Mike, I'll second Gary. In a spot like that I guess a real railroad would have performed a cut, rather than a tunnel with portal. Maybe a rock shed could work as well. Also, without the tunnel you can really see a train snaking through the rocks
I'm late with this week's update. But I have achieved my major goals for the party: 1) Dismantle the old layout (DONE) 2) Rebuild the benchwork for the Pike City plan. (DONE) 3) Install all of the trackwork. (DONE) 4) Make it all run smoothly. (DONE, mostly) Bonus Goals: 5) Build and install mockup buildings for the structures. 6) Install ground cover and other basic scenery. I found my 0-6-0 doesn't like the crossings (one 90 and one 12.5). It stalls when trying to cross them. Not sure if something is lifting the wheels off of the rails just enough to break contact or if the rails in the middle of the crossings need power jumpers. I have not tried my other locos yet. Other than solving that problem, everything seems to be running smoothly. Here is the result of the last 6 weeks of work: The Thacker Avenue yard / Oakton peninsula: The Alliance Appliance end of the shelf with the two staging track at the back that will be covered with a large appliance factory: And I now have a place to sleep since cleaning up the construction mess :tb-ooh:: Now, on to the fascia, scenic divider on the peninsula, building mockups, and scenery.
The curves look GREAT right where you have them! I actually think the tunnel looks fine also, there are a few prototype examples I can think of that are very similar. I think the reason yours may look a bit funky is because you only have such a tiny piece of the mountain visible its hard to imagine that it is just the "toe" of a larger form. Jamie
I like the curves too.. what if you pushed the tunnel further back, to the left of the river? It becomes part of the mountain then..
I like the curves. If you're a GoogleEarth user, punch up "Lake George, Colorado". To the SouthWest you'll see County Road 96. This road runs along "Eleven Mile Canyon" between Lake George and the Reservoir. Big camping area. Look how the road snakes and intertwines with the river. If you look really closely, you can see that there are a few tunnels where the road goes under the rock. Its hard to see on GoogleEarth, but I know because I used to drive the canyon daily for work. The river can be hard to see in spots as it looks like the pictures were taken when it was really low. While this isn't a railroad, its similar to what you're modeling there and I think its somewhat of a close representation. I like what you've got there.
Guys, Thank you for all your suggestions! It's much appreciated!! Ok, survey says keep the "s" curves. Done. As to the scenery, yeah, the tunnel nearest the isle does look kinda wacked, but I couldn't draw it taller without covering up the track in the background, and I wanted you all to see it. Here is another pic with the tunnel portals (I could only find my double portals =( oh, it's super sized again!) Here is a side view, with two 89' flats to show how large an area it would take up: After digging out the portals, I would have to agree with you guys that it just doesn't look right. So I'm leaning more towards the "cut" instead. Although what Colin said about the tunnel blasted out of the rock might also work. Kinda like some of the tunnels on the Rio Grande. Mark, that mock up you did is really nice! Thanks! At first I was going to have the track go further back towards the backdrop and into a tunnel (like in your rendition), but the need (want?) for a view block at the front of the benchwork pushed me to what I drew up. For a second I thought maybe I could get away with both, but that won't work. I guess I just don't want to be able to see the whole canyon and track at one time, since the bottom level will be like that. Just wanted to break it up some, to the point that you have to lean over and look down/up the canyon to see it all. Anyhow, at this point, I can do the scenery either way, now that you guys helped me nail down the track arrangement! Thanks again! :tb-biggrin: Now... where's my jigsaw... -Mike
Aye, what about moving the tunnel portals a little farther up-canyon in that bend close to where your roll of tape is sitting in the photo. The tunnel would be on the backdrop side. You could make a high canyon wall on the bench-edge side of the track cut pretty dramatically... forcing someone to lean their head in to get a good reveal of the track. Take a look at page 19 of this thread. The first picture in post 184, and the pictures in post 185 and 186. You could make a curvy canyon with sharp cut walls like that, only much higher. Is that the type of scenery break you mean?
I liked the first rendition with the "out of place" tunnel better because it actually gave a nice long view down the canyon with the trains winding through. I would try to keep that effect regardless of the final arrangement. Jamie
Well its getting to be crunch time so lets take a look and see what I have left to do.... The left half is pretty much done. All I need there are two structures, one for each siding (middle and lower left), and to get the gravel road fixed. Right now the road is made of ballast.. not the best road material And on the right. The open brown area is where the three sidings go. I'm planning on at least two industries going in there but 3 if I can squeeze it in given the space. I'm thinking of adding a few business's as well, but again, space permitting. That area I cant do anything with until the budget allows, which unfortunately will be long after this layout party comes to an end :-( But that was to be expected from the beginning. The lower right I also hope I can turn into more business or suburban real-estate, so that is also going to be left alone until the budget comes together as well. So now that leaves me with the upper right which (I've began already) and the center. Before: And with rocks painted:
OH NO!! Sadly, while working on the right side of the layout, I neglected some of the plant life on the left side and we lost a tree. :-( How sad.
Mark: Well done, your layout is turning into a real gem with lots of action packed into a small space, I like it. While doing the round of the local hobby shops I came across some wire tree armatures. Listed as HO branch armatures but I quickly realised that with a little tweeking would make great N scale trees. They actually look a little like Australian Gum trees. However, I didn't like the foliage on them and stripped them back to just a wire frame then added some Woodlands Scenic Fine Foliage with a spot or two of CA glue. This is a before and after comparison. There has not been a lot happening on my layout in recent days apart from building the odd tree. I am still working out the track plan for the industries and engine facility on the lower level and will likely do some work on that next week.
Mark, I'm sorry for your loss. I just hope the remains of that tree don't let go and fall down the cliff! At least the layout is looking spectacular! Ken, those armatures look like they're gonna work great! For me, I've gotten all the subroadbed screwed down, and I'm starting to add the homasote and track. I'll get some pics up later today or tomorrow. I only have 3 more turnouts to hand lay and then I'll be able to temporarily run a train all the way across the layout. WooHoo! -Mike
I did some concrete work today. Working on a loading dock for a structure along the back... Things are getting a bit crumbly, time to hire the cement contractor
Diezmon, nice touch on the concrete. I don't think I would have thought of modeling crumbling concrete. I'll have to do that on my upcoming buildings and loading docks. Thanks for the idea. Ken. Dude. Those trees are FANTASTIC! Everyone, I continue to be amazed at the work displayed here on Trainboard. Keep up the great work as it is an inspiration and a great source of ideas to those of us who are just getting started with building model railroads. I've been an armchair MRR for too many years and have never taken one past getting track installed. Now that my latest effort is at that point, I will be embarking upon new territory for me in building structures and scenery. This task will be much easier now because of the techniques and ideas everyone has shared. Thank you all for taking the time to post on the forum. MarkT
