A fascia helps finish a layout - even an unfinished one. Notice the way this panel curves with the layout. The unpainted panel at right is on a section of layout attached to a door.

• Like a frame for a painting, a fascia helps draw the viewers’ attention to the work. It also disguises the messy edges of the canvas.
• It defines the railroad by establishing boundaries. At the same time, a contoured edge helps suggest that the world extends beyond the part you’ve modeled.
• It makes the railroad appear to a part of the room – not just an afterthought.
• It makes the layout appear much more finished – even if there isn’t any scenery behind it.
• It provides a practical mounting location for control panels, throttles, even cup holders!
• It provides a good location to label towns and other prominent features of your layout to help identify the location to visitors and orient operators.

Building the Fascia

You can add a fascia to the edge of your layout before, during or after scenery construction. The upper edge of the fascia should be contoured to match the profile of the terrain. If you’ve already made a scenic base for your layout, as we’ve done here, then you’ll want to trace the contour on the back of the fascia panels and cut them to match. If you haven’t added scenery yet, you can free-hand the panels and then just match up the scenery to that profile. Of course it is easy to make corrections if needed too as you’ll soon see.

With the scenery base already in place, trace the outline of the profile on the back of the Masonite panel. Then cut along the line with a jigsaw.

For this project, I used Masonite for the fascia. Masonite is 1/8″ thick and features a very hard, smooth surface on one side. It can be purchased in 4×8′ sheets from home centers. Most will also custom cut and/or offer smaller “project panels” as well. Masonite is durable but flexible, cuts easily and cleanly with a jigsaw or bandsaw, and is easy to paint and finish. Make sure your fascia is well supported from behind. For taller panels, attach vertical wood strips as necessary to avoid sagging or bowing.

Once you draw your profile, either by matching the existing scenery or freehand, cut the edge with a jigsaw or a bandsaw. (I had no problem using my bandsaw which was already set up with a finer cutting blade on the small panels for this project, but a jig saw works equally well for longer strips.) If you are cutting straight lines, a table saw or circular saw equipped with a guide will work wonderfully. Please remember to always follow the safety instructions for your tools. And be prepared, Masonite will make a little dust! Rough spots along the cuts clean up very quickly with a few swipes of sandpaper.

Attaching the Panels

Use wood glue and a brad nailer to attach the fascia to the frame. Regular finish nails or even drywall screws can also be used, there is just a little more to fill in afterwards.

With the panels cut, its time to attach them to the diorama. First, check to make sure you don’t have any wide spots in the scenery. I trimmed back a few bulges with a few quick swipes of a rasp to get the panel to lay perfectly plumb. I used carpenters glue to help the Masonite adhere to the wood frame and the foam scenery. Then I secured the panels to the base with 1″ brads from a pneumatic nail gun.

You can bevel the corners, or simply overlap them as I’ve done here. After spackling and painting, the seams will not be noticeable either way. If necessary, bar clamps can be used to help hold the corners together and square.

Finishing the Edges

A little drywall mud will fill any gaps and help blend the scenery to the fascia. It can also be used to fill in the nail holes on the fascia itself.

If you’ve got any gaps between the fascia and the scenery, they are easy to fill. Insert small scraps of foam in larger gaps as necessary, then just blend everything together with a stiff mixture of drywall compound. If you’ve been following this project, you’re beginning to see how often that bag comes in handy!

While you’ve got the plaster mixed, take a quick swipe across any nail holes or gaps in the corners of the fascia itself. Once dry, you can simply wipe off the excess with a wet sponge and you’ll have a blemish-free surface ready for painting.

Painting

The hardest part about any fascia project is deciding what color it should be. There are many good options, depending on your goals. If the railroad is in a finished room, matching the fascia to the wall color will really make the layout feel part of the space. Black is a common choice, especially in basement layouts. Combined with a lighting valance and good layout lighting, black can really draw your attention to the trains.

The completed fascia is a big improvement over the bare foam and plaster. Compare this view with pictures from two weeks ago. The light gray color will be a great complement to the winter scenery to come.

Dark green, brown, tan and other neutral colors are also common choices. All tend to blend in nicely with decor, and frame the layout without distracting from it. Avoid white, unless you enjoy cleaning up dirty fingerprints. For the diorama, I went with a light gray. It will blend nicely with the winter scenery, hide dirt and not be too ostentatious. Also, I had some around from a previous project!

