Nottingham Sub

2011-12-13T17:37:00.002-04:00

Hi Folks: As always its been awhile since I have posted, but that not to say I haven't been starting to do a bit of modeling since the late fall /early days of winter are upon us. We had the annual Dartmouth show on the first weekend of Dec and I managed to sell off a significant amount of HO scale stuff and manged to get out of the building with only a few new On30 purchases (couple of freight cars). That being said, I now have some more funds to devote to On30 and will probably use a portion of it purchase another O scale craftsman structure. As usual I was rushing to finish a couple of small builds for the Dartmouth show to add to our modules. I completed a rowboat as well as a outhouse to help detail an area of the modules that Doug and I thought looked kinda bare. Its amazing what a few small structures and detail parts/figures can do to add depth to a scene. Attached is a pic that shows the area that Doug and I have been working on. As well , I built the tie stack out of strip wood. A simple but worthwhile project....till next time.

2011-10-19T20:03:00.003-03:00

Hi Folks - I have survived the Fine Scale Expo in Peabody, Mass last weekend. I caught a 1 hour flight down and arrived Thursday evening. I met up with Andy Small from the NBR&N parent group out of Rhode Island. Andy had a vendor table set up, and was busy all weekend making sales. I was busy enjoying excellent clinics given by such Model Railroading heavy weights as Dave Frary, Bob Hayden, Lou Sassi, Dave Ravelia, and Brett Gallant to name a few. Another highlight of the weekend was touring George Sellio's Franklin and South Manchester layout. The hotel ran a shuttle service to the F&SM and it was only 5 minutes away. All I can say about this layout was that even though I have been following it for years in the Hobby magazines, you really need to see it in person to get the full magnitude of it...it is beyond words!!I got to meet George and also spoke at length with Rich Josselyn who has been recently been doing most of the photo shots for the F&SM (he has an article in MAR 2011 Model Railroader magazine). A most enjoyable visit . You could feel the excitement in the air on the way there and it was nice to speak with a few others on the tour that like myself had been following the layout in the hobby press and had always been wanting to see it.

There were 2 large rooms set up for vendors to display their wares and I could have spent a lot more $$$ but I had to be careful to not exceed my allowable limit for Canada customs ( well not by much anyway!!!). My biggest purchase was another Sierra West kit (just released O scale Line Side shed) http://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/oscale/307/307.shtml

The entries for the modeling contest were all absolutely stunning. Attached is a picture of the best in show entry. The quality of the entries surprised me, even though this show as the name implies is for advanced modeling.

The closing banquet was excellent. The food was fantastic and the speeches and entertainment ( one of the attended gave a excellent stand up comedy routine) were first rate. I sat at a table with Andy and new friend Paul Smulders (from Montreal) along with a few of the vendors and show attendees. By the end of the evening, we all knew each other that much better and enjoyed good food and fine company...as I always say, Model Railroaders are the best kind!!

There was talk that next years show may be held in the Lancaster, Penn area. I am already thinking that I want to go again.....time will tell. Till next time.

A Change of (Blog) Plans

2011-09-06T18:42:00.004-03:00

Hi Folks:

I know it has been a long time since my last blog entry, and I did mention on my last entry, that I was going to close the blog down, but I have decided to keep it "alive" and hopefully make regular updates on my ON30 modeling. I am doing this on fellow modeler Chris Lyon's suggestion...you can find a link to his fantastic blog in my links section. Matter of fact, I plan on meeting Chris at this years Fine Scale Expo in Peabody, Mass next month www.modelrailroadexpo.com Chris is one of this years presenters and I look forward to attending his clinic. I have registered for the convention and have made all my travel arrangements. Should be a fantastic experience getting to rub elbows with some of the best known model railroaders and also a layout visit to George Sellio's Franklin and South Manchester. Should be very inspiring and hopefully get me going on the new Sierra West O scale Tool Shed kit that arrived in my mail over the summer... I will give a full blog report with pictures upon my return. Other than that, modeling has been pretty quite this summer other than attending several of our ON30 groups new module build sessions. Till next time....

A New Beginning

2011-04-19T17:29:00.004-03:00

Hi Folks:

Big news on the Nottingham Sub ...albeit a little on the sad side. The Nottingham subdivision is no more. Do to a change in my household situation, the need to have more "recreation space" for my family has necessitated the removal of the layout and turning the room back into a rec room...I have also been toying with the idea of changing scales totally to On30, so that has begun. I have started collecting On30 rolling stock and structures and plan on building a few craftsman type O scale structures over the course of the next few years and after that will probably build a small shelf type layout in the room. I will be remaining active in the local Model Railroading scene and with our On30 modular group. I will leave this blog up for a few more weeks and then it will eventually disappear. Thanks to everyone for reading...and hope you enjoyed the ride!! One last picture post - my On30 Climax at a recent modular group set-up. A glimpse of things to come. Till next time...(possibly).....

