neo train model

Thursday, 30 July 2015

"Beers, burgers and bros... GSD Summer Meet."

If you are a member of the Garden State Division or any neighboring division, you are probably aware of the much-anticipated meet this Saturday, August 1st. But here's a reminder for all.

The GSD is featuring something different for the summer, crossing into Pennsylvania to visit the slate industry in Bangor, including the opportunity to have a nice lunch at the restored Broadway Pub, plus New Jersey layout tours including those of Harold Werthwein, Tony Koester and Ed Suhy.

The very spry 93 year old Harold Werthwein's basement empire features the Delaware Division of the Erie RR. It was featured in Great Model Railroads 1999 and is amazing.

Tony Koester's Nickel Plate Road is well known to readers of the hobby press and is nearing scenic completion. It's as close to the real thing as possible. Now, you can see it in person.

Ed Suhy's HO scale Sante Fe layout is under construction and features a helix, large classification yard and detailed scenes like this one.

The Paulinskill Viaduct is one of the prototypical attractions in the region near the layouts.

Bangor, PA is the center of the slate belt and offers the Heritage Center Museum, nearby quarries and piles of slate slag debris along roadsides.

The Broadway Pub is in the heart of Bangor, PA in the restored Colonial Hotel. Ample public parking is available. Pick-up free, self-guided tour maps here from 11 am - noon.

The general area for all of these attractions is just off of Interstate 80 in the northwest corner of New Jersey a few miles east of the Delaware Water Gap. If you live within a couple of hours of here, take a nice scenic drive for the day. As of now, we know that groups from New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are joining many Jerseyans for the day. Check out all the details here . Hope to see you Saturday.

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BONUS: RHETORICAL QUESTION OF THE DAY...

Did you know? Harold is still expanding his 85' x 30' layout and fine-tuning existing areas including the fabrication of hand-built turnouts.?

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

"Serenity now!... and other summer highlights."

Boy, did I need a break from this blog. Totally bonked. Hit the wall and the wall hit back. Blogger Eric Hansmann warned me about this. So please allow me to ease back into this slowly as I am suffering from post-Tour de France withdrawal. Nevertheless, my July has been filled with some of life's precious little moments. And some actually have railroad tie-ins. Herewith a sampling:
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The morning of July 4th began with Stormy and Duffy denied their independence by an intruder in our yard who would not leave until all select foliage was consumed. My attempts to frighten the vandal were comical including the throwing of scraps of wood left over from my bench work. Apparently I've lost a lot off of my fastball. I pray the neighbors weren't watching. Storm and Duff were less than impressed. Their incessant barking sounded something like, "Give us liberty or give us treats."

My daughter and I visited hulu's Seinfeld exhibit in New York celebrating their purchase of all rights to the series. Larry Thomas who played the Soup Nazi, is interviewed amidst such props as David Puddy's Devil jersey and Jerry's puffy shirt. Nothing beats waiting 90 minutes in the blazing sun to get in. But isn't it every dad's dream to end up standing directly behind two scantily clad 'performers' from one of Manhattan's fine gentlemen's clubs who felt compelled to talk shop? Tough to say who was more uncomfortable... my 21 year old daughter or me. Good times.

Near the Seinfeld exhibit was the NYC High Line, an elevated park along the old New York Central right-of-way running from just below 14th street to 34th street on the west side.

The high line has become an amazing oasis worth visiting for anyone visiting Manhattan.

If you wait long enough here, you will inevitably see someone try to throw the turnout. The 2015 issue of Model Railroad Planning has an article on modeling the high line.

A college kid backed into my wife's car causing considerable damage. After weeks of inconvenience and frustration with the local police, insurance companies, rent-a-car dealer, leasing company and auto dealer, we were assured that the car was ready to be picked up, "good as new." ... OH COME ON, GUYS!... REALLY?

What's more American than waiting at the local DMV for a new digital driver's license? Nothing says, "U-S-A, U-S-A," more, than a three hour wait with several hundred of your closest friends. Hey Mr. absent-tee gov-en-ah, we were packed into a room clearly marked for a maximum occupancy of 64. Good job! Just telling it like it is, right, gov-en-ah?

But just down the street from the service-challenged New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is the former Rahway Valley station in Springfield. Although the right-of-way is long gone, the structure has been preserved and now serves as home to a chiropractor. Nice.

That's the highlight reel for now. Sorry about the lack of railroad motif, but we'll get back on track shortly, so to speak. No worries, I won't be going all Facebook. Thanks for the emails of concern, but all is well, big picture-wise. See you soon.

