tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78669338582437165232024-03-20T04:20:03.292-07:00Lehigh Valley Harbor Terminal RailwayModeling the LVRR's Jersey City waterfront operations circa 1951Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-89895139232429663992021-03-10T04:34:00.002-08:002021-03-10T04:36:43.975-08:00A Lucky Find.....<p> While not an update on the "march to staging", this is one that I wanted to share that answered a lot of questions for me.</p><p>Recently on Facebook (and about the only redeeming thing ABOUT Facebook) is that a woman who joined one of the groups I am a member of, was going thru her father's collection (he was an ex-employee) and had been sharing some reports and other such things with the group. She posted pieces of a November 1943 Director's Special that seemed very interesting, and she was more than happy to make scans of it! So less than a week later, I receive 79 scanned pages of this report, and low and behold, it had some VERY enlightening info that is specific to my layout! </p><p>In case you aren't aware, my LV industrial branch on the layout is (was) called the "Edgewater Branch", and it served, in particular, a milk unloading platform (it's main reason for being), a large coal trestle, and a few other little industries. Also, carloading car counts between the various NY railroads via carfloats are mentioned, and even though I am modeling 1951, and this was during WW2, it's still an interesting insight, to say the least. In all my research on this piece of the railroad for the last twenty years, I've yet to see any of these details that I quite frankly, feel are SO important to prototypical operation. </p><p>So, without any more ado, here are the two pages that pertain to my layout that I am so excited to share with all of you (I would suggest saving them to your computer or other such imaging software to read, as they are too small to read in the blog because of the way they were sent to me)......</p><p>I hope that for any of you out there still reading this, that you are able to come into such detailed info for your own particular prototype, because it's these little details that make prototype operations so much more enjoyable, at least for me!</p><p>~ Ralph</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbY9egmW8YE91-5z-A3i2U5tpiXT8P4YwxwRbI_8mvyYWZm70L6VIG0BdB_dVJsoHRO8wk-8OD4oMZA7fe3AB5u9uCqfvSbCCPXb4F5ssfzaT1lrLmjWnZYP2ntYPLX5P6yfvbCNRQHUV/s2048/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1489" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbY9egmW8YE91-5z-A3i2U5tpiXT8P4YwxwRbI_8mvyYWZm70L6VIG0BdB_dVJsoHRO8wk-8OD4oMZA7fe3AB5u9uCqfvSbCCPXb4F5ssfzaT1lrLmjWnZYP2ntYPLX5P6yfvbCNRQHUV/s320/2.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVEUdcQTAePM9hRQEgZh3WfNSPLrkIqCMnePrqFWqRsKwQ_IESSeaBzl-78CwwzMmK7StylygG7Y1ie1TiHwPiuksT_RvAXYjXHAEK1IkVqIJx6Iq3vf8np4Op9I8sXiX2JsoMMmTEl3S/s2048/3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1489" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVEUdcQTAePM9hRQEgZh3WfNSPLrkIqCMnePrqFWqRsKwQ_IESSeaBzl-78CwwzMmK7StylygG7Y1ie1TiHwPiuksT_RvAXYjXHAEK1IkVqIJx6Iq3vf8np4Op9I8sXiX2JsoMMmTEl3S/s320/3.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-40132739994360995082021-03-08T04:47:00.008-08:002021-03-08T04:47:52.681-08:00Light At The End Of The Two Year Tunnel<h1 style="text-align: left;"></h1><h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> I'll let the pictures do the talking......More to come soon</span></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCk1-2SJeRNO6OMdcFPVsa8FMFrkm46FZbx94G0nWXMKkJFb3K6F725Nxk2E8FBol4-e7B74wu1n6NA4vXdeVC2_yDQFVVICDvptOOUyg5pV-W5tKFBsreeCkr8EiN2mG30qEPh-ViwNS/s2048/IMG_9758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCk1-2SJeRNO6OMdcFPVsa8FMFrkm46FZbx94G0nWXMKkJFb3K6F725Nxk2E8FBol4-e7B74wu1n6NA4vXdeVC2_yDQFVVICDvptOOUyg5pV-W5tKFBsreeCkr8EiN2mG30qEPh-ViwNS/s320/IMG_9758.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMy4PbqLnaE0CbyGTNT1RnRqTxb_X547qZ2dzs-itwK7K00sLsCwm7jFSBcOeU9T91tpMtGRq9MZ7hKcd9Icd2xu-O_8hxFBmhA7sU8KzAAwb64eHnRk8rjSwXDgC_6zSf2P_L6luP51N/s2048/IMG_9757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMy4PbqLnaE0CbyGTNT1RnRqTxb_X547qZ2dzs-itwK7K00sLsCwm7jFSBcOeU9T91tpMtGRq9MZ7hKcd9Icd2xu-O_8hxFBmhA7sU8KzAAwb64eHnRk8rjSwXDgC_6zSf2P_L6luP51N/s320/IMG_9757.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD2MsFml3PlYcrosozVBtj4NFgnz4s7n6PuaBzPVm4N7fk0l80iG0ygYv6STqh3KygWez79fh_MCzxIbImPBxbW2ZpCygfpVITXt5T0fBtGQnqwrylrCeO-2_Iwj-VrMXuA5cWzHNl2Qk/s2048/IMG_9756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD2MsFml3PlYcrosozVBtj4NFgnz4s7n6PuaBzPVm4N7fk0l80iG0ygYv6STqh3KygWez79fh_MCzxIbImPBxbW2ZpCygfpVITXt5T0fBtGQnqwrylrCeO-2_Iwj-VrMXuA5cWzHNl2Qk/s320/IMG_9756.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkP9kf1BGP0q8fL-mZJBBzs6MoucI1HyyeAFlEaC66caOVKOMZjmWChpuXZmb8gIgXD2wjQiPran0xo-bOguuhbIqT_4KMBc2SbSL8ndbpmsFGBjbEwHI95p1QRiY3WokXet1CVyaQtwN8/s2048/IMG_9616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkP9kf1BGP0q8fL-mZJBBzs6MoucI1HyyeAFlEaC66caOVKOMZjmWChpuXZmb8gIgXD2wjQiPran0xo-bOguuhbIqT_4KMBc2SbSL8ndbpmsFGBjbEwHI95p1QRiY3WokXet1CVyaQtwN8/s320/IMG_9616.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt56n1nHWZeXHgLMajWk9i9ul-Jx9atWme2onfInYET0UWdv1vTQRe51rZ74QKy_8AYERZl0nwOeLB-vU5Jy1rVMP2sG_dLIiPqU_TAPezmlzk7VZNs4Lg1Y1_V27lnKCWjJpI4U2qxzO_/s2048/RESJ2040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt56n1nHWZeXHgLMajWk9i9ul-Jx9atWme2onfInYET0UWdv1vTQRe51rZ74QKy_8AYERZl0nwOeLB-vU5Jy1rVMP2sG_dLIiPqU_TAPezmlzk7VZNs4Lg1Y1_V27lnKCWjJpI4U2qxzO_/s320/RESJ2040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-71318365280552026502020-12-21T09:21:00.001-08:002020-12-21T13:23:53.557-08:00A Little Track Work......<h1 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIswOlgKjwV4WYGOElQxvU7f9E9KbKxCbwak2NcROXvuNnCISs_DIXZ2JioFmcWHTsXPMN-eQpMUB1mqqenYvnCdeuj2BJ71PQs5iNmTthZQ_5jDpsLrrsMWWByMvGjoYS-XUT-0kkjTz/s1600/h1.jpg" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIswOlgKjwV4WYGOElQxvU7f9E9KbKxCbwak2NcROXvuNnCISs_DIXZ2JioFmcWHTsXPMN-eQpMUB1mqqenYvnCdeuj2BJ71PQs5iNmTthZQ_5jDpsLrrsMWWByMvGjoYS-XUT-0kkjTz/s1600/h1.jpg" /></a></h1><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just to prove that I am actually accomplishing things, here's what five years get's you down on the waterfront.....</span></div><h1 style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Circa 2015</b></h1><h1 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxq3sMcdxSlbpSgxWM8-3tKJsVtbj67WCqjb3BSWAlGeA9cIsRr3Swajvhce3fAqL1naBQIVUA4DKR7AOaCqxaF5frhmCokyo0xcbYcCyupLJgUNRz9naZ8F1NFbp64VWFOINq06g-Uk3/s2048/Ralph+H+05.JPG" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="2048" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxq3sMcdxSlbpSgxWM8-3tKJsVtbj67WCqjb3BSWAlGeA9cIsRr3Swajvhce3fAqL1naBQIVUA4DKR7AOaCqxaF5frhmCokyo0xcbYcCyupLJgUNRz9naZ8F1NFbp64VWFOINq06g-Uk3/w416-h230/Ralph+H+05.JPG" width="416" /></a></h1><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><b>Circa 2020</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HvH5lHrQC-6pc00k93PDHc688HChRBpD1IfMLUYBZhLTCFtqXOzwIXl1iFfKTGnPSkhZueCHuEgSHfK2CH2KKKgKK8R9wh_vs3YO1vRXQTN8FPhDrVIOFL5-cAjoAKRXVBSMx487tX9r/s640/IMG_8310.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HvH5lHrQC-6pc00k93PDHc688HChRBpD1IfMLUYBZhLTCFtqXOzwIXl1iFfKTGnPSkhZueCHuEgSHfK2CH2KKKgKK8R9wh_vs3YO1vRXQTN8FPhDrVIOFL5-cAjoAKRXVBSMx487tX9r/s320/IMG_8310.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nothing ground breaking, but if I can ever get a real track plan drawn up (any takers?), what I changed in the second photo allows for better train/car movements, though I wish I could have added one more set of crossovers....oh well, we can't fit everything!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLLOvbu2BlME0tqGGbvLZlGHMIAdA-kBJ1Cz_d52MTVVFpaX4c6Mm-e_JgtRMpTW9EUxuCKXfwulWUTK2p_RmGMCZfiOiEoXGudCQNWhBhtNTf-CvNpbg5p3gDueLKtb9INhhyphenhyphencOFoQ2X/s1600/b1.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLLOvbu2BlME0tqGGbvLZlGHMIAdA-kBJ1Cz_d52MTVVFpaX4c6Mm-e_JgtRMpTW9EUxuCKXfwulWUTK2p_RmGMCZfiOiEoXGudCQNWhBhtNTf-CvNpbg5p3gDueLKtb9INhhyphenhyphencOFoQ2X/s320/b1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Well, actually, yes, I have been. The wiring is mostly done (special thanks to friends Dave Abeles for the loan of a resistance soldering station, and Tom Schmieder for a short circuit detector, which is a good thing I haven't had any of, because I still can't find where I put it!), and now all that needs laying is my stylized version of Phillips St. Interlocking (where the LV crossed the CNJ, just west of the riverfront yards) which leads into staging, and of course, staging itself. But that'll have to wait until later in 2021 after I return from Virginia for training for a new job. So, stay tuned and stay safe, 2021 is going to have some trains running for a full op session for the first time since 2014!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;">~ Ralph</div></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div>Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-43386508501484043462019-04-05T10:16:00.000-07:002019-05-10T07:33:57.304-07:00End Of Week, Just For Fun, No Other Reason Than "Because I Don't Feel Like Working" Post<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, I stumbled upon this blog today while deciding to "take a break"....Yeah, break, that's it.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://position-light.blogspot.com/">http://position-light.blogspot.com/</a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjdcLvcB7TX7pB6BWyRc436HXvh4-6LeTta2vD-R5ZFpMeIPz-c211pls6TQPKodbt4ee-9HXRrJ-Ysh8v745z7gTF5SfYRHNe57EEncDeEYp2ua63u4InLNiZj0_kJ3UPCSMoKGe5FNo/s1600/i1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjdcLvcB7TX7pB6BWyRc436HXvh4-6LeTta2vD-R5ZFpMeIPz-c211pls6TQPKodbt4ee-9HXRrJ-Ysh8v745z7gTF5SfYRHNe57EEncDeEYp2ua63u4InLNiZj0_kJ3UPCSMoKGe5FNo/s1600/i1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Having always though signals are neat (because, who DOESN'T think that?!?), ESPECIALLY semaphores, and also because my friend Dave Abeles' has signals galore all over the place on his </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Conrail Onondaga Cutoff layout - </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/">https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/</a>, so I kinda thought that I should take some time to learn about them a little better.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1G8NmbADHrRnt38LkT__BJsgITp6AnCWocXvuBKHDDmiFh0mFS0SWAluCFdDTjqtcESxH3o-MGn0E8C7rk3zK32jWawvEp0isry3Zwv6WWY6ECcUoeemD7uUirtWVp1iP6EjtB_aZVo4/s1600/oc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="640" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1G8NmbADHrRnt38LkT__BJsgITp6AnCWocXvuBKHDDmiFh0mFS0SWAluCFdDTjqtcESxH3o-MGn0E8C7rk3zK32jWawvEp0isry3Zwv6WWY6ECcUoeemD7uUirtWVp1iP6EjtB_aZVo4/s320/oc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIYbEft4P9sTllKPS3kYQbKyjJpqNGA_7xNmgR8qACvsd0p1JMPxiWwAU27fUMDkjIGbDncx4VFOJDmCzAvAqGhMcNgkwOzMaWFOvQWqDD0vIqN7d1QKFLic2_kMNLlsIXRDhIOzti2kT/s1600/picard-i-wish-there-were-only-four-lights-not-oc-38257973.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIYbEft4P9sTllKPS3kYQbKyjJpqNGA_7xNmgR8qACvsd0p1JMPxiWwAU27fUMDkjIGbDncx4VFOJDmCzAvAqGhMcNgkwOzMaWFOvQWqDD0vIqN7d1QKFLic2_kMNLlsIXRDhIOzti2kT/s320/picard-i-wish-there-were-only-four-lights-not-oc-38257973.png" width="248" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"> Yeah, Dave has a LOT of signals.....</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So I thought to myself, "Self, share this with your faithful readers today, because like said, "signals are neat"!" And 'c</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ause ya know, I'm nice like that.......</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFHghpgMV35xdiLY6PSShZmueg0drfIky0MrfJqOdrWwbHj9Wml6ThfBTilD5_axLacIet3hxhWQleStAH1ADbNMiDai61xP9_xWpaUyHDtoB0l5cqimeiQ75ehw_NpwhXu1wBTPYm3Rb/s1600/i2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="500" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFHghpgMV35xdiLY6PSShZmueg0drfIky0MrfJqOdrWwbHj9Wml6ThfBTilD5_axLacIet3hxhWQleStAH1ADbNMiDai61xP9_xWpaUyHDtoB0l5cqimeiQ75ehw_NpwhXu1wBTPYm3Rb/s320/i2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, yeah, I guess I have to go back to work now.....I'm off to the Bridgeview B&B in Marysville, Pennsylvania this weekend, so maybe I'll be back next week with some neat pictures to share!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">~Ralph</span></div>
<br />Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-59068760011839307312019-03-31T16:42:00.004-07:002019-05-09T13:12:15.900-07:00Un-Doing the Re-Doing of the Re-Do of The Branch...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLx06G4N8LuP8gu1Hfil_JWd1-qvwY-31i7nyfBDL5SiEa3TVVGeIhUabTfZkmrAioU-mCwAc2VkKQkTBIk1hvnzMcnLtLkHxo7ihFEeVM0-FA_mpTClE3bfKASXkd7a3j-8IfEgnTC9Lq/s1600/OHISvPX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="500" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLx06G4N8LuP8gu1Hfil_JWd1-qvwY-31i7nyfBDL5SiEa3TVVGeIhUabTfZkmrAioU-mCwAc2VkKQkTBIk1hvnzMcnLtLkHxo7ihFEeVM0-FA_mpTClE3bfKASXkd7a3j-8IfEgnTC9Lq/s320/OHISvPX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, because at least now that I know what I'm doing with the tracks in my West Yard, but also am fixated on attacking my New Jersey Turnpike bridge "problem"/backdrop treatment (please visit my<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/LVRR1951/?fref=nf" target="_blank"> FB group</a> for info on that), I ALSO decided to revisit my previously re-built Edgewater Branch - </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuK35YxmFLGm3JLVumMSodye0BjKZmqtYv3o95zPuSd0lSsUBENY0CeUW7h2LWIfMZxNXMvwfpneBwoK7AyqJ5Rn-cPedAZX8r_7kiakxbgp7zanQWhvhYwoFOLzzWch_xDRZx3C3id_qs/s1600/IMG_3540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuK35YxmFLGm3JLVumMSodye0BjKZmqtYv3o95zPuSd0lSsUBENY0CeUW7h2LWIfMZxNXMvwfpneBwoK7AyqJ5Rn-cPedAZX8r_7kiakxbgp7zanQWhvhYwoFOLzzWch_xDRZx3C3id_qs/s320/IMG_3540.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbc5pJXA3KVP0K3YhBI5B3ghkMaEWbiSO8SA9zhncg7OPRabiV_7iPfnQZurCKmOV6U67K617eJhLzy7_xqrjj31PkITaAGVkIq-z0G3ZrW7VKvmO-QT5U16hbTD4KOQwP_7kcAZYEN6fo/s1600/IMG_3537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbc5pJXA3KVP0K3YhBI5B3ghkMaEWbiSO8SA9zhncg7OPRabiV_7iPfnQZurCKmOV6U67K617eJhLzy7_xqrjj31PkITaAGVkIq-z0G3ZrW7VKvmO-QT5U16hbTD4KOQwP_7kcAZYEN6fo/s320/IMG_3537.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FenIRoNum1UtbuIgaQP9xbGzBu5Zrd9YR6fQr1T6oi3yn4C3PT5lHEcJyClEKszCsqTaOdwFFUL9mSBGqPhKb9Otiw4v1g3qUlz9V71i9zsqJ6ENAM-gPEM-o__PczEKk0vkw_DurmHW/s1600/IMG_3539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FenIRoNum1UtbuIgaQP9xbGzBu5Zrd9YR6fQr1T6oi3yn4C3PT5lHEcJyClEKszCsqTaOdwFFUL9mSBGqPhKb9Otiw4v1g3qUlz9V71i9zsqJ6ENAM-gPEM-o__PczEKk0vkw_DurmHW/s320/IMG_3539.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ya see, I recently bought and read the thought-provoking book by <a href="https://lancemindheim.com/contact/" target="_blank">Lance Mindheim</a>, titled "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1726325407" target="_blank">Model Railroading As Art</a>" (which is available from Amazon by clicking on the title), and realized that, among the MANY "design principles" he puts forth, that I didn't have enough of what he calls "negative space". I knew that upon my rebuild of the branch, that I OVER did things - I added WAY too much track that didn't exist, not because I needed to, but because "I could", and because it "looked cool"..... This was a simple branch, built alongside the Morris Canal, as evidenced here - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuX82xkUfQagTqwRObeIqL7PMxS1Ps3bjGLSkGY8GA0Fn9D7dfYVxhv0STc5JS34CX7Lads5qMpccZYxb2GsDUpMzKoHfKsI7uxJPo4YQZKdIms9YNoy0sgqzNbDCW7RrhRkbfCKIiGk0v/s1600/8333173185_02432265ea_b+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="1024" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuX82xkUfQagTqwRObeIqL7PMxS1Ps3bjGLSkGY8GA0Fn9D7dfYVxhv0STc5JS34CX7Lads5qMpccZYxb2GsDUpMzKoHfKsI7uxJPo4YQZKdIms9YNoy0sgqzNbDCW7RrhRkbfCKIiGk0v/s320/8333173185_02432265ea_b+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And I really wanted to keep that scenic element in place, even though by the 1950's, the ditch that was the canal, was long gone. But ever since the very first version of this layout in my parent's house in the 1990's, I wanted to have a bit of an abandoned canal prism (I have a slight Morris Canal obsession, unrelated to the railroad), and with all this track, there was no room whatsoever to model that. But in reality, it was just way too much track to have! I had installed three passing sidings, and they weren't separated by a few cars lengths, mind you, but by no more than one turnout each! Not only would a real railroad probably not do that (it would have been double tracked with maybe a crossover mid way to divide the long siding instead), but it just wasn't like that in the real world, EVER! (and I have the Val Map of the branch to prove it!). Henceforth, the need for "negative space"....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtPjAeugxZnMMAn0AWaAomzSw3XHq-tV2bgPJitGmXjkyNqDZPvZzogYgz3jqxM94Hs6SjcahSHGz2vrvIrQdESVYtapMRrxYCcQaCnHab2O497_k6P1ty1x8ySMhTWzJhyphenhyphenp1W25BfTCS/s1600/Morris_canal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="530" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtPjAeugxZnMMAn0AWaAomzSw3XHq-tV2bgPJitGmXjkyNqDZPvZzogYgz3jqxM94Hs6SjcahSHGz2vrvIrQdESVYtapMRrxYCcQaCnHab2O497_k6P1ty1x8ySMhTWzJhyphenhyphenp1W25BfTCS/s320/Morris_canal.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, today, instead of finishing other track projects that I've already started, I ripped up my branch and "de-industrialized" it -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UTMHaaJ6izGZtuTm1H7pMgedqgJF_pZHz237DYOTVPB1taWy11TLLJCAZUz60zla7tajz3Cgc3W1slA7AZHkV2_Fz75EHCjx3fE8kONwNlg-3r0X9z9sxLw2vws2pgTF8go-wmQxxenD/s1600/IMG_3544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UTMHaaJ6izGZtuTm1H7pMgedqgJF_pZHz237DYOTVPB1taWy11TLLJCAZUz60zla7tajz3Cgc3W1slA7AZHkV2_Fz75EHCjx3fE8kONwNlg-3r0X9z9sxLw2vws2pgTF8go-wmQxxenD/s320/IMG_3544.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDzPjGklhmFFD7K-NEDZHI11vq-1155GqYHb8_8xOvGQhqhzNDz7297ExhCyBdHqh7a-RFVH6b1ZBEw96FKNsMWaRmCBosAxeK60pJ3Sv2mmbDkZusbM4IZ1tppHTxVBhCJ8CF0kgpHU8/s1600/IMG_3541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDzPjGklhmFFD7K-NEDZHI11vq-1155GqYHb8_8xOvGQhqhzNDz7297ExhCyBdHqh7a-RFVH6b1ZBEw96FKNsMWaRmCBosAxeK60pJ3Sv2mmbDkZusbM4IZ1tppHTxVBhCJ8CF0kgpHU8/s320/IMG_3541.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well, in actuality, I didn't loose any industries, I just "rationalized" the physical plant to not only be less cluttered, but simple and rather forlorn, just like the real thing probably was by the 1950's. Now, if the local has need of running around cars, it has to do it in the yard before it runs down the branch, or go all the way to the end of the branch to run around its cars. Crews will need to plan things out, rather than just grab everything at one time and go and have the luxury of a mid-branch runaround. I think it's much more realistic, and it certainly more realistic to essence of the real branch, which didn't have nearly as many industries on it in 1950 as I decided to model it (three of the six currently on the branch). One last thing I DID add that I thought would be helpful (and to be honest, it was an attempt to get another industry in), was to add what is essentially a switching lead/team track/"for later" track - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPJpq43RgCTxZlSQU5AZEIR4gzcNjGb8GAwqEJAwMhRdKRfIey65hBzrWL9B20Raq-HlGpllFSxBY64Tv4u1r-fn6SfWa3tGWvI7evLzpXIKduyri6E6kfV_Mv4sON0tBHcHGDorhcHTd/s1600/IMG_3546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPJpq43RgCTxZlSQU5AZEIR4gzcNjGb8GAwqEJAwMhRdKRfIey65hBzrWL9B20Raq-HlGpllFSxBY64Tv4u1r-fn6SfWa3tGWvI7evLzpXIKduyri6E6kfV_Mv4sON0tBHcHGDorhcHTd/s320/IMG_3546.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's that left hand stub track seen in the distance above, just past the pole,and adjacent to the Monmouth St Team Track "module".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHr2qbeuPWhSV_jrHip9hzx29tI8LXmTD8UHHd4d_6OuPCOsG8si8cRn68PohTq4cxkmSV8MA4_HE2QvME_X79s37JRVxSq64l1nVyHRe5mP0qQUafopxVbEkOtMuBzyXCMAcTe9sg5GE/s1600/IMG_2934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHr2qbeuPWhSV_jrHip9hzx29tI8LXmTD8UHHd4d_6OuPCOsG8si8cRn68PohTq4cxkmSV8MA4_HE2QvME_X79s37JRVxSq64l1nVyHRe5mP0qQUafopxVbEkOtMuBzyXCMAcTe9sg5GE/s320/IMG_2934.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the above company map, said track is labeled "West End Coal Yard" and appears to be double-ended siding (which is why I did what I did to begin with), but like I said, it was just TOO MUCH TRACK after everything was said and done! I estimate this branch to have been about 2-3 miles in length, and seeing as that I have only about 12 feet to play with, allowances had to be made.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the end, this was all easy to pick up and un-do, as no track feeders have been re-installed yet, and just a few pins to pull out that were holding all the track in place. I suppose that I'll be spending some nights this week in the basement as I find the time, putting it all back together......</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, hopefully I will be able to stay focused and make some more leaps of progress before the bank account stops any further Westbound expansion!