Model Railroad Blog

September 3, 2017

This shot was a little challenging because I didn’t have as much room as I would have liked to move the photo floods back where I really wanted them. After some trial and error I got something workable but was getting a lot of light burnout on the green building to the left.  By holding a square of cardboard up I was able to block the light falling on that structure and insert a shadow.  Longer scenes are harder to light as there is a tendency to get dark gloomy regions in the back.  The room has overhead 3200 K LED strip lights and by turning those on I was able to get a more even light fill. After taking a few test shots something just seemed off.  Things were too clean.  I went back and added three pieces of trash, subtle but did the trick.  You can see them on the sidewalk between the loco and pole.  When photo editing (Adobe Photoshop) one of the first corrections I apply is the levels tool.  First I apply this globally to the entire image.  Further improvements can be made by applying it to select areas.  Using the selection tool I highlighted the sides of the tanks and  made a second pass with the levels tool.  I did the same for the nose of the locomotive.

The second image, shown above, was an exercise in working with shadows.  All overhead lights were turned off and a single photo flood was positioned about three feet to my left and back a bit.  Moving the light around a little I was able to create glare on the stop sign, highlights on the dumpster face, and a shadow on the brick background structure.  To me, many elements go into making a rail scene, elements that go far beyond just rolling stock.  It isn’t necessary to have a freight car or locomotive  in every shot.  Viewers are smart enough to pick up on the suggestion of rail activity through hints such as the side of a rail, crossbucks, an abandoned loading platfrom, etc.

Full size versions of both images can be found on my Flickr page.

Crossing District Blvd.

I’ve always loved the mood and look created by the long shadows of late afternoon as well as the vivid colors you get on a cloudless day.  Compared to some of my other shots, this one was a little easier to get the equipment positioned since it was taken at the end corner of the layout.  I put my Canon Rebel on a tripod and dropped the viewing height to street level.  The overhead 3200K LED strip lights help with fill lighting.  The “sun” was a single Tota Light positioned to my right and sort of facing the camera.  Moving the light about six feet from the model gave me the shadows I wanted without frying everything.  Five exposures were taken and run through Helicon Focus.  The sky was a shot taken mid day on my trip to Cape Cod last month.  Corel Knockout2 was used to remove the background and crop in the more vivid blue sky photo in back.  A little pecking away with the clone tool to remove a few artifacts here and there and that was it.  A larger format version is on my Flickr site.

August 27, 2017

A look down the alley between the shops of Modern Pattern & Foundry. A larger format version of this image can be found on my Flickr page. Note the illusion of depth in the windows created by using glossy photo paper.

 

Yesterday I got a new wireless throttle in the mail for use with my EasyDCC system, a T5000 to be specific.  Love it.  I decided to put it through the paces by setting up an op. session.  The LAJ layout will probably accommodate somewhere between ten and twelve corn syrup tank cars.  Right now I’ve built the roster to eight.  Cutting a few corners on  procedures, it took me about forty minutes to run through the switch list. With additional cars that might stretch to an hour.  Being honest with myself that’s about the limit of my attention span.  During the week I’ll often run for ten or fifteen minutes moving a car or two.   The Downtown Spur in the basement could spin off a three hour session but that’s simply more than I want to deal with save for open houses or when I have out of town guests.

 

 

Sweetener Products

 

Now that the LAJ layout is essentially done, I’m circling back and re-shooting some of the photos.  The Sweetener Products “back alley” is shown above.  A larger format version can be seen/downloaded on my Flickr page.  Realistically, a facility like this would probably have a slightly more modern look.  I wanted to leave the option open for backdating so fudged a little so that this could serve as a warehouse if I go that route.  Note the unloading pipes and hoses fashioned from Grandt Line O scale piping and coils of solder.  The image was shot using my Canon Rebel Xti and run through Helicon Focus and Corel Knockout 2.

 

One turnout, two years of satisfaction and going strong

Extra track space is at a premium when switching Sweetener Products. In this view, two corn syrup tanks are temporarily stuffed into the Sabor Hispano spur while the car sorting and spotting takes place.

 

I’ve never been one for artificially designing  un-realistic switching nightmares into a track plan.  The prototype offers up enough to keep you thinking as is and does so with relatively little track. Switching Sweetener Products is challenging on a few fronts.  First, this is a car spot driven industry.  Each tank car contains a different grade of syrup and must be spotted at the appropriate unloading hose to prevent contamination.  Second, there isn’t a lot of track to work with, especially when taking into account the relatively large number of cars being dealt with.  Finally, thinks are further complicated by the fact that the tank cars look almost identical making it difficult to keep track of them while you work.  Working this industry is an exercise in concentration!

Why is this important?  It’s important because it illustrates the point that a layout that occupies a tiny footprint that is within the reach of any hobbyist, is inexpensive, and only has one turnout(there are two turnouts but the second isn’t used much) can be both highly plausible and fulfilling to operate.  The construction aspects of the LAJ kept me busy and happy for several years and I’ve yet to grow bored with it.  An operating session would easily extend longer than an hour and entail so much focused concentration that you’d likely be ready for a break at that point anyway.  Here’s how a session might unfold.

 

Every prototype is different but, from the conductors I’ve spoken to, generally  the yard job doesn’t pre-sort the cars for the local prior to sending it on the road.  The local needs to do that when it gets to the industry.  Using that as a guide, a local would come down The Horn Lead with the corn syrup tanks bound for Sweetener Products and need to sort them prior to spotting.

 

 

Maybe my professional rail buddies will set me straight, but this is how I’d approach things.  First, I’d dump the cut of incoming loads temporarily on the Federal Cold Storage lead.  Next I’d pull the entire cut of empties including the car in the process of being unloaded.  Using the cut of empties as a “handle”, I’d begin the long push/pull process of spotting the loads at their dedicated hoses, including re-spotting the car that yet to be un-loaded.

 

The car that wasn’t fully un-loaded throws a wrench into things because now we don’t have enough room for all of the incoming cars.  Rather than take the extra car back to the yard, it’s spotted outside the gate to be dealt with by another shift once space opens up.  All of this is going to take you “awhile”.  In the end it’s an approach that offers a lot of entertainment per square foot and per dollar of hobby budget.