While I haven't yet named my n-scale railroad, I'll call it the "Bar Extension" for now as the layout is located where an old bar used to be in my rec room. This thread will be added to as I make progress.

I did a bit of work on the weekend:

1. Finished adding all rails using Pliobond to my car float/ferry/barge. Tonight I hope to shoot it with a coat of black and then weather it with chalks:
[attachment=10424]

2. Built two structures from the Walthers Superior Paper Mill (which I bought with four other structure kits for $20!). The foreground building will be a warehouse with no back wall so I can have a detailed interior; the backdrop flat is just that.
[attachment=10423]

3. I oiled the Union Pacific loco in this photo (sorry, not sure what type it is - maybe someone who is a good diesel spotter can tell me?) and it now runs more smoothly and quieter.
[attachment=10427]

4. Another kit I got for my $20. I've glued together the tanks and am deciding if I should paint them and what colour (I first need to fill in the seams and sand). I'm also not so sure about the block/brick wall that is supposed to go around the tanks - it looks too European. I'll have to do some research to see what modern oil tank installations use to protect against spills.
[attachment=10426]

5. And a final photo - I tried weathering the steps of the warehouse mentioned in 2. with some acrylic. I think I'll have to hit it with some chalk as well to make it blend in a bit better.
[attachment=10425]

More to come including an overview of the entire layout.

Hi Marc, looks like you are making great progress! On #3 it looks like a EMD F3 to me. In regards to the steps mentioned in #5 I agree blending the colors by brushing with some chalks would be a good idea. It will be good to see an overview of the whole layout !

REALLY liking the car float!

Ah, the great railroad tradition of naming something after what isn't there anymore.

That brick/block wall that goes around the tanks is called a berm (at least it is around here).A North American berm would either be dirt or concrete ,depending on what is in the tanks.If it is oil or gasoline or maybe some kind of chemical it would be concrete as the idea is to contain the fluid from any spills for easier and safer clean up.

I am assuming that the aisle side of the warehouse is what you going leave off to show of the detailed interiour.Might I suggest a clear sheet of lexan or plexiglas to closeup the opening?This would allow a clear view and protect the interior too.

The car float looks great.

Tyson: Thanks, I had a hunch it might be an F3 but wasn't sure. Overview to come when I have some time to take the photos.

Ralph: It's coming along slowly. Didn't get a chance to paint it last night maybe tonight.

BR60103: Well, the bar is still there to some extent - I just took the top counter off and built module sections to go on top. Overview photos will make that more clear when I get a chance to post them.

Catt: Thanks for the info on berms, I'll have to do some searching online for photos when I'm at that stage. Yes, the warehouse's open side is facing the aisle so that's a good idea to add a transparent wall to keep details inside away from curious hands.

If you're using acrylics for weathering, and applying them with a brush, you may have better results by thinning the paint and applying it as a wash. Depending on how much thinner you use, it may take several applications to get the effect which you want, but it's also an easy way to avoid over-doing it.
To allow the thinned paint to better act as a wash, add a drop of dish detergent - this helps to break the surface tension, allowing the paint to flow more readily.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne. I guess drybrushing works better with rougher finishes - the plastic is quite smooth. I'll try a wash on the building itself so that I get some relief in the mortar joints. I really like using chalks though, as you can easily brush away the excess if it gets to be too much.

I put on another side wall on my warehouse last night. This wall will likely have a photo glued to it to represent the off layout part of the warehouse/factory - hopefully I can get the perspective right. Or I might play around with mirrors.

And added a floor - I'm debating now if I should add two more middle floors (for each bank of windows) or keep the ground floor with two banks of windows and just add one floor below the taller topmost bank of windows. I'll mock it up and see what looks best.

[attachment=10450]

For the windows I'll use the kit's windows but I'll need to cut out interior walls to hide the overlapping tabs on the inside of the walls. I've already photocopied the walls as a pattern to cut out the window openings.

Here is the requested and promised overview of the layout:

This is the space I have to work with - I forget the exact measurements, but it is quite a bit of room for N-scale and at least manageable with the time and money I have to work on it.
[attachment=10455]

This is my original 5' x 2.5' layout that is now about 15 years old and survived two moves. It still needs some work but has been put aside as I work on the Bar Extension - need to get back to it and do some more work on it. It's based on the Gorre and Daphetid track plan.
[attachment=10451]

From the original layout there will be a helix (where I stood to take this photo and then two decks of shelf layout (the lower deck is what you see in place).
[attachment=10454]

Working our way around the lower shelf in the corner is where I'm building an ISL with warehouses/factories to spot cars at (keep in mind there will also be a similar shelf above but I'm planning mainly on doing forest/mountian scenery on it) - the mirror tiles on the wall will be covered up with the backdrop, in case you are wondering:
[attachment=10453]

On my workbench (aka bar counter) I have a four track staging yard to make up trains before sending them out to the layout - this will likely also be the spot for a programming track when I move to DCC:
[attachment=10452]

Part 2 below.

Part 2 of my overview:

As you saw in the last post above the lower level staging yard and the bar counter there is a large 2.5'x6' peninsula with an attached harbour area where you can see my car float/barge. I dropped down the part that is the harbour.

This is sitting on top of the original bar counter - countertop was removed but can easily be reattached if we move one day.

A removable bridge (I'm hoping to build a model of our ill-fated Johnston Street Bridge/Blue Bridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Street_Bridge will span the aisle from the harbour section on the right across the aisle (where I'm standing) over to where the helix will be.
[attachment=10458]

Here's an overhead shot of the space I am working with:
[attachment=10457]

I do have a track plan in my head and rough sketch on paper for the mainline but nothing definite for most areas. I'm letting it come together as I continue to build.

You have a good space to work in. The only thing I would say is that most people that I know (including me ) that tried to incorporate an old layout into the new ended up going back and tearing out everything and starting over. On the helix keep in mind that the clearance between each level in N scale is so small that getting in there to do maintinance can be a major hassle.

Tyson Rayles Wrote:You have a good space to work in. The only thing I would say is that most people that I know (including me ) that tried to incorporate an old layout into the new ended up going back and tearing out everything and starting over. On the helix keep in mind that the clearance between each level in N scale is so small that getting in there to do maintinance can be a major hassle.

Yes, the space is heated, lighted (although not that well yet) and dry, so good place to work in.

I am worried as well about integrating the old layout into new - however I had built it to eventually interface with an extension, so I hope it works as I envision.

The helix will be at most 3 turns, double-track. I will leave the benchwork open so that I can duck underneath in the middle to deal with any issues. I've read quite a bit about the disadvantages but still think this is the best option to tie together the two levels and the old layout. We'll see how it works out in real life.

Thanks for your advice!

Sorry for the lack of progress posts. I have made some progress, although last weekend was busy putting in some scale 1:1 windows in my basement (putting in 1:160 windows is a lot easier!).

Will hopefully spend most of Sunday working on the RR and will shoot some photos of that progress and the little I've done this past week.

Hope everyone else is finding time for modelling.

This type - lined earthen berm - is commonly used around oil and fuel tanks in the Colorado area.