WWI Revisited

Hello,
      sorry about not posting in a while. I have been quite busy and as such have not had that much time for working on the layout not to mention the blog. Today I began a WWI diorama 
and I also have been building a cannery. 

The WWI Diorama

      The diorama was made with three layers of 1" foam insulation board as a base, had the crater holes and artillery hollows carved out, then painted a dark reddish-brown, and finally had mulch (as shattered trees) and other scenery materials applied. As I mentioned before, I find that typical garden mulch, the dry wood stuff not the black kind, makes great shattered trees and is available cheap right out of your garden. You can also buy 15 pound bags of the stuff and you'll have enough to last you a lifetime.
      The diorama is not complete, however, the light rail tracks have to go in still and the road is yet to be laid. The artillery and troopers also need to be ordered. 
      The fish cannery will have its own post as soon as I complete it and I will also describe the project that is for. The O & A layout still needs to be painted but once that is done I can proceed with that project.
      Until next time, Happy Railroading!

Happy 100th Birthday Tank!

       Happy 100th Birthday Tank! Yes, today, September 15, 2016, is the 100th birthday of this revolutionary war machine. The tank was rushed into battle at what would come to be called Flers-Courcelette which was part of the Somme campaign. If you want to know more about this amazing machine here's a link http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-37302722. See you soon.

I'm baaack........

Hello,
      I'm back from vacation and have discovered some new projects. One of which is a Jordan Mack 15 Ton Switcher Kit that I most likely will motorize once I find a mechanism. Also as I mentioned in my previous post I visited the Colorado Railroad Museum and was inspired to construct a diorama of small, narrow gauge railroad locomotive maintenance facility and will have a post on that soon. I also saw the RTD system in Denver (their light and commuter rail as well as bus system) and thought that I might be able to model a new extension to the system that they are working on. You may be wondering how I know about this extension, my uncle is project director of it. That would go on the other side of the Civil War Layout but who knows my mind is ever changing. Anyway that's all for this post See ya Later.

Vacation

Hello,
      I am writing this post because I will be gone on a trip to Colorado until the 23rd so I probably will not be posting. I will be going to the Georgetown Loop Railroad and the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado so you can expect lots of pictures and a review of both of these places. So until the the 23rd, Happy Railroad!

The "Tin Turtle"

Hello,

      I've recently stumbled across something that is potentially my next project. I am seriously considering scratch-building a 009 gauge Simplex 40 Horsepower protected version trench light railway locomotive nicknamed the "Tin Turtle". It was used to haul supplies to supply depots just behind the front lines of WWI, it was greatly preferred over steam locomotives whose smoke made them easy targets for artillery, and was powered by a "petrol-electric" engine. The version I am considering making is a protected type which (as the name states) protected the engine assembly as well as the radiator and the fuel tank and the driver. The plans are from www.wdlr.org.uk and the drawings/plans were drawn by David H Smith. The prototype ran on 60 cm gauge track. (A tip for 009 modelers scale the drawing when you print it to 27% and you will have a 1/76 scale set of plans. At 100% they are about 1/20 scale). Well that's all for now,
      Happy Modeling

The New Track Plan

Hello again

O&A R.R.  Alexandria to Manassas Junction

      as I mentioned before (or maybe I didn't) I was rethinking the track plan. Well, here it is ten by two feet of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad March to July 1862. The very basic operation and run of the railroad is USMRR trains depart Alexandria (right) and head to what might become Union Mills to the supply depot at Manassas Junction then turn around and head back to Alexandria with the empties. The middle section as I said might become Union Mills or any of the other stations in between Alexandria and Manassas Junction. The brown box in Alexandria is the railroad's headquarters and offices which I will scratch build. Just wanted to give you all a look at one of my ever changing track plans which has the potential to become my main layout. Until next time happy modeling! 



(Oh yeah I said this was two by ten feet when in my original plan I had four by ten feet. The other side is going to be something modern era maybe the Louisville and Indiana Railroad Company hmmmmm.........)

The Track Mobile

Hello,
      In this post I will be reviewing a Track Mobile I bought at the National Train Show in Indianapolis, Indiana last week and giving my opinion on the show in general.

The Track Mobile

I'll start with the Track Mobile. I purchased it from Broadway Limited Imports for 60 dollars (the dcc equipped version) I was impressed with the detail and weight of it but was slightly disappointed when I discovered that it only had one operating coupler, nevertheless it was a nice scale knuckle coupler. Its operation is good but sometimes will need a little prodding to get it started and once it has started it can manage 2 modern freight cars but when the front end of the first car its pulling is placed on top of the dummy coupler apparatus on the front of the Track Mobile it can pull 5 freight cars and a bay window caboose. Over.all I am happy with BLI's Track Mobile.



The show was a very memorable experience for me and was a lot of fun to attend. Some other i items I purchased at the show were a Woodland Scenics Scenery Kit, Workshop Tips and Projects for Model Railroaders by Cody Grivno (I also got it signed by him), and I signed up to be a NMRA member. I have begun to rethink my civil war layout and its track plan so there will be a separate post on that coming up as well as a series on how to build an inexpensive diorama. Well that's all for now and until next time happy modeling!