Project Moon Ship

Over the last few weeks I've been working on Lindberg's 1/96 scale U.S. Moon Ship when the EVRR track work wasn't appealing. It's been sitting on my shelf for awhile so I thought I'd finally work on it now-and-then over the summer. Last weekend I took the fuselage part out to the backyard to spray it flat white. It was a little tricky to assemble the centre section with those stacked spheres, but when the filler and dust settled, it wasn't too bad.

Here it is on the bench just before painting. I painted the sphere's insides with flat black to make the thing more opaque. Over on the left are the parts for Gromit's airplane by Airfix. I've also wanted to built that for a long time - now's the time!

PZ's EVRR

These are some photos of Paul Zimmerman's beautiful N-scale take on E. L. Moore's Elizabeth Valley Railroad. I understand it's about 2.5' x 3' in size, and was built in the 1990s over a 4 week period.

This is a view looking down the main incoming road towards the Elizabethton depot.

I like this view through the bridges. Nice track work too.

Looks like Ma's got her wash out on the line. Love the Jack-o-Lantern on the porch.

Maybe she's feeding the horses. Excellent work on this layout and I'm glad Paul generously shared these photos with me.

Track in the Valley

If you're hoping to learn a few things about laying track, wiring or some other model railroading construction technique, you've come to the wrong place. This isn't about model railroading. There's no discussion about prototypes, operation, signalling or anything model railroading. There are others who are more experienced and knowledgeable in all the model railroading skills than me. It's best to learn from them and bypass this place.

Don't listen to him. Of course this is a model train layout that's being built, just don't take everything you see being done here as gospel. A couple of years ago I made a start on the EVRR by gluing a cork base to the panel with the lake and river cut out. I had a rare blast of foresight at the time and kept the cut-outs. Well, I dug them out of the storage and glued them back in.

Why, because E. L. Moore's Elizabeth Valley Railroad isn't a model railroad. Ok, well, it was in the 1950s, but it isn't today. Loops and loops and loops. Short tunnels through mountains. Bridges over this, bridges over that. No industries to service. Little possibility for realistic operations. That's not a model railroad. 

I had to get rid of those old, wrong layout lines, so I painted the cork with Zinsser white primer. I painted a little corner of the cork first to see if the paint attacked it, then after sitting a few days, all seemed stable, so I painted the entire panel. 

What it is is the physical embodiment of Mr. Moore's ideal world: the rural world of 1890s and 1900s America, complete with his love of trains and railroad stuff. It's his world. A small portion of his mind and soul made real. That's the prototype. Is that worth replicating today?

I used a sheet of graphite paper to transfer the track plan to the primed cork. It's the grey sheet and it cost $1.79 at a local art supply store.

I think so.

I taped the plan to the panel and slipped the graphite sheet between them - graphite side facing the cork of course. Use a pen - I used a capped Sharpie - and trace the plan. Use firm pressure, but don't press too hard or the papers will tear.

When you're done you'll see some faint lines. At this stage I only drew in the valley's track.

I used the Sharpie to darken all the lines.

Then the outline of the water features were drawn in using the same process.

I cut out the lake and rivers with a chisel and X-acto knife.

It sort of looks like the digestive tract of some strange animal who I think needs to see a gastroenterologist pretty soon.

Ok, let's get down to the business of track laying. All the pieces were laid with more-or-less the same procedure, so this example is typical. I started in the centre, positioned two neighbouring switches with pins, and then bent and cut a piece of flex track to join the switches. I used a Xuron track cutter and it works great.

Before final installation some of the flex track ties were drilled out to accept pins. The switches come with two holes already drilled and I just added one more in the tie at the switch's entrance. Then transfer tape was rolled out on the cork where the track goes. Ok. It's now time for the part where I didn't have a third hand to take pictures. Press the switches and flex track onto the panel into the tape and then insert pins into the tie holes. Maybe the pins are overkill. I don't know for sure if they're needed because the tape seems to hold things quite well, but I wanted that extra assurance a mechanical connection provides.

The pins have a little ball on the end, so you need to cut that off with a pair of side-cutters. Don't use your Xuron track cutters! The blade will be damaged and you'll no longer get good, clean track cuts. A couple of years ago I ruined a pair when I was lazy and used them to make a 'quick snip' on some wire. It was an expensive snip.

