Some exciting news for the JL&T...

There are going to be some additions made to the JL&T Layout shed very soon...

Hopefully some of the ideas in the photo below can be negotiated into the addition?

More to follow soon...

UPDATE...

So the great news is there is going to be an addition to the layout shed due to expansion within our home.  We are converting our garage into another room for our two boys which requires the contents of the garage to be moved.

The layout room will be extended by a further 4 metres (13") to the east of the current entrance.  This will also allow for further expansion of the layout, namely the possible removal of the workbench & dispatch area into the new section & the addition of a sizeable staging area that will modelled as a classification yard.

The above plan shows the additions to the new area, and the slight alterations to the existing layout.  The current staging area (3 tracks) in the l&T area will be converted to more narrow bench industry, and there will also be the addition of the wye coming from the new yard.

This new area will also possibly allow for the addition of small crew lounge area that is outside of the layout area, also with the dispatch desk being outside of the main layout area will also free up space for more operations within the room.

Above the workbench & dispatch area will also be the addition of a locomotive service facility that I have had as a given since designing the JL&T.

More to follow soon as the build starts hopefully with the next few weeks.

Jas.

JL&T Module - The Series...

For those that want to see the beginnings of our layout take shape this is what really started it all.

I will be posting a series on how I came up with the concept of building a module prior to building the layout, and how it eventually became an integral part of the L&T Branch today.

For those wishing to start building a layout, a module can be a great way to practice all the skills required with building a full size layout on a small manageable scale.  

And when finished they can be used as part of the layout in series with other modules, or used to take photos of your locomotives & rolling stock.

Links to the first two parts in the series:

JL&T Module - The beginning of a Railroad - Part 1

JL&T Module - The beginning of a Railroad - Part 2

JL&T Module - The beginning of a Railroad - Part 3

JL&T Module - The beginning of a Railroad - Part 4

JL&T Module - The beginning of a Railroad - Part 5

New addition to the JL&T switcher fleet...

Well this week I found a new addition to the JL&T - RDG Switcher fleet.  I was searching eBay like I normal do and came across a "rare" Athearn RDG (all green) SW1500 switcher numbered 2763.

I know this is rare because I have not seen one advertised anywhere since starting the layout around four years ago.  I have another RDG (yellow #2766) SW 1500 switcher that I purchased here in Australia about a year into the build, but have not seen any others since.

I checked the Athearn website and these where produced around 2009, and came in three road numbers.  After doing a little research I found out that this switcher was originally all yellow and was involved in a wreck then rebuilt, during the rebuild it was repainted in the all green RDG scheme.

Photo credit to Author Kim Peirsol.

So once this arrives here in Australia (Thanks Alan!) it will be getting Soundtraxx Tsunami Sound and some details parts and light weathering.  This will take my fleet of SW1500 for the RDG to two, until the arrival of the Broadway Limited SW1500's in the next month or two.

Jas...

Progress on the Cement Distributor & Other buildings...

Yesterday I managed to get the remainder of the supports for the trailer loading silo completed for the cement distributor.  I also got down the sheet styrene for the concrete loading/truck standing area too.

The pipework between the main silos & the trailer loading silo are complete too,  all that is needed is final painting & weathering.

I also had time to complete the background building in this scene.  It is a pice of 1/2" Plywood covered in Evergreen styrene wall panelling and has Some roller doors & entry doors from Pikestuff.

And the overall scene as it stands at the moment.  I will be adding a either a wire fence or metal panel fence to the back of the cement plant, this will add to the scene by allowing the top of passing trains to be scene but not entire thing until it rounds the corner into the operators view.

More soon.

Jas...

Cement Distributor...

Today I finished up adding the base colour coats by airbrush to the structures at the end of the L&T Branch.  The cement distributor has also had a little addition added.

I found the pressurised cement trailers from Herpa and decided that the cement silos, needed a smaller silo to load the trailers.  The loading silo is a combination of the frame from the Walthers - Grain Surge Bin kit & bottom tapered chute, Plumbing Pressure Pipe Socket & Domed Cap, Evergreen "H" Beams and 0.5mm Styrene Sheet.

