Phase Two Modules In Place

 

Many of the initial next steps for the new module mentioned in my last post are now in place. I leveled, shimmed, and bolted this module to the Nooksack module. I drove a couple of screws through the L-girder ledger into the grid frame and bolted the one leg into place as well. In this photo, one can see a length of track that I fit onto the end of the module before soldering the track joiners. As the phase two modules make up a second power district, I left a gap between the rails at the module joint and attached this end of the DCC bus to a second circuit breaker.

Again, I mentioned a number of steps to take while the Ferndale Junction module was up on the sawhorse workbench in my last post. In this photo you can see those steps completed: bus wires flagged with correct colors, piano hinge installed, frog juicer attached, and all existing DCC and frog feeders connected. 

While not as firmly in place, the Ferndale Junction module is level and bolted to the adjacent new module. I have started working out the location for the turnouts for the run-around track, so I can install the roadbed. I want to focus on the roadbed and track for the run-around as well as track between these two newly installed modules in order to finalize the wiring enough to run some trial trains. I will need to make sure the two  turnouts on the new module are set up properly as well as the ones on the run-around. 

My intention is to add a bit of an extension to the benchwork here at the connection between the modules. The mainline will be curving away here to the left, and for phase two, I hope to attach my three-track unsceniced staging mini module here. This will require some additional template making and track planning. At the far end, I still need to finalize the drop down segment of the yard. It is hinged to ease future access to the well plumbing and tank.

Here at the far end with the drop down section, I will need to design a removable extension of the backdrop incorporating a curved or coved approach. That should be an "interesting" project! I also need to figure out how to hang the light fixture for this end. This area of the ceiling is a little different, so I don't have convenient furring strips from which to hang the fixture. 

I hope to continue with the level of enthusiasm and focus I have had recently in order to actually get the railroad back on track, the theme for 2026. I don't think a train has run in a year!

Back On Track in 2026

 

My last few posts from 2025 discussed the railroad in the basement being on hiatus. One step towards getting back on track in 2026 consists of having model railroading itself not be on hiatus. No matter the status of the basement and still incomplete electrical work, I can spend time at the workbench. In this photo, I have mounted some 1/16th inch wood to the roof and started trimming some Bar Mills shingles to complete the roofing of the wooden warehouse. I initially started construction of this warehouse back in July, but work on it has been in fits and starts. Roof shingles and installing the windows should finish it.

Actually building the habit of spending at least ten or fifteen minutes most days is the first major step to getting back on track!

Looking back over my posts from 2025, a major issue and gumption trap stemmed from taking a one section at a time approach to prepping the basement as train space. Definitely connected to that were the 2025 sump pump failure and electrical work's glacial pace. Our electrician had family illness, hospitalization, and death causing delays, and I had hospitalizations as well. We still haven't gotten the planned work done. While the rolling stock and buildings are safely packed up, limiting what can be done, some work definitely can be done, either on the workbench or in other train room prep. 

Another step that I could take, now that the holidays are over, is to redo the switch controls as I discussed in an earlier post. I am pretty sure that I have everything that I need on hand. The work would largely be under the Nooksack benchwork, and the completion now would set me up for being able to actually run trains once the electrical project is finished. While working under the benchwork, I could also revisit my plans for revamping the DCC cab bus. The East Branch segment does not have a UTP panel.

Midwinter is an ideal time for model railroading and to get myself motivated. As noted above, I have projects to work on now, and I have projects to work on after the electrical work is done:

• Complete scenery in sections of the Nooksack and transition to East Branch areas.
• Paint walls and prep space for Phase Two of Nooksack.
• Revisit the Ingleton mini layout. 
• Organize storage and work on train room "presentation."

Basement versus Train Room

After returning from the convention in Novi, I have taken a slightly different approach on the railroad. Rather than immediately resuming the work on the packing complex scene, I tried to gather some momentum on prepping more of the basement as semi-finished train room. In a post from the beginning of the year, I discussed how the state of the basement functioned as a major gumption trap. I can't decide if our record wet May and sump pump failure added more to the gumption trap or more motivation to overcome the gumption trap. Seeing some complete model railroads, visiting my friend Brad's railroad, and purchasing a Power Cab system to reactivate the Ingleton switching shelf from its current junk drawer status inspired me to attempt to revisit the transition from basement to train room.

The previous "bar" has been taken down, and I have started removing the worst of the immediate debris. Having watched a few YouTube videos on open French drains, I am still unsure of how to create a berm so the drain doesn't overflow at the one area here where it is not quite deep enough. The slope of the drain does appear to be good, allowing flow to the opposite corner with a floor drain to the dry well. A lot of wood from dismantling the "bar" still needs to be cleaned and moved to the wood shop in the garage. Phase two of my TOMA plan calls for two modules, one based on one brought from Meadville and one totally new one to extend from Nooksack along this wall. Before I get too involved with that, I need to follow through with completing the basement to train room transition, not only here, but throughout the basement. 

