The cabinet has worked out really well for me and keeps my locomotive very dust free. My layout is well under way. If you're interested, go to my KZbin home page and check out some layout videos. Thanks for watching!

@@SPSteve I definitely will.

Thanks for watching, Jerry.

Thanks! I keep chipping away at it. I'm getting close to having the basic scenery done in the city half of my layout. I appreciate you watching!

Making a copy of the mold would be a good idea. Thanks for watching!

What exactly are we talking about? I'm not sure what you are referring to.

@@SPSteve the ground you called the floor inside the train tunnel. and you called it a floor more than once. Okay, lets put it this way, the tunnel you called a portal and followed it up with calling the ground "the floor".

@@southernprojectsyt6340 Oh, OK. When I do my videos they are straight off the cuff. I don't have a script, so sometimes I'll mix up terminology. I'd ask you to just roll with it and hopefully you know what I'm trying to say. I apologize for any confusion. I appreciate you watching!

@@SPSteve it just reminds me of people calling everything they cook with a pan, or others calling every type of on the road vehicle a car... Amusing and lazy at the same time.

Thanks Paul! I agree, that is a cool look! 🙂 I have to say, I've been having a lot of fun with this. Each bit of scenery I get done gives me another run-by, railfan location I can share. I appreciate you watching!

Stone is not uniform in color, it varies. I'll admit that my stone walls, abutments and portals are stylized and the colors exaggerated. But that is not an uncommon practice in modeling. Since the objects are 87 times smaller than life size, some colors are exaggerated to make them noticeable. This is how I do it and I'm good with it. Everyone is free to do their modeling however they choose. It's a hobby, you do it your way.

Haha! Thanks! We'll paint our happy tunnel portal 😁 Thanks for watching!

Thanks! I'm new to model railroading but I'm not new to modeling, I built armor models for a few years. Modeling is modeling. My dirt mix is 2 parts dirt from my yard and 1 part dirt from Sedona AZ. I appreciate you watching!

I mixed the alcohol into the dirt because I needed to fill a small gap at the bottom of the castings. Having the dirt wet where it became "mud" kept the dirt stuck together and allowed me to fill the gap and shape the dirt. I used alcohol instead of water with the dirt because I use alcohol when applying scenic glue.

Thanks! No rocket science here, anyone can do it. I appreciate you watching!

Thanks! No, I worked in nuclear power for 30 years, USAF before that. I'm just using some basic modeling techniques, they're easy to learn with a little practice. I appreciate you watching!

I mixed hydrocal plaster and let it thicken up a little, then I applied the plaster to the mold. Once the plaster had hardened enough I flexed the mold to release the casting. The thin ABS mold isn't the best quality and I'm not sure you'd get more than a few castings out of it before it would break. But if you don't need many it will do the job.

I'm glad the video was useful to you. Thanks for watching!

Thanks! Trying to keep chipping away at it. A little bit, a little bit, a little bit, it all adds up. I appreciate you watching!

Thanks! Try to make them look nice.

I was in Flagstaff a couple weeks ago and saw an NS locomotive in a BNSF train, so that's not unusual. With only 4 US class 1 railroads now there's not much variety.

Thanks! I'm located in Arizona. I appreciate you watching!

Thanks! I agree, if you can keep the weight it is certainly beneficial. Good luck to you with your DCC install and putting new life into your SD60.

@@SPSteve I will definatly do the maintenence you shown it's supposedly factory new , same as yours dcc ready. means No decoder needed to be purchased aka the unit mounted on top of the weight.

I'm not sure I follow you? Are you talking about the rear end spring pads?

Thanks! I'm glad the video was helpful to you. Best of luck with your model railroad and thanks for watching.

Thanks Chris! I appreciate you watching!

Thanks! I appreciate you watching!

I think Colorado is mostly granite, while Arizona has a wide range of colors. Colorado is beautiful, nothing against it.

@@SPSteve northwest colo is mostly sandstone grand junction is just south of here and has a lot of colors

@@kenfuller8120 OK, that's right. I've been through the Colorado National Monument(?) near Grand Junction 2 times.

Thanks Ken! I appreciate you watching!

Thanks Robert!

Yes, it is a Moto Guzzi brand accessory. I don't remember exactly what it cost; it's been a couple years since I installed it.

Are these existing commercial molds? Or did you make your own?

Thanks, the castings are made from a very hard hydrocal plaster that paints very well. Thanks for watching!

@@folkertvanwijk5168 The molds are from Bragdon Enterprises. They offer hundreds of different molds for any type of rock you wish to model. I've been very pleased with the molds I have.

