Entering the Home Strecth at Gallitzin

 

 

 

 

I'm continuing to make major progress at Gallitzin. The earthworks inside the westbound tracks is completed. All that remains is a small area of turfing, rock staining and planting some trees.  One major project I'd been dragging my feet on was the utility poles and power lines. For the low voltage poles, I used some Model Power poles, which I painted Floquil "Roof Brown" and then removed two of the three cross arms. 

As for the high voltage poles, these required a bit of head scratching. High voltage pylons are available in N Scale but they are quite costly. In search of a cheaper solution, I decided to take a peak over the wall and see if HO had anything I could use. I got lucky and found some HO telephone poles that would make perfect HV pylons in N Scale. Wire for the poles is black sewing thread. To secure the line, I wrap it around the pole's arm and then brush i with a bit of acetone, which melts the plastic and provides an instant bond.

With the interior largely done, I started on the area between the east and westbound tracks. This included taking the block of foam that holds Gallitzin's business district and fixing it to stanchions. All building lights were installed and attached to a single pair of leads that needed to be routed through the table top. With the foam in place, I used plaster-soaked paper towels to blend it into the existing scenery. 

The next project was the overpass to carry Main Street over the westbound tracks. This is simply a Rix Early Highway Overpass kit on some Chooch Enterprises abutments.