Months ago, I purchased a rolling cart from Harbor Freight, and having uncovered the sawhorses covered with junk, finally put it together to use in scenery or other projects on the railroad. I have to say that I was somewhat inspired by seeing Brad's use of his as a workstation as construction continues on his railroad. Putting the cart together was fairly straight forward, although not quick. Beyond the standard socket and screwdriver, the one tool seen here that I really appreciated was the telescoping magnetic pick up tool. An occasional washer or nut slipped from my shakey hands to the floor, but my pick up tool made for quick recovery. When I do return to the packing house scene scenery, the cart will be ready to use as a workstation!

A Scene in Fifteen Steps -- More Updates

 

I got on a roll last week and started on the wooden warehouse. I am using a wooden block as the core, a technique that Bill Schopf from my old division taught us about. In the photo, one can see the strip of plastic stone that I trimmed and folded to suggest the foundation. I cut the side walls from clapboard sheet wood. Delving into my collection of doors and windows, I cut the ones I chose from the sprue and sanded the edges to prep them for spraying with primer. 

Step one, in my list, was to wrap up the brick kitbashed portion of the produce packing complex. In an earlier post, I explained making a shadow box and the lighting in this building. Here in a more recent photo, the wiring of the two LEDs is finished and the shadow box is glued in place. I did paint the interior wall black in front of the open side of the shadowbox before mounting it. Yes, it would have been easier to paint the interior wall before mounting the exterior roof. For the other windows and doors I fashioned black construction paper barriers, so it does not appear as obvious that this building is a flat. 

Unlike working on the structures, several of the steps in my original list of fifteen were relatively quick and easy. I sanded a couple of sections of the cork roadbed where, examining photos, I noticed an overhang or lip where the two halves of the roadbed originally split apart. In looking closely at this photo, I see another one, but it is an easy fix. My friend, Dick Bradley, noted some dramatic brush marks and embedded specks in the sky on this portion of the backdrop quite a while ago. Carefully sanding the backdrop ameliorated the worst of the irregularities. It is tempered hardboard, so it should appear smoother than plywood. Just yesterday, I mixed up some Sculptamold to apply some texture to the terrain between the spur and the mainline. Due to the high humidity, the sculptamold is not fully dry yet today; I plan to wait until it is dry before painting.   

I probably won't get much more done beyond painting the bright white plaster before I start getting ready to travel to Novi, Michigan for the 2025 NMRA convention. Since I am taking our car for the week, I need to make sure my wife is stocked up on everything she will need while I am gone. 

It will be my first national convention and I am looking forward to learning a lot. Today I started getting my tool kit ready as I am signed up for two Modeling With the Masters events. I hope to attend one of the Operations Road Show training sessions.  Once that is scheduled, I can plan my other activities. I want to be sure to visit at least one of the layout tours, a Great Northern railroad depicting a part of the Cascade Division, and I see a variety of interesting clinics from which to choose. 

Updates and Goals

I have updates and goals for both the train room (aka the basement) and for the railroad. 

As I left off my last post with wet basement issues, I will start with that. My wife helped me last week on one of our continuing rainy days, and we made a good start on removing the scabbed-in bar. As you can see in the photo, I still have some framework to remove. The damp floor in what I was calling "the floodplain" can also be seen. Not labeled, but suggested is the approximately one inch wide "French Drain Canal" between the green concrete floor and the yellow wall. Judging from the existing rot, the floodplain has been an ongoing issue, exacerbated by our wettest May on record. A steady stream of water was flowing into the "canal" until about ten days ago. I will need to build a lip along the floor (a levee) to prevent the canal from overflowing here in the future. 

In addition to the wet basement abatement, another goal for this summer consists of more electrical work. The sump pump and water conditioner are currently powered through a gnarly extension cord draped across the ceiling. They need a direct line. Renee wants some general lighting in the basement with a switch. I want a line to outlets for the railroad lighting (current and future) also switched. Plus our three season room's outlets need to be reconnected and a few more receptacles added in the basement. This really should be done before any significant  additions to the railroad are contemplated! We need a firm plan and easy access before we call in the professional. 

I want to continue with this area around the fruit and produce spur. I am giving a clinic soon, and I would like to try using the photo that I have propped up against the backdrop in this image and share the results. It actually isn't a straight photo; I collaged parts of the photo to make changes. The other experiment is to cove or curve the photo from mounted to the backdrop to glued to the benchtop. I will need to remember to coat the photo (printed on my inkjet printer) with a fixative so that water based scenery doesn't make the colors bleed or otherwise destroy the image.  Then I can experiment with first layers of scenery and weathering to blend the road surface onto the benchwork. 

