New Caboose

We just got a new caboose for the family's iron horse. After spending a great weekend car camping in a fantastic camp site, we decided it was time to upgrade from sleeping on the tent floor. I'm looking forward to some great weekend trips and maybe some longer trips too.

SoCal Railfan has GPS coordinates for most of the railfan areas around Southern Calfornia, so with a little coordination with SoCal Camping, I may find that perfect spot. Somehow I don't think my wife will be interested in camping next to the tracks, so I'll save those trips for the boys.

The Grand Experiment

Last night I worked until three in the morning, so I skipped the office today. After waking up with the sun, I decided to play trains for a while.

Those things that look like cookies gone bad, are actually test blobs of the static grass. I put a handful of dirt in the bottom of a paper cup, made a depression in the center, and then poured in some plaster. Once it dried, I painted the plaster blobs Trail Tan and then tried different ratios of the Woodland Scenics static grass. I ended up liking the Honey Gold sprayed on and then mottling some Burned Grass over the top of it. Solid colors just looked like I took a giant hole-punch to a deer pelt.

I painted the concrete abutments, and then the canyon and other areas of the module. I'm pretty sure I will be repainting the canyon because it looks too Arizona Highways and not enough like the local scenery. Once that gets done, I will be adding lots of shrubs and some grazing cattle, barbed wire fence, creekside clutter and the usual trackside details. These elements will go a long way in making the grass look like something other than the back dash on a Caprice.

Design Improvement

For those of you making your own "little-flocker" you might want to change the output pipe to this new design. With sustained use, the gap between the two barbed adapters collects flock and eventually makes a clog. This new design eliminates that problem. Just go to the electrical department of your local hardware store and get a 3" steel nipple (Westinghouse 70603) and a set of locknuts and washers (Westinghouse 70628). Use the rubber washers from the previous assembly to keep things airtight.