More With Photo-Realistic Building Flats

One thing I'm learning about N scale is that it's much easier to fool the eye with small amounts of detail that suggest more is there than actually is. Photo-realistic building flats like those from Trackside Flats definitely do this. The eye wants to find 3-D effects, especially in photos of the photos on the flats, for instance like the one below:

I'm still playing around with the most recent Trackside Flats that I've converted to low-relief buildings to see what T-TRAK modules they'll work best with. In addition, I've found another producer of similar flats, PTF Designs, that sells on eBay. The abandoned factory with graffiti below is from PTF. It's between two Trackside Flats buildings.

I'm aiming for an "urban generic" background reminiscent in part of the Northeast Corridor, but also generic enough so that even European equipment like that in the photo above doesn't look out of place.

Below is another new set of low relief buildings that I'm trying out on another T-TRAK module.

More T-Trak

Since last week's post, I've received more Trackside Flats buildings and converted them from flats to low relief. The photos show them posed temporarily on the triple-wide module I'm working on; there's no guarantee I'll use them in exactly these positioins or on this module:

I do think the extra depth makes them pop. I use foam core that's the same 3/16 thickness that's on the flats themselves and simply add sides, a floor, and a roof. I paint the additions with Burt Sienna craft paint. I'll finish the sides on most of them with Woodland Scenics fine turf glued on with white glue to represent ivy.

The Trackside Flats modules are largely made from photos, but they've been manipulated to square them up and eliminate lens distortion. They often incorporate forground vegetation, stairways, balconies, and other features that add to the 3-D effect, especially when they're re-photographed. Making them into low relief buildings instead of just flats also adds to the 3-D effect.

T-Trak Progress

After some steady work on the HO layout, I took a break to make some progress on a triple-wide T-Trak module. The idea is something on or close to the Northeast Corridor, to use Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, or Virginia Rail Express equipment. Here's the current state:

The catenary bridges are the Kato 4-track version with the bases cut down. They're still removable for work on the module or moving it.

One lesson I'm learning with T-Trak is that it's generally a better idea on longer modules to use Unitrack sections only at the ends, to keep the ability to connect modules with Unijoiners, but to use other track like Atlas or Peco in the middle, especially if you're adding switches. Unitrack N switches just aren't reliable or robust. When I did N scale 40 years ago, I found Peco switches were pretty much bulletproof, and I've gone back to them now, with the attached twin-coil switch machines operated by Digitrax DS-52 decoders.

Atlas N New Jersey Transit Double Deckers

I've finally been able to assemble a train of the Atlas N New Jersey Transit double-deckers. I had this in mind when they came out with the N ALP-45DP, but the first run of these had only one speed, very slow, so I returned the loco and vowed to wait for the second run, which everyone hoped would be an improvement. The bottom line seems to be that the speed in the second run varies, but it's better than the first, so things are at least accptable.

The lettering, as well as the body detailing, is very good. The lettering looks good even in photos blown up several times the size of the model. Car 7006 below is a cab car. You can see the loco-style number board on the left end. NJT has 61 cab cars numbered 7000-7061.

Car 7009 is also a cab car. All the cars are lighted, which is a big plus, but unfortunately the cab car doesn't alternate head and tail lights. Kato cab cars are set up for a decoder that will do this on DCC, but again, this isn't an option on these cars. You'd have to find a way to light the cab car head and tail lights separately, install LEDs, and find a decoder to control the function on the Atlas cars.

Car 7207 is a car with toilet. NJT has 99 of these numbered 7200-7298.

Car 7545 is a car without toilet. NJT has 168 of these numbered 7545-7677.

I've seen complaints about how these cars track. With that in mind, I backed off each truck screw a quarter turn to give them a little more play, and I had no problem running them in either push or pull.

I've been following a French railfan and modeler's channel called MiniTrak by Simply Railway. Here he's running an NJT train:

Woodland Scenics Built-&-Ready J W Cobbler

My upgrade amd Just Plug lighting project has reached Hill St in Zenith. As part of the project, I realized I had some space to add another building between an SLM Public Library and an old metal Woodland Scenics corner bar kit. This had been just a parking lot that contained some blah vehicles that were there because they were mostly out of view.

I measured the space and compared it to the footprints of several available kits, but the one building that came closest was the Woodland Scenics Built-&-Ready J W Cobbler. I decided I've paid my dues building enough kits that I can get away with a ready-to-run, especially as this one has a lot of little added details -- so many that I had to remove a few to fit it in place. I think it looks pretty good where I've got it.

The Built & Ready building includes a Juat Plug LED that basically illuminates just the store window on the ground floor, which you can more or less see in the photo. I've also added a Just Plug LED to the corner bar next door.

The photos suggest I still need to level the buildings here better. I need to take a level to both the public library and the J W Cobbler, as well as to give the cobbler a final dirting in.