Dredge barge model start

I have started building the dredge barge.  There is still a lot of work to do on this but I thought I would post the basic barge with the dipper pole and bracing.  There will be more bracing and of course the cable rigging.

The cabin for the boiler and pilot house will be at the back end.  There will be a two drum hoist behind the pole and bracing to control the raising, lowering,  and opening and closing of the clam shell bucket.  The dredge barge would be used to load sand raised from a harbor and deposited in a container barge.

Below is an example of a basic dredge barge without the housing at the back.

My dredge barge will sit in the water in front of the dredge company where it is under repair.

Fishnet & buoy shop complete

The fishnet and buoy shop is now complete and installed on the layout.  The shop yard is fenced and contains fishnets and buoys,  The fence is board by board with a few signs on the front - you always need advertising.

On the left side inside the fence is a fishnet rack.  the fishnets were made from cheese cloth stained with my alcohol/ink mixture.  There is also a fishnet hanging on the wall of the shop with multi-colored buoys hanging on it.  The buoys were made from various materials including plastic sprue nubs and wood sticks, all rounded on one end with a rod on the other end.

There are several birds on the roofs and one of the fishnet posts.  Four figures are in the yard.

All of these photos were taken from an elevated position to enable seeing the details in the yard area.

My next project will be a small dredge barge to be located in the water in front of the dredge company.

Troll & Elfin MRR more history

Here is some more history on my late father's Troll & Elfin model railroad on this Father's Day.  The T&E was a modest sized layout (perhaps 10' x 15' in a semi- triangle shape) located in part of his basement with a tunnel through the wall into his shop area for a tiny shelf RR addition.

The photo above shows the wide end on the right with his engine terminal and the Troll station in the center.

The above view is at the narrow end and shows the Elfin station.

The photo above shows a structure named after his friend Whit Towers, past president of the NMRA and once editor of the NMRA Bulletin, predecessor to the NMRA magazine.  I had the pleasure of visiting Whit Towers and operating on his layout while on a business trip to California many years ago.  He had a simple operating method using a small,  fixed number of cars in each train, and when you dropped off a car at a siding you picked up another one keeping the train length the same.

My father had a lot of model railroad friends around the USA and in other countries.  He frequently named his structures for them.  My father also approached model railroading from the fun  and humorous angle - witness the name of his MRR.  My father took a lot of his MRR photos in black & white as he was a frequent contributor to the NMRA Bulletin which was a B&W publication back then.  He also took numerous color slides which I have and have struggled to covert decently (I know I can pay to get that done but it is expensive).

My father and many of his friends used to exchange tape/slide presentations on their modeling work. The tape part was cassette tapes - not very easy to deal with these days.  I still have these.

Fishnet shop structure complete

I have completed the fishnet shop structure - just added the storage shed.  The storage shed is wood so gives a contrast to the stone house.  The shed was fairly simple.  The roof shingles are the venerable Campbells paper shingles, which I weathered.  I added a small stack projecting from the rear of the shed.  The stack was made from a plastic kit sprue.

I added two small weathered signs.

Next I will install the structure on the layout.  Then I will add a fence around the front area and install  a fishnet rack and a variety of colorful bouys,  as well as other details and some workers.

On a different note, I have long had a three shelf metal cart sitting under my main layout.  The cart contained an array of tools and other items for use in my layout construction.  I decided since the main layout was essentially complete, to move the cart out and under the new layout addition.  Since I have many tools at hand there, I removed all of the tools and stuff and replaced them with my many containers of scenic material.  I then realized I have LOTS of small tools!

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Fishnet shop house

I have completed the old stone house for the fishnet shop.  There will be signs and other details added before it is finally installed on the layout.  Adding the "copper" sheathing on the roof was frustrating due to the dormer windows - it was like cutting out a jigsaw puzzle.

This is a front view with the left side.  The right side will have a large shed attached so it is somewhat short of complete detail.

And above is a view of the rear.

Above is a view of the house before I weathered the roof.  The "copper" sheathing is a commercial card stock product.

Next I will construct the large storage shed which will project out beyond the front of the house.

Below is an image of an old cardboard fan I bought years ago.  I think it is interesting.

The small tan section in the bottom center is part of the wood handle.

Fish net company planning

My next project is a fish net and buoy company.  The main building is an old stone house that was in the dock area for many years - long before the other businesses were built.  It survived because it was substantial.  The house was expanded with the addition of another structure, and modified but still retains it's basic appearance.  As usual, the planning for this project was time consuming and I made a  half dozen sketches before I came up with something I liked.  I have made a start on the stone house using some Hydrocal stone wall castings.

As you can see the house is not complete.  I find cutting up Hydrocal castings to be a pain but it is easier than creating a model specific casting.  The cuts in the top of the wall are window bases.  There will be a wood structure attached to the right side of the house structure.

Some inspirational stone house building photos are below.

When I complete this model I will have filled the dock area, and then I will move to building a dredge model.