149th Street Harlem Station

[sailormatlac]

I started to work on the layout again. Mainly scenery and some wiring. I repainted and weathered the concrete pad, added static grass and a good coat of weathering powder in some area. I still need to add a LOT of dirt... the real prototype was a real mess. I also completed the gantry bridge over the pontoon.

We had the occasion to operate the layout for the first time last week end and it was a very enjoyable moment. Definitely an excellent prototype to build and operate.

Here are a few recent pictures:















Matt

[Canadian Atlantic Railway]

Nice to see a update on the Harlem Station. How long did the op session take?

[sailormatlac]

Nice to see a update on the Harlem Station. How long did the op session take?

The carfloat was at 2/3 capacity and it took at least an hour. If the carfloat would have been full, I think the full op session would have been 90 minutes, which is quite subtantial.

Matt

[Genetk44]

Matt...how did you make these awesome cracks in the roadway?

url=http://screenshot.net/z9p9ns2][/url]

[Genetk44]

[sailormatlac]

Matt...how did you make these awesome cracks in the roadway?

Very simple. I scribed them using a metal point (awl). No need to put a lot of pressure and it works wonder on cardboard. The dirt wash was enough to fill them up with dark pigment and make them visible. On the Hedley-Junction thread, you'll see I used the same technic on the road. This time, I didn't use a wash put a fine pencil to colorized the cracks.

Some other crack pictures:



The first time I used this technic was with my Quebec South Shore Railway module two years ago. I find cardboard to hold paint better than styrene while being less fragile than plaster. My first choice goes to 1.5mm illustration board.







The main trick is to use real life examples for reference.

Matt

[shortliner]

Matt - that really is starting to look excellent!
Best
Jack

[Genetk44]

Thanks for the explanation Matt...very useful indeed.

[teejay]

Looking good and making progress !

[sailormatlac]

Matt - that really is starting to look excellent!
Best
Jack

Thanks Jack! I almost regret to not have taken your offer about the road vehicle. That's a LOT of concrete!

I also recently started to work on the boxcab! What a challenge!

Matt

[sailormatlac]

Some progress shots. I recently added a scratchbuilt styrene concrete ramps and also discovered more grade crossings existed on the prototype, which I promptly added. I also started to heavily weather the concrete pas with weathering powders and added vegetation.

Some structures are also in building stage but I'll talk about them later when done.

Enjoy!











Matt

[shortliner]

Matt - I still have the vehicles if you need them - The chances of me needing them are becoming increasingly remote. If you are happy to cover the shipping cost, I'll try to find out what it will be

Jack

[sailormatlac]

Matt - I still have te vehicles if you need them - The chances of me needing them are becoming increasingly remote.
Jack

Jack, thanks for the offer. It's funny you mention that. When operating two days ago, we came to the conclusion we were in need for much more vehicle. Just PM and we will find a home for your unrequired fleet.

Matt

[sailormatlac]

I'm actually in the process of building a Walthers tugboat and everything went fine until I started to work with the decals. Excuse me the harsh words, but they are useless junk of the worst kind. They are thick, hard to work with, the white is not opaque and the model color show through.I looked for suitable replacement decals from major decal makers, but found nothing encouraging. The freight boxcar ERIE logos are somewhat similar, but too small. The Erie's losange sides should be about 15mm long. I suspect the boxcar decals are smaller...

Any idea for a replacement? I'm at lost and quite disappointed to hit such a trivial problem in the last sprint. I never had admiration for anything Walthers make and this is no exception. I always feel they mess up at the last moment. In this case, the decals, in other structures it's their fat stanchions and guardrails. It's the kind of small details that makes a big difference but just seems to not care at all giving the last small push.

Matt

[doctorwayne]

Matt, if you can find any of C-D-S sets 655, 782, or 783, the ERIE "diamond" heralds are roughly 21mm wide, and I would guess them to be about 14mm along each edge. These are for the HO scale sets, but you might want to also check those for larger scales.

Here's a link to OZARK MINIATURES, who now supply C-D-S. Their product numbers appear to be different, but the large ERIE heralds are shown in the diagrams. If you need something larger, take a look at their large scale stuff, too.

Wayne