Crossing the Ouachita River

 Rock Island GP7 1201 is in charge of the SB local, #775 as it crosses over the rain swollen and muddy Ouachita River. 

 

The Ouachita gets poured

I got the river poured the other night, it's not exactly what I wanted but I think I'll take it.

When mixing the paint into the acrylic medium it was just like the bog, the Pouring medium is translucent and it's more or less a guess on how much paint to add to it.  In this case I used a bit too much Tamiya Flat Earth, or did I?

It turned out more of a solid brown than a translucent brown that I was hoping for but maybe that is a good thing?  It definitely took on a muddy look but not the bright orangish brown like I've seen in Google Map images.   

In the case of the bog, a few days after I poured it, it started to take on a lighter brown color.  After a month or so I noticed the light color receded and went back to the dark Coffee Brown that I originally wanted.  So we'll wait and see what happens after a few weeks?

One thing I am happy with is the surface texture.  It's not a smooth, glossy surface.  It's actually kind of wavy which adds to the reflection so it's not like a perfect mirror reflection.

In the meantime here is where the scene is at.  This is only one pour, about 1/16" to 1/8" thick.  If I recall the medium did shrink a bit, so a second pour might happen?

Note: I did edit out some of the clutter in the scene on the right side. 

I'm going to take a short break from this scene and give the pour some time to set up and cure.  In the meantime I'm going to clean up a few things.  

I need to get the wiring for the crossing at Ruston tidied up and then I want to work on getting a new toy installed.  Last weekend we went to the 25th anniversary open house at Spring Creek Model Trains where I picked up one of the new IIAB (Interlocking In a Box) from ISE (Iowa Scale Engineering).

Then I'll come back and add another pour if deemed necessary and start making trees and adding any details. 

River color adjustment, take two

I just couldn't get used to seeing the river with the Faux paint. A friend of mine told me that it looked like Shag Carpet and I just couldn't unsee that!!I started looking at all kinds of images of the Ouachita river in different locations and the more I looked, the more blind I became.

I don't think I liked the very muddy brownish orange water. Might be too stark for the scene?  Plus I don't think the surface would reflect an image very well due it being lighter.

So I decided to go back to a green tone, but I wanted it slightly muddy.  I opted to get more of the Tamiya earth and olive from Hobby Town today while we were out running errands.

This time I started with the earth and mixed a bunch of the olive to it and sprayed a coat, but it was too green, way too much yellow once it was on the river bed.

So I mixed more of the olive into the mix and sprayed another coat, still too greenish yellow.  Added more green and I think I got real close. Stepped away and came back in a few, but it still looked to green, more brownish, but still too green.

So I cleaned out the airbrush once more and sprayed a straight coat of olive, but sprayed it in a wide, random pattern, not a full coverage.  I think this looks better?

Painting the river, part 2

Before I got started on the next phase of the river, I decided that the Tamiya Olive Green was just a little too dark, it was very close to the foliage on the banks.  So I added some of the Tamiya Flat Earth brown to it.  It had the effect of not only lightening it up enough, it also gave it a brownish hue.

Once the river was repainted it was time to start painting the Faux pattern on the surface.  I followed Boomer's process, which was to use the "Golden" brand of gloss glazing liquid and add a bit of the Vallejo US Sand paint to it.  Mix it up thoroughly and using a damp sponge you dip it on the mix, wipe off the majority of it on a rag, kind of the way one "Dry Brushes" and then start padding or stippling the sponge on the surface of the river. 

My first thought was this was too light?  Even after letting it dry for a bit it just looked too light for what I was shooting for.  So I did some experimenting and decided to use the Tamiya Flat Earth, and then added a couple of drops of the Tamiya Olive Green.  This looked better to my eyes.

Once that layer dried, I got so wrapped up in choosing the next colors/shades that I forgot to take pictures, sorry.  The next color was more Flat Earth and a little less Olive Green.  This gave it a muddier look.  The last coat I used I mixed a bit more Olive Green than I had the first time so as to bring back a bit of green.  Here's how it turned out.