Because of its smooth surface, Masonite shows brush strokes very well. A spray gun would offer the best results – if you don’t have an already finished layout behind it. A tight-nap roller will also provide a very nice finish and is much easier to control. Wipe the surface with a damp cloth first to make sure everything is clean then paint just as you would any wall in your home. Either latex or oil-based paints can be used. I prefer latex for its faster drying time and less-harmful odors.

Next week, it’s back to scenery. We’ll add  groundcover and a few more details.

Carrying the POTUS

The open platform of an observation car was often the prefered spot for the POTUS - a perfect spot for campaigning

Since Andrew Jackson took the first trip of a sitting President by rail in 1833, railroads have been an important means of travel for the Chief Executive. Even in today’s Airforce One world, the rails continue to represent an opportunity to combine travel with meeting the public.

The POTUS generally made use of whatever equipment a railroad or the Pullman Company would provide for travel. Railroad business cars and private cars of the wealthy were commonly employed. In 1943, a Pullman was specifically allocated for use by the President. The Ferdinand Magellan had been built in 1925 and upon selection by the Secret Service was rebuilt for use by Franklin Roosevelt. The car was modified with armored sides, bullet proof glass and even a chair lift for Roosevelt. The modifications made it the heaviest passenger car ever to operate in the US – 285,000 pounds.

The last official use of the Magellan was by Mamie Eisenhower in 1958. It is preserved today at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, FL. Since then, Presidents have returned to private cars for occasional travel and campaign use. Most commonly and recently, Georgia 300 – a former Crescent observation and business car of the Georgia Railroad, has been the car of choice.

The Politics of the Rails

The political fight over railroads continues. Today Amtrak is usually at the center of discussions over the role of government and infrastructure.

There has been a love / hate relationship between railroads and the President, indeed with the Federal Government, since the 1830s. Railroads challenged all established rules of interstate commerce upon their spread. Their growth has  therefore been both promoted and restrained by the ruling politics of the day.

President Lincoln saw the railroads as a way to literally bind the country together. Amidst the burdens of war, he pressed for the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad. As those railroads grew in scope and power beyond what anyone could have imagined, Presidents throughout the latter 19th and 20th Centuries would seek to reign in the iron horse. Some Presidents, like Harry Truman, wore their love of trains on their sleeves. Some, like Woodrow Wilson brought the railroads under government control in the name of efficiency and security. While more conservative leaders like Ronald Reagan did everything they could to get railroads off of the Federal payroll.

Railroads have been at the forefront of legislation for nearly two centuries. Although they are no longer the biggest of big business, the political climate can still often be gauged in funding for high-speed rail, commuter agencies and Amtrak.

Final Rides

The Lincoln Funeral Train was undoubtedly one of the most famous Presidential trains.

Railroads have also born the sad tradition of being the bearers of a President’s last ride home. Lincoln’s funeral train is undoubtedly the most famous and heralded. His was far from unique however. The Presidential Funeral Train was a common practice for much of the 19th and 20th Centuries. The last was given for President Eisenhower who requested that his casket be carried in the baggage car as had been commonly done for fallen soldiers during the war.

The railroad even served as the backdrop for the assassination of one President. James Garfield was shot in the station of the Baltimore and Potomac RR. Garfield’s recovery at the White House was hampered by the heat, humidity and mosquitos. He was taken by special train to a cottage in New Jersey. Special tracks were laid to the home and according to his Chief Physician Dr. D. W. Bliss, “On arriving at the track recently laid to the Francklyn Cottage, we were surrounded by a large concourse of people, who braved the heat of the day in the anxiety lest the journey might have resulted disastrously. The engine had not weight and power sufficient to push us up the steep grade. Instantly hundreds of strong arms caught the cars, and silently, but resistlessly, rolled the three heavy coaches up to the level.” Garfield died 13 days later, more likely from infections than from the bullet itself.

Plows

Early wedge plows were converted from older equipment. A plow needed to be heavy to combat the heavy stresses involved.

