Week 105

Week 105

Sunday, July 31, 2016 - Saturday, August 5, 2016

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Working on the railroad today.

My plans are to finish the curb and gutters on the northeast side of Western Avenue.

Here's the start...
I made a base for the drain piece.
I also had a carve out a little section for the drain piece to fit in snug in the curb.

 This is the same shot but from a bird's eye perspective.

 Once the drain piece was in place I taped it over so the concrete wouldn't get on it.

 I had to put more glue on part of the road way.
While it was drying I put the sidewalk base in along the highway.

 Here's the weights holding down the glued roadbed.

After a few hours I came back to put in the gutter.

 The curb just popped up as I put in the plaster.
Interesting outcome.

 Unfortunately the tape wasn't wide enough and I got some plaster on the black roadbed.

 This may or may not work, but I spread the plaster over the entire roadbed thinking, "I meant to do that."
But really I didn't.
Then I removed the tape as you see in this picture.

This is the final picture of the night.
It captures the finished curb and gutter and the botched roadbed surface.

We'll see what happens on our next adventure in the RR World....

See you next time.

Monday, August 1, 2016
"Next time" is here!

What happened?

Here you go.
This is what happened tonight.

 First, I tried to remove the plaster from the roadway.
Not sure I like it, but it does look kinda "wintery".

 Next, I removed the end supports and then used Dean's Concrete paint to paint the tarmac.

So, whadyathink?

We still need to sand the rest of the "concrete".

More to come...

Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Yep! It's TRAIN DAY

Full House today.
Ed Nelson, Jordan Osborn, Josh Jones, Carlos Baez, and Dean Hatzis.

And here's what we did today!

Dean Hatzis & Ed Nelson worked on the Western Avenue underpass.

 Carlos Baez drilled holes for the feeder wires and then placed them in location for soldering next week.

 Josh Jones & Jordan Osborn at the controls working on Train Operations.

 Tried to capture the progress on the underpass.

Dean Hatzis really in the hole.

Check out this video for some animation.

Length: .09s

 Dean Hatzis in action getting out from under the hole.

Dean Hatzis not ready for the photo shoot.
He installed the ledge tonight that will hold Kedzie Avenue Station.

Thursday, August 4, 2016
Now that Dean brought all the pieces to finish the base of Western Avenue,
I thought I'd get a head start and secure the pieces in place.

Here's a picture review of the progress...

Here's the base of the incline at Western Avenue.

 Added the filler pieces of wood.

 Then the pre-cut wedges Dean planned and presented.

The overlayment.

 Glueing in place.

 Overnight weight.

More of same.

Week 104

Week 104

Sunday, July 24, 2016 thru Saturday, July 30, 2016

Sunday, July 24, 2016

It's another week where I just feel like getting some stuff done.

Check these out...

 I started out trying to figure out how to do the road with curb & gutters.

 I realized if I wanted sidewalks in the tunnel, I would need to readjust.

As you can see, I did by bringing the supports back a bit.

 I will need to ask the guys on TRAIN DAY how to taper down the slope.

 This shot shows me getting ready to mix the plaster.

 Do you see the wide spatula?

That's where I'm pouring the "concrete".

 I poured on one side and then the other.

Now I'm getting ready to pour in the middle.

 Done!

 Now I'm going to start on the roadway.

 Since I refigured the width of the roadway, I need to recut those cork strips.

 After cutting to fit, I glued them down and put weights to keep in place.

 Then I began to cut the "asphalt" pieces before, between, and after the tracks.

 I also laid down the layer of "asphalt" with glue and weights to secure in place.

 Here you can see the layers.

First is the gray base.

Next is the cork sub base.

Then the top "asphalt" coat.

 Nice.

I still need to test a few cars over the rails and roadway.

 I could put several of these shots together to make a timelapse show.

 I like the way this looks.

Now we're ready for the lines.

Another closeup view.

More tomorrow.

See you then!

Monday, July 25, 2016

Well, I went down in the basement and got "stuck" in the whirlwind of progress.

I was stalled so instead of working on the railroad I cleaned up my workbench.

So, What's On Your Workbench This Week?

Here you go...

Now that looks a whole lot better than what it's been the last few weeks.

Wouldn't you agree?

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Other obligations today.
The train layout had another "rest" day.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016
YES! TRAIN DAY!

A bit of a concern.
I didn't hear from Carlos and Ed tonight! Not sure what happened.
BUT, Dean and Jordan showed up and here's what we did...

 Dean Hatzis inspecting the new road bed.
He liked it!

Jordan Osborn giving his "two cents".

Dean Hatzis getting ready to prepare "the slope".

Here is Dean explaining his approach.

 
Length: .20s

Dean Hatzis continues his work on the "slope".

Jordan & Dean making a few final comments before Dean leaves "the hole".

A final, "Farewell" from my good neighbor, Jordan Osborn.

Week 103

Week 103

July 20, 2016

Today is TRAIN DAY!

We've missed this day for three weeks.

Dean and Jordan came to begin the day.

Ed Nelson will be here next week.

I hope Carlos will also be able to join us again next week.

Today was more of a planning and discussion day.

Here's how the day began...

 What's on your workbench this week?

Well, I was working on the cut outs for the Kedzie Ave. bridge.

 I installed the lights under the bridge.

 Stepped back and took a wide angle photo.

 Noticed the lens seemed dirty, so I tried the same shots again.

 Oh yeah, much better.

 Yes, you can see more detail.

 We're staying at Western Avenue and trying to figure out the elevations.

 What level will the road be?

What about the sidewalk, gutters, and aprons?

Jordan stopped over and gave us his comments as well.

Notice the road way?

Maybe next week we'll see this installed.

We'll see.

Week 102

Week 102

VACATION WEEK

Jan and I are heading to Geneva NY for a wedding near where we'll be staying.

We'll be staying on Lake Seneca which is one of 11 lakes of the Finger Lakes in mid-state NY.

When we arrived I noticed RR tracks right near our home.

Our first night, while we were in bed, we heard a train on the tracks just across the street.

Turns out the tracks are owned by Norfolk and Southern operated by a ShortLine RR named 

Finger Lakes RR.

Here's the crossing:

 Looking South...

Here's the northbound route along the lake.

One of the following mornings I heard another train coming and raced up the hill to take this video:

Watch as the engine goes by...

I even got a wave from the engineer.

I began putting the warehouse model as soon as we got settled on Monday, July 4th.

Here's the progress...

I got to this point and realized the front of the building was on the angled side. 

Not acceptable.

So I had to "kitbash" my first structure and remove the base and have the front be the back and the back be the front. UGH!

 I also decided the model needed a paint job so I stopped by the downtown hobby store (pretty cool) and purchased some paint and paint brushes.

All I need to do now is add the roof accessories.

Then I'll be all done!

There will be one more picture coming soon...

Actually
Three more.
Roof accessories installed.
Finished product.

Back view

Front view - Western Avenue.

Front and side view. Western Ave and W. 15th Street

I'll see if I can put the prototype here...

Week 101

Week 101

Interesting week.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

No one came to TRAIN DAY this week.

I did finish the "concrete" base at Global 1.

Tomorrow I made a homebound appointment in Elgin.

Just so happens I'll be by B&G and then I'll purchase a warehouse model for Western Avenue.

Funny how things like that happen?

Thursday, June 30, 2016

As promised, here's my purchase...

Check out WEEK 102 for progress on this model...