# The East Alfreda Division



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Finally starting a layout thread, I'll update whenever anything significant goes down (whenever that may be ). The layout itself is generic, but engines running will mostly be Southern. Rolling stock is as of yet pretty well non-existent, but I'll probably pick up a boxcar or something every now and then until I've got enough to run a train. As I've mentioned a few times, I'm on a budget, so progress may be a little slow.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Added a siding for either MOW or empties from the assembly plant that will be stationed a little farther up the line. (It looks like I've used way too much adhesive, but its not a lot)
















Two old junkers that I figured I'd "scrap" and stick on some torn up track (old sectional brass, painted) alongside the MOW siding. Still working on the rust tones while glue dries on the track.

As you can tell from the pics, I'm a bit of a messy worker, will need to take a vaccum to the table


----------



## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Sideways said:


> As you can tell from the pics, I'm a bit of a messy worker, will need to take a vaccum to the table


I think most of us can relate to THAT!


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Carved an abutment/retaining wall for the bridge out of some extra pink foam. Paint needs some work, but I think it turned out alright. Went over the lakebed with some brown just to see how it looked.









Saw this little guy (emphasis on little!) for a really great price on eBay and couldn't resist haha. Runs like a top, almost better than the Spectrum beside him, but he's light as a feather, any poor trackwork would likely knock him off the rails.


----------



## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Abutment looks good. When you get ready to do the water (assuming it's not a dry lake bed) we'll talk about paint color for the bottom.  



Sideways said:


> ... but he's light as a feather, any poor trackwork would likely knock him off the rails.


You just bought your trackwork test train. Run Thomas wide open. If he doesn't have any problems you should be good. (After you do the "feel" test with a loose truck, of course).


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Stumpy said:


> When you get ready to do the water (assuming it's not a dry lake bed) we'll talk about paint color for the bottom.


I'll hold you to that☺


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Guess what came in the mail today!









The box was a lot bigger than expected, and the building itself is a bit smaller than expected. In painting this, would standard $1.00 acrylics work, or is there a specific paint required?


----------



## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

$1 acrylics will work fine... unless you're airbrushing.

Doesn't look like there's a lot to paint, but you'll want to come up with a light gray or tan wash to bring out the mortar lines in the brick (anything but stark white). I thin acrylic with denatured alcohol, then pour/wipe it on and immediately wipe it off. The idea is to leave the paint in the joints but not on the face of the brick. Takes practice, so start on an area that will be inconspicuous or, better yet, practice on something from the scrap bin.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Stumpy said:


> $1 acrylics will work fine... unless you're airbrushing.
> 
> Doesn't look like there's a lot to paint, but you'll want to come up with a light gray or tan wash to bring out the mortar lines in the brick (anything but stark white). I thin acrylic with denatured alcohol, then pour/wipe it on and immediately wipe it off. The idea is to leave the paint in the joints but not on the face of the brick. Takes practice, so start on an area that will be inconspicuous or, better yet, practice on something from the scrap bin.


Awesome, thanks.


----------



## Stejones82 (Dec 22, 2020)

Stumpy said:


> $1 acrylics will work fine... unless you're airbrushing.
> 
> I thin acrylic with denatured alcohol, then pour/wipe it on and immediately wipe it off.


Hey, Stumpy, when you thin with alcohol, first 91% or 70%? 

Second, does the alcohol remove any base paint? Here's my gig: I completed the roundhouse, and painted the outside walls to get a richer color and kill the plastic sheen. Then I played on the back walls which will not be seen to get the mortar look. I once thinned with some Tamiya Acrylic thinner. Technique like you said, applied small area and immediately wiped off. But, I think the thinner in the wash coat tended to pull off the base coat. So I switched to thinning with water which gave better results. Wil alcohol remove acrylic? 

Thanks!!


----------



## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

I use denatured alcohol, not isopropyl/rubbing alcohol, so I don't know what % it is (or proof, as it were).

If I had already painted I would thin with water.

The reason I thin with DA is because it evaporates quickly, and thereby accelerates drying, so I can get on to the next pass sooner. But there's always a trade-off. Since it does evaporate/dry quicker you have to work quicker.