The first line of defense on the railroads is the snow plow. The standard plows mounted on the front of most mainline locomotives can often handle the routine light snows, but for deeper falls and drifts, larger wedge plows are needed. Early plows were often not much more than a large wedge mounted on the front of a locomotive or a freight car. In the latter, the car would need to be ballasted heavily to prevent it from derailing or being crushed between the snow bank and the locomotive.

These primitive plows evolved into larger cars with strong frames and quarters for the crew. A device called a flanger was attached below the floor to cut a groove on the inside of the rail for the flanges of the wheels. This device had to be raised to clear switches, crossings and bridges – all of which were of course hidden by a blanket of snow! The operator had to know the railroad very well. Different plow designs also evolved for single and double track routes. A double track plow directs snow only to one side to prevent burying the other track.

The Rotary

For the heaviest snows, the rotary plow is the ultimate defense.

Snow plows can be very effective, but some climates are capable of putting down a snowfall that even they can’t clear. For these massive storms, the ultimate in snow-fighting equipment is the rotary snowplow. Like a giant snowblower, these machines literally chew their way through drifts taller than the machine itself and throw the snow hundreds of feet from the tracks.

Early plows were steam-powered. Today they are powered by powerful diesels. The rotaries are not self-propelled but must be pushed by a team of locomotives. A dedicated tender (often an old steam locomotive tender or now a tank car) is also coupled to the plow.

Clearing the Yards

The snow jet clears switches quickly.

Clearing hundreds of miles of buried mainline is an obvious challenge. Just as great a struggle but far less often considered is the problem of snow in yards. Not only can there be miles of track within the yard, but hundreds of switches. These get packed with snow and ice, rendering them useless or dangerous. At first, the only answer was to clear the points and flangeways by hand. Later, railroads installed switch heaters to continually melt the snow away. These used to be kerosene pots. Now, natural gas-powered forced air machines can be seen along main lines. Railroads would also sometimes use steam from the locomotive to melt away the ice.

As steam became a less common option, railroads found more creative ways to clear the snow from switches. One of the most ingenious is the snow jet. It is what it sounds like – a jet engine mounted on a flatcar and aimed at the track. The blast from the engine blows snow and ice (and anything else that gets in the way) clear of the switches. To prevent the car from being propelled through the track, special track clamps are engaged to hold it to the rail. A locomotive can also be placed behind the car.

Tunnels Too

Ice breaking cars take the abuse of icicles so freight and passenger trains don't have to.

Trains might be able to escape snow in a tunnel, but not ice. Icicles hanging from the ceiling of a tunnel can cause costly damage to equipment and loads like automobiles on open racks. For passenger trains with dome cars, the damage could be even more costly.

To safely clear the ice, railroads can mount sturdy bars on the roof of a locomotive or car. Often, railroad convert older hopper cars by adding a steel frame. The car may be ballasted for better traction. Ice is knocked into the hopper where it eventually melts and drains out the doors. These cars are often assigned to specific yards or locations near the tunnels they are designed to clear.

The prototypes for all of these interesting cars may rest in yards for months at a time, but we can bring the excitement out on our layouts whenever we’d like. And we don’t even have to put on our hat and gloves!

Railroads have always been a labor-intensive industry. Even in today’s highly mechanized world it takes many skilled hands to build and maintain rights-of-way and equipment. In the early years of railroading, everything was built on the backs of labor. Railroads’ unquenchable thirst for manpower in the 19th Century sent immigration recruiters around the globe offering jobs and freedom in the US. In southern antebellum states, slavery was seen as a practical labor pool. Black slaves were often the front  lines of railroad construction. In addition, many were trained in more skilled careers to work in shops as blacksmiths, carpenters and more.

The rapid growth of American railroading was carried on the backs of thousands of African-American workers. The toils of most of these men were seldom seen or mentioned.

The Civil War set the wheels in motion for a better future for black Americans, but it far from solved the problem. In a world that still put a low price on the value of labor in general, blacks were still at the bottom of the pay and opportunity ladder. Following the war, tens of thousands of freed slaves migrated north to somewhat friendlier and more economically promising markets. Many found work on the railroads. Work could be found on track gangs, in engine and car shops, warehouses and store rooms and even some operating crafts. Higher paying and profile positions like engineers, conductors, dispatchers and supervisory roles would remain closed for many decades.

