Spline Roadbed 1: Oakridge to Helix Spline Construction

The final section of subroadbed to be installed on the lower level stretches from the south end of Oakridge to the entrance to the helix. The trackage is primarily on a sweeping curve and will feature transitional scenery from the flatter valley hills modeled in Oakridge to the steeper mountain terrain that will be predominant on the mid and upper levels. For this reason, spline roadbed is the perfect choice.

I have used spline roadbed in the past on the mid and upper levels of the railroad. For me, it is ideal for mountain railroading as it creates beautifully flowing curves, natural easements, and is narrow for steep scenery. As always, I start with reference to the track plan to lay out the curve, however, I am not married to it and often will use the spline itself to find the best fitting curve for the railroad in space. In this instance, the path suggested for the turnaround curve was rather awkward and tight so I elected to broaden it slightly.

Initial curve laid out with two masonite splines. Oakridge is out of the picture to the bottom right and the helix is in the bottom left. Also in this scene will be Salmon Creek and Pope and Talbot Lumber, which will fit against the backdrop. The view from a ladder is best to see the entirety of the curve at one time and make sure there are no awkward kinks or bends. 

After I have decided on the proper arrangement, I glue 2 or 3 splines together with wood glue. I have used 1/4" masonite ripped into 1" strips throughout the project. In this case I glued 3 layers together as the curve was manageable and easily accessible. 

Three layers of spline laminated together and drying with clamps. A good supply of spring clamps is necessary. 

When using two different types of subroadbed transitions are are necessity. For spline to plywood, it is best to cut a small key-slot for one of the layers to fit into. This ensures proper alignment and flow. Once all seven layers of spline are laminated, I will take more care into creating a smooth transition. 

Key slot cut and spline fit for transition between two subroadbed types.

Clamps holding together the final layers for the Oakridge to helix curve.

Completed spline roadbed with 7 layers of 1/4" masonite.

In the next installment I will discuss how I install the risers and fasten the spline to the benchwork. This area presents unique challenges given the height of the benchwork and future location of Salmon Creek.

Fascia-1: Westfir to Oakridge

The Winter 2018-2019 construction phase commenced earlier this week with fascia work in Westfir. After some time away from working on the railroad, Westfir, the very first scene on the railroad will be a major focus over the next few weeks and will feature in a variety of posts on various projects including fascia work, track painting and detailing, backdrop painting, and terrain. 

Given the narrow spacing between decks, I decided on a 7 inch standard depth for fascia on the first level. The goal of the fascia is to cleanly define the scenes, but not overpower them. I plan to have minimal distractions on the fascia save for location names and mileposts.

I started by fitting an 8 ft.  piece of masonite I had ripped to width with my table saw. At the south end of Westfir, Tunnel 22 interrupts the scene and serves as a scenic divider between Westfir and Oakridge. To accommodate the change in terrain for the tunnel, I fitted and spliced in a taller piece of masonite that was shaped to match the profile of the future terrain. 

Fitting the larger terrain profile for Tunnel 22 between Westfir (right) and Oakridge (left).

The standard sized fascia piece for Westfir tacked in place with temporary wood screws.

Profile for Tunnel 22 cut and clamped in place for fitting. 

To secure the fascia to the benchwork I have opted to use #8 wood screws with finishing washers. This is a method that has been done and documented previously and I liked the look of screws on the fascia. Returning readers will remember I countersunk and spackled over the screws on the fascia for my staging yard, but I wasn't pleased with the results and the amount of work the achieve a decent result. 

With the finishing washers, the fascia, despite the presence of the wood screws, maintains a clean and professional look. 

To connect pieces of masonite seamlessly I originally planned on using scrap plywood, wood glue, and a few screws to hold everything in place and in alignment. I found, however, that with careful sanding and fitting, a scrap of masonite glued over the join on the backside of the fascia with wood glue provided quite a clean and strong joint.

Clamps hold everything in place as the glue holding the joints together dries. 

To finish initial construction of the Westfir fascia I cut a simple terrain profile with my jigsaw. I was careful not to just cut a wave pattern, but to account for natural variation in terrain and also engineered drainage features, namely a culvert. Additionally, I lightly spackled the joint between the two masonite pieces as well as a small hole in the Tunnel 22 profile piece. 

Westfir fascia initial construction complete with spackling and profiles cut. 

In future posts regarding fascia work on the railroad I will discuss my techniques for painting as well as detail continued construction through Oakridge.

Final Note: I am changing the way I post updates to allow for more continuous content throughout the year. Moving forward I will post weekly updates (Fridays) documenting 1 or 2 of the projects I am working on. In this way I can write more about each aspect of the railroad, as well as give each project its own post to make information better accessible for each topic. 

Bringing Trees out of the Forest

As I continue my backdrop painting adventure feet by feet, I wanted to spend some time detailing the specifics of my painting process. In this post, I focus on showing how I use color and general ideas of shape and form to "bring out" individual trees from the forest, and in turn create layers of pines on a 2D surface.

