Valence

A valence is used to hide/block/conceal under cabinet lights.

When I used the MDF board to build the backdrop, I had some left over. I knew that I would want some overhead lighting for the layout due to the room not being overly bright. I needed lighting if I wanted to take photos of the layout. I also felt the backdrop looked awkward without a top, or at least a partial top.

The installation of Aston Growers and Generic Canneries made the need even clearer.

Darkness on the edge of town.

I had all this great modelling behind both buildings that was hidden due to a lack of light. I could position a lamp for photos but it was not an everyday solution.

Looking nice but unfinished.

Valence basics

*For the top, I would use the leftover MDF (NTAO = never throw anything out).

*For a bit of trim, I would use some of the left over barn board I bought for $20 (NTAO).

*For the lighting, I would use the same sort of Ikea lights I used for my Canadian display case (see my February 15, 2021 post).

The idea was that the top/valence would cover the back 1/3 of the layout, giving some overhead light to the AG/GC scene, which, let's face it, is the star of the layout because it is where rolling stock rests.

When you read this post, keep in mind that I had pictured the valence as a major project and had thought about it since starting the Aston Spur in 2018 (OMG - 2018!!! It has been that long! Just for a 2x7 layout!).

But as you read this, I'm sure you're struck but how simple the whole thing is. No probs, eh? I figured the Labour Day weekend would give me enough time to complete the project.

The MDF

In late August, I drove over to see my Uncle Jim and his razor saw. It was a hot, sticky day, but with UJ's help, we cut the MDF into a triangle. We cut a small rectangular piece to bolster one of the backdrop sides.

Which I painted with the same blue I used for the backdrop...

...but the blue paint had lost its chemical goodness since 2019 so I had to get more from Home Depot. Okay, so maybe this wasn't going to get done on Labour Day.

I also kept and painted a small triangular bit of MDF to create a space for the wires without opening the valence too much.

The crazy thing is that the preparation and clean up took far longer than the actual painting. As you can see, I was damned if I was going to brush the paint onto the MDF - only a roller would do!

Lighting

As I did with my Canadian display, I bought string lights from Ikea. A single strand of LED lights connected to a transformer.

The result was like drinking watery ginger ale when I tested the effect by stringing the string over the layout.

Now that I look at the photos, it doesn't seem that bad, but in person, the light seemed anemic.

Back to the drawing board (or rather world of e-commerce).

Round #2 of lighting came in the form of three strips from Home Depot. The lights came with a remote (what doesn't these days?) to adjust colour, intensity, strobe (!?), etc.

I put aluminum foil under the lights to defuse some of the heat. They are mounted to the MDF using small screws.

And as the above photo shows, I added barn board to create the valence:

The barn board wasn't as satisfying as it should have been - I think the entire upper part of the layout would have benefited from barn board trim. But I didn't have the patience to cut smaller pieces of board to fit. At least it was a mindful compromise.

The wires come up through the gap (remember the small triangle I spoke of) to the junction box:

The junction box itself is screwed to one of the studs I added to support the valence.

The valence is screwed to the top of the layout in case I ever need to remove it (seems unlikely but you never know). I didn't take many photos of attaching the valence to the frame but, man, am I ever glad I put in some back studs to keep the backdrop (relatively) straight. And to think the backdrop was one of my first layout projects.

It just reminds me how important thinking ahead is.

The Reward

I'll share more photos in a later post but for now...:

Contrast with the harsh, pre-valence lights:

 

 Parking lot for Generic Canneries - Part II

This is my second post about building a parking lot. Lest anyone think I am exceptional[ly dull] in this regard, let me direct your attention to:

Hedley Junction - a post on making a river: http://hedley-junction.blogspot.com/2021/10/water-for-riviere-malbaie.html

Conrail's Onondaga Cutoff - making a highway bridge: 

https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/2021/09/finishing-touches-woodchuck-hill-road.html

Back to it...

Another overall view:

Left by itself, the parking lot would dominate the scene - the concrete colour and the size of the parking lot make it stand out.

Any parking lot located in tight confines needs some good guard rails:

Note the weathered hopper :)

The guardrails consisted of a bamboo skewer cut into lengths, painted grey and pushed into the pinkfoam board.

The "rails" are strip left over from another project - they were already painted grey.

Never throw anything out

Affirming one of the golden rules of model railroading:

"Never throw anything out". BTW, rule #2 is:

"Everything has a use depending on how imaginative you are"

Filling in the details

Two things to notice at this point:

1. The small gap in the fencing, awaiting the construction/arrival of a detail; and

2. The scenery is still at the base or flat stage without much texture.

The shack/shed was a fit for the space, so I was ready to add the next layer of scenery - shrubs and junk.

