An N-Scale Santa Fe branchline through the mountains

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Contruction Journal ( 2020 Jan-Jun )
01/04/2020 Top

Built a tow truck from Showcase Miniatures
The kit layed out (note: squares are 1/2 inch)



Primed black



Initial paint colors



Almost Finished (needs a little touch-up on the paint and the decals)



Started some basic scenery on the riverbanks

Added some rock castings to the near banks



Roughed in some dirt color



Quick covering of grass



Next up ... remove the excess grass after it dries. Then add rocks and trees



02/22/2020 Top

Building Fred's One-Stop by Showcase Miniatures
Initial building framed out, with a few support beams to control warping until the additions/roof is added



View from other side



More of main building, now with additions and roofing



and from the other side



Still a lot more to go on this kit...windows, porch, car shop, gas pumps, etc.



03/29/2020 Top

Continued work on Fred's One-Stop by Showcase Miniatures, installed the windows, doors and porch.
Some of the windows need touching up/realignment and the roof turned out too dark - need to lighten it up some







Still a lot more to go on this kit...car shop, gas pumps, etc.

Also, finally got around to cutting the plywood for the next section of track





04/05/2020 Top

Installed the plywood and risers for the next section of track



Then started gluing down the subroadbed for it



Also, though no pictures, I realized after posting the previous pictures of Fred's One-Stop
that all the windows were installed both upside down and inside out (major mess up)
So I spent an hour slowing pulling all the windows out so that I can rebuild them all


04/18/2020 Top

Continued work on Fred's One-Stop. Redid all the windows (what a pain) and repainted the roof to be lighter





Then added some trim work, a porch light and some interior lighting





04/19/2020 Top

Laid the track on the new section, so now there is a full loop back to staging and trains can enter the yard from either end







04/26/2020 Top

A little more work on Fred's One-Stop. Added the rest of the trim work on the house portion and started building the gas station portion. I fixed the broken bricks after seeing the pictures, but I did not retake the photos.







04/29/2020 Top

The color of the riverbank cliffs always bothered me. I thought they were too dark. Then I started looking at Colorado pictures and realized they were too gray and not enought tan/orange. So I ordered a set of desert paints and redid them.







And here is a side-by-side comparison, what they looked like before



Versus what they look like now





05/17/2020 Top

Hard to tell from the photos, but I added an interior and lighting to the station portion of the Fred's One Stop kit. I also built the cover and island for the pumps







05/24/2020 Top

Today was mostly small detail items. Besides attaching the two kits, I added roof rafter tails, the roof sign, the pumps, coke & ice machines, trash cans, etc. Plus I added several signs around the station area









Still to go are the steps and railings to the porch, and the steps, railing and awning to the backdoor.


05/31/2020 Top

Fred's One-Stop is done, as far as construction is concerned. Looks like I have a few light-leaks to fix, and I still need to add figures, vehicles, etc. but that won't happen until it gets placed on the layout, and where I'm planning to put it right now, there is no scenery yet (oops).











06/06/2020 Top

Created a scenery base for Fred's One Stop.









06/07/2020 Top

Started on a Deck Truss Bridge. Step #1 - Stain all the wood





06/14/2020 Top

Built the sides of the Deck Truss Bridge. The Top piece is finished, the bottom still needs to be trimmed and have the shoes added





06/21/2020 Top

More progress on the Deck Truss Bridge. Horizontal and Vertical tension bars install. Next up, a bazillion diagonal braces (both horizontal and vertical)







06/28/2020 Top

More progress on the Deck Truss Bridge. Diagonal braces (both horizontal and vertical) installed and working on NBW (nut-bolt-washer) castings. I REALLY hate NBW's right now.





Next up, the ends and the stringers.