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Until next time,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">~Ralph</span></div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-35557836975315345512019-03-27T16:32:00.003-07:002019-03-27T16:32:45.938-07:00Not "one and done" by a long shot.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqma0ppgL9agzDOr8ZnwsPfkX9ppxCBQe_dVl5oQ24bauANgxraxotIU2J5pyGhY0EnmnvcTjl8UOf82QimT2IW1t22zfEriYQD2rs7W9YRgFwnNzdFohKOR7pdOQWEg5MrTgWbJnnwOul/s1600/b55425816154c552c4d399ed314a98a141567360d030f4f4bc8319174acc9ba8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="334" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqma0ppgL9agzDOr8ZnwsPfkX9ppxCBQe_dVl5oQ24bauANgxraxotIU2J5pyGhY0EnmnvcTjl8UOf82QimT2IW1t22zfEriYQD2rs7W9YRgFwnNzdFohKOR7pdOQWEg5MrTgWbJnnwOul/s320/b55425816154c552c4d399ed314a98a141567360d030f4f4bc8319174acc9ba8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have been busy posting updates elsewhere, and by "elsewhere" I mean my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/LVRR1951/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, so if you're a "Facebook'er", please "click and join", as I tend to post material that I don't post here, especially when I'm looking for some "immediate community consensus" on something. I recently asked for some public opinion related to my last post here about the West Yard track layout, and it generated some helpful content, so please stop by and request to join (please mention you saw this post, and I'll add you ASAP) as it is a private group. If I'm working on something "in the moment", I tend to post there first.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, I'll make this update fast and furious, unlike all my other updates tend to be......I have slowed down on progress a little since St. Patrick's Day, other than to buy the new foam insulation board for the redone fiddle staging yard -</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It went from this - </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceNFZHZPE5MeYKZW9phYYNrIaaanbtoai4pTAcW3jNpyhg31oObgfOOQyqxc36TtggfpxyKVTNJy6ZvGS_y8koTrGaVfDRro97FyhSvrZHJStdXsKVGvP0tvdw-ZL3lifOwS9eFZOWQQo/s1600/IMG_2764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceNFZHZPE5MeYKZW9phYYNrIaaanbtoai4pTAcW3jNpyhg31oObgfOOQyqxc36TtggfpxyKVTNJy6ZvGS_y8koTrGaVfDRro97FyhSvrZHJStdXsKVGvP0tvdw-ZL3lifOwS9eFZOWQQo/s320/IMG_2764.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPKgSTkiWJ0Zm_XR3oMzNdrPDVvM9tSYxT8CCzaVlUkqbGjRMeEiF2uLdcCMqpZQxt8ScOaQHwNWMogxKhBCs7KjxtNTbHic7CDHY4XIrzah5koI9n8W0M-XOCXqb33ohjaUVZDEDKV8C/s1600/IMG_2422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPKgSTkiWJ0Zm_XR3oMzNdrPDVvM9tSYxT8CCzaVlUkqbGjRMeEiF2uLdcCMqpZQxt8ScOaQHwNWMogxKhBCs7KjxtNTbHic7CDHY4XIrzah5koI9n8W0M-XOCXqb33ohjaUVZDEDKV8C/s320/IMG_2422.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To This - </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwSxAWK0pLI6okiuuLRSSzNAXWWizpSOwYH3nxzvWcxetIUf0ZKR3dJCD8NZed_jSuT9-jR_Z7qY7USIFvJwjS-CHKCyTrdPvg3_l_LgwE4yRgabNKSrTxwFTxChwqobyG9iRhAge3WP2/s1600/IMG_3327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwSxAWK0pLI6okiuuLRSSzNAXWWizpSOwYH3nxzvWcxetIUf0ZKR3dJCD8NZed_jSuT9-jR_Z7qY7USIFvJwjS-CHKCyTrdPvg3_l_LgwE4yRgabNKSrTxwFTxChwqobyG9iRhAge3WP2/s320/IMG_3327.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVP7YPo1uaCgOaaBAPDQxYQVEDL5pFn4VVCeZJ89Xa6yIGwrghFShQrsN9VYT_XBN1SwvpXC5JrddzotciDbOdQDJgHmmQ0l5Zsa_yZT3KhsGnV5k1qYvYXK6_eGPoQr44Xt7F0_fO4Ub1/s1600/IMG_3328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVP7YPo1uaCgOaaBAPDQxYQVEDL5pFn4VVCeZJ89Xa6yIGwrghFShQrsN9VYT_XBN1SwvpXC5JrddzotciDbOdQDJgHmmQ0l5Zsa_yZT3KhsGnV5k1qYvYXK6_eGPoQr44Xt7F0_fO4Ub1/s320/IMG_3328.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So instead of being a Frankenstein of four different pieces and now, only one level instead of two, it's a matter of rebuilding the "Main Line" into staging which means buying more turnouts, and that ISN'T in the budget right now, not to mention that's a blog update in and of itself......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bottom line, it's approximately 10 feet long, 7 tracks wide, and if my rough measurements are right, about 10 cars per track capacity. While I plan on doubling a train while building or receiving a train (each Main Line track, and the National Docks Branch has a pair of staging tracks allotted to it) I never planned on running 20 car transfers into, and off of, the layout, though maybe once the new ops plan is in place (yes Dave Abeles, that means getting Jack "O.C." Trabachino down here!), we may be running bigger transfers. I still have some details to rough out (engine escape turnouts at the end of each track, engine storage tracks off one track), but we'll get to that in due time.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Right now, I have other fish to fry in the previous "work locations" on the layout that need fine tuning, and also re-wiring (BORING!!!). But we'll get there, and I'll make sure everyone is along for the ride.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So yeah, that's it (for now)! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcLAMSCv2yS5Gm4SA22DhVvkBhVFt6FWiV2thy4aF3y_Z-d384nZGO7XP0wgcX1mfaM7vH-WPXWViqpITez6r1vlDz8kefNumRaacGtfH3FVj0Pn09bJ1lhNkNlM8pyzIqFpj6om4EZo7/s1600/23x0s0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcLAMSCv2yS5Gm4SA22DhVvkBhVFt6FWiV2thy4aF3y_Z-d384nZGO7XP0wgcX1mfaM7vH-WPXWViqpITez6r1vlDz8kefNumRaacGtfH3FVj0Pn09bJ1lhNkNlM8pyzIqFpj6om4EZo7/s320/23x0s0.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">See you soon!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">~Ralph</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-5159010569421928142019-03-09T11:20:00.002-08:002019-03-11T04:49:56.857-07:00Rumors of this Blog have been greatly exaggerated<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljcjSkCfIe3d0DEAO4yWZfAUBtRXA9H2qD7daUscAiilLKA96kGmH3TopITYJ1cJ8RIIlhM988UdzR-BS0hsemM5CJCgCE_1qVdX3nr2CSi3ANDENoYGTxKhIvBkPMapWxrZIvC4kjP6x/s1600/aaaaannnddd-im-back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljcjSkCfIe3d0DEAO4yWZfAUBtRXA9H2qD7daUscAiilLKA96kGmH3TopITYJ1cJ8RIIlhM988UdzR-BS0hsemM5CJCgCE_1qVdX3nr2CSi3ANDENoYGTxKhIvBkPMapWxrZIvC4kjP6x/s320/aaaaannnddd-im-back.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As promised (OK, maybe only to my friend Eric Hansmann), here is my first blog post in two years, three months!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why so long you ask? Well, mostly because of "life stuff". But, since about January, I've been gandy dancing all over the basement!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nh4ePz1oSw8Wg8V-315i8_oHU15STZMKQHuhI47BchdMb5rF9bycES4gQjRSPqV3MJkEk1AhRudBKxg6Vdbz7poXy9Bq653iuShgIz3CcZf8b50YJG1QG53oM3bQf-ouB1ULyk55Beov/s1600/images+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="619" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nh4ePz1oSw8Wg8V-315i8_oHU15STZMKQHuhI47BchdMb5rF9bycES4gQjRSPqV3MJkEk1AhRudBKxg6Vdbz7poXy9Bq653iuShgIz3CcZf8b50YJG1QG53oM3bQf-ouB1ULyk55Beov/s320/images+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ya gotta be careful with that Micro Engineering track....</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what was so special about January? Nothing really, but I did
get the urge again to get the railroad running towards the end of last year,
and I also really wanted by friends Chris Barany, John Zelehoski, Doug
Burrell and Dave Abeles (yes, THAT Dave
Abeles of Onondaga Cutoff fame -
https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/ - to come over and see the layout. The
problem? It hadn't seen an op session since 2013, AND the basement was a wreck!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDN_ICwWmJyB6v7g9dra4sla49fvgUv5WAI95XhSZbZlAyML-EWuZKPsqGXZw2C8UBsj6ekFKYvgcze8rQZfRCV2-gsYPu49zVzkj8JHklVCbmByCag78M_H00_mOz02cgmTM0aaOlv9J/s1600/basement-cleanout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDN_ICwWmJyB6v7g9dra4sla49fvgUv5WAI95XhSZbZlAyML-EWuZKPsqGXZw2C8UBsj6ekFKYvgcze8rQZfRCV2-gsYPu49zVzkj8JHklVCbmByCag78M_H00_mOz02cgmTM0aaOlv9J/s320/basement-cleanout.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Not an actual photo, but not far from the truth, either</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Coupled with that recent epiphany to see the layout through and not go for a total rebuild, I took stock of the situation to rebuild some trackage that had been bugging me for years, and go forth with a ton of improvements. I'm not going to get into all the key points in this </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">"return to blogging" entry (I've been using Facebook to keep my friends updated - </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Look for the layout on FB under - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/LVRR1951/?ref=group_header" target="_blank">Ralph Heiss' Lehigh Valley Terminal Railway</a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, that’s assuming that you're a Facebook'er, but I am going to probably “dueling posts”
different from each other, so…... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So in the month since the guys were over, I have been rebuilding most of the key points
of the layout, things that have bugged me for months, if not YEARS! Literally NOTHING has escaped the track crew, be it </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the Washington St. Yard throat, the CNJ's Jersey Ave Branch, or the LV's Edgewater Branch</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">! So in today's post,
I have come seeking your thoughts, suggestions, comments and whatnot......I
have worked by way around the layout and the small (but very important) Grand
Street/West Yard, and am looking at several possibilities to redesign access to
the yard. I will say that I have departed from strict prototype track
arrangements and instead am going with "what works best with model
railroad operations" plan, and I'll try to impart those differences first
by using some visual aids. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, the prototype, from a hand drawn map issued by the
railroad -</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #e9ebee; color: #1d2129;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGGLopSzguxuC9Czzid_Xnux8rvf-f8bC-V8gp8wWwndzdms7tgJrmKRIL9X3bYAnn-4XgFa8weMj2MzRzMj9O7Mflfc-A0ee1IEpjgdiz8t7PtVlG3wrDfkHTEw14bvBCy4e2v_h0XJp/s1600/IMG_2934.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGGLopSzguxuC9Czzid_Xnux8rvf-f8bC-V8gp8wWwndzdms7tgJrmKRIL9X3bYAnn-4XgFa8weMj2MzRzMj9O7Mflfc-A0ee1IEpjgdiz8t7PtVlG3wrDfkHTEw14bvBCy4e2v_h0XJp/s320/IMG_2934.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not exactly finely drawn, but it WAS part of a </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">circa 1960's vintage </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Company-issued document, so I say i can be considered canon. The spatial representations of things is what is wrong with the drawing, not so much</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"> any actual tracks or buildings, which are accurately represented</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">. The view looks compass north (main yard is to the lower right to the right, horizontal to the Hudson River), and the large arc of parallel lines to the right of the yard represents the Holland Tunnel extension of the NJ Turnpike, aka my backdrop.</span></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Now, here's a photo from my era dated 1956, showing the West Yard and the new TOFC ramps, and looking in roughly the same direction as the map shown above - </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRfIVgXFSTCrH0hiFov6xmCJKHLu556xkV2tcZc1PEQAWehlo5z6sOSN6UiC1kpFzSXw-8YYR_v9WtoJaj9E7TXj_R_YZVEprn7IAbruQeboVDdWWwI8CJ_VtsQvVRSmFQTso7QjtzTds/s1600/IMG_2933.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRfIVgXFSTCrH0hiFov6xmCJKHLu556xkV2tcZc1PEQAWehlo5z6sOSN6UiC1kpFzSXw-8YYR_v9WtoJaj9E7TXj_R_YZVEprn7IAbruQeboVDdWWwI8CJ_VtsQvVRSmFQTso7QjtzTds/s320/IMG_2933.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Too bad the angle wasn't a little higher up so we could see if there was a runaround where those four boxcars to the left are sitting. Honestly, in this era (a post 1954 photo, but probably before 1960) this yard was used for the LV's new TOFC operation, and cars would be backed in from the main, so there really wasn't a need for much flexibility in the trackage. The track running off to the left side and ducking back under the Turnpike bridge in the far distance served the Edgewater Branch and the Grand Street freight station and team tracks, probably still used in the 1950's (but not for much longer). Of course, in the model railroad world, most of our yards and other such distances are horribly foreshortened, and what worked for the railroad may not work out so well in model form. Case in point, my Yard throat is not the same as the prototype, so after the first few shakedowns many eons ago, it was suggested to put another through track across the yard to help expedite movements, so, like a good Terminal Superintendent, that's exactly what I did - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pF_Y-_Q73rLr3vvgi5XhBsG2D840QtUcaYv8-stK_XZeRdLfApFMPTHd4wkJznYb1cHLkPrH9vToWUCGfdXzTolFHLjOJaBLsTlAXaK9ALHJY2fyfQzlZQZQol5B8I7MPdd0PON60kjp/s1600/IMG_2930.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="378" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pF_Y-_Q73rLr3vvgi5XhBsG2D840QtUcaYv8-stK_XZeRdLfApFMPTHd4wkJznYb1cHLkPrH9vToWUCGfdXzTolFHLjOJaBLsTlAXaK9ALHJY2fyfQzlZQZQol5B8I7MPdd0PON60kjp/s320/IMG_2930.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not only did I loose a yard track by doing this, but it does kind of </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">stick in my craw that it's not 100% prototypically correct, too</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are possibilities I'm exploring, and I'd appreciate
you, my faithful readers, for help. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand
words, so I'll let you see for yourselves.....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, I'll give you a "photographic tour" of the
yard, starting at the Edgewater Branch, looking compass north and railroad
east, and then turning around and facing south and west....</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #e9ebee; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WoaXwkHyCu30tpv7IaJ3zQJM2ODJQATh2MxwG5-JLmgPfvMOcPMNpPwriou2IsKfejqZ1_vABu-mMPiUspfD_W-3esIFMJtajZ8PEB3OqwxoiUZOZmE_p1g7JZu3EZcO0DRixB8gYZgQ/s1600/WYA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WoaXwkHyCu30tpv7IaJ3zQJM2ODJQATh2MxwG5-JLmgPfvMOcPMNpPwriou2IsKfejqZ1_vABu-mMPiUspfD_W-3esIFMJtajZ8PEB3OqwxoiUZOZmE_p1g7JZu3EZcO0DRixB8gYZgQ/s320/WYA.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2D9HMvp57dScN3WyUYZyYiLs9h1NKtWVjyPaYeVixfAqZe_LH4cGPZk0rcb-KH7pBI7qkkyrtQ5sWK6YGbiYkdI-9GyYVBytpShQHJB1Em_5YbL_ItWoJvbu22SH5LOR-3-f7kDkjkeH/s1600/WYB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2D9HMvp57dScN3WyUYZyYiLs9h1NKtWVjyPaYeVixfAqZe_LH4cGPZk0rcb-KH7pBI7qkkyrtQ5sWK6YGbiYkdI-9GyYVBytpShQHJB1Em_5YbL_ItWoJvbu22SH5LOR-3-f7kDkjkeH/s320/WYB.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpadSNU_k_TZo8S05LMeeylw-OyXKlb1SVsEEuPjgdPi3uJOEuee6TYe6kr5saZ0yVu6YLeqvMEOaT8o2mpN56aMUL88CR7ADUFDmQvI3RpLcdS4ue0xE1Mf-iGA55a3fFlj4MRBPnAAJU/s1600/WYC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpadSNU_k_TZo8S05LMeeylw-OyXKlb1SVsEEuPjgdPi3uJOEuee6TYe6kr5saZ0yVu6YLeqvMEOaT8o2mpN56aMUL88CR7ADUFDmQvI3RpLcdS4ue0xE1Mf-iGA55a3fFlj4MRBPnAAJU/s320/WYC.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnJxGetle00FK5Fg1V3rYMtifGY6lS6SSEUxJ_EHCs44THYiTHvfVQbKlrBedCePt4mx_rksE-PJbuNdv_grIeAyvA4fLt1q06GysWlDu6z-hRvvONVzEWOJbW4YxOyBrexGH3GVH0MBS/s1600/WYD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnJxGetle00FK5Fg1V3rYMtifGY6lS6SSEUxJ_EHCs44THYiTHvfVQbKlrBedCePt4mx_rksE-PJbuNdv_grIeAyvA4fLt1q06GysWlDu6z-hRvvONVzEWOJbW4YxOyBrexGH3GVH0MBS/s320/WYD.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYi7WGgmBarUZm6-ZwkvfgR5vBA1gyYW3U-GsmnsnPm2sAqurAHnMEMsQk-aIyqIAkIqSZbU6smPL8bJcnpCxYsObAN3ng98nd2NqKVoy0YNDA13fWDNUfzGN0JnBVBn_IAnVmualf7pH2/s1600/WYE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYi7WGgmBarUZm6-ZwkvfgR5vBA1gyYW3U-GsmnsnPm2sAqurAHnMEMsQk-aIyqIAkIqSZbU6smPL8bJcnpCxYsObAN3ng98nd2NqKVoy0YNDA13fWDNUfzGN0JnBVBn_IAnVmualf7pH2/s320/WYE.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, as you can see in this last photo, the "unprotopypical" through track is the track directly to the right of the gray building, leading to one leg of the wye into the main yard, and to the noth or westbound side of the main float yard at Washington Street, while the wye track with the boxcars on it in the distance leads to the south or east side of the yard. You can see the connecting pair of turnouts between the two legs, which, if I had had the room, would have both come to a point BEFORE the split in the wye legs.The other or west leg of the wye comes in from the upper right out of the shadows. So from right to left, you have your main running track to the Edgewater Branch, a runaround siding, what could be another through track, and/or access across the two diamond crossings into the Grand Street freight station and Monmouth St. team tracks (as seen in the first and second pictures beyond the lolly column), three stub ended yard tracks, the "east through track", and then the two TOFC ramp tracks.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm currently suffering from "which way do I go, George?" in regards to the track arrangement, and how to achieve a good level of "correctness" and operating flexibility. I thus present you exhibits A thru D with track just kind of plopped in to represent the possible routes, with each pair looking right/left.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First up, Version "A" get the most flexibility out of the yard, with what amounts to four separate through tracks across the length of the yard, two separate routes to/from the branch, and the ability to run around a cut of cars in three different places.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bcmOtz5OdqU36RfxOh5C2364p1ODIRNj-Tuf5SHETri_jWABIUu4wVYJP4Xxeve6xM7spF0g_unjToHfRPhtdOVMT4SGaxDHZDgiplDjY0la0EiOxxF2TnW6tsihVcRYVrlLJexNExm0/s1600/WY1A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bcmOtz5OdqU36RfxOh5C2364p1ODIRNj-Tuf5SHETri_jWABIUu4wVYJP4Xxeve6xM7spF0g_unjToHfRPhtdOVMT4SGaxDHZDgiplDjY0la0EiOxxF2TnW6tsihVcRYVrlLJexNExm0/s320/WY1A.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-NxCWR9IDVrVNA3qcA_wup0eY7naGIiCRfZ95VfQrtd2Wq-J8dOlX-7jk2_Xg_wNuh5mI4Vy1VmDgLhoigL2Aj_OkfaDU3hM29T8o_BVGdCndzYugkwk3Ruyei3hJQwMqZZJqSXXOOk7/s1600/WY1B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-NxCWR9IDVrVNA3qcA_wup0eY7naGIiCRfZ95VfQrtd2Wq-J8dOlX-7jk2_Xg_wNuh5mI4Vy1VmDgLhoigL2Aj_OkfaDU3hM29T8o_BVGdCndzYugkwk3Ruyei3hJQwMqZZJqSXXOOk7/s320/WY1B.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Version "B" eliminates that foreground curved connecting turnout, but is otherwise the same.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEkL8I299qIYH0j67-P6uhGsZQ_fj5aDs18AcYxF02flMwWSr50B6tbdAayiaXtJpuaFxaccJwDsq7d1vpXzd4X0hkH6COMSBYivsDE9BzP4AVbtf-wRRRpcUkpT0ZPp5h6-m8fc0Jh-s/s1600/WY2A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEkL8I299qIYH0j67-P6uhGsZQ_fj5aDs18AcYxF02flMwWSr50B6tbdAayiaXtJpuaFxaccJwDsq7d1vpXzd4X0hkH6COMSBYivsDE9BzP4AVbtf-wRRRpcUkpT0ZPp5h6-m8fc0Jh-s/s320/WY2A.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QN5encYpTKufDqfK7alB0ZqqJORlTkAP_1FZJ2Mic0AZqaGDUBI1DBgXYujgacCpdfE__xlGIxi-ZF8A_ouWax6ON9s6JiKCK4jg6PI6LbOlBWBtyHVsckwDgxAvvIp1H6fBIPbiH6lt/s1600/WY2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QN5encYpTKufDqfK7alB0ZqqJORlTkAP_1FZJ2Mic0AZqaGDUBI1DBgXYujgacCpdfE__xlGIxi-ZF8A_ouWax6ON9s6JiKCK4jg6PI6LbOlBWBtyHVsckwDgxAvvIp1H6fBIPbiH6lt/s320/WY2B.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">Version "C" is yet another variation of the above, except we now loose one through track and now GAIN a new stub storage track, but otherwise everything is the same.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqIuey0AvC58F1xE-ytTz7fjSwl_sQjLoOzFrrfNKILwzEBlBULRxwKOQDmwp_xbn1oITyz939qKIWkf3DZatb9kr4I9vdmAa8pilouP6-JaQGpGHvWhq8A-yD7oDz3gxrXDYkQyBdIQx/s1600/WY3A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqIuey0AvC58F1xE-ytTz7fjSwl_sQjLoOzFrrfNKILwzEBlBULRxwKOQDmwp_xbn1oITyz939qKIWkf3DZatb9kr4I9vdmAa8pilouP6-JaQGpGHvWhq8A-yD7oDz3gxrXDYkQyBdIQx/s320/WY3A.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U_JXELkEe1DJoW8hQEjw7Rj86b8Is34nGl5rbWm8MKxbrybfgtpnypTsObXJEyJlG6ab-lFLAJM9V8jYyfX8ZbsUtUifkOZT58HP8zz3xNbWD-Y0jbAxBsSYWsirMUD3wI9aQgoTdBMl/s1600/WY3B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4U_JXELkEe1DJoW8hQEjw7Rj86b8Is34nGl5rbWm8MKxbrybfgtpnypTsObXJEyJlG6ab-lFLAJM9V8jYyfX8ZbsUtUifkOZT58HP8zz3xNbWD-Y0jbAxBsSYWsirMUD3wI9aQgoTdBMl/s320/WY3B.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">And finally, Version 'D" is the most "scenically pure" version of the yard. In the first photo, you can see I lifted the mid yard through track, which now gains me back a TOFC ramp track, AND elimination of this track and associated turnout lets be extend a siding to that factory JUST that much more, which is always a good thing. I still keep two routes in/out of the yard (that come back together at the entrance to the branch next to the column), but also now just ONE runaround and that re-acquired yard track from the last version above. Only drawback? I have to buy a new turnout.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhydAppaChk6OO4Sh14Jy_gDKCukYQelZC3-TtlBBNlTClYTg-p8qoR7wtkSkUwemSzo-oT5YDG8RmAyX9eUMrNBPsFlH0zXplfUer7oOan00_wcqGBjaRdLmjG-rFaEYaB9aCzzYAgJdNU/s1600/WY4A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhydAppaChk6OO4Sh14Jy_gDKCukYQelZC3-TtlBBNlTClYTg-p8qoR7wtkSkUwemSzo-oT5YDG8RmAyX9eUMrNBPsFlH0zXplfUer7oOan00_wcqGBjaRdLmjG-rFaEYaB9aCzzYAgJdNU/s320/WY4A.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM68LLmyIvRYdFIdZ9Lz8IhNkscyZsV7SCdG12_i4sbU-qUgROupsBYWM5rgVggNWdbqOHAV-HFde06v20NYUVhRwSEdsrnzo1A9pzXi7Z2yCMAQ7Ax_IBq3pPP8NWNAy84DCe8tZTp3JV/s1600/WY4B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM68LLmyIvRYdFIdZ9Lz8IhNkscyZsV7SCdG12_i4sbU-qUgROupsBYWM5rgVggNWdbqOHAV-HFde06v20NYUVhRwSEdsrnzo1A9pzXi7Z2yCMAQ7Ax_IBq3pPP8NWNAy84DCe8tZTp3JV/s320/WY4B.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the last photo above, trains can come off the western leg off the wye, and trains can come out of Washington Street on the east leg, and stay on the next track in, which is the runaround track.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43zbZ6e_FqfVyfNcH0ciK5eniT3UBddbjKQ906UiHjl2_jkCXotRAWxuBMwG-v4T5BL3E4TXJ7044KxsHIAo93bEdx0Rj_uE99hoBFJMNiXaZLaRyfpxBWjL0ZNPkzBdwuB8vZ7OyJXOS/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43zbZ6e_FqfVyfNcH0ciK5eniT3UBddbjKQ906UiHjl2_jkCXotRAWxuBMwG-v4T5BL3E4TXJ7044KxsHIAo93bEdx0Rj_uE99hoBFJMNiXaZLaRyfpxBWjL0ZNPkzBdwuB8vZ7OyJXOS/s1600/download+%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, I said it would be a long post (what entries of mine AREN'T?), but I hope you stuck with me through it all, and I'm REALLY gonna try to keep the updates regular so they stay a manageable length.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As always, thanks, and I hope to hear from any and all of you on this, and it's great to be back!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5niKUAZDHJengvorBUJP9SQT_lNaK5kkk9aIMuZTVbZeetQnUpRQT1hC5vKXNIt9r0GUqD4dVD8Hz2lSr2hij4OOMIW2mDyxe2650agqEzXuL4wEzBMjue6k5WGrFMpg3Mgik9aZUc21A/s1600/bucket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="319" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5niKUAZDHJengvorBUJP9SQT_lNaK5kkk9aIMuZTVbZeetQnUpRQT1hC5vKXNIt9r0GUqD4dVD8Hz2lSr2hij4OOMIW2mDyxe2650agqEzXuL4wEzBMjue6k5WGrFMpg3Mgik9aZUc21A/s320/bucket.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">~ Ralph</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-54226128616635055782016-12-23T07:07:00.002-08:002016-12-23T12:13:38.936-08:00Its a Christmas Miracle!Well, since its Christmas Eve Eve as I write this, and its unlikely that I'll be posting again before 1/1/17, I was inspired to post again today by my fellow PONY modeler (that's Port Of New York for the rest of you people) Mr. Riley Triggs (please check out his <a href="http://ponyrr.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Port Of New York RR</strong></span></a> blog), who favorably commented on my weathering activities (thanks, Riley!). After I explained to him briefly about how I did what I did, I realized that MAYBE, just maybe, I should have explained things, in detail, in the original post to begin with! So instead of going back and annotating my last post, I figured, why NOT start a new one? Let's begin, shall we?<br />
