#115 November Status Report

November 16, 2016

This month’s article covers the most recent project completed by the Miami Valley Garden Railroad Society’s EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) volunteers: the upgrade of the Rexall Drugstore in the Middle Period city.  The drugstore is located at the left corner of the same building which houses the Elwood Grill in the right corner.  You can find […]

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#114 October Status Report

October 14, 2016

A train layout as large as the one at EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) needs a lot of figures of people to provide some “life” and realism.  There are a number of ways to provide them, some easier than others.  This month, we’ll follow the process and the logic applied to one example and show how it […]

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#113 September Status Report

September 2, 2016

One of the challenges that comes with upgrading a building on the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout with a lighted interior is the need for the exterior features to also be a consistent part of the upgrade.  That means having lighted signs identifying the businesses whose lighted interiors are modeled.  This month we’ll look at the […]

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#112 August Status Report

August 2, 2016

This month we’ll look again at new additions to the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout.  As usual, the order in which the items are presented is in the order visitors would see them as they progress along the layout’s aisle. At the far end of the town of Riverbend, just across the aisle from the children’s […]

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#111 July Status Report

July 2, 2016

This month’s article finishes the entire tale of the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout’s Fox Theater upgrade. This time we’ll look at the interiors that were added to the street-level front half of the building and the signs that go with the businesses there. Only the front half of the building was upgraded, because the rear […]

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#110 June Status Report

June 3, 2016

This month’s article finishes the tale of lighting the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout’s Fox Theater marquee and sign.  Figure 1 shows how it looked in “daylight” lighting before its upgrade. Figure 1 The Unmodified Fox Theater Sign and Marquee (14 Dec 2015) To avoid leaving a “void” where the original sign and marquee had been […]

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#109 May Status Report

May 4, 2016

This month’s article describes the second part of a project recently completed on the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout—lighting the marquee on the Middle City’s Fox Theater (Figure 1).  As mentioned last time, this EJ building was modeled roughly after the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan.  (See https://buildingphotos.com/venues/fox-detroit.php if you’re interested.) The key to the planned upgrade […]

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#108 April Status Report

April 4, 2016

This month we’ll look at a project still in work at the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout—lighting the theater sign and marquee on the Middle City’s Fox Theater.  The EJ building was modeled roughly after the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan. (See https://buildingphotos.com/venues/fox-detroit.php if you’re interested.) When the MVGRS EJ volunteers upgraded the interior lighting of […]

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#107 March Status Report

March 4, 2016

This month’s article shows some recent changes to the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout.  As usual, the order is as you would see them as you walk the aisle through the layout. The first change, took a lesson from European landmarks, which during restoration had a full-size picture of what was being worked on hung on […]

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#106 February Status Report

February 8, 2016

This month’s article is about making multiple matching items and how to use fixtures to help to consistently replicate each item.  The interior of the tavern to be located in the Fox Theater Building in EnterTRAINment Junction’s Middle Period city needed bar stools, and it was determined that about twenty-four stools would be the right […]

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#105 January Status Report

January 2, 2016

This month’s article shows you some new additions to the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout. The order is as you would encounter them as you walk the aisle through the layout. In the area of the Middle Period Engine Servicing Facility across the tracks from the train station is a newly added gas station and liquid […]

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#104 December Status Report

December 2, 2015

Christmas is coming, and the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) team has again set up the Christmas layout in the EJ display area. This is available to visitors free of admission charge. The layout has three loops of track on three different levels, a canyon that runs across it from one side to the other with a […]

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#103 November Status Report

November 21, 2015

This month’s article about the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout’s Elwood Grill upgrade finishes the series on that subject. You’ll be able to see what the interior looks like installed in its Middle Period City building. For orientation, the Grill’s building is shown in Figure 1, with the Grill in its lower right corner, just to […]

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#102 October Status Report

October 12, 2015

The Big Train Project Status Report (Part 102) This month’s article about the work of modeling the interior of the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout’s Elwood Grill is about putting all the details together into modules that can be easily installed, fully assembled and outfitted with the necessary details, into its Middle City building. As the […]

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#101 September Status Report

September 18, 2015

The Big Train Project Status Report (Part 101) This month’s article about the work of modeling the interior of the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout’s Elwood Grill is about people. The diner needs both staff and customers to bring it to life. Since the cooking area is at the back wall of the dining area, the […]

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#100 August Status Report

August 5, 2015

The Big Train Project Status Report (Part 100) The work of modeling the interior of the EnterTRAINment Junction layout’s Elwood Grill has included paying attention the many accessories that could be found in a late 1940’s diner.  In this article we’ll explore not only the models of some of these details, but also indicate how […]

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#99 July Status Report

July 8, 2015

The Big Train Project Status Report (Part 99) The next project which will be the subject of several of the upcoming reports is the installation of a visible interior in Elwood Grill located in the EnterTRAINment Junction layout’s the Middle City.  This diner is located in one corner of an industrial building (see arrow in […]

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#98 June Status Report

June 10, 2015

The Big Train Project Status Report (Part 98) This is the final report in a four-part series of articles describing the work the EJ volunteers are doing to provide an interior for first floor of the Middle City’s Grand Hotel.  The previous articles dealt with the furniture, people, restaurant tableware, and the interior’s structural surroundings.  […]

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#97 May Status Report

May 4, 2015

The Big Train Project Status Report (Part 97) This is the third in a series of articles describing the work the EJ volunteers are doing to prepare for the installation of an interior for first floor of the Middle City’s Grand Hotel.  The previous articles dealt with the furniture, people, and restaurant tableware.  This article […]

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#96 April Status Report

April 6, 2015

April 06, 2015 This is the second in a series of articles describing the work the EJ volunteers are doing to prepare for the installation of an interior for first floor of the Middle City’s Grand Hotel.  This interior will include a lobby, a main staircase, and a restaurant.  Last month’s article addressed the furniture […]

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