A little photo walk through of my harbor build out. I used my handy paper folding system for getting the right shapes for the dock and shipping areas.
I managed to get the shapes down and transfered over to the foam core, then cut it out with a good, sharp blade.
This gave the right space for my shipping area.
The dock space worked out as well.
I added some details and rub on street markings - my new favorite thing in the world.
So, overall, I'm super happy with the way things are going in the harbor section. It came together really well. The dock, new water, and the shipping elevator, it's a fun little space. I'm looking forward to hitting other areas of the layout in the same way. It's a slow crawl, but a fun one. :)
I spent a little time cleaning up the tracks and the arrangement and it's paying off. Again, the benefit of taking my time and really working things out before moving forward. I realized that I didn't have a good solution for running two passenger trains around. Sure, I could run one for a period of time, then run another, but I like the feel of having two at a time in service.
So, I took a long look at things and made some changes.
VIDEO:
It took a minute to figure things out. I kept running into issues where the configuration I was trying wouldn't work or would work when I DIDN'T want it to work.
After a few efforts (...and failed attempts....) I got something that worked and managed to clean up some wonky areas as well. I cleaned up the main station area, making it a straight run instead of the odd curve I had when it was rolling out. I have a little mini-station area (top middle) that lets me run two passenger trains now.
Ahhhh....much better.
While I was at it, I straightened out my tram track as well, shortening the loop through Soyokaze and straightening the tracks so they don't swirl through the landscape. Now, they are just straight lines. Again, much better! The area in the middle of the photo below shows the new straight sections.
Then it hit me. I was running the N•EX which is somewhat forgiving, but I had not tried my EVA Shinkansen - aka, PROBLEM CHILD. hehehehe VERY unforgiving on all fronts. When I built it out, I was happy that It basically fit in the station now with all the cars!
However, when I ran it around, it hit a few snags. I figured as much - I really just have the track fired in at this point. I need to do a lot of work getting areas level and the like.
One of the things I hit was the bridge. Literally. :) I forgot that it needs a bit of straight track before going into the bridge section or it will clip it. A relatively simple fix.
Then it was one to issue two which was more of an esthetic look and feel rather than a running issue. I just didn't like the way it looked rolling out of the double track area and into the switch. I finessed the area and it's looking way better.
The little bow out makes things look much better when running!
The last thing I need to address is a section of track that isn't 100% level and the small bump derails one of the cars. This is something I planned on fixing anyway, so that's not a major deal. I have a lot of the track in to my liking, but I need to address the area under the track to make sure things are leveled and not roller coaster like! Even areas like the one above need to be addressed so there is actual LAND under the track! :) Then I'll go in in sections and start the plaster gauze process. But, AFTER running things a while like this.
So, I'll pack the EVA 500 back up and slap the N•EX back on until I have time to smooth out the tracks and get things properly leveled, etc. That way I can keep running things.
Speaking of running things.....
NEW ROLLING STOCK
Now that I can actually run things around ::::happy dance:::: I've been looking at buying more rolling stock and the like. It's really making me happy. :) I had to think about the things I REALLY wanted and not just...everything I wanted. heheheh So, the winner this round were....
Kato 5003 Passenger Car OHANI 30 (N scale) - I think I got two of these.....hmmmm...
Kato 8062 Freight Car TORA 90000 2 Cars (N scale)
Tomix 2719 JNR Refrigerator Container Wagon KOMU 1 (with containers) (N scale)
Another set of these for the harbor section. Still not 100% sure how
that harbor is going to go with less space. That's something I might
break out buildings for since the tracks are directly related to the
fishing area. I'll pop the buildings into the section to make sure I
have enough space for them AND a loading dock area. That's crucial.
I also picked up another engine..... ::::blush:::: The EF70 1000. Yeah, I can see why people end up with a lot of things to run when you can actually run trains! hehehehe This will be a wokhorse for pulling the passenger cars.
The NEXT thing I want to get - maybe around Christmas - is some steam! I'm currently looking at some small stream like this lovely J.N.R. C11 Hokkaido Type 150W Headlight w/Coal-bunker Hokkaido Type (Model Train) !
We'll see how that goes. :)
I'm thinking through how to move forward now. I have many of the grades and things sketched in. Do I just glue what's there now, then go over it with plaster gauze, or do I go into measuring the wonky parts I've built up with foam core, then cut pink foam to fit instead?
Hmmmm....comments welcome. I'll be YouTube searching for answers. While it did work out last time, I'm sure it's a bit wonky. I'm NOT going to be cutting plywood rams and the like. I just kinda know that about myself. hehehehe
OH! Then there are the backgrounds as well! Almost forgot! I want to do those BEFORE doing the track so I can climb up on the bench work to paint and I can move track sections as needed. Man...that $250 or so dollars for the printed background is looking pretty cool right now. :)
I got a little hobby time in this past Labor Day weekend and it was a lot of fun. While I could have EASILY worked on hobby projects the whole time, I mixed in a little cleaning and the like to make sure the house was in order. :::grin:: My wife took the kids up to see her sister in Sacramento and I got to work on my ever growing list of hobby items I want to tackle.
The first thing I did was play around with the track arrangement yet again. What I had was fine for the spur off to the right, but it wasn't 100% what I was looking for.
This is how things started out:
Then, after tearing things apart a few times and making various passes at the arrangement, I came up with something that was almost the same with a few tweaks.
Essentially, I just made a little more room for the factory area and gave it a dedicated line that ran out to it. There will be some other type of mico-industry on the other side - TBD. Things will be tight, but that's what will sell this, I believe. After looking over some Japanese factory shots, I think a tight area would be leaning more towards what the protype looks like.
After a while, I moved away from track work and started in on adding some more people to Soyokaze and Shizuka. I did a mix of "floating scene people" mounted on plastic and "locked down people" that were glued directly in place in their scene location. The floating people allow me to move folks around if I'm trying to shoot a particular area and want more people there.
I like this worker in the truck. :)
Harbor workers talking about fish prices.
I wanted to get a little Sika deer look going in the Soyokaze Temple area like the deer in Nara Park.
image from - http://www.infoshareddaily.com/oh-deer-this-japanese-town-is-overrun-by-a-bunch-of-bambis/
I need to get a few more packs of deer and have them wandering around Soyokaze Village as well!
I've been doing more bike riding as well, so I needed to start adding my riders in, too.
I have another round of Shizuka building planning to do. I have three additional buildings coming and they'll need room. I took a pass at a little rearrange while I'm waiting - I like the results.
The buildings I purchased from "mdaveb" on eBay worked well with my existing items. I was really happy with the purchase and his service. He did a great job kitbashing the buildings. He even included photos of the buildings they were based on. Very cool of him.
The building on the right was one of the purchases from mdaveb
I made a few purchases for the extension. I can't wait until they come in! I've tweaked the track a bit there so I might make that NEX train purchase in the near future! Whoo hoo!
My other purchases - all but $10 paid for by selling some old toys! I tell you, that's some great motivation to continue to go through my old junk for more eBay selling! I even managed to get a few more people packs so I can avoid doing all the painting I need to do on my basic, cheap figures in order to make them look right. hehehe
Kato 7012-1 DD13 Early Production (Model Train) N Scale|1/150 Diesel Locomotive
So now....more playing around with the factory area, naming the extension, and working on another NRAIL video update! Stay tuned!
