Matt,
Looking good, I am enjoying following this thread.
There is no better feeling than finally getting to lay track permanenatly.
Thanks Mike. I picked that color because it was a close match to the new shingles on the roof. lol. That and it was different the normal red or grey.
Thanks Shawn! When I go back and look at the pics I can see progress. I was just hoping to be further along.
Thanks Nico. I’m glad you are enjoying the build process! I have a few days off coming up and weather permitting I plan to have the roadbed done…I hope. lol. Been saying that for a month now.
I like the way you planned the bridge to go over the dry wash which might not be so dry when it rains since the down spout is right there. You could put in some crushed pea stone to replicate a dry river bed.
Glad you are getting those kinks worked out.
thanks Todd! I plan on making that area a dry river bed…until it rains. lol.
I didn’t get but a few hours to work on the railroad today. House wise, I did get a couple of can lights wired and installed, sheetrock almost done, and did some mud/tape work to the house.
None of that is exciting as railroad work though…so, here are a few pics of what little I managed to get done today.
I wanted to try and move the siding over , to just past the bridge…again. But, I remember I couldn’t get anything to fit right. So, I decided this was it. I moved the swith north towards the brigde 3 feet and called it done.
Here is looking north to the bridge. I moved the switch 3 feet north. I call this the final track plan. If I don’t, I may never get this done. lol.
I got all the reber staked and some of the cement board roadbed support installed, but it was too dark for pictues.
Sooooo…
Here is some eye candy. A few freight cars in front of where the farm will be and the rolling hill in the back ground.
Looking good, Matt… 
Not bad that PBR stuff!
Nothing like sitting back with a cold one watching train! Life is Good!
The white pipe you have sticking up near the bridge could be hidden inside a building 
You really are coming along there Matt!
Keep them pics coming!
Sean
Or, plant a few more white pipes and call it an elevator. Either grain or cement, either way, its a customer for your railroad.
Thanks Andy!
Lol Sean. Yep, not bad at all. Helps keep my hydrated while working outside. Dang, now I’m thirsty!
That white pipe is my sewer cleanout. I plan on shortening it, so that it’s more flush with the dirt and I can hide it with some scenery. It’s too close to the tracks to do a grain silo.
David, I’d thought of that. It’s just too close to the tracks. I tried having the tracks go in front of the cleanout, but that pushed the other side of the curves into the yard shed. That horseshoe was dictated by its surroundings. lol. I shouldn’t look to bad once I get it shortened and some scenery down…I hope.
Glad everybody is enjoying the pics! 
Matt Russell said:
Glad everybody is enjoying the pics!
Definitely…
Matt, then like Sean said, a hollow building placed over it would hide it. Something that would be near the train tracks, like a read light district hotel. The kind that charges by the hour.
The picture of the cars looks real good, except the Railbox is too clean. I don’t think I have ever seen a clean one, and rarely do I see one without graffiti on it.
Ahhh…the 'ol No-tell motel. lol.
I’d been looking at possibly getting some graffit from Stan Cederleaf. My weathering skills have never been good, so I can’t bring myself to try that on one of these cars. Actually my weathering skills sucked. lol.
I probably need to get some cheap cars and practice weathering them before I even think about tackling one of these nice freight cars. I’ll keep them nice and shiney for a while. They still have that new car smell. lol. I do agree they need some work though.
Matt, I went to the local hobby shop years ago and bought a bunch of HO El Cheepos from the box under the counter. At $3 each, I had a bast learning how to dirty them up with my airbrush.
Matt Russell said:
Ahhh…the 'ol No-tell motel. lol.
I’d been looking at possibly getting some graffit from Stan Cederleaf. My weathering skills have never been good, so I can’t bring myself to try that on one of these cars. Actually my weathering skills sucked. lol.
I probably need to get some cheap cars and practice weathering them before I even think about tackling one of these nice freight cars. I’ll keep them nice and shiney for a while. They still have that new car smell. lol. I do agree they need some work though.
Years ago there used to be a guy who gave demonstrations at train shows and GR conventions named Mac McCalla on weathering with an airbrush. He was from Huntington Beach, Ca. He gave a quite impressive demonstration and made it look easy. Of course he’s been doing it for years, but one thing he always stessed was practice, practice, practice (well, that goes for everything). Another thing he stressed was going out and looking at the real thing and taking pictures of how stuff looked in the real world after it’s been used and abused.
One of his trademark weathering marks was bird poop on top of the cars. Personally I thought he over did it, as when he was done that particular car looked ready for the scrap heap. But it did look real and he did make it look easy.
I have no idea whatever happened to that guy as I haven’t heard his name mentioned in years. Maybe some of you SoCal guys know his history.
David, I plan on keeping my eye out at the next train show in collinsville for some cheapo cars. Even if they are in HO, at least I can get some practice this winter.
I’ve never heard of him Kent.
He has several YouTube videos. Google is your friend.
Steve, I didnt’ even consider him being on google. That being said…I won’t say what I do for a living. 
lol
Matt Russell said:
David, I plan on keeping my eye out at the next train show in collinsville for some cheapo cars. Even if they are in HO, at least I can get some practice this winter.
I’ve never heard of him Kent.
Matt , your idea of practising weathering on H0 is a good idea , but weathering of a large scale uses different techniques . You can work out the weathering pattern , but not a lot else .
I don’t want to spoil your fun , but I think you should try what you want to achieve on scrap material .
It’s a long subject , so I will only give one example ----weathering powders work totally differently as you scale up , and are only really useful at 1/35 and above .
Mike
Thanks for the heads up Mike!
My pleasure!!
We are here to help .
Mike
Gee, that may be true, since I don’t use weather powders I wouldn’t know. I yes an airbrush and paintbrush, and the techniques are pretty much the same in HO and large scale.