<br />
So as you can see in this photo - <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSXeRs0reLMdv-zo5WLiPXx6LtSOwtB9mXbO1mTXWgNNOBTNwT_1rLJE4xsMdA0Wx0hK34RYrk-EBQBh18Sel0WnagS-ez1F0wPMu2997MjlZM6_RbPijaDT0WGsS67CU_uW0rMPGgNxC/s1600/IMG_4741.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSXeRs0reLMdv-zo5WLiPXx6LtSOwtB9mXbO1mTXWgNNOBTNwT_1rLJE4xsMdA0Wx0hK34RYrk-EBQBh18Sel0WnagS-ez1F0wPMu2997MjlZM6_RbPijaDT0WGsS67CU_uW0rMPGgNxC/s320/IMG_4741.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
(AHHH! My eyes!)</div>
<br />
.....as the car comes right out of the box, this Accurail car, painted in what I call "PFE Orange"(even if its not officially called that), is too damn clean looking! Now, if you are a fan of Tony Thompson's <a href="http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Modeling The SP</span></strong></a> blog (and if you aren't, you should be!), PFE reefers could be seen in all variations of "clean" and "dirty", as shown here on Tony's blog - <a href="http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2016/10/appearance-of-pfe-refrigerator-cars.html"><strong>http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2016/10/appearance-of-pfe-refrigerator-cars.html</strong></a>, and instead of simulating a car that is all worn out or never having ever seen a washing, I just wanted a car that has seen a maybe a little too much California sun - <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVOlxQ_u5QaXfC9F7hY79O6BEnjp6G3Ol0R0Vzwxj9ESPNG8Nv3Z1xcVpCFSbkLjHzK-zQNiWnvcceqISznjvXbsQ-YPgg-j7Qw0-bbvAwhLPYY-bssg0_hpLLgK3KugAt2zsHCdJCkaT/s1600/IMG_4740.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVOlxQ_u5QaXfC9F7hY79O6BEnjp6G3Ol0R0Vzwxj9ESPNG8Nv3Z1xcVpCFSbkLjHzK-zQNiWnvcceqISznjvXbsQ-YPgg-j7Qw0-bbvAwhLPYY-bssg0_hpLLgK3KugAt2zsHCdJCkaT/s320/IMG_4740.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
(mmmm, Dusty.....)</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
So, in order to achieve what in the "weathering biz" we call a "fade", instead of using a VERY thin white or orangey-white acrylic paint wash (which is S.O.P., by the way), I decided to be a rebel and plunked down a few $$ to buy a tin of orange Pan Pastels - <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLDqRVMvHu1bJbALiQ6Huku9CXNC_AGAVTuDDmX0ays5KxV3ilBwLSebw3k8JIHMVR5fq5tHamzaxFTHghLe6XVMIurkDLWOxjfQOoA8CGLi5NOOj3bsaDkeuda1mYqQldQ3HKnhQHOFc/s1600/org.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLDqRVMvHu1bJbALiQ6Huku9CXNC_AGAVTuDDmX0ays5KxV3ilBwLSebw3k8JIHMVR5fq5tHamzaxFTHghLe6XVMIurkDLWOxjfQOoA8CGLi5NOOj3bsaDkeuda1mYqQldQ3HKnhQHOFc/s320/org.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As you can see, it's a "lesser shade of orange" than the 'PFE Orange", and I actually went back over the orange Pan Pastels (PP for short from here on in) with the "Raw Umber tint" later -<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCV-lBPBoIc-uMssOrdGl19mz7IQi3ruVcmatwWUsGbjr7C7XPjBKVStn_bLT5w_CQ93JcJwKQy00Gv3GV67oDWa6e-2Qj4KZPnlddvf4wnuvV1FnXUkKdV1n8eJxZ-v-L7bbdFyyGsQFr/s320/RU+tint.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
.....so as to tone down the orange-on-orange effect, and to fade it just a little more, as well as also add a slight "smoky/muddy/sooty" tint to things. Oh, before I go any further, let me say that before I began any of this, I coated the car with a shot of flat matte spray, and then again after my initial PP fade to "lock in the freshness" before I attacked the lettering and the door details.</div>
<br />
Now, to do the streaking/fading of the ATSF herald and El Capitan lettering, I took a white (and black, respectfully) artist's watercolor pencil like this - <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiGKxMjlg679cf_evYKMVWUw6y3VJm7VLjhfWiTU_rl0ZasJGHtFXGwKdyKQz1oqr4SvW582cHlN6s8YHMy5b0H5RkJfS_SApvs4RYlmOY6Ii7SnlUwrOylbZ7Or8Z-cBul-9pir6OOkv/s1600/PC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiGKxMjlg679cf_evYKMVWUw6y3VJm7VLjhfWiTU_rl0ZasJGHtFXGwKdyKQz1oqr4SvW582cHlN6s8YHMy5b0H5RkJfS_SApvs4RYlmOY6Ii7SnlUwrOylbZ7Or8Z-cBul-9pir6OOkv/s320/PC.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
.....and simply drawed down (drewed down?) the lettering to create a fade or run of the lettering/paint, and then blended/burnished it in so it didn't just look like hard white (herald) and black (lettering) lines over things - <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQWMfAwjWaMVncmKWZss01WUF2FxBI19g91ULQKw5guKALTenoJfib2HGp6gBo_l-y8UPkQoaK5YuM4dO_lB9GvT_G0vdD_t4IbT3b1uubN7EK-RkJB_c0PDeaZgjlwJvxm53Z4__E-4X/s1600/side+2+after.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQWMfAwjWaMVncmKWZss01WUF2FxBI19g91ULQKw5guKALTenoJfib2HGp6gBo_l-y8UPkQoaK5YuM4dO_lB9GvT_G0vdD_t4IbT3b1uubN7EK-RkJB_c0PDeaZgjlwJvxm53Z4__E-4X/s320/side+2+after.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
(would you ship your veggies in this?)</div>
<br />
You'll also notice in the above shot that I also highlighted the door hardware and some of the grooves between the wood paneling, also using the "pencil technique", just with different shades of rust/brown. Now, I'm notorious for only ever doing the car sides, but never the ends or roofs, so I still have to go back and do those parts (I did a little work on the roof, but I'm not satisfied and want to do some more) - <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnPEstjhoXy7lPxFf-evt-68HC1xQvhDEX5pgToWJyZxj8j4FRRH9-PxRycpOKHkqqxP9tngH1-yyf-Lis6TakLN0B0sU-NsUkbFPSmDotGV2psBoWm_AwbzBtbWHe4NGpu_b9g5ePJf8/s1600/roof+with+pan+pastels.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnPEstjhoXy7lPxFf-evt-68HC1xQvhDEX5pgToWJyZxj8j4FRRH9-PxRycpOKHkqqxP9tngH1-yyf-Lis6TakLN0B0sU-NsUkbFPSmDotGV2psBoWm_AwbzBtbWHe4NGpu_b9g5ePJf8/s320/roof+with+pan+pastels.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
(raise your roof in the air like you just don't care!)</div>
<br />
I also still have the underframe, trucks and wheels to do, too. I'll cover those in subsequent posts if anybody is interested. I am also covering all my work - and in more detail, if you can believe it - on The Rustbucket Forums (see Wednesday's post for the URL).<br />
<br />
Since I've gone on too long (again), I'll skip the DL&W boxcar, except to say that I did the same "PP procedure", just with different PP colors/tints - <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW0tNXbLP4kZYDgAtoj8Od12-qhrl72-YaIJcFLmrVsj7NGCb_uvrFGr9Q_qFXTfz9sjfwmng-UNcvRHlyDq9PJdiyi-vRmQmxhbENbnlCOOcfP54N5SK0ZV1mq8_8WIblwBLfmtSlVvy/s1600/after+closeup.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW0tNXbLP4kZYDgAtoj8Od12-qhrl72-YaIJcFLmrVsj7NGCb_uvrFGr9Q_qFXTfz9sjfwmng-UNcvRHlyDq9PJdiyi-vRmQmxhbENbnlCOOcfP54N5SK0ZV1mq8_8WIblwBLfmtSlVvy/s320/after+closeup.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
....but it needs improvement in the lettering streaking effect, as per this prototype photo -<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0b4JaZfgZousLtScrGjAHazpIZvDKqgsL9brZRatDUc5SX8FUxL4vAbV9-s4sXETenHjywM8xn5NfQCDpp2lMyajRYaf0aA2IXwhrFQWxuZfeR4Yn_eNoFI1acba3YqdMZrv6gu_y2ZDN/s1600/dl.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0b4JaZfgZousLtScrGjAHazpIZvDKqgsL9brZRatDUc5SX8FUxL4vAbV9-s4sXETenHjywM8xn5NfQCDpp2lMyajRYaf0aA2IXwhrFQWxuZfeR4Yn_eNoFI1acba3YqdMZrv6gu_y2ZDN/s400/dl.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
.......which I think I'll accomplish using oils....But that's another post for another time, I promise!<br />
<br />
Once again, I hope everybody has a Merry Christmas (or whatever you chose to celebrate) and a joyous New Year!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~ Ralph</div>
<br />
<br />Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-55960214564945766392016-12-21T07:28:00.002-08:002017-06-22T06:16:02.842-07:00Dirt, rust, and all other kinds of dust inbetween....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4r2wIs8ITZUtMdYTR4sf9IMYzOlqfHJS5akvf25kGqVaMg8-rE0BWUYaeCT7V4CYLUfM97yfQBAN6zegSeik8muGLakZ3aW7RSp32TlYt-A4tsZgXndjkE80kcFQ1AkattQEk0pDVHrfK/s320/20128512496_LV%252520WEATHERED.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br />
So, after my "weathering appearance" at the November garden State RPM meet, I slithered back into relative model railroad obscurity, except for the odd op session on somebody's layout, and the itch to keep weathering some cars. I mean, since I had to put them all away anyway, I might as well do SOMETHING with them!<br />
<br />
So, lacking any "artist direction", I went and visited the finest of the fine's website for all things weathered, <a href="http://theweatheringshop.com/home.html"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The Weathering Shop</strong></span></a>. These guys are the undisputed masters of the craft. Now, if you take the time to click and visit (and I hope you do), most of what you'll see there is all modern stuff, so you might be wondering why the heck am I gushing over it? Well, just because its modern stuff, DOESN'T mean you cant use the techniques they use to your advantage. I mean not only techniques and effects, but tools and supplies, too. But the BEST part of the site is<br />
<a href="http://theweatheringshop.com/bucket.html"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The Rustbucket Fourms</strong></span></a>, and while you have to register to look and participate, and the camaraderie and help that I've personally experienced and gotten in the month that I've joined is second to none. The ONLY thing you have to be concerned with is that these guys take things SUPER seriously. If you don't have an open mind and don't have a thick skin, then don't bother! These guys will go out of their way to help you, answer your (stupid) questions, and explain in detail to you, what is to them a basic procedure to do something that usually seems like "weathering sorcery"! But as I said, be prepared to have your work scrutinized and picked apart to the last brush stroke. They aren't afraid to say your work sucks, but its meant as "tough love", not to be mean for the sake of it. But I will also say, please do NOT let that scare you! There are many (much like myself) that are noobs and are learning (crawling?) along with others and our "weathering masters" to scale the "sacred weathering mountain" to achieve "artistic enlightenment". Like any segment of the hobby, there are levels of participation, like recreating EXACTING models from a photo, not only the model but the weathering patterns as well. And then, you've got guys who just want to weather a model realistically, even if it's a AHM Burger King reefer! Well, OK, maybe not quite that unprototypical, but you get the idea.<br />
<br />
So, since I've waxed poetic far to long about he Weathering Shop and The Rustbucket Forums, let me leave you with a few shots of my (unfinished) projects thus far.....(and, like the guys on the forum, feel free to shoot me down and pick my work apart!)<br />
<br />
**Updated with "BEFORE" and "AFTER" photos<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Before"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFakjwV5OksXo5HpSJPfRKxTx1OXlsoqNdCMcJ_iWHpe-eT5lPbYb85VFIPxpytVpM1xruhEkyb1Ams5yxxDPxgNDp075LJa3hkI_NCMzcCMnzJqar2GT9KmCC7ikHUu6kQr8xMSjNiA5/s1600/31510488281_8d300fa839_k.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFakjwV5OksXo5HpSJPfRKxTx1OXlsoqNdCMcJ_iWHpe-eT5lPbYb85VFIPxpytVpM1xruhEkyb1Ams5yxxDPxgNDp075LJa3hkI_NCMzcCMnzJqar2GT9KmCC7ikHUu6kQr8xMSjNiA5/s320/31510488281_8d300fa839_k.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
"After #1"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhara0j3SZNbPCrA5lxIy7f_l8uDDr_0BZ8zVK8Sryh7p1W2HImNu-W7irHj0SDDBieNgO17TY4taTxJ7MBam1BdviuDdXj2bgtIJPe00N3CT_94uoCuafNgJe9Cd8nUJmnb0t8jyyU8liS/s1600/side+2+after.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhara0j3SZNbPCrA5lxIy7f_l8uDDr_0BZ8zVK8Sryh7p1W2HImNu-W7irHj0SDDBieNgO17TY4taTxJ7MBam1BdviuDdXj2bgtIJPe00N3CT_94uoCuafNgJe9Cd8nUJmnb0t8jyyU8liS/s320/side+2+after.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
"After #2"</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgxu2SPR2pptCYLZFu5pV4mE9YvVoEYC11z-xF4LSLFDs7GR4HA6RGK65t1Zpjn6Qy6UwJcPm3Oi3xY86kZCryzGUrcwrPXR2KWRrfhOanqpBbAW7jKXx3F8KdZEUa3A9zw1FfpsNe7gY/s1600/IMG_4746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgxu2SPR2pptCYLZFu5pV4mE9YvVoEYC11z-xF4LSLFDs7GR4HA6RGK65t1Zpjn6Qy6UwJcPm3Oi3xY86kZCryzGUrcwrPXR2KWRrfhOanqpBbAW7jKXx3F8KdZEUa3A9zw1FfpsNe7gY/s320/IMG_4746.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"After #3"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPF_8p5DO1M_Vc7NOFjoFeaGU6LZ1r6iSpOe981XnOYptnyZyPRVqRt3TVWLMkTDsMo1KcGKtAoZI8AuudmOLLbfwqBToKDtQMmPaDG1KIdzP61a0DDgIw5bAisSL2GDWA23aJNul2pek/s1600/IMG_4739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPF_8p5DO1M_Vc7NOFjoFeaGU6LZ1r6iSpOe981XnOYptnyZyPRVqRt3TVWLMkTDsMo1KcGKtAoZI8AuudmOLLbfwqBToKDtQMmPaDG1KIdzP61a0DDgIw5bAisSL2GDWA23aJNul2pek/s320/IMG_4739.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
"Before"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOQTFQAtUngf6lRJSxSVpQGZY-OnqA7_RafOaifJeXjW5-R6qIk_9OkeyKBQncUwJmCM-TzN3cfXjb77F7WF7qe28dftemjfTYnpQP5vOAJscQBqJJ5wCAZJG-PFFrjrNrINsnge1GgsL/s1600/31510481781_9a332b993f_k.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOQTFQAtUngf6lRJSxSVpQGZY-OnqA7_RafOaifJeXjW5-R6qIk_9OkeyKBQncUwJmCM-TzN3cfXjb77F7WF7qe28dftemjfTYnpQP5vOAJscQBqJJ5wCAZJG-PFFrjrNrINsnge1GgsL/s320/31510481781_9a332b993f_k.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
"After #1"</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaIWczurgpdWMmOebSr5yuouJq9lFhhWTEAqQ-ydfB9aOa_QEnRZnzxoM1UUrBFKonoZPCZRsO1VucjOAx0zAtd6k0tUXPXXvxJrt_iE4n2mUYWfBNxjuZ4MUyhMIxUlQy8mVF-71ULZX/s1600/after.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaIWczurgpdWMmOebSr5yuouJq9lFhhWTEAqQ-ydfB9aOa_QEnRZnzxoM1UUrBFKonoZPCZRsO1VucjOAx0zAtd6k0tUXPXXvxJrt_iE4n2mUYWfBNxjuZ4MUyhMIxUlQy8mVF-71ULZX/s320/after.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
"After #2"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ECK5IkQObfbcz4zlO9gbVQvZzqv-mWEi9eeCmX7zQGjFpNf8FtNbq4M_gN-_0gB0uAr-NeP7voA_fBmvNZVxFVgQGSvYJKt34DzdGfTs7aN2lFPg-jXffVq67-L3plmrU7StKXQXkMuf/s1600/after+closeup.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ECK5IkQObfbcz4zlO9gbVQvZzqv-mWEi9eeCmX7zQGjFpNf8FtNbq4M_gN-_0gB0uAr-NeP7voA_fBmvNZVxFVgQGSvYJKt34DzdGfTs7aN2lFPg-jXffVq67-L3plmrU7StKXQXkMuf/s320/after+closeup.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thanks for sticking with me during all the "lean times"!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~ Ralph</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-40442206309936963042016-11-03T06:57:00.003-07:002016-11-04T04:58:35.250-07:00"Weather Or Not", or, "Better Late Than Weather"<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_eTZ5Vwinmxy-4sqUG4F9WLA5U0NIjHc4FgZJwfUlbyYBFVzm8jTZBoCBnEnX6OA6Au1NpmXfkh8OC7K7D0TiV9s1WaOM87rQNjSlbMpNZ2AFpMY0Rqi0LdixOCe9XmLv0l5AUDgXfKA6/s1600/Inventory-388.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_eTZ5Vwinmxy-4sqUG4F9WLA5U0NIjHc4FgZJwfUlbyYBFVzm8jTZBoCBnEnX6OA6Au1NpmXfkh8OC7K7D0TiV9s1WaOM87rQNjSlbMpNZ2AFpMY0Rqi0LdixOCe9XmLv0l5AUDgXfKA6/s320/Inventory-388.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
is it dirty enough for you?</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, after a few weeks "off" (yeah, let's go with that excuse), I'm here to promote my next "appearance in model railroading" at this year's Garden State RPM meet this Saturday (November 5th) at Union County VoTech in Scotch Plains</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, NJ - </span><a href="http://www.gsrpm.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">http://www.gsrpm.org/</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, as my pumpkin-headed pal, Ralph DeBlasi -</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJoGNxBkBmdZupaKSc5mKpbMSZ15EKfnMXkSSQxWroRal45C_BVms1lVGA9WmjLz5zvuSU6yZHDjHFueq5mRYoxh4gQUisuILBBdW7DwzKehB9Bv6qzwJf7yG811rsG-n19Sr8b5_ahTE/s1600/635792227371185183-trains.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJoGNxBkBmdZupaKSc5mKpbMSZ15EKfnMXkSSQxWroRal45C_BVms1lVGA9WmjLz5zvuSU6yZHDjHFueq5mRYoxh4gQUisuILBBdW7DwzKehB9Bv6qzwJf7yG811rsG-n19Sr8b5_ahTE/s320/635792227371185183-trains.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
who knew Uncle Fester models the LV!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and I go head-to-head as we weather anything that isn't nailed down or at least that runs on two rails, in a no-holds-bared weathering showdown! Ralph and I will both use different weathering techniques and mediums........... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_kcfjP6iwf7auhR63F0iGjwpSMOjur9Lham0Lpwc7iSni0Cp42kIyCxg_gBFq2j6TP8FnbflbPfECVDYxM8EPmCBPI3u7q7CoP8pbdqBw8f4438TQWyqkmKfeWNvcD_Xxiooidxhk1eV/s1600/imagesOYDT7LAW.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_kcfjP6iwf7auhR63F0iGjwpSMOjur9Lham0Lpwc7iSni0Cp42kIyCxg_gBFq2j6TP8FnbflbPfECVDYxM8EPmCBPI3u7q7CoP8pbdqBw8f4438TQWyqkmKfeWNvcD_Xxiooidxhk1eV/s200/imagesOYDT7LAW.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgG8wA_muGYTsDi1KLr0IzhyphenhyphenrTDYkfEPXbNWbeMDfhjVeBS8-8YHlTjqo_mX7AwcOWC2IiohOV4BI__gqJmQ7RMwDOlUOEm4tVYYSL43CtYB1sREJ0KHbctN1HysuW6hNlsOn_UdVQP7o/s1600/imagesSN8P8PXO.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgG8wA_muGYTsDi1KLr0IzhyphenhyphenrTDYkfEPXbNWbeMDfhjVeBS8-8YHlTjqo_mX7AwcOWC2IiohOV4BI__gqJmQ7RMwDOlUOEm4tVYYSL43CtYB1sREJ0KHbctN1HysuW6hNlsOn_UdVQP7o/s200/imagesSN8P8PXO.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
