Sliding into Staging

In response to the thicket trial run, @bawdsey of Albion Yard asked about the window and how it relates to the layout: Does the window and it’s exterior background factor into the ‘picture’?The reason I ask, I had a similar experience though my window was frosted. To get round the backlighting and distraction of the […]

Coal Loads

I made the loads for the coal cars from some chunks of styrofoam that have been aging in the garage for years. The loader in Depot Harbor was a clamshell, and would have made heaps, rather than a single big lump like a chute over a moving car. Three of the cars got three heaps, […]

Thicket Armatures

We had house guests staying in the train room for the past week, and anyway it’s summer and the weather is too nice to spend days in the basement. It turns out that bending tree armatures is an excellent patio activity that requires minimal tools or precision, and is thus compatible with the consumption of […]

Thicket Trial Run

Using a paper template, I jig-sawed a plywood base for the thicket. The plywood is 6mm thick, and so, I cut the cork away to bring the new landform closer in height to the edge of the pasture. With a little luck, I won’t have to fill the gap between the two sections as it […]

Thicket Shapes Begin

Very few model railway activities lend themselves to sunny days on the deck. I reckon tree-making might, and so, I’ve started laying out the shapes of the first row of trees in the thicket. I started tracing the trees in InkScape, but that turned out to be very slow. So I switched to an iPad […]

A Perfect Saturday Morning

Somewhere, there are some coal cars waiting for loads. If I look for jobs around the house, I won’t have to look far. If I look for something to do in the garden, it will surely grab me by the ankle. But today it is raining, and my darling wife took me to the Loutet […]

Coal Cars and Unintentional Braking

The coal cars, as displayed at the Railway Modellers’ Meet, were curiously difficult to get onto the rails. Well, there was no time to fuss, and so, into the box they went for inspection by the 100 or so modellers who came up to SFU. Once home, and after some final details had been applied, […]

Coal Cars Ready for the Meet (Almost)

With house guests encamped in the workshop, I turned my attention to tasks that were appropriate for the dining room table. I picked up some Invisafil fine thread from a sewing store near the hobby shop, and made myself a little crochet hook. The finer thread was much more consistent and less aggravating than teasing […]

Coal Cars Enter the Paint Shop

The coal car project is entering the frantic phase as I stretch to meet the deadline imposed by the Railway Modellers’ Meet. Photos are sparser and messier, and blog posts are dropped in favour of time at the work bench. Once assembled, it is difficult to get into the interior of the cars for detail […]

Alternative Chains

When it comes to chains, like those that wind up the hopper doors, the finest real chain I can find is 40 links-per-inch. Some jewelry is slightly finer chain but those have square links and look better for personal adornment than industrial utility. 40 links per inch scales to slightly bigger than 2-inch chain, and […]