(Go to: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9)
Since the last picture, all the track has been laid, soldered, and wired. The Golden Rail Spike was ceremoniously hammered in while there was much N-Scale regalia and a few celebratory beers toasted high. The switches were thrown, electricity soared through all the feeders, and 3 different test locos made flawless maiden runs. Whew! Thank goodness. Electrical work is not my forte; but I think I made my father proud; he in Electrical Engineer heaven, God rest his soul.
Here we see an updated crossing of Old Dutchman's Highway and finished ballasted track. The scenery has begun to grow; as you can see Honeymoon Rock on the corner of the Yoder Farm has blended in nicely. Piles of colorful Autumn leaves (tea leaves) lie along the swale of the road, as well as tufts of long grass and bramble.
A close up of some finished track. The ballast work is neat and trim to the naked eye, but the camera and flash are not forgiving and catch every errant stone. I'll do a final tie/stone clean up at the end. Here at the crossings we await the arrival of some scale wood planks to complete the roadway over the tracks... otherwise that crossing would be a bump to remember in the ol' rumble seat. Note the weathered ties and rails.
Here you can see the progression of the ballasting as I work my way around: glue and ballast, and do some scenery whilst a length of track dries, and so on. The Yoder Farm is beginning to shape up. Making the apple trees from scratch was a hoot... N Scale apples get EVERYWHERE and are prone to static cling. Imagine the joy when combined with big fingers and glue. Judging by the lighting in this shot, it looks like its gonna rain... head for the barn.
A closer shot of the two rail bridges and the forested swales with the farm beyond. The layout is starting to become little separate departments of eye-candy; making it appear larger than it is.
Another close up of the woods and the detail of the forest floor. Note the deadwood. piles of leaves and bramble. My wife says she could just about "step into" the scene it is so life-like. The ballast will need a few more weeds and weathering.
The Yoder Barn was a fun kit to build and I decided to weather it just as gnarly as I remember my great Uncle Ernst's barn in New Jersey. Gray barn wood with ancient red paint all peeling off and such. Some rascal of a kid even broke the window with a rock...lookit that! Now we'll have sparrows or owls for sure.
This is the divergence of the Dumluk Coal Mine spur. Notice the ballast bed sort of flattens out as it enters the industrial area of the mine. Dirty and unkempt as well. You can also spy some feeder wire soldered to that un-ballasted section of track just behind the Yoder farm.
It's harvest season and old man Yoder has cleared his fields and stacked the hay to dry in the cool crisp Autumn air. Those Apples are late season and just about ready for ladders and crates. I can taste one now.
>> NEXT >>