Several years ago I attended a clinic by Bob Frankrone about completing a scene in fifteen steps, and thought I might try that approach to the fruit and produce spur area. Here is a to do list of my fifteen:

1. Last steps on brick building
2. Warehouse a la Bill Schopf (multiple steps)
3. Sand the cork edge
4. Sand the painted sky 
5. White wash for atmospheric haze
6. Photo backdrop a la Paul Dolkos
7. Sculptamold for texture
8. Paint and first layer of scenery
9. More layers of scenery 
10. Fence
11. Tie pile 
    
12. 12 volt DC lighting bus
13. Connect lights
14. Ballast spur
15. Details

In this prototype photo of the Interbay Yard in Seattle, I really like the area between the tracks in the bottom right area: a little uneven terrain, some tall grass and shrubs, and a pile of ties. This photo is from the digital library at the Cornell University. 

U.S. President's Railroad Commission Photographs

Fruit and Produce Company -- Part 4?

In my last post, several weeks ago, I left off with a punch list for the main building. During the past rainy week, I have tried to return to working for a little while on the model most days, and it has led to some progress.

One of the first steps from last weekend was to clear off the plate glass on my workbench so that I could make clean cuts in clear acetate. I found some clear stock in my plastics drawer, and after measuring started cutting pieces for the windows. I used Formula 560 canopy glue, applied to the back of the window and door inserts with a micro-brush, to mount the window "glass." Knowing that I was planning on adding interior lighting later, the smart move would have been to paint the interior walls with black acrylic while the building was upside down. I did not make the smart move. 

Having checked off one task from the list, I moved on to the roof. I cut some strips of three scale feet from black construction paper. Before returning the canopy glue to its shelf, I coated the styrene roof with the glue and applied the black paper to represent tar paper on the roof. After the glue dried I tried painting with roof brown acrylic paint, but didn't really like the look. I later painted the tar paper roof with flat grimy black. After two coats of that, I was happier with it. 

While it was not on my original punch list, I decided to add the medium air conditioner from the Walthers Roof Details kit in my stash. I cut the appropriate pieces from the sprue and sanded the edges to remove any tiny nubs left by my nippers. I assembled the detail kit with liquid solvent cement, managing to only have one slightly crooked wall with my shaky hands. After the air conditioner dried overnight, I filled the small open joint at the top of that wall with Tamiya putty. While assembling the air conditioner, I sprayed the sprue with the tile coping from the original grocery distributor kit with a red primer rattle can. After that had dried, I pieced together the tile coping on the brick walls. 

Over just the past couple of days, I continued to make my way through a few more items from the punch list. I struggled to add the roof over the loading dock. In hind sight, I should have not used the plastic hangers from the kit, but instead fabricated new ones from wire. But I went ahead, using the kit supplied ones. First of all, my shaky hands exacerbated my apparent need for three hands to hold and glue the hangers, roof, and structure wall together all at the same time. Thank goodness no one was watching or listening to me during that ordeal. Because one of the hangers was missing, I also had to deal with the extra holes. I planned to hide the hole in the wall with the building's sign. I filled the hole in the roof with putty. That meant that the roof needed to be painted after it was installed. I had sprayed it a gray color previously, but now I brush painted it a darker gray Vallejo color. While it looked kind of awful wet, after drying overnight the color and brush marks both flattened out. Today, before taking the photos, I applied some weathering with chalks and pigments as well as finally cutting out and gluing on the paper sign that I had designed and printed out on my inkjet printer weeks ago.

I still have a couple of items from the punch list. Looking at this photo from an observer's point of view, some kind of lighting is definitely needed. My plan is to fashion a light under the dock roof on one side and to place an interior light on the other side. I have some LED lights and supplies from Evan Designs to experiment with, so I might as well get on the ball. Along with lighting, I plan to add some simple interior details: window shades and black paper view blocks if nothing else. 

Looking at this scene from this angle, two things spring to mind. One is that I should attempt a more accurate mockup of the adjacent building than the blue scrap wall flat. The other idea is the possibility of starting some first layer of scenery around this scene. 

Before starting any of that, I will work out the lighting for this building in order to wrap it up. Seeing the progress I have made recently should keep me motivated. Beyond scenery here, I have a photo/collage in the works to experiment with on the backdrop that goes to the right of the green-roofed warehouse in the photo. I want to include that in a presentation that I am giving in June, so I have a goal/deadline for scenery along the backdrop here after this major building for the Nooksack Fruit and Produce Company is completed.  

Moving Forward With Nooksack -- Continued

Revised distant hills line

I mentioned in my last post that I was not satisfied with the distant hills that I had painted. I thought that they were too dark. Renee, my wife, noted that the pencil lines that I had sketched in to guide the painting were visible in places, and she thought that they distracted from the illusion. I was also unhappy with the bushes or trees that I had painted in the foreground. They appeared to accentuate rather than hide the right angle joint between the benchwork and the backdrop.

