You don't really have to have a large layout to put a lot of detail into it. I still have a long way to go. The basics are started, and further detailing is done as time is available. I have one town which I will probably post on tomorrow that I thought was the way I wanted it and ended up tearing some of it up and changing things around. A layout is really never complete. Now I am waiting to get the track and town started in my expansion going. Then I'll have too many projects to get done. Guess that's why there are tomorrows.
One good thing, this makes certain we can never be bored. There is always a new idea, or some new potential, just around the bend.
Chapter 4 These are a few more pics of Gallatin Junction, and then we'll move out of town. Across from Meadowgold is the Gateway Market. There actually is a Gateway Market. The next shot is looking down Mill ST towards the passenger station. The next two are #184 leaving town towards the hidden staging tracks. As we leave town, an Alco RS-1 crosses the Gallatin River into Gateway Junction. These pictures are a logging spur I crammed into a space that is all I had available. It was fun trying to match the scenery to the background, but it seems to have worked out pretty good.
Great work, love your scenery and building work. Keep those pics coming Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Chapter 5 Here are a couple of pictures of the bridge crossing the Gallatin River. Past the logging spur, we come into the town of Anceny.The Northern Pacific had a grain Elevator that they serviced. My town is a lot larger than the real one. This is the area I screwed up on. Originally I had the cattle pens behind the diner, across from the passenger station. Things fit well for the limited space I had but after some thought, this wasn't a good idea. Things could become a bit fragrant, especially so close to the diner. The cattle pens were moved across the tracks, and the grain elevator was put in it's place. Probably smells a bit better in town. The diner has a detailed interior. The little gas station is something I threw together to fill an awkward space. In the fourth picture, there's a white piece of styrene which will become a freight station. I ran out of evergreen siding and have to get some ordered so the freight station can be scratchbuilt. I thought everything was planned out but I guess that's what I get for thinking. Just to the right of the 2 tanker trucks in the third picture will be a bulk oil and gas distributor. The siding and tanks are in place, but as soon as I get off my butt and get the grade crossing built, this facility can be completed. This was sort of a difficult project because of the 32 inch minimum radius that I'm using. Having the larger radius made fitting the industries and buildings a bit of a problem. Now that I am starting my last town, of which there will be four on the layout, this project will probably be put on the back burner. I am really looking forward to get the last town an yard built.
More great scenes! I really like the look of your river. It seems to have just the right reflections to be wet.
Chapter 6 From Anceny, the track goes south into Churchill, the third of the four towns on the layout. The train comes into town through a cut passing below a residence, and Ole's repair shop. As the main line enters town, it passes a couple of homes. The teenagers are washing their hot rod while the neighbor hang their laundry. Past the homes is a smal park and then the passenger station. No big streamliners out here. This is the deluxe train, an NP RDC with a club car in tow. There's also a gas electric for passenger servoce, and when worst comes to worst, passengers can always hop onto a drovers caboose to the next town. Across from the park and passenger station is the local Chevy dealer. One of the easiest ways to set the era you want to model is by the vehicles. The switching can get very interesting in this town. In this small town there are seven businesses and a spud loading ramp to service. There is the plant next to the Chevy dealer, the freight station, Tschache Oil, a lumber yard, Vincent Farm supplies, grain elevator and a cattle loading facility. There more than enough to keep one busy here. I'll continue with more pictures of Churchill in the next installment. There's still a lot of work to do on this town.
As a Brit I don't recognise those particular vehicles, but it amazing how a few automobiles set the era more than any other feature. Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Uh oh. Those are 1957 Chevrolets. (Slang term "5-7 Chevy". I owned one...) Mostly the various sedan models. Looks like there is a Corvette or two as well.
Not far enough for me, but being that I chose to have a train pass through the layout, I have no choice. From Gallatin Junction to Anceny, it is about 12 feet, or 4 meters, and from Anceny to Churchill, it's only about 9 feet or 3 meters. From Churchill to Logan, which is my last town, which is now under construction, it is about 18 feet, or 6 meters. It's unfortunately, not a very long main line, but the layout was built for switching, not running long trains, it works well. I procrastinated for years getting the final town started, but thanks to railroad forums, I fugured that it was time to get off of my butt ad get things going. I have a problem similar to yours, no hobby shops around. It's really hard where I live in a pretty rural area. I was out of thown this past weekend to a "cruies in" and car show and I had my wife try to find a bottle of liq1uid styrene cement. She came up empty handed. She tried big box stores, such as Wal-Mart and others and found out that they don't even carry plastic models any more. I guess todays kids are more interested in video games and their X Boxes than building kits. My expansion just got slowed down.
I have a similar issue, modeling the US in the UK means that there are just a handful of suppliers carry what I require, most of the time I have to order off the net direct from the US (and not all US suppliers will ship to the UK). For simple things like modeling supplies such as paint/scenery/glue ect there tend to be a few hobby shops about that have these in.