Superior Paper

2011-02-20T16:23:00.002-04:00

Hi Folks: I am still working on the yard area - albeit at a slow pace.Vulcan Mfg has been completed and the concrete is ready to pour ( read - glue down and paint craft board). I still have to paint the crane and finish that off. I always seem to try to come up with excuses to avoid getting my airbrush out. I think the biggest turn off is the clean -up involved afterwards. I was out of enamel thinner, so that was another excuse that I was using but I acquired some of that today (along with the craft board mentioned above), so I have very few excuses left. On another note, I was able to acquire a kit recently that I have been after for awhile - Walther's Superior Paper. This was a kit that was available approx 10 years ago and has been out of production for probably the last 5-6 years. They are available on eBay and the like, but usually are pretty pricey. They are a huge kit and will probably be the biggest I"ll ever build. I was able to get this from my friend Doug (see link to his blog - White River Southern) as he had bought two of this kit along with several other kits for his large Paper Mill complex. Doug decided he didn't need this extra kit and knew that eventually I wanted to have a paper mill on my layout. Thanks Doug! Anyway it may be awhile before this kit is used as it is going on my layout extension that is still in the preliminary planning stages. This brings about a good point on kits, on which I have learned the hard way once or twice before - if you don't purchase them when they are available, you may not be able to get them later, or if they are popular, you may end up paying more...so dont wait. Till next time.

Yard Work

2011-01-02T12:07:00.004-04:00

Hi Folks:

Well I have finally managed to get some time working on the layout over the holiday break. I have completed closing in the hiding staging yard and installing and painting the fascia.New buildings seen in the accompanying photo are Vulcan Manufacturing (still not completed) and the Hardwood Furniture (Walthers shallow relief version) that I have turned into a John Deere plant. I have also added a Rix Highway overpass bridge. I plan on having a raised town area at the back of the yard area with a street that connects to the bridge.The new fascia area has a large opening that allows access to rolling stock should the need arise. Just out of view of the picture (to the Rt) is an access area that allows cars to be loaded onto one of the three tracks. I have added an Atlas rerailer at the beginning of each track to facilitate adding cars. This hidden staging area will allow for originating and destination locations for trains. I have also added a DCC fascia panel for a plug in location that will be used by an operator working both the main yard and hidden staging area.Till next time...

New Horizons

2010-10-18T16:41:00.006-03:00

Hi Folks - well its been awhile since my last post, and although it was a very quiet summer on the Nottingham Sub, it was a very busy summer from a model railroading perspective. Some other local modelers and myself have built 13 On30 modules (I am co-owner of three) over the summer and have just shown them off at a local fall model railroading show. The group is called the Narragansett Bay Railway and Navigation Company (Nova Scotia Division). Our parent group is located in the Rhode Island area and over the last couple of years attended some of our local shows. We established contact with a couple of members of the group and received their blessing to establish the Nova Scotia division. I must say that it is my first foray into On30 modeling, and I am really liking this scale. I myself have purchased a couple of pieces of motive power (-my favorite is a Bachmann Soundtraxx equipped Climax) and several freight cars as well. Several others of our group have acquired motive power and rolling stock. Another member of the group weathered some of my pieces and the results were fantastic!! Thanks Dave. I also built two small structures for my modules. We are definitely pleased with our results and although the modules are not totally complete, we received many positive comments at our first public showing.I am thinking that a total change in scale may be in the works some day down the road...those O scale details sure are easier on the eyes. No worries for now though - work will continue on the Sub for the time being.... This posts picture is of my climax (with several pieces of my rolling stock) crossing over the bridge on one of my modules. Till next time...

Ye Can see fur Miles

2010-07-21T18:21:00.004-03:00

Hi Folks:

Well its mid July and modeling on the Sub sure has slowed down in the last 6 weeks or so. I did however manage to finish a structure kit that I have had on my shelf for the last 5 or six years. It is the Walthers ADM grain elevator kit. I added an extra set of silos and it turned out pretty good. It is by far the largest single structure on the layout and should provide lots of switching opportunities. The build was fairly straight forward to put together and I airbrushed the structure in colors that I have seen the kit painted in before. I did airbrush it with a final light coat of a 10:1 mixture of 70% alcohol /Pollyscale Earth wash. The last step that I did was to add the glass for the windows. The siding tracks have been added for the elevator , but with the dog days of summer upon us, scenery will have to wait until the cooler fall weather arrives....till next time folks.

The Other side of the Tracks

2010-04-18T15:20:00.002-03:00

Hi Folks;

Well folks I have been busy doing model railroad type things as of late - last weekend was a 2 day mixed hobby show. The first day was a cold rainy day out, so the weather help give a good turn out. As it was a mixed show, our group was the only model railroad representation present. I have also pretty much completed the scene that I was describing in my last post. The structures are laser cut kits by American Model builders - The house is the Company House kit and the dilapidated garage is the Sonny's Shack kit. The vehicles and figures are by Woodland Scenics. Ground cover is a mix of Woodland Scenics, Highball products and Noch. A small amount of detailing is left to do, but it was far enough along to include a picture - have a look and let me know what you think. Till next time....