I decided to repaint, basically changing my approach while applying a second coat. First of all, I added some more white primer to the small tub of paint that I had mixed up and saved. Using a #6 round brush I painted over the first coat and any foreground that I had attempted. With a bristle #2 flat, I carefully applied a subtle tree texture to the top of the hill line by dragging the brush up into the sky. In this in-progress photo, the difference in apparent value of the hill and dirt colors between whether they are on the flat plywood or the vertical backdrop is quite noticeable. This phenomenon is probably caused by the reflective quality of the paints on the flat tabletop with the LED lights directly overhead. This will be a complication to work around as I add any painted foreground details or work to hide the right angle joint. 

With buildings and rolling stock cleared off for backdrop painting, I noticed that ties are missing at a number of the rail joints here in Nooksack. So, while thinking about it I found a tub of ties and got to work. Apparently saving little bits of everything is planning ahead rather than hoarding! Using a chisel blade in the hobby knife, I sliced off the tie plates and spikes. This is a technique where it is important to pay attention to the relationship between finger location and blade direction. After the replacement ties were prepared, I painted them with a random mix of rail tie brown and Americana Slate Grey craft paint. In slipping the replacement ties in today, I noticed a section of flex track and a turnout that are buckled from rail expansion: another task to take care of while moving forward with Nooksack. 

Over the last few days I did some thinking and decided that with my desire for one lighting system for structures on the model railroad that I would go with a 12 volt system. I ordered a regulated 2 amp 12 volt power supply and some of the LEDs from Evan Design. With that I will be able to include the couple of buildings that have incandescent bulbs built in already in one lighting system. Having made a decision, I can return to the structure building projects new and old. 

Moving forward towards the goal of visitors in April with a rough to-do list:

• Repair buckled track (trains must run smoothly)
• Steady progress on structures and mockups:
• Cannery complex
• Packing house complex
• GN Station
• Others?
• Big picture of roads and terrain
• First layers of scenery on several mini scenes:
• Team track area
• River and trestle scene
• Declutter the basement and continue train-room and presentation prep.

Is turning this into SMART goal format going too far into the weeds? Would it help or hinder progress?

 

Initial Operations -- Possible Infrastructure Solution

 

New role for the rolling cart

In one recent post I mentioned finding that I used the railroad surface itself as part of the operations work. Tools such as switchlists and pencils ended up on the scenery. Car cards were leaned up against cars on the railroad as part of the sorting procedure. In addition to impinging on the scenery, my initial operations scheme was not working with the agent desk scenario that I had originally set up. So much walking across the messy basement, only to forget exactly what car was where. I am not giving up on the agent desk, but with solo operations it wasn't really filling the role it was designed for.  

In my last post I discussed organizing and prepping the first phase of the railroad and the train room for visitors in April. I have started tackling the organizing, but I am finding it a bit daunting. While accomplishing some of the tasks, often one step forward leads to two steps back. However, over the last few days I did accomplish a bit of organizing that possibly solved a couple of issues. The orangish pink rolling work cart seen in that last post now serves a vital role in the initial operations on the 4th Subdivision.

This rolling work cart has a long history with me. Decades ago I built it as a chop saw stand while restoring our house in Seattle. Later I added the wheels and painted it to use in an art studio. In Meadville, I added another shelf and it became a work station in my model railroad attic. Now, after painting with my fascia color, it has become the "operations bench" with bill boxes, a desk top, and storage for paperwork, off-layout rolling stock, and kits to be built to complete the planned initial roster. When I am filling the role of engineer and conductor, it rolls under the East Branch staging. When I am taking on the role of industry clerk/agent the rolling cart can swing out and provide a place and tools to work. 

As part of the organization associated with repurposing the "operations bench" I updated my roster chart, adding a column locating the rolling stock on the railroad, in a storage box (now located on the cart), or on a shelf (now the lower shelf of the bench). I also added the reefer cars mentioned in the post discussing the produce packing plant. While the thirty-six cars are more than can be used at one time, having a variety of appropriate pieces of rolling stock provides variety within a role as Byron Henderson suggests in his discussion of Fun Ops on a small layout. This online article of his is one major influence for my approach to the operations here on the initial phase. By using the "operations bench" the conundrum appears at least temporarily solved of how to sort car cards and fill out paperwork without sprawling over the model railroad surface and cluttering up the fascia frame. A few details remain to be worked out, such as labels for the bill boxes, how to hold the small tools, and making the various rolling stock kits and holders secure. How I will operate the first phase of the railroad seems more settled and a few steps are underway for organizing the train room as well as presenting it to visitors. 

