Umpqua River Railroad & Navigation

Umpqua River Railroad & Navigation The Umpqua River Railroad is a fictional railroad based in the Oregon coast that has been in development for years in Trainz Railroad Simulator.

I decided to bring a small slice of the railroad into the real world in 1:87 scale, circa 1929.

Time for the first water feature on the layout. Admittedly, I started out with a method I didn’t end up liking. Sponging...
12/31/2024

Time for the first water feature on the layout. Admittedly, I started out with a method I didn’t end up liking. Sponging a lighter shade of green on top of a darker base color. In hindsight, maybe a different choice of color and a course sponge would be better but I had another idea in mind which would give a more subtle effect that I was hoping for. I reapplied a different shade of green for the base coat, basically olive drab. Then I started to shade the water surface with an airbrush. Starting with a lighter green to break up the base color. Trying my best to represent light in the water…at least in the minds eye. I based my colors off google earth. Interestingly, there was barely any glare in the aerial shots so I was able to get a fairly accurate color. Then I chased that with a dark brown to illustrate depth and the shoreline, as well as shadow under the pier. Since I was using an airbrush, I thought it might be interesting to paint in some tidal veins near the shore line, this implies that the tide is high and when it recedes, that area is exposed. Just a little bit of visual interest. The last order of airbrushing was randomly spraying a light blue to bend things together and hopefully represent a bit of sky reflecting in the water. Because I had already applied a ripple effect the first time, I dry brushed a similar green to add definition to the ripples. Layer layer layer…

For the ripple effect that I applied after the repaint, I used a mix of Golden GAC 500 and their soft gel paste. Point being to thicken it up so the waves hold their shape better. As I applied that, I also installed the pier. The medium is just as much a glue as it is a water effect, and because there are so many piles, it’s not going anywhere. I smoothed out the ripples under the pier since that would normally be shielded from the wind slightly. There is a spot where I put just a tad too much medium, but it seems to be going clear over time. If it doesn’t go away, I’ll cover it up with floating debris or something. At any rate it’ll be behind the steam schooner…yes, the scratch built steam schooner, just you wait.

I couldn’t wait any longer! I had to start on the pier in Reedsport. The rationalization of the decision to start now is...
12/12/2024

I couldn’t wait any longer! I had to start on the pier in Reedsport. The rationalization of the decision to start now is because I can’t install two turnouts until the pier is completely installed.
So, as a result I began by looking at photos and getting an idea of what I’m going for. Then I drew it up in CAD, laser cut some parts, printed others, and put everything together. Which sounds easy, partly because it was. But the shear amount of piles and cross members made it a lengthy process. It’s still not finished in the slightest, but enough to where I can test fit it 500 times before I’m happy with it.

In hindsight, there are a couple obvious ways I could have made this easier on myself but I kind of had made my bed at that point. Like installing the piles then building the pier on top of that like a normal person. The hardest part now will be painting the water and the hiding gaps where it meets the land. We’ll get there though.

I did however make several jigs to speed things up and keep things consistent.

Today, I started to shape the foam around the pier and skim coated the plywood that will later be sanded smooth for the water. Which I now have to refresh my memory on how to do right!
YouTube here I come.

12/02/2024

We now have an Instagram page for the layout! I’ll be posting there between the main posts on Facebook. You can expect to see more granular and frequent updates on there.
Consider following

More turnouts! Usually can get two done a day at a reasonable pace. I like to take my time on the points to make sure ev...
12/02/2024

More turnouts! Usually can get two done a day at a reasonable pace. I like to take my time on the points to make sure everything is in gauge and sharp.
Only four more turnouts to go. The last two are going to be quite interesting.

Finally time to start making turnouts. I tried to do something different and 3D print all the ties with the plates, spik...
12/01/2024

Finally time to start making turnouts. I tried to do something different and 3D print all the ties with the plates, spikes, and all that. And while I probably could have made it work, I decided to go with what I know and laser cut the ties instead. I did however spruce things up with printed tie rods, gauge plates, and guard rail clamps. I might add tie plates later but in HO scale, the necessity is debatable. Personally, I think the gauge plates distract you from the lack of tie plates. Let me know if you agree on that…

Foam is all cut and fitted. Not going to glue it in just yet as it’s going to be a lot easier to install the switch moto...
10/22/2024

Foam is all cut and fitted. Not going to glue it in just yet as it’s going to be a lot easier to install the switch motors now than later when ducking under would be the only option. Seriously itching to get the turnouts installed, but I have to make them. More on that later.

Nearly all the roadbed is glued in place. I opted to use the foam stuff over cork mostly because I have a bunch of it la...
10/14/2024

Nearly all the roadbed is glued in place. I opted to use the foam stuff over cork mostly because I have a bunch of it laying around but it's good stuff. I also took the opportunity to fair some of the curves with a cedar strip. It broke up the consistent curvature that I had previously designed while still landing on the sub roadbed. Poor man's spiral curve if you will!

Sub roadbed is cut out and looking snazzy. I also installed all the crossmembers and risers. Everything is screwed toget...
08/29/2024

Sub roadbed is cut out and looking snazzy. I also installed all the crossmembers and risers. Everything is screwed together, just in case I have to take it apart for whatever the reason.
Getting closer to putting down track!

And so it begins, benchwork, three sections of 68” long modules so they can fit through the door. Fairly straightforward...
08/26/2024

And so it begins, benchwork, three sections of 68” long modules so they can fit through the door. Fairly straightforward build. 1x4 pine for the rails and ends, carriage bolts to join them up, then screwed into the wall in a couple places to keep it from flying off the brackets.

Okay, maybe bench work wasn’t the next step!Being a shelf layout, we’re going to need some brackets to hold up the actua...
08/23/2024

Okay, maybe bench work wasn’t the next step!

Being a shelf layout, we’re going to need some brackets to hold up the actual bench work. And since I can’t make anything easy, I welded up my own brackets for the layout.
Despite not having gussets in the inside corners, they’re plenty strong enough for the job at hand.

I painted them up and installed them the following morning.

Next step is bench work, for real this time I promise.

Here’s a quick look at the first bit of motive power for the URR&N. No.45 started out as a T&NO 2-6-0 and was modified s...
08/21/2024

Here’s a quick look at the first bit of motive power for the URR&N. No.45 started out as a T&NO 2-6-0 and was modified slightly for a unique appearance. Detailed like the headlight, handrails going down to the pilot, and bell have been added or otherwise changed to make it look a little bit different from anything else.

Later on, I’ll do some posts showing 45 start to finish.

Every great model railroad starts with a plan. Here's an illustrated render of the track plan for the layout with all th...
08/21/2024

Every great model railroad starts with a plan. Here's an illustrated render of the track plan for the layout with all the structure footprints. Having most of the ground work figured out before even building benchwork keeps you from painting yourself into a corner.

The URR&N is a modest railroad in every way. The layout reflects that quite well being only 17 feet long, it's just a sliver of the mainline. Even tiny railroads require compression and this is certainly no exception.

Next step, benchwork!

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Lake Stevens, WA

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