August - September Update

Here it is October 2nd and I am now just getting the opportunity to write my update post of August and September. Since my last post documenting the retirement of EMD GP30s from service, there have been quite a few changes to the layout that everyone needs to get caught up on. 

ACTIVATION OF SD60Ms
July saw the departure of MCIS EMD GP30 and GP60 fleets. To help offset MCIS had purchased a three unit fleet of EMD SD60Ms in 2016 when they had been parked. At the time the units were stored for overhaul and eventual re-activation.  MCIS 6085 and 6086 released from MAC Rail in September and went into service equipped with Soundtraxx Tsunami2 sound. MCIS 6087 expected to be in service January 2019. 

All three motors came from BNSF and have been equipped with PTC equipment to operate over CN trackage rights and GPS for e-DTC operation on home rails.  

 MCIS 6085 (Full repaint by Fogelsinger Rail)

 MCIS 6086 (ex. BNSF patch by VMS)

Both motors were hard wire rebuilt from the trucks up to improve performance. 

IT ALL BEGAN WITH A BOOK
For sometime I have struggled to find the right fit of industries for my Bay Industrial Spur. While it did host a river side cement terminal, asphalt terminal, and corrugated box plant it felt too crammed. After reading Bernie Kempinski's recent Waterfront Terminals and Operations book I was inspired to make changes, all due to modeling a boat...... A good friend and modeler told me earlier this summer "While you have the generic midwest theme going on, a lake freighter would firmly plant your layout on the Great Lakes", and he was absolutely right! Seeing that Deans Marine model on Bernie's layout sold me, now to figure out the plan. 

Part 1 - Location
So like a good plan I started to sketch out ideas on napkins or printer paper to get a feel of what would work. 

Lafarge terminal in Delray, Michigan (Detroit River) - Google Earth 3D

Sketching up the idea

Using the prototype, a common boat / rail served industry all over the lakes is cement. I already had the Graystone Cement terminal but it was against the backdrop. Trying to weight all my options I looked at placing a lake freighter on the backdrop behind the silos but the mock-ups didnt look that good. So how about a full scale model... 6" wide x 56" long.....will need some real estate. 

Mocking up where boat would go with culprit inspirational book.....

After reviewing the space needed for a smaller cement laker / barge slip I was comfortable with sacrificing the space to help create a more immersive industry. It was not until this point that the area finally felt balanced with only having one industry. 

Using my jigsaw I made quick work of cutting the 2" foam out from the river crossing up 60" to the entrance to the layout. I ended up cutting a width of 8" to allow for room for pilings / piers and placing a good backdrop behind where the ship will go. Using the cut foam I traced onto OSB and replaced back in its place. The neat part is the river scene and boat slip are connected bringing a better waterfront feel. 

 View west towards Saginaw River

 View east towards cement terminal

Sheet piling from Walthers, Piling from ModelTrainStuff

This fall will see the completion of the dockside scene with painting the OSB and deciding if I will use water or just clear coats to show water depth. 

Guess with the work done, now I need a boat.... hope I can find something maybe even a barge / tug combo ever so present on the Great Lakes now. 

Part 2 - Find a Boat 

Searching for a 1/87 is not exactly easy and there are kits but to get a modern like boat I needed some help since Bearco Marine does not appear to be in business anymore. Low and behold I found a kit on Ebay that was of the Amoco Indiana tanker. I had talked with a few modelers who had kitbashed the Sylvan laker and gave me their opinions to consider based on what I wanted to accomplish in the end. Taking all the input and being a modern era layout, the Bearco kit seemed like the best choice. Thanks again to Mat Thompson, and Ken Larsen for answering my questions on the lake freighter path. 

The box for the kit was well big.. Ended up doing UPS customer pickup so I could take the directions on vacation and read through them no less than a dozen times. This was a craftsman kit, and the opportunity to build was going to take my modeling skills to a new level. 

Kitchen table for reference...... lots of extra plastic

Selective Compression..... hehe

Part 3 - M/V Graystone Conquest (Launched)

Suppose the easy part of figuring out the location and buying a boat were done. Now came the task of putting my modeling skills to use and build the laker. 

