Getting all 'Treed-In'

A chilly, slow spring season is underway in New Jersey, allowing me to squeeze in a few more projects before the outdoor-chore season begins.  Here's a quick iPhone shot of the current scene at CP 282, now with a nearly-complete backdrop of a steep bluff with heavy tree growth.

This scene really helps to fill in the west end of the railroad and now it's easier to imagine how it will look when complete.  Still to come here is a scratchbuilt tower to represent the prototype tower that stood as 'SJ' in Solvay, NY, as well as completed trackside scenery with static grass and sundry details for the signals and turnouts.  

As the scenery 'grows' across this area, the rest of the layout looks more and more desolate, awaiting scenery of its own!  It's the long-term view that matters, though, and this is a great hobby in that it is truly cumulative.  Every tiny effort serves in perpetuity so that little time is wasted, and each project provides a return measured in years.  That's an exciting part of why we do this!

~RGDave

A Quick Vote of Confidence for Athearn

It is easy to find fault today in so many parts of our lives.  Maybe that's always been true, but regardless, I find it important to give praise when it is due.

Athearn, one of the older manufacturers of model railroad items, is well represented in my collection of locomotives and freight cars.  Recently, I purchased one of their beautiful models of a GP40-2 decorated for Conrail, and was disappointed to find that the details on the model, while prototypical for 1977, did not match the description, which matched my mid-1990's era.  

This view of 3293, from the Athearn website, is how I thought the 3312 would be detailed, based on its description on the Athearn website.  My 3312 came with different trucks and a different plow, requiring about $25 in parts to correct.  I contacted Athearn and while they would not give me a credit to match the cost of the parts to 'upgrade' the model, they did offer to send me a new freight car of equivalent price that fits my era.

It is a small gesture, yes, but I would argue that this is excellent customer service.  In a world that is quick to judge, I offer this story so that we can all appreciate that there are still companies out there that are here to help!

~RGDave

More Power, and More Trial & Error

There's progress on several fronts lately.  First, another locomotive has joined the roster on the Onondaga Cutoff, this one another western visitor and the first Cotton Belt locomotive to officially join the fleet:  SSW 9378, a model of one of Cotton Belt's SD45T-2's.

As an unabashed fan of the Denver & Rio Grande Western, as well as all the railroads of the desert Southwest, I have a side project of modeling the locomotives common to that area.  Thanks to the variety of run-through power on Conrail's Chicago Line in the 1990's, I can even use them now and again during operating sessions.

Several years ago, Athearn Inc. released this model, which is beautiful even by today's standards. The moldings are crisp and sharp, the details are railroad-specific, the paint is correct, and the model captures the look of the prototype very well.  To that, I added the details that were not included with the factory model (coupler lift bars, windshield wipers, lift rings, MU hoses, and a corrected plow) and a few generous doses of weathering using dullcoat, pastel chalks, brush paint, and an airbrush overcoat of engine black.

  Here's a few cab views.  That SP-style Gyralite (between the numberboards, with the headlight on the nose as per SP practice) works as well, a neat effect!

The most recent trial and error process has been developing a ballast mix for use in Onondaga Yard. I mentioned in the last post how I think it is important to get the right mix for a modern yard, as opposed to one from the steam era.  Input from Jack and prototype photos have led to me to search for a new mix.  I have begun to experiment with a more gray mix, called "Northern Pacific" by Arizona Rock & Mineral Co., as well as mixing in some fine-ground turf by Woodland Scenics.  Once this dries out in a day or two, I will have a good comparison, and we just may have found our ballast mix for a yard that is well-maintained but also well-used!

Here's a close-up view of the frog and the 'mud' that gets pumped up around the frog and joints in a turnout.  I think this looks better than ballast alone:

As spring develops here in New Jersey, there will be less open windows of time for the Onondaga Cutoff, but I hope to be able to sneak in time here and there to continue the great progress of this winter.  Little by little, this railroad is coming together.

~RGDave

Trial & Error: Scenery Progress

As life settles in at home with the new baby starting to gain some regularity in his schedule, I have spent a few minutes each evening just before bed pondering the scenery on the Onondaga Cutoff.   As a civil engineer it is relatively straight forward to lay track according to a plan, and to make adjustments on the fly regarding alignment or configuration.  It is far less straight forward to build good-looking scenery!

Thanks to the discussion earlier this month about the actual location of the route the Onondaga Cutoff would follow, it was obvious that the scenery at Onondaga Yard and at CP282 would need to change.  While I had painted the backdrop to suggest far-off hilltops, in 'reality' the route passes through a narrow valley at this location.

The first step was to paint a dark green layer onto the backdrop to suggest a bluff several hundred feet high.  The green was a nice start, but the vertical backdrop took away from the profile view - it was obvious this wasn't a hill.  So, I used cardboard to add a slope to the backdrop.

I then painted that the same dark green to minimize any chance of it showing through once the tree 'puffs' were added.  I made the tree tops from polyfiber and course turf, following some good advice in Model Railroader magazine.  I made 6 trays of about 40 trees each, and I only finished about 7 linear feet!  More is needed but the effect is excellent:

I'm pleased with this treatment of backdrop and am excited to keep moving on that front!  The other current question is what ballast mix to use for the yard tracks in Onondaga Yard.  Here's a quick shot with the main tracks on the right, and the South Runner on the left with a darker mix.  I feel this is too speckled, and the base too black - appropriate for the 50's or 60's maybe, but not for a more modern facility.  My hunch is that a dark grey base is better for a yard in the 1990's.

