Hard to believe it's been 28 months since the last post of the railway (October 20, 2022)! "Space: 2022", other subjects and unforseen life issues took over as well for some time. And then with the 3D printer and "Cargo: 2022" in development, it had become an unstoppable juggernaut and I had to pack it away for awhile. So leaving behind that "space shit" (thnx Corey!), I dusted off the layout and continued from where I had left off months ago. (Unfortunately, when you resume a project after some time, you look at it differently and previous concepts and ideas are no longer relevant. But first, some work done before the layout went into storage).
I continued to work on the layout a few months after that October post. Mostly in "landscaping". The junkyard area needed walls, so the first thing I did was get my cork together. Yes cork...
I had been admiring this natural material for some time. Not just as the stopper for my favourite drink, but as a scenery element. I had been aware of it since the mid '80s when the wife started to grow orchids. Used as a plaque to mount various epiphytic species, I saw immediately how much it resembled rock outcroppings. It is a lightweight material and sustainable, so I just waited for the right diorama to come along, but wasn't expecting it to be a fourty year wait! So here is the area to be turned into a rockery.
That suspended track will eventually be a trestle for wagons, but that's for later. First was a few nights of cutting and shaping the wood, gluing it with liquid nails, and finally using wood filler for the gaps.
That small crescent shaped area on the right will be a small pond, with a few surprises lurking in the reeds! The abutment is in place and the other blank walls are going to be retaining walls. Unfortunately, I neglected to take any progress photos after this point. But a few weeks later, operations on the railway ceased and the layout was put into storage. It came out of retirement two weeks ago...
As you can see, a lot has changed already. (By the way, those rusty retaining walls are recycled SLA parts from a bridge deck). The first thing I did was remove the trestle from the open space. I had actually built a 12" bridge but it took up so much space. I then set about revamping the track plan; most of it was reconfigured. The switch for the trestle was removed and I expanded the sizes of the sidings. Since I was working on the track, I decided this was a good time to wire it up. Luckily I used Peco Insulfrog points, so I only needed two feeder wires. To enhance switching, I created a small isolated area I could keep an engine on standby. This I control with an external vintage Leviton knife switch, just visible there on the lower left of the layout. At least now I can operate trains. The terrain was also altered somewhat, and I cut 1" foam for the backdrop, 18" high, which will be used for low relief structure and scenery.
But something kept nagging at me in the back of my mind. As much as I wanted that sci fi junkyard, I realized it was too limiting in what types of cargo would be on the layout. With limited space available, I scrapped the junkyard (no pun intended...) and decided to turn that area into a dock. This way I can bring in almost any kind of cargo and/or wagons I see fit. Only problem was it was land locked, so I had to create a logical port entrance. Best solution, a draw bridge.
You can also see the nice rock outcrop I made to replace the tunnel. I 3D printed a curved bridge I found on Thingiverse, and carved away the foam underneath. Some retaining walls, machinery and greeblies later:
Of course it is non functioning; I don't need that kind of realism! I'll add some gates and other details later. Now I can add boats in the dock area, one of which has already been started...
Currently in a raw state, this barge was of course 3D printed from bashing some more Thingiverse files. I'll add details and greeblies later in the traditional method. The barge will carry a variety of cargo, to be loaded/off loaded from the yet-to-be-built dock crane on the first siding. The other sidings will be for more wagons, cranes, and structures. Incidentally, the barge is 12" long. It will get it's own post at a later date.
So this is the state of the layout at present. There is still so much to do, even for a project this small in only a 15" x 62" area. But that is the beauty of model railroading; you just do what you want when you want.
We'll see how long the train inspiration lasts this time! Thanks for the visit and have a better one!