Establishing the shadows is the first step in painting the foreground. This step is, in my opinion, the simplest and also most mundane as it makes use of only one color, however, it is the foundation for all of the work that is to follow. I use a very dark mix of green and first establish a general terrain and horizon line/skyline. In the below photo this step is best seen on the far left. Trees at this point are just trunks and the forest itself is a block of color. Next, I come back and add the tops of the trees. When painting the tree tops, focus on spacing and height variation. These two features start to create depth (tree height decreases with distance) and also allows a few trees to do the work to give the impression of many more.

Photo 1: Base color added with preliminary forest development.

Step two begins the process of working in lighter and lighter colors. For this I use a slightly lighter mix of green, burn umber, and blue. Here I am simply working in secondary shadows. It is important to keep the darkest shadow color in some places, but this is where I start to develop some indication of shape. Not much is stressed here in terms of where this color goes, however as we keep layering, these colors will give the forest some very nice depth.

Photo 2: Secondary shadows applied. 

The fun begins as we keep working lighter and lighter with our greens. In this thirst layer of paint, I really start to work with tree shape and form. I start to paint indications of where branches would be and this starts to separate individual trees from the forest. Note that light is coming from the right, so even though this step in fairly even in terms of color distribution, I start to favor the right side to given the impression that more light is coming from that direction. 

Photo 3: Individuals are pulled from the crowd simply using shape and color. 

The process continues for me like this with numerous layers of lighter greens until I have reached a point I am satisfied with. In the below photo I have developed this small stretch of forest further, but am not completely satisfied with it entirely. I still have to add the closest brush grasses, and small trees which will help ease the transition with the modeled layout. 

Near completed foreground forest. 

I hope this technique overview will help in some ways your next backdrop painting adventure. As I continue to paint, learn, and refine I will update accordingly. Each time I paint I find different ways to bring to life the Cascades with paints and brushes. As always happy modeling!

Painting Backdrops for Narrow Scenes

The passing siding at Fields on my Cascade line sits on a narrow (6-10 inches) shelf of the middle deck. It is the second scene viewed upon entering the railroad room, and given it is at eye level for most people, it is a very in your face, here I am, mountain railroading scene. Trees, rocks, and trains are the easy part when modeling the Oregon cascades, but the struggle is creating depth when the scene is so narrow and the viewer is so close. Follow along as I outline my method for painting the backdrops in my narrow scenes.

I have posted in the past on the methods I have used previously for painting my backdrops, mainly for scenes with depth (+12 inches) where all the scenes needs in terms of background is the idea of far off hills and trees. That can be found HERE. The backdrops in the Fields scene are very different though, with only, on average, 8 inches of railroad, and 4 of those occupied by the mainline and passing siding. In short, I needed to up my game in terms of realism and detail.

A major tenant in my previous method was simplicity. I use only 3 colors of cheap acrylic craft paint plus my sky color, a very light gray representing mainly overcast skies, and two brushes. Note, now that I am confident with how I want to proceed, I will switch to higher quality artist acrylics. Additionally, the subject matter, is not painted in full, but shapes and color are used to give the impression of mountains and trees. We are merely painting indications of trees and ridges, not individual trees.

I always start from the very back of the scene and work my way forward. In this way we can create depth with layers and color more realistically than trying to paint the distant hills last.

In the above photo I have painted in the base color for the furthest set of hills. This is merely a mixture of blue acrylic and my sky color. It is very important to include the sky color and it will help everything blend together. Also notice just how narrow the scene is. 

Next, I started working with variations of the blue base color to start giving form and shape to the distant hills. When working, I keep moving with a consistent pace, not letting myself think too much, just painting and working with colors until everything looks right. Note that here we are working dark to light and thinning the paint with water. Again, only using my sky color, a blue, and a green as well as a small brush. It is crucial to give every color variation mixed, even the greens, a hint of sky, and a hint of blue to indicate distance. 

Above is the completed distant hills. Probably a little too much green, but I like how it looks. In the future I want to work a little more with the shape and form of the hills as these are a little too eroded and look more Eastern US than Oregon. The foreground will fix this though. 

A view of the entire scene. Railroad entrance is just to the right. 

After the distant hills have dried, I came in and started working with the immediate scene. Again, I started with a dark, drab green base and added this to the general area of the foreground painting. Next, and it is crucial to stay calm and keep moving at this step, I simply added color and shape. In the above photo you can see how awful this looks and I had to keep reminding myself that all I was doing was adding color and shape. It is a process! One thing to note is even though we are working dark to light it is important keep the dark as each new layer is added, as this preserves the shadows to give our 2D painting depth. 