no, neither one of these mediums will be appearing, sorry.....</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to achieve different results to make our models look that much more like the real thing. I have been buying weathering supplies on Amazon for the last two weeks to try out this weekend, so Ralphie Boy better bring his "A" game! We want to show you how easy it is to turn your models from this - </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_eTZ5Vwinmxy-4sqUG4F9WLA5U0NIjHc4FgZJwfUlbyYBFVzm8jTZBoCBnEnX6OA6Au1NpmXfkh8OC7K7D0TiV9s1WaOM87rQNjSlbMpNZ2AFpMY0Rqi0LdixOCe9XmLv0l5AUDgXfKA6/s1600/Inventory-388.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtWjzTZ4X9vVntceIzxdOt5wpvlcDLvk8s2W9EMvJZSUhqSKONCusXlx83c04AXA-YBrbqBzu-o_hSIu9Exvnm9mIBSCThyphenhyphen4zYU-ly6EvLvtktVoyfQepQHEkJYNh3DsoiktuxpFn6hGu/s1600/200807061542443182.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtWjzTZ4X9vVntceIzxdOt5wpvlcDLvk8s2W9EMvJZSUhqSKONCusXlx83c04AXA-YBrbqBzu-o_hSIu9Exvnm9mIBSCThyphenhyphen4zYU-ly6EvLvtktVoyfQepQHEkJYNh3DsoiktuxpFn6hGu/s320/200807061542443182.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to this -</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZmMgYe4Un_kNco95h7Z4_a23v951jWj3BhLU7EnANgkz9z-PLPMYesbvqe-rLSx8Uvgf2EszVZSb7rKYfAdmKwbXbpcLTPzNQVQog1SYbZeADHGGb7C64cv1AWIloJDhAlIrP7bGuoQ_/s1600/2161711319_9bee36399d.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZmMgYe4Un_kNco95h7Z4_a23v951jWj3BhLU7EnANgkz9z-PLPMYesbvqe-rLSx8Uvgf2EszVZSb7rKYfAdmKwbXbpcLTPzNQVQog1SYbZeADHGGb7C64cv1AWIloJDhAlIrP7bGuoQ_/s320/2161711319_9bee36399d.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, OK, maybe not THAT extreme, but close!</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ralph loves his oils, and is awesome at taking on trucks/underframes and locomotives, while I love my freight car fades using Pan Pastels and other "tricks" borrowed from the military modeling guys (you'll just have to come see for yourself if you want to know more of my "secrets"......Thanks in advance, Eric Hansmann! - <a href="http://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/2016/10/14/masking-tape-as-a-weathering-tool/">http://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/2016/10/14/masking-tape-as-a-weathering-tool/</a>)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, join us, won't you? For this kind of "modeling entertainment", you can't beat that with a stick (or a pumpkin....did I mention Ralph D. LOVES pumpkins?) for only $20.00! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And besides, who would you rather look at? The guy with all his hair, or him?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfeDVfcv1EgahaIlc1As1Pc6dloM-vsKYaQJbLy82oS-jHTSZo1nhh_Rrz5BAQAM3pYrFUiZU2FxsOXLo7yLEZhk19CGZzcvGYNXKgHXhysfzmsrDsbjqnRekS-Vs4Kv5F6Fy0236YTQ9A/s1600/GSD+WIPs+Heiss.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfeDVfcv1EgahaIlc1As1Pc6dloM-vsKYaQJbLy82oS-jHTSZo1nhh_Rrz5BAQAM3pYrFUiZU2FxsOXLo7yLEZhk19CGZzcvGYNXKgHXhysfzmsrDsbjqnRekS-Vs4Kv5F6Fy0236YTQ9A/s320/GSD+WIPs+Heiss.JPG" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7R9qKH22e46fWbZDJylYMpdMDP8yYr-enz_fzYmcLaeygZBuqp4s7h519kQ63KNMYm3BuX_-vtYLRUnMAhXAXCMg3a2YL8tGwnBNAYgyGdHqblbFdnOPJgmqe-DYptB3AXhX2o4L7yaL/s1600/GSRPM+1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7R9qKH22e46fWbZDJylYMpdMDP8yYr-enz_fzYmcLaeygZBuqp4s7h519kQ63KNMYm3BuX_-vtYLRUnMAhXAXCMg3a2YL8tGwnBNAYgyGdHqblbFdnOPJgmqe-DYptB3AXhX2o4L7yaL/s320/GSRPM+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope we'll see YOU in the "Weathering Octagon" this weekend!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">~ Ralph</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-83548279771018771142016-09-21T13:04:00.003-07:002016-09-28T11:32:25.703-07:00Knowledge is a powerful tool.....<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQN1ceyI5xhxYL9QgLDZyJ-h4OfbJNMJvyq8oscfDJyyVfTw2vybRfXfUnDQZZlBvAaJMRO5ZnblZ9jTd7GBJLXox-5geBhAg_pC5KfG2HxRQQEeEShWUkaDLk0FWF82VbeFTsbnIkL73b/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQN1ceyI5xhxYL9QgLDZyJ-h4OfbJNMJvyq8oscfDJyyVfTw2vybRfXfUnDQZZlBvAaJMRO5ZnblZ9jTd7GBJLXox-5geBhAg_pC5KfG2HxRQQEeEShWUkaDLk0FWF82VbeFTsbnIkL73b/s400/untitled.png" /></a>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...And a double-edged sword.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And by that, I mean that in our pursuit of modeling (particularly in that of a specific prototype), that in our quest for knowledge (sometimes of the most infinitesimal and inane detail), we overthink and over plan things. I've been guilty of that, having rebuilt the leads to my float bridges when I came into possession of a Port Authority print showing me EXACTLY how the track was, and EXACTLY how wrong I had gotten it! Then again, later at the opposite end at the throat of the yard, when I discovered that operationally, what I had wasn't going to work very well. But I digress........</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Today, I refer to my particular desire to know how things are done (or were done) operationally on the railroad, not just on the Lehigh Valley specifically, but also in the 1940 to 1950 period, generally speaking. I enjoy learning about how the "everyday working man" went about his job, and also the more esoteric activities of how cars were routed and billed, and etc, etc.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So as I mentioned at the end of last week's blog, I was going to focus on some books that I've recently collected that tell the tales of various former employees in the 40's and 50's about how they performed their jobs (and the stories of others that inevitably went along with them), as well as some of the more "scholarly" books that explain the details of the operations and the paperwork that follows it all. But I'm not gonna do that this week. Why? Because I forgot to gather up said books and take some pictures of the covers and write up a little sumthin' sumthin' about them, rather than just say "buy this book, it was good". But I DID find something just as interesting in my daily interweb travels that I think is a worthy replacement........</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_S2lhzkvu1qEEKiSe6Q77mbomV3nD0GPkFoqQ8QNWOeVHCfDqbHEIPNECvX3lv7so4iBexGdQ_e9vB0JrxlyVvmGCJ79Esg7JGxfW5OE_2NQ-_2YJz6wTUoI8rzQA1iMIWD5Am3A79KvE/s1600/very-interesting.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_S2lhzkvu1qEEKiSe6Q77mbomV3nD0GPkFoqQ8QNWOeVHCfDqbHEIPNECvX3lv7so4iBexGdQ_e9vB0JrxlyVvmGCJ79Esg7JGxfW5OE_2NQ-_2YJz6wTUoI8rzQA1iMIWD5Am3A79KvE/s320/very-interesting.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As it turned out, my Google search today came up with an interesting link to something called "<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiC_euLjaHPAhUFdh4KHf38AYAQFggjMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.carknocker.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNEeLH7zdPZ46lOArEaW5okxej_Ksg&sig2=OONpoUu0-NK0F39TdlVjiw"><span style="background-color: #990000; color: white; font-size: large;"><strong>Carknocker, Railroad Stories</strong></span></a>", and I just HAD to click on it! A gentleman by the name of Walter Parks who I believe worked for the Southern Ry, began this site as a way to tell us minutia-obsessed operations folk about his experiences and Southern-centric railroad interests (as well as those of his fellow railroaders) during the course of his and their careers. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, it's one of those basic websites that looks design-wise like its straight out of 1999, and contains more than just railroad stories (a lot of pictures and "fluff" take up some room) but that's fine, its not trying to be anything other than what it is, which is Mr. Parks' way to share his experiences with the rest of us. If you enjoy reading (and thus learning) what the job and experiences of a "carknocker" was (and to a certain extent, still are), then budget a little time and click, click, click away and have some fun. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I only just learned of this webpage today (hence this "replacement post"), so I haven't had time to really draw anything from it, but links with subjects like <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Closing and Opening Railcar Doors</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">", "</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="thederrickiscalled"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Derrick is Called</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">", and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"What is or was a Rip Track" sound full of interesting tidbits that are worth checking out.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So there you have it.....Give it a look, I know I've enjoyed what little I've had time to read of it. Maybe we'll take a look at those books I promised in my next update, unless I get distracted by something else again, that is....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">~Ralph</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-63966618081046463602016-09-16T13:08:00.001-07:002016-09-16T13:52:02.466-07:00"Friday is the new Wednesday" or, "Be Pacific, ship Union Specific"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBhekdn4wCAgffizEqQr0vmChyphenhypheng1KGmM7IvlXdDDX2AP3nNJ818ZpPJjbYAkub5dknRoeZ7Uc5uU3TrnmBk4PK3pTDprMzxHrSy5NfmAn2uwjWvm1lP-hAZgTutQTkmzGhqTqTDhpmJGH/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBhekdn4wCAgffizEqQr0vmChyphenhypheng1KGmM7IvlXdDDX2AP3nNJ818ZpPJjbYAkub5dknRoeZ7Uc5uU3TrnmBk4PK3pTDprMzxHrSy5NfmAn2uwjWvm1lP-hAZgTutQTkmzGhqTqTDhpmJGH/s320/Untitled.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If you're old enough, you'll get the title reference.......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, this week's "web highlight" is brought to us courtesy of Rick De Candido of Fillmore Avenue Roundhouse fame (you know, THAT Fillmore Avenue Roundhouse! - <a href="https://fillmoreavenueroundhouse.wordpress.com/author/rdecandido/">https://fillmoreavenueroundhouse.wordpress.com/author/rdecandido/</a>)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I received an e-mail from Rick asking if I had seen a particular exhibition-style layout that was also has an engine service theme.....But there was a catch! Actually, a few catches......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">One, it hails from the same country as this guy -</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mU8E-vr86w0cSE8RyceiTsyzJVr2ZPHgRrV5aSSwvz34GPV6rxuoQc2lOBF0CvFA1nynXm_6DIqVaaeLA4-wkur5_jJkiGmeDQfXFpxOmC8vzi8RXqZb4paC-wOCz9v_Dry2riOcPqHq/s1600/RingoStarrandtheSeason2TVModels.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mU8E-vr86w0cSE8RyceiTsyzJVr2ZPHgRrV5aSSwvz34GPV6rxuoQc2lOBF0CvFA1nynXm_6DIqVaaeLA4-wkur5_jJkiGmeDQfXFpxOmC8vzi8RXqZb4paC-wOCz9v_Dry2riOcPqHq/s400/RingoStarrandtheSeason2TVModels.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Second, (and third, because I can kill two birds with one stone here) it's the scale version of this engine and railroad -</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvVNQrt-fg5AvMi6PA9dY08pBSd6vsUo4yn1VJ-11-kI7giFyqj7WIBs6oOvk0g_CxDa7tpejFob0W_wgFS9MWxVs3Lv8sghasqnCZT_vl-Yd5JDcaFVUdAEftcT4cXj5xRzHIOt3AiTv/s1600/Big-Boy-4-8-8-4-model-train-480x270.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvVNQrt-fg5AvMi6PA9dY08pBSd6vsUo4yn1VJ-11-kI7giFyqj7WIBs6oOvk0g_CxDa7tpejFob0W_wgFS9MWxVs3Lv8sghasqnCZT_vl-Yd5JDcaFVUdAEftcT4cXj5xRzHIOt3AiTv/s320/Big-Boy-4-8-8-4-model-train-480x270.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, enough already, it's the English,1:48 scale, UP version of what Rick is doing.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's Peter Kirmond's <a href="https://laramieengineterminal.com/" rel="home">Laramie Engine Terminal</a>!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaG_SFyfbSjYw7H7N82hb48dbZiiMubGaNbnPYeZbSJvvKI6KwoHOAL0LK_sjS3wNUqkTqUr-ioSg3rBlGfwedvcA8__qHHnEsyOf4Sf1b7XUr3VeohTrZ3tSbbkNPVyh1WkxlUySycTD/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaG_SFyfbSjYw7H7N82hb48dbZiiMubGaNbnPYeZbSJvvKI6KwoHOAL0LK_sjS3wNUqkTqUr-ioSg3rBlGfwedvcA8__qHHnEsyOf4Sf1b7XUr3VeohTrZ3tSbbkNPVyh1WkxlUySycTD/s320/untitled.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Watch the video on his home page, and I swear you can smell the smoke and the grease, and feel the bulk of the 4-8-8-4 as it runs out onto the turntable (no, really, you can see it go THUNK!). The fact that this is O scale means that the sheer size of these Big Boys and Turbines really gets the point across that this is SERIOUS heavy-duty railroading! Not to mention the coaling tower really "coals" the engine! Giggity!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So enjoy, and next week, I share some interesting books from my collection that I think should be in your collection, too</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">~ Ralph</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div align="left" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-8985593412810204002016-09-07T13:17:00.000-07:002016-09-07T13:28:42.110-07:00Wax on, wax off.......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So in my overzealous attempt to clean up things in my Admin view of the blog yesterday, if you're a regular, you might notice a missing "Web Wednesday" post from last week. Oops, my bad.......</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYSMaDyckDGaXWWt2TzSwyvELxjavWTv3APR3JEQ7aWAq3o3y5tiMdLV113e2PJ_XLkNN0CIe4rxw-LH4pejWjMhcn1WRpEgxYR3XJPdrlbngHRumQ7NJb7sDpKIJDNgSpJVaRp3-FYS4/s1600/tumblr_nl0x33fUZ01qgf1i8o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYSMaDyckDGaXWWt2TzSwyvELxjavWTv3APR3JEQ7aWAq3o3y5tiMdLV113e2PJ_XLkNN0CIe4rxw-LH4pejWjMhcn1WRpEgxYR3XJPdrlbngHRumQ7NJb7sDpKIJDNgSpJVaRp3-FYS4/s320/tumblr_nl0x33fUZ01qgf1i8o1_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anywho, this week, I really haven't come across anything new and exciting to share, but I DID come across this on eBay yesterday, and wanted to share......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05bPN9A2dTzwASGWPwiA3S6wxy3qs-2wR3S3phngBj9MGIhi3tq1gAMi_rsy2NrKgw-oLYBwRojbtI8W6TT0s4Doms3j7sDeFZSF7rwNCB-_3-M9CaCm9KzxYQbf1ViIihGGr4MYTEDcs/s1600/s-l1600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05bPN9A2dTzwASGWPwiA3S6wxy3qs-2wR3S3phngBj9MGIhi3tq1gAMi_rsy2NrKgw-oLYBwRojbtI8W6TT0s4Doms3j7sDeFZSF7rwNCB-_3-M9CaCm9KzxYQbf1ViIihGGr4MYTEDcs/s320/s-l1600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
("then" view, circa 1933.......click for a larger view)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjzkWWdZicTGNJIcujeJTyRbDR_hcKD6fyZJDLYPXzkxQnA6W9_wnArJwJHpsRrKAtWONJ3VGUDr__vlVXM7YJrJLUzojAtNX75aufoUmFnKHIjUXdtjoVp2VwzbKovA7KFMfxeoLkoFp/s1600/555805177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjzkWWdZicTGNJIcujeJTyRbDR_hcKD6fyZJDLYPXzkxQnA6W9_wnArJwJHpsRrKAtWONJ3VGUDr__vlVXM7YJrJLUzojAtNX75aufoUmFnKHIjUXdtjoVp2VwzbKovA7KFMfxeoLkoFp/s320/555805177.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
("now" view, circa 2013.......click for a larger view)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ya know, there are some bloggers who'd post a photo like this and provide absolutely no explanation on a particular day of the week, but no, no, no, not me! So, what ARE we looking at? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well first off, it's what I'm modeling (or at least trying to!), and a little more. To the immediate left, you see a ferryboat of the CNJ's terminal, with the station and train sheds directly above the ferry headhouse. Then, a boat slip and a building on a dock (both property of the CNJ), and then, everybody's favorite waterfront "element", the float bridges! The finger piers of the LV are clearly visible in the Big Basin (called "The Gap" by locals, Mill Creek on topo maps, and is NOT, as usually erroneously noted in many books or in historical presentations, the Morris Canal), and then downtown Jersey City, historically known as Paulus Hook, and primarily the domain of the PRR and the factory complex of Colgate. The large double smokestacked building is the American Sugar Refining company, and if you enlarge the photo, you'll see this was where the Morris Canal ended and entered the Hudson River.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So enough of the history lesson, let me use my crude photo editing skills to show you what I am selectively modeling. The "amorphous blob" that surrounds the area in the photo close up below is pretty much the main part of the layout, or should I maybe say its "raison d’être", the Jersey City Yard (as referenced in LVRR docs), though more commonly referred to by employees and fans alike as the "Washington Street Yard" (for the city street that, by law, had a right of way that bisected it in half) or simply as "Johnston Ave" (no "yard"), for the city street that ran along it lengthwise (today's Audrey Zapp Drive, the main access road into Liberty State Park).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmkgkThvlvEz-vVl7jF0bGo_blUHcQ7mwPL0H-SUwRm1mXKge9wl_0FkTfN_K2K47dFzVhmzWcwgT2dx9i19XdTYfy1Tjp_5bSEG-TnaLjC-Fnwb2lB__Ns4ghMsC48yAMzZhyphenhypheng-YHM_Ty/s1600/yard+elements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmkgkThvlvEz-vVl7jF0bGo_blUHcQ7mwPL0H-SUwRm1mXKge9wl_0FkTfN_K2K47dFzVhmzWcwgT2dx9i19XdTYfy1Tjp_5bSEG-TnaLjC-Fnwb2lB__Ns4ghMsC48yAMzZhyphenhypheng-YHM_Ty/s320/yard+elements.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> (go ahead, click.....if you dare!)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Obviously, the "main attraction" are the float bridges (I'm going to model three of the six), and model four of the five piers shown in the photo (there were a total of eight located here). The pier at the bottom of the circled area is Pier B (or B Dock as the RR called it) and if I had a "favorite pier", this would be it....As you can see, there is a tower at the end of it, and that tower is actually a coal tower for the tugboats. Neat, huh? I think so......Later on in the mid 1950's, they also built a covered shed off the side facing us in the photo, to pneumatically unload cement into covered barges. More neat stuff! This pier shed also had the track along the bulkhead (as seen in the photo) and one that went inside as well (see below). I don't have the actual dimensions here to share at the moment, but my (clearly) foreshortened model is approximately one foot in width by two feet in length, which is just enough to give the impression of a substantial building, but not overwhelm the scene, and of course be a hindrance to the operators!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqWMfMI9yxFeYHKWfoL2w7689bhi95yywFJcY6vEBEWFRUduuT_4zV45iiS5QvqIA2BmHU-CCnJ8MlSp3FpldpoLI8YUrwiV0vtQRXM8R7X-FZOjriNMETTJT6K3t6zcv-T4v_uXGlLYp/s1600/elements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqWMfMI9yxFeYHKWfoL2w7689bhi95yywFJcY6vEBEWFRUduuT_4zV45iiS5QvqIA2BmHU-CCnJ8MlSp3FpldpoLI8YUrwiV0vtQRXM8R7X-FZOjriNMETTJT6K3t6zcv-T4v_uXGlLYp/s320/elements.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, there's so much more to this photo AND of course to the layout, but I'm not going to bore you with all that errata, as I've probably already done it already many, many posts ago! Besides, you can always ask me more questions about things in the comment section if you want! (hint, hint!). </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">My only wish is that this photo was clearer! Imagine the details one could make out if it wasn't so grainy, which is why I probably won't bid on it, but it's a good reference photo none the less.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So for now, enjoy, and we'll see what next week brings us!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjzkWWdZicTGNJIcujeJTyRbDR_hcKD6fyZJDLYPXzkxQnA6W9_wnArJwJHpsRrKAtWONJ3VGUDr__vlVXM7YJrJLUzojAtNX75aufoUmFnKHIjUXdtjoVp2VwzbKovA7KFMfxeoLkoFp/s1600/555805177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Ralph</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-28228241007630577142016-08-11T12:40:00.001-07:002016-08-30T11:23:21.385-07:00The most "N"-gauging "Web Wednesday" post yet!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQtI4MzFvpZ6xFKAqCwU5KQXtxcFMCpBxwqCaKeI_aLJzbc0vDf-EnBCbJG1V3LKNIZg0LlTsHr0La80KQK1sWFOZjBZCvSz038Yrc-tImPQhz7d54Rhn1HfDLQcgwYCkcFar_KxsvKD_/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQtI4MzFvpZ6xFKAqCwU5KQXtxcFMCpBxwqCaKeI_aLJzbc0vDf-EnBCbJG1V3LKNIZg0LlTsHr0La80KQK1sWFOZjBZCvSz038Yrc-tImPQhz7d54Rhn1HfDLQcgwYCkcFar_KxsvKD_/s400/1.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, in this week's late entry in the "Web Wednesday" weekly spotlight, we're gonna put Sheldon's theory to the test!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">There's a lot of ground to cover, so I won't waste much more time getting to the point. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">N Scale holds a certain amount of nostalgia for me, as one of my first train catalogues (after Lionel, and Walthers of course) was a Arnold/Rapido catalogue from the early 1980's - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq2yW592PpxmVqXZn2AjJpl5nHzbSI-3lIhRQIii6JFzfsmgqRl7j4ovHYcrzYc4K-MdGZ4hvIGgOxSTjfrFQp6RTMJ6tBvyH6Z7szzTgk2FTkysvaqvRmNa1yafov7hDf5E5b1TJ3sAil/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq2yW592PpxmVqXZn2AjJpl5nHzbSI-3lIhRQIii6JFzfsmgqRl7j4ovHYcrzYc4K-MdGZ4hvIGgOxSTjfrFQp6RTMJ6tBvyH6Z7szzTgk2FTkysvaqvRmNa1yafov7hDf5E5b1TJ3sAil/s320/2.jpg" width="238" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Even though 90% of what was inside was of European prototypes, there was some North American stuff, and by looking at the cover, they made it seem so detailed....Not to mention, look at how many trains you could get into a tiny space! My first practical encounter with N Gauge was my friend David Wojotowicz's 4x6 layout (David was my first model railroading "buddy" when I was in seventh grade in 1982, the year I "discovered" railfanning). Being N gauge of the 1970's/80's "technology", it didn't ever run very well, so we all but lost interest in it. However, when his dad got transferred the next year and they had to move (thus, "everything must go!"), I could have bought it, but I remembered the crappy running characteristics, plus, I had already dove well into HO scale the year before with my Athearn SD-45 set, so I passed. Oh, did I mention I read and re-read my copy of Kalmbach's "How To Model The Clinchfield RR in N Scale" book so much, it fell apart? It opened the door to prototype model railroading to me, and if it hadn't been for the level of modeling (out of touch for a 16 year old, and even this 46 year old!) and the sheer size of it, I think I would have begged my father to let me switch over to N right then and there.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Now, here we are 30+ years later with N gauge engine (and cars) that not only run like Swiss watches and have much better molded on detail, but hobby industry that fully supports the scale, unlike having to suffer buying things like buildings and details that looked like they were straight out of the UK or Germany (which they were) anymore, so.......</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">There have been MANY times that I've said to myself, "Self, what would it take to sell of all the HO equipment you have, just so we could REALLY model the Lehigh Valley like you mean it?!?".....And even though companies like Atlas have SEVERLY tempted me with products such as this - </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And even though companies like Atlas have SEVERELY tempted me, such as this -</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8l3gKgKBmvKHA3fY8QZ16JcfaXzR-oIDfEy9w9rN7wxcpXjN-ZPlpgWxoDOrd1CbGJGQx_2rsor9lBhqQO8QUISqpA9v0W7pNnoxTLbpqZChOfC25k4tYNxUTkhBGh7IugwVJbkbeClE/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8l3gKgKBmvKHA3fY8QZ16JcfaXzR-oIDfEy9w9rN7wxcpXjN-ZPlpgWxoDOrd1CbGJGQx_2rsor9lBhqQO8QUISqpA9v0W7pNnoxTLbpqZChOfC25k4tYNxUTkhBGh7IugwVJbkbeClE/s1600/untitled.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
