Seeing how there is no room whatsoever for a layout in my small house, I resort to the next best thing for me and that is combining my love for both trains and photography together. After buying a few different backdrops and gathering up some old items from a past layout, I resorted to making different simple dioramas simply for the fun of snapping a few pics and sitting back and enjoy looking at them. I'll never have my dream layout I'm sure so for now I'll have to fantasize on something small and temporary. I've got a few dozen locos and some fantastic cameras and lenses, so there is plenty of fun to be had. Of course then there's always the weathering of the locos and cars that is just as much fun, and if your nerves will hold out, there's even the loco detailing that will add so much more to the final picture.
You must be really good at scenery by now.Photographers have good eye for things out-of-place. Making a detailed diorama must be a lot of work, and rewarding to enjoy your craftmanship.
Have you considered joining an Ntrak club? That's what I did when I shared your circumstances. There are several in Texas. I don't know where you are located exactly but hyou can find a list of clubs here: http://ntrak.org/clubs.htm#TX It's a good way to get up and running.
Very nice work - each piece really does look like it belongs in the scene. I'm also blown away by the weathering in the first two shots; they could easily pass for 1:1 shots.
Thanks all for the encouraging words and glad you like the pics. So far the dioramas if you could even call them that have been very simple things. When I get bored with that I'll try something really detailed and see how that goes.