November Update

This has been a busy month. I finally finished some engines for a friend in Chicago and got them off my workbench. I had an MRC Sound decoder fail in SCXY 1325, so I swapped an ESU LokSound Micro in its place (huge improvement). I am having fun making layout progress right now, so that has been a big focus of the month.

I made some more progress on Ivy Farms Trucking. I added the shingled roof to the main building. I also repainted the pole barn and got it weathered.

I got the Creekside Cafe almost done. The outside is painted, roof is on, and signage was added for the cafe and the Other Side Bar.

Inside I added tables, chairs, bar stools and a pool table.

 I got a Willy's to park outside the Corp. HQ. That was fun to paint.

More trees planted in Hinckley.

I completed a sideboom crawler I've had on the bench for years.

I added some powerlines in Rush City. there will be more of them coming soon.

 I added the camera pole for the Mill. The solar panel is a decal.

And I ran trains. This run helped me find a troublesome spot in my 5/6 switch. A quick shim on the throwbar in it was back in service.

Hopefully December is as fruitful as November was!

3 Month Update

I've been horrible about keeping the blog up to date this summer. I'm happy to announce I have another article coming out in the upcoming issue of NSR. It is a full build up on my AC44C4M. 10 pages of fun!

It has been warm working on the layout, but I have been progressing just the same. Mostly scenery work. I was heavy into the making of trees, but now I have transitioned into roads. It feels good to be getting all this asphalt down.

To recap:
More trees in Hinckley. I have now planted two full boxes of Scenic Express Super Trees (250-ish trees). I think 4-5 more boxes will get me to a good place. MP 74 looks good, I need to fill in all the way to MP 75.

At the Horizon Mill, I added the fall protection system above the flour cars (yellow structure) and a radio tower behind the HQ.

I started experimenting with the Woodland Scenics Smooth-It Road system. I started with W 1st St in Rush City.

 From there I went to CRR 133 in Hinckley. The Pan Pastel weathering really brought it home.

Next I added the blacktop to 415th St in North Branch. I mocked up Zinpro in Foam Core before I started the project. Since taking this photo I have weathered the blacktop, contoured the terrain between Zinpro and the road and I added the crossbucks at the grade crossing.

I mocked up the Titan office in Foam Core, but then I got excited, so I built the styrene verion. I still need to paint it, but I have since added the grass to the right of the building and one of the AC units outside. I hope to install the Titan-Lansing sign tonight.

I think that gets everyone caught up with the bulk of the work. Hopefully my next update will come sooner!