# Rail yard finally mostly complete!



## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

And the main road is in! Yay!


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

Really looking good, I like what you have done.


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## JeffHurl (Apr 22, 2021)

I agree! You have a very nice layout going there, and the best part is that you like it!

This is a very rewarding hoby when you start to see the fruit of your labor.


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

Thanks! Even though it's small, I've still got a lot left I'd like to do.


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## pmcgurin (Sep 7, 2010)

The layout has a nice polish to it. Looks very nice.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Yeah, this is looking really good. I _really_ like the rural look that you have going on with the houses/farms spaced out on the two-lane road. Trains rolling thru the countryside like that is what I had in mind for my layout, but, alas, HO scale and I could only get one "farm" in.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Except for the mountains it would pass for… oh god…
A backdrop with *the Blue Water Bridge* ho hoooo it’d look like Smith’s Creek, MI (except you can’t see the bridge from there).


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

OilValleyRy said:


> Except for the mountains it would pass for… oh god…
> A backdrop with *the Blue Water Bridge* ho hoooo it’d look like Smith’s Creek, MI (except you can’t see the bridge from there).


Can't say I've ever been to smith's creek, but I've seen the blue water bridge many times. I'm afraid That might be a little beyond my painting skills for the backdrop!


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Oomowmow said:


> Can't say I've ever been to smith's creek, but I've seen the blue water bridge many times. I'm afraid That might be a little beyond my painting skills for the backdrop!


Photographic cut out.


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

I'll keep that in mind for future reference! 😎


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## N/360 (7 mo ago)

I like very much what you did as backdrop. I think its a excellent way to add a very personnal touch. I did same, and am all right with it. Anyway, very nice work.


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

N/360 said:


> I like very much what you did as backdrop. I think its a excellent way to add a very personnal touch. I did same, and am all right with it. Anyway, very nice work.


Thanks!


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

Added some ballast for effect.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

I am dreading doing ballast in my yard...how did you do, issues wise...no issues?
Usually the glue wicks onto rails, rock sticks inside rails, etc.
Do you have a tool for spreading ballast? 
I was thinking of making a ballast spreader as they are about $20+ for a ballast spreadng kit.
Looks good, for sure.


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

SF Gal said:


> I am dreading doing ballast in my yard...how did you do, issues wise...no issues?
> Usually the glue wicks onto rails, rock sticks inside rails, etc.
> Do you have a tool for spreading ballast?
> I was thinking of making a ballast spreader as they are about $20+ for a ballast spreadng kit.
> Looks good, for sure.


 Honestly, I didn't put it on the tracks, just the sides to blend in the ez track, so it's not a hard plastic line. (I also 'weathered' the ez track first, also to lessen the plastic look) it's less gravel to come loose if I have to move it....
The layout I had 30 years ago was fully ballasted. Then and now, I put some ballast into a very small, shallow lid and slowly shook it onto the track and roadbed. After the glue dried, I vacuum the loose stuff up. I've never tried the ballast dispenser they make. It probably hadn't been invented yet when I did my first layout! 😎


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Looks great! I did the same on my prior N layout. Just ballasted the side tapers of the Kato track.

@SF Gal in HO I learned to use a spoon to distribute ballast semi-evenly. Then use a flat paint brush, 1/4 to 1/2 inch, to spread ballast out. Last and most important, tap the brush handle on the rail heads to make ballast atop ties jump off. Then mist with iso, and use an eye dropper, pipette, or straw & finger tip to dribble diluted glue on. Where you want to prevent glue, such as turnout points (both electrical & mechanical) I think I applied a different mixture of glue to water about 1 to 9 parts, and mid-cure time threw the turnouts half a dozen times, and did so again when about fully dry. Just need to secure the ballast, not glue the track down. If you don’t rely on point rail electrical contact you could just add petroleum jelly to the moving areas and not worry about removing it beyond a wipe off. But I wanted to avoid that potential mess on loco wheels so went with weaker glue at turnouts.


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

That All sounds like a good plan! I'm not a fan of lubricants on the rails. I tried the no oxide stuff once. I put it on super thin and wiped it off. All my locos were slipping with more than 5 cars. I had to clean my track like 3 times to get it off. Never again.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Oomowmow said:


> That All sounds like a good plan! I'm not a fan of lubricants on the rails. I tried the no oxide stuff once. I put it on super thin and wiped it off. All my locos were slipping with more than 5 cars. I had to clean my track like 3 times to get it off. Never again.


I agree. Lubricant is the Ted Bundy in the world of tractive effort.


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