Untergroeningen Trackwork (2)

[ Untergroeningen posts ]

[ part 1 ]

I figured I should paint rails before I paint the platform.
Tar on rails mistakes are easier to fix than rust on tar ...

I'm very pleased with the look of the rails. ModelMaster "Leather" is my preferred paint for rusty rails. Some touch-ups here and there are needed, but this is good as is, and I can move on to ballasting. The turnout point areas will remain unballasted and unpainted until I can confirm proper operation with more rolling stock.

Time to clean the railheads.

[ part 3 ]

Untergroeningen: Locomotive Shed (2)

[ Untergroeningen posts ]

[ part 1 ]

An order I made back in March, ... which feels like a very long time ago at the moment ... arrived on Friday and included Auhagen parts for the locomotive shed on the Untergroeningen module. I still need to figure out how to convincingly represent the water tower and the workshop in the space I have, but I can start with the engine stall.

The Auhagen BKS (Baukastensystem) modular system is very well done and quickly produces a convincing industrial brick building. I will use this as a base for further kitbashing.

[ part 3 ]

Bailey Ave

A quick bike trip with my favorite college student took us down to Bailey Ave via Coyote Creek trail. There were definitely too many people on the trail, so we took Santa Teresa Blvd for the return trip.

This was fun.

Untergroeningen: Platform (2)

[ Untergroeningen posts ]

[ part 1 ]

Scuptamold is very easy to work with, but it produces a lumpy surface structure. That's fine for scenery but doesn't work for the platform. I topped the Scuptamold with a very thin coat of Spackling Paste applied with an artist's spatula. After the spackling dried I rubbed it with my finger tip to make a smooth surface. Ready for paint.

[ part 3 ]

Untergroeningen: Platform

[ Untergroeningen posts ]

I cut the styrofoam to match the platform shape visible in photos from 1973 in Hermann Buernheim's book "Wuerttembergische Eisenbahngesellschaft: Die Geschichte einer bedeutenden Privatbahn". Using a very sharp knife helps to keep the mess under control.

The pavement evenly rises from the paved-in track 1 to the side of track 2. However, contrary to later times, there is no platform edge, but rather the crest of the hump meets the steps of the WEG cars. The pavement slopes down to the rails of track 2. I would not be surprised if WEG crews actually shaped ballast under the asphalt to build up the platform.

Once I was reasonably satisfied with the shape, I glued the styrofoam to the module with water-resistant wood glue.

Next I coated the styrofoam with Scuptamold and filled the gaps between the styrofoam and the rails. I also started to build up the ground on the street side of track 1 where the station building is going to be, so that the ground is almost level with the railheads.

Once the Scuptamold is dry, I'll sand it, so that there is a more even rise towards track 2. On track 1 I filled the gaps between the ties and the pukos with fine sand.

[ part 2 ]

Shelter in Place Puzzle (6)

Shelter in Place Puzzle (5)

Getting there...

Shelter in Place Puzzle (4)

Shelter in Place Puzzle (3)

Progress is very slow.

Shelter in Place Puzzle (2)

This one is much harder than the previous one. Progress is slow.

Module Storage

I have been building a few modules over the last year to support the extension of the Welztalbahn into the garage. Module storage takes up space, too, not a surprise. I kept most of them under the Welztalbahn in the layout room (except Kurve, which is just too big). However, this resulted in no work getting done on the Welztalbahn, since access to most areas under the layout has become very difficult, due to modules and other boxes taking up space.

It was time to do something about that. There is 19 inches of headroom between the top of the garage door mechanism and the ceiling. I built Kurve and Slim Staging, so that their total height doesn't exceed 14 inches in order to fit into this space.

I made a bracket from boards left over from other projects (like this or this) and a ripped 2x6 from the construction stash. I fitted the bracket to the ceiling and screwed it to the floor joists of the upstairs bedrooms with 5 inch construction lag bolts.

I ripped a 3/4in board to make slats for the modules to rest on. When loading the modules, I noticed that the slats sag a little bit. Seems manageable, but if it gets worse, I will build either a third bracket, or frame stronger support.

Here is a photo taken from the outside with the garage door open. Everything fits, and there's still some room left for additional storage.

Untergroeningen Trackwork

[ Untergroeningen posts ]

With basic scenery down, I started weathering the ties and add filler ties under the ends of flex track pieces. The filler ties are stained and painted made from a scale 4x8 lumber strip. For the track weathering I'm using PollyScale tie brown in an isopropyl alcohol wash. The main point here is to remove plastic shine of the ties and create variation in tie appearance.

[ part 2 ]

Coast Starlight at Richmond Ave, San Jose

I have planned for a while to catch the southbound Coast Starlight in Coyote Valley. Working from home makes this easier. I've been tracking the train at the dixielandsoftware site for the last couple days and confirmed it's running pretty much on time. Today I used a gap between morning meetings to get out to the former railroad crossing at Richmond Ave.

I expected that I would hear the train blow the horn for the Blanchard Rd crossing near the power plant at Coyote, but I guess the Bernal Rd overcrossing blocked the sound. When I saw the headlights peek through the bushes off Laguna Ave with no warning I was surprised and adrenaline set in.

The train today was rather short. Just one sleeper, the cafeteria car, observation car and two seating cars. Power were P42DC engines #2 and #130. #130 is painted in Phase II paint scheme to commemorate Amtrak's 40th anniversary in 2011. A nice surprise to see this unit.

As the train disappears towards Morgan Hill, Diesel exhaust hangs in the air, and the lead unit is blowing the horn for the Palm Ave railroad crossing.

Shelter in Place Puzzle: A new challenge

Los Paseos Park Closure

For the last couple weeks Los Paseos Park has been closed, but one can still walk through. The city made it very obvious, that that people should not hang out here.

Though, I do wonder about the wisdom of this contraption:

The swings and other equipment at the playground have been removed or cordoned off.

 

I wonder when we will go back to what we used to call "normal". Probably will be a while.

Maerklin 26605 "Rangierdienst" with Koef II 323 781-5

I love the diminutive locomotives of the Leistungsklasse II (known as Koef II). Recently I came across an offer on a Maerklin set "Rangierdienst" which came with a Koef II including sound and DCC. That's quite a step up from my 30+ year old converted Brawa 0458.

I'm not sure what happened to the box on the way here. The Hbis came apart when I tried to take it out of the box. Even the springs for the close coupling mechanism were detached. It was easy to reassemble, but I have never seen something like that before in a new box from a dealer.

The locomotive comes with the "new" Telex couplers, which work very nicely with the Maerklin short couplings, and not at all with the Relex-style couplers that are the standard couplings on the Welztalbahn. With my Koef III I solved that problem by replacing the Telex coupler with a regular pair of couplers. I haven't decided yet what I'll do in this case.

Due to the short wheelbase the Koef II is also great for finding less than perfect track work on the Untergroeningen module.

Basic Scenery for Untergröningen

[ Untergroeningen posts ]

Moving on to basic scenery in Untergröningen. I started with making asphalt for the road and the Raiffeisen lot.

 I cut templates from newspaper and transferred the shapes to styrene sheet.

I used textured spray paint on the styrene sheet to create slightly irregular surface, and spray painted in grey. Weathering the asphalt will come later.

Then it was time for the transformation. I love this step when brown paint is replaced by scenery texture. I made a time lapse video for the fun of it.

Here are some photos taken when I was done.

[ part 2 ]

To the Top

A quick ride up the hill to balance out sitting on the couch all day long.

Poppies