tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262365647315073312024-03-05T03:34:00.589-08:00Modeling the New York, Ontario & WesternOandwfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07314970129257954912noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226236564731507331.post-31380324697836527252013-12-07T14:03:00.001-08:002013-12-10T04:36:33.868-08:00This Might Be Taking Things Too Far...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPq46YKGVRTn4Um1qqpgiEIzGXp-2s7aG0-oBHlxiLTUHGd-pVAp-6-5jYHsYUzTNJkHoH_SUS1G_zKGrsfxY6-4ICLsDbmN0Tb_nceBGMuYPM1AMR3oW47qfoEYyjfiDBYrrEXiGDf8/s1600/end6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPq46YKGVRTn4Um1qqpgiEIzGXp-2s7aG0-oBHlxiLTUHGd-pVAp-6-5jYHsYUzTNJkHoH_SUS1G_zKGrsfxY6-4ICLsDbmN0Tb_nceBGMuYPM1AMR3oW47qfoEYyjfiDBYrrEXiGDf8/s400/end6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Several years ago I contributed an article to the <a href="http://www.nyow.org/Articles/Schneider/end.html" target="_blank">O&WRHS web site</a> that shared some photos of the scrap crews tearing up the tracks in Livingston Manor in 1958, the year after the O&W ceased operations. Continuing my attempt at modeling the O&W as accurately as possible (!?), I will very soon be emulating these images.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbriVkzMEV2N-MvjG1etvGsJ5mrveN2mHw_jrziG2PUZu6UlzeuUKXUmCmM_eC6jLhlGZxIwdtgkBm4byUzejlkHgxxhNjplfUgE8I4iwyVpsrv2mlJqWtlbjQs5UA9v0hpzc2Xo-G6ww/s1600/end11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbriVkzMEV2N-MvjG1etvGsJ5mrveN2mHw_jrziG2PUZu6UlzeuUKXUmCmM_eC6jLhlGZxIwdtgkBm4byUzejlkHgxxhNjplfUgE8I4iwyVpsrv2mlJqWtlbjQs5UA9v0hpzc2Xo-G6ww/s400/end11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1I1GFSOse0320uqJ4uo_MFzYwj1fjN3URvTo4Cvsn-Tt8d69FM_SID5olppifQzJz5d_pLiEIi1PZP2OvbvhmkV2SN8pG-1VEyDpjS2B9mF-ZotafitI2cSQO1cuOxVvaNwT22cGuEo/s1600/IMG_1757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1I1GFSOse0320uqJ4uo_MFzYwj1fjN3URvTo4Cvsn-Tt8d69FM_SID5olppifQzJz5d_pLiEIi1PZP2OvbvhmkV2SN8pG-1VEyDpjS2B9mF-ZotafitI2cSQO1cuOxVvaNwT22cGuEo/s400/IMG_1757.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Well, OK, I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but...<br />
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I started construction on my O&W layout more than fifteen years ago now. Family needs now require that the spare room (well, the <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i><u>formerly </u></i></span>spare room...) in which it has been housed be converted for other uses. While this is a bit bittersweet to be sure, as <a href="http://kingstonsub.com/" target="_blank">Jason </a>pointed out to me recently, I have been able to do something that many modelers never get to do. namely, actually build a layout and bring it to a fairly high level of completion, so I really can't complain. I've even been lucky enough to have the layout <a href="http://home.comcast.net/~oandw/articles.html" target="_blank">featured </a>in several magazines and have photos published in a couple of books. Most importantly, through the construction and operating of this layout I have been introduced to many great people and have formed several lasting friendships that will continue even after the trains have stopped running.<br />
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As for the physical layout itself, well, it's not all bad news. One of those above-mentioned friends plans to use sections of it to get a jump start on a layout project that he has been planning on and off for a while. The locomotives and some of the equipment will go into storage waiting for the next project, but I firmly believe that they would be better off operating somewhere rather than just collecting dust in a box. As a result, some of the freight cars will be turning a wheel on some local layouts like those being built by friends and operators <a href="http://newbritainstation.com/" target="_blank">Randy Hammill </a>and <a href="http://blog.thevalleylocal.net/" target="_blank">Chris Adams</a>.<br />
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I'll continue to build models. In fact, this will free up some time to complete numerous locos and cars that I offered to build to the <a href="http://railroad.union.rpi.edu/index.php?title=Rensselaer_Railroad_Heritage_Website" target="_blank">RPI club</a> (how do I get myself into these things?). As for the future of this blog, I'm hoping that it will morph into more of a general prototype and O&W and prototype modeling blog including submissions from other like-minded modelers.<br />
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As for my own layout projects, I'll probably spend a few years scheming about what I might be able to fit... somewhere... sometime... and I'll probably build a diorama or two just to keep my hands dirty. Also, I'll continue to operate on other layouts as I am invited and able. So, to (probably mis-) quote Winston Churchill: <br />
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<i>"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. </i></div>
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<i>But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."</i></div>
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Finally,
thanks are due to everybody who has been interested in my efforts over the
years, and to my incredibly supportive family and my wife, Theresa, who have