There'll be 2 or 3 mm of pin stub sticking above the tie. Use a nail set to press the pin into the panel. 

I wasn't always able to get the track to lie exactly on the lines because I tried to make sure the rail joints from one piece to the next - especially at a joint with a switch - were as smooth and kink-free as possible. So there was a bit of fiddling and fitting and adjusting needed to make that happen. I didn't always succeed 100%, but the joints are fairly smooth and trains seem to run ok.

I used Peco code 80 flex track. I found it wasn't as flexible as Atlas, and I suspect the way I'm using it in this project amounts to contorting it way beyond what's considered normal by the manufacturer. For awhile I thought I'd use Peco ST-5 and ST-6 Set Track switches with Atlas flex. Problem was, the ties are thinner on the Atlas flex, and I'd have to shim them to have an nice even surface when connected to the Peco switches. That cinched it: those Peco switches and Peco flex.

While I was pushing a rail end on that long piece in the previous photo, trying to get a nice tight joint between two rails, I punctured my thumb with the rail. I have a desk job and my fingers don't have the calluses of honest work, so twisting and pushing rail constitutes hard labour. While I get some Bactine and bandaids, I'll leave you with one of my favourite singers.

Ok, well, now that I'm back, let's keep on trackin'.

I twisted the piece too much and the rails popped out from the molded-in spikes. I couldn't re-seat the rails and had to start over with a new piece. This happened a couple of times during this project. I had to learn the hard way to be more gentle with the flex.

On the second try, everything worked out ok. Well, only ok, not perfect. I had to make some off-plan adjustments to get smooth transitions from one switch to the other. That's a tight curve over on the right, but trains roll over it without issue, so I'm ok with it.

Over on the other end of the layout, the return loops are at a slightly higher level than the track looping the lake. The terrain elevations were cut from foam sheet. That one up there in the photo is 4mm thick. I bought some foam sheets from the hobby store for these, but I think meat tray foam would work ok too since it has the same density as the store-bought stuff. 

It's hammer time! White glue was used to attach the foam to the cork base. While drying I broke out the hammers and used them to weigh down the foam.

After the glue dried, grades were sanded into the foam to get nice smooth elevation changes. I used a sanding block.

Installing the other foam pieces followed the same procedure. The inner loop foam is 2mm thick. On E. L. Moore's layout I think both the inner and outer loops were the same height, but I can't tell for certain from the photos. I think it looks a little better with the loops at slightly different levels.

Almost done. You can more-or-less see all the tools used. If you want to make a shopping list: Xuron rail cutters, side-cutting pliers, regular pliers, X-acto knife, nailset, small chisel, pin-vise and small drill same diameter as pins, file for cleaning up cut rail ends, sanding block, transfer tape, pins, white glue and a Sharpie pen. I think that covers it.

Tada! 

I had a bit of luck and found some old-style, 35' wooden boxcar models on sale at the local hobby shop's resale table. I don't have the coaches finished yet, so they were unavailable for track testing. I shot a little video during testing of some blocks.

One thing I found was that cars need to be older prototypes - 35 footers or so - and their couplers need to be truck mounted. 40 foot boxcars seemed to handle the curves ok as long as couplers were truck mounted, but I haven't done much testing with longer cars. The problem with body-mounted couplers was that the wheels jammed into the coupler box on the tighter curves.

One last thing. As I built my way through the valley I got a sense that this layout is more sophisticated than I had realized. It’s electrically blocked so you can run a couple of trains, maybe three. There’re places for them to go. Not a lot, but some.  There’re many places to build small scenes to detail to your heart’s content. There aren’t too many places for buildings, but it’s easy to change the scenes with alternatives you might have around to try out different looks. That all seems important.  I want this little layout to be close to E. L. Moore’s original, but I also want to be able to have enough flexibility to support some other scenes and configurations. It shouldn’t be a dead, static thing, but something that can still be the stage for new ideas. That’s my recommendation if you decide to build some sort of tribute layout based on an old plan: don’t think of it as dead and sealed in amber, but as something to riff on as well as honouring a great, past idea

Making a start on the EVRR

Once a blogger, always a blogger I guess. I've made a start on the N-scale Elizabeth Valley RR. Hopefully in a few weeks I can post a more detailed account, but I was a little surprised that the construction so far has been fun. All the track is Peco.