@@SPSteve with existing molds?

@@folkertvanwijk5168 Yes, the molds I use are right off the shelf from Bragdon Enterprises.

Thanks Sean! Static grass is like anything, takes a little practice to get the hang of it. I use full strength white glue, make sure that any clumps of static grass are broken up, and be sure your applicator creates a good electrical charge. Thanks for watching!

That's a great story you have with your family's involvement with SP. The telecommunication network was very advanced with SPRINT being the spinoff as you mentioned. SP had a far reaching network of track and many innovations over its history. Thanks for the kind comment and thanks for watching! I've had a few former SP people check in. Always nice to hear everyone's story.

Thanks! To be honest anyone can do it, it just takes a little practice. I'm trying to keep the colors in line with my photo backdrops. When I get to the rural section of the layout I may change it up just a bit. I appreciate you watching!

I think my static grass is from Woodland Scenics, but I may have some generic Ebay static grass as well. I apply 12mm static grass by hand. I mix 4mm, 6mm and 7mm static grass and apply that mix using the Woodland Scenics Static King. In 2 weeks there will be a video showing how I apply the 12mm static grass by hand.

@@SPSteve Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I'm glad I decided to widen the benchwork and add the lower cliff rocks, it was well worth the effort. I appreciate you watching!

Nice! Those great cars are still out there. I'm planning to do some work on the Rallye 350 after I finish my house remodel. Also considering selling the Trans Am.

Jerry, my Locomotives are Athearn Genesis and Scale Trains. I also have 2 Bowser locomotives. My rolling stock is Moloco, Arrowhead, American Limited Models, Exactrail Platinum, Tangent, Athearn Genesis, Rapido. I only buy the premium level models, but other levels of quality are available. Athearn RTR, Scale Trains Operator, Intermountain, Exactrail Express, Walthers offer mid level quality at more affordable prices. There is a tier of low-cost budget models as well. The premium models get you all the fine details of the real equipment but a mid level model will typically run as well on your railroad if you don't need the extra realism. I typically buy Scale Trains locomotives direct, but otherwise there are many vendors. I'd recommend looking around before buying and see who you like and who has the best prices for what you want. Some places to start might be Trainworld, Model Train Stuff, Lombard Hobbies and Ebay.

@@SPSteve I was wondering where you bought the SP and cotton belt box cars

@@jerryebner159 I have SP and Cotton Belt box cars from Athearn Genesis, Moloco, Tangent and Rapido. They all make nice cars. I buy the Moloco cars direct from Moloco and I usually buy the Tangent cars direct. Athearn Genesis and Rapido I get from Trainworld or other online vendors. Keep in mind that cars and locomotives are made in batches. When they sell out they are gone. If out of stock with one vendor, then look at another and see if they have some. Manufacturers will often reissue a model but it may be several years before they do that and almost always will be different road numbers. I will often do a video on cars I buy. You may want to look at some of my older videos to see if I have videos of cars you're interested in. If there is a specific car you're looking for I'd recommend going to the websites of the manufacturers I mentioned above and seeing what they have. You can buy direct or look for a vendor where you might be able to get a discount.

I have the #3 mold that I used for the stone retaining wall. I have rock molds 4, 5, 11, 15, 77, 85, 88, 126, 127. Some I use more than others depending where the casting is placed.

Thanks Paul! I've been satisfied with how the rocks have turned out. Looking at the work that has been done vs the bare plaster on the second half of the layout and it's come a long way. Thanks for watching!

Thanks Charlie! The plaster castings taken from the Bragdon molds make for a great surface to paint. I'm pleased with how it's coming along. I appreciate you watching!

Thanks! Yes, I'm really pleased with the change. The way I had it before with the large piece of fascia covering that area never sat well with me. Well worth the effort! Thanks for watching!

Thanks Larry! I appreciate you watching!

I appreciate it! The rural section may get some rework, but the track plan will be very similar. I'm happy with the city section. I'm looking forward to the day when I get my buildings in place. I went to USAF basic training in San Antonio. I've been there a couple times. I like your mix of classic and modern buildings in your downtown. Seems like a nice city.

You can find the signs on Ebay or Amazon. Ebay even has some authentic original SP signs, but they are $$$. Be cool to have though!

Thanks Jerry! I like having continuous running so I can just hang out in the room and watch trains run; my layout also has some limited operations capability to keep one guy occupied for an hour or so now and then. I wish you success in determining how to build your layout!

Thanks Mike! I appreciate the compliment, and I appreciate you watching!