 

Not 100% certain I'm happy with the final color, but the more I look at it the better it gets.  I'm thinking once I apply the final coat of pure glazing, the glare might mute or distract from the overall color.  

From what I've seen of Boomer's final coat, it's not 100% gloss, as he mixes GAC500 (a high gloss acrylic) with some Semi-Gloss Gel which very slightly dulls the gloss.  If you look at the lower right corner of the last pic, right next to the fascia you can see a slight glare.

Now I need to add some driftwood and other debris to the river before I add the final clear coat.

Painting the river, part 1

My next project was to paint the riverbed.

I toyed with a lot of ideas and wasn't happy with any of the options I looked into. Then I remembered watching one of Boomer's videos and how he painted his.

If you haven't seen it, it's worth a watch, while it's kind of long and rambling, like most of his are, it's chocked full of good info.

https://youtu.be/uSXTAMBIhOM?si=8GRIdlU9RouiebZ3

The first thing I did was to paint the river using Tamiya's XF-58 Olive Green.

It goes on kind of bright green, but darkens as it dries.  This is only the first coat.

Next I wanted to give a shallow water look near the sand bar so I watered down some tan colored craft paint so I could do as Boomer did and tried stain painting it on, but when it dried, I wasn't happy with it. It came out too blotchy because I think the pigments weren't as fine as good hobby paints are.

So I repainted that section with the Tamiya Olive and redid it using Tamiya XF-52 Flat Earth. 

I tried something a little different and painted it on full strength and did the same with the Tamiya XF-58 Olive, then I blended them together. This worked much better.

Most of this might be somewhat covered when I start faux painting the main river, but I know it'll be there. 

Covering the banks

The next step was to work on the sand bar and river banks.

I spread a thin layer of glue and using a fine sieve I spread out a thick layer of my Mocha grout.  I let it dry over night and then vacuumed up the excess and rubbing with my finger, I worked more excess loose.

I glued a thin layer of  multi-colored ground foam to the banks to help blend the colors so it will eventually add to the depth of the undergrowth.  

I used a mix of 2mm & 4mm light and medium green static grass for the weeds on the sand bar, leaving enough room for the River Rat's camp site and some tents.  I also sprayed hair spray over it and sprinkled on several colors of fine ground foam.

Once everything was dry, I took Woodland Scenics Poly Fiber and stretched it out very thin and applied it to the river banks, the fine ground foam glued down previously helped to hold it in place while the glue dried.  This will become the base for the 3D undergrowth. 

It's not very thick but thick enough that when the next layer of ground foam is applied it will take on a of look deep, shaggy weeds and tangles.

More work on the river banks and Abutments

After getting the banks carved, I painted them with a multi green filter before adding vegetation. This will help hide the earth color.

One thing I didn't do when I made the abutments and piers, I forgot to add a lip around the three walls of the abutments.  I was reminded of doing this by a friend who said they looked odd being solid concrete and the rails laying on top of the concrete.  I had always planned to add sleeper ties under the rails but forgot about the lips.

So I found some strip styrene that looked about right and glued it on the three edges of each abutment.  This will give the illusion that the three walls were poured independently and not a solid mass of concrete.

Once dry I took a hobby knife and carved the tops to match any crumbling edges that I had carved into the MDF abutments previously.  Then painted and weathered them to match.

 Next I glued the sleeper ties in place and added ballast.

The ballast looks awfully bright, but I'll take care of that with Pan Pastels later.

  

 

River banks carved and curved

So I've been steadily working on the river banks over the last couple of weeks.

I got the first set of foam blocks installed and got most of them carved out.  Things were looking good.  But then I had an idea, what if I could enhance the depth of the river, make it look as if it continues around the bend?  So I grabbed a small mirror and started playing around with it.

After a few tries it looked as if this could work?  I've never made use of a mirror, although I've always wanted to.  Hmmmm?

After placing the mirror in what I thought was a good place, I stepped back and took a look at it.  Not bad, but I was going to have to change the angle of it as well as redo the foam blocks along the backdrop.

