I haven't been to Banff for two years due to recent events, but don't beat yourself up so much over the trees - the whole layout is brilliant and is increasingly looking like the real thing!!!
@@BArailsystem I look and dream,have locos,stock,tracks but not the experience or know how(lazy more like tbh) to start a layout....maybe i should just go for it and make a mess as I go.😂
Evening Ben from the uk 🇬🇧 Hope you're all keeping safe and well? Always love your updates on Banff as the attention to detail is spot on........👍🏻 When you said how many trees you've made I nearly fell over lol 😂 Hopefully the lockdown will soon be over and some sort of normality will resume and I can visit my local model train shop 😂 Until the next time take care cheers Stevie 😎🇬🇧
Thanks Stevie! Everyone is healthy and happy at our place thankfully. Seems like a lot of trees but I am going to need thousands to finish the layout. I hope so too, take care!
They look good. I didn't know that you can grind down those lights the way that you did. If the shipping container ships were moving better, I would suggest that you send those crossing gates out as prototypes... so that they can make 1000 copies... You would make a mint on them.
Just as a reminder (not sure about in Canada ) but in the US, on the gate arms, 2 of the 3 lights flash, 1 light stays constant. Something to think about if that can be achieved. Also on the mast lens that you have ground down, perhaps some clear gloss would give it more glass lens look or even maybe try a thin touch up of Testors clear red. That way the red lens won't appear fogged or matt red. Just an idea. Great job though, as you showed, you can't tell where the backdrop photo from the actual tress you have made. Looks great Ben !
Thanks Wayne! Canada is the same, usually they flash left to right in step with the two red lights on the post too. That's a good idea, I might try something like that depending on how they look installed.
Prepping my Logic Rail Technologies circuit boards to install under the layout and was pleasantly surprised to find they have an End Of Gate (EOG) output for those lights. Perfect!
Nice work on the crossing protection. The pair I got did not have any bells, so I am still looking for one to add on. The trees are looking good too. Every tree counts and changing the heights will help. Thanks.
Thanks Norman! I had an extra but there must've been an issue with the casting as it just came as a solid blob. So that's why I borrowed the nicer one from the pedestal.
Thanks Matthew! Side note, my parents got in on the Star Link beta at their rural farm in Northern Saskatchewan. For the first time ever, they have comparable internet speeds to the city folk : )
Nice job Ben!! Watching you and Dan Cortapassi wire those tiny LEDS with magnet wire makes my eyes hurt, I would have to wear 3 pairs of magnifying glasses to see the wire and edges of those LEDS to solder them, amazing!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Really enjoy you layout, you have captured reality given your attention to detail. Question, did you lay your cork road bed on the plywood base or on foam.
Hi Ben, I really like your coat hooks, fabulous personalized gift. I thought you had nailed it with the trees east of the station but you are probably correct in saying you need to break up the line with different sized ones and man I've just got to start paying more attention to crossing lights, posts, bells etc, there is so much to know about them. All the best, David.
Thanks David! Yes, beautiful one of a kind coat rack. It was a great surprise. It's amazing how far down the rabbit hole you can go in model railroading. Details depend on the era too as the signals I am building aren't what is there now.
The problem with the trees of the same size in a row is that they look planted rather than natural. More smaller and mid sized trees of same species will make it look more natural. Great layout.
400 trees so far! Wow great going. The crossing looks really impressive also. Love the back scene on your layout. I get photos from a young lady who was one of my apprentices when I worked in the UK national parks (before I retired) who moved to Canmore to work so not far from where you're modelling. Her photos of the mountains look just the same. Thanks for sharing again atb Andy
Nice job on the crossing gates . I have the rail logic crossing controls for my layout they are a fantastic product lm certain you will enjoy them on on your layout.
Those gates are awesome! I've tracked down some A-frame gates that are really hard to find now. But from I assume from what's going on (but I could be wrong) is that NJ international might be or is out of business because the hobby shop I bought my gates from said they haven't re-stocked for a couple of years or given a straight answer. But I do hope NJ does come back because they made some great stuff!
Are you going to rename your CP layout to CPKC? Great idea sanding down the LEDs for realism. You never stop surprising me with your innovative ideas. All the best.
