This phase of the layout came after the other one so it was started in the latter part of 1999. I don't remember exactly when these photos were taken but it was definitely after 2002. My parents had internet service then and it was before I joined any forums. The background I used I downloaded from the net. The upper level is still intact so these are pre-Katrina. By the time Katrina and Rita came through the upper level was long gone and the track on the lower level had been relaid. Here are the photos: The top of the tunnel was unchanged except for the removal of the weeds and twigs. The entire top could be lifted off as one piece to allow access to a six foot tunnel for maintenance, recovery of derailed equipment and fishing out the cat. It was one of her favorite hiding places. The structures on the top of the tunnel were lit. The wires from the top section plugged into an outlet in the tunnel.
The crane car is an old Tyco toy left over from the 70's. The underside and trucks were long gone so it's sitting on a boxcar frame and trucks.
The embankment was made with pieces of white foam with thin pieces of white foam pushed into the gaps. The 'plateau' was hollow an dthe entire town section lifted up to reveal an access hole. The town structures were lit so the plug underneath the town section had to be unplugged for the town to be lifted off.
The roads were made with pieces of poster board. They had a nasty habit of wrinkling whenever the humidity was high. The red structure was a ceramic house I found on sale at a gift store. The tunnel portal was made from Sculpy modeling compound. It was the one and only time I used Sculpy.
LMS??? London Midlands and Scottish railway? Quite a fleet you had there. it's good you've got shots of this. I have a coupe layouts I never took even one picture of. Now I wish i had them as a point of reference.
Curious as to why you refer your layout modification to the Hurricanes, as if you lost the layout in one of them.
