# March 2010 What's New at Winter Valley



## dawinter (Jan 2, 2008)

March 2010 What’s New Intro…
Down in Winter Valley summer has extended it’s warm fingers into late September so everyone around here is feeling pretty good. Folks over at the old mill property are particularly pleased because the local housing boom has meant new jobs. New jobs mean that young people can stay around and build on what their fathers had built before.

For me, it means more tonnage and more tonnage means more long days and long hard days are just what I need. Diving headlong into my work is simply a form of therapy and as a confirmed train nut I also get to see and photograph ‘foreign’ power.

Not a whole lot of action this time out but I took lots of pictures of CN’s 5604 in action. It was good to see her back up this way again.


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## dawinter (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry!

It probably would have been a good idea if I had offered a link....









http://wvrr.ca/new.htm

Dave


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## Tom Thornton (Nov 18, 2008)

Dave So the trees in the first picture are just weeds? They look so much like real scale trees. I always look for weeds but seldom find and the right scale.


Tom Thornton


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## dawinter (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Tom Thornton on 09 Mar 2010 02:52 PM 


Dave So the trees in the first picture are just weeds? They look so much like real scale trees. I always look for weeds but seldom find and the right scale.


Tom Thornton 



They're weeds all right. They grow along the side of the roads in these parts. Yellow flowers drying out and dying back to a tan colour in the fall. I pick off what I need and spray them with a cheap can of paint (greens, browns and yellows) before dropping them into a container of Woodland Scenics material while they're wet. Give them a shake and I'm done. They last forever. I had them as large trees on my N scale layout and medium trees on the club's HO layout down town. They are effectively free and look good. I'll try to find out the actual name of them for you. 
Dave


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## dawinter (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok. Some technical stuff on those weeds.

Chrysothamnus nauseosus or Common Rabbitbrush.. Many links suggest that this is a California wildflower and some say Nevada. Check out .....

http://www.birdandhike.com/Veg/Species/Shrubs/Chryso_spp/_Chr_spp.htm

Although I live quite a ways north it's still a semi desert area and these plants are everywhere along the roadside.. Perhaps a bit more 'stemy' than pictured in the link. I wait until they die back to a dry, tan coloured seed head and cut the stem as long as I need for the scale I'm working with. The small leaves fall off easily leaving the bushy top for painting and finishing with ground material of your choice. I've seen them used successfully without any foam. As I said, with some care they last forever. 
Hope that helps a little.

Dave


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