A few hours in and the forest is starting to develop. Remember our rule: keep it simple! I do not paint individual trees when painting the general forest as seen on the far right, but am merely using my colors to bring out the general shapes  of individual trees. With lighter colors, remember where the light is coming from (in my case the right) and let the individuals of the forest come out. From this viewing distant one can make out a few individuals but up close all you can see is various shades of greens, blues, and browns. 

Here is an overview of the work-in-progress backdrop. The very far right is most complete as I work right to left. I will paint those few taller individual trees, but the methods do not change. I work from dark to light and let shape and form develop with color. 

Final shot of where progress stands. To the right is the completed  and moving left, the progression of base to forest can be seen. 

In closing, the only downside to this method is time. The scene as it is above has taking me close to 4 hours over various sessions as it requires many many layers slowly working from darkest to light. I have gotten quicker as I have a better idea after those multiple hours of how I want the colors to looks and the best way to develop the shapes and colors of the forest, but it can only be expedited so much. Despite this, I wanted to share my method as I feel it is producing some very believable backdrops for little cost and effort. With scenery, I feel these will provide the appropriate depth to Fields to make it feel deeper than just 8 inches. 

Eugene to Oakridge: Cascade Sub Update

Our train sits ready for its short trip to Oakridge on Eugene Staging Track 5. Our train consists of Gevo 5450 and three cars. Above our train the wiring and benchwork for Oakridge yard can be seen. The unconnected feeders are for the yard which is still unpowered. 

On the (very) new JMRI panel, our train can be seen in the occupied (yellow) block. Turnouts are aligned and we are ready to roll. The panel is a work in progress and will eventually control both staging yards and the mainline. Signalling is in the works, the electronics are on hand, just not installed. 

Our train enters the modeled portion of the layout after crossing the lift bridge spanning the entrance to the room. This area is the most recent edition to the Cascade Sub, and will be one of the first seen when entering the layout room. The spur nearest the aisle has yet to be laid. 

Our train moves in the siding at the north end of Oakridge. This track was wired and laid in the past week. The track is left over from an old layout. Working with the track hasn't been as graceful as working with brand new track but works, and saves cash. 

We roll past the yard at Oakridge. The local switcher sits on the cork of the engine track. Turnouts are on order. The yard is next on the list of projects. 

Our engine comes to a halt on the south end of town before the grade turns upward. This is where work on the mainline ends, and will resume in a few months. 

Over the course of the past few weeks, the railroad has finally progressed out of staging and into the modeled portion. Additionally, all of the major benchwork is complete, the only major woodworking projects left being the spline subroadbed, fascia, and backdrops.

The most time consuming aspect of the build thus far has been the wiring. With detection and soon signalling, the process has been tedious, and I have spent hours running wires for each detection section, soldering feeders, and making connections to the BDL 168. The staging yard was the most time consuming, but I now have a good process down to efficiently bring Klammath Falls staging to operation. With wiring, I have also made a foray into JMRI and a panel to bring the railroad to life. For now I am just using a temporary panel on PanelPro, but will eventually set up a modern panel on using CATS. 

This will be the last progress post for the winter work session. Look for more work to come later in the spring as we complete Oakridge, push the mainline further uphill, and continue with the wiring and electronics of the empire. 

Building Westfir-Part 1

Travels naturally cut this project into two phases, and I wanted to share some progress of the Westfir area of the railroad, before continuing work in a few days. To provide some brief background, Westfir is located to the north/east of Oakridge, and is the first modeled portion of the railroad. Benchwork for the area had been built a few years back, but the area has sat dormant since that time.

Beginnings of subroadbed. Was planning on doing spline in the area, however had 1/2" ply leftover and decided to make use of it for Westfir. In the bottom of the photo trains enter/exit the layout to/from Eugene staging and travel uphill to Oakridge. This section along the wall is 10 feet long and has a continuous 2.5% grade throughout, before leveling off in Eugene 44 inches off the floor. 

The area has received cork roadbed on the mainline. Where the subroadbed bulges is a short spur (facing point from Eugene). Operationally this will be a team track of sorts, maybe will use for MOW operations. Provides some flexibility as well as some scenic interest. Just beyond the siding the main will enter a short tunnel. In this photo cork has been laid to the start of the passing siding at the edge of Oakridge. 

This is the subroadbed for the curve into Oakridge itself. The radius is somewhere in the ball park of 27-30 inches, my main focus on keeping everything smooth and transitions negotiable. This scene will of course highlight the railroad infrastructure of a control point, but also allow me the most room to set the scene of Oakridge itself. In the foreground will be Commerce Road, a small two lane road that parallels the mainline, as well as a small home or two. In the background, I will paint the surrounding hills on the backdrop, and transition forward using trees, fences, backs of homes, etc. This corner will be an essential spot for capturing the time and place of the railroad. 

Same scene with mainlines corked. 

Last turnout installed in Eugene, along with switch machine. 

Part two of Building Westfir will see the completion of the trackwork, with a detailed look at the spur, as well as the wiring and electronics involved for the area.