Freelance 2015-2

[torikoos]

I see, you waste very little time Reinhard, already track and kits are arriving to start checking out layout ideas etc.

I am going to bet that between now, and a week or two, I will find tracks removed, new installed and the layout beginning it's biggest transformation for a few years. :-)

[faraway]

I ....I am going to bet .....

You are at the mercy of royal mail. I will suspend any layout planning and work when the boxcabs arrive. Current status is they are on their way to Frankfurt (port of entry for Germany).

[Canadian Atlantic Railway]

Very exciting progress Reinhard. Your ability to do such fast transformations is inspiring

[sailormatlac]

Oh, steam is coming back!

Matt

[faraway]

Switching on a layout in transition




I am more uncertain how to proceed than ever. I strongly dislike the idea to repeat the nasty ground works from last year required for any substantial modifications of the track plan. May be I am a happy camper with the third or forth best track plan but have a great time doing low-key modifications. What is my ultimate goal, a perfect layout or a perfect time.....?

[HustleMuscle6430]

Reinhard,

Given that you like to build a setting up to a certain level of detail, and then your interests change, it may be wise to retain the track plan, since it is more generic and fits more locations. That way you do not have to redo the difficult job of scraping up scenery, relaying track, and re-wiring. If I recall correctly, the current incarnation of your track plan is not but a year or so old, yes?

Perhaps another way of thinking is to find a location that has rail service, and has had it for a while without dramatic changes. That would allow you to switch buildings, scenery, and rolling stock, without having to alter the base, roadways, and track. And you could keep all the old structures so you could switch themes at your hearts desire.

[faraway]

.... it is more generic and fits more locations. That way you do not have to redo the difficult job .....

That is an important point. A track plan specific for a terminal RR is very likely subject to another severe rebuild in the next round. Knowing to redo all the mess the next time is a nightmare.
I am getting more and more comfortable to stay with the current track plan and do only minor modifications.

[lajry]

Reinhard
Given your penchant for brick buildings & others from that era, you've probably already built them for your current era! Just change any names on them to reflect the era, location & industries to fit the freight cars you'll be getting.
If you like reefers, think about a produce terminal. In a large city there would be reefers from across the US to feed everyone's appetite for fruits & vegetables, especially in the winter months!

[Twist]

Hi Reinhard,
so time has come for something new....finaly your last layout was very inspirational for me with a lot of ideas and tips. I´ll follow your new build and waiting for a lot of new fine details.Keep it going with patience and well thought. The look with the brickbuildings in the current setting has some nice touch,too.
Thank you for sharing your ideas and thoughts and your fantastic work with us.

Regards,Chris

[faraway]

Thanks a lot for all the thoughts and tips.

I made up my mind and decided to proceed the transformation in incremental changes.

The layout will be transformed into a theme inspired by northeast terminal railroads in 1930 with an option into the 1950s without modeling specific one. The track plan will be kept unchanged even I may add, remove or move one or the other track.

A quick trip to the basement and my most loved buildings are back

[sailormatlac]

Good to see those nice buildings back on the layout. They are a perfect fit for the era.

Matt

[faraway]

Some trees are still left from the Florida theme. They look still quite nice and I wonder if I can keep some of them on the new theme. But I did not find any traces of trees or even shrubs on the photos of terminal RR in NJ and NY. It looks like they cleaned the property complete from any vegetation when they built a new terminal.
Do you have an opinion about trees in the 1930s and 1940s close to terminal RR?

[sailormatlac]

Most urban railroads in New York didn't have vegetation, at least the port operations. Remember that era didn't bother too much with environmental issue when getting rid of weeds. Can't be of any help.

Matt

[faraway]

A new track is born The former lead to the industry is straight extended and will serve as a team track. The meadow will become cobblestone paved. The industry, it will become the freight house, got it's own connection with a new switch in the mainline.
The switch machine will be done after lunch.



Matt, thanks for the fast feedback. Lumber Jack and it's team will arrive shortly.

[faraway]

The green lawn was very misplaced. It was easy to remove as it was built the lawn on a very thin layer of styrene glued to blue foam. The styrene peeled easy from the blue foam and a layer of gray paint is an easy temporary surface. I will come back to that area later. The tree has been axed down too.
Next are the buildings at the far left rear corner and the freight house.



Put some cobblestone sheets to get an impression of the scenery I am after



ps. The apple spell checker is nasty guy. He catches lots of spelling errors fine but the autocorrect feature quite frequent replaces words at random (probable with more frequent used words) destroying the meaning of the sentence. e.g. "spelling" was replaced with "selling" and "was" in this sentence with "war". Very confusing...