Resolutions versus Goal Setting

My New Year's resolution for the railroad, finish up a number of the projects that are already started before starting new ones, did not make it past New Years!

Planning for Port Gulick, Phase Five of TOMA

So, I went down a rabbit hole between Christmas and New Years. I have an MR flyer about 4' X 8' model railroads on my iPad which includes several by Iain Rice, One of them has always fascinated me: "Loleta & Mad River." It is a handsome, yet quite impractical harbor scene, designed for turn of the 20th century logging type railroading--too tight curves and too steep grades. Other issues with his plan included impossible reach in distances and the inner harbor being too small for much beyond a row boat to turn around. On the other hand, so charming, so evocative, so not finishing an ongoing project! Deep in this forum thread about the search for this plan, is a reproduction of the plan. Readers can view it with someone other than me breaking copyright laws.

But, what if I opened it up as an L-shaped plan instead and stretched it out a bit? One task was to get an accurate notion of the space that it might occupy. Somehow, in my long range planning drawings the space on this side of the stairs is a void. Beyond it is the laundry and utilities, but where exactly the wall might be was empty white space. Taking some measurements and doing some sketches, it turns out that stretching out the plan and still having a four foot pathway to the laundry was possible. Instead of a fixed bridge, what about a bascule bridge? Instead of a 16.5" radius curve, what about a 22" curve? It is still smaller than my minimum, but maybe possible? by stretching the length of the S-curve out to ten feet, the four percent incline might be reduced to something more doable closer to three percent. Using this plan for my Port Gulick harbor scene would potentially add to the mainline run and add lots of atmosphere, but come on, this is phase five of the plan. This armchair modeling is not finishing any of my many uncompleted projects or making actual progress on phase one. 

Instead of resolutions that are already broken, what if I focused on goal setting with a deadline? In my NMRA division, we have been planning our schedule for the year, and it includes a virtual meeting on Zoom in April where we are thinking of having modelers open their railroads for live visitors around the region afterwards. My goal would be to have the "train room" and phase one complete enough for visitors. 

The other side of the main basement is currently a disaster and a gumption trap. It needs serious organization and clean up. I still have half-unpacked train stuff and general basement clutter piled in the middle of the space. While the area around Nooksack and East Branch have been painted and had electrical upgrades, this part is in serious need of work. Beyond the pile of clutter is a "bar" scabbed in by previous owners of the house. I have removed the electrical line to it, but need to get help from my wife to tear out that section of wall. Maybe having a deadline will help me get motivated.

In looking back over the blog for 2024, I am somewhat disheartened at my slow progress on phase one. Beyond feeling behind with scenery and operations planning which obviously need additional work, I would like to improve the surroundings before opening up to visitors. A valance to hide the light tubes and create the shadow box look I prefer would be an excellent step. Again, a deadline might just be the motivation I need. 

I hope that my next post can focus on one area of actual progress.

Convoluted Application of a Convention Clinic

 

Clearly not a steam locomotive, but my current passenger consist!

At the recent Piedmont Junction MER Convention, I attended a number of clinics. One, by Chuck Davis, stuck with me, even though the main topic turns out to not really directly apply: "Modifying and Detailing Plastic Steam Engines." After returning home from travels to Maine and North Carolina, I did dig out my BLI Blue Line GN steam engine with its glitchy decoders. In addition to needing a new decoder, the need to convert its tender from coal to oil, and the obvious lack of a Belpaire firebox, the biggest issue is that all GN steam had been replaced by first generation diesels on the Cascade Division by 1954. I am not changing the date of my railroad setting! So how might this clinic apply?

I can apply Chuck's overall approach to my passenger train(s) on the 4th Subdivision of the Cascade Division in 1954. So what is this overall approach? He discussed an approach to modeling steam locomotives that he picked up from one of his mentors (who's name I didn't jot down) when he started out. It consists of basically three steps:

1. Research
2. Identify/exaggerate key features
3. Add details by modifying existing or finding a mechanism and scratchbuilding

Research

Right now, I have three main sources of research. One is as a member of the Great Northern Historical Society. For example, in this June 2023 issue, the cover photo is of train #682 showing a GP9 and an older combine waiting in Shelby, Montana for the arrival of the Empire Builder on the mainline. The 681/682 was a mixed train carrying passengers, freight, and mail on the 37 mile branch line between Shelby and the Canadian border that disappeared from the timetable by 1960. A second source is a website that I recently rediscovered focusing on Ferndale, Washington in the mid 1950s. The memories (and photos) of a young rail fan from the mid 1950s are a great resource for researching small towns in western Washington as well as train make ups. A third source is the Morning Sun book, Great Northern, in color, Volume 1: Lines West. Lots of actual train photos here, although a lot are from the early 60s. 