After reading the instructions no less than two dozen times by now, I started on the ship. First thing to do was trace the bow - deck - stern as the hull has alot of excess vacuum formed plastic. 

 Beginning the journey, tools of the trade

 Tracing the bow / drilling out the portholes

Working with a good friend who is a woodworking shop, we used a dremel mult-max to cut down the hull to the right height. From there it was going to be old fashioned sweat to get the ship level and prepared for moving further with the build. The directions are well done and keep you on task in order. Mind you this is all happening outside during the heat of August in Texas.... Call it exercise. 

Ensuring stern / main deck / bow all are even and level - good ole visual check

 "Power" tools and plenty of plastic shavings

Test fitting the deck and hull (two complete pieces)

After sanding with 250 / 400 / 1500 grit, time for primer

Part 4 - M/V Graystone Conquest (Outfitting)

First details added (16 watertight door castings)

As I was installing the door castings, I realized that even with a good smooth back the door had a gap between them and the rear cabin wall. For this project I used the Vallejo plastic putty in the fine applicator packaging. This stuff is great. Once the door were properly sealed I painted the forward and rear cabins flat white. The forward, main, and rear deck received aged concrete color with a weathered chalk effect from Rustoleum. The hull received a satin winter gray which was slightly darker than the primer. 

Boat is beginning to take shape

Once the hull and deck are cut to size, test fit, glued together, and painted it now becomes a process of detailing out the boat to the modelers preference. The kit comes with a great assortment of white metal cast pieces that I will be using. Since this is a freelance cement laker, the walkways and vent stacks for the intended tanker kit will not be used. 

From here the kit comes with stripwood and styrene sheets needed to fashion different parts of the boat. I decided to use Microscale Krystal Kleer for the port holes versus the clear plastic sheet. I forgot to mention this has to be done after painting the sections, but before the deck and hull are glued together. 

Woodland Scenics dry transfer decals and self adhesive logo by K. Klettke

The next step was putting down the stripwood along the sides of the main deck for the handrail stanchions which were to be a made from piano wire supplied. I wanted to have a more detailed ship so in short order 1/96 scale brass stanchions were on there way from Maine curiosity of BlueJacket Shipcrafters. This model company does some amazing work and stocks everything needed to detail out your ship. Once stanchions were received used the appropriate size bit to drill holes on 7/8" intervals. I fashioned a styrene template to help keep consistent spacing. 

Keep it simple - use a black sharpie to color the handrails keeping the holes clean for the piano wire

Each side of the main deck has 40 stanchions for a total of 80 on main deck. Additionally threaded through the stanchions are two solid 3' pieces of piano wire for 12' in total on the main deck. 

 Port side main deck completed 

First of twelve liferings placed on stern cabin wall. These are white metal castings painted with inexpensive white and orange craft paints. 

With work completed on the main deck handrails, the next area of attention is the stern. This is where I am currently working. I began with the template supplied in the kit and traced out the shape onto styrene sheet supplied. From there it was a matter of cutting out and trimming to fit. Once in place there are lot of details that will be added. Based on the directions, the stern will be completed before moving to the bow. 

 Template over top of stern with styrene rough fit. 

Styrene sheet cut and fitted. 

This gets us caught up on the work happening on the layout. I expect to have the stern mostly completed by November. This month is travel intensive for work so time may not be as readily available, luckily temperatures are beginning to "cool" off here in Texas. 

Alot of great things to come this fall with the cement terminal and lake freighter. I didnt even mentioned where the corrugated box plant and asphalt terminal went.... until next update.

GM

Modeling Glass Cullet Loads

I think at one point we all come across a prototype freight load that begs to be modeled. In particular I can say there are many that lack a model, but a simple one that has been on my planning board for sometime is recycled glass otherwise known as "cullet". My intended goal will be to share the backstory and creation process so you can bring these loads to your layout. 

What is it? 
In simple enough terms it is crushed recycled glass. This material is used in numerous ways such as fiberglass insulation, glass beads (sandblasting), and road materials to name a few. 