allowed me both the space and the time to build and enjoy this layout.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bill<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7P2xCVCKf9QDkElqN1a0RITPdzffHasc1WBg8keKQRnkOBckz4FJWL0MYasolHS-ejgbfbOrW2j-t_GkY3_HSIigKG31yQPUoWgdRK2XsvgIOIHJyyg9TnpjisuvjJ8rRYfzGtQVnD0/s1600/IMG_1766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7P2xCVCKf9QDkElqN1a0RITPdzffHasc1WBg8keKQRnkOBckz4FJWL0MYasolHS-ejgbfbOrW2j-t_GkY3_HSIigKG31yQPUoWgdRK2XsvgIOIHJyyg9TnpjisuvjJ8rRYfzGtQVnD0/s400/IMG_1766.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Oandwfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07314970129257954912noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226236564731507331.post-62342089379552804132013-11-10T11:32:00.002-08:002013-11-10T13:38:16.795-08:00What is today’s date?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCeSBeR6LKdnlk5y65qwbz1gmrwMG-uft6mkHT9g7YE2K9Avwk4qUwRqjMNOlJHF0cIPZQlmw4EkdBJZwEDHrCN9RmtB-KRu6OnisU1Gaea_8eg_p904Jy73ekwh5abZYqQEbHUjtUbo/s1600/1957_smit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCeSBeR6LKdnlk5y65qwbz1gmrwMG-uft6mkHT9g7YE2K9Avwk4qUwRqjMNOlJHF0cIPZQlmw4EkdBJZwEDHrCN9RmtB-KRu6OnisU1Gaea_8eg_p904Jy73ekwh5abZYqQEbHUjtUbo/s320/1957_smit.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
Hi, I’m Bill and I’m a prototype modeler.<br />
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One of the topics discussed regularly on many of the on-line
discussion groups is how closely modelers choose to follow a particular time
period. On one end of the extreme are modelers like Jack Burgess who narrow
down the era of their layout to specific day of a specific year. (Jack’s
<a href="http://www.yosemitevalleyrr.com/vrtltour.htm" target="_blank">Yosemite Valley layout</a> has been an inspiration to me for years). On the other
end of the spectrum are the “Run what you brung” layouts with all manner of railroads
and eras represented. Many modelers often state “I am modeling the 1950s”
(implying any date between 1950 and 1959 I guess) and the retort is often “That
means that you’re modeling 1955, just not very well…”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I decided early on that I wanted to model a specific season
as closely as possible. If you find any of my older magazine articles (the landfill
is often a good place to look) then you will see that I based my layout in the summer
of 1953. I chose this date because it was the last summer of passenger service
on the O&W. What would complying to this date involve? Well, beyond the obvious
challenges of being sure that there were no 1957 Chevies on my 1953 layout it
also meant that I needed to be aware of what years the various freight cars modeled
on the layout were built and what was being advertised on the billboards. I
quickly became quite adept at finding information on 1953. I was happy. The
layout was progressing nicely. So far so good. Then mission creep…. or rather… era creep set in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuAmallWdmWKQ2Eh3kXb40Pm3L0p69IaMXF5CN1M60dpvisNQCgIabLQB5oTxat_g63Q08v2yNUugAoBbcx0jw5MH7bULTzT9serzcnHwChRf4eFIulXyFzTVqK6ZKEZ6nqz-tP_XJ6w/s1600/milk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuAmallWdmWKQ2Eh3kXb40Pm3L0p69IaMXF5CN1M60dpvisNQCgIabLQB5oTxat_g63Q08v2yNUugAoBbcx0jw5MH7bULTzT9serzcnHwChRf4eFIulXyFzTVqK6ZKEZ6nqz-tP_XJ6w/s320/milk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Milk traffic was a big part of the O&W’s history and I
wanted to incorporate some part of that on my model. I bought some milk cars. I
figured that this would offer some visual variety to the trains seen in each
session. O&W trains 9 and 10 carried milk cars regularly, and so they were
added into my operation scheme. I was so happy. Then I bought a copy of Robert Mohowski’s
“<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">New York Ontario & Western Railway<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Milk</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> Cars, Mixed<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Trains</span></em>, and
Motor Cars</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">” book. A quick glance through the book revealed Bob’s statement that
the last O&W milk train operated in 1952. Damn! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Right!
Summer, 1952 was the new date for my layout. A few anachronistic freight cars
were removed, the billboards now advertised 1952 the “new” model year cars</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, the milk trains could
run again and all was well with the world. Until…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I
see Bob a few times a year, generally at O&W Society functions or train
shows. At one of these events I mentioned my era change and the reasoning behind
it, and he rather sheepishly replied that in the area that I was modeling the
milk traffic probably ended a year earlier. 1951 was a good year… I think… so
1951 it was. Swap out another couple of cars, print out some new billboards and
move on. Then temptation raised its ugly head again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Like many modelers, occasionally I see a model that just
calls out for me to buy it. I can come up with all sorts of logical reasons why
this would not be a good idea normally driven by the idea that it is not
correct for my chosen era (whatever that might be at the time), but sometimes
reason just loses out. Such a case was the release of Tangent Scale Model’s 52’
gondola. I’ve always been somewhat of a closet Valley fan and I also have a
thing for open-top cars, but Dave at Tangent made my life easier by initially offering
the car only in the 1960s paint LV paint scheme. I was safe, or so it seemed.