Identifying Key Features

In the clinic that I presented in Durham, I talked about atmosphere, realism, and flexible operations.  Tied into several of these general topics, I want branchline switching with Great Northern practices that fit the atmosphere of the time and place. Looking at the opening photo of my current passenger line up, I see several issues. First of all, while the Morning Sun book does show an example of a three car passenger train headed by a switch engine in branchline service, it is an NW5, a fairly ubiquitous engine. While the GN did have VO-1000s, they only had ten in total across the entire system. The trailing coach in my lineup is a wooden coach with truss rods, a car that would not be seen other than in MOW service after the 1920s or 1930s, clearly an anachronism.  

Mail cars, baggage express cars, coaches, and first generation diesels are to be expected. Mixed paint schemes in short branch line line ups are to be expected, but are not universal. While I had not planned on having a mixed train, the GP and combine seen on the cover of the Great Northern Goat is a prototype to consider. I hadn't considered a mail crane or a train order board for my town of Nooksack, but now I am thinking of them as necessities after looking at the photos in the Memories of a Young Railfan site. 

Nowhere in my research have I found information about milk traffic yet, let alone a milk train on the GN in the time period that I am modeling. A Carnation milk condensory was located just outside Ferndale as well as in Everson with train sidings. They were not as busy by the 1950s, but still in use. At that time, the one in Ferndale had slowed down enough that part of the plant was used for potato storage. I want to model the milk traffic, but it might not be milk trains. 

A shift in key features might be in order: no milk train, but add a mixed train.

Existing Rolling Stock and Details

Wether it is for a milk train or a mixed train such as 681/682, a combine would be a necessity. I have a Roundhouse/MDC kit on hand. While as a Harriman style car, it is not prototypical for GN, but it is what I have. The RPO that I have in GN colors is also a Harriman car. At any rate, the combine can at least function as a stand in and skill improvement project. I plan to strip the existing paint and repaint in Pullman green. Metal wheels, proper weight, Kadee couplers, wire grabs, and basic decals are also details to add. Other possibilities include diaphragms, interior, and lighting.

A more appropriate kit for GN is this Athearn Blue Box coach. Again, paint stripping and repainting in Pullman Green would be a start. Metal wheels and Kadee couplers along with proper weight would be required to hit my rolling stock standards. Appropriate decals and wire grabs would be good skill building activities for me and add to the cars appearance. Diaphragms, interior, and lighting would also be worthwhile projects. 

In terms of locomotives, my two most recent additions to my roster (actually over a span of around five years) are these two. On the bottom is an F7 from Walthers Proto in Great Northern livery. Above is GP7, also a Walthers Proto. Both have sound decoders, but have not been programed or run. I don't think either is set up for passenger service, but they both are typical and appropriate for prototypical use on the Cascade Division in 1954 and on my 4th Subdivision. Starting with finding my JMRI Sprog and setting it up on the new laptop, these two need some basic programming and then running time on the Nooksack first phase!

Having used Chuck Davis's outline, I see that I have some work to do on my passenger car line up to start initial service that meets my goals. The RPO and the Refrigerator Express car in my current consist could stand a standards review, and as seen above, I have several rolling stock projects lined up. Finally, I have two locomotives that need to be set up and broken in. 

East Branch Scenery Updates -- Part 4

Here at the eastern end of the East Branch staging yard, the first phase of scenery is complete. Yes, more details could be added such as crossbucks, static grass tufts, and more bushes or shrubs. However, for the first layer, it is complete enough to move on. This scene generates Pacific Northwest atmosphere which is one of my goals. This scene also brings to a successful close the fix or extension to the originally planned staging. The first layer of ground foam and other scenery materials disguises the abrupt foam hillside to some extent. Time to move on!

Here, another section of the East Branch staging module exhibits enough first layer of scenery for me to feel ready to move on. The track is ballasted, the original clearcut area has been expanded, and some texture is applied from the berm and gap in the rear to the front fascia. Another layer of scenery should be applied later, but a foundational level of atmosphere and realism goals are there. Now, I need to get up the gumption to add to the first layer of scenery between these two areas, at least make sure that some texture is applied everywhere beyond painted plywood before I return to the Nooksack module's buildings, scenery, and operations.

In my last post, I discussed long range plans and a desire to improve the surroundings in the basement. While I do want to connect the two first phase finished areas ASAP, my thoughts about the basement were reinforced  when our new cat sitter came by to meet Jane and Gracie yesterday. When we mentioned the trains, she wanted to see them. As the first phase of the 4th Subdivision is coming together and I can take some pride in it,  I fear that the surrounding basement is more than a distraction; it destroys the illusion. Some improvements to the surroundings must be fit into the schedule!

