...And well deserved, I'm sure...
Gary S Wrote:Gary
That was probably the best op session I've ever participated in terms of ease of understanding jobs, length of jobs, accessibility, and pace. The layout is simply amazing and I still stand by my contention that you are in the same league with Gil (Freitag) in alot of ways. I look forward to any opportunity for a return trip.
Dave
Wow! What great compliments. Especially coming from Dave who is the leading force behind one of the clubs here and has had exstensive operating experience. Very very gratifying.
With an endorsement like that and your remark that the rest of the operators liked using them during your last operating session, it looks to me like they're a useful addition to operations.
Wayne
doctorwayne Wrote:Gary S Wrote:Gary
That was probably the best op session I've ever participated in terms of ease of understanding jobs, length of jobs, accessibility, and pace. The layout is simply amazing and I still stand by my contention that you are in the same league with Gil (Freitag) in alot of ways. I look forward to any opportunity for a return trip.
Dave
Wow! What great compliments. Especially coming from Dave who is the leading force behind one of the clubs here and has had exstensive operating experience. Very very gratifying.
With an endorsement like that and your remark that the rest of the operators liked using them during your last operating session, it looks to me like they're a useful addition to operations.
Wayne
Gary -
Congratulations! That is indeed a testament to all your hard work and attention to detail.
Andrew
Totally deserved comment - your layout and operations are both very well planned and very well executed!
Smile,
Stein
So now the next question.... when are all of y'all coming over for an ops session? There's a standing invitation, ya know! If any of you ever get down or come over this way, you better show up here. There's lots of trains to be run, and lots of industries need switching.
Reinhard, started work on the blue building. Since it was originally a backdrop building and is now a freestanding building, I built an internal core from wood, then the building front slips into place. I am raising the building up on a foundation to better mesh with Kurt's building which is on the left.
Since the sides are covered by buildings, really all I have to do is add a roof and match the parapet along the roofline. The roof will be totally new, as it is being raised up a bit higher.
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Thanks Reinhard. Made good progress over the last few hours. Added a foundation under the brown brick building too. Did this so that the windows on the right hand side would be above the roofline of Kurt's building on the right.
Also modified Kurt's building, I took a straight wall from the back of the building and moved it to the front of the building to the left of the curved wall.
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So, starting at the left, we have a "Kurt" building, then two "Reinhard" buildings, then the last building is another "Kurt" building. Overall, the complex is approx 5.5 feet long. I've enjoyed working on these structures the past couple of days. Very cool to have some structures that were carefully built in Germany by a couple of great model railroaders - who were kind of enough to give me their creations when they no longer needed them. I'll always enjoy explaining the origin of these buildings when I have visitors.
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Gary, it is a pleasure to see you working with our buildings. I am glad they are of use for your layout.
I love the corridor effect the buildings give the whole scene. Like real urban operations almost.
I do have questions and its only because I can only see the layout based on pictures. Will you be doing any switching in this area and how accessable is the track work?
Tetters, here are some photos of the area behind the structures.
First, a view to show the tracks behind Azrock Tile. Concerning the backdrop structure and spur in the background against the wall, they can be easily seen. Kurt's two buildings are fairly short and can be seen over. Reinhard's two buildings in the middle are taller and do block the view a bit, especially the spur which serves them.
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Next photo shows the fascia. There is a "peninsula" where the structures are. You can see the curved fascia. An operator can stand at the righthand side of the buildings and lean in a bit to get a view behind the buildings and of the spur on this end.
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And a view from the other end. Azrock Tile mostly gets covered hoppers which must be pushed to the left end of the structures to the end of the spur. The operator will be on the right side of the structures when he begins the shove back down the spur. Then he can move to the left of the buildings to make the final spot. I use magnetic uncoupling, and the magnet for this spur is located way on the right hand side where it is not obstructed by the buildings. Once the cars are on the spur, they are uncoupled over the magnet and put in the delayed position, then the cars are shoved back to their spots.
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I like the idea of having the view of some of the track obscured, either by structures or scenery. In my opinion, it places the tracks even more within the context of their surroundings and replicates the prototype as a corridor through the surrounding area.
Wayne
Hey docWayne! This is the only area where the tracks go behind a large structure. There will be heavy trees in front of the tracks in a couple places, and some houses in another area. Other than thaat, it is pretty much a clear view to the trains. The clear view is good for operations, but not necessarily so good for appearrances. I'm hoping that the few areas will be enough.
Gary S Wrote:The clear view is good for operations, but not necessarily so good for appearrances. I'm hoping that the few areas will be enough.
Yeah, you certainly don't want to obscure the view for your operators, but a few spots where a train is simply passing through a scene is a good opportunity to plant some trees or small structures between the viewer and the train. On smaller layouts, it's also a good way to disguise the length of trains which are, by necessity, very short.
I've used a similar technique on my layout, mostly because I like the way it looks.
None of these view blocks is very high or, if they are, they're spaced far enough apart to allow a big hand to get in to throw a switch or uncouple a car.
As for your layout, Gary, the clear view is pretty nice for appearances, too, especially where you've got good-looking structures or those great hand-painted backdrops.
Wayne