The single greatest employer for African-Americans through the early decades of the 20th Century was the Pullman Company. The job of a porter was for many years exclusively limited to blacks. The friendly and courteous service of the porter became a primary selling point for Pullman and the railroads. Despite the low wages, the job was also held in high esteem within the African-American community as well. At the peak, more than 20,000 porters rode the rails. Through the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first African-American union to win a collective bargaining agreement, working conditions and wages gradually improved.

The passenger car was a stage for the struggle of African-Americans through the 20th Century. While the job of a porter represented opportunity, segregated travel, wages and working conditions were a reminder of the limits of that freedom.

Discrimination wasn’t felt only by those who worked for the railroad. Train travel was also segregated until 1964. So called “Jim Crow Cars” were common in the South. These passenger cars were divided into separate seating areas that were often far from equal. Railroads in the North were less segregated and some of the cars passed between segregated and non-segregated states. On such routes, the separate rooms became smoking and non-smoking sections when segregation laws were not in effect.

Despite the adversity, African-Americans made major contributions to railroading technologies. Did you ever wonder what the real “real McCoy” was? The phrase became popular by railroad company’s asking suppliers for parts which were genuine and utilized a patent by Elijah McCoy for a mechanical lubricator for steam locomotives. McCoy’s lubricators kept all of a steam locomotives many moving parts properly oiled. It was so popular that many tried to copy it, but railroads wanted nothing of these knockoffs.

From couplers to communications, African-American inventors pushed the railroads progress.

Eli Janey is often credited as the inventor of the modern coupler. The truth is that his patent would not be nearly as valuable without subsequent contributions from Andrew Jackson Beard. Humphrey Reynolds patented improved ventilators for Pullman cars, but was forced to retire from and sue the company to collect on his invention. Among the most prolific black inventors, Granville Woods held more than 60 patents – most concerned railroads. His most prominent was the Multiplex Telegraph that helped operators track and coordinate train movements and even allowed trains to talk to each other.

If railroad history is a microcosm of American history in general, then it should be no surprise that the story of African-American’s would be captured here as well. From the struggles of slave labor to the brilliance of invention, from Jim Crow cars and Pullman to Barack Obama’s arrival in Washington by train – railroads have been a part of the African-American experience through all of the turmoil and triumph.

Making a Foundation

Using end and center marks as a guide, a gentle and prototypical pitch for our road can be filed into the foam.

Start by creating a base for the road. Roads are engineered with a crown in the center to drain water to the shoulders. This is easy to create on the foam base we created two weeks ago. Mark the outer edge and center line of the road for a reference and use a rasp to gently taper the base towards the shoulders. Nothing too scientific here – there will be lots of opportunity for corrections later. Vacuum the road completely before moving on – you don’t want little foam bits in your road!

Paving

Next we’ll pave the surface. Mix a batch of drywall joint compound as was done last week for the rocks. You’ll want a fairly thick, pudding-like mixture that is easy to spread but make sure you get all of the lumps out. In my own experience, I find that the premixed compound can be used but has too high of a moisture content and often ends up shrinking and cracking. The dry compound is also much easier to store if you go a long stretch between projects.

Smooth drywall mud on the road surface. Take care to get the road as smooth as practical with a putty knife.

Spread a smooth layer across the foam base. The first coat will seal the foam and establish the look. For a thicker road, or to provide a more pronounced crown, build up the surface with a second layer. When applying additional layers, allow the previous coat to dry completely then vacuum to make sure there are no dust or chips that will cause problems with the next coat.

Spread the plaster with a putty knife, drawing it to as smooth a surface as possible. It does not have to be perfect – we’ll take care of any small blemishes next – but the better you make it now the less work you’ll have to do later.

Smoothing and Cracking

Smooth the road to its final contour with a sponge. The crown of the road can be seen in this view.

Use a damp sponge to wipe down the road and begin smoothing any rough spots from the putty knife. This will allow you to finalize the contours and create a perfect road surface for painting. Rinse the sponge regularly as it picks up the mud. The sponge should only be damp – not wet. You don’t want to flood the surface. Allow for adequate drying time before going forward with details and painting.

Now that the road is “perfect” maybe you want to make it a little less so? If you want to add cracks or potholes, use a hobby knife to carve the details in the dried plaster. These details may be harder to spot in the unpainted road, but they will jump out as we add paint washes. Be careful not to overdo it!

