29 Sage Junction

The roadbed against the back wall is very narrow.   This junction will eventually connect to the branch line to Tennsion (a story yet to come). We needed a way to extend the depth and create some activity at Sage Junction.  I had a photograph mural created for a former version of the ATSG Railroad.  I felt that it might work in this location.  There is only 3 inches between the track and the backdrop.

Sage Junction with only backdrop photograph in place

A small station and a water tank were installed behind the track.  There is a small parking lot behind at the left of the station.  The road from the parking lot goes behind the station and seems to extend into the backdrop.  The scenery in front of the photograph was constructed to match the backdrop photo.

Sage Junction 

The water tank is a Campbell kit and the station was another kit from an unremembered manufacturer.  Figures, a woody station wagon, and other platform details were added to complete the scene.  The terrain in the foreground fills the space between the lower main line and the upper line at Sage.  Can you tell that our engineer is fascinated by rock retaining walls and roadbed support?

The photographer for the ATSG is getting better.  He discovered Helicon focus.  Several photographs are taken at different focal lengths focusing from the furthest element of the picture to just in front of the nearest element. The photographs are then combined via Helicon focus to produce a picture that is in sharp focus at every distance.  The scene was lit by two lights plus the overhead light.  The color is by setting the camera on real.  The aperture is set to the smallest opening, only F8 on my camera.  The focal length is 50 mm without any zoom.

Updated June 10, 2014

28 Hidden Meadows

Articulated #49 Crossing the Trestle at Hidden Meadows

The Trestle at Hidden Meadows

In the back corner of the layout the main line curves around the front edge of the corner of the layout.  After negotiating the peninsula in the center of the room the main line returns to this corner  as a high line in the rear of the area.  The terrain on most of the railroad is mountainous and above the track.  In this corner the high line crosses a wide valley.  This necessitated that the engineers build a trestle across the valley.  Unfortunately the photographer neglected to photograph this valley before the construction of the trestle.  The  photograph shows the trestle after it was installed across the valley before the scenery was completed.  The feed store in the foreground was merely an experiment to see if it would work in this

MayBell Mill 

location.  It seemed to dwarf the trestle so it was not installed at this location.

The next three photographs show Hidden Meadows with the scenery more complete.  Behind the trestle is an N-scale barn in an attempt to force perspective and make the meadow appear larger than it is.    The MayBell flower mill is a better size and because of its size appears closer to the viewer and helps the trestle seem to be further away.

Plans call for a painted backdrop behind the trestle to extend the meadow into the distance with mountains beyond.

Siding at Hidden Meadows

Construction Details

Bent Construction

Rock Work on Trestle Approach

The Farmer at Hidden Meadow 

To construct the trestle I first drew a plan for the bents.  Using double stick tape I laid the dowels on the plan and then glued the cross braces and top beam to the bents.  Since I wanted the valley to slope on either end to match the mountainous scenery on either side of the valley, I varied the length of the bents.   The top beams between bents were laid out on a full scale drawing of the track representing the curvature of the track.  I actually used the spline roadbed which I cut out to made room for the trestle as a guide.  Before I cut this roadbed I constructed a support for the roadbed on either side of the cut so that the roadbed would not shift when I made the cut.  The trestle is on a grade as well as a curve so I propped up one end of the board on which I laid out the beams to match the grade.  I then mounted the bents on the beams using a level to get them vertical in spite of the grade.  I then cut blocks of wood to place under each of the bents and which would later be mounted on the floor of the valley to support the trestle.  While on the workbench, as shown in the photographs below
,  I added the cross braces between the bents.  I used a very small dab of hot glue and a small glue gun to attach these braces.  When the trestle was constructed I placed it between the two cut ends of the roadbed using the wood blocks to support the bents.  By careful measurement the trestle dropped into place without too much adjustment and the blocks were glued in place.

Installing braces to bents

The trestle was then removed and using cheese cloth and plaster the valley was formed under the trestle.  The plaster was painted and scenery material put in place before the trestle was placed.  After the trestle was secured I relaid individual rails on the ties of the trestle using goo on the bottom of the rails and heating the rails to secure them to the ties.

On the right end of the trestle I used vertical plaster to represent a rock wall supporting the track as it enters the trestle.  The rocks were carved by hand using a pen knife.  Scenic details were added including the barbed wire fence constructed from round tooth picks.  The cows were placed in the field and the farmer was on his way to milk the cows.  His old tractor sits in the field as well. (The out of focus photograph needs to be replaced by a better photo but we thought you might enjoy this detail even with the poor photograph.)  The road was constructed with the wooden grade crossing with cross bucks.  The flower mill was placed and trucks and figures completed the scene.

