Southern Railway's Slate Fork Branch (N)

[Russ C]

Well I could loan you some NSWGR stuff Paul LOL

[Paul S.]

Well I could loan you some NSWGR stuff Paul LOL

I've got some of my own, but RGS and D&RGW.

[Russ C]

Nice!! I like the sound of that Paul.

[Paul S.]

I tried a new technique I'd found for making coal loads. This one uses black 1/4" thick foam core that's been cut to shaped and gently sanded to help form the humps, an initial coat of black paint, Deluxe ballast cement and, of course, AR&M fine coal.

I think they turned out fine.

[BillyJoeBob]

The best part is each one will be different...I like that. I have ten 'they came that way with the cars' and they all look the same. BJB

[BillyJoeBob]

There is an article on the Southern's silversides coal gons built in 1960 by PS in the latest 'Classic Trains.' I remember some of them coming through Tilford on their way to Inman in the late 70s.
BJB

[denny99]

It looks great, Paul! Thanks for sharing.

[Paul S.]

Here's a link to the technique I adapted, Steve H AC&Y :
https://appalachianrailroadmodeling.com/stcharlesbranch

[Paul S.]

BillyJoeBob , it really depends on how far the loaded cars have traveled from the tipple. The longer the distance, the more level and uniform the loads will appear.

It also depends on how the hoppers were loaded. Was it loaded while in motion or with several respots, as mine reflect?

[BillyJoeBob]

Another question. I've been running my hoppers MT and the kit loads have collected some dust while sitting at the back of the work bench. I think the loads now look better, not so shiny plastic. Or, am I just covered with coal dust?
BJB

[Paul S.]

Fresh coal does have a slight sheen, BillyJoeBob . And sometimes oil is sprayed on loads to keep dust under control.

[BillyJoeBob]

Paul -- Thanks for all the information. I'm going to see how to work it into operations. What with coal once again the being US energy du jour once again, might need to get my act together!🤔

[Paul S.]

I started with 60 trees to plant, and foolishly I thought I'd cover lots of ground. Thankfully, I have one more full box of seafoam tree armatures, and I hope there's another 50 useable trees in the box. That still might not be enough, though.

Here's what I started with:



And here's how far I progressed:

Except for a half-dozen or so, most of the trees on the hill to the far right were already there.

Below, you can how well the trees screen the Louisville & Nashville track.



And here's the L&N Switcher at Creek Junction, VA, with a much too clean RS-3.

[Paul S.]

Thanks, Russ C!

Yes, the HOn3 layout will be set in the semi-arid southwest corner of Colorado and New Mexico. I might get buy with only one box of seafoam trees!

[Greg]

very nice Paul!! love the rock work, the trees, the ground cover. Excellent work, I need to frequent the forum more often.

[Paul S.]

Thank.you, Greg !

[Paul S.]

Looks as if I'll need one more box of seafoam trees from Scenic Express. If memory serves, that will be sixth or seventh box. The entire layout is perhaps 32 square feet.

[Cody]

That probably makes puffball trees seem tempting... except that winter look of yours is rare, if not unique, and pretty cool.

[Paul S.]

Thanks! Funny thing, Cody , I'd mused a moment this morning about puff-balls trees and how many would have been required. Probably about the same number. But I like the season I chose to model.

[Paul S.]

Beginning to flesh out the foliage around Creek Junction, where the L&N enters the Slate Fork Branch. Lots of weeds to come. And trees. More and more trees. ...🤪

[Cody]

I like how that works with the backdrop too. Just enough detail in the backdrop to look right when you see bits of it through gaps in the bare trees.

[Paul S.]

Thank you, Cody . That's the effect I was aiming for; sufficient 2-D "structure" and texture without a lot of detail, just enough to provide depth.

[Paul S.]

Important reminders: Creek Junction is the beginning of Yard Limit rules and where a train register box is located.



I need to clean up the fascia after applying dry transfers. But, hey, one's back can only take so much!

[BillyJoeBob]

Hey, don't worry about it. Makes it look like a railroad facility! 🙂 BJB

[Paul S.]

What I'd been looking for was a Brother tape label roll that came in yellow or gold type on matte black tape. I had the label printer at work for labeling relays and other signal components. But no such tape exists.

I finally gave in and went with dry transfers -- for now.