Then, probably to test my resolve, he released the car in Lehigh Valley’s
original paint scheme. I HAD to have one, and so on ended up on my bench. I should
have read the fine print… literally. On the side of the car in HO scale 3” tall
letters it says “Built 5-52”. Life is so difficult sometimes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXsDgjrH9x1zbTMg3awVWhFQDIymWON7V0zBV04BXods8-OscI1caqKwcRHD1KUjS6-C5jGfoNhIqzUS04_YHgRdOghPpS3dFtH1YvAXbzOJ6JyD78NuHqTReicYIr3TP8Hwsx4plr0c/s1600/lvgon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXsDgjrH9x1zbTMg3awVWhFQDIymWON7V0zBV04BXods8-OscI1caqKwcRHD1KUjS6-C5jGfoNhIqzUS04_YHgRdOghPpS3dFtH1YvAXbzOJ6JyD78NuHqTReicYIr3TP8Hwsx4plr0c/s400/lvgon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After converting the car to my standard narrow tread wheels I
applied just a little dust around the trucks and frame and a bit of dust and
grime to the inside of the car. It now represents a car that is very nearly
brand new. In 1952. I just need to hide the milk train when it goes by.</div>
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Hi, I’m Bill and I’m modeling the 1950s…..</div>
Oandwfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07314970129257954912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226236564731507331.post-6548077536023460582013-10-08T12:12:00.000-07:002013-10-08T12:15:27.072-07:00<h1>
Keeping It Together…. </h1>
<h3>
A Stewart FT modeling tip</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRumsfy8W7-r_JETqZs3tnI_ccvXM4MigzAauMYHan9eYKo3gp7jnGChqUsB7vBoH29l6-NnntmFDDc6vQfJbwVWmnRei7WGGjrM8rZBbtWIgc7sER7wvDAkLnFD6kIaDHnfmFsKKIp9w/s1600/ft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRumsfy8W7-r_JETqZs3tnI_ccvXM4MigzAauMYHan9eYKo3gp7jnGChqUsB7vBoH29l6-NnntmFDDc6vQfJbwVWmnRei7WGGjrM8rZBbtWIgc7sER7wvDAkLnFD6kIaDHnfmFsKKIp9w/s400/ft.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm not going to take credit for this as I found it on the MR forum last night, but I will pass it on...<br />
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Like many O&W modelers I have several of the Stewart FT sets. These come with two lengths of plastic drawbar to be used depending on how tight your minimum radius is – the idea being to keep the units as close together as possible. For my layout the two supplied sizes are "Too Long" and "Not Long Enough". Some time ago (when I had access to a laser cutter) I made several "Just Right" drawbars from acrylic sheet. The problem with these is that they (like the plastic ones included with the model) are brittle and prone to breakage around the screw holes.<br />
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I was reminded of this when, while preparing for an upcoming open house last night, one of my DCC decoders (fortunately NOT the sound one) accidentally let the smoke escape, necessitating a return to the shops for service. On removing the units from the layout one of my custom drawbars snapped, leading to some new and interesting sound effects from the layout owner, so I added "Make a new drawbar" to my list of projects.<br />
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The tip, and it's SO simple and clever, involves the material used to make the drawbar. In the past (yes, this has happened before) I've used sheet styrene in a pinch, but it’s proved even more delicate than the acrylic. The material suggested in the web tip was… wait for it… an old credit card. (I happened to have my old AAA card in my wallet, so it sacrificed itself for the greater good.) You can cut the material with scissors, file it to shape with any normal file, drill it as needed, and it's damn near unbreakable! I twisted my sample drawbar through well more than 90 degrees with no issue, and it snapped right back.<br />
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I’m sure that we’ve all had “fun” trying to tear up or fold old credit cards after they expire. The inspired moment here was when somebody said “HEY! This would make a great drawbar!”<br />
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Now why didn’t I think of that…?
Oandwfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07314970129257954912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226236564731507331.post-56010425705572648682013-08-20T19:52:00.001-07:002013-08-20T19:59:43.525-07:00The Sky is the Limit!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…. the limit of where the layout stops being believable
and becomes a model.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My layout is multi-decked, meaning that it is built on three
levels one above another. There are about sixteen inches or so of clearance
from the top of the one deck to the bottom of the next deck. Sixteen inches is
about 116 feet in HO scale. The residents of my miniature towns must look up
and think that the sky is falling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, it gets worse. If they could loosen the
glue bonds that hold them down (<i>“Look! I’m being oppressed!”</i>) and move their plastic
legs, those same HO scale residents would quickly realize that the world isn’t round,
it’s flat. And narrow. With a really big first step off the edge…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What does any of this have to do with layout design and building?