           Potter's Industries north of Brownwood, TX. They make glass ball beads for many different uses. 
                   Photo courtesy of Google Maps. 

How is it transported?
Alot of times glass cullet is crushed and transported locally by truck from the recycling facility to end user, but there are cases where it moves by rail. I do not believe it will be one of those unit train type commodities found often like aggregate or coal, but as a one off load. Every prototype example I have seen or found shows use of dump trucks or open top hoppers, not to say an older covered hopper could be utilized. This is a heavier material as its raw material was sand and soda ash prior to becoming glass, so the car would not be loaded to the brim more around 3/4 full. The cars I have seen are marked EAMX (Everest Railcar Services). Due to the nature of the commodity these are probably in a captive service as cleaning would require something more abrasive then water like sandblasting. 

Besides seeing in person from an overpass, John Danielson over at rrpicturearchives.net has the best photo of these 3 bay hoppers carrying glass cullet at this link: EAMX 328 - John Danielson Collection 

How is is loaded/unloaded?
Loading at the crushing facility is as simple as a front end loader filling its bucket and dumping into the railcar. Unloading is just as easy. In this prototype example a small under track pit allows the transloader to empty from one gate at a time. The pit is shallow but deep enough for a front end loader to get a bucket full, back up, and then load the awaiting truck. The front end loader could also double as a car mover if multiple cars are to be unloaded. 

Photo courtesy Google Maps (Satellite View)

                         Glass cullet rail to truck transload in Brownwood, TX on Texas Rock Crusher Railroad

                                                        Photo courtesy Google Street View 

How is it modeled?
The easiest part about glass cullet is its "replication" on a model level. Sometimes making model loads are complex and require kitbashing or even scratchbuilding. In this case it is about simple cosmetics. Follow along as I walk you through creating a glass cullet load. In as little as a weekend you could have yours complete. 

Step 1: Materials
- Removable type open top hopper load (I used Motrak Models #81728)
       ** Side note the Motrak Models coal load is fantastic as purchased without changes **
- Rustoleum 2x (Gloss White) or any cheap white spray can 
- Dullcote
- Extra fine glitter (I used silver peacock which is blueish-green-silver)
- India Ink / Isopropyl Alcohol mix

Coal type loads work well with the sharp angles to provide a good texture for the paint / glitter to adhere on. 

Step 2: Base 
- Start by giving the drop in loads a generous coat of gloss white (Well ventilated area)
- Spray from all four angles to ensure you get a good coat in all the tight spots

Step 3: Glitter
- Giving the paint just about one minute to setup some then sprinkler your glitter
- Do not worry about being modest you want solid coverage 
- At this point let the load completely dry, do not touch or dump off excess glitter

Step 4: Glitter to Cullet
- Once dry, carefully pickup the load and tip it over to remove excess material.
- You should have good coverage with no load under showing through.
- In a well ventialiated area - spray the load with dull coat and let dry.
- The glitter provides the dull shine that you would find from crushed glass.  

                           This was my test plastic load before making the cullet loads from Motrak load. 

Step 5: Dull 
- Once dullcoat is dry use your fingernail to check around the edges of the load and remove any glitter stuck on the sides. Its important the sides are clear of glitter so it will sit properly in the railcar. 
- Airbrush load with a india ink / alcohol mix to get the desired dirty effect 
- Let dry, then place in railcar.

This technique worked well for plastic and hydrocal casting loads. Materials can be purchased for under $10 at your local craft store. 


I hope you enjoyed this fun post, showing you a quick and inexpensive way to add a one of a kind open top load to your layout. Everyone have a safe and happy Halloween.

GM 

Early March Update

I had hoped originally to get an update post out at the end of February. Well here we are on March 2nd, so we'll call it a Early March post. The past few weeks have brought great progress to key projects in my work plan. The Grays Lake project has helped reinforce many basic steps of scene development such as working back to front, making a list of materials ahead of time, and planning the work in manageable bites.

Propane terminal, where did the 3M plant go?

Huron Gas LP. 
Regular readers will quickly catch that Huron Gas is something new to Grays Lake. As I have developed the area, I re-evaluated the 3M plant that was originally planned for the east end of the industrial lead. 

