10,000 Spikes

Gosh, sometimes realizing a simple thing hits you like a sledgehammer. I recently ran out of spikes while laying the track from Potomac Creek to Brooke. In the past I could saunter over to the local hobby shop and pick up a pack or two. Since there are no longer any hobby shops in the Northern Virgina area, picking up mundane supplies like spikes and bottles of glue have become an exercise in logistics planning. So I decided to order a batch of spikes to see me through the end of the project. I calculated that I need about 24-28 spikes per foot of track. With about 300 linear feet of total track to go and allowing for a 25 percent waste factor, I needed 10,000 more spikes to finish the project! Wow, that was a revelation. I just hope my elbow can hold up driving all those spikes.

Speaking of spikes, finding model railroad spikes with near scale size heads has become a lot tougher, not just locally, but nationwide. I have heard the tool that the vendor Micro Engineering uses to make the spikes wore out or that the vendor went out of business. The replacement vendor is using a different die that does not cut the head as small as the previous spikes. The low profile spikes that Micro Engineering currently offers have a blunt end that punches and crushes the wood of the tie and does not allow for a secure hold without pre-dilling.

After consulting with other hand laid track modelers, I ordered a batch of 10,000 small spikes from Micro Mark. I hope these are closer to scale size than the spikes I have been using.

First Run over Potomac Creek Bridge

The bridge at Potomac Creek is finally done. I got it installed and tested over the snowy weekend. The scenery is not complete, but the bridge construction is. Here is a short video showing the first runs across it.

Although I made good progress on the bridge, I did encounter a problem with the roadbed just to the east of the bridge. The roadbed warped laterally and was causing derailments. I could not get it level, so I had to rip out a section and must do it over. You can see the construction in the last clip in the video in the distance. Oh well, two steps forward, one step back.

Snowballs and lonely pickets

The record snow that Northern Virginia is experiencing right now gave me pause to think about the winter of 1863. According to the company clerk of the 13th Mississippi Regiment, there were 14 days of significant snow fall in the first three months of 1863 while in winter quarters with Lee's army. Northern soldiers were used to snow, but to the many of the southerners it was an exciting experience. Their exuberance lead to perhaps the biggest snowball fight ever when on January 31, 1863, Gen William Woffrod marched his Georgia brigade two miles with haversacks full of snowballs to "attack" Kershaw's South Carolina brigade. Of course it got out of hand with 4,000 soldiers engaged at ranges less than 100 feet. Boys will be boys.

After the Burnside mud march, both armies set up winter quarters. They built elaborate camps, including huts with fireplaces, wooden beds and numerous other "fine articles to tedious to mention" according to confederate Private Torrance. Military activity was primarily confined to picket duty.

Alfred Waud captured the cold, lonely detail in his sketch of a solitary sentry seeking shelter under a tree. Units rotated picket duty. Normally a whole company would leave camp to spend a few days spread across the front lines at frosty picket posts. Many times soldiers from opposite sides fraternized, often trading tobacco for coffee or other luxuries, but for the most part it was a cold, wet and boring task.

So think about these soldiers while you are shoveling this weekend.

(PS Sorry, I couldn't resist the alliteration)

Living History at Falmouth, VA

No progress on the layout these past few days as I have been working on some other projects. But I did receive a nice note from Private S. Hainstock, of the 7th Michigan Infantry Regiment USV, Company B, a reenactor unit. He alerted me to a living history presentation that takes place near Falmouth, VA where his unit participated. The 7th Michigan Infantry reenactors helped unveil a historic marker at the Union Church where they had war-time winter quarters. Several of the 7th are also model railroaders.

The APVA Web site has the following description of Union Church.

The Falmouth Union Church was built in the 1820s on the foundation of an earlier church, which burned. As a "union church" it was used by Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians on a rotating basis. It remained a focal point in the Falmouth community until storm damage occurred in the 1950s. Most of the structure was then torn down to salvage old bricks.