Well, not too much, except that it may be important to provide a little
information ahead of time some of the images that appear both here and
elsewhere of my layout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>“It sure looks bigger in the photos…” </b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">- Mike Rose on a layout visit some years ago. At least, I’m
blaming him for that line….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For several years one of my side interests has been model
photography, with a goal to create as realistic a final image as possible. I’ve
been able to use this interest over the years to create a number of images both
for commercial and personal purposes. Here are just a few examples:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggNP8RaNJ0ZafT6wZRjXiqdkTvIzckyr24Y-kJyhnKx-0tZ141XGwjnE3vI_9m9YEqRJ1tCOS0PuVvLZfSZlB23ep0OJI_fBKsZq9ZHBLl4lPrFwI4CoDK-Zv0MIlpifwso3ll6lJAaU/s1600/caboose8306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggNP8RaNJ0ZafT6wZRjXiqdkTvIzckyr24Y-kJyhnKx-0tZ141XGwjnE3vI_9m9YEqRJ1tCOS0PuVvLZfSZlB23ep0OJI_fBKsZq9ZHBLl4lPrFwI4CoDK-Zv0MIlpifwso3ll6lJAaU/s320/caboose8306.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplYzuOvMOLa8XvTQs7OIXcnB-mgG_LPfJEcnlepnIdNPyCVY88rxRJ7jpBWHtPmKdMb6yU7t0sfuewXgUucqhD338kuvmtODWIyMEtr8vIoTSP05neQtk77L_Tl_cp6OAHB8j2HrTLNU/s1600/canaan_side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplYzuOvMOLa8XvTQs7OIXcnB-mgG_LPfJEcnlepnIdNPyCVY88rxRJ7jpBWHtPmKdMb6yU7t0sfuewXgUucqhD338kuvmtODWIyMEtr8vIoTSP05neQtk77L_Tl_cp6OAHB8j2HrTLNU/s320/canaan_side.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPU8a8GMyrsJiPMYJUHCmHvbRxEXqLK_f4dTLJDyEWPoKoSJ2aBhecq41FWIKByCU3Lj3yABuk_CtJXO1EiLfxw-omBhUeVze1kKPFvOBLnS1jMfxcZR45ND7r-Li2if0VLXKQ8wYnjjw/s1600/cobleskill_side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPU8a8GMyrsJiPMYJUHCmHvbRxEXqLK_f4dTLJDyEWPoKoSJ2aBhecq41FWIKByCU3Lj3yABuk_CtJXO1EiLfxw-omBhUeVze1kKPFvOBLnS1jMfxcZR45ND7r-Li2if0VLXKQ8wYnjjw/s320/cobleskill_side.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, these were fairly easy to take since most were
taken on portable dioramas outdoors under natural sunshine with real trees and sky in the background. This
example showing one of Mal Houck’s dioramas on one of our joint photo shoots shows what a typical set up might look like:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkQlooPNGm4QLgSNBftdoZb3cV7HjUmyhztd5FnqwwIpRQRavghwXzIiKLOtjxUSCExJvSUb6xANSTIBciua6poccKgXop3WPgPRhD8soSEhb4EcGywiyz9Ilfxo1sFNGLYZYI7AF47s/s1600/how.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkQlooPNGm4QLgSNBftdoZb3cV7HjUmyhztd5FnqwwIpRQRavghwXzIiKLOtjxUSCExJvSUb6xANSTIBciua6poccKgXop3WPgPRhD8soSEhb4EcGywiyz9Ilfxo1sFNGLYZYI7AF47s/s320/how.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An indoor multi-deck layout like mine becomes a real
challenge to photograph realistically precisely because the limited vertical space confines
limit both the available angles and the vertical field of view. When I started
taking photos of the layout I was disappointed by the end results. The upper deck
and/or open aisles ruined the effect that I was trying to achieve. This became
especially apparent back in 2005 when Mal and I were staging photos for what
would become the 2006 O&W Historical Society calendar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Enter Photoshop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">“<u>CHEAT!!! LIAR!!!! FRAUD!!! <br />THAT’S NOT REAL MODELING!!!</u></span><span style="font-size: large;">”</span><u style="font-size: x-large;"><o:p></o:p></u></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There, got that bit out of the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It still seems that at least some modelers get quite upset
about digital manipulation of photos. My counter argument is that when you view
the layout in person you are hopefully drawn into the scene and your mind’s eye
blocks out or at least ignores those peripheral areas that the camera just can’t
ignore. As a result, I really have no qualms about using photo editing software
to add in sky or background hills if they help the photo better capture what I am trying to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">portray</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The final image to me
is as much a model as the three dimensional items on the layout. Notice though
that all of the actual 1/87 modeling that you see in any of my photographs is
real, only some of the backgrounds are altered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To give an example of what I am rambling on about, here is
the raw image that is used for my background on this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq33Y_zbtd3-FwytjHCgyM58SLhbIWhvdKLbmfwwtj9rdzQn0yR2PVxkdZBDRQUcVyeejJ70IpWI_7d66Fb63Sq9fHM9RILSPJ8oZO-6bIdD7TpJXB2JoAPKlNP0VbAB_vN3GDdUiDWkk/s1600/b4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq33Y_zbtd3-FwytjHCgyM58SLhbIWhvdKLbmfwwtj9rdzQn0yR2PVxkdZBDRQUcVyeejJ70IpWI_7d66Fb63Sq9fHM9RILSPJ8oZO-6bIdD7TpJXB2JoAPKlNP0VbAB_vN3GDdUiDWkk/s320/b4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now here is what it looks like after the background hills
