Recent N Scale Weathered Cars from Griff's Grime Shop

I started Griff's Grime Shop back in 2003 combining my two favorite hobbies - art and model trains - to fund my model railroading hobby.  Since 2003 it has grown incredibly and I have been blessed to meet a lot of great people inside this hobby.  To date, the Grime Shop has sold cars to every continent except Africa and Antarctica - pretty amazing! 

Inside the Grime Shop, I bring model trains to life by "weathering" them.  Mother nature does a great job of ruining anything that is subjected to her wrath (rain, snow/ice, wind, sun, heat, cold, etc.).  The same thing happens to trains.  They are especially nasty these days.  Between the constant use and abuse and the fact that Class I companies have little time to repair cars or do any regular maintenance on them, modern day freight trains are a sight to see.  Trust me - I never waste an opportunity to stop and view the real deal - just ask my wife!

Instead of having plastic models (toy trains), my weathering techniques bring these seemingly toy-like items to life.  As mentioned, real freight train are not a pretty sight.  The layers of road grime, years of rust, tags and graffiti from vandals, and sun-bleached faded paint give freight trains some great character (in my opinion).  I employ a myriad of techniques by hand to achieve these same effects on both my own trains and on trains that I sell/auction on eBay.  Additionally, people send me their own trains and I weather them (custom work). 
Here are some recent weathered trains to have rolled across my bench for a weathering.  Others were done while I was deployed in Iraq in 2008-2009.  All of these cars have been recently sold to other railroaders and are being enjoyed on their layouts across the world.



GP Mill - June 2011

Since my job right now is to go to school full-time and earn my Masters Degree - most of my time is spent studying or spending time with my family; Dad and husband duties always come first.  Here and there I do get some time to dabble with trains, which usually means I am working next to layout at the Grime Shop weathering cars for auction or doing custom work for customers around the world.  More and more though, I am turning to the layout and working on some projects.  I am sure this winter will give me plenty of indoor time to work on here.  I really feel the layout is now getting closer and closer to being finished (we all know that will never really happen - but it sure is looking better and better).

Here are some shots from this past summer (June 2011):

I added some more details like signage and some great BLMA details like a work shed, port-a-john and some jersey barriers to my woodchip area:

The vegetation really made the complex track plan come to life.  It kind of gave sense to the track plan....  It provides some great blinds for operation and makes for great backgrounds when I photograph Grime Shop custom weathered cars on the layout.  You can also see another great BLMA detail - the electrical switch shed - love their stuff!!

I also worked on the conveyor and buildings.  I painted, weathered and installed the conveyor.  I also kitbashed another kraft mill that I purchased assembled off of eBay and added it to the main superstructure of the woodchip processing tower.  In the distance, you can see I painted and weathered the two paper mill tanks that come with the original Walther's Cornerstone Paper Mill kit.  On top of those two tanks, I custom built some superstructure; I got the idea from my photos of the Leaf River Plant in Mississippi.  I also began adding some piping.  You will see in subsequent photos....these tanks will move to another part of the layout to accommodate other newly installed mill items.

The right side of the layout (if facing the front) always seemed plain to me.  I tossed around the idea of a woodchip pile, more yard tracks, etc.  When I changed the original chemical delivery area to the woodchip reception area, I lost a place to delivery kaolin, chlorine, etc. to the mill.  Plus, when I eventually install a background/backdrop on this module - I needed something to block the potential eye sore created by a backdrop coming to a 90 degree angle with a layout - especially on a 2' x 7' module.

To remedy these issues, I decided to scratchbuild and kit bash another wing to this plan that would block void background, wrap and balance the entire plant, and to give me some more fun places to switch cars in and out from.  These are some initial shots from last June.  Recently, I installed these painted and weathered buildings and have begun detailing them; I will include photos soon.

I also moved that pesky long skinny blue scracthbuilt building from atop of the background building and modified/added it to the main complex.



Stay tuned for an extensive update showing progress made from June 2011 to date!!!

GP Paper Mill - June 2011

Walther's Water Tower Kit

Originally, I had a old Model Power water tower with a built in red lamp on my layout.  (See 2007 Photos).  After getting to MD, I felt that is this plant/layout was going to take shape, I had to ditch some of the cheesy stuff like this water tower.  At a local train show, I decided to pick up a Walther's N Scale Cornerstone Series water tower kit.  What a great decision!

Here are some pics of the finished kit - custom painted GP blue and weathered/detailed.  I decided not to put any warning lights atop her; she is not that tall compared to the stacks and other buildings.

I love this color blue and how it weathers....  I can't say this was an easy kit to build, but the level of detail made it well worth it!

I thought I would put my own spin on the tower.  I added some custom decaling - I figured there was enough GP signs throughout the plant that the water tower needed to say something different.  I like this message!

