I managed to get about 1/3rd of the terrain shaping done this weekend, starting with the city on the left-hand side of the trackplan. The result is four different "tiers": Tier 1: Water Street Freight Terminal, Waterfront Willy's, Sam Cahoon's Fish Pier Tier 2: Passenger depot Tier 3: "Main Street" & shops, Northern States Power Tier 4: Backdrop buildings I think will give the city some depth. If you've ever been to Duluth, MN and stood on the lakeshore looking back at the city, that's the feel I'm after. If I'm calculating my grades correctly, the grade down to the Water Street Freight Terminal is 3%, all others are 2% or less. To keep the inclines smooth, I cut all of this from a single sheet of foam, building elevation from underneath using more foam as risers. After three tubes of foam adhesive, it's finally all glued down with lots of heavy objects sitting on top of it. I'll leave it like this for a couple of days.
Very nice and you have given me a good idea for a portion of my layout! I have been to Duluth and I think the overall slope is much greater! Some of those roads go downhill more than that.....I am glad I never had to drive them in the winter.