and sky are added (with a dab of exhaust):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKi2lEmKGOjhKxxJPNCgaP7YZ472ErWf-PljpDiWOXWbaOz9pI7DnMHq_oljonvBT8PagJ-H3evjFbbiwcUlDRA0HuzJNa-mEaKBxwBnFNJLPEA301_j5fLgmAmBott_O8LyJhLPGYTA/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKi2lEmKGOjhKxxJPNCgaP7YZ472ErWf-PljpDiWOXWbaOz9pI7DnMHq_oljonvBT8PagJ-H3evjFbbiwcUlDRA0HuzJNa-mEaKBxwBnFNJLPEA301_j5fLgmAmBott_O8LyJhLPGYTA/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it makes anybody feel better, those are actual Catskill Mountains in the background...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is another example, this time at Roscoe. Before:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbnCAx6-mqlunKEUoGkFBDw53ZqsWDGYAg_uhMJLz69POcXOYd2n21o6gyrm7OBWuENq1fqgtjqgmRPLl8C7kFV036R0SIuaKNGV07v_QRGiBI32KeaEZuUlmg-YHsS6_fRGGp_HRY6Q/s1600/rkb4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbnCAx6-mqlunKEUoGkFBDw53ZqsWDGYAg_uhMJLz69POcXOYd2n21o6gyrm7OBWuENq1fqgtjqgmRPLl8C7kFV036R0SIuaKNGV07v_QRGiBI32KeaEZuUlmg-YHsS6_fRGGp_HRY6Q/s320/rkb4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…and after:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W9WgZf7a8ly-p_jm0QcwJUcZ8fXo39lGGbgM1-SrfIMn0fCEW2iPrfKnMuUruLH_qJ0clbVh3MyYKrjlPzf0rnkAaTlqeOZVupEbWqXN7Pr_CUX9ITyoqkxSMWC002iT7dDV-f0ObZg/s1600/rk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W9WgZf7a8ly-p_jm0QcwJUcZ8fXo39lGGbgM1-SrfIMn0fCEW2iPrfKnMuUruLH_qJ0clbVh3MyYKrjlPzf0rnkAaTlqeOZVupEbWqXN7Pr_CUX9ITyoqkxSMWC002iT7dDV-f0ObZg/s320/rk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note that the background hills are indeed on the layout,
they are photos of the hills near Roscoe that were taken on a past trip to the area
by Mal Houck. I blended them in Photoshop to blend some of the seams, then printed them
out and taped them to the wall “temporarily” to see how they would look. They've</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> been there a few years now! I was so pleased with the results that I
incorporated similar backdrops around most of the perimeter of the layout.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My intent in adding these backgrounds is more to focus the
interest back onto the foreground modeling than to deceive the viewer into
thinking that I have actually managed to get the Catskills into a 14’ x 12’
room. I won’t go into a “How-to” discussion right now, but maybe will cover
this sometime down the road, perhaps along with a discussion of adding<u><a href="http://home.comcast.net/~oandw/images/460-at-VM-2.jpg" target="_blank"> smoke and atmospheric effects,</a></u> something that probably bends the boundary between
real and electronic modeling that I’m trying to define here! Instead, I’ll present
just a couple of more examples of how a little simple Photoshop work can (in my opinion at
least) enhance your model photos without detracting from the model work. </span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc7vKViVTmBhomkQwOLUmhFj3tGM8pe4Yy6TIs8msQKaj_f0tYAeuGhq0QM678U8Y3kCD7NWLqYYwjjkXUg-Df1efGoOV-ZJXqV-jnuTUBCMocxTlSCEtyol1lpUT2GGw3061A-8ORjA/s1600/trestleB4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc7vKViVTmBhomkQwOLUmhFj3tGM8pe4Yy6TIs8msQKaj_f0tYAeuGhq0QM678U8Y3kCD7NWLqYYwjjkXUg-Df1efGoOV-ZJXqV-jnuTUBCMocxTlSCEtyol1lpUT2GGw3061A-8ORjA/s320/trestleB4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZCo40YPAnqTXxWHn_Dajt2OQJddxMWSz9XEDJLojhAbVBwkyLQ5w3I1x-C2Je7tsLTFqKQjtXhoUx00FOD5j7e77ALpE-iUf6G3-xz_0rUn9XqE0pWquLlX8cnuDs5weDmg3CZwp89M/s1600/trestle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZCo40YPAnqTXxWHn_Dajt2OQJddxMWSz9XEDJLojhAbVBwkyLQ5w3I1x-C2Je7tsLTFqKQjtXhoUx00FOD5j7e77ALpE-iUf6G3-xz_0rUn9XqE0pWquLlX8cnuDs5weDmg3CZwp89M/s320/trestle1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLs3q6QBsa_GSVVZB2VJ5cqslAdNiO6UXm3fG2XY9L6Z5yVv1iD8JFTJ6Crmwrt5hw2YP8_-222nrHxRV_-vbnB212wjtRhZecbwqCbJv8ky_hUxGqn8Xc5lhH2yMX5sVBuNFGCzO5XLY/s1600/feedb4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLs3q6QBsa_GSVVZB2VJ5cqslAdNiO6UXm3fG2XY9L6Z5yVv1iD8JFTJ6Crmwrt5hw2YP8_-222nrHxRV_-vbnB212wjtRhZecbwqCbJv8ky_hUxGqn8Xc5lhH2yMX5sVBuNFGCzO5XLY/s320/feedb4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYVOeJnVr_HTC-Ztd644Coh88lmf4aO9ktYNP_Y1njnDLO70-A1J_P4n7bF8rkvI1tLIj7yqG_hjVQvc3cFetAL5nxzDSpazNmtvst6983JkRbOh2hDqdy4E5GKwa-zx-c_4MTWRKzMc/s1600/feed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYVOeJnVr_HTC-Ztd644Coh88lmf4aO9ktYNP_Y1njnDLO70-A1J_P4n7bF8rkvI1tLIj7yqG_hjVQvc3cFetAL5nxzDSpazNmtvst6983JkRbOh2hDqdy4E5GKwa-zx-c_4MTWRKzMc/s320/feed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oandwfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07314970129257954912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226236564731507331.post-16291038828723323622013-08-19T17:14:00.001-07:002013-08-19T17:23:16.866-07:00What's Going On Here?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XDSRFaPAmiQGJ28LxpYuVZLhp-Ge3HpW_qWN6sUqJJfRGbAWG1l5uJcldouGQ7wutO0qaTJxf4AHvul4WnQveed7L9VQvq0bcwp7ya-veAWDSzkYkt50o6K6Z9mzc097hBB0OiSYwbE/s1600/rkwye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XDSRFaPAmiQGJ28LxpYuVZLhp-Ge3HpW_qWN6sUqJJfRGbAWG1l5uJcldouGQ7wutO0qaTJxf4AHvul4WnQveed7L9VQvq0bcwp7ya-veAWDSzkYkt50o6K6Z9mzc097hBB0OiSYwbE/s320/rkwye.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Welcome to my new blog."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh joy. How many times have you heard THAT before?! So
what’s so new about this one?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My hope is that this will develop into a meeting place to
share approaches and techniques for those interested in modeling the New York,
Ontario and Western Railway, focusing mainly on creating or adapting models to more
closely represent the prototype. However, those who model other railroads will
hopefully find some useful techniques and/or approaches here that can be
