September ~ October Update

I've fallen a bit behind in updating the blog but the good news is that a lot has been happening out in Thunder Mesa Country!

Overall view of the layout as it looks today.

Geyser Gulch still needs a lot of work, including its trestle bridge,
but just beyond in Dinosaur Gap the final rock work is starting to take shape.

Building Dinosaur Gap and a base for Baxter's Butte

Much of the work over the last two months has been centered around the left side of the layout where the track makes a sweeping S-curve before plunging into Rainbow Caverns. I'm calling this scene "Dinosaur Gap" because of the T-Rex skeleton that will be exposed just above the track grade, somewhat similar to the scene below at Disneyland.

My dino hasn't been installed yet, but I've laid the groundwork for the scene, while at the same time finishing the tunnel entrance to Rainbow Caverns and adding a solid base for the removable upper section of Baxter's Butte (AKA Big Thunder Mt). Here's a photo progression of the scene as it takes shape.

The first step was to cut and install a piece 1/4" masonite in the exact shape
of the butte's footprint. It was then glued into place and the track for the new
mine spur was laid over the top. The 1/4" masonite is the same height as the
HO scale cork roadbed I am using.

Next, plaster cloth was used to blend the masonite "footprint" with the layers of
pink insulation foam below.

Scultamold was applied over the plaster cloth and pink foam, adding texture,
filling gaps and blending everything together. More rock facets and faces were
carved into the Scultamold at this time.

Additional detail rock carvings were sculpted from Balsa Foam and blended
in with Spackle and Scultamold.

After drying for about 48 hours, the entire area now ready for paint.

I paint everything with a coat of tan latex paint, this seals the foam carvings
and helps blend everything together. I use a foam brush for this, dabbing
paint into all of the nooks and crannies.

After painting.

After the base coat is dry, diluted India ink is applied with a spray bottle to
darken all of the cracks and crevasses.

Here's how it looks after the India ink flows into the texture and dries.

Now it's time for the fun part, painting with acrylics! These are the basic
colors and brushes I use.

This is where things get creative. First I use Raw Sienna, dabbing and dry-brushing
over the surface of the rocks but leaving the India ink shadows to show through.

Next I rub in some Burnt Umber, using it sparingly and only where
I want the darkest shadows.

Now highlights a dry-brushed on with Buff Titanium, keeping in mind
which layers of rock I want to be lighter than the others

Last are the final details, scrubbing and blending the colors together,
adding more highlights where needed and dry-brushing in
some darker streaks where water has stained the rocks.

And here is the finished paint job with a few details added.

Next the track will be painted and ballast and ground cover
added, along with more details to complete the scene.

The area just above the track on the right is where the dinosaur bones will
be located. The flat, pedestal looking rocks on the left are for teetering boulders.

Mock-Up Land

I'm a firm believer in using paper mock-ups to test structure size and placement. It's a lot easier to make changes to a scene at this stage than after detailed structures have been built and placed.

A paper and foamboard mock-up of Big Thunder station.

Station and water tower.

On the left will be an open air engine shed, on the right is a mock-up for an
ore bin.

Designing an Excursion Car

Since my railroad represents a fictional prototype for the Big Thunder attractions it frees me up to design things that look as if they could have inspired Disney Imagineers without being direct copies of what is found at the parks. My goal is to create designs with a strong "family resemblance" to the Disney trains while still looking as if they could actually have existed on a real world railroad somewhere.

In my universe, the Thunder Mesa line was a down-on-its-luck ore carrier that was discovered and saved by railfans and tourists. While it still moves ore from the mines from time to time, its main business has shifted to providing scenic rail excursions through the spectacular natural wonders of the Thunder Mesa area. So, my thinking goes, how would an old mining line shift to carrying tourists? Well, by converting old ore cars to excursion cars of course!

Here's my first pass at designing a 12' ore car converted to excursion service.
Note that this is not an actual model but was created through the magic of Photoshop.

And here is the final design (for now).  I decided a 14' car would be more
practical and also added a canopy version to provide deluxe, first class
service for my 1/4" scale guests. The cars will be built on cut-down
Bachmann flatcar frames.

Next Update:

Well, that's enough for this time. Next update I'll be painting track, adding some line-side details and who knows what else. 'Till then, happy trails!

August Update

I haven't had much time to work on the railroad this summer, but here's an update on the small amount of progress that has been made since June.

