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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2021 1:00:00 GMT
The slag dump reminded me; When he had the house built in ‘68, Kim’s grandpa had a bunch of slag brought in from FeroSlag here in Butler. We live in the house now, and his slag driveway the whole way back to the shed is still intact. Yeah, once that stuff gets compacted and settles - it's not going anywhere. And of course, it provides great drainage.
George
Amen to that. The shed has been sitting on a raised, level mound of it for 53 years. Well it is the second shed, the slag outlasted the first. FeroSlag was owned by Spang, my wife’s grandfather’s and late father’s employer
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Post by g3750 on Aug 24, 2021 1:53:07 GMT
Updated 8/23/2021: Doesn't seem like much, but I struggled with cutting styrofoam to fit the beveled area in front of the track on the Eastern Approach to the bridge. In this first photo, we are looking eastward from the stone arch. The first of two styrofoam boards has been test-fitted. The hole for the second board can be seen beyond the first one.
In this photo, the second board is getting some ballast. In the early 1950's, PRR maintenance procedures called for straight ballast lines (raked by hand!). The ballast has been put down on top of white glue; the loose stuff will be swept off and re-used.
Also, our flags and poles for the layout arrived today. In 1953, there 48 stars on the flag.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by g3750 on Aug 27, 2021 0:11:29 GMT
Updated 8/26/2021: I had another experience that reinforced some of the lessons I should have learned. [blush] I applied ballast to the two long pieces of styrofoam that will form the landscape below the Eastern Approach. Following the PRR’s maintenance practices in the early 1950s, these called for straight (raked) ballast below the track, with a strip of cinders, and then some slightly uneven green vegetation (turf and or bushes).
I got the ballast placed and thought I was home free. Applying the cinders - Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast #B1376 (Cinders) – did not go well. I got the glue outside the area and messed up the clean dividing line between ballast and cinders. Some tips for doing this better:
- Paint the surface an earth color first. Otherwise you run the risk of pink styrofoam showing through when (not “if”) some earthly material flakes off. At this point I’m going to have to live with that risk.
- Use something with a straight edge, a trowel or sculpting blade, to align with the boundary.
- Use a syringe or eye-dropper to put glue exactly where you want it. A spray bottle (assuming any of them stay unclogged for long enough) is too messy. It can’t be aimed precisely.
I also made some progress on the first Albion Catalog House (HO). It has been cut to show roughly the first 3rd. It will soon get a coat of paint; I've decided to paint it a yellow. I've got lots of Satin Strawflower (the undercoat of the bridge piers) left, might as well use it.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by Country Joe on Aug 28, 2021 14:51:32 GMT
Nice work George. I prefer using an eyedropper to apply glue to various ground covers. I find that a spray bottle makes a huge mess.
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Post by g3750 on Aug 29, 2021 0:05:48 GMT
Nice work George. I prefer using an eyedropper to apply glue to various ground covers. I find that a spray bottle makes a huge mess. Thanks. I confess that the more I look at it, the less I like it. We're going to do something different - not sure what.
Yes, the eye-dropper is much better than the spray bottle. And the spray bottle clogs, as well.
George
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Post by g3750 on Aug 31, 2021 3:15:27 GMT
Updated 8/30/2021: Finally, finally figured out what I wanted to do. Got the Great Stuff foam and quilt batting method going today on the Eastern Approach. It still needs paint, ballast, cinders, and vegetation, but I am much happier with this look.
George
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Post by g3750 on Sept 1, 2021 0:54:06 GMT
Updated 8/31/2021: OK!! More forward progress was made today. The hillside in front of the Eastern Approach got painted - it's first coat of the Behr color I use for terrain. It's called Desert Clay. I guess I could have kept it white and let it portray a snow scene (now where are my Dept 56 snow-globes and buildings?  ), but I decided to paint it.  It will get another coat / touch-up tomorrow.
I like this scenery approach but it does soak up a lot of paint.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2021 1:05:15 GMT
The brown paint looks good. White would be good for winter,
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2021 15:35:39 GMT
Looks good painted. Great color choice.
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Post by Country Joe on Sept 2, 2021 2:48:35 GMT
George, that looks great. Does the paint harden the batting?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2021 10:03:30 GMT
Really like the batting. It contrasts with the uniform look of the ballast like you would find along the right of way, especially with the raked ballast and cinders. George this looks like a nice effect.
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Post by g3750 on Sept 2, 2021 13:46:49 GMT
George, that looks great. Does the paint harden the batting? Yes, the paint hardens the batting. Of course, the Great Stuff - gaps & cracks does that as well. This is a bit of flexibility in the batting where it didn't adhere completely to the Great Stuff below it.
I am able to poke holes in it to install trees and vegetation. I typically use a probe or awl for that.
George
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Post by g3750 on Sept 2, 2021 13:49:33 GMT
Really like the batting. It contrasts with the uniform look of the ballast like you would find along the right of way, especially with the raked ballast and cinders. George this looks like a nice effect. Thank you. I'm anxious to see how the finished product will look. I am hoping to spread ballast neatly while maintaining a straight line (raked ballast as in this era of the Pennsy prototype). But as you know, this stuff tends to have a mind of its own.
George
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Post by g3750 on Sept 6, 2021 0:55:53 GMT
Updated 9/5/2021: Working on the conduit for the Stone Arch, the scenery and backwater in front of it, and an "H" fixture (double line pole). I built supports for the conduit out of Plastruct angles, wire, and Tichy NBWs. Tonight I got the courage to actually try installing them on top of the stone arch. They are a scale 9' apart across the face of the arch. I still need to install the conduit as well as some cinders and vegetation.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by g3750 on Sept 7, 2021 1:40:30 GMT
Updated 9/6/2021: Conduit: DONE! It's possible I will add some cinders and foliage to the top of the Stone Arch, but the hard part is done. The conduit curves down and into the approach span trusswork, presumably to pass along the inside of the span on its way over the river.
More when I know it.
George
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), but I decided to paint it. 
It will get another coat / touch-up tomorrow.