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BONUS: RHETORICAL QUESTION OF THE DAY...

Is there an update available on the layout?

A) "Oh, it's actually finished, but I lost the photos."
B) "There have been a few minor glitches that experts are studying."
C) "Asking for an update seems rather forward, doesn't it?"
D) "What layout?"?

Friday, 26 June 2015

"Friendly Fridays... Master Model Railroader 555."

Bill Brown, the chairman of the Achievement Program for the NER/NMRA, recently mailed a package to me that was a pleasure to receive. It was a plaque for the Master Model Railroader designation.

Knowing that this was the closest I would ever get to one of these, I allowed myself a moment to fantasize. I had not applied for the prestigious award, but perhaps in our everybody-gets-a-trophy world, mine was a watered-down version based on the NMRA's overly optimistic interpretation of my potential... or maybe it was for this blog... Nah, I don't think so. And what about the inscribed name? Tough to make a case that it was just badly misspelled. "Boy, did spell-check do a number on this," I could say to visitors to my basement.

In truth, I am to present this to the newly elected president of the Garden State Division, Bruce DeYoung, at our board meeting this weekend. Bruce received recognition last month at our joint meet with the New Jersey Division along with their Tom Griffiths. Now the actual plaque is available.
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To paraphrase those well known television offers, the distinguished honor "is suitable for mounting." Plus, the number will be easy for Bruce to remember in his golden years!?

Bruce won the GSD's annual Paul Mallory award in 2013 for his modeling efforts. Here former president Ciro Compagno and Bruce do a different type of modeling, flaunting the division's natty, one-size-fits-all apparel.

Bruce is passionate about giving back to the hobby. He is not only an administrator of Railroad Line Forums, but is its most prodigious contributor. He is also Education Department Manager for the NMRA and a regular clinician at regional and divisional meets. The AP program and continued education for hobbyists is dear to 'Dutchman' and nicely dovetails with his expertise as a retired school superintendent and former math teacher. His HO scale Jersey Highlands Railroad features the New York, Susquehanna & Western during the transition era. An area of the layout also depicts the HOn3 Slate Run Railroad, a logging operation in eastern Pennsylvania.

But best of all, Bruce is one of the real good guys. Congratulations, buddy. You do the hobby proud. Wish we had more like you.

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BONUS: RHETORICAL QUESTION OF THE DAY...

True or false? Bruce would be nothing without the love and support of his three sons, nine grandchildren and dear bride of 46 years, Bonnie.?

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

"A most unfortunate anniversary of sorts..."

The historical reporting of Tropical Storm Agnes is almost as chaotic as the storm itself. Depending upon various sources, the storm reached Maryland 43 years ago today... or yesterday... or Sunday. Perhaps the confusion is more about semantics, and the reporting of raining versus flooding, but regardless, the torrential storm pounded the Patapsco River region and the Old Main Line into submission, swelling the river and causing unprecedented damage from flooding.

The weather system originated in the Caribbean as early as June 14th and reached U.S. soil June 19th at Panama City, FL. It was downgraded from hurricane to tropical depression as it crossed into Georgia and South Carolina, but inexplicably regained strength by June 21st while crossing North Carolina. The tropical storm headed north and would soon wreak havoc dumping 14-19" of rain within 48-hours upon parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.

The destruction of Ellicott City is photographed from above. Maryland suffered 19 fatalities and $110 million in damage.

Flood waters in downtown Ellicott City reached 14'. The railroad trestle is in the distance sitting just a couple of feet above the water.

Curious residents climbed to the station area to see the raging flood waters once the heavy rains had ended. The lower portion of downtown is in the 100 year flood plain... Bingo!

Debris from the Patapsco River clogged the trestle to the Wilkins Flour mill. The geography of the steep, narrow river valley created a funnel-like effect for towns in the lower region.

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Once the flood waters receded, the aftermath was evident. If you visit Ellicott City today, you will find a 'measuring pole' right here that indicates the height of flood waters.

The mill at Daniels peeks out over the debris at another trestle over the Patapsco River. According to reports, several workers were rescued from the rapidly rising flood waters by the National Guard via helicopter. They had climbed to the mill's roof!

The B&O Historical Society devoted their second quarter 2012 issue of The Sentinel to the 40th anniversary of Agnes. The cover showed a half submerged tunnel at Point of Rocks near the Potomac River.