and even this - </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zImMcLKmq5yjoekHo3ZL3PNvtzDR8TOytvlzzozZH14mHYgpSRJQPsijPt97sjeIdX4mQKMUeHRMjMaZFlBi9TiIx4CooV_Psq2F5rjdEisGDe7XQhXxzrl2pfwvUUAoY_KamLhs3zlY/s1600/s-l225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zImMcLKmq5yjoekHo3ZL3PNvtzDR8TOytvlzzozZH14mHYgpSRJQPsijPt97sjeIdX4mQKMUeHRMjMaZFlBi9TiIx4CooV_Psq2F5rjdEisGDe7XQhXxzrl2pfwvUUAoY_KamLhs3zlY/s1600/s-l225.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have remained "true to the HO cause".......For now......</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anywho, that's my personal run-in with N Gauge, and you're not here to listen to me wax poetic, but rather to learn about the neat layouts I've discovered as of late, that I think you should be checking out, NOT just because they're N gauge, but because there's something to be learned from them regardless of scale, am I not right?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
First up, Greg Johnstone's L&N RR Knoxville Division at - <a href="http://www.lnrrknoxvilledivision.thejohnnos.id.au/">http://www.lnrrknoxvilledivision.thejohnnos.id.au/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yes, from Australia! While not updated since 2014 (and I know a thing or two about not updating things, now don't I?), there is still a lot of good stuff to read up on here. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So, keeping the coal hauling theme going, check out Lee Weldon's WM Railway at - <a href="http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/">http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This guy is doing some impressive prototype model railroading in N!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
How about Ken Borowski's Clinchfield? You remember the Clinchfield from the pages of MR, right? Well, Ken has taken a different approach on what is basically the same section of railroad and this is the result - <a href="http://www.clinchfield-nscale.com/home">http://www.clinchfield-nscale.com/home</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There's just something about the Clinchfield that resonates with me (I guess its that darn book!), but I also love the scenery-to-train ratio that makes things look like you're really in the mountains of North Carolina!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And then we have what is essentially a MR project layout re-born, but is none the less interesting and well done. Check out Dave Vollmer's PRR Juniata Division layout at - <a href="http://thevollmerfamily.com/Pennsy/">http://thevollmerfamily.com/Pennsy/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Though not on the same scale, this layout reminds me of Bill and Wayne Reid's WM/N&W/PRR-themed Hagerstown layout from the pages of MR. It also reminds me, a well done layout CAN be an oval, and still be engaging. Some of us are "runners" and not "operators" (but why WOULDN'T we WANT to be?!?!?). </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last but not least, the "Mac Daddy" of N scale layouts (at least lately in the hobby press), and that would be Mark Dance's CP Rail prototype, Columbia and Western layout at - <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/27907618@N02/sets/72157624106602402/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/27907618@N02/sets/72157624106602402/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You've probably seen this before In the pages of MRP, but I mean this layout takes N scale to the next level, with innovative staging, double mushroom decks, and two kinds of swing gates to cross isles with. oh, did I mention it has a carfloat operation?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, I could keep going, but you get the idea. N gauge model railroading is leaps and bounds on the reliability and detail scale from what I had when I was growing up, and I have even had the opportunity to operate on a proto-freelanced "N" layout here in New Jersey that actually "operated" with car cards and lot of switching. So yes, it CAN be done!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUglejXcTaWBtdojTlD3ZajS4nZHwPSD809_YlxrqjrB4i-Oz3uT2Kg8XT8hhfPf2H1rJyHfbWDOhNBJkIBdhhWP-_NwIGPCRInqUIRypNSgVmajy306TsrsIhcd_VR9kKPq8btlCDXZl/s1600/2.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUglejXcTaWBtdojTlD3ZajS4nZHwPSD809_YlxrqjrB4i-Oz3uT2Kg8XT8hhfPf2H1rJyHfbWDOhNBJkIBdhhWP-_NwIGPCRInqUIRypNSgVmajy306TsrsIhcd_VR9kKPq8btlCDXZl/s320/2.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So maybe, one day.....But I'm happy with my HO stuff for now......</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
~ Ralph</div>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-48414310966563226752016-08-04T07:45:00.002-07:002016-08-04T07:52:19.243-07:00And now for something completely different.......<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURBaTobq6HQizjl2eBamVFJvVfVfvJ_qUSLPwlCL-oCPHoYnG_wSkSKphQCPbJH_lXhJaFFijrsum8ifhv-XG5GZKKIPV6ghwAquB8HPMv41A9Spcht12OuZBomLJYc2i7C27Ri37MZNm/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURBaTobq6HQizjl2eBamVFJvVfVfvJ_qUSLPwlCL-oCPHoYnG_wSkSKphQCPbJH_lXhJaFFijrsum8ifhv-XG5GZKKIPV6ghwAquB8HPMv41A9Spcht12OuZBomLJYc2i7C27Ri37MZNm/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's right, it's another week, and just because it's Thursday, that doesn't mean we can't have a "Web-tastic Wednesday" on a Thursday, especially since "Thinkful Thursday" sucks even more for a name for this feature than the one I'm using now........</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So........I said last week that I'd be showcasing a blog or two this week that was outside my "modeling comfort zone".....Which is to say, that it's a layout or prototype subject that has absolutely NO relevance to what I model or have an interest in normally, but yet is something that even I can appreciate from a creative standpoint. Just because I can't fathom why anybody would build a layout populated by Thomas The Tank and Friends on the moon in the year 2436 and done in Z-n3 scale, doesn't mean I can't appreciate the hard work put into it.......OK, maybe that example is pushing it, but you get the idea....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, with that being said, let's take a look at this week's "out of the box" links, and I'll explain why I think they're worth a look.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First up, we have Darel Leedy of Colorado and his Colorado & Southern in Sn3 layout at - </span><a href="http://coloradosouthern.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">http://coloradosouthern.blogspot.com/</span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, so what's so neat about Darel's layout? Well, I have to admit that normally, not a thing about it would ever get me to look twice at it. I'm not a fan of narrow gauge Colorado (or other Western locale) railroading, and I'm not an S Scale'er. That aside, let me tell you why I DO think Darel's layout is neat. I DO think S Scale is a neat scale to model in (narrow or otherwise), and I DO have a certain level of appreciation for Eastern narrow gauge after visiting the EBT a few years back, but I like it mostly (and especially so) because it's different! Yes, exactly, different! I never in a million years would be able to model, as it appears he has done so from scratch in many instances, all the cars and other buildings with such prototype fidelity and finesse as Darel does. Now yes, a company called PBL makes a lot of kits and engines in S narrow gauge, but the engines are brass, and the kits are of the craftsman nature. What that comes down to is skill, patience, money and time to model it all, four things that are NOT in my wheelhouse! Case in point, this model -</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKbq40IfOESkwkXDvjFhLuF0HeM02Nd6TneyS0AWj3wHHH_5Q5-QWWXlRmbxVJgWdDy90YXoAL4_GPOJ-W33b9L_oCIrg1donQ3DXoLZ3GEN6ztIzxt8PF0ZMu39ZCHzxv9T2uQmURnmd/s1600/C%2526S_4327.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKbq40IfOESkwkXDvjFhLuF0HeM02Nd6TneyS0AWj3wHHH_5Q5-QWWXlRmbxVJgWdDy90YXoAL4_GPOJ-W33b9L_oCIrg1donQ3DXoLZ3GEN6ztIzxt8PF0ZMu39ZCHzxv9T2uQmURnmd/s320/C%2526S_4327.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsE-7WxhMm3_YP6X5uCiKnSUvjG613YyogwPhtMZWvmwCPD2_CyzMDz-04A88GbzF-6fHqJnT5JSqVcouCerGl-xpyuMcWOnvJWnS1PSyRxvy21Om-4-d_NhN_0vpF5M1NkvTX5Pxy1OK/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsE-7WxhMm3_YP6X5uCiKnSUvjG613YyogwPhtMZWvmwCPD2_CyzMDz-04A88GbzF-6fHqJnT5JSqVcouCerGl-xpyuMcWOnvJWnS1PSyRxvy21Om-4-d_NhN_0vpF5M1NkvTX5Pxy1OK/s320/untitled.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And THAT'S why I think Darel's layout and choice of prototype is neat! (that, and for some crazy reason he features my blog in his roll!) Thanks Darel, keep up the good work, I'll be checking back regularly!</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, on to link number two.........Do you fancy a spot of railway modeling from across the pond, Guv'nor?</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPa8WciZ9Ae5Z0Nz8-GYvhKl7hgPMOSeN-HMrupNF-W-L87pTufUg_0nChLJdI3hf7jJL291xmZ7kVFyma_5bso8cqmbqKvYOETBg2ucNMBtaJp5M8dhU65DSExjli-iYA2iZFFYAt5Thv/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPa8WciZ9Ae5Z0Nz8-GYvhKl7hgPMOSeN-HMrupNF-W-L87pTufUg_0nChLJdI3hf7jJL291xmZ7kVFyma_5bso8cqmbqKvYOETBg2ucNMBtaJp5M8dhU65DSExjli-iYA2iZFFYAt5Thv/s400/1.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then check out - </span><a href="http://www.nevard.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">http://www.nevard.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://nevardmedia.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">http://nevardmedia.blogspot.com/</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Chris Nevard shows us why and how European (in particular, UK) model railroading in an insanely small space is so neat! Typically done in OO scale (their version of HO, if I recall correctly), these shadowbox model railroads are short on track and equipment, but not on detail. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMd0g-S0NU6pyFTQqg7ohusLAjjQQymcy7XsIzFmwA0VNumyL5bBgx1WVapAzJF4FWjKrgNiymr0kgBgDz0Vjy1uBZ8yfNZPq38SmUrqetsZmsEgg0POFxVcIKJaF1rJEnxKmnIo_IC0EH/s320/150708+Combwich+IMG+1040.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtjMbDu1Cti_kB0UtPkUpdVBHzWp5vrTHaJhioq60YEcMSpZFPR-faPcaTv5-IZgU4WgJ3ZNZViSFi-PLg3W8INa1Dsy0It4G3-aqiihFYlym9gCcO54xHrdEHaMScxYApZnvBhztTOab/s1600/150708+Combwich+IMG+1010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtjMbDu1Cti_kB0UtPkUpdVBHzWp5vrTHaJhioq60YEcMSpZFPR-faPcaTv5-IZgU4WgJ3ZNZViSFi-PLg3W8INa1Dsy0It4G3-aqiihFYlym9gCcO54xHrdEHaMScxYApZnvBhztTOab/s320/150708+Combwich+IMG+1010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv22FyPtaJC1m26Qto9BgWK7Rdp6o22QmzSStdYwty8TEC_OU2x3jz5U_FugSe_gW_6WfmdMXw9Xmcc60fA2OU3dtEOMU4ZjohdI9HJg4dyf2F517uNOQX4pGsJBkPpCpXvMcb5KAGtaRg/s1600/mainphoto_500.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv22FyPtaJC1m26Qto9BgWK7Rdp6o22QmzSStdYwty8TEC_OU2x3jz5U_FugSe_gW_6WfmdMXw9Xmcc60fA2OU3dtEOMU4ZjohdI9HJg4dyf2F517uNOQX4pGsJBkPpCpXvMcb5KAGtaRg/s320/mainphoto_500.jpg" width="320" /></a><span id="goog_1803230708"></span><span id="goog_1803230709"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I mean, good Lord, look at that, and all done in a approximately 14 foot by 2 1/2 space! As I'm sure you are aware, our European brethren are not blessed with basements, so they instead prefer large meets on do FREMO-style layouts, or small self-contained modules, or as I call them "exhibition-style" layouts. Apparently, Chris is a "serial module builder", as the one featured above, called Combwich, is his oldest (begun in 1979) and has been added onto and upgraded over the years, and he's constantly building more modules to add to his collection. I mean, he must have a warehouse somewhere to store all his modules with what he appears to have on his blog!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, I know the engines look like Thomas and Friends, but the modeling is top notch, and I think we can all learn a thing or two in realism from these guys, and that less is more! (something I have CERTAINLY come to realize over the last year or two, or three)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Oh, and honourable mention, Chris is a Uke player, so he gets bonus points from me for being a musician AND model railroader!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So go! Go now and check out Darel and Chris' layouts, and get out of YOUR comfort zone and just enjoy it for what it is even if you think it's "not your thing" - Model railroading at it's neatest (and finest!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Next week - Just because its smaller, doesN't meaN its any less fuNNer.......</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Ralph</span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-24520096437343580332016-07-27T10:55:00.001-07:002016-07-27T11:00:31.309-07:00Web-Tastically Web-Full Wednesday<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTN0uQrIQOs1BhJqM3wyxOz1JIpwpHWRfEbuNmEIjVhj8AfAjo39fJ-Ul-7YI99BinuDNmxJVU6ZcTxA7biBg1R6ME_GNh0hvu6Myph7aABafzK4ITuz_65RraTqRc1Xwc8NBFuWfIsbBS/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTN0uQrIQOs1BhJqM3wyxOz1JIpwpHWRfEbuNmEIjVhj8AfAjo39fJ-Ul-7YI99BinuDNmxJVU6ZcTxA7biBg1R6ME_GNh0hvu6Myph7aABafzK4ITuz_65RraTqRc1Xwc8NBFuWfIsbBS/s400/untitled.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, the name for my new Wednesday "feature" sucks, but it got your attention, didn't it? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">More than that, I think that both you who are reading this right now, and I who am typing this, are amazed that I remembered to follow thru with my "threat" of an every Wednesday post!</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtlx7S8AGTAHxtAO6ujFTflQ2-0dIgXk1e9GaEKuhOHhsVgVypSfnDvAgFWepCAQ9MY9RvV8oc59oHRa3fKAhxpn-CjtKylm7SiA8Oh4-EJWl-WP6-lVJYo7UXvMUCrfGU84qwRq7eUKw/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtlx7S8AGTAHxtAO6ujFTflQ2-0dIgXk1e9GaEKuhOHhsVgVypSfnDvAgFWepCAQ9MY9RvV8oc59oHRa3fKAhxpn-CjtKylm7SiA8Oh4-EJWl-WP6-lVJYo7UXvMUCrfGU84qwRq7eUKw/s400/images.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, you're not here to see my witty and sometimes badly chosen memes (or are you?), so let's get on with this Wednesday's featured websites, shall we?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">First up, Tony Thompson's "<strong>Modeling The SP</strong>" at - <a href="http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/">http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Now, I'm not an SP fan, and I am certainly not a fastidious prototype modeler, but Tony has a way of explaining how, why, and what makes a particular model "prototype specific" for a particular date, via paint schemes, details, etc. Now you might recognize Tony's name due to his articles on prototypical waybills in RMC, which is of course, why I like reading his blog. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's recently featured some stuff from my paperwork collection on his blog. But I digress......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The second, but not any less important blog is Eric Hansmann's "<strong>Notes On Designing, Building and Operating Model Railroads</strong>" at - <span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/">http://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Like Tony, Eric (whom I know personally from operating groups here in the east before he moved West), is also another well spoken modeler, and not only is his layout a switching one much like mine is (the B&O's Wheeling Terminal), he really focuses on the details of cars and the history behind them (like when said parts were put on cars, and when they were taken off!). I really admire his attention to detail, especially since I don't have that kind of patience! He features some great work not only from his own workbench, but from other like-minded modelers as well.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Now, these two blogs are by far, the ones I feel that you should be reading often, if not daily, ESPECIALLY if you are into accurately modeling the prototype in HO scale. Too much good info to pass on, and it's not difficult to ready and digest, or come off sounding "highbrow" like some others can and do. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Now to answer your question (because I can already see it coming), yes, I do already feature this week's featured blogs on my blog roll, and the intended purpose of this feature is to showcase webpages and blogs that I do NOT regularly carry on my roll, but I make the rules around here, dammit! </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">OK, now that I made that clear, seriously, this is good stuff, and since I'd like to always have a "theme" to my "Web Wednesdays", this week's theme I guess you can say is "You've Seen The Name Before, Now Look Closer!". </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I mean, sometimes just we don't click on stuff because the name or title just doesn't attract us at first glance (judging the book by it's cover?), and I am definitely guilty of that, and that can be our loss sometimes. Don't ever let the titles scare you away, especially in regards to Eric's rather long blog name, LOL! In fact, next Wednesday's post will focus on just that, "The Click Less Taken".<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYQJ8zAuuZpq6esWZ-W29CogpyK6tTIGvz5x3lG9Geb0-EK34PqXAZQUmMso3H4sAUtnuidG1XPBnESPL2hU6pmyvGM-gi-2XB5KrmNnBPo-IFxH6FOgZj24WR2gq89jZVJEP9RIYYmi7/s1600/approval-guy.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So go on, check them out, and I hope you come away having learned something and continue to visit them in the future. I think you'll end up approving of my suggestions!</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYQJ8zAuuZpq6esWZ-W29CogpyK6tTIGvz5x3lG9Geb0-EK34PqXAZQUmMso3H4sAUtnuidG1XPBnESPL2hU6pmyvGM-gi-2XB5KrmNnBPo-IFxH6FOgZj24WR2gq89jZVJEP9RIYYmi7/s1600/approval-guy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYQJ8zAuuZpq6esWZ-W29CogpyK6tTIGvz5x3lG9Geb0-EK34PqXAZQUmMso3H4sAUtnuidG1XPBnESPL2hU6pmyvGM-gi-2XB5KrmNnBPo-IFxH6FOgZj24WR2gq89jZVJEP9RIYYmi7/s320/approval-guy.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll see you back here next week with something completely outside of my comfort zone to share with you! And oh yeah, feel free to suggest a better name for this feature, please?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ralph</span></div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-30609548435932330092016-07-20T08:03:00.001-07:002016-07-22T10:29:26.914-07:00All hands on deck, this is the Commodore speaking.......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wZQ8dZ7x-bQ0NP0Xtd4iulkjgJJLtD4_te0o_c6Ug_QDVo_X3OlRq3xsSNT9AGzsVW_Z5ycSCthO6LtlJGI10XN2Bhp_TwIB_1Z3k7_UrFFpISvUBr-cdjuwGyMDv-VxDvuol_2AW8Rn/s1600/7283909dd7033de424e0bd43eb09b1ec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wZQ8dZ7x-bQ0NP0Xtd4iulkjgJJLtD4_te0o_c6Ug_QDVo_X3OlRq3xsSNT9AGzsVW_Z5ycSCthO6LtlJGI10XN2Bhp_TwIB_1Z3k7_UrFFpISvUBr-cdjuwGyMDv-VxDvuol_2AW8Rn/s1600/7283909dd7033de424e0bd43eb09b1ec.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You know what really frosts my carfloat deck? I mean, besides reading people's endless Facebook posts on how "evil" guns are, that is......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, no sense in holding out on y'all........It's the endless proliferation of "Wordless Wednesday" posts.</span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBp9pNxQ8ZYjaaa4vfVtE2hXIepfwrOtfJrjdxmAGyd-lIx4HLg15HntJtt-eHPy3b_CdGkeLrlWubp0Y0UWDwaTmjmu5MFydwwSeZ5ivxJPAeJD7btU0FFe_QIEY-ofXYXp-35fkChsfc/s1600/9c4b24cc1cb6bc910e517e0b1fcb0671acf8bbcbf69bbda0e5d723455374bfd7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrdbEgBFmfo24ebTpiMPVgZn0O5mJALioTU1eJpOhUgJtlmfDjXLTBulxlQzHcOfXxjF8T3lUnj73h5f2UFkMgUyZu1CmmDqb2bCMrbiiw5wY6kU0fijanmp7TFw6gYslbHzOdKn-S1L6/s1600/KJH.