Workin on the Railroad

2010-03-07T18:06:00.006-04:00

Hi Folks:

Progress has been slow, but sure this last month. The new rock wall is basically completed and also I have added detailing on one side of the locomotive shop.Also some small structures are beening build for a site near the existing feed mill. The idea I have for this area is a small house with a decrepit garage/small business. The two buildings are American Model builders laser cut cuts which I am currently working on. I have also attended two Op sessions on Doug's White River Southern. The Nottingham sub has leased 2 MEC GP-38's as the WRS had a recent motive power shortage. This worked out well for all parties involved, as the two 38's have been stagnant lately and were in need of a good run. I will try to complete the small scene mentioned above and have pics for my next post. In the mean time have a look at the two areas that I have been working on lately. Till next time....

Kadee Hopper

2010-01-25T18:30:00.002-04:00

Hey Folks;

It been awhile since the last post, with the holidays and all. Also there hasn't been alot of activity on the sub. I have been building a fairly long rock wall and it took several attempts with the plaster before I got it to acceptable. I have finished the staining, but still have to add ground foam in areas and other finishing touches ( photo in another post to follow). This past weekend I picked up a Kadee car at the local hobby shop that I had ordered last summer/fall. Attached is a pic of the car - it is a beautiful car, but many delicate parts (even the roof top hatches open).That being said, it will be staying away from the UMG public shows, as the last one I attended, I realized that there are many kids out there (both large and small) that like to get really up close and personal with everything on the modules, - locos, rolling stock, structures, scenery, etc, etc - just too hard on the nerves....Till next time

Stationary Decoders

2009-12-02T18:24:00.003-04:00

Hi Folks - This past weekend I purchased a Digitrax DS 64 stationary decoder (http://www.digitrax.com/prd_statdec_ds64.php to install on (under) my layout. It has the ability to control up to 4 slow motion decoders. I plan on using it to control a couple of the turn outs in my yard that are difficult to reach. Even though I use a Lenz DCC system, I decided to go with the Digitrax unit, because unlike the Lenz unit, this unit doesn't require resistors on the outputs in order to use it with slow motion switch motors. It is totally DCC compatible and has several neat features such as being able to be powered by its own power supply or by track power. The user also has the ability to control it by DCC signals either through the track or connecting it to the DCC bus ( although to do this it has to use the Digitrax Loconet system). It is a very versatile unit, and although I have only hooked it up to a Tortoise switch machine temporary to test it, it seems to work very well. So between hooking up my Atlas signal system (see last post) and installing the DS64 this past weekend, I have been spending a bit of time under the layout lately. I decided to clean up the rats nest ( I mean wiring) as well and have installed over 150 cable ties to bundle up the wiring nice and neatly. I must say it looks much neater under there now. Now to go topside and start on some more scenery....Till next time.

Red Means STOP

2009-11-22T16:48:00.003-04:00

Well folks I have spent the better part of the weekend installing two Atlas signals that I acquired at a recent train show. They are impressive devices and add another area of operating interest to the layout. They have the ability to become fully integrated with the Signal control boards (SCB) actually connecting to each other and displaying a color of signal appropriate to the occupancy of the block before it and after it. For now though I have them operating in independent mode, so that when a train enters the corresponding block, the signal goes to red and then yellow (timed for 8 seconds) when the train leaves that block, then back to green The SCB is controlled by a block occupancy detector - in this case, a NCE BD20. One word of advice though make sure you have good lighting under the layout, as the screw terminals on both devices are very small and difficult to get the wires in when you are underneath a layout looking up...my neck is still sore. Till next time....

Train Show

2009-11-17T17:12:00.005-04:00

Hello Folks - Well its train show season again, and I managed to get the module to the last two shows. Last month it was Truro and this past weekend it was just across the harbour in Dartmouth. I was pulling double duty at this past show, as Dave M and myself were operating a couple of sales tables as well (thinning out our collections) - I was really lucky that Dave decided to do this, as most of my sales ended up being to him!! Thanks Dave. The show went over well and as always the UMG modules received many positive comments and the group spent some quality time operating trains for the public and answering questions and generally getting the word out about model railroading. I also attended an operating session at Doug's WRS on Saturday evening after the show Have a look at this posts picture. It's my module amongst the other UMG modules (for more info see the UMG site) http://theumg.ca/2009/11/dartmouth-2009/Belonging to a modular group is a great way to expand on your model railroading experience and a great way to be part of a large model railroading experience. Till next time...

New Motive Power Squared

2009-09-07T16:51:00.011-03:00

Well folks - I really didn't fall over the flat end of the earth... I know its been a while since my last post and being summer and all, I sort of put Model Railroading on the back burner. Of note over the summer my Maine Central U 18b 's finally arrived, and I am most happy with them. I acquired # 405 and #409. You might think that is what I meant by New Motive Power Squared, but that only counts for one - I also acquired a slightly larger piece of motive power for my personnel use (see attached pic). This also has some bearing on my putting model railroading on the back burner, but now that fall is almost here, the time that I will be spending on that will be dwindling. Check out the short movie clip of my new U18b's in action on the sub. Till next time...