DA is also thinner than water, so when you're wanting to do "run" effects, such as adding rust to a metal roof or water stains down the side of a building, it flows a lot better and you get more control. At least I think so.


----------



## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

I like the old junker in post #2. With the cab removed and the backhead exposed, it will look just right as a derelict on a side track.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Lehigh74 said:


> I like the old junker in post #2. With the cab removed and the backhead exposed, it will look just right as a derelict on a side track.


Look at the first picture.
Take that one and plant it by the bridge IN the river, with a work train stationed picking up the pieces. 
Coming off the curve, put in a runaway derailment track line, torn out of the dirt by the derailment.
Knick the one beam on the bridge? Like it clipped it on the way to the river.
With other pieces of a wreck added, you could make a nice derailment scene out of that.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Big Ed said:


> Look at the first picture.
> Take that one and plant it by the bridge IN the river, with a work train stationed picking up the pieces.
> Coming off the curve, put in a runaway derailment track line, torn out of the dirt by the derailment.
> Knick the one beam on the bridge? Like it clipped it on the way to the river.
> With other pieces of a wreck added, you could make a nice derailment scene out of that.


Could be something to ravage the body of any future quitters for


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Been a hot minute lol.
















Carved another wall out.








Touched up the station, and added a few people. A kid and her gramps waiting to see the train pull in, up front. Needs a bit more work, and the rest of the platform still needs to be aasembled, but I'm happy enough to take my sweet time.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Was digging thru the box that Thomas came in...this is the best thing I've ever seen


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

As you may have seen in the other pictures, there is already some scenery in place. This used to be a module from my buddys layout. He was tearing it down and starting from scratch, and I liked this little spot, so he let me take it. Most of the scenery was torn out besides this little corner.








Heres where I chopped the hill in order to fit the highway. The wall and a chunk of foam with a close enough shape hide everything under the hill. Its pretty rough, but I think a little more paint, some ground cover, and static grass will hide the imperfections.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

I've tested the trackwork with Stumpys method, and that little blue pocket rocket goes along fine at any speeds! Ran the 2-8-0 up and down a few times too, just to make sure there were no tight spots. For some reason I can't post videos, so you'll just have to take my word for it








A repurposed coach acting as a storage facility and locker for maintence workers beside the MOW turnout that has yet to be completed. Its all far from ready to be put down, but this is the general look I'm going for.


----------



## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

Good work so far, on the videos you have to get / make a youtube account (free) and upload them there then post the video's address here


----------



## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

It looks like you are making good progress.Yours and a few others make me regret leaving my layout flat, but it is vaguely based on Texas and our total elevation in this part goes between 300 and 600 feet above sea level. 

And I agree with Wooky's suggestion. I created a free channel on YouTube and named it Rothstein Model Trains. This keeps it separate from my personal account and I have posted three videos here now by just including the link to the YouTube video.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Wooky_Choo_Bacca said:


> Good work so far, on the videos you have to get / make a youtube account (free) and upload them there then post the video's address here


Oh, thanks!


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Chose the spot to put those two junks, its positioned almost directly across from the siding. The story I'm going with is that the rails used to connect to the siding to form a little branchline, eventually the branch was abandoned and the two broken down locomotives forgotten by the railroad, then recently the old rails had been torn up to make way for the new highway.








The road needs to be properly finished at the end of the tabletop, and I've got to paint it the final shades of grey later down the line, but other than that I'm happy with how it turned out.


----------



## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Ghosts of bygone days. I like it.


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Sideways said:


> View attachment 555395
> 
> Added a siding for either MOW or empties from the assembly plant that will be stationed a little farther up the line. (It looks like I've used way too much adhesive, but its not a lot)
> View attachment 555396
> ...


Sideways;

Is that a roll of steel wool I see sitting on the track in the back ground of your first photo? If it is, get that stuff away from your layout. Steel wool fibers end up inside the motors of your locomotives, pulled in by the magnets of the motor. They can do a lot of damage that way, and they can cause short circuits on turnouts, or keep the points from throwing all the way over. Bad stuff around any model railroad.

