TXI photo backdrop

 I'm continuing work on the TXI cement plant. The scene with just a blue backdrop made the plant look small and shallow. I really wanted to give the impression of the massive plant that it is. So, I thought of adding a photo backdrop behind the plant to hopefully give the illusion of depth. The backdrop photo is a quick mural with no adjustments I made in Photoshop combining about a dozen photos of the conveyor system to the bulk Clinker storage area. I like the idea and look of photo backdrops but I think this one needs some work.

First off, I think I need to lighten the image as it appears too dark with the layout lighting. Plus, I'd like the blue sky to be a closer match to the painted blue backdrop I already have.

Also, you can see that I have a photo backdrop behind only half of the cement plant. I feel that I need to have a photo behind the whole plant but I'm not sure what would look good behind the kiln. I've got some more photos of the plant that I'm going to try to work into those area.

Back to work on the layout!

The weather has been too nice lately to be working inside so I started landscaping the yard in earnest a few weeks ago. So far, I've planted over 225 plants and more on the way. This is a project I've been putting off for almost 5 years and it's almost done.

While waiting on the next shipment of plants to reach the local Co-Op, I decided to do a little work on the layout. I've done a bit here and there over the past month or so but just hadn't posted and hadn't spent more than an hour working on it. Today, I spent most of the day up there. The focus of the work has been centered on the TXI cement plant and getting all the roads in place. Those are all done and painted so I started adding a scenery base and getting buildings into their final resting place. I've got LOTS of glue drying right now so it seemed like a good time to post.

Also, one other development. Take a look at pp. 54-55 of the latest (June 2012) issue of Model Railroader. I've got my first article published in a major magazine on how I built the car loading platforms for Crawford Grain and TXI. More to come!

Hidden stagging under control!!!!

Controls for the hidden staging tracks are done!!!

I spent the last three days working on and trouble shooting a Diode Matrix Control for the hidden yard ladder. I say trouble shooting because after I wired it all up on Wednesday, I couldn't get it to work. I spent the last two days checking everything and scratching my head. I finally noticed that I'd put a diode in backwards. DHOOOO!!!

I'm happy to say that this morning I got it working like a top and love it. I found the schematic on David K. Smith's site here: http://whiteriverandnorthern.net/clinics.htm   David was super helpful in helping me out with my questions. I'm glad I did the controls this way.

Here you can see the hidden staging entrance/exit at Meridian. In the bottom right of the photo is a red knob that is the rotary switch for the diode matrix. I'm working on a label for the switch and am also going to put a small dry erase board above it so that I can write consist numbers for the locos in staging. You can also see the video monitor that I use to watch trains in the staging yard.

Switching Crawford Grain

Today, I played with photographing the layout. I tried different lighting techniques and did my first ever photo stack to get good depth of field. This photo is the result. I'm not 100% happy with the white balance in the shot but it's much improved over other shots I've taken lately. I hope to get to experiment more with the camera soon.

Bridge in and slow order removed.....

 Crawford overpass is in and trains can run again!!! The track was ballasted and secured with white glue mix. Once dry, I brushed on layers of different colors of Bragdon's weathering powder. The rails were painted with a Floquil "Rust" paint pen. After it dried, I used a stiff brush to take most of the paint back off of the rail and the ties that it got onto. Plus, the brush helped work in the powder. Spring is almost here so green stuff should start sprouting soon.

Paving roads

I've gotten my first two roads in and about done. This first photo is the main street coming out of Crawford. You can see the glue drying on the gravel drive that goes to Crawford Grain. This road T's into HWY 45 as you can see in the distance. If you take a left on HWY 45, it will take you to the bridge below. This road was poured with Woodland Scenic's paving plaster. I then brushed on a thick coat of white glue and added a layer for fine ballast. After it dried, I sanded it then painted with Ralph Lauren "River Rock" series paint finishes then sanded again, appliedvstripping, sanded again followed by a dusting of India Ink wash.

This is the HWY 45 underpass at Crawford. I've got the bridge temporarily set while adding the finishing touches to the road. The road that turns off to the left just beyond the bridge leads to the TXI cement plant. This road was done with drywall spackling then painted with Ralph Lauren and finished like the other road.

It's been almost a month since my last update. I've actually gotten quite a bit done but just haven't posted. Right now, I'm kind of held up waiting on some parts to come from Walthers before continuing on. What you're seeing here is the start of my "Bad side of the tracks" in Meridian. This is a freelanced scene but is based on the ICG/Southern crossing in Meridian so the tracks are pretty close to the prototype. I'm waiting on some more curbing to come from Walthers to finish assembling the street. I hope to have them next week or so.

Here's a shot from the other side of the bridge. I've added the green stagnant summer water to the ditch and started on the ground cover. The double track in the background is the Southern and the single track in the foreground is the ICG as the two converge to cross in Meridian.