Blast from the past....

It's odd how things come back from the past at the least expected time. I was researching some GM&O woodchip hoppers online earlier on Google. I noticed a familiar webpage that turned up in the search and clicked on the link. It was my first webpage associated with the Aberdeen Sub that I had with my old internet service provider. I thought the site had been deleted when I canceled my service. I guess not.

One of the things I liked about the site is that I had a rough drawing of the area that I modeled with clickable location links with photos. Take a look at the "Track Schematic"

Enjoy,

http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/r/drail14me/

Work continues on TXI...

I'm still working on the TXI cement plant. In this photo you can see the HAZMAT Fuel receiving barn and holding tanks. They use several types of HAZMAT materials to fuel the kiln at the cement plan. The SW1 is a Walthers unit that I painted to match the ex-CAGY paint that the switcher wore for a bit at the plant.

More on TXI....

I'm continuing on the Cement plant. I'm thinking that I might try to go ahead and scenic this area and try to finish it as my first sceniced spot on the layout. I'm about ready to get SOMETHING finished on this thing! Anyway, I've been working on scratchbuilding the loading zone of the cement plant.

Here's a photo of the prototype. I've tried to replicate it as best I could.










And here's a shot of the model. This is my first real attempt at a complicated scratch build. So far, it's been hard to find some of the industrial type parts but I'm learning. I've still got a lot of work to do to it but at least I

TXI Cement just South of Artesia...

I've been making some progress on the TXI Cement plant just South of Artesia. Here are a few images of the progress.

Aberdeen Sub in the News

Just after Chrsistmas, Walt Grayson with WLBT news in Jackson, MS stopped by to visit the Aberdeen Sub. He filmed a quick story that aired on WLBT this week. It was a pretty good segment however, I wish he would have left me out of the video and focused more on the trains. There were some much better scenes on the layout that would have looked much better on TV than my ugly mugshot. HA!!

A foam filled day!!!

With the holidays, I've had more free time to work on the layout. This week, I've been concentrating on getting the basic scenery base in place. I'm using a few different types of foam and cutting to fit the spaces on my open grid benchwork. I've been running trains for a while now but I've been VERY nervous while running on the upper deck as a derailment could be catastrophic with the open grid. I'd hate to see a custom painted and weathered loco tumble 60" to the floor. Now that I've got the foam in, I feel a LOT better about running trains and testing the track on the upper deck.



Here's a shot of a local I've been running all week while testing some Sergent Engineering couplers. These are by far the best couplers I've ever used. Much better than Kadee so far. They are strong and reliable and prototypical in operation. Zoom in on the open knuckle on the front of the GM&O unit. I'm swapping out my entire fleet. Notice the open benchwork below the track bed. Accident waiting to happen.


Here's a view from the same spot above but looking "West" towards the East bound local. Now that the foam is in, I feel much more at ease when thinking about derailments. The area under the tank cars will be a low wetland area with a couple of small creeks and two wooden trestles.

Here's another trestle that's already in place. This will be also be a low swampy area with cypress trees in standing water. I'm looking forward to working on this scene.

About time for an update!!!

Well, it's been 7 months since my last update. After 16 years, I finally decided to go back to school to get a masters. I'm now halfway through the program and it's kept me BUSY!!! Thanksgiving has offered a little relief so I thought I'd add a quick update to show a few things that did get worked on.

First off is this scene where my IC/KCS main is about to cross the double track Southern/NS line. Here, I've added in the bridges, a couple layers of plaster cloth and some of Joe Fugate's cement ground goop. I REALLY like his recipe for this ground goop as it forms a VERY solid scenery base. Having a solid base is important to me with my three young kids "helping" on the layout!!

Next is the last bit of track that I installed. It included these industrial spurs towards the backdrop. This will be the Georgia Pacific MDF board plant in Louisville. It has an outgoing shipping track for box cars, two "Glue Tracks" for tanks and hoppers and one track for woodchips. I only have one more track to get in service on the layout. It's a Rip track in the Artesia yard. I need to get off my duff and put it in!!

Finally, we have downtown Ackerman. The L/A Local pulls through the siding at Askerman while Pap cooks fish at Pap's Place in the background. These downtown buildings were built by Rich Cobb. He did a great job on them. I can't wait to finish this scene.

Well, that's all the updates for now other than a few mechanical and electrical repairs while running trains.