[Russ C]

I hear ya!! I used to tell the younger guys at work that once you hit 60, the warranty's expired and everything goes to c***. That's why I didn't add anything under my layout sections, kept it all above the board.

[Paul S.]

Found just the right tools for making small circles out of styrene in N scale.

https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-small-circles

[Paul S.]

A pictoral update on the forestation project:

Each time I add another 50 or so trees, it seems there's another 50 or so to add until everything is covered, rinse, repeat.

[Paul S.]

Thank you, Allen, denny99 and BillyJoeBob .

[Greg]

excellent work!!!

Seeing other folks work in the "mud season" is like a roller coaster for me, as in " yay, thats what I want mine to look like" to " just forget it, too many other project to do than deal with scenery"

But still very well done !

[Paul S.]

Thanks much. Greg !

[Paul S.]

Installed and wired up the Arduino Uno and switches today for the "honesty timer" at C&A Junction.

Here's the Arduino Uno mounted on standoff lugs, which are attached to a piece of craft plywood.



Here it is mounted underneath the layout. I used Velcro to keep it in place. That's a Tam Valley Frog Juicer adjacent.



I wired two momentary contact, normally open push-button switches in parallel to activate the timer. There's a fascia-mounted switch installed on opposite sides of the layout at C&A Junction. Westbound trains stop at the junction, operators push the button, walk around to the other side of the layout while time is run, then line the swing gate across the C&A.

Eastbound crews also stop, line the gate across the C&A, push the button shown below, and wait. Either way, 45 seconds after pushing either button, the operator will see this, which indicates time has run and their train can cross the junction:

[Allen]

That's pretty snazzy Paul!

[Paul S.]

Thanks, Allen . I'd procrastinated for years installing this, as I've eschewed wanting to make the Slate Fork too "techie" other than DCC. But this is a good addition.

I'm kicking around uploading a sketch that will keep the gate LED lit all the time, as it is now, as well as the fascia LED. Then after 45 seconds, each would flash for 20 seconds.

This would simulate an N scale crew member lining the gate, then walking over and pressing a button located in a locked, pole-mounted box I'd install next to the gate. The flashing LED would indicate time has run. This is similar to what occurs at a yard crossing in downtown Seattle.

BTW, after seven months, no one has bid on my job. ...

[Paul S.]

I temporarily attached a few targets to switchstands. I say "temporarily" because they appear, as I had feared they would be, to be a bit too large at a scale 24 inches (4mm) in diameter. I used the 2mm punch to make these from styrene.

I'm going to build several more using the 1.5mm punch. That's a tad small, but the proportion will offset any discrepancy. A 1.75 mm punch would be ideal. I don't think something like that exists, though.

[Michael Whiteman]

Maybe you can find a brass tube that's the correct size. File the edge at a 45* to create a punch. Instead of a plastic target I made mine out of paper. Use colored paper and soak it with ACC then punch out some circles.

[Paul S.]

Michael Whiteman , these punches are really handy, (see the little round vent atop the cab roof of my L&N RS-3), but I ended up ordering a set of oval punches because I need just a bit more "tangent," if you will. The 3 x 6 mm punch should work well. I can cut better half-moons from it.

I also purchased a sheet of .005" brass. I prefer to use styrene or brass rather than CA-soaked paper.

[Paul S.]

Because I'm not using the sound feature of the new Atlas RS-3, I decided the space occupied by the speaker could be put to better use.

Today I ordered a TCS KA-N1 stay alive module from Tony's trains. The leads from this device will be soldered to two pads on the MN140E24 Zimo decoder I installed earlier.



Above is the chassis, looking at the top, with the light board detached. The speaker, in the upper right, is easily removed from the light board by releasing two of the four snaps. The speaker is dimensionally larger in all three facets than the KA-N1, so the latter should fit under the light board without difficulty.

[denny99]

Very interesting! Looking forward to hear how the keep-alive performs.

[Paul S.]

With this unit in the shop awaiting a keep alive, I started detailing the shell of L&N RS-3 110, which is the usual power for the L&N switcher.

The horn should be a Nathan five-chime M5, but none are available in N scale, so I compromised with a three-chime version.

Yet to come are the window shades and weathering. This unit will get a good fade and lots of grime, but won't be overdone.