries from ME, so my only other plan is to get the Shinoharas as I can get them in this country for a better price. I have the weathered track too which is difficult to shape but with a bit of care I've got the curve I was after and its still that shape before being glued to the board which is a little bonus over working with peco for years.

I like the tip about cutting the sleepers to get that fully covered look I'd never have thought about that and I have ballasted a UK layout like that in the past. I cant really try Lance's ballast mix as it would cost too much to get shipped but I've got a few bags of sand and stone that will crush to almost a fine powder, I might try what Kurt (cnw1961) has done on his old Miami layout and add a little tile grout powder to the mix and see how we go from there.

Dave

Dave another material I used was sand crab sand from a Pets Smart Pet Center along with silica sand (even more white) from Home Depot. Both are ultra-fine in grain size. To advance the color on the roadbed edges, I usually hit the sand with a straight ethyl alcohol solution and india ink mixture. The near pure alcohol is very volatile and dries on contact.

I have heard of several people using solely tile grout powder for scenery base and then misting it with wet water. It would probably give a fairly hard shell.

Regards,

Larry

[dave_long]

I had thought of getting aquarium white sand, the sand I have bought was supposed to be whiter than it actually is but I'll need to mix it with the white stone that i have, I'll be testing a little bit before it hits the layout next week. I do however need that dirty dusty kind of look for the layout rather than the real stone look.

Thanks Larry

[P5se Camelback]

The sand here in south Florida,(not including the sand on the beaches, is really not all that white, it's actually knd of dirty beigie-gray. And the furher inland you get, the dirtier it appears.

just a passing comment.

I'll take a photo of the sand on my front lawn (20 miles from the Gulf) in the morning and post it tomorrow noight, if that will help make my point ... if you are interested.

The whitest sand seems to be on or just inland from the beaches ... otherwise it's not even children's sandbox quality sand!

it's good for growing tomatoes, though!

[dave_long]

biL
That would be great thanks, the sand I have at the moment is almost a brown/beige colour, I had planned to but a layer of grey ballast down first and then lay the sand/stone layer with some of the grey breaking through.

Love to see the real thing though

Dave

[jonte]

I'll take a photo of the sand on my front lawn (20 miles from the Gulf) in the morning and post it tomorrow noight.........[/align]

Bil, whilst you've got the camera out, would you mind popping over to Downtown LA - I could do with a sample of earth from somewhere in the vicinity of Mateo Street

Best wishes,

Jonte

[faraway]

I am using the sand intend to be used in cages for small birds. I has some white minerals for the birds that need to be sieved out.

[dave_long]

Thanks for the input guys I think I will try to make this sand ballast mix a little more browny beige, with a first layer of grey ballast underneath as there is grey ballast in Miami area. I'm really after that blown dust sand look and I think with this I can get it with may be a little tile grout powder to help the general dirty dust feeling.

This is a picture of the sand that I've bought I will mix in some of the light stone powder that I have, but I'll make a batch up in the next few days and get a photo of it under the lights on the layout.

Dave

[P5se Camelback]

No problem, fellas ... I'll be happy to take a few photos of the "local" sand, as soon as the rain stops. We're in a wierd "early" rain pattern! The afternoon rains don't usually start for an other month or so ... but it's morning noon and night here lately (BIG Boomers at night!!!) ... and temps of 91°F with 75% humidity! It's brutal!

I'll also try to go into Ft. Myers and get a few "snaps" of the Seminole Gulf while I'm out and about.

But L.A., Jonte ... ... I live on the west coast of Florida, not the west coast of the United States! But that is pretty funny!

[jonte]

But L.A., Jonte ... ... I live on the west coast of Florida, not the west coast of the United States! But that is pretty funny!

Hmmm........ Geography was never my strong point

Jonte

[fast car]

No problem, fellas ... I'll be happy to take a few photos of the "local" sand, as soon as the rain stops. We're in a wierd "early" rain pattern! The afternoon rains don't usually start for an other month or so ... but it's morning noon and night here lately (BIG Boomers at night!!!) ... and temps of 91°F with 75% humidity! It's brutal!


I would have to add up six 15 degree days to get to 90. I long for warm days.

Larry

[fast car]

Dave,

I didn't know if you were going to use any palm trees on your layout. Lance Mindheim sent me this website a couple of years ago for the palm trees that he uses on his Miami Layout. You may have it already.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.hartofthesouth.com">http://www.hartofthesouth.com</a><!-- m -->

Larry