Maintenance of Way

A few years back I came across a photo of some MOW equipment spotted on the old Nagle Lumber spur in Iowa City. Since it fit the modeled era for The Hills Line, I wanted to included some representation of that scene on the railroad. The only commercially available product I was able to locate … Continue reading Maintenance of Way

Bondo

One of my aesthetic goals for The Hills Line was to create a seamless fascia. While that serves absolutely no purpose towards the design or operational intent of the layout, it does help create a more pleasing appearance to others, regardless of their familiarity with the prototype. I originally used joint compound to fill the … Continue reading Bondo

High Voltage

I've probably built more power poles for The Hills Line than all of my other past layouts combined. It makes sense for a few reasons. The prototype works in a lot more industrial area than previous ones. Plus due to its history as an electric interurban it would make sense that electrical lines would follow … Continue reading High Voltage

Mulligan

"Sometimes you gotta say 'What the Fuck', make your move." -Miles Dalby, Risky Business- More often than not, there comes a point in any project where it makes more sense to just start over. I've reached that point with my version of U.S. Highway 6 in Iowa City. Trying to make corrections As I've previously … Continue reading Mulligan