James River Branch: News Archive

Website News Archive: February 2009

28 February 2009

Finally got around to revising the plan to reflect the latest changes to Naughtright. Also did a teensy bit of scenery work on the spot where the former Crooked Creek—now merely a storm drain—meets the James River: I've added a concrete culvert and filled in around it with stone (seen here right after applying the glue). Not a spectacular accomplishment to be sure, but it will allow me to move forward with ballasting the track.

21 February 2009

Inspired by the International Day of Z, I decided to get creative with my camera. You can see the results in the Gallery. There's also another more dramatic shot here.

16 February 2009

Having received my order for a set of MakeMyModel mobile homes, I was saddened to discover that they were significantly larger than expected—larger, in fact, than some of the houses planned for Second Street. And so it was with some regret that #4A was removed from the address list. In its place I've started plans for a storage shed and other classic backyard details (swing set? garden?) to make up for the loss. But then something quite unexpected happened...

You know that old song goes... Ch-ch-ch-changes! Well, today marks yet another Great Upheaval of poor old (and appropriately named) Naughtright. In a classic chain reaction, it started when I was editing the Second Street page, and unintentionally opened the page for the Canal Street crossing flasher. As I glanced at the images on that page, it occurred to me that there was nothing that prevented me from moving the crossing shanty foundation a fraction of an inch away from the tracks to make a little more room for the flasher. I was looking for a tiny little project to try and get my modeling juices flowing again, and I thought this might do the trick, so out came the X-Acto and my reading glasses.

To avoid possibly damaging anything nearby (after having suffered a disaster with the passenger station—which has yet to be completely repaired), I moved the diner over by the gas station. To make more room for the diner, I moved the gas station back into the empty space where the fire house was to go. At that instant I stopped dead in my tracks, because I loved how the two structures looked where I'd moved them, particularly how I could see the interior of the diner much more clearly, while still having a good view of the gas station.

But it didn't stop there. Suddenly there was a flurry of things shifting all over the place. At one point I picked up the Franklin Five and Dime building, which has quite a (not altogether pleasant) history, and my heart skipped a beat. Because the next thing I did was drop the displaced firehouse in its place, and then put the very last remaining full building front I have left from the Franklin project next to it. And to my surprise—and even some alarm—I liked what I saw just a little more than the old Franklin building, in spite of all of the blood, sweat, tears and dollars spent on the freaking thing.

As a byproduct of all this shuffling, I now have an empty space across from the station where the diner used to sit. What to do with this newly acquired real estate? I could restore what was originally planned for that spot—a cemetery. I've also thought about a convenience store (probably too modern), a fuel oil depot (a good possibility), a house or two (I've sure got plenty to spare, but the location seems awkward for houses), or just an empty lot (seems like a waste, but a demolished foundation might be interesting). But with my mind racing nearly out of control, I decided it would probably be best to leave it for another day to decide; I feared that a sudden revelation might inflict still more change on poor old Naughtright.

At any rate, given all of the above upheavals, I've fired off a new layout overview shot. And much of the rest of my afternoon will be spent revising the plan, as well as the Franklin Five and Dime page...

11 February 2009

I've been honing my skills with Helicon Focus, and as a result of some practice, there's a new image in the Gallery. Also... look for a huge surprise coming in a week or two. (Happy birthday, Mom!)