E. L. Moore's Layouts & Dioramas

[Night time on the Elizabeth Valley Railroad - E. L. Moore photo]

Again this fall I decided maybe I’d get rid of that 4x6 Elizabeth Valley. I turn on the lights, pull back the dusty plastic cover, then for no good reason at all clean up the tracks and give her a try. Once a year, I do this. Nostalgia gets me, and I decide not to bother to sell it. But out in another room I’ve got a railroad yard about the same size which served as a basis for an article and photographs Linn accepted last spring -- and I don’t need two railroads, neither of them operating in the strict sense, because I’m not much interested in operations. I merely like to build and photograph the results, then I’m through, except maybe to write an article about it.

[An excerpt from a long letter E. L. Moore wrote to Andy Anderson, an editor with Model Railroader, in December 1965. The "railroad yard" is his 1900 Shortline Terminal Yard that appeared in the January 1967 issue of Model Railroader] 

Blogging retirement sucks. I thought it would cure what ails me, but no dice. 

For the last two years or so I’ve been on a roll; there were lots of interesting things to write, and I got into the groove of posting something every few days. Things started to wind down, but my mind was stuck on posting, posting, posting. Obsessive personality. It caused me some stress. Other things needed my attention and here I was stuck thinking I had to post at the old rate no matter what. I figure the thing to do is just get back to posting now and then about what grabs me, and if things pickup, then I’ll reassess.  

But, I had lots of interesting discussions while I was contemplating the rocking chair. One thing I realized was that I hadn’t taken any time to try and summarize what I’ve learned on the E. L. Moore trail. I had focused on the pieces, but hadn’t done much on stitching the story together. I’d done it in my mind, but hadn’t tried to write it down. This post will hopefully be the first of a series where I try and write the big story.

Look, I’ll tell you up front that there are still lots of unknowns in this story. On the one hand, it seems like a lot has been found, but that stuff often just serves to remind me that I’ve only scratched the surface on E. L. Moore’s life story. So, as we go along I’ll make some speculations based on what I've learned. They’re my best guesses based on what factoids I've found, but they could change as new information comes to light. My speculations will be noted with (?). Just bear this in mind as we get going. Also, if you've been following the E. L. Moore series you'll see there isn't any new information here, just pulling the pieces together.

I’ll start with summarizing what's known about the layouts and layout-like things E. L. Moore built. Here's a list of what I think are his layouts, and things that seem like layouts:

The Roland Emmett Tribute Diorama

The Eagleroost & Koontree Railroad

The Elizabeth Valley Railroad

The 1900 Backwoods Engine Facility

The Enskale & Hoentee Railroad

I should note that in an interview with E. L. Moore that appeared in the September 1975 issue of Model Railroader, Gordon Odegard noted that E. L. Moore's very first layout, predating the Elizabeth Valley RR, was a 4'x6' Lionel O27 based setup. I haven't seen any photos of that layout, nor have I seen it mentioned elsewhere, so as a mystery, it's quite mysterious and could add another wrinkle to the material in this post.

The Rowland Emmett Tribute Diorama

A vertically oriented HO scale diorama featuring trains, trams, buildings and scenes made famous by a number of Roland Emmett cartoons.

You can see a large picture of the diorama here, and all the Rowland Emmett related E. L. Moore posts are tagged with Rowland Emmett.

Built: Early to mid 1950s (?)

Size: 2’ x 3’, maybe 2' x 4' maximum (?)

First print appearance: with the Spumoni family in Merrie Old England, January 1956, Railroad Model Craftsman.

Fate: Unknown.

The Eagleroost & Koontree Railroad

A collection of temporary scenes featuring a fictitious narrow gauge mountain railroad - modelled in HOn2-1/2 - in an unspecified US location, situated sometime in the late 1890s or early 1900’s. Some of the scenes were staged on The Elizabeth Valley Railroad, but the EKRR wasn't a permanent part of the EVRR.

All posts about the Eagleroost & Koontree Railroad are tagged with EKRR.

Built: ongoing from mid 1950s to mid 1960s (?)

Size: Each scene likely no bigger than 2’x2’ or 3’x3’ (?)

First print appearance: Fall 1957, Model Trains

Fate: All scenes were temporary dioramas that were taken apart sometime after being photographed.