Building the fence:  I cut the toothpicks to length often cutting at an angle for the top of the post.  I plant them in very small holes in the scenery pointed end down.  To make the posts more realistic I scrape each post on a rough file.  I then paint them a brown color using diluted model paint more as a stain rather than a solid color.  I have found that gap filling ACC glue works best to hold the posts in place.  Stringing barbed wire is tedious but not difficult. I use rust colored thread for wire.   I form a slip knot for the first post and hold it in place with a tiny drop of ACC glue.  I use an accelerator spray to get the glue to set instantly.  I then wrap each post in turn with the thread.  When I get to the last post I again tie a knot around the post and hold it in place with a drop of ACC.  Then I carefully position the wire at the correct level on each post and secure it with a drop of glue.  I used three strands of wire on my fence. [Don't strain your vision.  I realize that the wire is not yet in place in this photograph.  But it will be for the replacement photograph.]

Carving plaster of  Paris:  If you have not tried to carve plaster the following directions may be helpful.  I use a cardboard armature for land forms.  I cover the armature with cheese cloth held in place by diluted white glue.  When it is dry I paint the cheesecloth with a soupy mix of plaster-of-Paris (1 cup water 2 cups plaster).  I add a small amount of powdered stucco color to give the plaster a light tan color rather than stark white.  This helps prevent white spots if the plaster chips.  The result is a thin shell for the terrain. I formed the wall under the roadbed at the end of the trestle with cardboard covered with cheesecloth.  If you let the plaster mixture stand for a few minutes (about 10 or 15) it achieves a consistency like tooth paste and can then be formed into a thick layer over the shell.  (Hint if you wait until the shell is completely dry it is important to spray it with wet water (water with a drop of detergent in it) so the thicker plaster will stick.  In another few minutes it assumes the consistency of modeling clay and is easily carved.  This condition lasts for about 20 minutes so it is important to work with small areas at a time.  To carve the rock wall I used a small level to scribe parallel (almost) lines in the setting plaster and then carved the vertical lines between the lines to form the quarried rock. I also roughed up the surface of my rock wall by pricking it with a small piece of wire brush.  After it was dry I colored the wall with the same technique I use for most of my scenery.  Ordinary water-based flat house paint (mine is a sandy color) is diluted 12:1.  To get a more gray color for my rock wall I added a small bit of acrylic blue paint to my base color. This diluted paint is then sprayed onto the rock wall.  After the paint is dry (usually only 20 or 30 minutes) I use various earth toned pastel chalks to add a bit of color to each individual rock in the wall.  I complete the whole process by spraying the wall with flat matte medium.

27 Scenery for Tucker Junction

After getting the track installed and operational the president was anxious to have scenery to cover the bench work. An earlier post in this series showed using cardboard strips covered with cheese cloth to form the mountain at Whetstone Ridge. The ATSG Railroad moves from the high mountains to a more pastoral landscape with rolling hills.

Rather than cardboard strips "mother nature" decided to experiment with cardboard profile boards to form the framework for the scenery. The first photograph shows the profile boards for the rolling hills behind Tucker Junction, the eventual site of the Saw Mill and other industries.

The next picture shows the profile boards covered with cheese cloth ready for a coat of plaster to form the hills. Tucker Junction is located just in front of these hills.

In March the Color Country Model Railroad club was hosted by the ATSG Railroad management. The purpose of the meeting was to provide an opportunity for club members to get hands on experience in creating plaster scenery over cheese cloth.

Plaster of Paris was used mixed one cup of water to two cups of water, a rather soupy consistency when first mixed. To avoid a very white scenery base the plaster was colored with a teaspoon of powered stucco dye, available at the hardware store for only a few dollars. Mixing the plaster in the bottom half of waxed milk cartons seems to be the best container for spreading the plaster. The soupy mixture is brushed onto the cheese cloth structure using cheap paint brushes. The scenery party had about 8 participants everyone taking a section of the railroad and painting on the plaster mix. It was messy but the base scenery for a considerable section of the railroad was completed during this work session. A good time was had by all.

The final picture is shows club members Judy Chaston, Larry Chaston and David Padilla brushing on the plaster soup to form the hills behind Tucker Junction.

26 Left Hand Fork

Figure 1 Possible Location for Left Hand Fork

Previous to its new location in St. George, the ATSG included a Howe truss bridge and a steel arch bridge over Left Hand Fork. After a search of the virtual, yet to be created, terrain for a suitable location the bridges were located in the mountains over Left Hand Fork. The first photo shows the bridges sitting on the layout in a possible location for Left Hand Fork. At this stage in its development the roadbed and track were in place but no scenery.  The second photo shows the same location but here the roadbed had been cut and terrain under the bridge lowered to create Left Hand Fork.  The fascia was cut to accommodate the creek as it runs off the layout. The cardboard  profiles that will support the scenery is in place.  The third photo shows Left Hand Fork after the scenery was completed. In the early fall this creek is dry with water only during rain storms. Perhaps the rain will come and the creek will flow with water in the near future.

