Well, a fair amount of progress... one side of the 2.5' X 5.5' layout has the initial ground cover in, and I have decided to do this as a fall scene. A few trees in by the stream, and a road, and some tentative positions for buildings (a couple of freight buildings, maybe a grain elevator) and a small "wide spot in the road"...gas station, tavern, rural whistle stop station, little general store. Now, I need some advice.....the hills are bare now. Clumps of trees? or fill the hillside with trees? Thoughts? Thanks for the suggestions and comments!
The first "real" building for the country side of the layout, a small general store, along with some more fall trees. I am thinking crushed gravel for a parking area in front of the store, I remember that from (MANY) years ago in Illinois , but someone mentioned asphalt or tar.... but definitely not cement.
Thats a great looking layout, roughly the same size as mine. I think clumps of trees as you wouldnt want to block out that great cloud work! whoppit
I like the looks of the layout.As far as the parking lot goes,I would do it in gravel.Heck,we still have several gravel parking lots here in lil ol' Columbus,Ks
Nice looking layout. I would loosely line the stream and the road with the trees. I think if you cover the hills it will overwhelm the layout. I’d say try spreading them out over the hills so that some of the ground shows through. Two to three inches between trees should be enough. If that does not work try clumps. Gravel on the parking lot. I keep looking for a pasture with cows someplace. Enjoy
Nice work Bookbear1. You've done a great job with limited space. I'd DEFINATELY look to put one of those small country wooden elevators. Here are a some Walthers links: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/152-610 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/200-445 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/628-707 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/628-708 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3238 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/152-606 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/152-621 I like the Campbell kit and the AMB Silex the best. As for the trees, I'd go for the spread out trees along the hillside with more lining the creek. Maybe an old barn out in the field with some cows as suggested above too. Really like what you've got so far though. Keep us updated!
Bookbear1: Looks like you've made some great progress on your layout. I would add some trees to the hillside as well as very fine gravel and groundfoam. Stay cool and run steam......
Moving right along (I tend to build in spurts, lots of work, then a long period of rest in between ), I've finished another building, a small freight warehouse, situated on one of the spurs. As you can see by the background, still haven't filled in the hills yet (things grow slow around here!) I've also added some more trees by the stream and what I hope looks like fallen leaves drifting across the tracks. Since we only have two seasons here in soCal ('Fire' and 'Earthquake'), we never see fall colors like this. I am working from dim memories as a wee cub back in Illinois lo, these many years ago. I also added a kind of fascia boardaround the edges (probably should have waited on that) and started with some telephone poles.
Hi Bear, I really like that fall scene! As a fellow 'quaker' I miss the seasons I used to get back east also. Looks like a crisp October day! Jim
Thanks, Jim! that was the effect I was hoping for. This weekend I will do some more (am currently working on another building) and will site some more trees once the building is on the layout.
The local tavern (with rooms to rent above) is finished, and placed next to the small general store. This part of the scene will be a small 'wide spot in the road' next to a rural station and a garage. As you can see, I decided to stick with gravel for this area (the station will have gravel as well, not sure about the garage/gas station, though. Thanks for that tip, I really like the way the gravel looks. Vehicles will change, there are just there for looks at the moment. I did a fence around the store and tavern, and put in a propane tank from Cal Freight detailing. I am currently building a walking beam oil rig, I may use that on this layout. I am also working on more fall foliage.
Looking good, bookbear. I'd try the clumps of trees. You could also add clumps of bushes. The idea is a non-uniform coverage of the hills, with variations in size and density. It seems you've got variation of color down pretty well.
Thanks for the compliments and suggestions, guys! I am going to work on foliage this weekend. BTW, the tag line about still playing with trains comes from a not-very-nice comment made by a person who shall remain nameless. Shortly thereafter, my wife gave me a nice tee shirt from the California State Railroad Museum that has "Still Plays With Trains" in bright blue ink on the front. I try to wear it whenever the above mentioned nameless person is around [ March 23, 2005, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Bookbear1 ]
