Over the Labor Day weekend my wife and I traveled up to Eureka, California.  While we were there we went to a couple places around the area that contained items from the history of the local area.

At Fort Humboldt they had many examples of logging equipment from a wide range of years.

This picture shows a logging “disconnect” car.  These were used in pairs, with the log providing the frame for the car.

Here is a picture of a Dolbeer Logging engine, or steam donkey.  This was invented right in the area, and they had several examples of different types of engines.  This was used for many different tasks in the woods, one of which was loading railroad cars.  This is an example of one of the smaller ones.  I will post pictures of some of the larger “bull” engines later.

After my last post I came to the conclusion that my module has gone beyond being just a module, but a part of my home railroad.

In all further posts I will refer to it as the GOP.  This stands for the “Get Out and Push” railroad company, which I mentioned in building the waycar kit.  The reference comes from a book of classic logging pictures.  This was a book borrowed from the local (at the time) library, and I don’t currently have access to it, so I don’t remember the name of it.

The book contained a picture of a locomotive which was derailed on the side of a narrow gauge line.  Ironically the name painted on the side was the GOP;  I am guessing that this might have been a fairly regular occurrence.

My intention is to eventually build a logging themed layout, or at least a section devoted to logging – which will be the GOP rr. co.

After cutting out the outline for my pond I screwed in the parts for the bottom of my pond.  I then used a hot-glue gun and attached the cardboard strips to create the ground shapes I wanted.

After getting all of the cardboard strips fastened in place I used plaster cloth to cover it.  I used two layers, alternating the pieces.  After this had set up a bit I brushed on a coat of plaster for extra strength.

I intend to make up a thick batch of plaster and use some casts to complete the look of this scene.

After a couple of requests for pictures of the Downtown Deco Back Alley kit here it is:

It is still a work in progress with many details and weathering left to do.

I found it interesting to build a hydrocal kit for the first time, I will definitely be building more in the future.

Lately I have been busy adding scenery to the area of the San Leandro Historic Railway Society’s layout representing Antelope.  This area has been really plain for quite some time, and after seeing prototype pictures I decided to take care of it.

I am a firm believer of using layers of scenic items to get the most natural effect.  Here I started with clumps of poly fiber and worked them into small balls.  After using white glue to hold them in place I covered them liberally with scenic glue (thinned white glue with a couple drops of detergent) and followed with sprinkled ground foam.  The smaller clumps are made using Woodland Scenic’s underbrush (a clump foam product).  I also hit them with a layer of scenic glue and ground foam.  After letting them dry overnight I went back with the vacuum to remove any excess foam.

For the trees I decided to leave the bases on, in hopes of them being more sturdy when bumped.  I glued them in place using white glue, after they dry I intend to come back with ground cover and hide the bases.