The Elizabeth Valley Railroad

A 4’ x 6’ HO scale layout based in a mountainous region surrounding a valley with lakes.  Set in an unspecified US location sometime in the late 1890s or early 1900’s. No industries; survives mainly on tourism and maybe some logging. The layout was named for his young daughter. 

My first post on this layout can be found here. In that one the track plan was still unknown and I tried to figure it out from photographs. The plan came to light just this year when a generous reader forwarded me a photo of a postcard with the track plan on it that E. L. Moore had mailed him in the early 1960s. That unlocked a lot of activity on revising the track plan and preparing to build an N-scale version.

You can find all the Elizabeth Valley Railroad posts tagged with EVRR.

Built: 1954 to mid-1950s (?)

Size: 4’ x 6’

First print appearance: Elizabeth Valley RR, March 1955, Railroad Model Craftsman

Fate: Unknown. It was originally built at his Pine St. apartment (mid-1950s) and then moved to his Oakland Ave. apartment (late-1950s or early 1960s). It may have been sold or discarded in '68 or '69 when he re-married (?) 

The 1900s Shortline Terminal Yard

An extensive diorama of a US shortline terminal yard situated sometime around 1900. It wasn't an extension of his Elizabeth Valley layout, but it was stylistically similar. In September 2015 I saw all the buildings that made up this display. I consider this to be E. L. Moore's masterwork, and if you only read one article by him, I'd recommend the one about this display that appeared in the January '67 issue of Model Railroader. 

Built: Winter '64/'65 to Spring 1965 (?), submitted stories to Model Railroader in May 1965.

Size: 4' x 6’ maximum (?)

First print appearance: Turn backward, O Time, January 1967, Model Railroader

Fate: Like the Elizabeth Valley RR, it too may have been sold or discarded in '68 or '69 when he re-married (?). As of September 2015, all the structures appearing on the diorama were owned by two North Carolina collectors. 

The Enskale & Hoentee Railroad

A 30” x 30” layout situated in a mountainous region surrounding a lake. Set in an unspecified US location sometime in the late 1890s or early 1900’s. Combines 3 scales: N, TT and HOn2-1/2. It's a tourist line; no industries. It was built primarily as a project layout for Railroad Model Craftsman. When Model Railroader's editorial staff got wind that Mr. Moore was building this layout, they offered him a deal to write a book that would be similar to their HO Primer, but for N scale. Given Kalmbach's publishing clout, and E. L. Moore's stature in the model railroading world, that book might have made E. L. Moore one of the founding writers in N scale layout building. 

All posts about the Enskale & Hoentee Railroad are tagged with EHRR.

Built: Winter 1967/68 to Spring 1968(?). Story submitted to Railroad Model Craftsman on 28 April 1968.

Size: 30" x 30"

First print appearance: Enskale & Hoentee Parts 1 to 3, Oct, Nov, Dec 1968, Railroad Model Craftsman

Fate: Unknown. Soon after construction it was loaned to the North Hills Hobby Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1980 it was sold to a North Carolina model train collector (?).

Two things are clear: E. L. Moore loved the mountains, and the late 19th and early 20th century era. He was born in 1898, so that time corresponds with his boyhood. Many model railroaders, myself included, set their layouts in the time around youth, so maybe that's not too surprising. As for the mountains, he may have tramped through the Great Smokey Mountains in the 1930s (?), and he was a self-described 'vagabond' during that time. 

His layouts don't depict any particular prototype, but are collections of things he loved - his ideal world. His layouts steered clear of depicting or servicing industries, which is interesting since many of his articles dealt with building a variety of industrial facilities.

[An overview photo of E. L. Moore's Water Wheel Mill diorama.]

Strictly speaking, Mr. Moore only built one personal layout, The Elizabeth Valley RR, but there were many dioramas. It's a bit difficult to know where to draw the line on what to include in this post. There were other significant dioramas like the Water Wheel Mill, the Wild West Show, the hinted at zoo, the HOJ POJ Manufacturing Co., the Canal Boats, golden spike laying at Promontory Point, and numerous elaborate setups for illustrating construction articles. And at times he used the Elizabeth Valley layout to stage and photograph other scenes. I chose the dioramas I did as they were major projects and seem to encapsulate his enduring interests.

[Updated on 25 June 2017]