The Union Church is just a façade today, although a contributing structure to the Falmouth Historic District. There are no mandatory guidelines or landowner restrictions, however, governing the historic district. The church, an unfortunate victim, suffers from a number of structural maladies. Ruins of the belfry and cornice continue to rot or remain open to the elements. It is feared that the 2,000-pound bell -– still in its belfry! –- will fall and cause considerable damage. What exists of the east wall is precarious, especially at the base. Currently, iron rods are barely holding the structure together. Deteriorated asphalt shingles are lost with every strong gust of wind.

Although in disuse, Union Church continues to serve as a focal point, giving cultural identity to the historic town of Falmouth. It is a visual statement of the Town’s past and a reminder of the much-needed role of preservation in the community. The Church deserves salvation as a fine example of Federal architecture in a religious structure and as a survivor of war, storms, and salvage assaults.

The Union Church was about mile from the railroad and probably not visible from the tracks. But it is tempting to include it on the layout some place.

"By Jove, Haupt, that is an fine piece of engineering"

"Thank you, Mr Stevenson. We'll be running trains on this bridge in a few days time."

"Those piers look a mite dodgy."

"They are just in the approximate location.We'll have them squared and plumb once the scenery glue dries. "

"Well Haupt, General Hooker is sure to be pleased.

"The Army shall not want for supplies on our account. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare a detailed report for General McCallum."

Several people asked about the scenery treatment. I used pretty standard techniques, except that I did not rely on ground foam for texture, only for tinting. This is O Scale and ground foam is not a good scenic base for larger scale work.

Rocks are combination of foam castings and hand carved Durhams water putty. When making the water putty I mix in a couple table spoons of finely sifted dirt, and a good shot of Spice Brown acrylic paint. This helps tone down the stark pale yellow color of the water putty. Once carved, they got a base coat of paint, then dry brush and dark washes - all with acrylics.

Base paint is a red textured paint from the Ralph Lauren River Rock line called Adirondack Bark color. I bring it onto the fascia too. My Home Depot will be discontinuing it in March, so I bought a gallon last night. At $40 a gallon it is not cheap.

Next is a layer of sifted dirt I collected in Utah. It is a decomposed conglomerate that had a red color. I selected it so that it would match the red Virginia clay in the modeled area. I found it in a rock cut last summer near the Lake Jordanelle reservoir. I packed a large USPS Priority Mail flat rate box with zip locked bags of it and mailed it home. I tried using various red clays for the base dirt, but they swell when wet, and shrink once dry causing cracks. Decomposed rocks doesn't do this. I used standard white glue and wet water technique. For the steep slopes I applied a layer of straight white glue so the dirt would stick as aI sprinkled it on. Strong sprays with the water bottle helps the dirt flow realistically on the rock faces to simulate erosion. I use paper towels to sop up the excess water that collects at the bottom.

The next step I struggled with as I have not done much O Scale scenery before. After studying photos of the era and studying some wooded areas near my house in winter, I decided to use a combination of WS ground foam and static grass. I was concerned that the ground foam would be out of scale. But what the ground foam does is tint the base scene creating a level of micro texture. I applied the static grass without static. In this way it takes on the appearance of matted winter grass that has been trampled by soldiers. Just what I wanted. The combination of colors matches well with the palette I used on the backdrop (one of the advantages of a hand painted backdrop).

Once the base is dry, I will go back in and dry brush just about everything to held blend it. I have been trying a new dry brush technique that actually uses very thin coats of dilute acrylics, so it is not a dry brush at all, but the strokes are similar to the normal dry brushing. This is a technique I learned from figure painters and it creates a much better blend/transition of colors. You hit the highlights with progressive very thin layers of dilute paint. The color builds up gradually and creates highlights without the rough contrast that traditional dry brushing can cause.

I added a few stumps and ground leaves in the background, but more of that work remains. I have lots of detail to add including grass clumps, leaf less bushes, log cribs, construction debris and detritus in the river to add. The creek will have mud banks and water made with easy water and gloss acrylic. I have been experimenting with pot toppers for the grass clumps trying to find the proper color. Their store bought green color is too artificial looking to use on a layout.