Week 458

 Sun, May 7, 2023 thru Sat, May 13, 2023

Sun, May 7, 2023

Tonight I'm going to paint seams on the glass panels...

First, I tape up the glass panels with seams exposed.

Next, time to spray paint.

Finally, remove the tape to see the painted seams.

A little closer view.

Mon, May 8, 2023

Train Day!

w/Rob Fair & Mark Thorsen

6-8pm 2 hrs. for Rob

6-7:30pm 1.5 hrs. for Mark

Our pre-session meeting.
How to use foam board for scenery.

Engineer Mark and Conductor Rob getting
Train 1C running with Power A3.

We moved from the Commuter Train which we used
to check clearances at Oak Park Marion St. station to
cutting pieces for the canopy at same station.

Rob is calculating how many strips we'll need for
the trim pieces.

We finished the session with the cut out pieces
ready to be installed on another day.

Our session clock - just a bit over two hours.

Tue, May 9, 2023

No train activity tonight.

Wed, May 10, 2023

Whoa!

I got a ton done tonight...

Check this out...

I was going to try to attach the trim parts Rob started
yesterday, but I decided we don't need them. 
I glued in the pieces as is and I think it is just fine.

Then I took a hard turn and decided to put these panels
on the middle track canopies. I think this will tie
everything together quite nicely.

Wouldn't you agree?

Another look from a different perspective.

I trimmed these pieces to fit as I moved down the line.

I spent 1.25 hrs. making these adjustments.

It is high time to paint the structure.
Here's the paint I am mixing to get a good solution.

It's a little too brown, but I'm going to keep it.

I also painted the floor a concrete color.

Now it's time to start working on the roof.

I do like the look of the station much better than
what it was. It's not my favorite finish, but it will do.

Another view from Marion Street.

Making progress...

From another perspective.

The front of the station.

I worked 2 hrs. minus 6 minutes for some phone
calls I had to make.

Thu, May 11, 2023

After subbing today, I did some work on the RR...

It's hard to see in this photo, but I did add some
railings around the patio to the right of the tower.

A drone shot looking over the Oak Park Marion St.
Station.

Another view.

And still another view.

Making some further adjustments with the fence and
gluing some splices that didn't "stick" the first time around.

Fri, May 12, 2023

Switching gears and projects.

On to the street extension and grade crossing at Wheaton/Bellwood.

What happened to my focus? This looks terrible!
The is the start of my new project.

Next step: Cut paper pattern for foam board cut out.

After numerous returns to the cutting table, we
have a piece that fits.

I needed to add a support piece to the framework.

Support piece securely placed...

Foamboard fits as expected.

Now to use the foamboard adhesive for a secure placement.

And now, we wait for the weights.
I love to say that. :)

Sat, May 13, 2023

After I waited for the weights, it's time to do some more work 

at the Wheaton/Bellwood Grade Crossing

The first thing I had to do was to put the guidelines
for the sidewalks.

Then I used a saw to cut out grooves for the sections
that need to be removed.

I cut out the sections with a small model saw.

After removing the excess I used a file to smooth
out the surface.

I cut strips of cork to be used for the roadbed.

Finally, I glued them down and used tacks to keep in place.

After a few hours, I came back to...

...layout the road pieces for the grade crossing.

I'm getting excited to finish off this project...

More on Week 459 Blog next week.

See you then!