Rich883 posted:I have been working on a project I had in mind for some time, a large icing platform. This is kitbashed from two atlas kits. It will go on the layout in the yard area just below the elevated area and will be attached to the large ice house.
As always I am open to comments and suggestions.
Fantastic!
Peter
Rich, The icing platform really looks great! While the building flats are super, the platform really adds some depth, and of course will be a great place for those reefers to load up!!
Peter, mark, Thanks for the kind words.
The area few more details to nail down, but I intend to have a significant number of reefers staged at the platform loading up with ice.
I had a chance to get a few more things complete. I added a new passenger yard that will be used as part of a large city station.
the freight yard and icing platform got ballast and weeds.
Very nice Rich. I always liked your layout. At some point you and Allan need to get together for a "feature" in OGR!! That wall of buildings along with the icing platform looks nice...now fill that yard with some freight.
Ballast is such tedious work but certainly makes a layout look great.
What is your brand of choice?
Thanks.
Donald
Thanks Donald for the kind words.
On the ballast I started using Hi Ball Ballast some years ago on a small portion of my layout. My LHS - Dixie Union Station carried it, and there are from Cincinnati. However a few years ago I got turned on the roofing roofing granules. Several of the O Scale builders here in Cincinnati, including Bill Bramledge use this, and it looks great and is much less costly. The dark ballast in these pictures is called weathered wood. The lighter mainline ballast is a light grey they call white. I got it at a local roofing supply company in 5 gal pails.
Thanks Rich for the heads up on the ballast. I currently have over 800 feet to complete with ballast so I like the idea of a 5 gallon bucket!
Have a good day.
Donald
Donald,
It works great, make a trip to the local roofing supply house in your area, they can show you the different colors on a sample board (like shingles). I brought some samples of commercial ballast to compare to it. Also if you don't have a ballast spreader, consider the one from ballast king http://www.ogaugeconnection.co...ocs/BallastKing.html this really speeds things up.
More work on the yard area. There is a drop down access section that crosses 8 tracks to access my breaker panel. I have been procrastinating on this section so decided to dive in.
Looks very good, Rich!!
Rich883 posted:More work on the yard area. There is a drop down access section that crosses 8 tracks to access my breaker panel. I have been procrastinating on this section so decided to dive in.
VERY impressive work Rich. Eight tracks - WOW... I am both impressed and envious!!!
Thanks for the kind words guys. Progress.
Your work is top notch as usual. Enjoy Nick
Nice work Rich. 
Rich883 posted:More work on the yard area. There is a drop down access section that crosses 8 tracks to access my breaker panel. I have been procrastinating on this section so decided to dive in.
Hey Rich looks good eh How deep is the bench work on the first pic? Are the tracks on the same level cause it looks like the tracks are different heights from the front to the back eh
Lookin' good!
Peter
Chad,
Thanks for the words of encouragement. The depth of the benchwork in that section is 4’.
The mainlines on the front and rear are a bit higher than the yard tracks, I used cork roadbed under the track to get a bit of elevation on the mainlines and use the lighter ballast. The yard tracks and sidings on my layout use no cork, and the track is directly on the homasote.
This lining up of buildings is awesome!
jpv in France
Looks great.
Rich, things are looking great! I am thinking I need to add an icing platform to service my Spencer Packing Co. reefers. I don't have room for one as large as yours, but I really like the the way you have done yours.
Also I am getting ready to ballast my tracks and need to check into roofing granules. I am considering using sand for my Milwaukee Road branchline. I ballasted a track that runs beside my river valley with sand and I love the color and looks of it. But, I now think that the granules may be too fine. I may try a coarser sand for the branchline.
You are doing a beautiful job on your layout. Thanks for sharing, it's very inspirational.
Art
Guys, thanks for the nice feedback. Much of what I do on the layout I learened here on the forum from many of you.
