It's the Political Season - Vote for Me!: "A Chicken in Every Pot and a Car in Every Driveway!"

Ignoring the chickens (I don't have any - just 4 cows and 3 goats on the layout), I kept thinking that now that I've added a bigger city I need more vehicles. I am emptying my supply drawers and out of curiosity I counted. I have about 145 vehicles on the layout and ~ 210 people. That should be enough for one for every driveway so Vote For Me!

The real laugh is that I probably have another hundred little folks in storage drawers (is that like the city political machines getting votes from dead names in the cemetery?) Most of my constituents are of Chinese heritage and share the same poses.  (But I am getting tired of the Dutch guys holding their hats on!)


I think we may have found the newest Michael Jordan (lower right hand corner, hanging on the rim):

The zinger is that most of my industries have no people on site! That will probably forces me to buy the more expensive Woodland Scenics figures (native Americans?) in the future (more potential votes?)

I tried to "weather" most of the lighter buildings on the layout. Since I am at least partially color-blind, my weathering consists of charcoal dustings. I think I overdid the Campbell Soup building (on right, now a dirty food place?) but Vote For Me anyway!

Coming to the End (of Stage I Construction)

I have completed all the building that can fit into my loft area and the first pass scenery. Stage I consisted of 3 phases: 1) Brooklawn/Westville/North Woodbury; 2) Woodbury; 3) Camden and Philly. Each leg ran about 17'.

I just filled in half the access hatch of the 3rd phase to build a bigger Camden city and reluctantly violated the aisle area at Westville to build the Texaco refinery (a needed industry). There is no place else to go. Now it is a matter of enhancing/finishing  scenes and making it as much fun as possible for our operating sessions.

Generic scenery was added at the unfinished staging area end (needed a place to put the barn from my deceased friend's layout) so everything has had first pass scenery completed. The end is near! Sooner or later I have to run out of things to ramble on about.

I did submit an article (actually 2) proposal to a hobby magazine last week and am waiting to hear from them. It would cover the prototype Pennsylvania - Reading Seashore Lines and then those of us who model it.

I also put together a Google photo album of my layout in its current state. The photo album is in town order which unfortunately means the first photos are the least finished scenery wise.

https://plus.google.com/photos/117979710150548241973/albums/6182638648886844401

Press on the first picture to get the full size photos. I hope you enjoy the journey!

Downtown Camden

Roads in, trees in, parking meters in, I quit. 

I keep forgetting this is N scale and I'm well into my 60s. The first parking meter disappeared into space (I believe it achieved low earth orbit). I have no drills small enough to make a hole to plant them so gluing them in upright was a challenge, but heck they give you 14 for $5.95 so all is good. At least the camera can still see them.

 I also filled in the empty gap leading to staging with generic scenery.

The PRSL Camden Coaling Tower

The PRSL Pavonia Yard in Camden had a massive concrete coaling tower during its steam days.
I could only locate two published photos of it.
[Update: Just learned that there were no engine servicing faclities at the Pavonia Yard. 
They were located at the Camden Terminal Engine House (CTE) just south of the Broadway Station in Camden.]

Pavonia Coaling Tower - PRSL in Color by John Stroup p67

Pavonia Coaling Tower - Jim Foster PRSLHS

I found an old Walthers Coaling Tower kit that will probably be as close as I can come to it.
The kit is a nightmare with poor, limited instructions and even some assembly pictures being wrong.
Add to it my limited modeling skills and I barely got thought its construction.

Now I need to add a track off the turntable to feed it.

At least the PRSL, PRR, and Reading steamers will have something somewhat realistic to feed them. The Minitrix PRR K4s and Reading I10 consol are poor runners but at least they look pretty.