TOMA In the 4th Subdivision -- Long Range Plans

Sketch Plan/Design for the 4th Subdivision

I spent the past few weeks revising a presentation on planning a new model railroad after moving and writing the accompanying handout that I will be giving at the MER convention in October. The clinic discusses both general plans for designing a model railroad and how I designed this one. I break the presentation into three parts: To get what you want you have to know what you want, the actual steps I took in designing a model railroad, and using TOMA. 

Nooksack and Staging

For much of the past couple of years, I have slowly made progress on the first phase of TOMA, the town of Nooksack with staging on both ends. The east staging, now named East Branch, will be fully sceniced and is a new module that I have written about a lot here on the blog. While I am somewhat disappointed in the slow progress so far, I feel like what I have accomplished has been somewhat successful. I do need to make a commitment to picking up the speed here as we enter "model railroad season." One major issue is that I have used something like the TOMA approach to providing the space for my railroad. This has been what I see as my largest mistake so far. This piecemeal transition from unfinished basement to layout room has not been satisfying and may be a contributing factor to lack of progress.

TOMA Phases Color Coded

While working on my presentation and thinking about progress on the "train room," I have returned to thinking about the long term goals for the entire railroad. Phase 1 is the town of Nooksack, well under way. My plan for Phase 2 is for Ferndale, a major interchange and fiddle yard, in addition to a new section of mainly scenery including a fill and cut to be added left (to the west) of Nooksack. That area of the basement is very decrepit right now. Although I don't want to start building any benchwork, I think that I should move to room prep of the Phase 2 area of the basement before Nooksack is finished. It would make for more desirable surroundings for me and acceptable surroundings for visitors.  

Moving into even longer range plans, the color coded illustration shows what I am thinking of in future phases of TOMA construction. Phase 3 will replace the temporary East Branch staging with the permanent town of Chikamin and a totally new section with scenery and an interchange between Chikamin and the Nooksack section. At the same time, the East Branch sceniced staging will move to in front of the posts as seen in the illustration. Phase 4 will be the blob peninsula and Phase 5 will be the Port Gulick scene. Other than an existing module from Meadville that is planned as the core of the town of Chikamin, all these sections will be new construction. 

We will see how much of this long term planning comes to fruition, but for now work on the first phase and some improvement of the surroundings in the basement need to press forward.

East Branch Scenery Updates -- Part 3

Working from the east end

In my last post I ended discussing a patch of trees as a way to disguise the dead-end of the far end of the East Branch Staging.

The first step was to pencil in the location of shadows on the sky from the temporarily placed trees. Then, during a recent Thursday modeling night, I painted in some trees using acrylic craft paints and some brown from the lid of my gallon of latex brown dirt color. Finding the green to be too light compared to the furnace filter trees, I mixed up a slightly darker color and added some darker brush strokes with slightly more detailed branch ends. The next day I drilled holes for the trees and marked them with toothpicks before adding a layer of a Scenics Express "Conifer Floor Blend," a ground foam and static grass mix, to the area.

In addition to gluing down the ground cover, I also applied ballast to the track, here between the tree locations. After the scenic glue had dried I went ahead and fit the five furnace filter trees in place. While no one has been able to explain the the reason for the phenomenon to me, I am a believer in the "odd number groups of trees looking more natural" theory. The five trees are made up of different colors, sizes, and construction techniques. While they actually block the track, the illusion and hidden shadows by the painted trees on the backdrop works well enough for me. 

In my previous post I explained the materials and techniques used for ballasting here on the East Branch staging section. While working here, I went ahead and finished ballasting the main and passing tracks between the clearcut and here at the east end. As seen in the photo, one segment of the ground needs some additional first layer work behind the passing track. My notion is that a path needs to be added, a gravel parking area at the end of the gravel road should be included, and some landscaping needs to be worked out around the yard office (which needs to be finished). 

Working backwards from the patch of trees, a section of the backdrop needed work. If nothing else, the patch between sections of backdrops created with the runaround extension from last September has never been resolved. I decided on showing a clearcut going into the distance. 

Using Google image, I went through a number of photos online until deciding on one from an online report from the University of Cincinnati. I did a screen grab and then saved a portion as a JPEG. My first idea was to do some old school cut and paste before glueing it into the backdrop as an experiment with collaging a photo into the painted backdrop. While trying out various positions of my photo cut outs, I changed my mind. Why not just use the photo as a source and try painting the distant ground and trees instead of trying to blend the photo with the rest of the painted backdrop? So, that is what I did. 

By having a source photo to work from and using my standard latex brown as one of my colors along with a few craft store paints, I think the transition from 2D backdrop to 3D bench-top works. I am not going to give up on ever collaging in a photo into the backdrop, but I will save that technique for buildings. The technique that I think will make that work is applying visual foils on either side of the building, an approach suggested by one of my model railroad inspirations: Paul Dolkos. Paul passed away earlier this month, but I was able to briefly meet him and visit his Baltimore Harbor Railroad several years ago before his railroad was taken down. 