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrdbEgBFmfo24ebTpiMPVgZn0O5mJALioTU1eJpOhUgJtlmfDjXLTBulxlQzHcOfXxjF8T3lUnj73h5f2UFkMgUyZu1CmmDqb2bCMrbiiw5wY6kU0fijanmp7TFw6gYslbHzOdKn-S1L6/s1600/KJH.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't know WHY it bugs me, but it does, I guess because it's the "cool" blogging thing to do, and everybody does it. It reminds me of what our moms used to say to us growing up when you tried to justify doing something that all your friends were doing, too - "And if your friends all decided to jump off a cliff, would you follow them?"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>"Of course ya do it. Everybody does it. I just did it, and I'm ready to do it again" - </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Mel Brooks as King Louis in History Of The World, Pt. 1</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBp9pNxQ8ZYjaaa4vfVtE2hXIepfwrOtfJrjdxmAGyd-lIx4HLg15HntJtt-eHPy3b_CdGkeLrlWubp0Y0UWDwaTmjmu5MFydwwSeZ5ivxJPAeJD7btU0FFe_QIEY-ofXYXp-35fkChsfc/s1600/9c4b24cc1cb6bc910e517e0b1fcb0671acf8bbcbf69bbda0e5d723455374bfd7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBp9pNxQ8ZYjaaa4vfVtE2hXIepfwrOtfJrjdxmAGyd-lIx4HLg15HntJtt-eHPy3b_CdGkeLrlWubp0Y0UWDwaTmjmu5MFydwwSeZ5ivxJPAeJD7btU0FFe_QIEY-ofXYXp-35fkChsfc/s320/9c4b24cc1cb6bc910e517e0b1fcb0671acf8bbcbf69bbda0e5d723455374bfd7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Granted, it's not like people are clamoring to read THIS blog (regularly or otherwise), but I've taken blogs off my roll because I was sick and tired of the constant "WW" posts every week. (don't worry Chris, you're safe! LOL!). If you're gonna post a neat picture (prototype or otherwise, but ESPECIALLY of the prototype), I want to know more about it! I mean, I can't know EVERYTHING there is to know about the South Park, Baton Rouge and Pittsburgh Navigation Railway, now can I? And I will fully admit that the idea behind it isn't all bad, but the trend and the proliferation is, and I'm here to bitch about it, dammit!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">But, you aren't here just to listen to me bitch. (Surely you must be joking. I'm not joking, and don't call me Shirley). So you might be saying right about now, "OK Einstein, what do you propose to do to fix things, then?" Well, I'm no trend setter, but what I'd like to propose instead, is to start "Weblog (or webpage for those who don't "blog") Wednesdays". This is where I do the work for you by finding interesting layouts or discussions or "proto stuff" to share with you that may be otherwise off your radar (or, that I just think is cool and worth sharing, weather you think so or not!). Plus, it helps keep this blog regular (Yes, Ted DiIorio, a bowl of raisin bran will do that, too), which is a good thing. Now, I inadvertently started doing this a few weeks ago by blowing out a few weeks of Wednesday content by sharing five neat layouts and their blogs with you, but I did miss one that I REALLY want to share with all of you.......</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong>Rick De Candido's Filmore Avenue Roundhouse at -</strong></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://fillmoreavenueroundhouse.wordpress.com/about/">https://fillmoreavenueroundhouse.wordpress.com/about/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Instead of trying to describe Rick's layout to you, I'll let him do it in his own words -</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><strong>"Welcome to Fillmore Avenue Roundhouse, a blog about my HO Scale New York Central System model railroad. Freelanced, but set in Buffalo, NY (June of 1942), Fillmore is two layouts in one. The first, and primary one, is a full steam-era engine terminal. The second one is a passenger car and express car switching operation as part of NYC Central Terminal." </strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<strong>Rick De Candido</strong><br />
<strong>Mississauga, Ontario, Canada</strong></span><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I mean, this layout is incredible! You may have seen it first in the pages of the 2015 issue of Model Railroad Planning, but Rick's attention to prototype detail and creating prototypical "operational jobs" is amazing and great food for thought. I'm not going to sell it anymore than that, so read his blog (even if you aren't a slobbering NYC freak!), and you won't be disappointed.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">OK, so that's it. I hope you grow to enjoy "Webblog Wednesdays". Or, Webpage Wednesdays". Or, "(Inter)Web Wednesdays". I dunno what to call it, but it's here to stay, at least until I forget to update it.....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br />Ralph</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong></strong> </div>
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-49961827638875374352016-06-20T07:44:00.001-07:002016-06-20T07:44:17.816-07:00Check it out!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhIyzbRYUL23giIlaxEttfeoYb-Of4vduYJKdV-APFugze-QA4OGRGI5fkHdGnbLoKApPh6aZo0g8rK-iqdt1IT_VO5rJS8QVQoefuFhCqZJdA1nDxxL_RukBBusf_vQ5pSE3SwRnKt6b/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhIyzbRYUL23giIlaxEttfeoYb-Of4vduYJKdV-APFugze-QA4OGRGI5fkHdGnbLoKApPh6aZo0g8rK-iqdt1IT_VO5rJS8QVQoefuFhCqZJdA1nDxxL_RukBBusf_vQ5pSE3SwRnKt6b/s1600/untitled.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
While I'm not sure if Dr. Steve Brule likes model railroading or not, but today I'd like to make reference to some great new blogs I've added to the blog roll last week, since there's been nothing doing on the layout front lately (gee, shocker there!)<br />
<br />
I've always had a interest in the New Haven RR (is it because the NH was such an important interchange partner for the LV in New York Harbor? I dunno....), but please take the time to check out these great NH-themed layout blogs ( + two other non-New Haven ones!).....<br />
<br />
Randy Hammill's New Britain Station blog at - <a href="http://blog.newbritainstation.com/">http://blog.newbritainstation.com/</a><br />
<br />
Randy is modeling New Britain, CT on the New Haven's Highland Line in the Transition Era, and is focusing on pretty much one town for the entire layout, which is a cool concept, one that I myself had thought about doing years ago when I was new to the hobby.<br />
<br />
Chris Adams' Valley Local blog at - <a href="http://blog.thevalleylocal.net/">http://blog.thevalleylocal.net/</a><br />
<br />
Chris is modeling the New Haven's Connecticut Valley Line in 1947, and along with Randy, is doing some DAMN fine modeling! Watching the build/shakedown/troubleshoot process that Chris shares is good stuff!<br />
<br />
Joe Smith's Signal Station 199 at - <a href="http://signalstation199.blogspot.com/">http://signalstation199.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
Joe has chosen to model the Berkshire Line of the New Haven, and in his latest blog post, he shows us how he kitbashed (or scratchbuilt, depending on how you look at it), the NH's interesting and rare GE DEY-2 switcher! (Do I REALLY need to say, "Check it out"?)<br />
<br />
So, I mentioned there were two non-New Haven-themed layout blogs, didn't I?............<br />
<br />
First up is Matthieu Lachance of Quebec who is doing a model of the Erie's 149th St Bronx terminal at -<br />
<a href="http://harlem-station.blogspot.com/">http://harlem-station.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
It's worth following, if for no other reason that because it proves you can have a lot of action in a small space, even if the prototype track design is boring. (C'mon, you have to admit it is, but it's still cool!)....Looking back, I actually wish I had realized that "simple (or small) can be cool" when I started my layout.....<br />
<br />
And finally (save the best for last?), while it's not NH-themed, I just HAVE to make mention my good friend Dave Abeles' 1994 era Conrail Onondaga Cutoff layout at - <a href="http://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/">http://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
Dave is an all-around a good guy, a good musician, and he puts up with this old guy at his ops sessions, so his blog is worth the time to visit, LOL! His layout is proto-freelanced, meaning that while the line he chose to model never really existed (an ex-NYC bypass line around Syracuse, NY), but all the trains and equipment are spot on for Conrail on the Chicago Line in 1994. My prediction is you'll be seeing this layout in the mainstream hobby press in a year or two.....<br />
<br />
So that's all for now, but keep on checking in, you never know what might happen!<br />
<br />
Ralph<br />
<br />
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-6330965453657506552016-06-01T08:16:00.002-07:002016-06-01T10:11:04.403-07:00Submitted, resubmitted, and then re-resubmitted for your approval........Huh?!? What does that even mean?!?<br />
<br />
Well, first off, hello! Yes, I'm still here.....<br />
<br />
Due to circumstances (many within my control, some not), I have not worked on the layout since my last post dated April 9th of LAST year. In the interim, as I had alluded to in that post, I have considered scrapping it all and rebuilding it as another Lehigh Valley-themed layout, but set in landlocked Allentown, PA...See this post - <a href="http://lvnyharbor.blogspot.com/2015/03/model-railroading-is-fun.html">http://lvnyharbor.blogspot.com/2015/03/model-railroading-is-fun.html</a> and this post - <a href="http://lvnyharbor.blogspot.com/2015/03/spring-awakening.html">http://lvnyharbor.blogspot.com/2015/03/spring-awakening.html</a> for more on that. Huh-huh, I said moron........<br />
<br />
Seeing as that I still have a warm spot for the Lehigh Valley's waterfront operations (or is that a damp spot? No, no, that's just not right....), three things I did just this last week made me think about the old layout (and yes, I had all BUT made the decision to scrap it and start over, just in case you were wondering).....<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURh6Iu51FUhHz-6UOIJbLMDKg1iaGTA9o9W62ysiaOCy2ijcKqMIltbjrGgwH7M8ku2OOQCU6ugIXjprWlkzPbLIiW0kgKlQICkQIsq6_P95qIdNYyTaNsDsfpK2tldnHeA4bDldAR7DC/s1600/close+enc+8.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURh6Iu51FUhHz-6UOIJbLMDKg1iaGTA9o9W62ysiaOCy2ijcKqMIltbjrGgwH7M8ku2OOQCU6ugIXjprWlkzPbLIiW0kgKlQICkQIsq6_P95qIdNYyTaNsDsfpK2tldnHeA4bDldAR7DC/s320/close+enc+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(a quick snapshot of how I've felt about the layout for the last year or two.....</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Never you mind that it looks like that's Richard Dreyfuss from "Close Encounters"!)</div>
<br />
The first thing was that I happened to be reading one of my favorite blogs (Tony Thompson's Modeling The SP Blog at - <a href="http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/">http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/</a>), and he had a post about a subject on routing cards, (which I just so had planned to use for routing cars on my layout, too) at - <a href="http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2016/05/route-cards-10-southern-pacific.html">http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2016/05/route-cards-10-southern-pacific.html</a>. <br />
I wanted to help Tony by providing more prototype examples, so I posted a comment telling him that I had some route cards to share, hidden SOMEWHERE in the deep, dark recesses of my basement, and that brings me to point number two......<br />
<br />
So after I read Tony's blog post that afternoon, I started to go back and read all my old blog posts to see if I had something about route tags that I could share with him (I knew I did, I just had to find it!), and in the process, took a nice stroll down "Blog Memory Lane"....Ah, the dreams of a young (33 yr old?) layout builder! Al sorts of prose full of hopes for a nice layout some day, discovering data that inspired the layout building process, yadda, yadda, yadda.....Seriously, it was fun to read, and while it helped to reinforce the thought that yes, I really DID bite off more than I could chew (especially for a first real layout), it also proved to me, hey, this really WAS fun (once), and that a LOT of work went into it to get it to this point and to run smoothly (though that's a relative term), and most importantly, that maybe, just maybe, it COULD do so again, or damn close to it.<br />
<br />
I know you're dying to know, just what could be the third (and biggest) thing? Well, I made the mistake (?) of going into the basement that same night when I got home from band rehearsal (one of those "things" that has kept me from playing with trains, btw), and took a look around to see what could be done to save this behemoth.....And what's really scary, (well, besides my friend "Scary" Ted DiIorio and his associated blog at - <a href="http://maparr1943.blogspot.com/">http://maparr1943.blogspot.com/</a>) is that I now have some (possibly) good ideas of how to "rekindle the love affair" between myself and the layout, or at least we can work out some of our issues, and "remain friends" even if we still end up going our separate ways down the road.......<br />
<br />
Now before I talk about that in any detail, if you are a close "associate" of mine and already know too well the trials and tribulations of myself and the great "Allentown/Jersey City Debate of 2016", you might be saying, "Why are you flip-flopping on your decision, AGAIN?" Well, I have ALWAYS clearly said that one of (OK, maybe two) biggest "guilty trips" is that there is a lot of work by myself, my father and my friends that we put into what I already have built here (and thus, the associated good memories), and I can't seem to break myself away from that feeling of impending "guilt" should I decide to "shake the Etch-A-Sketch" and start over. The other point being that I STILL think that I did not give this design its due (and I REALLY want to institute using the route cards to move traffic, btw!), so I THINK, that I while I may still very well "pick up and move on", I really want to put in (by taking out!) the track changes I came up with as described partially in the April '15 blog, and a few more too boot. <br />
<br />
HOWEVER, seeing as that I have a penchant for going on.....and on.....and on with my blog posts, I am going to break this (already very wordy) post up into some follow up posts and not blow all my steam out of my stack at once, if I may be so blunt!<br />
I'll follow this post up as soon as I can with a refresher of what I have already eyeballed back in 2015 that I'd like to change out, and then follow that with a detailed look at the massive infrastructure changes that I have planned for trying to "save" the LVHTRY, if only for the short term.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoT9n4J5ri9JNXp4g7LVdJdYF3m7GsbFQGaBgutZhq997C7P9oVo1hkh-zXmX4LgzuEh1GTKuq-6bptz-5e73YpVFkbv40Q1RbtfpB_SefiJj9Sgki6x9RRVcfFpKxiseUdN5DpvsYHoC6/s1600/ep_cart_disposed_of_monster.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoT9n4J5ri9JNXp4g7LVdJdYF3m7GsbFQGaBgutZhq997C7P9oVo1hkh-zXmX4LgzuEh1GTKuq-6bptz-5e73YpVFkbv40Q1RbtfpB_SefiJj9Sgki6x9RRVcfFpKxiseUdN5DpvsYHoC6/s400/ep_cart_disposed_of_monster.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">"So, having re-re-disposed of the monster..."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"></span> </div>
<div align="left" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Thanks for hanging on this long and reading everyone, and I hope to talk to you all again very soon!</span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"></span> </div>
<div align="left" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Ralph</span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">aka "The Commodore"</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-25889048388165441072015-04-09T10:46:00.002-07:002015-04-14T10:52:45.392-07:00Conjunction Junction, Why All The Destruction??!?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I just couldn't resist poking fun at my favorite Schoolhouse Rock song! (my appologies to those of the young'ins out there who don't get the reference, your loss!) </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilULJ6vilLSoPZlpp_ZKjMkXQrRPSMIarAQHI0l-hg6wKSONsqnc81cBOUu9zerF7s5OiwHSs1wPvuEGt52touSQS_qt5YfxUYyJAzKHkHyhbs1IXkFS6VjoOS8AglEpjk7HF8RBhg1vIh/s1600/IMG_0954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilULJ6vilLSoPZlpp_ZKjMkXQrRPSMIarAQHI0l-hg6wKSONsqnc81cBOUu9zerF7s5OiwHSs1wPvuEGt52touSQS_qt5YfxUYyJAzKHkHyhbs1IXkFS6VjoOS8AglEpjk7HF8RBhg1vIh/s1600/IMG_0954.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
So, by nature of the above photo that looks like I dropped a handfull of flex track on the layout and then walked away (and most of the time, you'd be right, I did!), lest it be thought that I actually went downstairs to WORK on the layout his weekend (gasp!), while I was on a non-layout related "mission" to the dark, dank recesses of the basement for water leakage (my hot water heater has reached the end of it's service life by doing a slow leak across the floor, and no Ted DiIoio, I'm NOT into trying to recreate NY Harbor in scale down there!), I came to the back end of the layout wherethe layout starts or ends (depending on how you look at it), and started thinking (and that's NEVER a good thing).......<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBV6Eps89MLJvVLN_xbv9Nb6PeS62t_K3FkFEZLkiiR6rGJ5pyCOtqid9S9F7LEQKIIbchw3yvmL-xNbVc-Y1q8Qr7JTqe0GOK46Recu0ZTlHTe2KVMYmvYlfHEXwtwDUFhoDAI-YpYBAv/s1600/CIMG0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBV6Eps89MLJvVLN_xbv9Nb6PeS62t_K3FkFEZLkiiR6rGJ5pyCOtqid9S9F7LEQKIIbchw3yvmL-xNbVc-Y1q8Qr7JTqe0GOK46Recu0ZTlHTe2KVMYmvYlfHEXwtwDUFhoDAI-YpYBAv/s1600/CIMG0422.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Layout to the left of me, Staging to the right......(further appologies to AC/DC) </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong>!!!Photo needs to be reloaded!!!</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The art of stuffing 5 lbs. of trains (from Staging) into a 1 lb. bag (the Main Line)</div>
<br />
As seen in the above photos, the lower tracks (and the ones we're focusing on in this blog entry)represent the LVRR Main Line between Oak Island Yard and the float yard at Washington St., while the elevated tracks represent the National Docks Branch. Now, it's not terribly obvious in these photos, but this is the pinch point to the flow of traffic which prevents trains from simulatenously leaving and entering the layout, as four Main Line tracks go from two to one, and then four as they enter staging, all in the span of four feet. This prevents Yardmasters at each end from simultaneously moving trains back and forth as expeditiously as possible. That has yet to case a problem in any of the ops sessions we've had, but it always bugged me (so thus, why did I build it like that to begin with? We may never know....). Since the layout is, for now, dispatched sequentially, this means a train that went eastbound has to return westbound again before another eastbound can depart, the biggest reason being to avoid any "cornfield meets" on the single track section. I've thought about trying to fix this "issue" over the last year or two while the layout has been embargoed, so I FINALLY decided to do something about it! -<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8ZGWSGum5L7uHoXllJa_a_T0pitRWpsV9zZ1fuD2q4YxFeMrZNsJgogolrAs-Hhcjp5jRXVtAPOoGhd4V-ZE7SNrc6oVppXrwNVC8_j7wXqOpCSKZ6DWW4eGu1aRI79uR15KSQLFIePv/s1600/IMG_0952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8ZGWSGum5L7uHoXllJa_a_T0pitRWpsV9zZ1fuD2q4YxFeMrZNsJgogolrAs-Hhcjp5jRXVtAPOoGhd4V-ZE7SNrc6oVppXrwNVC8_j7wXqOpCSKZ6DWW4eGu1aRI79uR15KSQLFIePv/s1600/IMG_0952.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Umm, I'm pretty sure this'll work, but I think something is missing!</div>
<br />
I'm PRETTY sure I have just enough room to re-align the tracks at the staging yard throat and to swing the CNJ single track Henderson St. Branch across a newly double-tracked LVRR Main Line WITHOUT having to move the elevated NDB or widen the benchwork (since I started writing this, this is 95 percent assured). Once complete, this will allow me to operate a more fluid traffic pattern on and off the layout, and hopefully measurably improve the ops scheme, allowing the yard to operate more fluidly in the process. Now, one "eastbound" main will serve two staging tacks, and the "westbound" main will serve two. The only positive attribute to the old staging yard throat being served by one track was that all four tracks were equqally acessible, but splitting the yard two by two is OK, as the planned train fequency will not overwhelm the East and West staging and their ability to move traffic. Train lengths are fixed at 15 cars with caboose and two switchers, and the staging tracks are long enough to fit without fouling the parallel track, and even if they do, having the two dedicated mains now allows them to act as temporary yard leads while the cars are fiddled off the layout without fouling the other mainline track, should they need to that is.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong>!!!Photo needs to be reloaded!!!</strong></div>
<br />
As you can probably tell above, the original crossing (bottom) is a code 83 Shinohara 30 degree crossing, so I dove into my "track bits" box and unfortuantely, nothing fit, using the 'ol Mk.1 Eyeball test. But what I DID have was an otherwise far from fine scale Atlas Code 83 18 degree crossing, and it looks like it is the perfect angle to fit. I haven't gone to the Walthers catologue yet to see if they make a similar degree crossing, but I may just stick with the Atlas one (yes, I'm, cheap, damnit!), because I know it'll fit (well, I'm PRETTY SURE it will!). <br />