Keep On Movin

2009-05-12T19:13:00.003-03:00

Well folks most of us model railroaders have at one time or another been faced with dirty track. For some it is a never ending battle and for others not so much. The location of a layout has alot to do with the amount of crud that builds up on the rails, along with a few other factors. Fortunately there are now several excellent track cleaning pieces of equipment available to come to our rescue. The newest is the Atlas HO Scale track cleaning car, which is basically the same as the N scale varient that has been available for several years. One noticeable difference is that the HO scale version is DCC capable. I picked mine up approx 2 months ago and have used it a couple of times since. Before the first use, I dropped in a TCS decoder which took all of about 5 minutes to do. The new model has the ability to grind, polish, and vacuum the track. It also has a fluid reservoir should you wish to use that concurrently. I must admit I am impressed with the car and operating it with DCC enables complete control and allows you to control that rotational speed of the grinding/polishing head.You will be impressed as well with the unit in vacuum mode, as it picks up more debris than you would expect. The module also does not appear out of place in a work train as well. Mine is MOW orange. Till next time...

Feed Mill Additions

2009-04-13T11:25:00.003-03:00

Hi Folks;

It has been a busy last month with the module being shown at a local hobby show. See the below link to read all about it!! http://theumg.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/shearwater-spring-hobby-show-09/

I have also been working on some structures for the local feed mill on the Nottingham sub. See this posts picture.The grain bins and tower conveyor are by Rix and the grain dryer is by Walthers. I came up with the paint scheme for the dryer after visiting a real grain dryer manufacturers site on the web - http://www.mathewscompany.com/mathews_infinity.htm

With the spring weather finally here, work on the layout will most likely slow. On that note I never seem to get as much finished as I would like to during the modeling season- maybe next year!!!The module however will be making another appearance at the annual MFMR convention http://islandrails2009.wordpress.com/our-blog/ before it is stored away for the summer months. Till next time...

Alco HH660

2009-03-07T17:38:00.005-04:00

Hi Folks;

Well it has finally arrived. I picked up my new Atlas Maine Central HH660 and I must admit it is a little gem. It is very well done and is very well detailed however I am sure glad that I have a visor magnifier as the truck chains are a real pain to get installed (yes you have to install them yourself). Now all I need is a small decoder to fit inside. I was looking for a TCS M1, but my local hobby shop didn't have one with a plug installed already. Hopefully I will be able to acquire one soon, as I cant wait to run it. On another note, Bowser has announced that they will produce a U25b in Maine Central Harvest Yellow http://www.bowser-trains.com/New_Products/New%2002_20_09%20U25b%2023375_23390/New%2002_20_09%20U25b.htm
I have already placed a reservation for one. Till next time...

Wayne

Be Nice to your Enviroment

2009-02-26T19:18:00.004-04:00

Hi Folks;

We model railroaders all know that they should get more trucks off the roads and more trains on the rails . This would have many positive effects -less road maintenance required, better for the environment, etc, etc. Speaking of environment, over the years I have seen many layouts and their corresponding environment that they are housed in - right from the cold garden shed ( cant imagine having to wear a ski-doo suit and toque to run model trains in the winter) to ones that are actually housed in a purpose built building. I have to admit running trains is a whole lot more pleasant when one is in comfortable surroundings. When we moved into our current house, I did some extremely fancy negotiating and was given permission to use the rec room in the lower level of our three story house (I think the boss regrets her decision sometimes) and was lucky in that it was fully finished with carpeting etc. Besides the layout, I have put numerous railroad signs up and also a small display case ( http://www.tracksidedisplays.com/) to make the atmosphere more enjoyable. It all adds up to making time spent in the layout (cough cough I mean Rec) room more enjoyable. Till next time...

About Time

2009-01-31T19:30:00.003-04:00

Hi Folks;

Well I have totally put off doing a post as long as humanly possible.Now that the Holidays are past and I have had a few weeks to actually do something on the layout, I can give you all an update. For the last couple of weeks, I have been working on a small industrial area just past the mouth of the yard. It has two industries - A Sherwin Williams paint factory and a flour mill.
I have added a paved parking lot, added a new structure and ballast the track and added ground foam in the area. I am anxiously awaiting the release of the new Atlas HH660 - according to the Atlas site, it will be shipping in the next week or so. My hobby shop has also told me that the new Intermoutain U-18B's are now available ( non -sound versions) and the sound versions will ship in March - I have two on order, and ordered them when the were first announced approx 4- 5 years ago. Long overdue, but sure will be nice to get them. I'm off to an operating session tomorrow on Doug's White River Southern - looking forward to it. Have a look at this posts picture to see the industrial area I have been working on. Till next time....