Never mind ! I looked more closely, and saw it's just some soup cans holding the track down while the caulk sets. 😕 

Traction Fan


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

traction fan said:


> Sideways;
> 
> Is that a roll of steel wool I see sitting on the track in the back ground of your first photo? If it is, get that stuff away from your layout. Steel wool fibers end up inside the motors of your locomotives, pulled in by the magnets of the motor. They can do a lot of damage that way, and they can cause short circuits on turnouts, or keep the points from throwing all the way over. Bad stuff around any model railroad.
> 
> ...


Haha, yes I'm aware of the danger of using steel wool. Thanks for the concern tho, I'd always like to know if I'm doing something seriouly wrong


----------



## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

traction fan said:


> Sideways;
> 
> Is that a roll of steel wool I see sitting on the track in the back ground of your first photo? If it is, get that stuff away from your layout. Steel wool fibers end up inside the motors of your locomotives, pulled in by the magnets of the motor. They can do a lot of damage that way, and they can cause short circuits on turnouts, or keep the points from throwing all the way over. Bad stuff around any model railroad.
> 
> ...


How many beers have YOU had today TF . . . . . . . I just couldn't resist 😁


----------



## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

I'd like to some day get a junk or two and have them as derelict locos rusting away on a derelict siding


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

2-8-0 and Thomas running.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Still not much going on, turns out I only have half the track I needed, so I've been waiting for either my lhs or a bargain on eBay (looks are decieving, I thought I had almost too much😳)
















Painted over the gray, I think I'm pretty well done with this area for now.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Sideways said:


> Still not much going on, turns out I only have half the track I needed, so I've been waiting for either my lhs or a bargain on eBay (looks are decieving, I thought I had almost too much😳)
> View attachment 557891
> 
> View attachment 557892
> ...


You might also want to watch graigslist and facebook market. I've gotten a lot of great deals off them. In fact just today my wife and I picked up a bunch of HO scale cars or a buck each and only 10 dollars for an engine.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Chaostrain said:


> You might also want to watch graigslist and facebook market. I've gotten a lot of great deals off them. In fact just today my wife and I picked up a bunch of HO scale cars or a buck each and only 10 dollars for an engine.


I don't use Craigslist, can Marketplace be used without having a Facebook account?


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Used a wood filler to make the final lakebed, just needs to be sanded a bit. Working on a little dock, need to find a few little boats to go with it.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Sideways said:


> I don't use Craigslist, can Marketplace be used without having a Facebook account?


I'm not sure about Marketplace but I'd be surprised if you can use it without a Faceboo account.


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Chaostrain said:


> I'm not sure about Marketplace but I'd be surprised if you can use it without a Faceboo account.


Too bad, I would probably use it, but Zuckerburg isn't getting his hands in my pockets!


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Picked this up 2nd hand on Kijiji. Helps the look of the station, but I don't know if mine has a defect, or if its a problem with all of them, but the extensions are shorter roof to roof then the station and original platform. Then again, it is probably older than I am, so what can you do?😛


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Theres the little dock, mostly finished, but I can't quite get the right tone for the wood deck. I made it out of an old deck from a tyco flatcar, sliced, filed smooth, primed, and now experimenting with the final colors (not ready to get wet with styrene and complex scratchbuilds yet, so I just used what I had laying around). Its just a small thing for a few dinky little boats.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Back in my days of working in the dockyard, that’s pretty close in colour to the old creosote tyes. Maybe a bit more of your medium shade grey


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Bargain $10, there were 6 or 7 other numbers available too, so I might try and get a few more. Looks good as long as you aren't too close. I wish they were Southern, but I'll live.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

eBay sideways?


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

BigGRacing said:


> eBay sideways?


Kijiji again


----------



## Sideways (Jan 25, 2021)

Not a lot more done, I just haven't really been in the mood, y'know?
Anyways, I finally got around to putting that kit together...








Edit: I just realized how terrible this photo is, I'll take some better ones tomorrow


----------