Mockup of propane distribution terminal

However above the proposed plant is a display shelf so the backdrop is not very tall. That said I then decided it would be best to have an industry that did share airspace with the shelf. The railroad working with state and county economic development teams to help customers make the move. The 3M plant moved to Gerhard and Huron Gas established operations here instead. With 3M moving to Gerhard, the original idea of Huron Malting at Gerhard has been scraped. When we tackle Gerhard scenery we will dive more into the genesis of its industry selection.

The industry itself will be a regional distribution center for propane gas moving from inbound tanks cars to storage tanks and then being reloaded into semi tankers for distribution to service centers or loaded into bobtails for local delivery based in Grays Lake area. Railcar capacity will allow for two cars to be unloaded with a third stored within the gated area. 

Using my Walthers kits I embarked on building the Propane tanks. I decided on three for the facility. Of course building those tanks required plenty of Squadron Putty and patience to make them more respectable. Once smooth to my satisfaction, I used Rustoleum Painters Touch 2X Almond for the tank color. 

LPG tanks done - Facility base taking shape

The entire facility is mounted on Elmers foam board which is mounted to the pink foam base. I then used Busch's asphalt road material to create the pavement around the tanks. Looking at the photo above the white strip in the foreground represented where the rail spur would be located. This portion was cut and discarded and replaced with n scale cork to lower the track.

Once the cork was in I moved ahead with my standard scenic process.
- Paint ground area latex tan
- Install any necessary railroad track no already in place 
- Paint track
- Add base layer of real dirt 
- Add ballast to scene in preparation for wet-wet technique

The photos below show the later steps as we had the dirt and ballast getting installed for this area. The second photo shows the area just left of the propane terminal with pink foam. 

Amazing how a little paint, dirt, and rock really change a scene

 Looking east at propane terminal and highway overpass from downtown Grays Lake

Lead into propane terminal - security gate will cross tracks 

Additional details that have gone in on the scene are three Woodland Scenics modern street light poles and plenty of Walthers chain link fence. 

Highway Overpass
Working right to left from the previous completed corn field scene, one specific item that needed to be installed was the highway overpass. This is made up of Rix components that were painted with different grays, tans, and given a ink wash. 

 Vegetation and traffic coming soon.

Miscellaneous components drying after being painted and weathered

Modeling Tips 

For anyone wondering how I built the Walthers chain link fence, I used the posts from the kit but instead used 0.020 steel wire in 3' lengths. This made assembly much easier with CA glue and once dry very strong and flexible. The mesh material was used for the fence. One tip I found online from Ryan Kunkle's model train site was using removable contact paper to help keep the mesh taught while cutting. Here is a link to his page https://www.thespruce.com/modeling-chain-link-fencing-2381753 which was very helpful on building this kit. A few simple changes like the wire and contact paper made install much easier. I actually built mine on the workbench using wax paper so the posts wouldn't stick to anything. 

Another tip for ballasting around signals or fragile items is using a plastic cup to cover the item. While you can still bump the cup, it will move slightly not damaging the signal or detail and make enough noise that you stop before destroying the item.

Thanks for stopping in and reading my Early March Update. By end of this month this scene should be wrapping up nicely which we will recap before moving towards downtown next.

GM

Early February Update

Time fly’s when you are having fun, or in this case while working on the layout. As discussed in early January I wanted to focus on working specific scenes one a time to make noticeable progress on the St. Clair Sub. The past few weeks have produced great results so let’s review the work completed and what’s on the workbench, and even checkout photos provided from the 2017 Amherst Show.

GRAYS LAKE - COOPERATIVE ELEVATOR 

While developing the Town of Grays Lake I made sure that as work took place it was from backdrop to foreground. Helping provide a sense of the elevator, I took a few minutes to sketch out a rendering. Key items I wanted to include were the overhead conveyor bridges, and fall protection system. The facility will ship various grains and dry beans like the prototype Cooperative. 

