Thanks guys! Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you. I switched from my normal dialysis time slot, all week because of the convention. I had to be there at 4:45 AM. Pretty rough on this night owl, getting up at 3:30. Normally, that's about when I go to bed, and I have been whipped.
Well, it's over. And quite honestly, for me it was a big bust in terms of number of visitors. I had hoped for and expected more. I Had eight on Wednesday, two on Thursday, zero Friday, and three Saturday from the convention. Part of the problem was I lived quite far from the convention hotel. The other problem, the way I saw it, was low interest in 3 rail. The guy up the road from me with a garden layout got a lot more. Oh well, I met my neighbors from around the corner. They were really nice, and very impressed
Brian - Thanks, you can almost see my eyes in that picture. I get pretty squinty when I smile, I can see out, but it;s difficult for others to see in. The scenery will only get better as I keep picking at it.
RTR12 - It helps that I'm working from photos. That makes the visualization a lot easier. I take a lot of the pics myself, but not these two, obviously. This first one is a great straight on side view, which captures the perspective, from the correct direction even, looking up river. Still trying to figure out the best way to do the concrete arch bridge in the distance.
This one was just for fall colors at this point. I'll get some of the structural details from it when I go to build the bridge.
No matter what the final scene is intended to be, I always put a base color down first, with good coverage. That way, even if your final material misses a spot, you don't have wood or plaster or foam showing through. You can always keep adding to cover the base.
Frank - The toe is doing quite well, to the point that I can finally post a picture of it on the forum without grossing people out. I had my wife take one the other night when she changed my bandage. It's not exactly pretty yet, but compared to what it first looked like, there's a world of difference. So here goes.
Greg - The four seasons idea was Jon's (Mill City). The layout has four aisles. The minute he suggested it, it became the plan. We stood there for a few minutes and hashed out which aisle would be which. That was about five years ago now. So, aisle one is winter, two is spring, three is summer, and four is fall. Red Wing and the river scene are also fall. The first two peninsula ends will have transitions, winter-spring and spring-summer. Finally getting to make it happen.
Larry - Thanks, not sure what the September update is going to look like. I'm really feeling wiped out. This is part of the "nightmare" in the title, just the amount of work left to do. This convention has kept me going, but I turned my workshop into a dumping ground for materials removed from the basement. I have to get everything resettled out there before winter so I can work on things again.
George - That's not the real bridge of course. What you're seeing is just something quick and dirty Jon and I concocted one day, to carry the trains over to Hiawatha. I'm still thinking about how I'm going to build the real one on a curve. Straight segments vs an actual curve. Tough call.
Mark - Sorry I haven't been posting over on "What did you do on your layout today? I've been busy cleaning up the last couple weeks, so no progress to post. Yes, I too hope to open some eyes to he 3 rail world. Doubt I'll win any converts from his crowd, but that was never the point.
Mike - I must say, that the people who bothered to visit really liked it. The problem was, I just didn't get people in the door. The point of the convention was narrow gauge, and this layout, couldn't be further from it.
Chad - Sounds good, just email me with your plans. Fair warning, the last weekend of September is out. Going to Duluth for boxing.
Bob - That 40 year old paint I used wasn't from those little bottles, it was artist's acrylics in tubes. The modern stuff would have gone bad a lot sooner. No air in a properly rolled tube, and a little paint around the cap, formed a seal. I had to use a pair of pliers to open the tube.
Paul - Things ran pretty smoothly when visitors were around. We didn't do much running though. I had helpers three of the four days. Friday we just sat around and talked. Thursday and Saturday, we watched train videos, AKA "train porn".
Art - I did enjoy showing it off. Some of the visitors were locals. They're extra fun for me, because they get the geography of the layout better, even if they don't totally get the track plan. They understand the landmarks, and I can give railroad geography lessons on Google maps.
Pat - I have been looking forward to and working toward this convention since it first announced back in February 2015. Now that it's over, time for the next goal. Operating sessions! Still quite a bit of work before that comes to pass. I'd like to finish scenery and ballast, I need to repair some switches, then get the uncouplers working. Finally, C/MRI and JMRI, and the signal system need to be activated. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, valances, skirts, and carpet. Should keep me busy for a while.
Who knows, maybe we'll get an NMRA convention in here next.