In the last photo, the railroad crossing boards can be seen glued down, and the stumps are loosely positioned, but still need additional weathering. While I am making progress here on the East Branch staging, I still have more to do before I can say, "The first layer of scenery here is complete, let's run some trains and return to Nooksack." First layer of scenery is a doable goal here within a reasonable length of time, and may supply inspiration for additional progress on the railroad as a whole. 

Next Steps:

• Stump weathering
• Yard office completed
• Switch stands
• First layer of ground cover where missing
• Experiment with static grass and static grass mats

What's Been Happening On the Railroad: Stumbling Blocks or Gumption Traps?

It has been over a month since I last posted, Yikes! I shouldn't get too down on myself; it is somewhat expected that summer is a slow season for model railroading. I have done a few things, just not the steady progress that I had laid out for myself. Some slow progress has continued on the Curtis Cannery roof-top water tower, but I hit a small stumbling block. I tidied up the railroad, cleaned track, and did some solo operations, but I hit a bit of a stumbling block. (Do we sense a theme here?) Just last week I spent some time in the basement because it was the only cool part of the house during our week long heat wave. While there, I returned to scenery on the East Branch, which had been stymied by, wait for it, a series of stumbling blocks.

While my original drawings for the water tower had a different approach, I changed the plan at the last minute to the 12' X12' posts all aligned as straight and plumb verticals with a 90 degree angle at the base instead of many of the posts in the bents having a slight angle. I saw this approach with all straight posts and an angled board added at the end of the bent in a coal trestle somewhere, but I don't remember where. I may be breaking the "don't model from models" rule here. At any rate, I drew over my original drawing, cut and stained the parts, and went ahead starting to glue up the bents with braces as seen in the photo. 

Avoiding the heat working outside on another day, I went down to the workbench in the basement and wrapped up the rest of the braces and slanted end boards. After the glue was dry, I started brainstorming how to tie the joists holding the tank up, the bents, and the tank itself together. I was able to accurately glue the bents together by lining the parts up on the waxed paper covered drawing. Attempting to balance the 6" X 12" joists and bents in place with my shaky hands was unsuccessful as a trial of the new process. This was the stumbling block I mentioned earlier. At first I thought I would have to design a fixture to hold the joists in position and then glue the bents in place upside down. Now I am thinking that an easier approach is to glue the central joists in position at the bottom of the tank with the tank upside down before gluing the bents in place. At least I now have a plan, and I can move forward with cutting the joists to length and staining them. 

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I spent a couple of afternoons in the basement with solo operations. I am experimenting with the notion of having the car cards at an agent's desk that I discussed here and here earlier this spring. Clearing off the layout and cleaning track and loco wheels went fine. I arranged some cars in place and made up the first switchlist. After that I ran a first session that was enjoyable, lasted a little over an hour, and suggested that "model railroading is fun." But then, for the next session, the return of the first session's turn, I had too many cars in the East Branch yard, too many destinations, too many cars to pick up at the NP interchange. And worst of all, too much in my head moving back and forth from the railroad to the agent's desk. Model railroading was NOT fun. Well, over the last month, Lance Mindheim has posted links to some Switching Operations 101 videos on his YouTube channel and discussed solo operations on his blog. After considering his suggestions, my takeaway is to simplify and slow down, instead of trying to jam the operations plan of the whole completed 4th Subdivision into this one location and small yard. 

I had hit several stumbling blocks (actually, a full on gumption trap!) earlier this year on the East Branch staging. Looking back, this is probably why I started the cannery project. I was unhappy with how several parts of this temporary staging were turning out. (They all appear in this photo from February.) I tried justifying the obvious seam between two sections of sky panels as "deal with it, it's just temporary." Despite that, it bothers me every time I notice it, and I don't want to finish painting the tree line there because of it. On the aisle side of the module I had "scalloped" the fascia that I had installed after carving out some of the foam to create some three-dimensionality to the foam tabletop. I also had glued in a cork base for a road at the far end of the scene. I worried that I was in a "can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" situation, but didn't want to start over, so I ground to a halt.

Last week, during the worst of our heat/humidity wave, I bit the bullet and mixed up some Sculptamold. I applied it along the edge of the fascia, hoping to emphasize some irregular natural ground surface and deemphasize the too regular scallop I had cut into the fascia. After painting with my standard brown color, I was satisfied that it had mostly worked. I also went ahead and applied some wall board mud to the cork road base. After painting that a gray color, I am still not happy with it. However, I can see what to do next to correct that, rather than worried I will make it worse and not willing to do anything. 

At this point, I would say that I have possible solutions to most of my stumbling blocks, so that I can move forward and not be a victim of multiple gumption traps. We still have a lot of yard/garden projects to complete, but the railroad in the basement feels more like a place I want to go, a mental respite not a chore.