Cooperative Elevator and Crop Production Services @ Grays Lake, Michigan

I wanted to capture 10' concrete form lines the best I could. Looking at alot of techniques I combined them to create a believable product. Using 3M 1.5" painters tape I tape from top to bottom. After each strip of tape I lightly traced a line using mechanical pencil. Then added the next strip of tape up to the top of the tower. For paint I used Humbrol Gray and Modelmaster Light Sea Gray in rattle cans. The base of the tower was already tan so the gray colors help dusted together helped create a nice effect. After spraying I then removed each strip to tape from top to bottom so each 1.5" strip on the tower was a little different. I let the paint setup until it was not tacky, then used the back edge of a no. 11 hobby knife to trace the line made with mechanical pencil. After this light "gouge" was completed I finished off with a alcohol / ink wash using a small brush along the form like and then pulling the wash straight down. Once dry you can apply more wash depending on your liking. 

Rendering of what Cooperative Elevator would look like

Fall Protection System Inspiration - Courtesy CAI Safety Systems

 Closeup view of facility showcasing the fall protection system made using Plastruct components

 Overall view of the four silos, conveyor bridge, and elevator tower

Closeup of elevator tower concrete form lines

This month I will finish tying the facility together, but everything you see with exception of the fall protection system is from Walthers kits. 

- ADM Grain Elevator

- Conveyors 

- Ladder with safety caged

- Grain Bin

GRAYS LAKE - CROP PRODUCTION SERVICES

A few years ago Blair Line released their Fertilizer Plant kit and I have always waited for the day I could add it as an industry. Just like the prototype in this part of Michigan's Thumb I found a compelling story that could be told with this kit. Never having built a laser wood kit before I was absolutely impressed with the directions, components, and sequence for assembly. The industry will sit on a three car spur on the same spur as Cooperative Elevator. Provided are a few photos of the build process over a week or so. 

 Follow the instructions provided with kit and Blair Line tip guide online - it is bullet proof

 Primary walls in place, beginning to add doors, trim, and roof

 Main structure completed, all that is left is loading conveyor

Completed structure test fitting at Grays Lake

GRAYS LAKE - DOWNTOWN & ROADS

The foreground portion of Grays Lake will be comprised of a Michigan Trunk Highway "M-XX" crossing the mainline and heading into town. We only see a small portion of the town, but the scene helps tell the story that we are entering the downtown business district. Currently the primary road layout has been completed. This month we will complete road markings using Summit USA road decals. Additionally grade crossing signals and street lamps have been acquired. As we work back to front these details will be added and showcased probably in the Early or Late March Update. 

Test fitting the town structures  

Cork installed as base layer - sidewalks are laser cut from Minuteman Scale Models

While the station is no longer rail served, it has become home to new business. 

Laying road base (cork and adhesive) across tracks which parallel the Grays industrial spur 

 Sidewalks getting paint - primary styrene road painted and glossed awaiting decal markings

BLMA Rubber grade crossing installed in town. The road will but up flush to crossing panels once complete

AMHERST 2017 - The One Module Approach (T.O.M.A.) Layout

While I did not have the opportunity to attend this years Amherst show, a good friend of mind Mike Thidemann does attend. Mike was my eyes, ears, and shopping cart during the trip.Please enjoy photos of the new T.O.M.A. layout which we should be seeing more of soon. Thanks to Mike for the photos and picking up more Minuteman Scale Models sidewalk kits. 

All photos are from left to right starting at staging yard and terminating at processing plant.

I am very excited to follow along on this T.O.M.A. series as it hosts modern techniques, well formatted scenes, contemporary industries, and contemporary railroading! 

AMHERST 2017 - Mike McNamara's Modules

Could forget to show off a few photos of fellow model railroad blogger Mikes awesome Woodsville Terminal free-mo modules. For my photos of Mike's layout please follow the link to his blog on the right sidebar of this blogs homepage. 

Alot of work complete in January setting up this month to be very successful as well. Over the next few weeks I will be adding the backdrop for Grays Lake, shaping and painting the foam to establish land contours, and mocking up the Altogas LPG Terminal. Where is the 3M plant? We will touch on the industry change up next month. 

Have a great February!

GM