Shifting Gears

2008-11-01T15:47:00.009-03:00

Hi Folks - well I am just finishing adding somefinal details to the module and am awaiting an opportunity to attend my first UMG show with it. Dave M came by this past week and helped me install the final touches of scenery. I am looking forward to putting it on display. This also means that i have to get back working on the sub, as it has been awhile since i have had time to devote to it... Here are a couple of shots of Maine Central GP 38 #254 on the module.Till next time....

Have Module will Travel

2008-09-29T17:54:00.003-03:00

Well I am coming down the home stretch with my new module - not much left to do except adding some details and completing one small track side building. I must say that it was a good experience , and the only disappointing issue is that unfortunately, I will be unable to get to the first show of the season next month (family commitment). I am looking forward to taking it on the road and to having it incorporated into a UMG http://theumg.wordpress.com/ set-up. Have a look at this posts pic - it is one of the two small industries on the layout ( more details to be added - eg chain link fence ,etc). Till next time...

New Structure

2008-09-01T10:21:00.003-03:00

Hi Folks;

Well progress continues on the modules, and they should be ready for the upcoming shows this fall. My module will have a couple of industry sidings on it and at first, I wasn't sure exactly what they would be. After several hours of thumbing through the Walthers catalogue, I decided on a what I think will be a couple of interesting industries. One that I have spent the last couple of weeks building ( on and off of course - as it isn't a difficult kit) was the Sunrise Feed mill. I built it as per kit instructions. Once it was complete, I weathered it with Bragdon weathering powders and a light coat of thinned Pollyscale Earth paint. My preference is always to lightly do the weathering rather than over do it. I have also built a Rix grain bin to go along with it. Once I have it in place on the layout, it will be connected to the feed mill by piping. Have a look at this post picture of the feed mill. It is temporarily in place on a siding on the Nottingham Sub. Till next time....

A Visit to the BS&T

2008-08-12T13:50:00.008-03:00

Hi All;

I had the pleasure -cough cough (just kidding Scott!!) this past weekend of operating on Scott's BS&T (see my links). I have known Scott for several years now, but this was the first visit to Scott's place in a couple of years, and since my last one, Scott has totally changed his layout - i.e his old one is gone, the room is greatly expanded, and progress on the BS&T is very well along. Scott teamed me up with Tom - a fairly new member of Scott's crew, and despite me not having seen the layout before, I must admit we did a decent job - and we had an enjoyable 1.5 to 2 hours of operating time. Scott also had another visitor on this evening whom I recognized from the Friday Night Group' s (Ottawa area) blog - Stan Conley. Stan was vacationing in the area. http://fridaynightgroup.blogspot.com/

It was nice to talk to Stan and all in all I had a very enjoyable evening at Scott's place. Have a peek at this posts photos. One is of Derwin and Stan teamed up for operations and the other is of Scott ( he's the guy with the all-knowing grin), Greg, and Tom apparently discussing some complex switching maneuver. Thanks again Scott - it was great. Till next time....

On the Road

2008-08-03T12:11:00.002-03:00

Hi All;

Myself and another local modeler have started to build a couple of modules and plan on participating in the UMG group http://www3.pei.sympatico.ca/s.jay/UMG/

This should be a great method to get out and enjoy another aspect of model railroading. It will also give me an opportunity to show the Maine Central flag at local shows and events. We built the modules frames and tops yesterday, and plan on tackling the legs very soon. Have a look at this posts picture to see our results. I'll post more on our progress soon. Till next time...

Operating on the WRS

2008-07-13T20:43:00.002-03:00

Recently I had the opportunity to once again partake in an operating session. This time it was on Doug's White River Southern http://whiteriversouthern.blogspot.com/2008/07/operating-session-june-30.html, and I must say that it indeed was enjoyable. Doug has an operating system that is relatively easy to follow, and that makes for a fun time for newbies to operations like myself. Doug has a large Point to Point layout that has been designed with a lot of thought to operations in mind. I am starting to look at my own layout in a new light and maybe I will be able to plan some basic operations in the future. Thanks for the insight into this facet of the hobby Doug. Till next time...

The Right Track

2008-06-21T10:01:00.004-03:00

As the good weather is finally upon us, work on the layout has slowed to a crawl. However I have been doing some trackwork lately and thought that I would give a brief description on my trackwork. I use the familiar cork roadbed and Atlas code 100 track. Turnouts are by Peco. Once I have the trackwork in place, I airbrush the track with a 50-50 mixture of Floquil railbrown and roof brown paint. Lately I have been using Highball cinder ballast along the very edge of the roadbed and then I use Woodland Scenics greyblend on the rest of the track. Ballast that has gotten into the web of the rail or on the ties is removed with a small dental pick. Note this is monotonous but the effort is worth it. This is all glued down by first wetting the ballast with 70% alcohol and then using Woodland Scenics scenic cement. I use eyedroppers to apply both, as you have to go slow so as not to disturb the ballast. After it dries, I remove any pieces of ballast that have gotten onto to the rails or ties. Have a look at this posts photo for a look at the finished trackwork. Till next time....