Thoughts are always welcome!

The winter is lasting a long time this year, with more than a foot of snow on the ground for over a month at this point, and with another 4-8 inches expected this week.  It allows for more time modeling and for that, I am thankful!

~RGDave

The Consequences of Plausibility

One of the fun challenges about building model railroad is trying to fit a model of reality in a space that has different boundaries than those that govern the prototype.  This applies to any prototype-based model railroad, whether of a specific prototype or not - there are few modelers with the available space to produce a scale model of a yard or even an interlocking.   The key for us who are creating the model railroad is plausibility:  making as many scenes as we can as believable as possible.

And so, as scenery continues to develop on the Onondaga Cutoff, I have started to look for ways to do just that.  It turns out that the actual geography of the fictional Cutoff needed to be re-imagined! This railroad is operated as a southern bypass around Syracuse, NY, and as I started to really study some local topographical maps to see where the railroad would have run, it was obvious some of the scenes would have to change to correspond with where the mileposts would fall.

Here is a scan of several quadrants of topographical map for the City of Syracuse, circa 1947.  Click on it for a full size view.  I have used photo software to overlay a bold black line showing the approximate alignment of the Onondaga Cutoff, aligned to follow the topography of the area to minimize earthwork needed for construction.

Following the development of the prototype routes in the area in the 1930's, the OC would have been modernized with grade separation through the South Side of Syracuse.  To the right, you can see where Onondaga Yard would be located, as well as the junction with the M&E, which would a new connector to join the right of way of the former Lackawanna's Syracuse Branch and run south towards the fictional Doelger Brewing Company brewery and Euclid Yard.  Just off this map to the right is Fayetteville, and therefore what we had previously been calling Camillus, NY will be relabeled Fayetteville to add to the plausibility of the whole concept.   The Cutoff then continues across that plain out towards its junction with the Chicago Line east of Kirkville, NY.

These sorts of mental exercises help me to build a convincing story for the model railroad, which in turn helps to focus attention on aspects that add to the operating experience.  Sometimes, as we learn more about our prototype, we need to make changes.  That's the chance you take when you're trying to create a plausible prototype!

~RGDave

Inch By Inch....

Slowly, surely, inch-by-inch, the Onondaga Cutoff is getting quite a bit more interesting to look at, as scenery spreads across the layout.   This is a time-consuming process of learning and trial & error - but there is progress.  I have found that a layered approach with lots of variety of materials is giving the best results.

The M&E continues to be the start for the scenery.  Here, just upgrade from the Skaneateles Creek bridge scene, the M&E's right of way comes out of a rock cut and across an overgrown field to a grade crossing on the climb to the top of Clarence Hill.  Here the track is on plywood strips, and the surrounding area is made from cardboard strips weaved into place and then covered with plaster gauze.  Once that sets, it is covered with 'Hydrocal' plaster and then painted brownish black.  

Once that dries, I am trying a new technique I saw on several local layouts that uses patio paver sand as a top coat for the smooth plaster.  Once that is saturated with diluted matte medium, I hit the area with several applications of static grass and then accent it with some tufts of ground foam and course turf.  I think it's a convincing representation of northeastern scenery!

The family is well, we are learning about being a foursome and everyone is doing their part.  The layout continues to be a very satisfying way to spend a few hours a week - each time I get to work on it, the previous work remains in place, a reminder of persistence and progress.  

The best is yet to come!
~RGDave

New Beginnings

7 years into the construction of the Onondaga Cutoff, it's still very possible for new beginnings.  38 years into life, new beginnings are not just possible, but actually happening!

While mostly focused on the model railroad, this blog would be incomplete without mention of my daughter Susie, and in that light I'd like to introduce my baby son to the Onondaga Cutoff community.  Theodore Ellis Abeles was born healthy on December 27, 2014 at 8:41 a.m., weighing 7 lb 8.5 oz, and 21 inches long!! 

Teddy is doing well, and so far the process of getting him established seems to be a bit more fluid than was Susie's arrival home.  Experience matters, and so does having an amazing wife and mother in Kristen!  Susie, too, is amazing in her ability to accommodate change.   Having to suddenly share Kristen's attention is a challenge for her, but through our consistent effort to prepare her and her amazing positive attitude, Susie was very excited for the baby's arrival.  Sure enough, she is very excited to have a little brother - and doesn't hesitate to show it!

As far as the Onondaga Cutoff is concerned, here's a token layout photograph for you all of the Island Yard, Phase II of which is now complete, including wiring. A backdrop will follow here, connecting to the backdrop on the main layout, which will help to tie the whole thing together.  Admittedly there will be less progress than we have been used to for the next few months- the schedule is packed full of diaper changes, bathtimes, mealtimes, and general house cleanup, in addition to plenty of time spent playing with Susie and holding Teddy. 

Happy New Year to one and all!

~RGDave