New Shelf Layout

[Steve]

Been a while hasn't it?
I finally started my new layout.
Having no trackplanning ability at all...a good friend designed the layout for me:







It represents the industrial end of a smallish town set in a rural area.
Transitional era
RR is Northern Pacific (who else?)

The real key, as I see it, is to try and make 1ft seem as deep as possible. I have been researching methods and techniques designed to do just that. It is a challenge but that will also be the great fun in building this layout.
I hope you all find this thread fun as well.


BACKDROP:

I had been going back and forth in my mind about whether or not I should try to paint some clouds on the backdrop. Most of the time they don't look very convincing, and I have seen many layouts that just don't have them. At the end of the day, I figured I'd give it a try.

I used white paint and my trusty $4.99 airbrush. There was no way I was going to try and make big old puffy cottonball-like clouds (I would never be able to make them look right)....so I went with the more wispy/airy clouds (sorry for the lack of proper cloud names....school was a long time ago ).
After getting the general shape with the air brush, I took a small fan brush and kind of dabbed it here and there for highlights.
Sorry for the poor quality of the pic....the lighting is kiiling me! But that must wait




The clouds are more pronounced than the pic indicates.......I may have to do something about the lighting after all!

I used the flash for these pics...a little better







TRACK:

Here are a couple of pics.......in the second, the arrow shows where I will be cutting a hole into the wall so that I can have hidden staging in the closet.............I haven't told the wife about that part of the plan.....shhhhhhhhhhh! don't tell her!






Bridge across the river:

Seeing that the "river" is so narrow, a small wooden trestle seemed to make sense. I looked at hundreds of pics, but my mind always seemed to go back to a pic I have seen many times on the home page of this great website:

http://www.wwvrailway.com/index.htm

What sets that little trestle apart are the pointed wooden piers (I haven't found any other trestles that use planks like that, although I'm sure that there are).
My river/stream is much narrower than the prototype, so I will be having only one pier (and abutments of course). One challenge is that the trestle will be supporting a turnout and not just straight track, so it will have an irregular shape.

A very simple scratch-built trestle:
It still needs a lot of weathering, a couple of splice plates, abutments, and the shape of the river and banks need to be defined and shaped.











I think that the pointed wooden pier gives it a little character.


Shaping the river and banks:

I used sculptamold to give the banks the proper shape and flow, and added a small "island" to help hide the fake curve.
With the proper greenery/foliage etc. it should be pretty convincing...I hope. I still have to make the abutments of course.







I will be leaving the river "as is" until I get ready to do the groundcover.....but before I do that, I am going to start building the structures.

First up will be the coal house on the far left side of the layout.

Take care

[ak-milw]

Steve,
It's great to have you back and posting again, it's been to long!!!!

The track plan looks excellent with a lot of operating opertunities. I am sure with your scenery talents and structure building abilities this will be another great layout. Will be following along closely!!!!



PS, I love the choice of car you put on the trestle!!!!!!

[Steve]

Thanks Andy

PS, I love the choice of car you put on the trestle!!!!!!

Yeah...its OK.....I guess............

[TallDude]

Nice track plan Steve! A bunch of interesting switching operations are available there!

I do somehow think that choice of the MILW car was planned though for a certain someone.

[Catt]

Steve,
the track plan looks great,and there ain't nuthin wrong with those clouds either,but couldn't you have picked a better boxcar to use in that pic?

Good to see you posting again buddy.

[Steve]

Thanks guys!

couldn't you have picked a better boxcar to use in that pic?

That's an old modeler's trick Catt, put something ugly next to your model to make it look better...girls do it, they bring an ugly friend along to make them look pretty by comparison.

[TallDude]

LOL.... a Santa Fe would have been much better, right Domiluk?

Originally Posted by Nazgul

Thanks guys!



That's an old modeler's trick Catt, put something ugly next to your model to make it look better...girls do it, they bring an ugly friend along to make them look pretty by comparison.

[ak-milw]

Thats why when I go out I take TM with me!!

And there ain't nothin wrong with that car!!!!!! beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

[TallDude]

I've never "beheld" that car. (is that even a word?)

I see Steve is going to have a river though, so that means more awesome water photos. Speaking of which, for you new guys, you might want check out the tutorial Steve did on Waterfalls here:

Waterfall Tutorial

It's awesome stuff!

[Steve]

Thanks Kevin

In all seriousness though, I have to admit, that Milw Rd car is probably my best looking non-weathered boxcar.