Never! I had already cut my era off around 2020 anyway to resist buying all new grain fleets as a lot of the old cars are being phased out. This merger is another good reason to keep it historical. As I am sure a lot of the KCS buff's will agree, CPKC just doesn't have the same ring to it. Thanks Brian!
On your lights you flattened? If you put a drop of high gloss clear paint to fill in the the scratches might makeup for removing the dome part on the LEDs. It worked for me. On some I used Fingernail polish. Just a thought.
The entire section where it goes from single track after the bridge to two tracks is one big reversing section powered by a Digitrax DB200 set up as an auto reverser. On the other end, each of the 5 tracks has it's own Tam Valley Depot reverser on it.
Super nice kitbash of NJ crossing signals. I’m going to try and put my own lights on the gates I have and am wondering where you got your magnet wire and LEDS from. How did you wire them in and, do they need resistors, etc. Thank you.
Wow that's a lot of work you've put into those crossing gates but looking good so far. I like the photo backdrop and your scenery blends in well with it.
Great update. I'm been looking for those crossing gates for almost a year online. I've seen a few in N-Scale but not HO. Looking forward to seeing more updates.
Are those Bowser SD40-2s? Im looking into getting some Bowser MLW M636s some time this year after getting a bunch of New Jersey Transit cars from Rapido.
That is quite astonishing attention to detail on those crossing gates Ben, kudos to you - and thanks for the shout-out, I'm glad you like the lego blocks! Ian
Awesomeness. Yep, some different size trees will make the treeline pop. Crossing gates look nice. I bet some unpleasant words were said while finding out those were cast in brass. Have you seen the mth ones? I also bet your excited about the cp and kcs merger eh?
Thanks John! Hahah yeah I couldn't believe it. I naively thought I could just spin the various parts off the shaft with a pair of channel locks and some elbow grease. NOPE. Oh no way I didn't even know they made gates, those are actually really nice looking pedestal style.
holy smokes, those crossing lights look incredible dude! Awesome job. Personally I wouldn't worry too much if they aren't as bright now that you ground them down, most of the time I find the lights on model crossings FAR too bright, even brighter than locomotive headlights in most cases. From what you showed during the photo montage they look spot on in my eyes.
Thanks! I agree, they don't need to be bright at all, the ones in real life are very flat and unnoticeable compared to say, a locomotive or vehicle headlights.
Your layout is so cool! I’m going to be modeling the CN Bessemer sub here in Western PA and I want search light signals. Do you know where I can get them?
Nice to see those SD40-2- running! Soem of the trees actually about the same size if the forest has been harvested at the same time ad new trees has been replanted. Cheers from Sweden!
I used to have an 'N' scale layout... Too hard to work with and too small, IMO. Maybe I'm saying that because now I'm older and my eyes are not what they used to be.... But it's like looking at stuff from a long ways away... all the time.
Looking good, Ben! I'm really hoping with the new micro led technology out there nowadays, that they can start making some more realistic crossing signals before I start working on my layout! (Which unfortunately is still prob a few years in the future)
@@BArailsystem for sure! I was really hoping BLMA was gonna get in the crossing signal market eventually but ever since Atlas took over I haven't really heard much from their signal side of things... Just freight cars.
Hey man I'm trying to look for those wire clips you used and I cannot find them among your previous videos. What are the name of them and where'd you get them?
They didn't have a brand, my local electronics store sells them in bulk bags. Something like this: www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/panduit-corp/CCS50-S8-C/280136?Cables%2C%20Wires%20-%20Management&Shopping_Supplier_Panduit%20Corp_0298_Co-op&productid=280136&gclid=CjwKCAjwjuqDBhAGEiwAdX2cjwwGsdp68kd9S_tdwJWqm_3vpHd6CBNUFY9AvsxB7QcczchuxDx-aBoC_v4QAvD_BwE
Not fully approved yet. 😕 but having foreign power is always nice on layouts. Hopefully he will add some US railpower. I personally bought a Intermountain T4 UP GEVO for my CP layout.
@@James-rg4kv If you go back in my videos I cover how to do the entire process, it is a very time consuming and expensive endeavor. Staples or other print shops could handle the printing side for you, its the graphic design that is the bottleneck in my experience.