Another Layout Visit

2008-06-14T19:21:00.002-03:00

I had the opportunity to revisit a layout in the local area that I had visited several years ago. Pierre called me last weekend and asked if I would be interested in having a visit and also with the opportunity to do some operating on his and others layouts - they have several in their group that hold round robin operating sessions. I had to admit to Pierre that I am more of a modeler than an operator, but Pierre encouraged me to give it a try. I must admit I had a great time Monday night. I was put under the watchful eye of one of the regular operators - this took alot of the pressure off for me - Thanks Doug W. I had a great time and am looking forward to getting to know the group better and to do some more operating in the future - Thanks guys.Till next time...

Your a Strange Animal

2008-05-13T18:52:00.006-03:00

Well - I just returned from a very enjoyable trip to Orlando. Did the usual Disney Park, Seaworld, Cape Kennedy tourist thingy. Had a great time and the weather was fantastic. Did some fancy talking (read - pleading) with the boss and was able to squeeze in a side trip to two stores in Orlando - Colonial Photo and Hobby and The Train Depot. Didnt purchase alot ( had eyes watching me - aka the bosses again.) Included in what I picked up were some Woodland Scenic figures some of which I have already place on the layout - which brings me to the point of this post - its great to include lots of people figures on layouts, but its nice to see some animals present as well. Some of the figures I purchased on my trip included a set of deer by Woodland Scenics. I split the package up and have put a couple in various locations on the layout, and have made it as it would be in reality - you have to really be looking to notice them as they can blend in with their surrondings. I have also added a couple of figures to Lake Sewlongtodoo ( decided to keep the name - at Scotts suggestion) including a couple canoeing and some folks fishing. On a final note, I am off to the MFMR annual convention this coming weekend - sounds like it should be a good time. Till next time....

Lake Sewlongtodoo

2008-04-12T13:33:00.002-03:00

Just kidding about the name - it really hasn't been named yet, but because I have been mentioning it for so long now, I though it appropriate. Finally finished up the basic scenery in the lake area and poured the resin. I was a little concerned about the resin staying in the lake and not ending up on the carpeted floor, however I must have had a good seal, as that didn't occur. There is still a few details to add - people in canoe, etc. Next on to a industrial area-minimal scenery requirements, but need to build a couple of structures. There will be two industries - a fuel depot and a grain elevator/ agri supply business. Till next time.......

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin

2008-04-05T11:44:00.002-03:00

Good day folks;

Know I havent posted lately, but not much new - just about ready to wrap up the pond project. Pictures should be ready to post within a few days. All I have left is to pour the resin. On another note, I stopped in to my local hobby shop to pick up a new Kadee car that I had ordered. Its the new 40' Maine Central box and all I can say is its a beauty. They are a little more expensive than the average plastic car, but when you see the level of detail, I feel they are pretty much at the top of their class. Till next time....

On The Road

2008-02-29T20:46:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, I had the chance to visit a local modelers layout. I had visited in the past, but its a nice big layout, and the return visit was very pleasant with lots to see. Dave has done a great job on his layout and the layout room itself offers lots of memorabilia and aircraft models ( Dave's other hobby) to look at. I took along my two D&H RS36's to give them a run ( see photos this post) - we attached a train and let them run around the layout for a good hour or more. All in all a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Thanks Dave.Till next time....

Wheels, Wheels, Wheels

2008-02-09T14:01:00.000-04:00

Well there sure is a vast array of scale vehicles available for HO scale models these days, with many of them very well done. I like to keep the vehicles on my layout, believeable. Becaue I model late 60/early 70's, it would not be out of the question to see a 50's pickup in that time frame. That being said, it would certainly be more beliveable if it had a tired worn-out look to it. One or two of these on a layout set in my era woud be acceptable, but the majority of vehicles should reflect the period. I have an Accurail open type auto carrier that I someday hope to build, and I envision it being loaded with nice new vehicles of that time period. A quick look through the vehicles section of the latest Walthers catalogue, shows that this can easily be achieved. However vehicles are not limited to cars or trucks, and now agriculture equipment and construction equipment is available in that time period. Example would be the flatcar I have that came with two John Deere 4020 tractors. These tractors were built between 1963 - 72, and as such fit perfectly in my era. When I finshed my coal mine, I wanted to put a wheel loader in the scene, but the only one I had was the newer Caterpillar model that Norscot sells. I added it, but it looked just too modern. This leads me up to my latest vehicle acqusition which is the newly released (by First Gear) International Harvestor 560 Payloader model. I remember seeing these when I was a youngester and I must say this model is impressive, but not cheap. Have a look at this postings picture as the loader gets ready to move a pile of coal. Till next time.......

