The Model Railroader staff’s Rice Harbor layout is finally complete. Get a behind-the-scenes look at a magazine photo shoot of the harbor railroad with editor Neil Besougloff and MR photographer Bill Zuback. Senior editor Dana Kawala will also show you some of the rolling stock used on our Seaboard Shore Line model railroad. Thanks for watching!
Building a 5 x 8 harbor railroad part 10
By Angela Cotey | April 19, 2014
| Last updated on November 23, 2020
A final look at the finished model railroader project layout
You guys go through all of this work, and I really appreciate that you share how you do some of these things with us, yet when the build is all done, you never spend anytime video taping the layout and showing any "how-to" operations on it. So much great work and details, yet so little "show off" of that work makes daddy unhappy. Show it off man! Show us all that great work you guys put into these things. Lets see it operate! Let us see all of the industries! Come on man, all work and no play doesn't make for fun model railroading! 😉
I am building a version of Rice Harbor and have a sideways question – did any railroad ever build an interlocking or signal tower on top of a water tank? Looks like a great vantage point, and at what appears to be 4 stories up, not too tall for the mechanical actuators. This seems pretty impressive in my imagination, especially lit from within at night. Thanks for the help!
Where can I find information on how the Rice Harbor layout was wired?
MR project layout series are great to watch and the finished results always look terrific! The builds are a huge inspiration to us all. 🙂
I agree on the pouring of water.Really looked forward to making waves,no pun intended, for my own layout.Very disappointed,but all in all you guys are great
I'd like to know more about the Frenchman River pilings installed on the layout. Question: When adding clear silicone to add waves to the water, why paint the crests white when you could just use white silicone?
I agree with David…the part I was looking forward to was skipped. Pouring a harbor scene is different from a river scene and I wanted to see more on it since I am to that point with my own harbor scene….
I totally agree with most comments here. Having a big suspenseful video about the upcoming pour followed by ?? Nothing – just we are done! I wanted to see the pour and we didn't even really get to see how any of the water came out. I'm trying to build a harbor scene and really wanted to see that. So much to see in this layour and so little video of it. Some great operations stuff with no operations.
I agree with previous comments. I would like to see an operations video or one that at least focus's briefly on the industries/structures for this layout. I like the series on the car float, very cool! However I would of like to see more on the factory kit bash. I know many of us would like more information on how to modify kits to fit odd places on our layout. Specifically how you brace the back of the structure and if its attached permanently or semi permanent? Thanks!
Really enjoyed the articles and videos on this project. Very nice.
I'm a really ancient old bird and remember the steam era quite well. I hope the last ten percent of your efforts are bringing the soot and grit that was prevalent all over small towns . Small towns were mostly painted white which greyed rapidly and I wouldn't give a wooden nickel for the life of an engineer on wash day.
By the way the fist 90% looks excellent.
Hope you are not offended by my filthy comments.
An operatiaons video would be nice. I agree. You did a lot of nice features. Only wish is was 20 years ago. I am about done-if you ever are done!
Agree with everyone else– would like to see operations video. Also, while I hate to be negative, the Rice Harbor video journal series has had too much telling and not enough showing. With the exception of the episodes showing how to build the car float, the production has not been as good as previous efforts.
Gone-duh-luh? Those are found in Venice Italy shuttling people on canals.
Gone-doe-luh is a freight car.
Love the layout as is but agree that another video needs to be taken with it in its "L" configuration. Great narration but more shots of the actual railroad would have been helpful. I'm going to build a switching version based on this plan in the "L" in my home office for those times when I need a break from all, the paperwork.
I also would like to see an operations video, especially in the "L" configuration.
Thanks guys. Another nice job and great modeling tips along the way
It's a great looking railroad and I hope you do a feature on OPERATING THE LAYOUT, showing whatever card system you use and showing people actually enjoying the layout. The one criticism I have of Model Railroader's project layouts is that there are little if any descriptions of actually OPERATING the completed layout. MR's old slogan on the cover of the magazine was MODEL RAILROADING IS FUN and certainly building the layout can be fun but OPERATING should be the major "fun" goal.
LOADS OF VALUABLE INFO AS USUAL. PARTICULARLY THE DOCK SCENE WHICH ALMOST MIRRORS WHAT I HAVE PLANNED .THANKS GREAT JOB.
Great series with many great articles in the magazine along with videos. The articles and the videos are very in-depth.
I have enjoyed watching the Shore Line series. As with other project railroads you have provided many excellent ideas that prove universally applicable regardless of ones particular model interests. Like several viewers I would be much interested in an operating session on the Shore Line.
Please keep the camera on the railroad, not the faces of the guys talking. As said elsewhere we want to see the railroad operating !!!!!
Great job and I have enjoyed following the build as with all the past projects. I would like to know where you found the wine casks that were placed on the dock infront of the warehouse?
Great job on the layout. However, next time slow down with the panning. The video looks like my 8mm movies when I started making home movies over 40 years ago. Also the subject is the layout not the people. You should have minimized the shots of the people. While they were talking you should have been slowly panning the layout. You guys did a lot of great work on this layout that the MR readers will never be able to appreciate as they will never see this layout again.
Mike Lee
I've been really pleased with this project. So much so I'm building one for a grandson now that my own layout has become to technical for him. I've made a few modifications . Reduced it to fit on a 8 by 4 sheet split down the middle and have a third option as to shape, a L going to other way. Great to share these things from the other side of the world. I'm from New Zealand and have only been doing this sort of thing for a year and am on my forth setup