Layout Construction Updates for 2012
The Home and Design of the RGW
January 2012
I just came in from the RGW after working quite a bit this weekend, We were thrilled when Bill Messecar came by Saturday morning and pretty much completed the painting of about 90% of the visible track. In fact, had the Superintendent actually had South Seattle Yard clean, instead of cluttered with work materials, it would have been done 100%. The next step is the painting of all the turnouts.
There were a couple of milestones this weekend. Obviously our first scenicked area was a big deal. Wain Miller designed this rock cut and wanted to give it basic scenery. So he did. This gave us a 3 foot section to review for colors and textures and how they look in the provided overhead light. We’re proud to graduate from the Plywood Pacific!
The pictures below include the second milestone. The second set of pictures shows the Upper Line above Renton Yard. This is the south wall of the train building. The Renton yard section is the only section of the original RGW we kept. It was the first (and for several months only) section we put in. We then painted the backdrop, starting with Mt. Rainier. In an earlier update, we had a picture of this line after it was installed. As a result, to finally put in scenery substructure on this line, is a personal milestone for me and very rewarding.
The other two shots are the Transition level scenery substructure. The land forms here will be varied and hopefully entertaining to look at when complete. This Transition level is a long run from the South Seattle yard to Renton. It will provide our engineers with a pleasant run for upwards of 7 minutes as they climb the three levels to the Yard.
July 2012
Progress on the layout has been pretty steady, the crew has been coming by pretty regularly on Tuesday evenings and needless to say, the superintendent is grateful! With the NMRA 4d Summer Meet fast approaching (August 18-19) the goals shifted a bit from, just get this thing as far as we can, to let’s get the Black Diamond area as close to done as possible and let the rest take care of itself. Well, that meant a lot of time invested on one area by the super, yours truly, to get it going and get ‘er done.
Black Diamond is key, as it has two main features; the mine and Molzahn Bridge. For those who are new to following the RGW, Dick Molzahn, who passed away a couple of years ago, was a very good friend to many in this area. I considered him a great friend, a superb modeler and a true fan of railroads of all shapes and sizes. In 1998 Dick surprised me with a hand crafted bridge built for my first RGW iteration. It has never been put to use, as the first RGW never got far enough and this version is just now rounding into shape. I have waited for years to put Dick’s masterpiece to good use and today, by golly, It finally went into its intended location.
From This
To This
And Now, This
From This
To This
And Now, This
I hope my friend is pleased with the result. RIP Dick, you are truly missed.
Here are a couple of shots of the Black Diamond mine area. I ended up building this almost like a diorama, so it could be removed while areas were scenicked behind or around it. I am well pleased with the result, with several more details still to go.
The blue foam is nearly 100% in, perhaps a couple more hours of work and it will be done. I am excited by Scott’s creativity on the tunnel portals below Franklin and will detail them as soon as he has them complete. Doug is ripping it up in the base coat scenery painting, so the blue hue is about gone, thank goodness. Finally, the Steel Viaduct built by Wain is done and we are putting the final touches on the base before going to town on the scenery for that area. Once it is in, I will update photos on that too. Until next time, thanks for checking in!
I hope my friend is pleased with the result. RIP Dick, you are truly missed.
Here are a couple of shots of the Black Diamond mine area. I ended up building this almost like a diorama, so it could be removed while areas were scenicked behind or around it. I am well pleased with the result, with several more details still to go.
The blue foam is nearly 100% in, perhaps a couple more hours of work and it will be done. I am excited by Scott’s creativity on the tunnel portals below Franklin and will detail them as soon as he has them complete. Doug is ripping it up in the base coat scenery painting, so the blue hue is about gone, thank goodness. Finally, the Steel Viaduct built by Wain is done and we are putting the final touches on the base before going to town on the scenery for that area. Once it is in, I will update photos on that too. Until next time, thanks for checking in!