I have been working on adding detail around the yard. Here is a BTS kit of fire hose structures I picked up at a train show earlier this year. I had never seen this kit, it makes three. Evidently these were located around the yards.
BTS a great source for a lot of small detail parts.
Very nice Rich. Just bookmarked their website in my browser.
Thank you all for the kind words.
I completed and weathered to hose structures and places them on the layout in the yard and engine service area.
The grain silo at the end the end of the layout needed a small office area. I scratch built the office using black foamcore for the structural part and covered it with wood.
The roof used masking tape to look like rolled roofing.
This is a Korber models roof top water tank. I have some more to add.
As always comments welcome.
Nice job on the office Rich. Isn’t it quick and fun to build these kind of structures this way. Thanks for posting.
Thanks Al,..... just trying to keep up with your great work!
Yes these go fast, the wood is actually doll house flooring, which makes it very simple, thin easy to cut and takes stain or paint well because it is real wood.
Nice modeling work. Wish I had your detailing skills.
Hi Rich,
Everything is looking great ! You're making lots of progress .
Alex
Alex and all. Thanks for the kind words.
i added some loading docks and details along with some Miller signs.
Good progress continues on the layout.
I added some Blair Line laser cut grade crossings - nit kit reasonable price - much better than scratch building, especially on a curve.
New work on a coal mine area, I covered the taped up newspaper with a few coats of strucolight, it provides some texture and has a longer working time than hydrocal.
The Coal Mine- Breaker is a scratch built structure, I used black foamcore for a base and covered with plastic sheets made to look like tin siding.
I still have to weather the building, and then a bunch of scenery work on the site to create the mountainside and ground cover.
As always comments, questions and suggestions welcome.
Rich883 posted:Good progress continues on the layout.
I added some Branchline laser cut grade crossings - nit kit reasonable price - much better than scratch building, especially on a curve.
Rich;
Looks like some great progress... looks wonderful. I have always been blown away by the little details on a layout, and these grade crossings are a perfect example. Could you tell me where you got the kit??? I have a station on a curve that could use some of these to cross to the opposite platform.
Thanks.
Paul, first thanks for the nice words.
Second, I mis-typed the name of the company that makes the crossings, it is Blair Line, here is a link to their site with the crossings
http://www.blairline.com/ogradecrossings/
There are other that makes these type of items, but I found these to work well, and are affordable.
Rich883 posted:Paul, first thanks for the nice words.
Second, I mis-typed the name of the company that makes the crossings, it is Blair Line, here is a link to their site with the crossings
http://www.blairline.com/ogradecrossings/
There are other that makes these type of items, but I found these to work well, and are affordable.
Thanks Rich, they look great. I'll have to order some when I get home tomorrow (assuming I can get home - NE Pennsylvania got hit by a blizzard on Friday!!!).
Great progress! Spectacular work!
Peter
The crossings do look great! That coal breaker looks really nice as does the scenery!!
Rich883 posted:Paul, first thanks for the nice words.
Second, I mis-typed the name of the company that makes the crossings, it is Blair Line, here is a link to their site with the crossings
http://www.blairline.com/ogradecrossings/
There are other that makes these type of items, but I found these to work well, and are affordable.
Hey Rich,
Wonderful grade crossings. What did you use to stain them?
Dave
Thanks Guys,
Dave I used a wash of alcohol and India Ink. I did a few washes on this to darken it, but typically I use the India Ink wash on most structures to add a bit of grime, and it brings out the details by flowing into the grooves and such, and then the alcohol evaporates leaving the black color.
I got some time to work on the background area of the coal mine. Modeling a cut in the mountain. Also worked up kitbashing some tunnel portals for the main lines.
as always open for comments and suggestions.
I made some progress on the coal mine area and the mountaintop behind it.
i weathered the coal mine and added a few supporting buildings.
Open for comments as always
Very nice, indeed!! The campers will have a great view of trains entering and leaving the tunnel!!
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