Ballasting

Here's a couple of videos showing how I ballast track on the Geneva Sub. Not too sure if I like being on camera. However, I figure if I keep doing it, I will get better at it and hopefully the videos will be more interesting. Of course, there's always the possibility that I wont get any better at which point I'll quit and stick to just trains on the screen!

Video Update Featuring 100% Weathered Fleet

Below is an update on the railroad featuring a 100% weathered fleet of rolling stock (not including locomotives). I'm hoping to do some ballasting this weekend yet and then I'll be tacking those non weathered locomotives.

BNSF Crosses the Diamonds in Rochelle II

I finally broke down and picked of a trio of BNSF units to pull trains across the Rochelle diamonds. I still need to get some rolling stock for the train so in the meantime I am borrowing a friends Norfolk Southern equipment.

In a few days I should be posting some pictures and video of all the newly weathered rolling stock.

Mass Weathering of Intermodal Fleet Video

Here's the video I promised. 

Mass Weathering of Intermodal Fleet

I decided to get started on weathering my intermodel fleet yesterday.  Rather than do one at a time, I weathered them all at once in mass.  I shot a video of the process which I will post today or tomorrow.  In the meantime here's a picture of the fleet just before the wheels came off and the airbrush powered up.

Hiding the BNSF Return Tracks

A major improvement of the Geneva Sub over the old Rochelle Sub is the ability to run BNSF trains across the Rochelle diamonds.  To do this a loop of BNSF track is included in the track plan. The only part of the loop that we want to see is the part that crosses the diamonds and runs through Rochelle.  The two curves of the loop are already behind the backdrop, but there is a need to hide the tracks running along the back drop in Rochelle (refer to the track plan in a previous post).  To hide these tracks I used 1/8" masonite cut into 3.125" strips.  The masonite is mounted using simple angles glued to the masonite and screwed into the plywood.  I then painted the strips to match and blend in with the original backdrop. Below are before and after shots of the area.

Time to Pick up the Pace on Posts

Can't believe its been a month since my last post.  School's out for the summer though, so you can expect a flurry of posts over the next few weeks.  I'm planning on doing some weathering this week and next with hopefully a video showing how I weather bunches of cars on one time.  After that, there will be ballasting, bridge building, modelling water, photos on backdrops, structures, roads, etc.  I plan to start with Fulton, then move on to the Mississippi River, the Clinton/Proviso Yard and the Proviso Engine Facilities.  If I get all that done this summer I will be very surprised. Stay tuned!