New Grade Crossing

2008-02-03T12:21:00.001-04:00

Well now that my coal mine has recently been completed, I had to install an access road to the mine. The only place that I could easily install a road, was over a curved section of track. Blair Line recently released a series of laser cut grade crossing for curves. They come in several different radi. I installed one of their 24" models to allow access to the mine. The road is dirt, so it was easy to build up to allow a smooth transition over the crossing. I weathered the crossing with A West "Weather It" aging solution, which gives the crossing a nice aged look. The picture shows Maine Central GP38 #258 about to go over the crossing. Till next time....

Progress

2008-01-30T20:14:00.000-04:00

Well - progress is still ongoing on the Nottingham Subdivision albeit at a reduced pace. Managed to get a few nights in the layout room layout. Still working on the pond area... in the meantime thought I would post a picture of the newest motive power on the sub. The picture is of the Maine Central's only two RS-11's. #601 and 602 round a bend as the engineer gets ready to lay on the horns - the poor guy working on his pickup better have his heart medicine ready. Till next time....

Hey Hey -What's That Sound

2007-12-28T16:32:00.000-04:00

Sound equipped loco's in HO scale are a relatively new on the scene (at least affordable ones anyhow). The larger scales have enjoyed this feature for some time now. I myself don't have a large fleet of sound equipped locos - actually at the moment I have one diesel and one steam that are so equipped. There are just not alot of models right now that I ma interested in purchasing ( Read - waiting for Maine Central units). That being said, I have 3 Intermountain U18B sound equipped locos reserved through my local dealer. The latest is that they will be shipped sometime next spring. Atlas has also recently released another run of GP38/40's that are now sound equipped, so I just have to wait for them to do another run of GP38's in Maine Central. On another note, I have recently started to scenic an area that I plan on putting a pond in. I have to hit the books/ Internet, to ensure I get some good ideas. I will post some pics when I have completed the area - till then have a peek at a short Video clip of my sound equipped diesel leading a local interchange freight. Till next time....

Mine over Matter

2007-12-03T18:21:00.000-04:00

Well -mine agony is finally over. I have found suitable scenery material to use for my mine landscaping and am fairly please with the results. For the ground cover, I used a product called Highball Products "Real Dirt". The ballast for the tracks is another HighBall product - HO scale Cinder ballast. Woodland Scenics provided the coal for the pile and the spillage around the chutes. The mine itself is the common Walthers New River Mine Kit. I weathered it with Bragdon weathering powders and finished it off by airbrushing it with a light coat of thinnned Pollyscale Earth. More details are to be added, but I wanted to get this post done, so you all didn't think that the mine had gotten the better of me. Till next time cheers.

Passenger Service on the Sub

2007-11-12T12:13:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting again. Since the last post, I have ordered some scenery items that I am going to try to use for groundcover on the mine area. I have ordered through Walthers two items. Hopefully one of them will do the trick. The items are both Highball products - one is their dirt product ( geezzz - where'd they get that saying "Dirt Cheap") and the other is Z scale dark grey ballast. Keeping my fingers crossed that one of them will look good. I have received through mail order another of the Atlas D&H RS36 Trainman locos. These locos are a great bargain, and might just be the ultimate loco's for operators who like to handle (grrrr) locos and rolling stock. They have the excellent regular Master series drive train, but lack all the delicate detail parts that a lot of the newer locos have.

Since my scenery progress has been at a standstill for the last couple of weeks, I have decided to post about Passenger service on the Nottingham Sub, or rather lack there of. Service will be minimal with the odd CN RDC passing through. Have a look at the latest pic as CN RDC D300 passes through. The model is a Proto 1000 model that I purchased when they were released about 7-8 years ago.Till next time...

More Trees and More Frustration

2007-10-29T19:34:00.000-03:00

Hi Folks;

Well not much new since the last post. One thing that struck me this week was how quickly landscapping an area can be a "tree swallowing act". This past Saturday, I flocked (with Woodland Scenics Green Blend) about 80 trees and "planted" them as well. Needless to say, the area looks better, but one would never guess that there were several dozen new trees in that area!!

On another note, I have come to an impass on scenicking the mine area - it is like I have become obsessed or something - my wife would totally agree. The problem is ground cover. I dont want to use ground foam and have spent many hours these last two weeks scouring the internet for pictures/ methods of doing this. I have seen many nice layout pics on the net of groundcover for industrial type areas - It seems like using real dirt is common. After reading about George Sellios using ball diamond clay, I even visited the local field - no luck it was just course sand type material. Nothing in Walthers catalogue looks suitable - so here I am frustrated and at a loss!!!!

On a more positive note, I installed several throttle holders around the layout recently. I stole (woops - borrowed) the idea from a modular group at a local train show that I attended a couple of years ago. The great part is that they are cell phone holders with adjustable sides that hold my throttles nicely - and the best thing is that I aquired them at one of those low price dollar store outlets. I have included a photo to show one in place. Till next time....