The pressure pipe fittings (socket & cap) were a little rough, so I added the 0.5mm styrene sheet to provide a smooth surface.  It also allowed the "H" beams to line up with the frame below.

Overall it's been a great little addition and will add to scene, it was relatively easy to make and I would use it again to make loading silos or vessels.  Next step will be to attach the silo to the frame, add the access ladders, and piping from the main silos.

Today's "Done in a Day" Project...

As part of finishing the L&T Branch I completed this little section of the stub end siding, it will be used for unloading ethylene glycol into the storage tanks that will be used by the automotive distributor.

Was a fun project and took only a day to complete, it's in primer now drying and waiting for individual 
colours and weathering once dry.

The kits are mainly Walthers ( Oil Refinery Piping kit, Piping kit & Truck Loading Rack) that have been used, scratch built & kit bashed.

Jas...

Progress from today...

Here are a few photos of the additions and progress to the last section of the L&T Branch.

I added a small warehouse to the unloading area for the liquid storage area, positioned the tanks, and started painting the base coats.

This stub end siding will take one tank car at a time and will be unloading ethylene glycol  for distribution as anti-freeze, it will also get deliveries for other chemicals used within the auto industry.

And looking down towards the end of the siding the opening in the backdrop wall is completely hidden.

Jas...

Finishing up the L&T Branch...

So over the last two days I have been doing some work to the staging entrance area on the L&T Branch.  I want to finish this area completely before moving onto the Paper Mill as I know this will consume a huge amount of time once I get going on it.

So one of the last things to do on the L&T Branch was to figure out how to hide the entrance in the backdrop to the staging area, from the centre peninsula.  I decided to go with a series of storage tanks (can spot tank cars in this industry now) and a cement distribution plant.

It has worked quite well as the hole is visually blocked from all angle.

I wanted to install another small industry in this section just to fill up the space as it needed something to break up the backdrop.  I decided to throw in the Walthers - Medusa Cement kit to see how it would fit, and well it's staying.  Has a nice size for the area, fits well, and offers even more switching for the end of the L&T Branch.

The remaining structures are not rail served but form part of the area.  The interlocking tower will be located at the end of a service road that feed the industrial area and will still be very much active for the series of turnouts that feed into the staging yard and back out onto the centre peninsula and north side of the layout.

Behind the cement plant is a manufacturing warehouse that serves as a background building for the backdrop, it will have a loading door at the rear that will load trucks.  In all the scene has worked out quite well and should help finish off the end of the L&T Branch.

Once this area is finished it will be time to ballast the staging yard, install the dwarf signals on the turnouts for the staging yard (these will be operating off the tortoise motors for now), finish off the fascia, paint the fascia & upper valance, then drywall/plaster the lower under deck walls, finish off some more bench space for the workbench area, then finally onto the painting of the walls and installing the carpet......  Then finished and ready for operating sessions!

More soon,

Jas...

Paper Mill Progress from today...

Well today I decided to flip the orientation of the buildings and try a different approach, the reason behind this was I wasn't really keen on adding another building to the existing Paper Mill building to service the loading of empty boxcars with finished product.

I'm happy with this configuration now, the only trade off was that I have lost the ability to pull through the pulpwood flats as they are unloaded.  They are now unloaded via two stub ended sidings, (which will be extended too) to counter this I have added my Mi-Jack Container crane that will be fitted out with opening hooks (like the log unloader kit) to unload more flats.

Overview shot looking towards the east of the complex...

I've also removed the two extra turnouts that didn't really do anything (again I don't know hwy I did it in the first place?) The sidings will be used for storage of empty or full boxcars, and empty or full pulpwood flats.  This will make for some really intense switching at times, which is what I wanted seeing the layout has gone more towards a switching layout since the decision to not build any other decks apart from staging.

I also had the chance to add another couple of turnouts to service the sidings associated with the unloading/loading of chemicals and by-products from the milling process.

The first track (after the Paper Mill) will service unloading of chemicals for Kraft Mill, Bleaching Plant, and other various chemical processes throughout the plant.  The next track along will be for unloading of more chemicals for the Recovery/Boiler House and also for the loading of chemical by-products from the mill process like Kaolin.

Next step will be to finish off the remaining track work that has been altered, install the turnout and siding that services the paper mill loading track.  Then it will be onto kitbashing the three or four other kits that will be required to add to the major structures in the mill.

