Running Bear’s November 2019 Coffee Shop


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Kellyann said:
Arthur said the same it's all about planning and more planning. I dunno where to start with a plan? :eek:
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OK, I'll try to tackle this, and maybe some of the others can jump in.
1. How much space have you got to work with?
2. Do you want to watch trains go around or do you wish to do switching or somewhere in between.
3. What scale are you working with?
The answer to these questions help you decide what kind of layout to plan.
 
Hi Shop Dwellers, it's 35*F and cloudy with a NW wind of 11mph sustained and gusting to 25mph, here in central MD. Sure am glad I decided to do all my outdoor chores yesterday! As always, thank you everyone for the "likes" and comments on my Sunday post.

montanan said:
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IBKen - Like the photos. Nice progress. Glad you were able to find hydrocal. I located a distributor years ago in Billings and picked up two fifty pound bags. Just have a little left now.

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Thanks Chet, I'd love to be able to find even a 25lb bag from a local source, but I'm not sure about what its generic equivalent is called[?] Maybe then I could do a more "intelligent" online search...

Kellyann said:
About 2 metres by 2 metres. I like painting the figures my neighbour will do the electric bit. I think it's oo scale.
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Kellyann, welcome to the forum! With your limited space situation I would strongly recommend Carl Arendt's website. His specialty is so-called "micro layouts" and he's done some world-class ones, check it out:
http://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/single-level-micro-layouts/

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Once again, my layout work has been paralyzed by what I call a "crisis of imagination." I mentioned last time, that I realized I would be better off if I did the scenery on the hardest-to-reach corner area before covering anything closer. This photo diagram will [hopefully] explain what I'm talking about:

SouthBrooklynDilemmaRegion.jpg


That area inside the red trapezoid is what's giving me fits. I'm not sure whether to put the rear sides of some buildings along the backdrop, or just some bushes and/or trees. I'll be planting Static Grass inside the bright green spot just above the interlocking tower. But I don't know if I should do what Lance Mindhiem calls "negative space" with undeveloped, overgrown industrial real estate, or put in a gravel driveway leading to that printing industry (gray building) at the far left.

One thing I do know is that I need something in that orange-outlined 'X' area to cover - or at least obfuscate - the protruding corner of the printing company building, to hide its small size and lack of depth (it's from a Walthers 'flat' kit). Maybe a water tower, like this one: https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/walthers-ho-933-2826-city-water-tower-silver-built-up/ This wouldn't completely hide the closer corner, but it would make it less plainly visible. Or ... <Lightbulb moment> maybe I could replace it with a leftover 2-story DPM warehouse that's longer , but easier to hide with just a few trees? Here's a photo of it on my old layout (14yrs ago):

Legacy_IronbeltWarehousePrevLayout.jpg


..that would be the cheaper solution, but first I'll have to find it in the attic, and bring it down to see if it will actually fit in that tight spot.
 
Kellyann said:
It's dark cold and raining here today :( I've been looking at the different eras of some of the sets. Gas anyone done a modern or futuristic set? I'm thinking of doing a modern one as my starter. What do you think?
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Are you interested in UK railroads? Or looking at US ones or perhaps Continental or Japanese? Or a mixed lot? Lots of settings you can start with. Most of the folks here model US railroads it seems but there are vibrant modeling cultures all over. I do N scale Japanese and German/European, for example (and I don't hesitate to run both at the same time).
 
Kellyann said:
Arthur said the same it's all about planning and more planning. I dunno where to start with a plan? :eek:
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Kellyann- to start, decided how much space you have for a layout, what scale and type of track (flexible or sectional track) to use and what type of bench work (type of table to put the layout on.)
After you you have an idea of what you want, come back and ask for help. We can suggest minimum curve radius, sidings, turnouts to fit your space and construction tips. Decisions, decisions and more decisions.
 
IronBeltKen said:
I don't know if I should do what Lance Mindhiem calls "negative space" with undeveloped, overgrown industrial real estate, or put in a gravel driveway leading to that printing industry (gray building) at the far left.
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Ken: Not for noting, sometimes less is more. The grey building + gravel access road +water tower + vegetation may be your best answer for the space. The alternative of the recycled two story building, would offer a similar dilemma, assuming it fits the space. It's not unusual to find an "exposed" industrial structure at the edge of town, so to speak, with adjacent "negative space" , just waiting for some future developer to improve upon. Also your layout as that open appearance. If it doesn't work, then something along the backdrop is still plausible. You really won't know until you put down the scenery.

Boris
 
PNKFLOYD said:
I went and bought 235-60 x 17 new tires today.
I sure I could have bought them off this 1960's ad, but they didn't have my tire size listed.
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They used to run an ad for Goodyear tires "If it saves your life, it's a good year". There was a full set on a car I had when I bought it, all with plenty of tread on them. After about 18 months and still with plenty left, they saved my life 3 times in a month or so, all with failed walls.
 
As Scooby Doo said, "Rutt Row!".

Morning all,

We hit a new low in Doo-Dah yesterday of 8*, old record was 9*. Supposed to be back in the 50's today. We'll see.

My 14 year old laptop with a 7.5 year old SSD drive finally shot craps on Sunday. So for the first time in 25 years I actually bought a NEW computer. Best Buy had a good price on a Dell that I couldn't figure how to beat. It isn't the top of the line, but not the bottom either. Took me an hour to get the thing setup (Windows 10 home is a lot harder than the Professional version. Too much "we gotta explain it to you first". I do this for a living, didn't need the software second guessing me.

So with that handled, I did get about 30 minutes of time last night to make my rail joiner power connectors. They seem to at least connect ok. As long as they deliver the power to the track, they're good to go.
 
Good morning everyone. 23 outside. Time for coffee!!

Tom, TexasHobo, Alcomotive, Lee, Flip, Patrick, Chet, and anyone I may have missed - thanks for the likes and comments.
Chet - I'm not whining about the cold - I can take some of that (although not as much as I used to) - I'm whining that it's happening so early in the season!
Willie - Sounds like a great title for a book or TV show - "The Case of the Disappearing Stiff"

Well, I'm making some progress on the BaitAndTackle structure. Here are the latest photos:

I know those roof pieces in the lower left look blue, but those are gray, with a hint of green showing through.
BaitAndTackle3.jpg


Most of the exterior walls are ready, windows in place, loading dock door on, etc. Just have to add glass to the windows and put in some window treatments.
BaitAndTackle4.jpg


Still have a lot of pieces to paint, but hopefully this weekend I'll begin gluing walls onto the base and this building can start going UP!

Have a good day everyone.
 
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