The ballasting nears completion!

Most of the outer loop is ballasted - just have one outstanding grade crossing to complete (and that's really more about getting the road and grade crossing beams installed than anything else.

I should write that I am done installing the ballast. What remains now is more properly classed as 'clean up'. Going back over my earlier work - especially the first loop that I did - I see that I did a pretty bad job. So bad that in some cases the ballast is impacting the operation of the trains. So....I'll need to go over each rail and scape off excess ballast. It'll give me a change to check the rails as well - there are still a couple of spots that are giving me problems like uncoupling and occasional derailments.

I'm starting on some of the landscape now as well. There are some very simple areas that can be knocked out quickly. (bare stony ground with scrub vegetation). I'm experimenting with the grassy areas. Most of my prior work was on much smaller areas and in much smaller scales. I need to adapt to the level of detail S gauge trains require.

Tales from the track gang...

The ballasting continues. I've got it down to a routine set of steps and its made a big difference. I finish the second loop of track today, which leaves me with the outer loop and the 'north' yard to deal with. That's not too bad considering that all the track is not yet in the north yard yet.

A pictures worth a thousand words, so here are some photos of the recent progress.

The south yard with the inner and middle tracks ballasted.

The north yard. Still work to do in the gaps between the different loops.

The inner track with a caboose for scale purposes.

The middle two tracks are ballasted.

If I knew what a pain ballasting track is...

I would not have laid so much track!

At least I started. And as with so many things, doing something new means learning how to do it. I've used Woodland Scenics flocking material before, but not in a challenging setting like railroad track. First you've got to get the glue on the sides of the roadbed, they apply ballast, the apply ballast between the rails. Then smooth it all out. Then apply a wetting agent and then apply the glue. You do this for about one or two feet of track.

Then you get to start over.

I'll add some pictures of the finished ballasting. I'm sure it will look good when finished.

By the time I'm done, I should be a real ballasting expert.

We want...another shrubbery! (or at least work on the layout)

No, no shrubbery yet, but I've made progress since the last post. Mostly laying down a base coat of paint and,  getting tunnel portals installed and painted and some miscellaneous track laid in the south yard.

The north yard viewed from the west. The base paint coat

 provides some character and defines the stream.

Two Plasticville ranch homes provide some color.

A woman with two kids awaits a train.

The south portal.

Different view showing the tunnel runs under 'tracked ridge'.

The cut on Tracked Ridge.

Looking back at the previous photograph from the north.

The North Portal. (And repuposed Lionel portal, cut down to S.)

The ranch homes are in the curve in front of the north portal.

The Long Cut on the east face of Tracked Ridge.

The south yard now has its first staging track installed. (The one of the left is temporary floating track.)

Its a Phase...

Got three loops of tracks running AND solved the nasty problem with one of the transformers being out of phase. You know...when you have to reverse the plug to change the polarity.  Now I can run three trains independently and have them cross-over between loops. Tonight's action featured the SD-70 and SD-60 and an old American Flyer Atlatnic 4-4-2 (The 300 AC for those keeping score.)

Its starting to feel like a layout!

The Montana Rail Link Bonanza!

In my previous post, I was showing off the new American Models SD-60 I purchased. Right on the heels of that, the same seller made me an offer I couldn't refuse - four (4) S gauge 50 foot boxcars for a very reasonable price. All four boxcars are in the blue and white livery of - you guessed it - the Montana Rail Link railroad.

The boxes cars are a mix of American Models (3) and Pacific Rail Shops (1) 50 foot boxcars. Apparently the PRS car is something of a rarity.

The original PRS box

 From the limited information I received, I don't think PRS produced a kit of the MRL boxcars, but then my Google-fu is weak as I can't find a comprehensive list of PRS cars on the web. I think its a re-painted kit as the blue is a little off from the pictures of the real MRL stuff I've seen (and a little lighter than the American Models color as well.

The Pacific Rail Shops 50' car

About the only other thing I can find that is 'off' about it is that I think the decals and lettering are reversed. The plans I have of the prototype show that the logo and name should switched (the American Models car has it correct). I do like it as it has the "W" logo with the moutain lion head embelishment - something the American Models stuff lacks (but which is still correct).

Good comparison of the PRS car (on left) with an American Models car

But the real treat was also unexpected. The seller included a unique American Models bay window caboose that is ALSO painted up for the Montana Rail Link. Its another custom paint job that is a little freelanced. Part of the problem is that I can't find a reference to the MRL using bay window caboosees, But still its a great addition to the collection.

You can see how it scales next to the American Models boxcar on the right. Plus its a nice shot of the brakeman standing on the back of the caboose.

This is a really great addition to my collection. The MRL are one of the few railroads to continue to use the caboose into the modern era of "Fred and Wilma" modern sensors and controls. No one makes a MRL caboose ready to roll in S. I was resigned to doing a quick paint job to renumber a Burlington Northern caboose to the MRL roster (there's a photograph of the prototype out there!)

Close up of the back of the caboose. Unlike a new American models kit, this one has no window glazing or internal lights....for now!

Another SD-60!

Yes, another SD-60. I had the opportunity to acquire another American Models SD-60 locomotive from a sale on the Yahoo groups. These are getting hard to find and are almost out of stock at American Models. But this one is even more unique...its painted in the livery of the Montana Rail Link railroad.

MRL 3201 takes the track on Ray's home layout

Okay so the MRL does not (and likely has never) used the SD-60 in operations, but this was a rare opportunity to acquire and MRL locomotive in S Gauge.

Its nicely painted in the colors of the MRL with great looking decals and even a decal celebrating Montana's recent centennial.

The centennial decal

The only quibble I might have is that the locomotive number is located too high on the body. All the MRL pictures I have show the numbers in the blue paint below the black vents and exhaust area. But its a little thing.

I'm going to enjoy matching this up with a consist of MRL and Burlington Northern rolling stock. I'm very happy with the locomotive!