Freelance 2011
#1
I felt it is time for some new stuff far away from "white shoe boxes". I did make some photo copies of older industry building backgrounds and glued them on card stock mock ups that had the same footprint as the white boxes. The over all effect is impressive even the mock up have no roof and look silly if I stand up and look at them top view. I think I will proceed on that trace for 2011.

The newly created free space in the foreground will become a 3 track classification yard. I did miss a small yard to build the local jobs daily.

The rolling stock and automobiles have not changed for a very first test. I intend to change that over the weekend to run my beloved 0-8-0 and 2-8-0 with 40' boxcars in the early 1950th. However my thoughts are still floating around and did not make up my mind at present.

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Reinhard
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#2
I like what you did with the King Mill backdrops. Have to ask why you keep changing out the buildings?

Bruce
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#3
bdw9535 Wrote:I like what you did with the King Mill backdrops. Have to ask why you keep changing out the buildings?
Bruce

Sounds like a "variety is the spice of life" sort of thing......different scene, same operational possibilities.
I have a tendency to like the older buildings, and they are far more typical for modern rolling stock, than 40' box cars, and steam locos would be to "shoeboxes".
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#4
I could not resist and exchanged rolling stock and automobiles. Looks much better Wink

The "why" question is a good one. I will start another six month off period in two weeks (there will be a lot of travel this summer keeping me away from the layout). That is a good starting point for a major rework of the layout. One option is to go back in time. The photo copies of the background building on simple card stock mock ups are a very simple and low cost way to proof if it is what I am looking for. It opens up also the possibility to run older Geeps etc. We will see how it ends up next winter :?

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Reinhard
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#5
The building mock-ups sure look good in the photos. The best part of all this is now we get to see a bunch of Reinhard's new work this summer! Thumbsup
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#6
Hi Reinhard

What can I say but breathtaking Confusedhock:

How did you achieve the pictures for the mock ups? They've scaled down extremely well and captured the elusive 'muted' colours look in the process. I was reading a recent edition of the Model Railroader where the club involved had decided to copy pictures of prototypical buildings onto decals, which were then transferred (please forgive the pun) onto textured brick paper - self adhesive I think - and then onto styrene or card shells, but your method seems to create the same impression.

If you're busy, don't worry, Reinhard, but if you could spare a couple of minutes to explain how you did it I'd be most grateful as I'd like to mess about with it.

Regards,

Jonte Smile
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#7
jonte Wrote:... How did you achieve the pictures for the mock ups?...)
Jonte, I did do photocopies of the http://www.kingmill.com/shop/index.php?cPath=21 background buildings of Kingmill. I bought some time ago the big value pack and did never "use" the originals but did use copies only.

The quality of the print is superb. Here a closeup photo
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Reinhard
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#8
faraway Wrote:
jonte Wrote:... How did you achieve the pictures for the mock ups?...)
Jonte, I did do photocopies of the http://www.kingmill.com/shop/index.php?cPath=21 background buildings of Kingmill. I bought some time ago the big value pack and did never "use" the originals but did use copies only.

The quality of the print is superb. Here a closeup photo
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You're right Reinhard, they are superb.

I didn't know anything about them; worthy of further investigation. I really do have a lot of catching up to do!!

Thanks for the prompt response,

Jonte Thumbsup
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#9
I love the backdating (in a previous life Goldth I had a couple of old cars and went to collector car shows all the time).

Also love the instant layout using the paper mockups - at first I thought you had already built up the buildings and just placed them there. Amazing and great work! Thumbsup
Marc

Bar Extension - 5' x 2.5' N-scale layout plus two decks of shelf layout
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#10
I have got a problem and need our advice.

The scenery with the old brick buildings looks great and I like it very much. The quick made mock up provides a good impression what I am looking for and I will try to get the layout populated with real models in that style.
The problem comes with all the other stuff matching that style. I prefer 60-70' high cube boxcars over 40' box cars. I love modern covered hoppers and long black tank cars. S1-4, SW7,8,9 etc look nice but I love SW1500, MP15, GP15, GP60M and finally Genset. Old timer automobiles look great but I prefer cars made after 1975 dominating the streets. The old trucks are not my taste. I love the more modern trucks like Peterbilt etc. build after 1970.

My question:
How much do I have to backdate the layout (and therefor the engines, cars, automobiles etc.) to match the background scenery? I remember a run down industrial area in Buffalo, NY in the early 1980th that looked somewhat similar.
Could I sell you the background for 1980 with matching engines (e.g. Conrail GP15, no Genset:-)), cars (no highcube but 70' long boxcar) and automobiles (Ford Fairmont) as a plausible but freelance layout?
Reinhard
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#11
Reinhard, remember that tearing out city blocks and replacing them with "shoebox" industrial areas is a relatively modern phenomenon.and older parts of town don't necessarily get updated, whilst the developers may have plans for them, not all people like living near railroad tracks, and older buildings existed for much longer than styles/types/versions of the railroad equipment and the trucks and cars - so it certainly would be possible to have older vehicles with the old buildings, and still be using modern stock with the old buildings 40, 50 or 60 years later - you just need to update the vehicles, and perhaps the styles of clothing.. Just don't have a T-bird driving down the street with a boxcab switcher, although you could get away with the T-bird in the same shot as a GP-35( but probably only one! :o )
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#12
Wait! ...... Time Out! ...... Hold the Phone!!
faraway Wrote:... I will start another six month off period in two weeks (there will be a lot of travel this summer keeping me away from the layout). ... We will see how it ends up next winter :?

SIX months off?
Wow, Reinhard! How do you manage Six Months Off?
Is there some sort of job sharing program over there in Germany? ... How does that work?
I'd often heard that people in other counties have more time off than we do in the States, but ... six months?



I must have been doing something wrong ... I only got one week .... and then after five years service, I got two weeks!
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
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#13
P5se Camelback Wrote:... How do you manage Six Months Off?...

A long time ago the German government had the idea to fight the unemployment rate with a special program. It's German name is "Altersteilzeit" (short ATZ).
You go the last six years before first possible retirement on 50% part time with a 50% salary from your company.The government adds a nice bonus on top (you end up with 81% of your old net income) and the company has to hire a new young guy. That's the deal. The program is voluntary for both parties. The employee and the company have both to agree on it.
That program ended about two years ago. They ran out of money. No new applications possible.
My implementation is six month off in summer for six years and than full retirement at age of 63. I am about to finish my second "working winter" with four more to come. The advantage is that I had my first summer off at an age of 57. Most people work the first three years 100% and do the remaining three years off.
Reinhard
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#14
Very Interesting! Wink
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
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#15
We had a similar arrangement in the steel industry: they called it strikes and lay-offs, although we never figured out how to get payed for that "time off". Icon_lol Icon_lol

Wayne
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