Really photogenic ! Great placement. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Joe Zullo said:
Wow! Except for spotting a few Phillips flat head screws sticking up here and there on the ties, the scene looks real. Great job. You have a lot of patience and an eye for realism my friend.
Thanks Joe, I noticed that too. It’s funny how you can ignore little things like that when looking at the track in person, but as soon as you take a picture all of the little things show up. I took a whole series of pitures of one of my 45 ton diesels never noticing one missing foot plate until I looked at the pictures. I have started using phone pictures as a tool to look for little details that need fixing. For now I can make that head black with a paint pen.
As far as patience goes, I generally have none. But when I’m out in the train gardens it’s like the rest of the world with all of it’s problems disappear. I’ve been having a blast this last few weeks improving what I have and getting more bad ideas for new stuff.
Jon Radder said:
But when I’m out in the train gardens it’s like the rest of the world with all of it’s problems disappear.
Ain’t that the truth. I suspect a lot us feel that way. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
great stuff !
I love the clearance board
i definitely need one of those
cool idea!
i love the cracked rocks!
Pete Lassen said:
Well like others all I really can say is WOW, Awesome work, I need to go rock hunting and get some free landscaping done. I can dig in my yard and find round river rock all day, but want the jagged looking like you have, again Awesome!!!
Most of the native rock in my yard is rounded glacial till too. But out on the lake the tops of the islands are very rocky and over the years weather has split a lot of the huge boulders. Smaller pieces roll down and some of them ended up near or in the water when the lake was made nearly 100 years ago. There are also miles of New England farm walls on these uninhabited islands. I’ve never needed to raid them as I have always found interesting stuff close to shore. Search out my thread on here from maybe 5 years ago “Rock Fishing”.
I have been collecting these for about that long. It started as a mission when this curve was re-aligned, but it has continued to this day. Nearly every trip out I spot one I like and it comes home with us. Finally, the rock piles near the railroad are being used!
Thanks again everyone. I wasn’t happy with the final 4 feet. I wanted it taller and wanted to keep that one with the horizontal slits in view looking down grade from the bridge. So this morning I pulled all of that out and started with one more big crazy split rock that even had some millfoil growing in it from the lake. It’s hard to see the detail in that one from these shots. I’ll try and get a good one tomorrow. This is the new rock order…
The new view down the hill from the bridge…
I also spent some time today working on the back side and putting back the Sedums and Creeping Jenny. This is the place where the thinner block was on top of the full size block. The foundation has disappeared and garden re-emerged…
I ran out of flat rocks just after the first Spruce. On the list for next boat trip. I hope these plants like the new environment. They grow pretty slowly without full sun and this is a mostly shady spot…
The new view going up-grade…
Pulling back just a little…
I ran across some old pictures of this area yesterday. I can’t believe how this area has matured and improved over the years. This is just after my first foray into rock placement exactly 7 years ago…
And this afternoon…
A few more flat rocks and this project is done!
Looking fantastically good. I love that taller rock next to the horizontal split one. Nice!
How tall is this gauge?
10.25" from the ties to the top. 10" from the rail head.
Jon,
As always, your work and documentation amazes me. Very impressive. I find myself looking at terrain differently. Wanting to see what “Mother Nature” has done with the last Winter’s freeze. Always impressive and difficult to recreate. I think you achieved your goal. Great photo spot! “Pardee’s Point” comes to mind.
.
Your ability to establish the patience to do this is something I always strive for. Its not the results, though rewarding, its the journey that’s the real goal.
Ric Golding said:
Jon,
As always, your work and documentation amazes me. Very impressive. I find myself looking at terrain differently. Wanting to see what “Mother Nature” has done with the last Winter’s freeze. Always impressive and difficult to recreate. I think you achieved your goal. Great photo spot! “Pardee’s Point” comes to mind.
.
Your ability to establish the patience to do this is something I always strive for. Its not the results, though rewarding, its the journey that’s the real goal.
Thank you Ric. I too spend a lot of time noticing what nature is doing. As you know, the area I live in is loaded with rock outcroppings, so I get to study what nature has done on my daily commute. I guess I might have learned a little something. As far as the documentation goes, secretly it’s really for me. I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday so having these posts going back years and years is very helpful when I want to repeat something.
Its like your own notebook, that everyone can see. I can relate. I have gone back to old threads and articles to see what I done.
I guess this means there won’t be any more coal dumps on “Coal Dump Curve”…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
That is beautiful Jon.
Ken Brunt said:
I guess this means there won’t be any more coal dumps on “Coal Dump Curve”…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
I suppose it’s still possible; there is a gap in the rocks at the bottom. The cause of the derailment that earned the curve it’s name was a bad grade transition at the top of the hill allowing couplers to lift out. That was fixed long ago.
Ken Brunt said:
I guess this means there won’t be any more coal dumps on “Coal Dump Curve”…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
I think you’re underestimating Jon’s ability to get into trouble, no matter how challenging the circumstances…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Bruce Chandler said:
Ken Brunt said:
I guess this means there won’t be any more coal dumps on “Coal Dump Curve”…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
I think you’re underestimating Jon’s ability to get into trouble, no matter how challenging the circumstances…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Right - And I prove it almost every day!!!
Restraining…Can’t restrain …
Just good stuff guys!!
Photo Update: We went Rock Fishing both Thursday and Friday evenings and I brought home enough pieces to finish disguising the back side of the blocks. Had enough time on Saturday to finish the back side, but not for pictures. Today I got out there with the camera to test out some photo angles. The weather was too iffy to get out a train, but I still had a good time taking lots of pictures from many angles. Here are some of the better ones that just need a train and/or a little roadbed cosmetic work…
These two were leftovers. What better place to store them than by the gap at the top of Indian Hill Bridge. Bridge is scheduled to come in for repair this season…
A quick outbreak of sunshine illuminates the curve. Need to do some track painting too. Man it never ends!!!
Plants seem to have established themselves nicely…
Long zoom exaggerates the wavy track, but it could use some laser alignment…
I also harvested a bunch of tumbled stone from the beach. I love the colors, but it’s too rounded to use as I have as broken off pieces, but it does look great in the dry wash under the bridge and around the tree…