@@BArailsystem I guess this is how people felt when BNSF was made, but that's the best part of modeling, even though cp and kcs may be gone soon, they still live on in models
Just a suggestion: Your cross-bucks will never look anything to scale if you use a plastic backing. I think sheet brass is the way to go to replicate a more appropriate thickness.
These are brass but they are still on the thick side even after I sanded them down. If I had a way of cutting sheet brass out perfectly you are absolutely right that would be the way to go.
Nice layout it’s cool to see the progress on it. I just have one question. So I’ve been working on my n scale layout but I lost Intrest for a while and decided to take a break. But now I want to work on it again. It don’t have the motivation, what should I do
Hey Ben how are you doing buddy I haven’t work my layout lately I will be soon as biggest update I got self cannon camera tripod now all ready go Railfan I will be on trip Oregon see Union Pacific cascade sub did hear Canadian Pacific bought out kcs
I haven't been to Banff for two years due to recent events, but don't beat yourself up so much over the trees - the whole layout is brilliant and is increasingly looking like the real thing!!!
Thanks!
Excellent coat rack! Very talented craft men run in the family!
He is a very talented for sure!
Greetings fromBirmingham,England.
Looking great
Thanks Paul! Greetings from snowy Alberta, Canada this morning.
@@BArailsystem I look and dream,have locos,stock,tracks but not the experience or know how(lazy more like tbh) to start a layout....maybe i should just go for it and make a mess as I go.😂
That's how I do it Paul, don't be afraid to make mistakes, just go for it!
Some great workmanship Ben. Nice job!
Thank you Grant
Wow! Impressive work. 👍
Thank you!
Evening Ben from the uk 🇬🇧 Hope you're all keeping safe and well? Always love your updates on Banff as the attention to detail is spot on........👍🏻 When you said how many trees you've made I nearly fell over lol 😂 Hopefully the lockdown will soon be over and some sort of normality will resume and I can visit my local model train shop 😂 Until the next time take care cheers Stevie 😎🇬🇧
Thanks Stevie! Everyone is healthy and happy at our place thankfully. Seems like a lot of trees but I am going to need thousands to finish the layout. I hope so too, take care!
They look good. I didn't know that you can grind down those lights the way that you did. If the shipping container ships were moving better, I would suggest that you send those crossing gates out as prototypes... so that they can make 1000 copies... You would make a mint on them.
Just as a reminder (not sure about in Canada ) but in the US, on the gate arms, 2 of the 3 lights flash, 1 light stays constant. Something to think about if that can be achieved. Also on the mast lens that you have ground down, perhaps some clear gloss would give it more glass lens look or even maybe try a thin touch up of Testors clear red. That way the red lens won't appear fogged or matt red. Just an idea. Great job though, as you showed, you can't tell where the backdrop photo from the actual tress you have made. Looks great Ben !
Thanks Wayne! Canada is the same, usually they flash left to right in step with the two red lights on the post too. That's a good idea, I might try something like that depending on how they look installed.
Prepping my Logic Rail Technologies circuit boards to install under the layout and was pleasantly surprised to find they have an End Of Gate (EOG) output for those lights. Perfect!
@@BArailsystem Wow who would have known! cant wait to see your video of it working!
Your eye for detail is just awesome! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks! My pleasure.
New intro is excellent 👌
Thanks! Made for me by my talented little brother.
Very nice detailing.
Thanks Phil!
Nice work on the crossing protection. The pair I got did not have any bells, so I am still looking for one to add on. The trees are looking good too. Every tree counts and changing the heights will help. Thanks.
Thanks Norman! I had an extra but there must've been an issue with the casting as it just came as a solid blob. So that's why I borrowed the nicer one from the pedestal.
@@BArailsystem I will find one eventually. You are doing well to get a lot of work done with the little helpers around.
looking good
Thanks David!
Nice...You're right about NJ gates being illusive. I'm looking for 2 sets.
Yes they are. Check out MTH, they also make a pedestal style crossing gate in HO that looks good.
You are very talented. A model railroading dream come true.
Thanks Chris!
This guy needs more subscribers! Nice one!
Thanks so much!
Amazing job!!
Thanks Matthew! Side note, my parents got in on the Star Link beta at their rural farm in Northern Saskatchewan. For the first time ever, they have comparable internet speeds to the city folk : )
Great layout
Thanks Ed!