Paint and Weathering

As we did with the rocks, we’ll color our road with thin washes of acrylic paints. The color of roads can vary greatly depending on materials, location, climate, age, season and traffic. For this road I used a mix of about four parts gray to one part tan. Thin the colors greatly and build up the color with multiple coats to your liking.

With multiple washes of color and weathering the road takes color and the details carved in earlier begin to pop. No two roads are the same, so pictures are always helpful when modeling.

Next we’ll add a thin wash of black. This will bring out the details carved in earlier. You can also strategically place the black to mimic traffic wear. For additional effects, weathering chalk or powders can be rubbed into the surface. You can find these chalks at most hobby and craft stores – we’ll cover some of their other uses in coming projects. Remember that this road surface is very porous, so a little chalk will go a long way. Also, make sure the road is dry first!

You can also add patches of fresh(er) asphalt or concrete with darker or lighter colors. Use a fine brush to draw lines along patched cracks or to outline a larger patch with sealant.

Lines

Even the steadiest of hands will have a hard time painting believable lines freehand. Masking will yield much more reliable results. Consult photos for the right markings for your locale and era.

To add lines and other markings mask both sides of the line with tape, keeping the spacing constant. Use a foam brush to dab on the paint. Dab the paint straight down and try to avoid pushing paint under the tape. Dry transfer or decal striping could also be used. Note: if you are modeling a fresh black asphalt road, you can paint the striping first and then simply lay a single strip of tape. Paint the road and remove the tape and you’ll have your lines. Yellow will bleed through lighter colors however.

Apply any additional weathering as desired and all you’re missing is some traffic!

Next week we’ll dress up the edges of our display with a fascia before we come back to add scenic groundcover and a few details.

6-28471 Santa Fe

The advent of the automobile presented a new opportunity for railroads looking for an affordable and accommodating inspection vehicle. Many railroads large and small converted conventional cars for railroad use in their own shops. The conversions generally involved replacing rubber tires with metal wheels and disabling or removing the steering column. Some were also equipped with pilots, horns, bells, even marker lights. All of this was well within the capacity of even the most basic short line shop.

6-28478 Frisco

Cars like these could be found nationwide until the availability of a convertible ”hi-rail” vehicle became a practical option. These cars, still common today, have the ability to drive on both rail and road, making them even more flexible and useful. It also makes it far easier for them to get out-of-the-way when it is time to get the trains moving again. Today, dozens of the older cars can be found in museums and in the hands of private collectors who enjoy their operation along with fellow “speeder” clubs.

Lionel’s Model

6-28473 Great Northern

The Lionel model is based upon a 1937 Buick converted by the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad in 1942. The Ma & PA, a quintessential short line, maintained this car in service until 1977. The car is preserved today in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD. A quick internet search will reveal many similar conversions of Buicks, Cadillacs and more of similar vintage all across North America.

6-28480 Grand Trunk

Our model features a metal frame and body for plenty of weight and durability. It features forward and reverse operation, working headlights and is even Command Control equipped. It will run on both command control and conventional layouts. Although modeled to scale, this fun little car can negotiate an O-27 curve, so it can inspect any layout! Now available in Santa Fe, Grand Trunk, Great Northern and Frisco, the cars retail for $129.99 and are available now at dealers. Drive one home today!

One of the more common variations is the addition of heating coils. The viscosity of some loads increases as the temperature drops. This does not pose a great problem in transit, but it can make the car difficult to unload. To speed the process, the load must be reheated.

This training car gives a rare cross-section view of the heating coils hidden beneath the skin of many tank cars.

Heating coils like the ones shown here are not kept hot for the entire trip, but can be charged with steam at the unloading site. Steam is supplied by a stationary boiler connected by piping to a input valve on the tank car. After warming for a few hours, the car can be unloaded without trouble. These coils are normally conceiled within an outer skin and can’t be seen normally. One interesting adaptation to this practice can be occassionally seen on the Strasburg Railroad which has been known to tap the boiler of one of their steam locomotives to warm cars for customers in the colder months!