If I get time and the people to visit, I'll also run a few test ops sessions to see how the switching will run on the mill and test out the track work.

More soon...

Jas.

Paper Mill Complex...

Hi All,

Well this week all the structure kits arrived from MB Klein in the USA.

This marks the official beginning of the build, this is a mammoth task and will take up some considerable time to build and complete.  There is going to be some serious detail added to this along with a lot of scratch building & kit bashing.

Tonight I actually completed the last of the building shells (I've been building them over the last couple of nights) and they are now on the layout.  I'll be test fitting the structures and seeing how it all flows over the weekend.

The track work above is actually the original Intermodal Terminal track, it should only require a few minor changes.  The Paper Mill kit will require the addition of a loading dock to the left of the structure (as can be seen its on the opposite side now) and this will be scratch built or kit bashed from another kit or Evergreen styrene.

The overall placement seems to be working well, I just have to check the processes and ensure that the structures flow and mimic the real thing.  There will be a few more smaller buildings/sheds added, a lot more details, storage tanks, piping and associated equipment to the entire complex...

More soon...

Jas.

Track Maintenance on the L&T Branch...

Today some maintenance was needed on a switch machine & relay box.  Luckily the works didn't upset the local traffic on the L&T branch...

Cheers,

Jas...

Paper Mill Complex...

Well I have officially started the new Paper Mill Complex, after a quite a few design changes bouncing of ideas between fellow modellers, and some long hours on AnyRail I've come up with the following design.

The design almost follows the original north side of the layout and the old Intermodal Terminal.  This has been quite a good little win as I don't have to change any bench work, can leave most of the existing track in place and only have to add a few turnouts and track here and there.

I've ordered the main building kits from MB Klein in the USA and they are on the way to me now,  once here it will be a matter of placing the base plates down to check the final positioning of the building within the complex.

Paper Mill building...

I

Kraft Mill building...

Recovery Boiler House & Pulp Tanks...

I have already made a start by using cardboard cut outs of the dimensions of the buildings.

More to follow shortly...

Jas.

Finishing up the fascia edges...

Over the last week I have been finishing up the fascia edges and completing the ground dirt.  This has been a process of filling in the gaps with old newspaper and then filling this with ground goo, this is a mixture of Portland Cement, Plaster of Paris & Fine Vermiculite.

This substance when mixed with water sets up like concrete (thanks to the Portland Cement) and is great for forming the ground.  You have about 15 - 20 minutes to work the mixture into its rough form, then you just have to spray it with water to smooth out the top surface to the required terrain.

After this has completely dried (usually a day or two) its time to add the zip texturing which is the final dirt like layer.  This is just a mixture of Plaster of Paris (finely sieved) and tempera powdered paint to the required dirt colour.

Again a light spray of water on the dried ground goop, and then using a fine sieve you cover (lightly) the ground goop with the zip texturing, then another light spray of water to set up the layers.

I also added some more static grass to some of the completed fascia areas, added some more bushes, and also finished off the raised ground area on the JL&T module.

I've also added the Tortoise Switch Machines to the staging area entrance so that I can finish off the fascia's in the L&T area.

Cheers,

Jas...

First attempt at weathering a locomotive...

My very first attempt at weathering a locomotive.  Man this took some serious time to master...  This RDG GP30 started out as a Proto 2000 and was my very first locomotive that I bought and what started me on the path to modelling the Reading Lines.

In the end it took about six attempts to get it right, fortunately when you Dullcote first and make a mistake you can get back to painted shell with a stiff brush and water!

So in the end the shell has been Dullcoted first, then grimy black to the roof around the exhaust outlet and fans, I sprayed a very fine mist of grimy black over the entire shell, then thinned this out with white spirt.  Then another coat of Dullcote, followed by a dusting of Dark Rust AIM powder, then another coat of Dullcote, followed by the Burnt Umber oil paint to weather, and lastly the final layer of Dullcote.

The trucks were sprayed with grimy black PS paint, then had Dark Rust AIM weathering powder added to the entire truck, followed by black AIM weathering powder to add the highlights.

Last thing to do is add the railings back after they are weathered.

Jas...