Model Railroad Season

2007-10-21T10:50:00.000-03:00

Hi Folks;

I love this time of year - the weather here in Nova Scotia is often great and scenary is beautiful. I have a view out my window as I type this post of all the great foilage colors that this time of year brings. I guess that is one reason I have decided to model the Maine Central at this time of year. I like the varity of color. Speaking of Fall, some friends and I made the annual trip to what I feel is always the best Train Show of the season - the annual Truro Show. I manuaged to aquire a few things and all within a reasonable cost. It was great to see all the "regulars" and talk about the latest happenings. In particular, I spoke with Scott Jay of Bayside and Tidewater fame about the possiability of joining the UMG modular group - sure sounds like something that I would be intrested in! Progress is still ongoing on the layout - albeit no long marathon modeling seesions, just slow regular progress. I have recently finished the main scenary ( details still needed) on a acouple of tunnel areas . Check out the pics of a local freight (led by Alco Switcher 961) as it emerges from one of the new tunnel areas. The other pic is of freight led by GP-38 #258. I am currently working on the coal mine area and plan on posting a few pics when I have that area further along. Till next time.

Running Trains

2007-10-08T16:34:00.000-03:00

Well I finally got the chance to run a few trains - when you are in the middle of scenary work, the layout can get to be quite a mess. I mask over my track work to keep plaster and glue off the rails. That being said, I have some areas of the layout that have been masked over for some time. One large area that has been finished as far as major scenary work (details of course to be added) was recently "unmasked" and so I was able to clean the track and finally get 'em running. See the photo below of two hard at work Atlas Alco CN MLW C424 pulling a long freight up the 2% grade.

Another neat item that I have installed on my layout recently is the new Walthers (actually made by Heljan) 90' turntable. This is the prebulit one with indexing and control module included. Before this I had the old Walthers 90' one ( the one that was a kit). It was difficult to build and never worked well for me. I must say it was neat to simple take the old one out and install the new one in its place. The existing hole in the benchwork was a perfect fit, and i incooperated the control box into the layout fascia. Have a look below as visting Atlas Alco RS36 D&H goes for a ride. Well thats it fo now- train show in Truro next weekend - hopefully there will be some neat items up for grabs. Later.

Tree's and Loco's

2007-10-02T17:34:00.000-03:00

Recently I had a little get together with some of the guys one Saturday afternoon and one of them brought over the new Paul Scoles scenery video (has been advertised in the magazines). Paul has absolutely gorgeous scenery on his layout and it was very intresting to see some of his techniques. One idea I picked up on was that he uses alot of natural materials and for his forest floor he just collects allot of twigs and bark and grinds them up. Well I got my wife to pick me up a real cheap food processor ( she won the tug of war for the good one in the kitchen) and tried a few different things (leaves twigs etc). I really didn't like the first couple of tries and then I remembered reading in one of the mags that someone had used pine needles for this very thing. As luck has it, I have a couple of large pines growing at the back area of my property, so I went out and started gathering some up ( I think the neighbours were wondering what the heck I was up to). I added in some very small twigs and turned on the blender. I must say I was really impressed with the results, and I think the key is to not put it down in too thick a layer. Diluted white glue of course is necessary to hold everything in place. I have included a picture to show you- I think it looks good.On another note, I have acquired two of the new Maine Central Atlas RS-11's (see photo) that were released this summer. They sure are impressive and I have one of the older versions that was released in the 80's. The detail is so much better now, that the old one has been retired to the closet!!! I have prepared them for use on the layout by installing TCS MC2P (with short harnesses) decoders and Kadee # 58 couplers. I really like these decoders as they are really small and will fit just about anywhere. Converting each loco with these really is a 5 minute job. Bye for now.

First Post

2007-09-30T15:37:00.000-03:00

Hello All- Welcome to the Nottingham Subdivision Blog. My name is Wayne Woodland and I live in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada. I was going to start a website several years ago for my model railroad, but never got around to it/ didnt want to have to pay for it. Since then I have seen many model railroad blogs and thought that it would be a great way to do this. I have been into modelrailroading for many years, with the usual break occuring in High School and afterwards service in the military. I have been back in the hobby continously now for approx 12 years. The Nottingham Sub is my second layout in this time period. The layout is base upon a fictional junction between the Maine Central and CN set in the era of the early 70's. The layout is in a room with 12X 22 in size. I have been working on this layout for approx 5 years now. I have done all the work by myself and am now in the scenary phase with it approx 50 % completed. The layout is DCC equipped with the Lenz 100 system. I previously used the Atlas Commander system (bulid by Lenz) and when the time to upgrade came, I decided to go with Top -of the Line Lenz system as I could use many of the existing components such as Throttles and Power bus connections. The Lenz is a great system and I feel much easier to use than some other systems (aka Digitrax).Most of my locos are Atlas with some Kato and Proto 2000 as well. I also have a Bachmann 2-8-0 with a Soundtrax sound decoder. The majority of my locos are equipped with TCS decoders, as I have had very good luck with these and again much easier to program than Digitrax. There you go a basic introduction to the Nottingham Sub. I'll try to post updates often- be sure to come back and catch the latest.Cheers.