Figure 2  Terrain lowered and cardboard 

Construction details: Previous posts showed the spline roadbed used on for the ATSG. The bridges were already constructed, so a suitable location was identified where the spline was straight enough to accommodate the bridges. The length of each bridge was carefully measured and marked on the spline. Supports were added under the spline just before the cuts for the bridge. The spline was then cut out and supports for the bridges installed. The bridges were then carefully put in place and the track relaid through the them.

Figure 3  Start of Scenery at Left Hand Fork

The bridges were installed in the spline before the scenery was in place. Obviously they looked a little out of place connecting two ends of the roadbed with no other visual means of support. The cardboard profile armature was then constructed around the bridges.  The bridges were then removed and cheese cloth and plaster applied as described in previous posts. Rocks were hand carved into the cliffs on either side of the creek. The rock were then colored with a spray bottle with diluted paint matching our previously determined rock color. Rocks, consisting of broken bits of plaster, were then glued into the stream bed and colored in a similar way. The rocks were given variety by the application of powered pastel colors in earth tones. They were then sprayed with matte finish to protect the color and keep it from running. Then the shrubs, ground cover and trees were installed. Finally the autumn colors were added to give the look of early fall. Water will probably be added in the near future so that we can add some fishermen to the scene to give it more life.

This post is being updated June 11, 2014.  The scenery is now finished on both sides of Left Hand Fork. This area appeared as in Figure 3 for almost 4 years until the construction of Echo Canyon.  The scenery is now complete eastbound around the outside of the layout from Sulphur Gulch to Ascape to Left Hand Fork to Hidden Meadow.  It is also complete westbound around the layout from East Tunnel via Echo Canyon via Left Hand Fork via Sage.  The peninsula area formerly Tucker Junction has been renovated and is under construction for industrial section of the city of Tennsion and for the mine at Jerome.  There is no finished scenery around the peninsula between Sage on upper main to Hidden Meadow on the lower main.

Figure 4 Water Stop and Maintenance Facility at Left Hand Fork

The water tank is a early Campbell kit, the section house is scratch built from card stock.

Figure 5 The Howe Truss Bridge at Left Hand Fork

 The Howe Bridge is a Campbell kit.  The steel arch bridge is scratch built from Micoengineering structural shapes.

Figure 6 The main and high line main crossing Left Hand Fork.

 The train on the steel arch bridge is westbound on the upper main.  The train crossing the Howe bridge is eastbound on the lower main.  These two trains can pass one another on the siding at Sage or the siding at Hidden Meadow.

Figure 7 Left Hand Fork 

Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 all enhanced via Helicon Focus.  See Post 30 and 34 for more details.

25 Yards, Sidings and More Track

Posting to this blog was very sparse during 2010.  It wasn't because there was no progress on the ATSG Railroad.  The activities of the year consisted primarily of building infrastructure -- that is, track.  At the Open House in January the main line was in place allowing us to run trains on the railroad.  However there were only two passing three passing sidings on the railroad -- one at Ascape, one at Tennsion, and one at Echo Jct.  This allowed trains to run from Ascape to Echo and then reverse and return.  The passing sidings allowed another train to return from either location and for them to be able to pass one another at Tennsion.  It was fun for visitors but not very interesting for operation.  The next big task was to lay track -- lots of track.  This blog describes some of the major track laying activities.  I apologize in advance for the depth of field in the photos.  I'm learning.

Park City Yard

Park City.   The picture at the left shows the small yard at Park City.  This is the home of the Silver King Ore Tipple which will be the foreground of the picture straddling the two tracks containing gondolas.  The track to the left is the main entrance to the yard and contains a locomotive pocket that allows the locomotive to run around the cars to push them into the sidings.  The turnouts for the run around track can be seen left of the second gondola and toward the top of the picture at the beginning of the ladder track.  The turnout in the distance serves the small turntable and engine house at Park City.  A brass shay and brass climax  at the engine house await service in hauling ore from the tipple (use your imagination please).  In the future you will see this scene finished. 

Technical details:  track is code 83 flex track.  Turnouts are from a variety of manufactures. Uncoupling ramps are included in all stub end sidings but not on through tracks.Turnout control is with Caboose Hobbies hand throws.  Park City is a bit difficult to reach so these will probably be replaced by Tortoise machines in the future. 

