Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge

[TMo]

Sorry to nitpick, but a "very think kerf Japanese dovetail saw" -- did you mean thin or thick?

Whoops!  It's definitely "thin".  That saw slides through Styro like butter and doesn't leave chunks....  My dad bought it from Rockler many years ago and it's made plenty a handmade dovetail joint.

[TMo]

I did find some time this evening to add some "3D moss" to the bridge piers and abutments.  Not sure if I'm completely sold on it yet, but it definitely is "growing on me".  The moss is just a variety of bagged moss that's been cut very fine with scissors until it's almost a powder.  All I had to do was take a paintbrush with some Titebond glue on it and apply some glue to the areas where I wanted to apply the moss, and then grab a decent amount of moss and push it into the glued areas.  If I had too much in any area, I smoothed it over with my fingers.  When I get back from Texas I'll decide if I need to pare it back in any area.

   

[tompm]

Getting better with each addition!

[TMo]

I'm back!  Traded baby formula bottles for a makeup brush and some PanPastels.  I added some brown and black weathering on the upper third of the piers and abutments to simulate dirt, grime and oil coming off of the bridge.  Gonna paint the rails and ties of the bridge itself before doing (trumpets flourish) a reinstall of the bridge itself at some point this weekend.

   

[TMo]

Paintbrushes are out.  To give that feel of multiple tie replacements over the years I used a variety of paint colors to age the ties.  I also rusted the sides of the track.

   

Then I got the PanPastels out to add a bit more rustiness and grime.

   

And then....  without further ado....  or delay!  Reinstall is complete.  Trains can run again through the gorge.

   

[tompm]

Oh Yay! Great job.

But more importantly will we see trains going over it soon?

[TMo]

Yes! See my Sideshot Saturday contribution! I'm also getting ready to do an updated "from the front of the train" view video once around the whole layout. Now that this bridge and the Mud Run endeavor are done, should be good stuff.

[tompm]

Yes! See my Sideshot Saturday contribution!

I just did and posted something myself.

[cn nutbar]

WOW---very well done Todd.

[TMo]

Thanks for the very positive feedback! As I've said before, you guys inspire me to greatness!

New layout video is now up - I probably ran the locomotives at a higher speed than optimal, but that also means the video is shorter. The changes since the last vid were the scenic additions at Mud Run and under the RR bridge at White Haven. However, because of the fixed angle of the camera, I really didn't get great shots of the scenery in those locations. Ce la vie!

I also ran into a quirk in my web host's policies. I usually post these videos in a dedicated page on the site. When I went to replace the old video (by uploading the new one from my computer), the site indicated that I'd used "2.4 GB of the allowed 500 MB". Were they like drug dealers giving me free crack to hook me??? Space claim could be upped if I upgrade.... I currently am a freeloader, so the $37/month upcharge was going to mean my freeloading days were over. Went to bed thinking about uploading the video to YouTube or some other video-hosting site, pondering the expense associated with the upgrade, pondering starting all over with a new site, etc., etc. Before slipping into unconsciousness I then had a thought.... Almost all of my recent changes (including a lot of pictures) to the website had been through a blog entry, and I never got any nasty space claim comments or demands to pay in blood by publishing a blog entry - maybe I'd found a loophole? After waking up, I went for broke - started a new blog entry and inserted the new video (via computer upload).... NO PROBLEM!

You're "free" to view the latest runthrough here..... https://morristhemoosetm.wixsite.com/rai...yout-video

As I pointed out in the intro in the blog, there are two more short areas between backdrop and track to scenic - and those will be my next tackle. One's relatively simple (finishing the area around the LVRR maintenance shed near White Haven), the other will be potentially huge - I'm considering simulating a small section of the Jeddo coal breaker outside of the town of Hazleton to hide the entry/exit to the storage level. The thing is an enormous beast, and in 1976 would have been in rough shape (just like the rest of Hazleton). I'm pretty sure it's going to be a kitbash paper structure with some foam board - could be an adventure worth capturing.

[Charlie B]

Todd, the Internet Archive is free to post (request donations) and unlimited. I have placed some videos there over the past few years. No ads displayed like youtube does now. 
Charlie

[TMo]

Good thought, Charlie! In light of finding a loophole, I'm going to try to keep everything together, but it's nice to have something in my back pocket!

[TMo]

Began scenery work on one of the two areas between track and backdrop this evening - this the area of the maintenance shop for the LVRR on the north end of White Haven.  I really wasn't sure how I was going to tie the Mud Run scenery into this lot, so I didn't do much more than a cursory treatment when I was working on White Haven.  

  The real building still exists - but it's been converted into the town library.  At one time, it was home to the helpers that pushed trains up the grade to Mountaintop, PA.  There were spur tracks that ran from the mainlines right into the building, which was a non-round 4-shed roundhouse.  I debated scratchbuilding my rendition, but settled on a maintenance shop instead.  Maybe I'll get hot to do that at some point and this building will be replaced.  For now, the maintenance shop.  This particular building is another paper model from Clever Models.  It has really nice details - like the balustrades on the corner of the building, the arched windows, the arcade windows at the peak.  It also has a loading dock on the back side.

   

  Decided the first order of business was to level the lot where the building will be located and then add gravel for the roadway leading to the main road, the parking lot and the personnel entrance at the front of the building.  Full strength Titebond glue followed by a very liberal coating of fine ballast.  The extra will be pulled up tomorrow when dry and then I'll begin painting some rocky areas around the property.

   

[tompm]

Nice solution and substitution. Realizing that sometimes we can't duplicate things from the real world and then coming up with a viable solution to me is part of the fun of modeling.

[TMo]

Removed the extraneous ballast and added a basecoat of grayish to some of the areas where I'll leave some rocks.  Touchup and highlight paint sometime tonight before adding grass.