But first I went back to the parking lot and added a water spigot to hose down truck trailers and then added the missing fencing:

And added some hazard signs for the building corner to help trucks driving at night. These signs were left over from the bridge scene I posted about many months ago (again, never throw anything out!).

With everything in place, the scene looked like this:

I added a picnic table for the workers (behind the shed) as a last touch.

And then toned down the whole scene with pastels...

I decided to keep the parking lot relatively clean because it is a new parking lot, but everything else got some grime.

The above photo indirectly highlights the next (and last) project for the layout. A lighting valence.

The scene is all paint by numbers work. It helped to have the shed pre-built (an early Covid project) and to have ready-made junk sitting around. I'd really love to have some truck trailers sitting in the lot and maybe that is a winter project.

 Generic Canneries gets a Parking Lot

Where were we?

Here - the empty space "behind" Generic Canneries:

The concept was to create a parking lot for Generic Canneries' trucking fleet. I've worked at several warehouses due to my glamourous profession, and they've all had big truck parking lots. This lot wouldn't be huge, but it would be a logical thing for Generic Canneries to have.

I had already constructed a small shed which I envisioned would be used as an office for managing shipping. You'll see more of it later. You can never have enough sheds.

Anyway, back to the parking lot. The first thing to understand about truck parking lots is that trucks are heavy. They sink into mud. They warp asphalt. Therefore, if you're going to store trailers, you use concrete. And concrete can be pricey. And in my mind, Generic Canneries - in the throes of the post-war boom - had the money for concrete.  

I made the parking lot out of styrene and added some strip styrene underneath for height. I was going to spraybomb it tan but the confounded nozzle was jammed.

So it got a coat of grey instead:

Connected!

I linked the lot with the outside world by adding  a connector between the parking lot and the road going under the shed. 

I tried to scribe some expansion joints into the "concrete" but the lines were not deep enough and they were covered up by paint. Oh well, next time. I also sanded and dull-coated the styrene to give it some grit.

Note the raised edges.

Then it was time to paint the parking lot concrete.

Ballast and Scrub

After numerous fittings/re-fittings, I was happy with the lot placement and set it in place. As you'll see, I was far from finished with the concrete but installing it was necessary to put in the base scenery around it.

Ballast for the plant spur:

The plant spur being the older of the two sidings (the shed sidings being a recent addition), it got cinder ballast whereas the shed siding got "fresh" grey ballast. 

Scrub:

Fresh grey ballast for the shed tracks:

Scrub around the parking lot:

All added in layers. Ground foam first. Then some grass. Then bushes. The ballast was added in one go with patch ups done a day or two later (spots missed by the glue). Again I went with wet water to soak/hold the ballast followed by scenic cement.

As I write this, I reflect on how humdrum the process was. Nothing (so far) about the scene was difficult to create once I had the basic idea. I did some fitting with the styrene pieces but that wasn't hard. Everything else was standard issue scenery technique. But I think it all seemed easy because I have a lot of scenery products and textures to choose from. And I'm not trying to model anything exceptional - just a plain old parking lot.

So with the basic scenery installed, it was time to add some detail and weathering...

 Finalizing the Foreground Scene

The scenery for the foreground scene was divided. First, there was the inclined road leading up to the scene. The second part was the flat area justifying the road.

Why would you have a road, even an overgrown road, unless it was going somewhere?

And who would want scrub land next to a railroad spur? Certainly not the Joneses. And what would they do with the land? The answer is pretty clear (at least my mind) - men intent on escaping their wives. So the resulting scene is supposed to be the start of a small clubhouse for some local men's club (inspired by my Uncle's stories about he and my Dad blowing up stuff in a remote field). But it is hard to tell really, since the only thing modelling as a structure (aside from an outhouse) is concrete foundation. The story is that the men have torn down an old shack and are starting to build a new clubhouse, which includes a basement to store all the crap they can't store at home.

Ready.

in the sprit of trying something new, I added a stone fence to create a compound. The fence is a plastic (yellow) mold that comes in pieces at various lengths with a few corners. I painted it grey but was never really able to find the right colour. Nevertheless...

Because the compound is flat, I added visual interest with the foundation. I dug into the pink foam and then used painted styrene to simulate a freshly poured foundation.

And then it was time to add the centrepiece. First the outhouse. 

The outhouse is from XXXX and comes as a casting so it just needs to be painted. I went with aging wood and an tar paper roof gathering moss.

And then the hero tree to shade the outhouse...

And junk wood (from the demolished shack) and new 2x4s for the new clubhouse...

And added some scrub around the outhouse/tree scene...

And vegetated the embankment...

The scene is about 95% complete. I'd love to add a cement mixer to emphasize the freshly poured foundation if I can find a detail part.

 Building a foreground scene

As mentioned in a previous post, I had imagined in a scene in the left foreground of the layout.