The sight of uplifted and eroded track along the Patapsco River was commonplace, as shown here in Sykesville. Because the track closely followed the twisting river, the raging currents continually crashed into the embankments and undercut the roadbed, creating washouts sometimes up to 50' wide.

While these type of weather-related tragedies seemed to have become almost commonplace during the last few years throughout the United States, Agnes was a significant weather anomaly back in 1972. Readers are reminded of the photo of a submerged Daniels in the very first entry of this blog. Take another look at the sheer magnitude of the flooding, and understand that it would trigger a series of events that would ultimately lead the Old Main Line to obscurity.

On that note, we'll see everyone Friday with a special recognition... and then back to some construction next week.

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BONUS: RHETORICAL QUESTION OF THE DAY ...

Did you have a good Father's Day? Here's a belated, but heartfelt hope that everyone had a day of happy visits, loving memories, or both.?

Friday, 19 June 2015

"Friendly Fridays... The Rutland Road."

Childhood BFFs Randy Laframboise and Mike Sparks have been layout collaborators in one way or another for more than 40 years. Their current Rutland Road is their second iteration of the popular Vermont railroad.

Begun in 1999, after the demolition of their first 15-year effort, the new-and-improved multi-deck prototype sits in a 16' x 36' finished space in Randy's basement. It features many of the small towns along the mainline between Rutland and Burlington and is set during late summer in the early 1950s.

Entry to the main layout room is through a nicely finished support space decorated with vintage signs and posters. The room features a well-appointed workshop, generous staging and an attractive helix. The helix adheres to the layout's 36" minimum radius and is graded at 2% yielding a run of 100'. The layout itself provides a satisfying 285' of run through the rolling countryside.

The shallow, muddy Otter Creek is beautifully modeled in this scene at bridge 219, just south of Florence. One can almost hear the rumble and clickety-clack of the northbound local as it rolls by headed to Burlington.

Even cows railfan in Vermont, no doubt excited to see some Western Maryland variety coming 'round the bend into Brandon. Right state, wrong railroad, guys!

The massive Elias-Lyman Coal Company serves as a backdrop to engine facilities at Burlington. The scratch built replication of the now-demolished structure is spot-on.

Mike and Randy enjoy researching and scratch building structures like this creamery at Vergennes. They believe that such rigor is required to successfully depict any prototype and its surroundings.

Randy is adamant that proto layouts demand just as much creativity as free-lanced ones because specific scenes and structures can be very difficult to re-create in a given space. Some imagination is required to compress and possibly re-orient a key component, while maintaining an accurate representation like the Sheffield Creamery at Florence.

What good are all of those creameries without milk trains to haul product through the rolling fields of the Green Mountain State? Randy is quite proficient with a static grass gun and will offer demonstrations with little prodding.

There is no shortage of trees, rivers, creeks, bridges and trestles along the mainline that is being modeled. Each scene is painstakingly textured and weathered to depict the prototype.

Code 70 flex-track was used on the upper level while the more forgiving code 83 flex-track was used on the lower one. The rationale was based upon the desire for maximum realism tempered with practicality and viewer proximity.

Mike and Randy forced perspective at the end of the peninsula on the upper deck by scratch building a typical Vermont farm in N scale.

The two decks sit at 40" and 60" respectively above the floor, yielding an overall viewing separation of about 16". To enhance that, the upper deck stays at about 16" deep while the lower one averages about 24" in depth.

The northwestern Vermont natives have beautifully depicted their home state and have achieved an awful lot through the years. Randy knows how fortunate he is to have a wing man like Mike.

"I am lucky to have a buddy like Sparky... The layout would be nowhere near as nice or interesting without having each other to bounce ideas and concepts off of... This is definitely a joint effort and sometimes he gets overlooked because it is at my house," Randy emphasized.

I asked Randy why he and Mike don't promote their work via a blog, website, magazine articles, YouTube, etc. He says that they "prefer to fly under the radar." Well, no problem there. My eight followers won't blow their cover.

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BONUS: RHETORICAL QUESTION OF THE DAY...

Does this look familiar? Regular readers of this blog may recall the April 24th post in which the model of this now-defunct Brandon coal business is pictured. Sadly, this is slated for demolition, but at least it will live on in HO scale on the Rutland Road. Check out "Friendly Fridays... Road Trip" to see the crafted version.

Tuesday, 16 June 2015

"Playing with trains... and understanding why."