<br />
Now as we move onto the layout and get closer to the float yard at Washington St., we run into the point where the runner track (which is also one leg of the Jersey Ave. Wye AND provides access to Grand St. Yard), we run into the backdrop that spearates these two switching areas, preventing crews from seeing (and following) their train.......<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdhsTi7s1RjBfcS4jy09dKMn4yFK_eON_Uc7WPtr1BU1I7jpgQSW-xRpUuWJOqTWK7cG4i0yHDEEbOB0dOWpSGRtrkLqDHiA0lAjqOaVTYSmFdiv_o8ne2uWwUgS8FIGURfEELOhCBuP8/s1600/Ralph+H+05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdhsTi7s1RjBfcS4jy09dKMn4yFK_eON_Uc7WPtr1BU1I7jpgQSW-xRpUuWJOqTWK7cG4i0yHDEEbOB0dOWpSGRtrkLqDHiA0lAjqOaVTYSmFdiv_o8ne2uWwUgS8FIGURfEELOhCBuP8/s1600/Ralph+H+05.JPG" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Although this view from the other side of the backdrop than the area we're discussing, the "hole on the wall" separates East from West on the layout, and will be "softened" by the NJ Turnpike Bridges that crossed the RR at this spot, two lanes on each side.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSFRRH7L6ec3QCxxcu6-pduKvA2oPN6qDTKm6ujz2bqTC7s9tOEEU7C8GmtZoysOCJgKcHcnhmFQxkyLok_a5DEP029wvaQILpi8f1yQYfiVatygqLCodBHSX3zUvUkEPl5aAYlAjuLeC/s1600/1+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSFRRH7L6ec3QCxxcu6-pduKvA2oPN6qDTKm6ujz2bqTC7s9tOEEU7C8GmtZoysOCJgKcHcnhmFQxkyLok_a5DEP029wvaQILpi8f1yQYfiVatygqLCodBHSX3zUvUkEPl5aAYlAjuLeC/s1600/1+(2).jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A vintage property map, with the routes involved highlighted in Red (CNJ) and Blue and Yellow (LV), and the approximate backdrop location (Black)</div>
<br />
The plan here is for Eastbound trains to be "announced" to the Washington St. Yardmaster as being "on their bell" by the Communipaw Block Operator's position (not ever a real place on the railroad, but a neccessary evil, for now at least, to control traffic thru the backdrop), and will be staffed by the Grand St. Yard Yardmaster, since he stands in that corner as it is, and everything goes past him. Likewise, Westbounds will be handed over to him here to head into staging. He's in eyesight of the Oak Island/East Claremont staging Yardmaster, and (by way of handheld radio) in touch with the Washington St. Yardmaster, so verbal authority will be used to clear trains through the block limits. Movements in and out of Grand St. Yard also will be controlled by this block station. <br />
<br />
Eventually, I'd like to install track detection (and maybe annuciator bells?), and while I'd love, Love, LOVE to have semaphores (unprotoypical, there were never signals here - to the best of my knowledge, that is - as it was all operated under yard limits), I'll settle instead for a much more visible and understandable - and visible - kind of solution. I'm envisioning is a sort of "cab signal" mounted at viewing height in the valance for each track, showing track occupancy, one for each track on each side of the backdrop and hooked up to said IR or photocell occupancy detectors to trip the cab signal lights, though that kind of "electronic wizzardry" is beyond me. Luckily for me, I know people who know how to install this kind of s**t!<br />
<br />
So that's that, for now at least......Let's see if I can put it back together as fast as I tore it appart (luckily for me, I had never gotten around to soldering in the feeder wires to the track here!), and I'll eventually report back here with the finished product....Just don't hold your breath or anything!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ralph</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-9502404719550981062015-03-11T13:20:00.001-07:002015-03-11T13:38:56.691-07:00Spring Awakening So, fresh on
the heels of last weeks post, I did receive some nice and well thought
out responses not only from a friend, but better yet, two readers of this blog
that until now, I have not had the pleasure of making their acquaintance.
That's a big win, as a fresh, unbiased view of my layout and my
"situation" is always helpful, AND, it's nice to know that my
mile-long post wasn't completely ignored!<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
So, instead of responding to them in the
comments section and risking being "lost in the pile" with everything
else, I thought I'd dedicate this post first and foremost to thanking them for
taking the time to share their thoughts with me, but obviously also to take a moment to respond
to their comments. Let's begin, shall we?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
First up, we
have Rhett, and he commented - </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<strong>"Personally, I'd be building toward
the new theme. Simplification without having to give up the essentials is a
huge WIN. Why bite off more if it's just more and not tangibly better?"</strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Rhett, you are 100% right, and that there
lies the problem. There's no reason NOT to make the change, but there is the
nagging thought of "Have I really given the layout a chance to prove (or
disprove) itself?" And not just for my own fulfillment mind you, but also to my crews
(both regulars and guests), as well. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
As I mentioned, I have not had a problem
attracting return operators (yet), and the biggest win was the honor of hosting a
ProRail session in 2013 for many esteemed out-of-town model railroaders who
traveled MANY miles and were to be guaranteed a good time, OR ELSE! I wasn't
told that I failed to "entertain", so I guess that's a good thing,
yes? Especially considering that some of my guests were those who themselves own
terminal-themed layouts (and well known ones at that, but I won't drop names,
thank you very much), that I personally hold in high esteem, and they gave all
appearances that they enjoyed their time operating the layout. In other words,
I had my layout on the line, and all signs point that it "passed the
audition". </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
So I guess that is the long way of saying
I'm not sure I want to call it quits on the waterfront just yet. Let's give it
one more go.....MAYBE!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Oh, and please take a moment to visit
Rhett's blog "R.C. and a MoonPie Railroad" at -
http://rcandamoonpie.blogspot.com/, and see what he's been up to....I know I'll
be spending some time visiting!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Next up, a
friend of mine Joe Zyla responded, and had this thought to share with me - </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<strong>"I have to agree, simpler is better, especially when there are
other forces pulling your time and resources. The satisfaction of building a
layout towards completion is gratifying. The draw of complex operations and
busier railroads? You have that through the operating sessions you participate
in with the other layouts you visit."</strong> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
And once again, Joe is spot on. I am very
lucky to live in a region of the US (and New Jersey specifically) where there
are approximately eight layouts that I can operate on regularly if I so choose,
all prototype-themed, and run the gamut from sleepy single track steam
operations to large, heavy main line TT/TO ops (both steam and diesel), to
terminal operations. So why have a layout at all, LOL!?!? For many years I didn't,
and it begs the question, 'what will I be achieving that will be different from
what everybody else is doing?"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Well, for starters, the theme for the LV's
West End Branch is semi-urban in theme - Not a large yard operation with a high
car turnover rate like the NY Harbor Terminal currently in
"operation", but still busy, and still with lots of switching. So other
than a lot of track all over the place (and some actual scenery, and by that I
mean grass and trees), it's not so far removed from a short line or branch
operation-themed layout like my friend Ted DiIorio's Ma&Pa layout -
http://maparr1943.blogspot.com/. Is it a bad thing that it would be a lot in
concept like Ted's layout? Absolutely not, and I don't mean to make it sound
like I have to change the layout be so radically different and unique so as to
stand out from the herd. In fact, the only other layout in the immediate area
(that I know of at least) that is a terminal switching operation with a NY
Harbor theme is my pal Dave Ramos' NY Harbor RR - http://www.nyhrr.com/ - so
it's not like I am floating in a sea of these kinds of layouts. But neither do
I want to "trade up" for no good reason other than to do it, and then
regret doing so. And with that, see my reply to Rhett's comment....</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
With all this talk, I really need to post
my PowerPoint presentation I gave a year ago this month about the pros and cons
of modeling one piece of the LV for the other, so you guys can see all the
supporting data I keep referring to. Next blog post, I promise!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
And finally,
we have David Keith sharing his take on the situation with me - </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<strong> "When I'm not working on a
significant project, my mind wonders. The wondering keeps me from working on a
real project. It seems like you've let your fire go out. There is only one way
to get the fire going again, stoke it! That is to work at it repeatedly. So if
you want to be "Lehigh Valley Harbor Terminal Railway", then start repeatedly
doing something towards it. If you’re "DONE", then pick what's next
and start stoking. The in-between place is not good...I can tell you. The
people I know with great layouts repeatedly work at keeping the fire."</strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
So, am I getting boring by saying I agree
with David, too, at least to a certain point, that is? More specifically, I get what
you are saying, David. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
I only have to look at two of my friends in
particular, even though they are separated by WHY they are driven to work on their
layouts. Again, without naming names, the outcome is the same - they stay
"involved" for lack of a better term, with their layouts and it
shows. It doesn't matter WHAT drives them, it's that they stay driven. The important part of that is two fold - First, your operators (and guests, especially if they visit semi-regularly) want to see what you've been up to! It's just human nature, and the thing that draws most of us to the hobby in the first place. That, and your operators will (or at least SHOULD) care that you've been "workin' on the railroad"! If things need fixing, you SHOULD be fixing them! And that leads to the other part, OPERATION. You can't operate reliably if the layout needs fixing, and that is the #1 fastest way to anger your crew, and then you WILL have the problem of attracting crews. In my book, you shouldn't just work on the layout because you want to be noticed - there should ALWAYS be a goal, no matter how big or small. I have
always believed that if you WANT to make the time for something, you WILL make
the time (within reason, of course). My problem is that I have always been a
procrastinator (it'll still be there later!), and sometimes, what happens is
it's ISN'T still there when you decide that enough is enough. I can't change my
stripes, but you ARE right David, if I really want to stoke the fire, I damn well should do it! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
My problem is that I enjoy planning (and
collecting) data on things, sometimes on multiple things (currently doing so
for both layout projects), and while that can cause "paralysis by
analysis", I don't think that applies here. In fact, it's the opposite, or
at least I think so. I am gathering some much data for a REALLY GOOD version (or so I think so!) for
the West End Branch (data that I have never been able to collect for the layout
I currently have), so much so that it makes me constantly think about wanting to do the
"big switch" more often than not. Is that bordom speaking, regret, or a shift in modeling priorities? And then we go back to my response to Joe.......Oh, the
humanity!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
And as with Rhett, David shared his blog
with us at - http://sn2modeler.com/ -
I'm looking forward to seeing some more S Scale modeling!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
So, I guess that's about it for now, and
hopefully not only have I addressed everyone's comments, but also generated
some good counter discussion in the process. Time will tell if I'll receive
some more responses, and I'll follow up much like I did with these in a future
blog post. In the meantime, there have been some similar responses on my new
Facebook group page at - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/LVRR1951/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/LVRR1951/</a> - Which I need
to attend to as well, so if you're a Facebook'er, please join in the
discussion!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Green
signals ahead,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Ralph<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-69453794204602033792015-03-06T11:10:00.002-08:002015-03-06T11:54:09.527-08:00Model Railroading Is Fun?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/data/Rossford%20Yard/2011926183352_Big%20Bang%20Theory%20and%20Bachman%20Trains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/data/Rossford%20Yard/2011926183352_Big%20Bang%20Theory%20and%20Bachman%20Trains.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Well, that's what they keep telling me, at least. It's been almost two years since I have had an op session, and sometimes, I wonder if the layout will ever run again in its current incarnation. No, this is not a pitty party, but rather an honest assessment of my personal interest in the piece of the LVRR that I have chosen to model, my financial situation (both current and expected), and my modeling priorities. Now before we go ANY further, I feel obligated to put forth a word of warning..... Due to not having blogged in a while, this is gonna be a long one, but I think it'll be worth sticking around to read, IMNSHO........<br />
<br />
So let's get started......Now I want it be so noted that I have PLENTY of friends willing to pitch in and help work (and operate) the layout, so it's not like I am left all alone to tackle the whole thing on my own, and besides, they CONSTANTLY ask when the next work session is, and/or what I'm planning on getting done so that they CAN come over and operate. So, lack of interest by my "crew" is NOT the issue, but rather where my priorities at home (or more importantly, in the basement) are. I've been to plenty of op sessions, I've been to RPM meets, and I've also been playing out a LOT with my band, which honestly, takes up a good deal of my time, effort, and finances. There's that damn "F" word again......<br />
<br />
I love model railroading, and always will - And it's not like I don't go down to the basement and turn it on every once in a while to roll some cars around and also plan operational "stuff" in my spare time (ie: at work) and check out eBay for the latest LVRR items (models, but mostly prototype stuff for future reference). I am also firmly commited to modeling the LVRR, and to modeling it in HO scale in the timeframe of 1950 to 1960 (but as close to 1951 as possible), and a layout designed/themed to be industrial/semi industrial in nature, with lots of switching (no mainline running). The change in any of those "given and druthers" would be a cost I'm not willing and/or able to finance, and besides, it's what I like most about model railroading, so none of that is a reason for my "modeling malaise". Let me explain a little further if I may......<br />
<br />
What I am stuggling with is, is what Lance Mindheim has spoken about on why layouts can/might fail, on his blog at <a href="http://lancemindheim.com/">http://lancemindheim.com/</a> in a post about the "Three-Headed Monster" on his blog........Now, as Lance describes the "monster", what I am really doing battle with is only one of those three heads he describes, that being the "too complex of a design" head. Now, it's not that the layout plan doesn't work, or so my guys have told me. I DO have a very, for lack of a better term, involved ops plan AND involved track plan, due to the fact that this is a terminal switching layout with carfloats, yards, sub yards, multiple freight houses, a wye, multiple diamond crossings, etc, etc. If you aren't familiar with the "lay of the land" (and I don't blame you if you aren't), you can see a crude "line diagram" of a track plan I drew up in this image link - <span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10203935336368696&set=gm.661810710608539&type=1&theater">https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10203935336368696&set=gm.661810710608539&type=1&theater</a> (Blogspot was giving me problems posting this within the blog directly, so hopefully this link works)</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">It's enough layout (20x11 ft, give or take) to keep at least ten guys busy, and as I said above, finding them is, or at least so far, has not been an issue. The issue I keep running into is that this layout, to me at least, that it became too much to easily set up, and to enjoy by operating by myself WITHOUT a full crew to run it. Notice I did not say not too much to maintain, but rather to set up for an op session. I consider myself a rather seasoned model railroader, so I've encountered many solutions to setting up operations, and I also like to read A LOT, so I have all those good operations magazines and books (Model Railroader's MRP annual, OpSIG The Dispatchers Office, LDSIG LDJ, etc) to draw upon for ideas. With that being said however, part of me hankers for something a little simpler (though no less realistic and involved operationally), much like what Trevor Marshall talks about over on his Port Rowan blog at - <a href="http://themodelrailwayshow.com/cn1950s">http://themodelrailwayshow.com/cn1950s</a>. Trevor's simple, smart and very realistic layout has given me a lot to think about, and if I was just starting out, I'd go that route. Ah, that old hindsight being 20/20 conundrum......</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Now, my friend Dave Ramos (<a href="http://www.nyhrr.com/">http://www.nyhrr.com/</a>) who has a very similar layout (both in size and theme) has encountered similar ops setup problems, in that the nature of our layouts (industrial switching fed by active staging) sucks up a LOT of cars, and the paperwork that goes along with them. Now, while Dave has been successfully operating for at least five years now, he still has these issues, regardless of how finely tuned his ops plan is, and continues to be tweaked where needed, simply because of the intensity of the operation. It's not a huge layout (it fills the perimeter and center of a <span style="color: black;">roughly 20x22 basement, taking in consideration for bathroom and utility room walls</span>), and the goal, much like mine, is to simulate a busy operation, which it does very well. I feel that Dave's ops plan that he has researched and put into<span style="color: red;"> <span style="color: black;">place works great, and I aim to emulate what he's learned works (and what doesn't!), so when I DO get back up and running, I'll have a solid base to work from. Now, Dave's (and mine) layout</span></span> designs are not for everyone mind you (you don't watch trains run thru "pretty scenery" and all you pretty much do is switch cars. A LOT!), though most people who have guest operated Dave's layout walk away having had a LOT of fun (and even want to come back for seconds, too!), and he also has no problem attracting a regular crew of about fifteen guys jsut about every month. So that being said, I have his help AND experience to draw upon, but..........</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">The other issue I have, and this is one that is mine and mine alone, is how to explain to my crews (both regular, but more importantly, the guests), on how I want the layout to be operated. Initially, my instructions were TOO much and TOO wordy, so I "de-information overloaded" all those instructions, and while it helped, it still isn't quite the way I envisioned it to be, because in my mind, if I didn't provide all those detailed instructions, the guys wouldn't, and thus didn't know what was required of them to operate the layout the way I envisioned it being operated. Now, I understand that the way the prototype did things is NOT always easily scaled down, and that the "model railroad way" is sometimes the better, or at least easier, solution to acomplishing a job. And I also realize that my guys are smart enough (OK, MOST of them are, LOL) to figure out what needs doing. As long as car #1 goes from Point A to Point B before it goes to Point C, we're on the right track, so to speak.</span><br />
So now that I've talked about the "why's", what is my solution? Well, that's where things get interesting....<br />
<br />
