I have
rarely enjoyed such a string of modeling ambition and I rode the wave as long as
possible. This will conclude the scenery wave as it is now time to prepare for
an upcoming operating session. (I have 63 turnouts to tune, a short
in one of the 2 yard leads to diagnose, and waybills to realign.)
Laurel St
between Cooper St and Hunter Ave in Woodbury was basically “completed”. (Still
needs lights, people, weathering, and detailing.)
Washington Ave in North Woodbury got extended (although it now curving in
the opposite direction of the prototype).
Now the
bulbous peninsula end has been broken up and somewhat disguised.
I am coming to the end of my 70% rebuild and it is finally time to attack
the peninsula turnback problem.
Turnbacks are always a problem to hide so most times you are forced to go
to a hill or mountain to hide/break up the non-prototypical 180-270 degree
curve. Then there is the issue of keeping your expensive engines and cars off
the floor. With only an inch or two to work with you need to create barrier
between the “end of the world” and the floor.
I decided to make as much of a Sculptamold rise as I could in the limited
space. So I got a roll of duct tape and taped it to the end of the 5/8” plywood
and then bent it back on itself so it wouldn’t stick to the Sculptamold (and to
make it sturdier).
When that was in place, I added bottle fir trees to the outer edge. Their
wire frames are definitely sturdy enough to bounce the cars back onto the
layout if the ridge itself doesn’t stop them.
Someone on the PRSL Historical Society asked whether PRR K4s ever ran in freight service.
Another member posted a photo from Don Ball's Pennsylvania RR book showing one in action in Maple Shade, NJ. It was led by the PRR's lone red Baldwin VO-1000.
I loved the photo so I tried to recreate it on my N scale layout. Atlas manufactured the red 5916 and it is a fine model. I used a no longer running Mini Trix K4 to complete the set-up. I couldn't find my MoPac hopper so I substituted a PRR H30 covered hopper.
It has been 8 years and 225 posts since I started this blog at the suggestion of a friend and the view counts have been healthy but I wonder if 99% of them aren't web crawlers.
So if there are any real readers out there please leave a comment below and why you bother reading my ramblings:
You like the real Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
You are a friend I forced to read it
You are looking for ideas
Nothing better to do
You found it through N Scale Magazine
...
P.S. I sent in a "tip" on storing trains to the on-line Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine and they turned it into 7 pages so please forgive my sloppy English, I didn't expect it to become an article.
And if you read it please give the article a higher than normal rating because of my good looks. (My wife could not recognize me in the magazine photo.)
The real me. Where did all my hair go?
P.S.S. The last 2 areas needing first pass scenery (Sculptamold and paint)
The end of the peninsula. Turnbacks alway create a challenge to hide. (You also usually need to provide a barrier to keep the trains from changing from outbound to floorbound.)
Woodbury Lake (actually prototypical) will occupy the right side (framed by tree slopes).
Except for the track curvature this is also prototypical for just beyond the Woodbury Station
This end of North Woodbury is not so prototypical but the scenery does need to blend (Doesn't it?)
The Glassboro loop is mythical but is needed to get altitude to complete the mainline return.
The scenery will attempt to hide the access hole and the ugly pole lamp.
Brooklawn Circle(s) - Merit gas station pole is the hint of the now missing 2nd circle
The Patk N'Eat (Murphy House) greasy spoon. Looks like a rare crowd tonight.
Timber Creek trestle. I had to curve it to fit.
The PRSL Power Plant closed in 1924 when it became cheaper to get electric from the local power company but in my time warp it is continuing to receive coal into the 1950s and thus generating operating traffic.
Buzby Bros. cement company in Westville. I still need to rebuild the damaged towers.
Station Avenue in Westville with the Mary Jane Florist and Embassy movie theater.
Decker's Mobil on Gateway Blvd/
Texaco refinery in Westville.
Looks like Olive & Broadway has a farmer's market going.
Checkers match on Olive St. in South Westville. Yuk Coke! Where's the Pepsi?
Holloway Lumber just got in some more boards.
Looks like trash/garbage day on Washington Ave. in North Woodbury.
Progress (Is Our Most Important Product) continues.
Ten car trains are running relatively reliably (if I could just keep the Bowser N5c cabins attached to the train ends). We will work our way up to the 25+ coal drags.
The Brooklawn/Timber Creek area received its second pass scenery. I still need to put in power house and Buzby Bros. parking areas. The creek needs to be refinished and work along the banks improved and then the people (figures) need to return.
Westville is back to normal along with part of North Woodbury. South Woodbury is in good shape but Woodbury proper needs a lot of work and the peninsula end needs to be started.
The Glassboro/Thorofare area has parking and trees.
This is a milestone for my Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines layout. (So, I’m excited!) After almost exactly one year, trains are once again running!
I tore apart (and reordered 75% of) the layout in order to get room for 9 tracks of staging - 4 from the Philadelphia side and 5 to serve as the turnaround points for the 3 southbound branches that terminate “at ocean’s edge”. This will enable my operating group to run the complete schedule of trains that the PRSL ran in the early 1950s.
Most of the layout still looks like a combination tornado/earthquake/hurricane hit it but at least the trains are running again.
0:00 We pick up a southbound local in Camden
0:22 Ignore the fact that Philadelphia’s 30th Street station is in the background (out of place but no switching)
0:35 Also ignore the Manayunk bridges
0:50 Back to reality: Timber creek bridge (Brooklawn to Westville)
0:55 Westville
1:00 Texaco refinery in Westville
1:15 North Woodbury
1:25 Meeting the northbound local in the unfinished end piece
1:35 Woodbury
1:50 South Woodbury marshalling yard
1:55 Glassboro (/Thorofare) junction (with lead to South Staging)
2:05 Loop to get up to high line (the North Staging enters at the top)
2:25 The 9 tracks of staging that caused all this trouble
3:00 Meeting the northbound local (behind Camden)
3:20 Back to the Camden Pavonia yard
