Black Hills Railroad

Time for another round of updates! Today I focused on building the terrain that would be above grade, i.e. the hillside next to the tracks.  To do this, I decided the quickest way was with expanding foam.  The stuff is flexible, carvable, and can be stiffened with layers of paint and fill material. This hill does not support much weight, and so it doesn't have to be structural in any way.  Being flexible means this hill can be bumped around (such as when traveling) and still maintain it's shape.  By contrast, insulation board has a tendency to dent when struck by something.  The insulation boards redeeming quality, however, is it's stiff and can hold weight. The modules are 18 inches wide, and the main line will be recessed 6" from the downhill (North) side of the module, leaving 12 inches for the yard tracks and for the hillside.  The hill, once carved down, will take up about 5 inches of  space on the module.  This leaves about 7 inches of s...

In the first post of 2018, I have a New Year's Resolution.  Let's see if I can fulfill it.  In the past, I've built railroads in bursts of high energy, followed by months of burnout.  Were there results?  Yes, but those results were small, mixed, and most of my hobby time was spent running in circles (literally and figuratively). This year, I hope my modeling skills makes a turn for the better by actually accomplishing something I've sorely missed since high school, building an operating model railroad.  If there's one word of advice I would dole out to hobbyists of all ages and experiences, it's this: don't do what I've done in the past, it's no way to build a model railroad.  The best way to build a railroad, if there is a "best" method, is to build in small, steady steps.  You can do it everyday if you want, or once a week, maybe even once a month.  But the idea is to tackle one small project at a time and slowly build your railroad pi...