Fantastic work Ben. What a huge improvement those crossing signals are. Can’t wait to see the final result! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
Looking good👍👏
Thanks 👍
Nice job Ben!! Watching you and
Dan Cortapassi wire those tiny
LEDS with magnet wire makes my
eyes hurt, I would have to wear 3
pairs of magnifying glasses to
see the wire and edges of those LEDS to solder them, amazing!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thanks! Patience is key : ) I haven't totally BBQ'd one with my soldering iron for a long time now. Practice makes perfect.
Really enjoy you layout, you have captured reality given your attention to detail. Question, did you lay your cork road bed on the plywood base or on foam.
Thanks! The road bed is midwest cork on 1/8'' recycled rubber, the sub roadbed is 3/4 fir plywood.
Hi Ben, I really like your coat hooks, fabulous personalized gift. I thought you had nailed it with the trees east of the station but you are probably correct in saying you need to break up the line with different sized ones and man I've just got to start paying more attention to crossing lights, posts, bells etc, there is so much to know about them. All the best, David.
Thanks David! Yes, beautiful one of a kind coat rack. It was a great surprise. It's amazing how far down the rabbit hole you can go in model railroading. Details depend on the era too as the signals I am building aren't what is there now.
The problem with the trees of the same size in a row is that they look planted rather than natural. More smaller and mid sized trees of same species will make it look more natural. Great layout.
I agree. Thanks Richard!
Love your layout dude. Everything looks amazing.
Thank you!
Very nice. I wish I could do something like that, but I severely lack the patience.
Thank you! Podcasts and music help : )
Griswold EM type signals. nice work
Thanks!
400 trees so far! Wow great going. The crossing looks really impressive also. Love the back scene on your layout. I get photos from a young lady who was one of my apprentices when I worked in the UK national parks (before I retired) who moved to Canmore to work so not far from where you're modelling. Her photos of the mountains look just the same. Thanks for sharing again atb Andy
It's a cumulative effort for sure. Thanks Andy. It's pretty hard to take a bad picture out there.
Nice job on the crossing gates . I have the rail logic crossing controls for my layout they are a fantastic product lm certain you will enjoy them on on your layout.
Thanks! I am looking forward to getting them working!
nice video update again enjoy watching it and especially to follow you with your layout
Thank you!
Ben that is outstanding job on those crossing gates that is a lot of work keep up the great job can't wait to see the next video, gary.
Thank you Gary!
Those gates are awesome! I've tracked down some A-frame gates that are really hard to find now. But from I assume from what's going on (but I could be wrong) is that NJ international might be or is out of business because the hobby shop I bought my gates from said they haven't re-stocked for a couple of years or given a straight answer. But I do hope NJ does come back because they made some great stuff!
Thanks! Interesting. I hope that isn't true, they do make some nice stuff.
Are you going to rename your CP layout to CPKC? Great idea sanding down the LEDs for realism. You never stop surprising me with your innovative ideas. All the best.
Never! I had already cut my era off around 2020 anyway to resist buying all new grain fleets
as a lot of the old cars are being phased out. This merger is another good reason to keep it historical. As I am sure a lot of the KCS buff's will agree, CPKC just doesn't have the same ring to it. Thanks Brian!
@@BArailsystem I agree. I love CN & CP. I do wonder what the new moniker will look like though.
On your lights you flattened? If you put a drop of high gloss clear paint to fill in the the scratches might makeup for removing the dome part on the LEDs. It worked for me. On some I used Fingernail polish. Just a thought.
That's a good build Vincent. I am going to see what they look like installed and if they need a little shot of clear I will do that. Thanks!
Great work on the crossing gates. Alot of work but we'll worth it.
Thank you Peter!
those Banff Crossing Signals look amazing!
Thanks Tyler!
Awesome
This is amazing work! How did you wire in your reverse loop yard on your layout?
The entire section where it goes from single track after the bridge to two tracks is one big reversing section powered by a Digitrax DB200 set up as an auto reverser. On the other end, each of the 5 tracks has it's own Tam Valley Depot reverser on it.
Super nice kitbash of NJ crossing signals. I’m going to try and put my own lights on the gates I have and am wondering where you got your magnet wire and LEDS from. How did you wire them in and, do they need resistors, etc. Thank you.
