The Blue Ridge Stemwinder in On30

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
looking really good. I'd prefer a lot more separation between the river and the track , but am vary aware of the construction methods that make that quite difficult, but this is going to be pretty never the less.


I still have serious planners block, not knowing what my eventual area will we in either square footage or shape, We are considering adding an 11 by 11 addition in front of my workshop. I'd like for it to stick up above the roofline, with small windows on a non existent upper floor, looking kind of like an interlocking tower, with the high windows just letting in ,more light. That space would house the washer and drier, currently in the garage , a small full bath with a shower, and possible a lounge area for the RR or watching TV. Jennifer has also mentioned the possibility of putting the washer and drier in the workshop, and having the RR extend into the tower.


the original plan was to garage one car, but Jennifer now wants to put two in there. I'd like to add 8 ft to the depth of the garage to gain some RR room for selves against the back wall.

am working to try to move stuff off the potting shelves in the workshop, so I can disassemble them. they are useless, with particle board tops, that have been wet, and have swelled up in places, so it isn't even a flat work space
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Thanks Bill. We can just imagine the Linville River is really high.:lolsign:
Modeler's block is a hard one. I am not so creative, so when thinking of a layout , I would review plans in books and online.

Glad to see a response top this thread nobody has been by in quite awhile. Thanks. Dr Tom
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Having decided that the trains would not derail on the freshly planted On30 track on the Linville LDE it was time for some groundcover, ballast and grade crossings.

PHq3C8b.jpg


eCkSf9U.jpg



Everybody loves a train and here's a picture of the little people at a grade crossing.

o624Cwm.jpg


Here is the same scene when it was in the blue foam stage.

9WxDGwN.jpg


A bit of a difference.

Thanks as always for looking.
Doc Tom
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Electricity was extremely rare in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains in 1920-1924. Geraldo’s kid “Sparkie”rigged up a crude generator to harness the water power in the creek out back of the farm. This allowed a simple light at the barn to turn night in to day.

tdCXmpi.jpg


Cy Crumley stopped the train to catch a view of this new fangled invention of Sparkie’s.

kSCsl5b.jpg


bhswsMb.jpg


Old man Geraldo prefers the kerosene lantern in his cabin and doubts that ‘tricity’ will ever catch on in these parts.

qBqV4KM.jpg



Thanks for looking. Doc Tom
 

micahrogers

Moderator "Where am I, and how did I get here?"
Staff member
Moderator
Good God man, I grew up in rural southern Mississippi, and one of my earliest memories was when my granddad had an indoor bathroom added to the farm house. That house was so far out that the lectric company only had 4 customers on that old dirt road.
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Thanks Micah for the feedback.




Here's a little more to add to the story of the railroad in the Blue Ridge.

A chestnut tree at Linville on the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Rail Road in the early 1920’s before the chestnut blight wiped out these magnificent trees in the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge. Chestnut bark siding was used to cover several structures in Linville including the ET&WNC depot.

i0YP3zv.jpg


MC8k2Qn.jpg


Now to find a suitable product to recreate this siding for the depot (in foam board mock up in the picture).

Thanks for looking. Doc Tom
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
I got a static grass applicator in the mail recently. I thought I would give it a try. A little bit of a learning curve and You Tube Vids certainly helped.

fMnTAdC.jpg


I have always liked this effect in "O" scale.

I used a mix of Woodland Scenics 4 mm grass. I think the effect is rather nice. Thanks for looking. Doc Tom
 

micahrogers

Moderator "Where am I, and how did I get here?"
Staff member
Moderator
That is a skill that I need to work on, making believable scenery.
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
That is a skill that I need to work on, making believable scenery.
Hi Micah. Like I tell the guys in the choo choo club......"Its hard to screw up scenery." Especially using water soluble acrylics and products. Give it a whirl. Take a peak at Dave Frary's You Tube vids. A very good resource. Doc Tom
 

Gandolf50

Researcher of obscure between war vehicles...
Staff member
Moderator
I got a static grass applicator in the mail recently. I thought I would give it a try. A little bit of a learning curve and You Tube Vids certainly helped.

fMnTAdC.jpg


I have always liked this effect in "O" scale.

I used a mix of Woodland Scenics 4 mm grass. I think the effect is rather nice. Thanks for looking. Doc Tom
Now that is WAY COOL!!! I just watched a YouTube on assembly and use...sure beats the old ways!
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Now that is WAY COOL!!! I just watched a YouTube on assembly and use...sure beats the old ways!
Hi Gandolf. The YouTube videos are how I learned to use the grass making machine. Model Railroader readers voted Woodland Scenics Static King the best so. Isprang for that. Works very well. The WS small vacuum is not so hot however. I have been able to recycle the static grass using the shop vac. with a sock on the end.....works much better. A lot of grass goes every where when using static grass applicators and it is nice to be able to reuse the grass. Dr Tom
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
No More Excuses.

These two prototype pictures of the Depot inspired me to build the Linville LDE on my On30 homage to the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina (ET&WNC) Railroad.

muUUjSh.jpg


Fp7Dmll.jpg


With the track painted and ballasted,the water tank and shed in place, trees and grasses planted,there are no more excuses to get on to scratch building the Linville Depot as it was in the early 1920's

CK76LIu.jpg


With Evergreen Styrene and San Juan Details on order I will be taking the plunge to replace the foam core mock up over the next several weeks.

xftLkE1.jpg


Hopefully a nice model will be ready in the near future.Fingers are crossed and nerves need steadying.
shake_125.gif
Did I mention scratch building makes me real nervous?
shake_125.gif


Thanks for following along so far.

Doc Tom
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Got Milk?

Well maybe if the cows relax after the whistle shrieks of the steam engine calling for the river crossing fade away and Geraldo can get his tiresome children to do some milking chores today.

jTHFIf3.jpg


ghoJ7VG.jpg


na1hGHK.jpg


Doc Tom
 
Top