Brian Brendel's Mountain Sub Layout Plan

I finished up the first draft plan for Brian Brendel's new N Scale Mountain Sub Division layout, which is a later version of the Civil War era Virginia Central. The structures and details of some of the towns are still somewhat generic. We can improve them as information comes available. In the meantime, they have started work on the benchwork. I'll be heading out to Utah soon to confer with Brian to make any final tweaks to the plan.

While I'm out there I'll also start painting backdrops. As I recall, this will be the third basement where I will have painted backdrops for Brian. It's always nice to practice on other people's walls.

Tom Klimoski's Georgia Northeastern Layout

Tom Klimoski has built a gem of a layout in a relatively compact space. He has posted some excellent videos of it on his youtube channel. Here is one that shows a yard turn. The video is well made and showcases the fine layout work. It shows that even a modest size layout can offer interesting operation, a lesson I am learning from my PoLA layout.  I have not visited Tom's layout, but the video does a great job of conveying the scene and feeling of contemporary short line railroading.

Borax Extension Benchwork Nearly Done

I just about finished the benchwork to the Borax factory extension.  I widened the extension as it approaches the wall to create a little more room for the  ship. The first image shows a cardboard cut-out mock up of the ship hull.While the extra width makes the aisle in that area a bit tighter, it allows for some open water between the aisle and the ship model. That should help prevent shoulders or loose sleeves from hit the ship as people walk by.



I put the Danica Marie ship alongside the borax wharf to help visualize how the scene will look.  This position of the ship allows the visitor to get a good look at it.


I do like how the borax silos and the ship superstructure act as a view block when you stand in the central operating pit and look across the room.




Once the spackle filler is dry, I'll sand and paint the fascia and add the dark blue color for the water.

Lyceum Diorama Now on Display

The Lyceum has finished the display case for the diorama I built for them. It is now on display in their exhibit hall. You can find it on the right as you enter the front door.

Below is a video overview of the diorama and its construction.

Crossing the Rubicon

First cut is the deepest

I Crossed the Rubicon on the Borax Factory expansion. I removed the existing sidings to the old Borax factory silos. This involved pulling up the track and one ME turnout. I scraped and sanded the surface to remove old ballast and pieces of Taskboard that I used for pavement.



Then I installed a Peco Code 83 Number 7 curved turnout and one piece of Atlas code 83 flex track. I used an existing curve template that I made for my former N Scale layout to shape the 19.5 inch radius curve with some nice easements. The curve along the centerline of the track is closer to 20" as I laid the template along the inside rail.

Before gluing it all down, I test ran some cars to see how it would look and work. These sidings will only see covered hoppers, so that is what I tested. They looked good rounding  the curve.

In this expansion I really like how the silos act as a bit of a view block across the cantilevered peninsula.