Long story short, I encountered a internet forum thread on an other part of the LVRR, full of pictures and experiences (from both local railfans and former railroaders perspectives) that provided me a full-on database of reference material to draw from for modeling the LVRR's West End Branch in Allentown, Pennsylvania. On top of that, a well writeen and researched capule history written by David Latshaw in the Lehigh County Historical Society's yearly proceedings, I now had everything I needed to know about this part of the LVRR. It's "design" has EVERYTHING I want in a layout - industrial switching, a simple track plan, urban and (at least in 1951) rural settings, and best of all, I could run it by myself without a crew, or operate it with up to at least five other people. I could reuse almost everything I have now - layout table footprint, engines and rollingstock, track, and in the end, less of all of those things that I need now! I mean, in just my main float yard alone, which measures approximately 12 feet long by 2 feet wide, there are approximately over <span style="color: black;">56</span> turnouts, and that's not even taking into consideration the rest of the layout! A finished (albeit still selectively compressed) West End Branch layout would contain roughly only the same amound of turnouts for the entire layout, and that to me is a VERY attractive proposition, considering I can reuse many of them, while at the same time eliminating three way and double slip turnouts currently being used in places. I can also get some nice scenery in (I have to admit, it is something I miss about modeling downtown Jersey City), and still have every kind of train operation that I have now (sans carfloating, obviously), so what am I really losing in the end? And I even did a full "compare and contrast" analysis of it for the last Valley Forge Pennsylvania RPM meet, which I will work on getting posted here ASAP, following this blog entry, for your viewing pleasure.<span style="color: red;"> </span>So in the end, to redo, or NOT to redo, THAT is the question......<br />
<br />
What has always kept me from making the change was time, money, and as I have told my friends who have helped me build the layout thus far, is that I feel I would be dismissing all their hard work that they selflessly put in to get me here. Now, they tell me to do what will make me happy, and that they don't, or won't, feel "slighted" in the least, so I guess I have to decide that on my own. Oh, that and that I myself sometimes feel that I haven't given the layout it's "due", so to speak. Am I wrong? I dunno, but I think it does speak volumes that I can't make up my mind what I want to do! The "fear" of starting over is not an issue, though I AM concerned that my lack of "work ethic" will put operating behind that much more......So, why NOT stick with what I have and just refine it? Oh, the possibilities.....<br />
<br />
So that's where I stand with things. I know I can read magazine articles on layout designs and personal blogs for ideas until the cows come home, but in the end, it's my decision alone to make, and all the suggestions in the world don't mean diddly. So why can't I make one? <br />
<br />
I hope to hear everyone's thoughts, weather you're just kidding around (you know who you are!) or 100% serious.<br />
<br />
As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you're still awake,<br />
<br />
Ralph, aka "The Commodore"<br />
<br />
**UPDATE - Since I began writing this almost a week ago, I recently found that the hot water heater in the basement is on it's way out, NOT to mention, the water meter needs replacing (as per the water company), so room must be made (and that means stuff piled ON and AROUND the layout) to allow things to be manhandled around the basement, so even if I wanted to, nothing will be happeneing until that "project" is completed, most likely at the end of March. I have however talked to Dave about working on setting up the layouts car forwarding database, so at least that work will get done (assuming I stick with the current "theme"), and at least we'll be ahead of things in that regard.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-48138466206347403422014-05-31T08:13:00.001-07:002014-05-31T08:13:44.202-07:00Embargoed for 1 Year, 31 days............. I know, I know, you probably left me for dead by now, or the layout ripped up, or some other calamity. Fortunately (unfortunately?) nothing of the sort has happened. Honestly, it was another round of general "model railroad malaise", coupled with my band taking off and gigging non-stop like crazy! And yes, while time can ALWAYS be made, I let the music take over and trains got pushed aside.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's not to say that I haven't forgotten COMPLETELY about trains, I've bought some new equipment......</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lmQ8z9jHTRtzhkTuUN1j4z67VtKBp8_seVjUHdYCWUjRz2o4kwLpy13yuCem7IK-0JoL93mILhOy904RiNm_4CeGERly5ydRklkfFrRM9zUuL5ZchLIAMOCulMknn35pxwgQ9K3r9V1r/s1600/P5300001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lmQ8z9jHTRtzhkTuUN1j4z67VtKBp8_seVjUHdYCWUjRz2o4kwLpy13yuCem7IK-0JoL93mILhOy904RiNm_4CeGERly5ydRklkfFrRM9zUuL5ZchLIAMOCulMknn35pxwgQ9K3r9V1r/s1600/P5300001.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Gotta love those Bowser PRR covered hoppers!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFxIOwd3xOdgV_wW-7EoZ4IVQP9A0rgTAnWb8Tp_0ZJr9Pu0cDzrLBQ0u4XKyuznXU9nTlD-yvEA3cwO_O2vUzvLCX_fdP83lJkKw9B4Io6NXgDa9RoZjGG56xmX7gBSf6rIhKCNP4zaC/s1600/P5300002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFxIOwd3xOdgV_wW-7EoZ4IVQP9A0rgTAnWb8Tp_0ZJr9Pu0cDzrLBQ0u4XKyuznXU9nTlD-yvEA3cwO_O2vUzvLCX_fdP83lJkKw9B4Io6NXgDa9RoZjGG56xmX7gBSf6rIhKCNP4zaC/s1600/P5300002.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My continuing effort to purchase cars lettered for New Jersey-based industries</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0ye9ZP4qg26r3XuWOdCr3h73j382S51RPAK8CjkQlWqapInI-Ibu_GoL6g8OX6kGjHQ-bj9o3SP11Te039889Hwp9k9dRsEO4qeBF5KOAJM2DfDcIbgScpkdM4aYvBZZO1YhFsDvW3_T/s1600/P5300003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0ye9ZP4qg26r3XuWOdCr3h73j382S51RPAK8CjkQlWqapInI-Ibu_GoL6g8OX6kGjHQ-bj9o3SP11Te039889Hwp9k9dRsEO4qeBF5KOAJM2DfDcIbgScpkdM4aYvBZZO1YhFsDvW3_T/s1600/P5300003.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A lucky train show find (the reefer, not the flat!)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhEocd1ndkGyQjf2VblDMR020dcSRGYB9g_TTPHJZtviyQq3BpjSwBmBuclBa_EHQP15cCZ4aVsUGEdg7uruDerOhsmn3btgpcQEoi-JTwSZ-JkuGFL4v1eRpPAyidUJwf_IZ2aII9jQL/s1600/P5300004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhEocd1ndkGyQjf2VblDMR020dcSRGYB9g_TTPHJZtviyQq3BpjSwBmBuclBa_EHQP15cCZ4aVsUGEdg7uruDerOhsmn3btgpcQEoi-JTwSZ-JkuGFL4v1eRpPAyidUJwf_IZ2aII9jQL/s1600/P5300004.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And a "good buy" off eBay of a new Bowser LokSound-equipped Baldwin. I took off the CP shell and slapped it down on my custom painted Athearn S-12 shell (incorrect model, but I like the paint job), and the LokSound chip beats the s**t out of my Tsunami VO-1000, also from Bowser, so I'm keeping it!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">I've also attended many an op session..............</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVJedQWDGnohmbkHuGQz9hN7C8L88Cs9ItG5o0bPN4rMAZhW4ya5E_FOO3urYnEeuREJbm_Z_WcgcvWOeput5jQbM0A592zfAzB260Eh93RM6E_JFjo-lKgTr7l1iiuEP-l1eg8o-9r0l/s1600/P1120055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVJedQWDGnohmbkHuGQz9hN7C8L88Cs9ItG5o0bPN4rMAZhW4ya5E_FOO3urYnEeuREJbm_Z_WcgcvWOeput5jQbM0A592zfAzB260Eh93RM6E_JFjo-lKgTr7l1iiuEP-l1eg8o-9r0l/s1600/P1120055.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Perry Squier's PS&N</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPivEN-AE8SkRNeGxN8sLc2mfxXZm_f1BnuYged8B0TN8OVOvTXqCi5eRPowwo7nAjKSVsaysChNaT7nVnV8X1bLACyY6dt9G3dap-PYHdgfva0Zg_hNVQGGsBhKKIIV0eLM68-Dns-tT-/s1600/P4250007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPivEN-AE8SkRNeGxN8sLc2mfxXZm_f1BnuYged8B0TN8OVOvTXqCi5eRPowwo7nAjKSVsaysChNaT7nVnV8X1bLACyY6dt9G3dap-PYHdgfva0Zg_hNVQGGsBhKKIIV0eLM68-Dns-tT-/s1600/P4250007.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Jerry Dziedzic's NYS&W</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4d-BgchAvoI0HwNXp-nl8L_VDnrgudmkCQ-gViP64WpKRFv9T3fwQkP-NcejW_gjmIb8RxhY2uiUxWLgulQiYUBysNCN_wE1dD71iEWr0dM-UcQ8Wv_ClxnlezLyVdE0Gya1sfOZ-X9Ok/s1600/P1180061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4d-BgchAvoI0HwNXp-nl8L_VDnrgudmkCQ-gViP64WpKRFv9T3fwQkP-NcejW_gjmIb8RxhY2uiUxWLgulQiYUBysNCN_wE1dD71iEWr0dM-UcQ8Wv_ClxnlezLyVdE0Gya1sfOZ-X9Ok/s1600/P1180061.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dave Ramos' NYHRR</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0lO6AL8iSl4EkCVuxfRnF6hqYAVJt-Wul5UkxHMlOPyaEXJ_cw-i5CDIWu1mOe4xYBdxDIMsh5cW8M9eMOLvTUv4xGqWzKx7f4gNZWNuGlrkGDPX_Ea5jpX52UoWqfAvcD8V66SyRiLg/s1600/P3270006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0lO6AL8iSl4EkCVuxfRnF6hqYAVJt-Wul5UkxHMlOPyaEXJ_cw-i5CDIWu1mOe4xYBdxDIMsh5cW8M9eMOLvTUv4xGqWzKx7f4gNZWNuGlrkGDPX_Ea5jpX52UoWqfAvcD8V66SyRiLg/s1600/P3270006.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">...and Steve Salotti's NYS&W (with four familiar "characters" from this very blog along with me)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Also, the "every other year" Valley Forge, PA RPM meet was attended, where I spoke about the possibility of a new layout (more on that in a minute), and the return of my pal "Scary" Ted DiIorio's presentation on his Ma & Pa layout (</span>http://maparr1943.blogspot.com/), where we promised we wouldn't heckle him (much).....</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJfikHUESAAgsdxJbnuHqDowMzm7ArrCtMZtFBwtShykejONASO30QyEH8pfxznNOVLVGQ45-gbzZ9bgqKX7dYa9Yy77M9nquMMjV4NCZt31ioJS_c15UoGVtu9RzAEH7iilz9xZ_jbbK/s1600/P3280018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJfikHUESAAgsdxJbnuHqDowMzm7ArrCtMZtFBwtShykejONASO30QyEH8pfxznNOVLVGQ45-gbzZ9bgqKX7dYa9Yy77M9nquMMjV4NCZt31ioJS_c15UoGVtu9RzAEH7iilz9xZ_jbbK/s1600/P3280018.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So, about that "new layout" thingy.......Not long after the last op session in June 2013, I began thinking, "is this too much layout for me?" This is my first real layout, and maybe I did bite off a lot, but I did so out of love for the prototype, and the desire to do it justice. It wasn't necessarily because I had to "have it all", but I had the "problem", as most prototype modelers do, of knowing the real thing TOO well. I did a lot of research before I built, so I went in knowing what needed to be built (of course compromises were made). The layout, for those of you familir with it, isn't horribly big, but rather the operations scheme is complex. And that, quite frankly, is the "too much" part of it. So since procrastination is my friend (and I don't have the money or desire to start from scratch), I thought about what else I could do, while keeping equipemrnt and benchwork (relatively) intact, and make the operations plan more manageable. Enter a thread on the Lehigh Valley's Allentown, PA branchlines, along with an research article on the entire history of one branch in particular, the West End Branch. Having recently been inspired by the modeling work of Tom Johnson's L&IN............</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CnQt2xr-NFzp3p54ou1d4hgqv3LwkKT6I8h6NSmjsppb-VayPXWEMC31KvNAvbjBgUQLVwsND-nismDJBXFVEyi9Nyt6DIfZB7_Y31ur0vC1TlWbG-v82xi-0b240eYGpv8NRq-uhF_e/s1600/IMG_4263-800x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CnQt2xr-NFzp3p54ou1d4hgqv3LwkKT6I8h6NSmjsppb-VayPXWEMC31KvNAvbjBgUQLVwsND-nismDJBXFVEyi9Nyt6DIfZB7_Y31ur0vC1TlWbG-v82xi-0b240eYGpv8NRq-uhF_e/s1600/IMG_4263-800x480.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Visit http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/8934 for more info and pics</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I really wished for some "pretty" scenery, while keeping an industrial switching nature, and obviously, the LV as a prototype. Modeling this branch would give me that. As you can see in the following two images, the branch had a lot of industry, and that I can keep the existing benchwork, while also minimalizing it at the same time - </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxZcN3CxP_J3cilWLQ7sADUG8-z5raGDf-9TgV0XwC2Rg0IolJQNHicA2c9no1BzGxr_cCxwBUc_kA5w9QbWw1Qt1bp9irz3Vk5AfE-kegKjI_T90NR-pj_2rIBpl0KQf-GsNNO4fY_Eh/s1600/LVWEB1942_1198x2166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxZcN3CxP_J3cilWLQ7sADUG8-z5raGDf-9TgV0XwC2Rg0IolJQNHicA2c9no1BzGxr_cCxwBUc_kA5w9QbWw1Qt1bp9irz3Vk5AfE-kegKjI_T90NR-pj_2rIBpl0KQf-GsNNO4fY_Eh/s1600/LVWEB1942_1198x2166.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIv1-ssj1_XTLOS6YPA9fcslLPXCqQYKIQOGm3fhGTS1DsJlyR4taNE-NenfldktM8TD75vfrETfAfyWDdg4WDScRllGfgJ9G2goqrleygwAxlG3zf-24DP9oWIe0GHJOeDnrXpSrVQQL/s1600/1706_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIv1-ssj1_XTLOS6YPA9fcslLPXCqQYKIQOGm3fhGTS1DsJlyR4taNE-NenfldktM8TD75vfrETfAfyWDdg4WDScRllGfgJ9G2goqrleygwAxlG3zf-24DP9oWIe0GHJOeDnrXpSrVQQL/s1600/1706_002.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I did a presentation on the pros and cons of this at the aforementioned RPM meet, and the consensus at the end was keep it. But, that was at the end of March, and it's one day till June now. That's a lot of "model railroad" time to think and rethink. Bottom line is, I keep "hemming and hawing" on what to do. I need to decide, and soon, it's getting ridiculous, quite frankly! Since I could keeping going into detail about the pros and cons, I'm going to work on posting a PDF of the presentation, where all questions will be answered, but I'm gonna save that for another post (plus, it give me incentive to post regularly again!) So, until then, I'm back, y'all!...............................</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-82240565901998845672013-05-01T13:43:00.001-07:002013-05-01T13:58:04.730-07:00Rumors of the abandonment have been greatly exaggerated<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZP3kFu1X4h6EfQy51a1UU-ZNTY7w_WZd2RH-AzB1zdGWITHIqjRoiAk49sx5NrBYZ2KldvM5rY3ojQkeRUZrZBrO77U5jNAM8PXo3s9dPbyT59ZOoSsedzB4mebLlczbOx-1KnJCKXtV/s1600/lv+switcher.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" lua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZP3kFu1X4h6EfQy51a1UU-ZNTY7w_WZd2RH-AzB1zdGWITHIqjRoiAk49sx5NrBYZ2KldvM5rY3ojQkeRUZrZBrO77U5jNAM8PXo3s9dPbyT59ZOoSsedzB4mebLlczbOx-1KnJCKXtV/s320/lv+switcher.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yes, I'm still here, and I can see by doing random "traffic check-ins" that you're all still looking, and I thank you for not placing an ICC embargo upon my blog!</div>
<br />
I finally had time to stop and write a quick "hello!", just to make sure that you know everything is alive and well and still running......Its running quite well, in fact! I'll hopefully get time to do a propper update on recent events soon, maybe this weekend in between gigs with my band (insert shameless plug here) Silent Q - <a href="http://www.silentqnj.com/">www.silentqnj.com</a>. <br />
<br />
In the mean time, please enjoy the photo I posted above in order to get your attention. This is the type of scene I'd like to eventually invoke on the Colgate end of my Edgewater Branch later this year when I get into the "beautification" of the layout as I like to call it. I wish I could take the credit and say I already did something as nice as this, but this is the work of Don Smith who has a great little business called Industrial Models, where he sells exquisitely weathered 1:48 RTR cars. His website is at <a href="http://www.industrialmodels.net/">http://www.industrialmodels.net/</a>, and I suggest you visit, if only to see his work and get some weathering ideas of your own. Awful nice of Don to take a nice LV-themed pic, huh?<br />
<br />
So until then, I bid you adieu, and hope to speak to you all again sooner than later!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ralph</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866933858243716523.post-15037828323263319822013-03-17T18:34:00.002-07:002013-03-17T19:44:41.187-07:00Yet another s3 (Sucessful Shakedown Session)<div style="text-align: center;">
Since I've been actually pre-occupied with working on the layout to post, I thought I'd take a moment before mt favorite show (The Walking Dead) starts, and share some shots taken from this weekend's shakedown session. Only two more to go before I host a very special op session at the end of April! There are still things that needs fixing/doing (isn't there always?), but that is the point of doing these sessions. This summer we will (or at least should) begin regular op sessions. Instead of rambling on, I will let the pictures do the talking........</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zO_W0FLPaJWxM3b3IrjNg3X6nYQkl9Fb2hlMtm-NLuxCOpbyqqM-D-pt0z4ZJaEVU0ZhUq229QWEPEYPJjOc3mW_q9FV956uH06GIiiGqk_gS60wbuj3I_eRvRQERy7oB-zVQvG6m7Fm/s1600/CIMG0128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zO_W0FLPaJWxM3b3IrjNg3X6nYQkl9Fb2hlMtm-NLuxCOpbyqqM-D-pt0z4ZJaEVU0ZhUq229QWEPEYPJjOc3mW_q9FV956uH06GIiiGqk_gS60wbuj3I_eRvRQERy7oB-zVQvG6m7Fm/s320/CIMG0128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSkat1OS1P42IiBl-tPTMb-henTDV_N9uainL_5cDhKXkkBp97VlscbhHGoEDEwJ2HoBy_70CbiGl-xRG4fdAwH5fzpwxbv-xdLzh98jzQYmuw-ID3WWGpi8TnDYq0cnIjCJKD7NEjPhy/s1600/CIMG0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSkat1OS1P42IiBl-tPTMb-henTDV_N9uainL_5cDhKXkkBp97VlscbhHGoEDEwJ2HoBy_70CbiGl-xRG4fdAwH5fzpwxbv-xdLzh98jzQYmuw-ID3WWGpi8TnDYq0cnIjCJKD7NEjPhy/s320/CIMG0132.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12I2p20OAZE6nBZ1kyXuLIAJzlx08PR9UQSQJ_lYXdYgDxddA45iJ1GJcelkHOqmQwAgnEs5olQdY35SgqANfnO_dzCRA35J642ebQVF1ExCpmnw4_tBXpLzjeyCVelKIt-yrucskV1RO/s1600/CIMG0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12I2p20OAZE6nBZ1kyXuLIAJzlx08PR9UQSQJ_lYXdYgDxddA45iJ1GJcelkHOqmQwAgnEs5olQdY35SgqANfnO_dzCRA35J642ebQVF1ExCpmnw4_tBXpLzjeyCVelKIt-yrucskV1RO/s320/CIMG0136.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrJK3p8BPvIJVcmT2GTzrmh1C27_EtjACFQqAKsZeYgQyfy35kYNM0OHRMJ1mzfVYlhJ9wdpmT3ammnKt41qzleXSRNjKP8OIaqZbDyqa2tNz9etA4V75CQJvcA4N4A037ilgwSF8bkSW/s1600/CIMG0140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrJK3p8BPvIJVcmT2GTzrmh1C27_EtjACFQqAKsZeYgQyfy35kYNM0OHRMJ1mzfVYlhJ9wdpmT3ammnKt41qzleXSRNjKP8OIaqZbDyqa2tNz9etA4V75CQJvcA4N4A037ilgwSF8bkSW/s320/CIMG0140.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsmwsabI9PeBoj6pLasllyGgdZkFA8uMjGjUbFLQrC7ba6L7suilVlXWhjWZxl987E3D_KlU7NaxyYlmg7IcfP5xMCY-ygXHsLokA4Fwjuh-Cqw4RL0l2VG854TyuPs2rQSD1eKvjrG8z/s1600/CIMG0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsmwsabI9PeBoj6pLasllyGgdZkFA8uMjGjUbFLQrC7ba6L7suilVlXWhjWZxl987E3D_KlU7NaxyYlmg7IcfP5xMCY-ygXHsLokA4Fwjuh-Cqw4RL0l2VG854TyuPs2rQSD1eKvjrG8z/s320/CIMG0141.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNBsNWrxkESit6QdquijWWFe44Vq-VN5L37hW94Zr8fDHOjqkal35k33Vq8oogLhISwEFMQrCkznAXU0PvGMsD_3rrTziZoIx5pI9rz4DLyohvc4Ci_QiO3M6TaJQwiKy_LQDsMUjWl9x/s1600/CIMG0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNBsNWrxkESit6QdquijWWFe44Vq-VN5L37hW94Zr8fDHOjqkal35k33Vq8oogLhISwEFMQrCkznAXU0PvGMsD_3rrTziZoIx5pI9rz4DLyohvc4Ci_QiO3M6TaJQwiKy_LQDsMUjWl9x/s320/CIMG0143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqxUxORjQSxk1a33MTbHLl84OEtzZ5slowNRfR-zNxFa9mFf-4JmpW-X1XqFPWUfYwFMbGZyZaTLhZfMWPVjHb-WVlNEdQMTVoDuPOodzWwfBtsr3wOXVjl1M02oxOl3snJM6yfrTUt5q/s1600/CIMG0146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqxUxORjQSxk1a33MTbHLl84OEtzZ5slowNRfR-zNxFa9mFf-4JmpW-X1XqFPWUfYwFMbGZyZaTLhZfMWPVjHb-WVlNEdQMTVoDuPOodzWwfBtsr3wOXVjl1M02oxOl3snJM6yfrTUt5q/s320/CIMG0146.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocHogVeVQ6cEQ6C0sSfQDuNdNlpZ0MIEFrMxqJwL0GZqdkqc5j9WO1POTlHfmq3sBo-wiSWNf4PM9ub9WiKu2sNespGL_TzB32QOWbTCIgbBfAC1xmGh2VdA7Kk1X36xeJC5kOHMVp6v-/s1600/CIMG0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocHogVeVQ6cEQ6C0sSfQDuNdNlpZ0MIEFrMxqJwL0GZqdkqc5j9WO1POTlHfmq3sBo-wiSWNf4PM9ub9WiKu2sNespGL_TzB32QOWbTCIgbBfAC1xmGh2VdA7Kk1X36xeJC5kOHMVp6v-/s320/CIMG0150.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxJskFHlVDkZs9GeM2NvsBBjePRe2vSQcacFJNEoOKLwJ1YXLC3vADVa1Eic_UgMRkiWp1qpmRCvU5dqhjeiqeGM_eo0EuUYhYzPHlDy7FRqAPWGRnFeoiz41wXuWhhkVhxZdNGbQByl7/s1600/CIMG0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxJskFHlVDkZs9GeM2NvsBBjePRe2vSQcacFJNEoOKLwJ1YXLC3vADVa1Eic_UgMRkiWp1qpmRCvU5dqhjeiqeGM_eo0EuUYhYzPHlDy7FRqAPWGRnFeoiz41wXuWhhkVhxZdNGbQByl7/s320/CIMG0155.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGG9zJExQL58FxFhjQk-nNBPRNTsJtah76CsK58PCRssaXH9SrRprMBcJXnmlkSYJFYatZvWUjdM4LzgpdB7UfjroPFWcGyjwDW3DCRiG4ocMrty4EI7GXweySRq-sVsUYwXAlNBXojBDX/s1600/securedownload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGG9zJExQL58FxFhjQk-nNBPRNTsJtah76CsK58PCRssaXH9SrRprMBcJXnmlkSYJFYatZvWUjdM4LzgpdB7UfjroPFWcGyjwDW3DCRiG4ocMrty4EI7GXweySRq-sVsUYwXAlNBXojBDX/s320/securedownload.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Oops! No 1:87 scale lives were lost, and no 1:1 scale operators were furloughed for rules violations...Though Rule G was ignored, and in fact, encouraged to be! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(it WAS St, Patty's Eve, after all!). </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks to all my friends who came out to spend a Saturday in my basement!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And as always, questions and coments are encouraged!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks for visiting,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ralph</div>
Ralph Heisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02555586703590480001noreply@blogger.com3