Model Railroad Blog

The Money Shot

4799SouthMaywoodMONEYshotSm

 

Since finishing the bench work for my LAJ switching layout I’ve been playing around with scene composition and a variety of design ideas.  Nothing really got me excited enough to commit.  The reality is that the vast majority of the modern day LAJ just doesn’t make for a compelling modeling subject.  Like much of the nation, vast swaths of its once fascinating switching spur network have been abandoned.  What remains are essentially featureless concrete cubes.  I was confident that if I stuck with it, spent enough time virtual railfanning on Google Streetview and Bing Maps, I’d eventually gain traction.  Sure enough, there it was, the scene I was looking for that says “this is the LAJ”.  The shot above was taken at 4799 South Maywood in Vernon.  This scene, combined with one on Everett Avenue and District Blvd. give me enough to launch what will be a project that I’m excited about.  The Downtown Spur is very close to the prototype.  East Rail drew on the prototype for inspiration but wasn’t an accurate representation.  Each layout was equally enjoyable.  That being the case I’ve decided to make the LAJ proto freelanced, drawing from a variety of scenes in the Vernon area but not a purely prototypical representation.  There just aren’t enough compelling, side by side, rail served scenes in existing to pull it off.

Knowing What We Don’t Know

Colors

Most participants in model railroading, as with any leisure pursuit, are looking for a casual creative outlet, a break from the everyday without any overriding compulsion to be a master at it.  This is as it should be and I point it out without any condescension.   I enjoy surfing and playing basketball and can say in all honesty I have little desire to be that great at either.  The fact that I’m a “dabbler” doesn’t detract from my experience.

With any pursuit, however, there will be a minority that does strive to be the best they can be, to be “excellent” at it.  You can’t reach that promised land however, if you don’t know what the specific skills are that must be mastered.  This not knowing what we don’t know is probably the largest limiting factor in creating excellent models.  The disconnect comes from not making the distinction between a clean technical execution and a clean execution PLUS that hard to define artistic edge.  An edge exemplified by modelers such as Bill Henderson (Coal Belt), Mike Confalone, or John Wright (Federal Street).  Striving modelers reach the point of technical mastery, think they’ve hit the skills finish line, and stop.  There isn’t an awareness that the race isn’t over and there are major elements beyond being a good “assembler, detailer, and painter” that must be mastered if you are to be excellent.  The big three are scene composition, texture selection, and color selection/color placement (getting the ‘right’ color in the ‘right’ spot).  Mastering the big three takes time and study, both of which typically doesn’t happen because modelers aren’t aware of the importance (or even the existence) of the subject matter.

The above photo is an aerial of the intersection of Gifford Avenue and District Blvd. in Los Angeles.  The color patterns of the pavement and soils are very complex.  Simply putting down a monotone layer of Woodland Scenics ballast and a uniform gray street won’t get you close.  I count at least five soil colors with different feathering patterns in different locations.  The pavement isn’t any simpler when you look at the mix of various ages of concrete, asphalt, cracks, expansion joints, and faded markings.   A careful study and determined effort to match the photo will be rewarded with a unique show stopper of a model.  It’s one thing to say that such a study is delving deeper into the hobby than a person wants.  It’s quite another to be a striving modeler and not be cognizant that the subject needs study in the first place.

Turnback Loops

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, something real railroads have first and foremost in their minds when it comes to going from point A to point B.  In real life,  railroads go a LONG way without turning.  Unfortunately, our basements are so small that we can only go a few feet before we hit the proverbial wall and need to turn.  Taking something that is long and straight and bending it back and forth so that it fits in our basements is a real design challenge both in terms of realism and creature comforts.  Going back to the 1950’s the ‘go to’ design solution was the dog bone solution shown in figure 1.

turnback1

Figure 1

There are four major problems with the dog bone design shown above:

  1. Area 1 is out of reaching distance, a real problem if you need to access the rail for maintenance or to deal with a derailment.
  2. Ideally we would like rectangular shaped areas when dealing with rail features such as yards and structures.  The track running behind the features in area 2 looks toy like and out of place.  The circular region in area 2 is difficult to deal with visually both as far scenery is concerned and track layout.
  3. Straight track is more realistic, more reliable, and easier to deal with when it comes to industrial spurs and sidings. 360 degrees of S curves is a worst case scenario.  Curved turnouts help to an extent but they are expensive, less realistic, and less reliable than their traditional counterparts.
  4. Scenes are more realistic when a train passes through a scene only once.  It looks odd to have a train passing through an area it was just in a second time and heading in the other direction.  Separating the tracks visually  in area 4 is a problem.

turnback2

Figure 2

Unfortunately, the dog bone has become the design solution of choice, almost by default. In reality it should be used only as a last resort.   Railroads are mostly straight and the features around them are generally parallel or perpendicular to the right of way.  To the extent we can maintain that linear spirit with our layout designs the better off we will be.  They will look better and be more comfortable to interact with.

Paint Talk

In a recent issue of RMC there was an article on airbrushing acrylic craft paints.  I was skeptical. Last week a scenery project came up where doing so would be handy  “if” it would work.  Sure enough it did!  I can’t be of much help in terms of mix ratios other than to say I was striving to eyeball the same viscosity you would see in say, a bottle Model Master acrylic mix purchased at the hobby store.  I placed a glob of the acrylic craft paint in a bottle and slowly mixed in distilled water.  Next I added a few drops of alcohol to break the surface tension.  Test time with the airbrush.  Would the brush clog?  Would I get an odd paint surface?  Nope.  I was a little taken aback at how smoothly the paint came from the brush and the high quality satin finish that resulted.  It  definitely works.  This is a really handy tool to be aware of given the broad spectrum of colors available with the craft paints and how readily available they are.

Floating Bench Work Wrap Up

Floating BW final

After the initial false start, I finally wrapped up the floating bench work construction.   Often, the impact of our layout environment rarely reaches the level of conscious awareness.  However, a clean execution of the bench work and room environment sets a tone that enhances the entire experience of interacting with a layout.  It makes us want to be in the room and the effort is never wasted.