Modeling a Model Railroad - Calling it finished

This is a rare event for me, actually bringing something to completion! While there are certainly things that could be tweaked, its time to set it aside and contemplate actually starting construction of the benchwork. There is likely to be some full sized experimentation with this as I contemplate whether to use blue/pink foam, plywood or some kind of hybrid combination of both (leaning towards this). 

So here are a last few pictures of the finished product (still contemplating whether I should just glue to the two modules together at this point.

The back layer.

The front layer

Modeling a Model Railroad - Looking at the Layers

With the main elements in place (the creek and the viaduct). I want to take a look at the skyline. I have to do this in layers first the back row, which contains the majority of the freight car spots, and the front row (which contains fewer car spots). Right now I'm only concerned with the heights of the actual models, I'll deal with the backdrop later.

First from the left side; the creek module. I want to keep the buildings tall near the creek, to increase the vertical element. The discussion would be around the building on the right side of the creek being right up against the bank or allow spacing for an alley or narrow two lane road (leaning towards space for a road my self).

Then to the viaduct side (note that the viaduct will not be nearly as massive looking as it looks like here). Again tall buildings around the viaduct to enhance the vertical element. I really like the angled industry back in the right hand corner.

And a look at the whole.

Then its time to take a look at the foreground buildings.

Creek module again. Buildings are shorter to give some visibility to the buildings in the back. For operations, I intend to make these buildings removable with foreground car spots marked some how.

On the Viaduct Module things are much the same with the front right corner being a team track in an empty lot.

And another look at the whole. Being able to remove the foreground buildings will make operations easier and provide more interesting camera angles.

Cartoon Wednesday

 

Modeling a Model Railroad - Nearing the End

At this point I think the model is almost done. At this point the modules are defined and some color has been applied, particularly to the backdrop. I am tempted to add some mountains in the distance since I am considering changing the orientation and the viewer would now be facing west rather than east back towards Denver. I think that's something I'll work on later, if at all, blue sky will have to suffice for now.

First the viaduct module

And now the creek module. I opted for the creek to add a little diversity to the scene.

This should be close to the actual viewing/operating angle.

And a bit of elevation to see the colors. Still bothers me that I managed to torque the viaduct module out of square.

Modeling a Model Railroad - New Structures

As I get closer to finishing this small monstrosity I'm building and modifying the structures that I think will provide a good feel to this generic version of Wynkoop Street. First up new bridges! The last set is permanently attached to the first version of the benchwork and I figured out a different and ultimately slightly easier way to build them this time. Nothing like a little experience.

Testing the bridges to make sure they can handle the load!

I'm pretty much set on these two buildings (at least the heights) on the back siding. You can see how close to the curved backdrop they are to the backdrop at the top.

Adding some features to the "back" of the foreground buildings

Modeling a Model Railroad - Backdrop

It took some time to find a piece of styrene that I could bend enough of to fit the curve but there it was under another pile of styrene sheets. Of course as I tried to fit this in I realized that some how I had managed to torque the whole thing out of square. I think that when I start actual construction that I need another cross member  at the top, in fact I'm not sure why the original design doesn't have a cross piece there already. I also need to keep in mind that the particular PVC sheet that I'm using is bit bendy which will not be the case with wood, but would that be an issue if I try to build the benchwork out of blue insulation foam?

Backdrop in place but untrimmed

A look from the top along with all the markings from the project that it was originally for.

Trimmed up, more or less. It could be a bit neater.

Backdrop in place, note that the benchwork has been notched out for the creek bed.

Now its time to put it together, temporarily anyway, and its still a bit out of square at this point. But its not looking to bad and precision is not totally necessary at this point (unlike when I build the full size modules).

Looking down to see the tracks in place. I have not glued this in yet. A few clamps to hold things together and overcome the slight twist that still exists.

This is the view angle I'm going for, although even a little higher might be better.

Here are the buildings along the back siding in place along with the viaduct on the right.

And a closer to the actual viewing angle. The question is; does this feel claustrophobic? Do I need to increase the height of the supports to increase the distance between the roof lines and the backdrop curve?

Cartoon Wednesday

 

Modeling a Model Railroad - Benchwork, 2nd Try

I have messed around with the layout configuration and making little buildings long enough. Its time to get back to the benchwork. Since the issue the first time was precision I decided to give up the knife and go to the saw. At least this way the two primary dimensions will be precise and foamed PVC is soft enough that I can tape them together and run them all through the scroll saw as a single block. Be patient this is really photo heavy.

The final track plan and a copy to be used on the model.
This version has the viaduct on the right side and the underpass/creek bed on the left. I have made the runaround as long as I can within the confines of those two elements. There should be room for 2 40' freight cars. There might be room for 1 40' and 1 50' freight car but it definitely won't clear 2 50' freight cars. Most of the car spots will be along the rear siding. There are only a few car spots on the front siding; far left, far right and just to the left of the viaduct. These buildings will, mostly be shorter, 2-3 stories at most (at least that's my thinking right now).

The design and, using the hobby table saw, eight identical pieces.

I used painters tape to wrap them together and then copy the design on to the top piece. And yes I used an actual compass to draw the curve.

Here are the supports all cut out on the scroll saw. Next to that are the cross pieces. Unfortunately they are not exactly the same length. They are off enough to bug me and I don't want to repeat the mistake I made the first time. 

Since it is really important to make sure the cross members are identical I laid them out on another piece of PVC and included the positions where I will need to cut notches.

Now all the pieces are cut and ready to assemble.

I started out just trying to figure out the best way to approach getting it all together.

All the cross members dry fitted into place at this place using just the two center supports.

I chose to start from the bottom with the center and back cross pieces. I worked from the two center supports outwards. Its still a bit twitchy at this stage but you can tell that it will be a pretty rigid structure,

Back cross piece in place.

Top cross piece in place and its pretty solid at this point.

A look at the how the two modules will look when fastened together.

Here the top plate and the top front fascia have been added.

This shows the bottom wear plates and the bottom fascia.

And a completed module just waiting for some scenery to be added.

I had to use clamps but here are the completed modules in position.

How it might look with the track and buildings in place.

And a bit of an overhead view.

The next phase will be to figure out how to fasten the two modules together, cut the track plan into two sections and make the benchwork cut out for the underpass/river portion on the left.

Cartoon Wednesday