The car seen here is actually a special training car. It is used to train railroad employees and local fire departments on all of the things they may encounter on a tank car, either through their normal work or in the event of an emergency. This first-hand training can be invaluable in the event of a derailment. In addition to this heating coil demonstration on the side, the car features a row of different hatch and vent styles along the top, unloading valves underneath and doors on the ends for access to more exhibits inside.

Previously owned by Union Pacific, this car was found with these new modifications at the Union Tank Car facility in Altoona, PA (in the old Pennsylvania Railroad passenger car shops). The car now wears MCVX reporting marks, which belong to the Massechusettes Volunteer Fire Company. This group owns several tank cars which tour the country to provide this training. Other large chemical and tank car companies own similiar cars of their own.

Modeling heated tank car operations doesn’t normally require anything special. An extra pipe at the unloading site is normally all you’d see. Ambitious modelers could hide a smoke unit between the rails there as well to recreate the escaping steam. Of course a training car could also make an interesting scene, set on a siding and surrounded by fire trucks and fire fighters gathered around for their lessons.

Rock from Ceiling Tile

There are many ways of recreating rocks, which is good because in nature there is endless variety. An easy way to get started, which requires absolutely no artistic talent or deep pockets, is broken ceiling tile. These fiberboard tiles are common in drop ceilings. They are easy to cut and easy to break. When snapped, the broken edges take on a stratified, rocky appearance. The 1/2 inch tiles can be used individually or stacked to create taller walls. These rocks work very well in cuts around railroad tracks and roads.

A ceiling tile can yield hundreds of rocks for a model railroad. Even a broken or discarded tile can be recycled for your scenery.

To make rocks,

1. Snap the tiles. The closer you hold the tile to the breaking point, the tighter the grain of the rock will be.
2. Trim the rocks to fit the space available using a sharp utility knife.
3. Stack and glue the tiles using carpenters glue (a hot glue gun will also work on the tiles for faster set-up time.)
4. Blend the rocks into the surrounding scenery.
5. Add color, depth and highlights.

After trimming the rocks to size, stack and glue to create the cut.

Sound easy? It is. It’s also easy to experiment. Try different arrangements, stacking tiles on an angle, and different combinations until you like what you’ve got. Small track nails or pins can be used to hold rocks in place while glue dries. Once the rocks are glued together, it is time to tie everything together. To do that, we’ll apply a thin hard shell to the scenery at large, sculpting a few more rocks of our own along the way.

Hard Shell Made Easy

Start with a thick mixture of plaster. This can be worked into many gaps or piles to create new rock. There will be plenty of time to sculp while it sets.

“Hardshell” scenery is one of the oldest methods in the hobby. It is often used over a frame of screen wire, newspaper or cardboard. Our foam base is plenty strong without the shell, but this plaster coating will cover some blemishes and add detail. The shell is made from drywall mud. Use the dry mix, as we’ll need different consistencies for different parts of this project.

First, we’ll start with a stiff mixture that will allow us to sculp additional rock details. Mix the mud in a small container, adding water to the dry plaster. You can also add a little gray or black acrylic paint or dry pigment to the mix. This will help add just a touch of color and prevent a stark white spot if the plaster ever chips down the road. This mixture should be about the consistency of peanut butter, with no lumps.

A cheap foam brush makes a great applicator for the wet coat. This is a great way to add texture to rocks carved in the foam.

Place the plaster wherever you want to make rocks. You can also use this batch to fill in gaps or smooth transitions between foam layers. As the plaster starts to set, it can be shaped with putty knives or other flat implements. The drywall mix will give you a long set-up time to work with, and the thicker you put it on the longer it takes to dry. You can continue to carve and detail the rock even after it has set.

Next we’ll mix a very watery batch of plaster to seal the tile rocks created earlier along with some of the other porous foam areas like the sides of the fill. Mix this batch the same way, adding water to the plaster until it gets to a very smooth, wet consistence without any lumps. You should be able to apply this mix with a brush or sponge. You can spread this across all of the scenery. If nothing else, it eliminates the sea of pink. Work it around the tile rocks to help seal everything.  When you’re finished, the rocks should look like they are buried in, not sitting on top of the surrounding terrain.

Color

After several washes of paint, the rocks and terrain begin to take on a realistic tone.

