Tony Koester made some excellent points in his March Trains of Thought column. The piece dealt with one of the most important modeling topics, color management. He made a point that often gets skipped over and that’s the fact that we view things through atmosphere. As a result, saturation drops off with distance. In addition, sheen (aka degree of gloss) does as well. Since we view our models from a few feet away, we need to dial that atmospheric effect in manually.
I recently picked up the two tractors above from Truckstop Hobbies. They were decent but, like most vehicles models, had some toylike features that needed to be toned down. In real life these trucks would have a fairly glossy surface….when viewed up close. But….realism is enhanced if we take the gloss out to create a sense of distance. The windows were masked and I airbrushed on a few layers of Dullcote. The mirrors were removed and airbrushed flat black, a more common color for them. The wheels needed some major backstepping so these were given some layers of chalk weathering and an India Ink wash. A light ink wash was applied to the grills as well to bring out the detail. The end goal was to remove the look of a shiny toy and (hopefully) instill a higher degree of plausibility.
One of Tradepoint Atlantic’s switchers makes a transfer run between yards. The empty centerbeams were pulled from the massive Home Depot facility. Trains shuttle back and forth between yards all day. A new Starbucks is being built just out of view to the right.
Having the luxury of being able to watch prototype switching operations up close and personal adds an extra, and very fulfilling, dimension to the hobby for me. If switching is your thing, then Charm City, aka Baltimore, is the place for you . First, you have an unusual number of actors which include The Canton Railroad, Tradepoint Rail, CSX, NS, and even some interesting activity inside the gates of industries. Second, you have the texture the city’s fascinating backdrop. It’s a community that takes preservation and links to the past seriously. Finally, it lends itself to what I call “lawn chair rail fanning”. In most of the locations, a major street cuts across the yard throat. While this is a headache for the lines, it’s a boon for the photographer. You can literally sit in a lawn chair on the sidewalk with a hot cup of coffee in your hand, and just watch the action unfold. If anybody wants to take in the action and do some railfanning there, drop me a line and I’ll elaborate on set up locations, restaurants, etc. With one exception, all of the locations are in very safe, gentrified, neighborhoods. Curtis Bay is, how do I put this delicately, “a little rough around the edges”. If you go during business hours odds are that you “probably” won’t get offed.
Canton RR: Canton is a relatively small, but fascinating line. If you go to where the main crosses Holabird Ave. you’ll see the yard switchers doing their blocking. A few blocks to the north, the main crosses Boston Avenue for some additional viewing angles. There’s a Starbucks next to the main at Boston Ave.
Tradepoint: Tradepoint is the new kid on the block. A new, and massive industrial park, is being built on the site of the old Bethlehem Steel site. They have five or six switchers that are very active doing transfer runs between their three yards. Much is fenced off but if you know where to go, you can see plenty of action from public property. Email me for details.
Domino Sugar is a massive industry, with a fairly large rail network that is worked with a Trackmobile. The yard throat crosses Key Highway (which is actually a street, not a highway) so you can just watch trains there. There are some good coffee shops and brewpubs nearby.
Waste Management: Just south of Baltimore is a Waste Management facility with a decent sized yard that is heavily switched by an EMD switcher. If you park on the shoulder of Brockbridge Road you can watch the action as well as that on the adjacent CSX main.
Two of Canton’s Knoxville switchers saw by one another as they work the yard. I tried to get them lined up side by side but they wouldn’t cooperate. The shot is easily captured standing on the sidewalk of Holabird Ave.
Waste Management’s switcher works the yard hard all day long. You can easily watch the action from the shoulder of Brockbridge Road in Annapolis Junction which is a stone’s throw from BWI airport.
The trackmobile crosses Key Highway as it works Domino Sugar’s facility.
Two remote units idle away (beautiful sounding too!) at CSX’s Curtis Bay coal facility.
Well over half of the individuals who contact me state that they want a multi-deck layout. The idea of doubling the size of the potential railroad seems like a silver bullet. The decision as to design configuration is neither good nor bad IF you know exactly what the pros and concerns are. That’s my concern. I really don’t think most people are going into this with their eyes wide open. By not doing so they leave themselves open to spending many thousands of dollars on what amounts to an unworkable dumpster fire. I spent today writing a dig deep discussion on the subject which you can read HERE. Be forewarned that this is not light light reading. It’s not entertaining reading. But, if you’re seriously contemplating spending what would likely be a decision costing well over 10k, it’s worth going through. Multi-deck layouts have their place. They are the right fit in some circumstances IF you know what you’re getting into.
An upgraded Walthers Cryo reefer sits in front of SALCO on the East Rail 2 layout.
If you’re a modern era modeler, graffiti is part of the landscape. Here are a few tips to make it more convincing on a model.
Keep the tags relatively low on the car. They should start at the bottom sill and extend upwards. Avoid having them “floating” in the middle of the side panel.
Have the tags overlap. For example, if you have three decals, try to avoid having open spaces between them.
Finally, the most important tip, tone down the color! Commercial decals are very vibrant. In the example above I used a very, very dilute flat white wash airbrushed over the entire car. In other cases I’ve taken a “paint by numbers” approach and painted lighter, less saturated colors over the decal.
Working with larger decals takes patience as far as getting them to ultimately sit tight against all of the cars details (rivets, seams, etc.). Use Micro Sol as the setting agent and apply it in multiple passes over three or four days. With each pass, use a pin and super sharp blade to pop air bubbles or areas where the decal isn’t settling tight against the car.
The completed COD Seafood structure model on East Rail 2.
Sitting at the entrance to the real East Rail industrial is the COD Seafood Restaurant. How they came up with that name I have no clue. When I fly into Miami, I grab a rental car, make the short drive up 37th Avenue, and grab a bite there. When you sit down it becomes apparent that the staff doesn’t speak English or, more likely, gives visiting gringos the distinct impression that they don’t, even though they know perfectly well what you’re saying. They have menus but I don’t know why. They size you up, have a brief staff meeting and then decide what you really need. The end result is one of the best breakfasts you’ll ever eat chased with Cuban coffee.
Back in 2008 I pulled into the parking lot only to find that the local had arrived just before me. Breakfast would have to wait as I started taking shots. After about twenty minutes a dude in pressed khakis and a polo shirt came out and started giving me the hairy eyeball. Minute by minute he became more agitated and eventually pressed me about what the hell I was doing taking pictures in front of his restaurant. I told him. “Oh, I thought you we’re from the IRS! I’m so embarrassed”. He introduced himself as Reuben, apologized profusely, grabbed my arm, pulled me inside and plopped me at the counter. “Breakfast is on me. Now…eat!”
With all of that backstory I had to have a model of it on the layout. It’s now done and the core of the layout is pretty much finished.
The local switches Sentry Industries in 2008. COD is to the left.
