Yes Bob, Lance does some nifty stuff, right up my alley and the same design principles I apply.
LM said:
I'll help you come up with a design that:CONTAINS OPEN, UN-CONGESTED, AESTHETICALLY PLEASING SCENES
INVOLVES A PLAUSIBLE THEME
IS STRAIGHTFORWARD TO BUILD
IS INTERESTING TO OPERATE
HOLDS YOUR INTEREST FOR THE LONG TERM
…oh I really apreciate the statement…Operation…retains the interest, long term…Good …
Hans;
Good to see you posting again. You were away for a long while. I hope all is well, and that you and the Bride are in good health.
Fred Mills said:
Hans;( Good to see you posting again. You were away for a long while. I hope all is well, and that you and the Bride are in good health.
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y370/olebob3/ALL.jpg?t=1296423539)
Area is 28ftX29ft. Note stairs in background.
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y370/olebob3/PDR_1224.jpg?t=1296423722)
We have started building benchwork. This is a mock-up of the first scene. Blue structure mock-up is made of used “miami sky”. It’ll be Mohawk Mill–think BRICK. We have a 2 dimentional plan but I like to finalise things full size.
Bob,
In my former life back East (Southern Ontario) I had a space almost exactly like that - down to the stairs. I see you installed the valance and the lights already; is that room air-conditioned? Or do you like it toasty warm? 
I remember the operating sessions in the Ontario summers, even the engineers who knew what they were doing got in a big sweat.
Hans, the area is very well insulated and forced ventilation from downstairs will help.
***But the REAL cooling will come from the scenery. we’re modeling WINTER!
Bob, :lol: :lol: let us know how well that works. 
Mind you, on my long extended runs in the Ontario summer heat I’d switch to visualizing the same route in winter. It’s all in your mind! :lol:
Truth is, it’s gonna be pretty hard to believe the scenery during the middle of summer.
The Miami layout was just the opposite. It was built in a 20ftX36ft semi-open carport so when winter came it wasn’t easy to think “south Florida”.
Origonally I’d thought “Autumn”, an interesting time of the year and a bit of a compromise for temperture. Then I was impressed by Mike Confalone’s “melting Snow” layout.
I don’t believe in modeling models but I think we are all inspired by the work of others, sometimes.
Great pictures, Bob.
Good to see you figured out the “posting” 
I’ve always thought a lot of the fun is in the building.
So it looks like you have plenty of fun ahead of you
Ralph
Bob,
in another thread you mentioned not to use commercial vegetation.
so, how and with what are you making your gras?
Bob,
If you look under “Railfanning” in the photo gallery, I have a few CSX pictures posted from SC,NC, & Tenn.
Ralph
Korm, short grass was painted sawdust.
Pick a color of latex house paint, thin with water(about half), then stur in sifted sawdust 'till it gets thick(about like bread dough).
Spread this out on a sheet of poly and let it dry. Force the dried clumps through a veg. strainer and it’s ready to use. ALWAYS apply a blend of shades. I used 3.
Tall grass was made from strands of hemp cord; the kind that once was used to bale hay(the old square bales). Somewhere, I ran across a lifetime supply that had been dyed green(you can dye it with RIT clothing dye). Apply a glob of white glue to a piece of scrap wood, snip off a sprig of string, dip the end in glue, then plant the sucker and don’t mess with it. Let it form it’s own pattern.
To give the tall grass a softer texture, I added(after the glue was dry) a VERY thin whisp of poly fiber(used to stuff pillows) accross the top of a grass patch. Applied this thin, the white color dosen’t show much, so don’t worry about that. Most places, I sprinkeled on just a pinch of YELLOW sawdust for weed blooms glued down with a short hit of spray glue. I tried white for blooms but yellow worked much better.
BTW, I found the best way to paint poly fiber is to apply a little latex paint to a tuff and then kneed it "till it’s all colored. You can apply it while the paint is wet or after it’s dry. You’ll still be able to pull off fibers to use.
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y370/olebob3/PDR_1048_edited-1.jpg?t=1296446839)
Scrap cardboard boxes are made from brown paper bag material. Paper trash is…yep, paper.
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y370/olebob3/PDR_1062.jpg?t=1296448721)
“EASING ACROSS 37th Ave” This is my personal favorite view of the Miami layout. BTW-did you find the styrofoam cup?
The cup under the RR crossing sign?
Bob great work. If your ever in ST. Louis feel free to stop by my Layout and detail all you like. I would even buy you a beer and dinner.
Google, street view, showed an unbelievable amount of trash, here along 59Th St.
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y370/olebob3/trash.jpg?t=1296450188)
Before ballast, track was spray painted flat black then Rustoleum textured brown. Engines are battery powered so no cleaning was necessary.
Geoff George said:THE CUP? EZ, Roll a piece of white paper around the sharp tip of a pencil, glue, then snip to size. Cup has no bottom. Dosen't matter--dosen't show.
The cup under the RR crossing sign? Bob great work. If your ever in ST. Louis feel free to stop by my Layout and detail all you like. I would even buy you a beer and dinner. :)
Prototype operation in this industrial park is all CSX but I freelanced it as a Genesee and Wyoming short line, "MIAMI RAIL SERVICE"with CSX interchange. This is their no150 in company “candy corn” paint.