adapted to prototype modeling in general, regardless of the scale or road. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should probably start out with what I plan will and will
not be posted here. This will NOT be a detailed description of my own layout. I
already have a </span><a href="http://home.comcast.net/~oandw/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">web page</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that
covers this for those that might be interested. Also, because the emphasis is
to be more towards the prototype modeling, you probably won’t find too many
posts about slapping a steam loco herald on a 40’ steel boxcar and calling it
an O&W model. They didn’t have any, and nor do I.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rather, this blog is intended to be a more off-the-cuff
discussion of projects, techniques and approaches that lead towards the end
goal of creating a prototype-based layout and as such will be more timely than my
rather static web site. That, after all, is supposed to be the advantage of a
blog format.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to my own work, I am hoping to enlist the input
of fellow O&W modeler and co-conspirator on many projects, Mal Houck. We
have different approaches and circumstances – I have a layout, he builds
dioramas; I model diesel, he models steam (well, I would model steam if Mal
hadn’t cornered the market on affordable O&W brass, but that’s perhaps a
different post….); I tend to work with commercial models and modify as needed,
Mal buys a perfectly good locomotive then rips the guts out and… well... again…
another post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully you ‘ll find something of interest and will share
with others who might also enjoy the content. I also welcome any appropriate
comments that you might wish to offer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome aboard!</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Oandwfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07314970129257954912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226236564731507331.post-46626364177936957992013-08-19T14:40:00.002-07:002013-08-19T17:09:43.576-07:00It’s the Pits!<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BG2pQ9StSq9htruPJrul3s1SKSidOar7sqJM3fGYp_WGfDZePXD6Jej5egPlqYdOUtRv4gOowVaTWVVLjXc-J6f7dayIlu0_2GSdDg0cJGYOf7bzeuMGof1axgpNfvED-CuBgJBjNZo/s1600/IMG_1161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BG2pQ9StSq9htruPJrul3s1SKSidOar7sqJM3fGYp_WGfDZePXD6Jej5egPlqYdOUtRv4gOowVaTWVVLjXc-J6f7dayIlu0_2GSdDg0cJGYOf7bzeuMGof1axgpNfvED-CuBgJBjNZo/s400/IMG_1161.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the
period starting just before World War II and continuing into the late 1950s a
massive construction project was undertaken in the Catskills in order to supply
drinking water for New York City. <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/history.shtml" target="_blank">This project</a> involved the construction of
both reservoirs, often drowning existing villages including the ironically named town of “<a href="http://www.betweenthelakes.com/neversink.htm" target="_blank">Neversink</a>”, and massive tunnels to carry the water underground into the city. As
can be imagined, this project consumed massive quantities of materials, and in the
era that I’m modeling (1951) one of the offloading points was Livingston Manor,
NY, one of the two towns on my layout.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was first
made aware of this source of traffic several years ago by a former Manor
resident, Wayne Levitt. Shortly afterwards I came into possession of a set of
copies of car movement records from Livingston Manor that showed daily
deliveries of multiple carloads of cement to “Walsh and Perrine” (sic). Cursory
web searches failed to locate this company, but I quickly found references to “</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walsh-Perini”,
showing perhaps that spelling was not a great concern to O&W station staff!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Delaware System (as this section was known) was a
huge undertaking. Some idea of the scope of the project can be seen in this
clipping from a July, 1948 issue of <u>The Catskill Mountain News </u>which references
the town of East Branch, NY, just north of my chosen locales:</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJPRcN_mCsdF6jiDMgTO7jdjkoFdbkXhNiK8_7dDXFdFHYcbffdtZX40I3fcKlylDIl_mLRakefNHHahz5cHwAvlhiIgaWffIOFnSgvxK8UytsfjcRmozAnTV4ONP6zDUW6wWDKWDKcg/s1600/catskill-front.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJPRcN_mCsdF6jiDMgTO7jdjkoFdbkXhNiK8_7dDXFdFHYcbffdtZX40I3fcKlylDIl_mLRakefNHHahz5cHwAvlhiIgaWffIOFnSgvxK8UytsfjcRmozAnTV4ONP6zDUW6wWDKWDKcg/s400/catskill-front.gif" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“</span></u><u><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Gungsuh; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Will Unload Dam Materials at East Branch</span></u></span> </blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Since the building of the big </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Gungsuh; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">diversion tunnel at Downsville began
great quantities of material have been unloaded at the Arkville station of the
New York Central and sent down the valley. There have been great machines, hundreds
of loads of material, enormous steel beams, truckload after truckload day after
day of all the things required in a great construction job. The Hancock Herald
says this is to be changed and the material is to come by the Ontario &Western