Allow the plaster to dry completely before beginning to add color. This may take 24 hours. You can use either acrylic or oil-based paints on the plaster, but it is safest to use acrylics since oils will attack the foam. Thin all of the paints so that they can be applied in washes. To make colors stronger, repeat washes. Don’t try to achieve your final results in one coat.

Begin with a gray or brown base color. This can be applied over everything. You can mix colors as well. Tinting different layers of the rock strata in cuts is a realistic way to add detail. You can further vary the colors by applying additional washes to specific areas.

After all the washes and highlights, the rock cut has taken on added dimension.

After the basic color(s) have dried, apply a thin wash of black to the rocks. Allow the paint to settle into all the cracks and crevices. This will add depth.

Lastly, highlight the ridges by drybrushing white paint, or using white chalk on the high-points of the rocks. Drybrushing is a technique where a little paint in placed on the tip of a brush. Most of the paint is then wiped off. Whisking the brush across the ridges will then transfer only the remaining residue onto the surface. The contrast between black, base color and white adds a surprising amount of depth and detail to both the tile and carved plaster rock.

Next week we’ll build on these same techniques and pave our road.

An earlier and smaller version of the Trackmobile switches at a flour mill in central Pennsylvania.

The Trackmobile has both rubber tires and railroad wheels, allowing it to pull cars on tracks, or drive over the road. This is very useful in tight locations where there may not be room for a run-around track to help with facing switches. Although this prototype is modern, the concept has been around for nearly 100 years. The Pennsylvania built gasoline-electric tractors for congested ports of Baltimore and Jersey City in the 1920s. (So even our PRR fantasy paint isn’t without precedent!)

Lionel’s Model

The US Army trackmobile would make a perfect addition to a munitions or supply depot scene.

Lionel makes it easy to add one of these fun little switchers to your layout. And ours will do everything the prototype can – except run off the track! The compact 6″ model will negotiate an O-27 curve. Working Electro-couplers at each end allow easy switching. With a die-cast metal frame and body, this little powerhouse will easily match the pulling power of its prototype and then some.

Add a BNSF Trackmobile to your locomotive or car shops, or maybe in an industry.

Despite its small size, there is a lot to grab your attention on these models – working directional headlights and tail lights, blinking strobe lights, and cab interior lights (to highlight all the details inside!) The model is Command Control equipped and can also run on conventional transformer control. You’ll have lots of fun delivering cars to all of your sidings with this little gem.

We’ve introduced four new paint schemes this year on the model – something to meet any taste. They will look great toiling in and industrial complex, military supply depot, coach yard, intermodal terminal, or railroad maintenance facility. The US Army (6-28466), Pennsylvania (6-28467), Amtrak (6-28468), and BNSF (6-28469) Trackmobiles should be on dealer shelves now! Each retails for $299.99.

This Western Pacific car carries a load of auto frames.

What makes a gon a mill gon? Mill gons have several common characteristics – low sides (generally 6′ or less) and a lack of interior bracing are a must. Many, but not all, feature “drop ends” which can be lowered to carry longer loads. Mill gons have come in many lengths, from 40 to 66 feet. Cars of 52′ 6″ were the most common from the 1940s through the 1970s and remain a popular option today. All of this is designed to facilitate the loading of finished goods.

This New York Central car carries a load of coke containers. This method made better use of the car's capacity while delivering smaller loads to the customer.

Lionel has produced models of one of the more common mill gons of the post-war era. Pullman Standard’s PS-5 gon was used by dozens of railroads across the country. Similar cars were built by Greenville, Bethlehem Steel and others. Construction started in the 194os and many cars remained in service through the 1970s despite the heavy abuse often inflicted upon them. Some were retained as maintenance of way cars and lasted even longer.

By folding down the ends of the car, even longer loads could be carried.

These cars feature drop ends which allowed the car to carry extra-long loads. Poles, structural beams, girders and similar loads may be within the car’s 70 ton weight capacity but extend longer than its deck. With the doors lowered an idler car (typically a flatcar) would be added to protect neighboring cars. Extremely long loads would need to be centered on the gondola with idlers at both ends to help the car navigate curves.

You can load your models with almost any structural load, along with machinery, tarped loads, crates or other finished goods. Raw materials could also be carried, but generally made poor use of the cars’ capacity and would necessitate cleaning before loading the next round of finished goods. When loading extra-long loads, test the overhang on curves carefully!