The Waterfront District, "a wave of change"

Things are moving along on the creation of the waterfront district. {My wife thought this was a cute photo op. of me painting the lighthouse} The track has been laid in the engine yard, it still needs to be wired, but that's not to difficult. The turn table is another story. It definitely won't be rotating automatically & I need to figure out how to wire it so it doesn't cause short circuits. As an afterthought, the turn table looks neat but is a big pain in the butt. I've been working on the light house for the entrance to the harbor. This has proved to be very time consuming, but the results look good. It's the Branch Line Trains Light House kit. There are a lot of small, fragile wood parts & while putting it together I marvel at the thought process that must have gone into it to make it so architecturally accurate looking. The rocks for the landing are pink foam board, torn & cut, secured with ground goop (Awesome stuff) then painted & highlighted.

The bottom of the bay is a ceiling tile. I sealed all around the edges w/ foam adhesive & "Paved" over the top w/ drywall patching plaster. Once it's dried I'll sand it & paint it & apply some "Magic water" stuff that I've had for about 5 years now. I bought it at trainfest but haven't gotten around to using it. It was too good a deal to pass up at the time. Stay tuned, there'll be more water front building's to come. I've put some more photos of the progress in the Building the waterfront district photo album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jgotts1/CreatingTheWaterfrontDistrict?feat=directlink

To the inquiring minds that want to know, yes the lighthouse will function (light-up). Whenever I get around to buying the kit for it.

What's in a name?

I've pondered for quite some time over what to call my Railroad. It's not a prototype, it's not geographically based. The scenery is a mix of all the things I like, urban scenery, mountains, canyons, country side. There is logging, coal mining, ore mining, produce shipping, passenger service. I have settled on an era, mid 1940's to 1950's. The engines have character, as do the boxcars, the vehicles & buildings, advertising signs, & overall feel, make for a very comfortable time to model. Men wore ties & suits, women wore dresses. There was a moral compass that helped to shape things & a clear understanding of things. It's like looking at a old farmers face that has been wind burned, tired, yet strong & full of character. He doesn't need to speak a word because the story is on his face.
I've also chosen to stick w/ Santa Fe based engines, partly because I've lived in Santa Fe & really enjoyed it, I also because I love the coloring & logos. I haven't named the any of the 5 cities along the route. Those I guess also help to name the line. One name that I am going to give to the logging town is Eurydice (Pronounced "Your-Rid-A-Shay"), it's my wifes name. As for the rest, I'm open to suggestions.