The final shape of things is starting to come together with a bit more scenery roughed in and a new upper level mining spur added.

This new line tunnels right through the heart of Baxter's Butte to feed an ore tipple above the main tracks. Once completed, this track will feature the same back and forth automation as the lower line in town, using the same Circuitron electronics described in the last post.

And last but not least, The TMMC has acquired some new rolling stock in the form of Bachmann's excellent side dump ore cars. These cars are die-cast metal and the side dump mechanism works very smoothly. They'll be repainted 'Thunder Mesa Gold' before all is said and done.

That's about it for now, hope everyone is having a great summer and I look forward to getting more work done on the railroad once things slow down in the fall.

Update 9/7/2013:
The upper level line has been converted to On18 and will soon connect to a Calico Gold Mining diorama on the expanded TMMC.

Train Automation

Now that the main loop of track is complete and running&nbsp I thought it would be fun to add more visual interest with a second train shunting automatically back and forth on the station and mine spurs as the first train racks up miles on the main loop. To accomplish this, I picked up a Circuitron AR-2 auto-reverse circuit at my local hobby shop.

The AR-2 circuit board.

The AR-2 comes complete with a pair of optical sensors that must be installed between the ties at either end of the train's run.

One of the tiny optical sensors ready to be installed between the rails.

Now, wiring and electronics are probably my weakest skills in this hobby, but I was able to follow the simple instructions and diagrams without trouble and the installation went off without a hitch.

Optical sensors installed at both ends of the run.

The two optical sensors are installed in the desired positions on the layout and then wired to the circuit board. Power feeders are soldered between the rails and the board and then between the board and a DC power pack. The final step is to attach power to the unit from a 13 to 18 volt AC or DC power source. I used the 18V AC terminals on an old MRC power pack (note that exceeding 18V AC will most likely burn up the unit and void the warranty).

Everything wired up, soldered and ready to test.

A great advantage of the AR-2 is that you can set a timed delay at each stop, from a few seconds to a few minutes. I set mine to delay about 20 seconds at each stop.

I should mention that since this is basically just an automated polarity reversing system it is only useful with DC systems and will not work for DCC. Of course, I'm a big believer in having my cake and eating it too so I'll be wiring the layout for both traditional DC and Digital Command Control. When all the wiring is done I'll be able to flip a switch or two and choose between automation like this, DC cab control or full DCC. If I do it right, I'll even be able to operate some blocks on DCC and others on DC.

I tend to put off wiring projects as long as possible but this one only took about an hour to complete and now I have two trains running on Thunder Mesa! Thanks to Circuitron for creating a great product that has me excited about other automation and animation possibilites for the railroad. More to come!

Update 9/7/2013:
Although the Circuitron AR-2 has performed flawlessly, I am no longer using it on the layout. As the railroad has grown, my focus has shifted from simple display to more realistic operation and I'm now using DCC to run trains almost exclusively.  The AR-2 unit has been uninstalled from the layout, but I may bring it back in the future to automate trains on the upper level On18 Calico line.

Adding a Fascia

I had a little time to work on the railroad over the last few days and decided to go ahead and install the fascia or profile boards. This really gives a nice, finished look to the layout and helps to define the edges of the little world I'm creating. I used 1/8" masonite attached with Liquid Nails and clamped in place with 1" drywall screws. Once the adhesive cures completely, I'll back out all the screws, fill the holes with wood putty and get it ready for painting.

Overall view.

Future location of the Geyser Gulch trestle.
Now, how am I going to make those geysers erupt? Hmmm.

While adding the fascia I also completed work on the Rainbow Caverns show building. This is basically a masonite and black foamcore box that will hold the black-lit cavern effects I'm planning while also acting as a support structure for the upper levels of Thunder Mesa town. I incorporated a hinged access hatch into the fascia for maintenance and photography inside the caverns. It's held in place with magnetic cabinate latches and swings down out of the way when opened.

 Rainbow Caverns show building and access hatch.
The tunnel entrance will be disguised with rock work.

Viewing portal for Rainbow Caverns.

Access hatch when open.

Rainbow Caverns show building from the Thunder Mesa side.

Now that the major carpentry is finished the logical next step would be to finish roughing in the scenery. I might do that, or I might start work on some long delayed locomotive or rolling stock projects. Or I might do something completely different like get the backdrop painted. Who knows? The wonderful thing about a model railroad is that there is never any shortage of interesting projects to work on!