to East Branch. We quote from the Herald: "The Delaware county supervisors
at their special session last week approved a proposal by the Ontario &
Western railroad to strengthen the bridge leading from the village of East
Branch across the Beaverkill and East Branch to Route 17, with credit to be
allowed against back taxes owed to the county and the town of Hancock. The
superintendent stipulated that the work be done under the supervision of the
county superintendent of highways, Malcolm MacPherson.</span></span> </blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Gungsuh; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Gungsuh; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Gungsuh; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Thus far in the Downsville dam construction
the bulk of materials needed by the Walsh-Perini companies in their $14,000,000
contract have been handled over the New York Central to Arkville, involving a
long haul by truck to Downsville. The haul from East Branch to Downsville is
shorter. To be used in construction, among others are the following: </span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"260,000
barrels of Portland cement.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"2,000,000 pounds of steel piling.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"1,950,000
pounds of structural steel.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"50,000 pounds of cast iron pipe.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Large
quantities of sand and gravel.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Much of this material is likely to be
produced at widely separated plants, so that the O. & W. with its affiliated
connections could handle it. Repairing and strengthening the East Branch
bridges in this way fits into the picture.”</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">For many years I had no idea what
facilities were needed or used in Livingston Manor to handle this traffic,
other than a reference from Wayne to a “cement silo” located near one leg of the
old locomotive wye. With no better information to bo by I quickly kitbashed an
IHC cement plant to be a place holder on the layout and got on with the job of building
appropriate covered hopper models based on this shown on the car lists, then having
the local crews deliver cars these cars during my operating sessions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Last year Jeff Otto, the
archivist at the O&W Society, came across some blueprints labeled “Changes
to Wye Tracks at Livingston Manor for Cement Unloading Facility” and asked if I
wanted a copy. Duh….! It turns out that the O&W re-laid one of the tracks
that formed one leg of the old wye (represented on my layout by that spur),
moving it slightly farther away from the main for more clearance and elevating
it slightly. Under the track they located a pit for the covered hoppers to dump
into. The drawings showed some nice elevations and plan views, and the
unloading pit was shown in some detail as well. So, armed with this new
information I scratch built the loading pit from styrene some months ago:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6P1nbCMMPbWxECepsurvuRsuSnxXgxyUkdHuA51iAaIIVqBn_4oYiStOdPu7npZfseyWfwgtg03ijGkXvJSMx7QpSy6c1aRZAROBo90Od2ZjV__3jct-u3sYWWZDpEGITk-ka6mfASg/s1600/IMG_3748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6P1nbCMMPbWxECepsurvuRsuSnxXgxyUkdHuA51iAaIIVqBn_4oYiStOdPu7npZfseyWfwgtg03ijGkXvJSMx7QpSy6c1aRZAROBo90Od2ZjV__3jct-u3sYWWZDpEGITk-ka6mfASg/s400/IMG_3748.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAsyrRRNnzLvHyH5HLFayCAPWsZDDVq4k6mvRhn_vLihL5PeefpuZFj8CoXP5eElFCTJdM83GPunDi4GPn1aztjQOQdomEHP6EQLAvoTnrz-vFHvtID8lD4XHYccXYMVL9p5la7aZYMU/s1600/IMG_3753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAsyrRRNnzLvHyH5HLFayCAPWsZDDVq4k6mvRhn_vLihL5PeefpuZFj8CoXP5eElFCTJdM83GPunDi4GPn1aztjQOQdomEHP6EQLAvoTnrz-vFHvtID8lD4XHYccXYMVL9p5la7aZYMU/s400/IMG_3753.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMiF_2gSRBe8zhoACpQV4qyjanrffaUZkEc2Pzc0wg8nFWbqskBe7I3LWxFs7AeUpFS4OIofIMMn3OBvL4J6oQJRSnUG-FW76WRomjYgt6-sZfEJwm2l0dSpIjpfkqRf7ctkeW3CmJM7Y/s1600/IMG_3757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMiF_2gSRBe8zhoACpQV4qyjanrffaUZkEc2Pzc0wg8nFWbqskBe7I3LWxFs7AeUpFS4OIofIMMn3OBvL4J6oQJRSnUG-FW76WRomjYgt6-sZfEJwm2l0dSpIjpfkqRf7ctkeW3CmJM7Y/s400/IMG_3757.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">You can see my HO scale copy of
the original drawings In the background of some of these photos…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This thing sat on my workbench
collecting dust until this past week when, inspired by a trip to operate on
Dick Elwell’s fantastic <a href="http://www.hoosacvalley.com/" target="_blank">Hoosic Valley layout</a>, I decided to get off my duff and
do something with it. Out came the Stanley knife, a steak knife (great for
slicing through foam) and other assorted implements of destruction along with latex
construction cement and all manner of ground covers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I ripped up the spur rails, cut
away the roadbed where the pit would be going as well as removing a good chunk
of the foam from in front of the pit. Like the O&W did, I removed a section
of the ties on either side of the pit and glued in new ones on a slightly
different alignment. (Unlike the O&W, I left my track at the same height. I
had intended to elevate it slightly, but then thought better of it when I
realized that it would make spotting cars in this location next to impossible!)