About 25 years and 25 pounds ago, I was mercifully ending my thoroughly mediocre foray into bicycle racing. It was a 'leisure pursuit' that I defined much too literally in most races. But I knew that I could always look forward to my beloved Tour de France every July, and American television's butchering of its coverage. (To be fair, CBS and John Tesch did a nice job in the 1980's.)

In this particular year, ABC Sports assigned former Grand Prix auto racer Sam Posey as its analyst on the three week bicycle race. Not a good omen. Surprisingly, the 'gearhead' did a wonderful job conveying the beauty, ferocity and strategic nuances of this 21 stage spectacle. It was evident that he had done his homework and sincerely seemed captivated by the non-motorized event.

Fast forward about ten years. Now who is this Sam Posey with a cover article in Model Railroader? No one single man races at Le Mans, covers the Tour de France and builds a model railroad layout worthy of cover status, right? Wrong!

The December 2001 issue featured Sam Posey's home layout in a brilliant, but uncharacteristically abstract article for the magazine.

Various tricks were detailed for readers interested in expanding the perception of their layout space, if they could grasp 'the sensory inputs and visual mechanics,' Sam espoused.

Dave Frary's photos were easy to understand. Sam's conceptual sketches? ... not so much. I accepted the possibility that he was on an intellectual level that I may not know.

Fast forward now to 2005. A new book is out about model railroading... by Sam Posey! Boy, this guy is motivated! In it, he examines participants' passion for the hobby and identifies what he sees as two distinct camps within. One is the 'artiste,' or imagineer as Disney would say, characterized by Malcom Furlow and his fantasy-inspired free-lanced creations. The other is the 'pragmatist,' or operator of prototypically-based layouts, best represented by Tony Koester, he of the Time Table and Train Order gang.

The book is a thoughtful analysis of our hobby and makes for a great summer read. Sam tracks his childhood memories of his first layout to his current observations about the many extremes that modelers exhibit.

The architectural graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design now spends his days with another love, painting, while unfortunately coping with the effects of Parkinson's Disease.

I bet that neither Furlow nor Koester were all-that-willing poster boys for the two extremes, at least not to where either believed in mutual exclusivity. But Posey's examination of the two factions forces the reader to assess his own focus. By holding up two of the best known magazine contributors with very different emphases, readers can evaluate their own belief system against that backdrop.

It's a good read, written by a true renaissance man whose mantra has been, 'conceive, believe, achieve,' through a life of distinctly varied personal successes.

Next, 'Friendly Fridays' returns featuring a layout whose creators skillfully combined both artistic expression with prototype authenticity to produce a wonderful re-creation of a Vermont railroad. See you then.

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BONUS: RHETORICAL QUESTION OF THE DAY... ?

Did you know? The author's only real weakness as a bicycle racer was that he got winded before anyone else which, as it turns out, tends to be a very real impediment to winning races.

Thursday, 11 June 2015

"Legs... Really long, lean, beautiful legs!"

Now, now... calm down. This isn't that kind of site. But a few of the more conscientious readers of this blog emailed me after I referenced the peninsula's legs in a photo of my helix frame. They say that I never really covered that aspect of construction. Apologies, so here goes.

The leg assemblies were based on the struts that supported the around-the-wall bench work and designed to be unobtrusive, but still rock solid. Each assembly utilized a leg and an angled support, but contrary to traditional methods, I reversed the application and placed the angled support in front of the leg to provide greater clearance for wayward feet and to mimic the wall struts.

The photos below should explain things better than my words ever could.
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The end of the peninsula is supported with a tripod of sorts as three leg assemblies are tied together with 1" x 4" horizontal bracing which really tightens everything up significantly.

The origin of the leg assembly is evident here when compared to the wall strut at the rear of this photo. The leg assembly supporting the middle of the peninsula is narrower than that at the wider end. Brilliant stuff.

Screw-in adjustable feet do the trick for leveling and help minimize the absorption of any floor moisture. All connections are done with simple sheet rock screws and either painted over, or countersunk considerably.

The 5/4" x 2" struts are anchored into the wall's baseplate through the molding thereby eliminating the need to locate wall studs that are allegedly every 16", but never really are.

I painted the leg assemblies to match the struts and lower walls with the intent to always leave those areas exposed. I am fortunate not to have to store items here, at least for now. I like the clean, uncluttered look and prefer not to have any distractions that will compete with the modeling above.

And anyway, I'm not sure when the timing might be right to hit my wife up for 90' of pleated skirting!