AWESOME!!!😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁🎈😁
Thanks! 😄
Wow that's a lot of work you've put into those crossing gates but looking good so far. I like the photo backdrop and your scenery blends in well with it.
Thank you very much!
Great update. I'm been looking for those crossing gates for almost a year online. I've seen a few in N-Scale but not HO. Looking forward to seeing more updates.
Thanks! I payed way too much for them on Ebay, seemed to be the only place I could find them.
Look for the MTH ones as well, I didn't even know they made HO scale crossing gates.
Can’t wait to see the lights in action BA awesome job buddy
Thanks Bubs!
Yesssss i Love when you upload! This is like the NSmodeler24 of Canada!
Thank you! Your very kind but I'm not on the same level of Josh and his dad, I hope that one day my layout is half as nice as theirs.
Yes. You need to buy some KCS power 😜
But don't patch the units YET!
Great video and great progress on the layout!
Greetings from Poland!
Thanks! Forever CP in my basement : )
more views than real trains
Rule of scarcity I guess.
The work is amazing. I dream of doing this, but I am bedridden most days.
Thanks, that is unfortunate. Sorry to hear that.
Are those Bowser SD40-2s? Im looking into getting some Bowser MLW M636s some time this year after getting a bunch of New Jersey Transit cars from Rapido.
Yes sir! Nice!
Love the recent progress you've done on the layout! I agree those trees blend perfectly and the crossing flashers are looking awesome!
Thanks!
Glad im subscribed. I model kcs.......and soon cp. Lol
Hahah Thanks!
That is quite astonishing attention to detail on those crossing gates Ben, kudos to you - and thanks for the shout-out, I'm glad you like the lego blocks! Ian
Nice of you tyo do that! Sub'ed
@@ratled1 thanks! I hope you enjoy my layout as much as Ben's!!
Thanks again Ian! They are perhaps the world's most well travelled HO scale, concrete Lego blocks : )
HELLO BEN ITS IS RANDY AND I LIKE U VIDEO IS COOL THANKS FRINDES RANDY
Hi Randy. Thank you for the comment.
Coat rack rocks !
Ya man!
Nice Crossing Gates!
Thanks!
The coat rack is awesome, absolutely love it.
Thanks! He is an amazing woodworker!
Also what type of connections did you use to connect your feeders to your bus?
Strip the bus wires and soldered directly to them.
Awesomeness. Yep, some different size trees will make the treeline pop. Crossing gates look nice. I bet some unpleasant words were said while finding out those were cast in brass. Have you seen the mth ones?
I also bet your excited about the cp and kcs merger eh?
Thanks John! Hahah yeah I couldn't believe it. I naively thought I could just spin the various parts off the shaft with a pair of channel locks and some elbow grease. NOPE.
Oh no way I didn't even know they made gates, those are actually really nice looking pedestal style.
holy smokes, those crossing lights look incredible dude! Awesome job. Personally I wouldn't worry too much if they aren't as bright now that you ground them down, most of the time I find the lights on model crossings FAR too bright, even brighter than locomotive headlights in most cases. From what you showed during the photo montage they look spot on in my eyes.
Thanks! I agree, they don't need to be bright at all, the ones in real life are very flat and unnoticeable compared to say, a locomotive or vehicle headlights.
Your layout is so cool! I’m going to be modeling the CN Bessemer sub here in Western PA and I want search light signals. Do you know where I can get them?
Thanks! Check out Showcase Miniatures, that's where I got mine from.
Thank you so much!!!
That’s a lot of work! Good thing it’s in HO. Even then it’s tough.
It sure is! But that's the fun.
Wow, those crossing gates are going to be incredible Ben!
Thank you Scott!
New subscriber
Thank you! Welcome aboard!!!
Nice to see those SD40-2- running! Soem of the trees actually about the same size if the forest has been harvested at the same time ad new trees has been replanted. Cheers from Sweden!
Cheers Ollie!
Those gates are amazing!
Thanks Kyle!
I don't have the guts to cut up NJ international crossing guards
I have the guts but not always the smarts to pull it off : )
I used to have an 'N' scale layout... Too hard to work with and too small, IMO. Maybe I'm saying that because now I'm older and my eyes are not what they used to be.... But it's like looking at stuff from a long ways away... all the time.