Since this tower resides close to the right edge of my layout (if facing the front of the module), I decided to take this cool shot looking up at the tower as if you were standing on the ground.

To date, I have added some more detail around her to include some pumps underneath her, some additional scenery and a light at her base.  I highly recommend adding this kit in N scale or HO to your layout - it is a real looker.  Be patient with the build.....it takes a few days if done right.

GP Mill - December 2010

When my family and I moved from GA to LA in 2007, my layout was custom crated and moved with us.  Due to a deployment in Iraq and a busy job in LA, the layout remained in a crate for the duration of that assignment. 

Upon arriving to MD in 2010, I decided it was time to uncrate the layout and to begin working on her again.  Unfortunately, despite and excellent crating by my movers, the layout did sustain some minor damage moving around the country.  The most significant damage was to the wiring for the numerous lights that I had already installed on the layout.  The damage was due to design flaw on my part; I ran wires down through the original base of this unit (a pre-fab wooden workbench from Lowe's) so that when the layout was taken off that base in GA, the movers ripped/snapped many wires and destroyed a few lights.  I thought I had everything disconnected and safe....oops!

After many hours of uncrating and assessing the damage, I began working on the layout.  The first task was to ditch the workbench (and use it for the Grime Shop) and to build a rolling benchwork for the layout.  I knew this was my chance to elevate the layout to a more acceptable viewing level.  Instead of under 40" - the layout is now close to 50" in height on rolling benchwork.  This is great for N-scale viewing and comes in quite handy when young kids come to visit; my kids know not to touch the trains 8o)

Shortly after building the benchwork and sprucing up the layout a bit, I began making some of the big changes that can be seen today on the layout.  The following are pictures from Christmas of last year when I had ample time to work on the layout.

The proposed chemical delivery shed became the woodchip delivery shed, which I custom lit and detailed to include woodchip pits and railing:

I kitbashed and scratchbuilt a conveyor to carry the woodchips from the delivery shed to the kraft mill - this too is now lit and will be shown in future posts.  I also changed some of the track plan in this area.  My first plan was just a bit too busy!  I really like the diamond here - makes for a neat look!

I ripped up that "steam piping" that I made from coax cable (pipe) and some cable staples (supports).  Good idea....but it looked cheesy.

I was able to rework some of the wiring and get the lights back up and running.  I have steadily been adding more as this really adds to the plant feel.  Plus, it is awesome to run trains in the dark on this switching layout - all by the lights of the plant and street lights....pretty cool.  I will post current photos of all the lights soon.  One of the cooler features is the kraft mill which has alternating red lights on its two stacks.

Here is one of my favorite custom weathered and detailed NS engines servicing the mill at night:

A bit more ambient light to see her detail/weathering job:

One thing that was missing was a little Southern Mississippi vegetation.   I added some store bought and scratch built trees to my layout last December.  I really like Bachmann's new line of trees, especially there wire foliage....very good for N scale small trees and brush.



GP Mill back in 2007

The following a pictures of my switching layout in the mid-stages.  I am trying to find some older shots to show you how far I have come with this module.  Older shots do not have the big blue scratchbuilt GP distribution building as seen in these shots.

The layout from above in 2007:

What was going to be the chemical delivery shed - it is now the woodchip delivery shed.



Scratchbuilt GP Distribution Building - this end of the module looked so generic without this massive GP blue structure. 

Propane Yard, Power House, and Kraft Mill in 2007:

The long tan background building was kitbashed from a model of a prefab distribution building.  I made it into an extended background building that bridges the gap from the kraft mill to the plant/distribution building.  It has since evolved and will bow be the base of a rotary kiln as well.  The long skinny blue building has since been modified and moved to tie in the standard Walther's paper mill building with the scratchbuilt GP building.

It has been fun relooking at these old photos....I am amazed at what my layout has become from these early days.

Inspiration for my Current N Scale Layout - Southern Mississippi

Georgia Pacific Paper Mill - 2'x7' N Scale Switching Layout

My inspiration for my current N Scale switching layout started back in 2000 when I first visited my wife in Southern Mississippi.  I immediately feel in love with the Leaf River Georgia Pacific Cellulose Paper Mill located in her hometown of New Augusta, MS.   

The paper mill is served by the Old Augusta Railway (OAR), which is a small branchline that feeds into the single track Canadian National (Ex- GM&O / ICG) line that runs east west through New Augusta, MS.

Since Uncle Sam moves the family and I every 2-4 years, model railroading as a hobby is difficult.  I hate having trains sitting in boxes, so I decided to build a manageable& transportable layout/module.  Based on my inspiration from Southern Mississippi, a paper mill seemed like the perfect module due to the complex switching, the variety of inbound and outbound commodities and for some many modeling/design challenges.  I began the layout in 2005 and to date it has safely moved from GA, to LA, and now to MD.  Fingers crossed it survives another move this summer....I'd hate to have to part with her.