Well, I’ve been away for a while as I reconsidered my layout and what it was going to take to get the problems I’d created for myself sorted. I got a bit overwhelmed with how to get myself out of the corner(s) I’d painted myself into, and decided that the best course of action was to start anew... I think this new layout is going to be a little more straight forward in terms of operation, design, and terrain. And hopefully, provide some better opportunities for learning. The layout consists of three concentric ovals connected by several switching options. In the center space is a small yard and a spur for a station. Visual interest is going to be provided by a small river gorge on one side and a pond on the other, both traversed by a number of bridges. There will also be a mountain that dominates one end, with two lines tunneling through. Looking forward to any advice or ideas you all might have!
Welcome back! Will that mountain be removable for access to the tracks in case you have a derailment? DC or DCC? Also, no offense, open up those blinds to get more light in. We need brighter pictures (first and second shots).
Hey MK! No plans to make the mountain removable, but I’m looking into hollowing out the back and putting an access panel in the facia to facilitate derailment issues. Once I get all the pieces cemented together and some shape carved into the front side I’ll begin hollowing out the back for that. I’m operating DCC with an NCE Pro Cab. I’m going to be running no more than three locos on this layout - one freight, one passenger, and one switcher - so waiting to build something larger before upgrading. Lol! No offense taken! The layout is in my garage and the lighting is terrible at the best of times. But when winter clouds move in and there’s no light coming in through the garage door it can get downright murky in there! Your observation is noted though, and I’ll try to post better lighted pics!
Great to hear that you're thinking about mountain access. Else you will have to hold the layout on its end and shake it until the object comes out of the tunnels!
View attachment 233315 Here's a pic of "The Back Side of Mountains", lol. I'll get this hollowed out once I get some shape to the mountain established. And a couple of shots from overhead to get a better sense of the layout. I thought I had the picture orientation thing worked out... sorry about that.
Too true!! Here's a pic of "The Back Side of Mountains". Once I've given the mountain some shape I'll work on hollowing this out and plotting my access. The piece of facia on the far end will be moved to this end and have a door cut into it, and new facia will be cut to fit the new terrain on the other end.
I only get to model when time permits, so I don't often get to spend much time doing this. But, I finally got the backside of the mountain set up to allow access to the track in case of derailments. I have to take that piece of fascia off and remake one that includes a hinged door access the tunnel, that will be a project for a day with less rain that we've been having. Just a little bit more foam and I'll be ready to start shaping the mountain, getting some plaster cloth put in place, and getting the tunnel portals plotted.
Mountain taking shape! Got the plaster cloth on and things are starting to look rather ‘mountain’ish’! I have my little river plotted to feed the gorge that flows under the tracks and off-scene, but I’m going to have to research how to make a water feature that flows downhill and some waterfalls... Sorry about the pic orientation... I shot these with my phone in the upright position and they still load sideways... f@¢k it! I’m tired of trying to fix this problem.
Getting my bridges installed in a more permanent manner. I molded some plaster pads as concrete bridge supports and have those in place for these two bridges over the lake/pond. I need to get them painted up and then I can get them permanently installed. I have two other bridges on the layout and I have the pads molded for them too, but that installation is going to be a little more involved with them as I'll have to construct some retaining walls as part of that scene.
Bridge supports for the other two bridges have been roughed in. I think those will look pretty good once I get them painted and weathered and there’s water in the gorge.
Yeah, they turned out pretty good! The company I work for manufactures their own circuit cards, and we use these little 1"X3" and 1"X1" ESD (electro-static discharge) compliant containers for sensitive product/material like IC's, transistors, etc. I absconded with a few thinking that there may be a use for them somewhere. I had a hell of a time getting the castings out of the molds, so if I use them again I'm going to drill some holes in the bottoms of them so I can push the casting out. In one of the pics above you can see a small stack of them that broke coming out of the molds, but I found that if I glue them back together and paint them, the fractures look like surface cracks in concrete. Maybe there'll be a use for that somewhere. After I cast them I tossed them in an old cigar box with a handful of small nuts and bolts and gave them a little shake to distress the edges and scar them up a bit. Not that much of that will be seen once the terrain is finished, but it gave them some nice surface detail anyway.
I’ve been casting rocks and outcroppings for months in preparation for this task. Finally get to see some of that work paying off. I need to get the tunnel portals settled before I do much set dressing around the mouths of the tunnels, but I’m struggling to find double portals that I like. Though there’s plenty to do aside from that, I am anxious to get that decision made and a product purchased.
Ok! So, I started getting some color put onto those rock outcroppings, which, I think, look pretty good. But, I used joint compound to adhere them to the scene, not anticipating that this medium would take color very differently than the plaster the molded rocks are made of. It’s not a big problem, but some of it looks like the rocks have been mortared. It was always the plan to apply some turf and paint to some of this, but now that’s become less optional in order to disguise my mistake.
Testing some colors and textures for ‘mossy rocks’ in and around the water features. I think this green works, but I think I need to get a yellow-green to provide a little variety to those tones.