I glued in another section of foam under the now gaping hole in the scenery to
form the “floor” of the unloading area, then installed the pit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A few hours later I was re-laying
the rail and dumping in ground cover and ballast. For the rocky slopes on
either side of the pit I just dumped some coarsely sifted paving stone mix into
place and secured it with diluted white glue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Here’s what it looked like at this
point:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTqVJxNXrUb_E4i21PSEIvI_PPz6wURj4sb9rLu7Z09TNuehhQeRtvTIDWETAH59KGmjYDuqyTc7Sf-orciNJ8PMB0kblUavqLvILhESwKJTrADlPCSBhFo2tEjAl5NtKZeLnrChb95U/s1600/IMG_1156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTqVJxNXrUb_E4i21PSEIvI_PPz6wURj4sb9rLu7Z09TNuehhQeRtvTIDWETAH59KGmjYDuqyTc7Sf-orciNJ8PMB0kblUavqLvILhESwKJTrADlPCSBhFo2tEjAl5NtKZeLnrChb95U/s400/IMG_1156.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1zxUaOPcLO2MVycrw1pOV2ASSJ79KoFIAHMl7kprV0sDpLK9kf2SU-kLOF2xU36qpLvZBvlnMdzAPpPo-JRYzygiMFvM2ptoRDH1PHasc8wV57GgrdOvC5TEVFbFUpuRvvuyTlP0k7A/s400/IMG_1143.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In one my e-mail conversations
with some of the Livingston Manor locals that remembered this spot they
recalled dump trucks being used to move the cement. Always assuming that cement
mixers would have been used I asked if they were sure. <i>“Of course I’m sure!”</i>
came back one of the replies <i>“One of them ran over my dog!”</i> Being ever the
sensitive soul, I asked if he remembered what color it was. He probably thought I was inquiring about the dog. I, of course, meant
the dump truck….</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> I ordered two of the new
Classic Metal Works dump trucks. They’re probably a little on the small size as this e-mail mentioned
short trailers, but work for me. I ordered green ones. Some cement dust was
about all that I added.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTj3M25BqNmcf6Lwp7msig6JnXczu_BAklTWRjArAvMwOzbIKxxEqs0j8s_k6t1Vq_dMo9JtRPn2Xszt6p1IN3jZDiYR5V-6hqfaOGfCyzSQdhsBKYT3XRgGAFBscTTGJJ4qnOrwxHjY/s1600/IMG_1170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTj3M25BqNmcf6Lwp7msig6JnXczu_BAklTWRjArAvMwOzbIKxxEqs0j8s_k6t1Vq_dMo9JtRPn2Xszt6p1IN3jZDiYR5V-6hqfaOGfCyzSQdhsBKYT3XRgGAFBscTTGJJ4qnOrwxHjY/s400/IMG_1170.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What I’m still not clear on is
how the cement got INTO the trucks. I suspect that there was some sort of bin
and conveyor like the one near the bottom of <a href="http://www.jahnaconcrete.com/concrete.html" target="_blank">this page</a> but I’m not sure. The O&W drawing show only what work the railroad had to do to make the site ready,
not what Walsh and Perrine did in order to use it. The more you know….. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’d welcome any insights if you
have suggestions for unloading. Any thoughts?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jM2xvzuFFX3GBr8G72Y-l8piM58D2bD8D9Z2YDD8ru9dCutTgHV_QuT82zwGjaz41XgA9wzHwH_poHdJBZvGS5oG3K-G0IaE7LjJeX2MihP9Sn24MTJ9NZSV_cBX59B-JMoeZ0Xh7WI/s1600/IMG_1168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jM2xvzuFFX3GBr8G72Y-l8piM58D2bD8D9Z2YDD8ru9dCutTgHV_QuT82zwGjaz41XgA9wzHwH_poHdJBZvGS5oG3K-G0IaE7LjJeX2MihP9Sn24MTJ9NZSV_cBX59B-JMoeZ0Xh7WI/s400/IMG_1168.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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Oandwfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07314970129257954912noreply@blogger.com4