So the trouble was, at this angle it made the river bend to the right and not to the left.  So I ripped out the rear two blocks of foam and started playing around again with a pencil line, trying to line up the mirror so the bank turned to the left.  I had to angle the mirror quite a bit to make the curved pencil line line up properly.  But this would work.

I ordered a new larger mirror and sat it in place, then I got the two new foam blocks installed and carved them to fit.  Using the line I drew as a guide I shaped the last foam block and got them glued in placed.

The next thing to do was to get the blocks shaped and painted.

   

Floral foam river banks

After a little head scratching and some test fitting, I got the ceiling tile and beadboard foam removed and replaced it with the floral foam bricks.  I glued the bricks in with white glue on the bottoms and where they touch the remaining ceiling tile.

Once dry I'll start the carving process.  I extended the foam out past the abutments just a bit so that I have enough to work with as I slowly carve it back. Most of the bank will be beveled back without much detail as the biggest share of it I envision being covered completely by vegetation.

I also used lightweight spackling to fill in a seam and any irregularities on the plywood then got it sanded smooth. 

Target: The Ouachita River Bridges

I ran a couple of more sessions the last couple of weekends and I feel like things are running smooth enough with JMRI and trackwork that I think it's time to switch gears and start adding some more eye candy to the layout.  I'd like to get this done by this October for the OS Omaha weekend.

In December of 2016 I started reworking the straight track between Calion and El Dorado.  I'd always planned to have a river in this location.  The first thing I did was to reposition the main line to give it a nice little curve and then made plans for a bridge, well two bridges.

Today this is where it stands, and has been standing here since January 2, 2017.  It's been in this state of construction for 8 years now, I think it's stood the test of time.

The other day while staring at it, trying to figure out how to blend the river into the backdrop, the light bulb started to glow.  Instead of blending into the backdrop, why not put a bend in the river and make the shoreline sit against the backdrop?  Then I could hide the river with lots of trees.

After a bit I realized that I had seen this done before recently on a layout that I enjoy following.  The only thing different, that guy hid the bend in the river not only by trees, but with a large building, which I might be able to do as well?  If it does not hide the river completely, at least it'll serve as a distraction for the eyes. 

I'll cut out more foam and ceiling tile behind the truss bridge so the river bends to the right.  I can then go back and add more base along the backdrop.  The base is easy enough to cut out and reshape, but I think I'll use more of the dry floral foam blocks?  It's easy to cut and shape and unlike plaster or lightweight spackling, the foam makes it easy to insert trees into it. 

The river itself should be just about as easy to do, though I'm not sure if I'll pour a thin layer like the bog or if I'll just paint it and apply couple of layers of Gloss Mod Podge?  Here's what I'm shooting for the overall look.

A slow moving, muddy river.  The river banks will be easy, just cover them with heavy foliage and lots of trees...... right down to the banks.

  

OS Omaha 2025, part 3

With half the session over with, the next train that runs will be the NB #776.  The crew will pull the fresh power from the house and tie onto the cars on track #2 and head north.

As the train runs north, they are running R to L on the schematics.

Before 776 leaves Winnfield, they are instructed to shuffle some MOW cars that are sitting on the old main line (below the Union Scrap siding).  They need to move the rear car to the right) to front of the cars (on the left), this is more of an exercise that keeps the journals from freezing up as they sit waiting for use.  There are instructions for this move on the switch list.

Here at Ruston, the NB 776 will reach back into the Jct. and pick up any cars that the ICG left after the 775 left Ruston.

At this point before the #776 gets to El Dorado, train #35 will leave Little Rock and head south meeting the #776 at El Dorado.

  

At Haskell, AR, not only does the 776 work the interchange, it also works the Gavilon Fertilizer complex.  In doing both of these moves, 776 is allowed to run on the trackage that leads to Malvern.

Once finished in Haskell, the crew runs to Little Rock where they cut the caboose off on the engine facility loop and parks their train back on track #2 from where they started.  Then they cut the power off and return it to the fuel pit.

Now the yard switcher goes to work and retrieves the caboose. 

While this is going on in the yard, the Malvern PM crew pulls cars in Malvern and runs to Haskell, works the interchange and returns to Malvern to spots those cars and then the session draws to a close.