Great update and nice work on the crossing gates! I don't see the link to Ian's channel though. - Brian
Oh shoot, looks like it didn't save. Thanks for catching that! Fixed.
@BArailsytem are you able to provide the track plans for your previous layout?
You bet, it was based off this one:
www.layoutvision.com/waterwings-8x10
Thank you
Looking good, Ben! I'm really hoping with the new micro led technology out there nowadays, that they can start making some more realistic crossing signals before I start working on my layout! (Which unfortunately is still prob a few years in the future)
Thanks Justin! They are very nice to start with and the best of the shelf option for sure but I think there is room for improvement on these signals.
@@BArailsystem for sure! I was really hoping BLMA was gonna get in the crossing signal market eventually but ever since Atlas took over I haven't really heard much from their signal side of things... Just freight cars.
What do you think about the CP KCS merger?
If I was a shareholder I would be happy. As a train nut, not so much!
Hey man I'm trying to look for those wire clips you used and I cannot find them among your previous videos. What are the name of them and where'd you get them?
They didn't have a brand, my local electronics store sells them in bulk bags.
Something like this:
www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/panduit-corp/CCS50-S8-C/280136?Cables%2C%20Wires%20-%20Management&Shopping_Supplier_Panduit%20Corp_0298_Co-op&productid=280136&gclid=CjwKCAjwjuqDBhAGEiwAdX2cjwwGsdp68kd9S_tdwJWqm_3vpHd6CBNUFY9AvsxB7QcczchuxDx-aBoC_v4QAvD_BwE
With CP buying KCS, you think there will be a few southern belles that appear on your layout?
Not fully approved yet. 😕 but having foreign power is always nice on layouts. Hopefully he will add some US railpower. I personally bought a Intermountain T4 UP GEVO for my CP layout.
My layout era ends well before the merger but there's no reason you couldn't see KCS units come through repaying horsepower hours.
How did you do your back drops ?
My own photographs of the area photoshopped together using Corel Draw then printed on an HP Designjet 500.
@@BArailsystem would you ever do any for sale ? Interested in Banff.
@@James-rg4kv Sorry Gordon, they take way too much time for me to do custom printed backdrops.
@@BArailsystem fully understand. Shame as doing Banff and so hard to get backdrops
@@James-rg4kv If you go back in my videos I cover how to do the entire process, it is a very time consuming and expensive endeavor. Staples or other print shops could handle the printing side for you, its the graphic design that is the bottleneck in my experience.
Are you going to get KCS units?
Negative! Except maybe one for repaying horsepower hours : )
No more cp rail or kcs :(
Nope, railroad history in the making.
@@BArailsystem I guess this is how people felt when BNSF was made, but that's the best part of modeling, even though cp and kcs may be gone soon, they still live on in models
Just a suggestion: Your cross-bucks will never look anything to scale if you use a plastic backing. I think sheet brass is the way to go to replicate a more appropriate thickness.
These are brass but they are still on the thick side even after I sanded them down. If I had a way of cutting sheet brass out perfectly you are absolutely right that would be the way to go.
Nice layout it’s cool to see the progress on it. I just have one question. So I’ve been working on my n scale layout but I lost Intrest for a while and decided to take a break. But now I want to work on it again. It don’t have the motivation, what should I do
Thanks! Hmm, maybe watch some videos about what your interested in. Pelle Soeberg's great advice is always to get inspired by the prototype.
PS, you're not allowed to paint out the reporting marks on KSC units yet! Long live the KCS :) !!
And long live the CPR!
Ooh new intro, that's pretty neat
Thanks to my talented little brother who is better at video editing than me : )
You can't release at the same time as Sam's Trains is on live.
I didn't know there were rules? ?
@@BArailsystem Of course there are rules Ben. Rule #1
Hey Ben how are you doing buddy I haven’t work my layout lately I will be soon as biggest update I got self cannon camera tripod now all ready go Railfan I will be on trip Oregon see Union Pacific cascade sub did hear Canadian Pacific bought out kcs
Hi Taylor! Yes big news CPKC, history in the making.
@@BArailsystem oh yeah buddy