Stay the Course

"Upon further review.........."
Although the thought of locomotives w/ sound built-in is very appealing, I've decided not to jump the N-scale ship and go to HO scale over them.  I have way too much time & $$ invested in the New Rahel Terminus Line to pull the pin on N-scale.  I have so very many structure kits waiting for me to work on that it could very well take me the next 5 years to get through them all.

A clean slate! A fresh canvas!!

What I have decided to do is to start on a fresh section to reinvigorate my modeling senses.  I have 5.5 finished tables (blank slates that I have yet to do anything with).  I have done some demo work on some of the previous sections, namely removed the turntable from the one area and I'm not certain if it will make a re-appearance.  I wasn't quite happy with it altogether.  So I think I will devote the next who knows how many blog posts on creating a freight yard and engine facility for the NRTL.

So what is a table?  A wood  1x4  framed wheeled section that measures 6' long x 32" wide x 45.5" tall.  Its on lockable and height adjustable caster and has a 1/2" thick plywood top. 

Tables can also be a great area for crap
to migrate to (As you can see from some
of the other tables in the background). 

The backdrop, from my previous post
"New Horizon" is attached w/ Scotch brand
heavy duty velcro.  The center  divider/backdrop 
is supported by 3 18""x  1/2"galvanized  
threaded pipe attached to a threaded 1/2"  
metal light  box cap that is attached to the top.  

I want to get the most out of the area so it'll be double
sided.  (one scene on one side and another on the other side)  

You can see the Box cap, usually used to attach an exterior flood
Lamp.  The lights are under counter flourescent that are zip-tied to
a piece of PVC pipe to keep the weight down.

Here's a side view.  The valance is clamped on right now but it will
Be screwed to the box cap when done.  The light and valance arms
are connected to a 1/2" threaded "T" connector

While there are some light "hot spots", I'm fairly pleased with
the results so far.  Onward to the foam!!

Stay the course or go to HO........that is the question.

So....It's been a bit since a post, especially a meaningful one (at least to me).  I have tons of N-scale structure's (built & still in the box), rolling stock, track & switches, etc. N-scale.  I have not really seriously worked on the railroad for over 1 year.  I like what I see in HO scale, especially structures, and the fact that the locomotives now come standard with sound.  I have a Soundtrax sound system that works with Soundtrax decoders, but I've never installed it.  I think trying to get speakers into an N-scale loco is a project I don't want to tackle.  With the Soundtrax system there is no need for individual speakers but the layout needs to be divided into "sound sections".  One of the things I love about DCC is not having to divide the layout into power districts, so I'm not a fan of dividing things into "Sound districts".  I'm not that electrically smart, I love structure building, and creating a believable environment.  I just don't want to have to dink around a lot with finicky engine stuff.

So the $1m. question, switch to HO or stay w/ N???

New Horizon (Background)

I was never really thrilled with the way my existing backdrop looked.  I had used some of the paper background photos, that were glued on to a blue painted masonite (brown press board).  They looked alright when you were at eye level and straight on but the sky paint didn't match the sky color of the printed picture and even the sky color from picture to picture varied and it bugged me.

I am always getting ideas for the New Rahel Terminus when walking through home improvement stores and I came across a 4' x 8' poly (plastic) wall panel.  It is relatively thin and cuts easily.  I used 3 colors of blue plastic rated spray paint on each 8'x 16" section once I cut them to size.  I like how they turned out.  My wife thinks they look a bit dark or stormy. I think they look serious and it matches my mood and the mood of New Rahel's cityscape.

 

Welcome Back

I've been on hiatus for about 2 years, finishing up my bachelor degree and  lot of dust has settled over the metropolis of New Rahel and the New Rahel Terminus.  Time has come to get back to the basement and see where I left off.

A little change is in store as I have moved the basement around again, all for a better railroad flow.  That's one of the beauties of doing this on tables or in sections! I did start a new shack for the Edison Electric plant coal yard. Maybe it's a maintenance shop of a place for yard workers to take a snooze in between jobs?  It's a GC Laser structure.  Pretty easy to assemble, all laser cut cardboard / pressboard.  I added a few things for interest and put it on pillars instead of it resting on the ground.

 

 
Overall I think it turned out alright.  It was a nice start back into the fray after a long time away!

 The tables are pretty cluttered right now with all the usual junk that one accumulates when doing any project, but now there is room to walk around the entire layout.  We'll see how things take shape in the future.
It's good to be back at it.