I wanted:

1. Something that was elevated (to distract from the flat track)

2. Something overgrouwd and neglected.

3. No structure to block the trains, but still something of interest.

Step one was to create the blog using the usual foamboard.

And...

As you can see, the blob was in two parts. The first part is an incline leading to a plateau. The second, smaller piece, is flat. I cut the foam in two to make it easy to cut out some foam to install a little scene.

The scene I envisioned was a formerly abandoned lot that someone was constructing a small building on (this will make sense when you see the foundation). There would be an overgrown gravel road/path, long grass and some weeds. The road wasn't perpendicular to the edge, to prevent the right angle effect.

The scenery was applied in layers - starting with dirt, then the gravel and ground foam - eventually creating a solid underlayer prior to applying the grass.

The gravel road was the hard part - I wanted a narrow road, even on both sides, with a slight shoulder before the grass took over.

I then added the grass in a variety of colours. The grass (well stretched into a thin lair) was glued using watery white glue. 

It was slow and steady. Add a layer, let it dry, fill the gaps and add another layer...

Still not done...but close enough to place on the layout for a test fitting.

At this point, I cut out a square for the eventual addition on a concrete foundation for an unbuilt building.

And added texture to the trackside hill to blend it in.

Separately, I began to put together into a "hero tree". A hero tree is a highly detailed tree (particularly the trunk) intended to be placed in the foreground of a scene as a focal.

I took a stock Wood Scenics tree trunk, painted the trunk greyish-brown and, here comes the hard part, took Super Tree branches and laboriously glued them to the trunk, using tweezers and glue, accompanied with swearing.

Was it worth it? Stay tuned for part II...

 

 The ONR, Northern Ontario and Father's Day

Next weekend brings the true start of summer for me. I'll pick up my Uncle and head north to Temagami then by float plane to a remote lake for several days of fishing.

Northern (actually "near Northern") Ontario is a favourite place in the summer. I like the two-lane roads, the endless procession of trees/rocks/lakes you see along the way and the small towns that look modest but have an interesting history (Cobalt has a fascinating collection of buildings from its brief boom period in the 1930's).

There is also interest from the railroad side. At North Bay, the Ontario Northland Railway takes over from the CN line, taking the rail all the way up to Moosonee on James Bay with a few branch lines along the way to Rouyn, Hearst and the outskirts of Timmins. The ONR is a meat and potatoes railroad - paper, lumber, chemicals and metal products are its main commodities. No fancy intermodal trains or hyper-efficient unit trains for the ONR. They even run a mixed freight/passenger train to Moosonee with piggyback cars. 

When we were kids, my Dad took us up to Cochrane and Nakina. That's what I call the "North". Nakina is about 24 hours north of Toronto and is where the road ends. Cochrane is slightly closer, but the same in terms of the road ending.

I've been through Nakina on the Canadian a few times:

2016

From a labour law nerd perspective, Nakina is interesting because of a court case/Royal Commission that came into play when CN ended its status as a Division Point (i.e. where train crews sign in and out of work) in the late '50s. The above photo was taken on my way to a labour law conference in Winnipeg.

I had a labour law brush with the ONR in 2001-2 as a junior lawyer. They were a client of my firm and I did document review/research related to a potential sale of the railroad (which never happened due to onerous labour contracts).

Cochrane is home of the Polar Bear Express running to Moosonee.

We went there in 1985(?) and rode the train:

And my Dad got us a visit to the engine cab (an FP7):

Really, really glad to have these photos and they seem especially appropriate to post today on Father's Day.

Because of all the time we spent in Northern Ontario growing up, the ONR is my second/third favourite railroad (Keeping in mind I work for a European railroad, the ONR probably gets bumped down to #3).

I took a northern Ontario drive in 2017 to check out the ONR.

Stopping in Temagami to catch Train 214 from Englehart to NB (sadly my video of the train is too large to upload):

And admire the station:

Before heading up to Englehart to check out the yard and display steam engine:

SD70

Pacific with "Elephant Ears"

Looping back to the start of this post, I come to 2015 for a favourite photo (albeit not of the best quality).

2015 was our first fly-in fishing trip out of Temagami. Our means of transport was a De Havilland Dash-2 (?) built in 1956 and still flying today (I'll see it next Saturday).

The ONR still runs GP9s, one of which was also built in 1956. 

And guess what? As we loaded our gear into the plane, there was a sound of an approaching train - the ONR freight from Englehart to North Bay.

And the last engine in the consist was 1601, built 7/56 according to the Trackside Guide...

Where in Canada can you get a photo of two machines from 1956, largely unmodified, still fulfilling their original purpose in the same frame?

Words do not describe...Thank you Dad and looking forward to seeing you Uncle!