Ascape Engine Terminal

Engine Terminal.  The Ascape engine terminal is the primary servicing location on the railroad.  It is accessed directly from the mail line as shown in the lower left of the photograph.  This track then divides into two tracks on either side of the coal, sand, water, and oil facilities.  Both tracks lead to the turn table beyond the service facilities.  A round house is under construction and will be located beyond the turntable in the upper part of the picture beyond the engine facilities.  The track to the right in the picture is the drill track with the first couple of turnouts in the classification ladder showing.  There is a crossover just this side of the coal tipple.   This allows locomotives arriving from the East to pull into the drill track, uncouple their train and then move beyond the coal tipple, drop their ashes in the ash pit, and pull onto the turntable for servicing in the round house.  The switcher locomotive,  that is usually positioned at the end of the drill track,  can then sort the incoming traffic into the classification yard. 

Ascape Engine Facilities

Ascape Passenger Station.  The photograph also shows a passenger  track that was put in front of the Ascape station.  There were two reasons for this addition.  First, the front of the station has the interesting detail and the original plan was to have it face the main line with the back of the station to the aisle.  When the chairwoman of the board saw this she suggested, strongly, that the station should be turned around making the passenger track necessary.  Second in its original location the station was subject to bumps from elbows of operators.  Adding a passenger track in front of the station moves it back a bit from the aisle slightly decreasing the danger of damage from passing giants.  

Ascape Station

24 FIRST OP SESSION

For those who follow this blog, sorry for the lapse. Much progress has been made and I'll catch this blog up in the near future.

John Westbrook delivering a mine train to Park City

Goals when the revised AT&SG was started --(1) Have trains running by Christmas 2009. The first trains ran for club train tour in November. Trains ran again for the open house Jan 2 1010. (2) Have an op session by June 2010. We made it. The first mini op session was Saturday June 12. Doug Whetstone, Chris Mauzy, Jack LaDuke, John Westbrook, Ed Kruger.

Jack and his daughter Natasha, who as an artist liked the scenery.

Jack LaDuke and his daughter Natasha, who as an artist liked the scenery.

Doug Whetstone and John Westbrook at Ascape Yard

Chris Mauzy working Castle Coal

Dave demonstrated classification in the Ascape Yard.
Jack ran the coal train assisted by Chris who finished the run.
John ran the mine train assisted by Doug.
Doug did some classification in the Ascape Yard and delivered traffic to Ascape industries.

Lots of tune up needed but at least folks ran trains.

More about operation to come.

23 2010 OPEN HOUSE

On January 2, 2010 the Ascape Tennsion & Sulphur Gulch Railroad was on view for the first annual open house for the railroad. More than 60 visitors signed the visitor's log. In addition to the railroad there was socializing among neighbors and friends together with delicious soups and breads. Doug Whetstone (for whom Whetstone Ridge was named) served as engineer to keep trains running for the visitors. Many commented on the beauty of Whetstone Ridge, Lost Creek, Cadi Falls, and Sulphur Gulch. While much of the railroad is still under construction there was sufficient for visitors to grasp the concept of the railroad.

It is hoped that the New Year's Open House will be an annual event. The new year's resolution from the management is to have the track work complete and many industries in place for the 2011 Open House. The goal is for the open house to be an opportunity to witness an actual operating session on the ATSG. Of course this means that the management anticipates the commencement of operating sessions by mid 2010. Interested engineers should contact the management to be placed on the call board.

Unfortunately the management was so busy with visitors that they neglected to take photographs during the open house. Photos will be scheduled for next year as well as for early op sessions.

For those interested in operation the following is scheduled for the ATSG Railroad. As you consult the history of the ATSG (Blog entry #1) you will note that the railroad is connected to the D&RG from Ascape to Provo via Sulphur Gulch and on the East from Echo Junction to Grand Junction. [Both Provo and Grand Junction are represented by staging]. Each day (op session) a D&RG freight travels across the branch from Provo via Ascape to Grand Junction via Echo Junction. This train leaves traffic from Provo and points West destined for the ATSG at Ascape and picks up traffic from the ATST industries to points East via Echo Junction to Grand Junction. A second freight enters the branch from Grand Junction via Echo Junction leaving traffic destined for the railroad's industries at Ascape and picking up traffic destined for Provo and points west. The D&RG has been petitioned for a Westbound and Eastbound passenger train to travel across the branch. It is hoped that this petition will be granted in the near future.

The Ascape yard operator prepares this freight traffic for the daily Eastbound and Westbound freights. He also sorts incoming traffic for delivery by one of the two local trains that run each day on the branch. Two locals are run each day from Ascape to points on the branch. Two passenger trains are also run each day delivering passengers, milk and mail to destinations on the branch. Each day there is a coal train from Provo to Castle Coal to deliver empties and retrieve loads destined for iron and steel works in Provo. Each day there is a mine train that delivers empties and retrieves loads of ore from the Silver King tipple and the mines at Park City for processing at Provo.

An op session on the ATSG requires at least 6 operators: a yard master for staging, a yard master at Ascape, and several engineers to run the scheduled trains and any extras that may be required. We hope that you will join us for an op session. Contact the management to be placed on the call board.