Stopped to look at where I was and were things are now...here's some shots of my progress - learning from this site. (The first shot was with the flash mode which lightened and highlighted the ballast more than it appeared then. The second shot of the layout today was with natural moring sunshine and no flash.). Some things that have changed in the last year: All the track was re-ballasted and weathered, All the hills had all the lichen removed and many of the trees replaced, All the roads were re-done (and probably will again soon since I'm still not happy with the way they turned out), Four structures were added with three more in the works, All four corner hills were rebuilt to lighten up the look of the overall layout (the center hill will get the same treatment soon), Telephone poles/signs added as well as some smaller detailing here and there, All the buildings were weathered as were a few engines and railroad cars. Thanks to all of you for the tips, hints, and help that I've needed to improve my layout. I have learned a great deal from this website (the only one I frequent). And it's not done yet...so many things to improve upon still. When I figure out how to use my camera in the "close up" mode I'll post more pictures here. Thanks for viewing them, and as always, all comments/critiques/suggestions are appreciated.
Layout Update Pictures
- Thread starter Herc Driver
- Start date
Chessie6459
Gauge Oldtimer
Looks Great. You are doing a fine job with it. Keep us updated on your progress.:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Herc Driver, WOW! OUTSTANDING job!:thumb: big difference between the first and second pics:thumb:. well done scenics and modeling:thumb::thumb:. i REALLY like your track plan too!
you are able to run a train on the main line, and do switching moves at the same time, NICE!:thumb: -Deano
you are able to run a train on the main line, and do switching moves at the same time, NICE!:thumb: -DeanoThanks for the kind words. Still lots to do to improve though. Right now, the hills have only a few trees making it look like they're sitting on bleachers watching the trains go by...not quite the way I want it to look, but within the next few days I hope to improve on the hills at the four corners. The story behind the track design is pretty simple. Each of my kids got a hill in the corners of the train board...they cut the foam board and glued it into position. They helped me paint them and pour the ground cover, make lichen trees and plant them, even decide where the deer should go (and who got which deer). They wanted some water, some curves, turnouts, and a big hill in the center. They wanted a tunnel too...but I'm still working on that one. I bought the track and played around with the design and finally with the kids input, decided on this layout. It's simple enough that my 7 yr old can run one train at a time and the older kids can run two at a time (non-DCC layout at this time...but that'll change one day) without switching problems. So for the purest, this line doesn't mimic any real operation...but bits and pieces of it are from my memories of my grandfather (retired B&O employee) taking me down to the tracks to watch the B&O's start their climb from the mines (I still remember that deep shaking rumble of power as they slowly climbed the grades in and around Somerset, PA) mixed with what we see around our home in Charlotte, NC. Whoa, sorry for the monologue there...Thanks for the encouragement guys...I'm always trying to improve the realism of the line.
Why aren't you happy with the way the roads turned out? It's hard to tell from the pictures but they look great to me. I'm working on a little 2X2 with my son at the moment and I'm not happy with the way our roads turned out either. We did a blackwash on them but it looks too light, splotchy and inconsistent. I will come back later and paint them all a uniform dark dark grey almost black and then add striping (somehow) and other details.
Roads?
Thanks for the nice comment...I used Noch adhesive roads which was very hard to work with. You need to make a template first then cut the adhesive backed paper off, which gums up scissors well, peel away the backing and carefully (that should read CAREFULLY!!!) stick into position. In theory, they should look great. In reality, the smallest amount of pressure or stretching deforms the road slightly and will be evident a week later when it shrinks back into it's normal position leaving a gap where two pieces join. If it touches anything else before it's placed into position, it will stick there and that piece is ruined. Trying to cut it without the paper backing in near impossible. When I put them down, I thought they'd be on the layout short term while I accomplished other tasks on the layout. A year later, I still haven't removed them. I hope to make some with Woodland scenics road "system" on day. On the plus side, this adhesive road colors well with chalk dust and I use a fine pointed gel pen in black, white and yellow for road lines. I would really like to improve on the track crossings all around the layout too. Some others on this forum have some great looking road using the cardboard from shirt boxes. I might try that technique just to try it and see how they turn out. Since I need to make the roads come up a bit higher and around the various buildings, leaving the "stick-on" roads and placing the cardboard over the top might improve the look of the whole road system. But, maybe just ripping every road off and "pouring" the Woodland putty down is the best bet.
Thanks for the nice comment...I used Noch adhesive roads which was very hard to work with. You need to make a template first then cut the adhesive backed paper off, which gums up scissors well, peel away the backing and carefully (that should read CAREFULLY!!!) stick into position. In theory, they should look great. In reality, the smallest amount of pressure or stretching deforms the road slightly and will be evident a week later when it shrinks back into it's normal position leaving a gap where two pieces join. If it touches anything else before it's placed into position, it will stick there and that piece is ruined. Trying to cut it without the paper backing in near impossible. When I put them down, I thought they'd be on the layout short term while I accomplished other tasks on the layout. A year later, I still haven't removed them. I hope to make some with Woodland scenics road "system" on day. On the plus side, this adhesive road colors well with chalk dust and I use a fine pointed gel pen in black, white and yellow for road lines. I would really like to improve on the track crossings all around the layout too. Some others on this forum have some great looking road using the cardboard from shirt boxes. I might try that technique just to try it and see how they turn out. Since I need to make the roads come up a bit higher and around the various buildings, leaving the "stick-on" roads and placing the cardboard over the top might improve the look of the whole road system. But, maybe just ripping every road off and "pouring" the Woodland putty down is the best bet.
That's a great improvement! Who makes that great arrowhead mill building? that's really neat! The attractive curve towards the top, around the bend in the lake must make for some great photogrphs. It's great what you can do with a small layout, isn't it?
The attractive curve towards the top, around the bend in the lake must make for some great photogrphs. It's great what you can do with a small layout, isn't it?
L
lester perry
I like it a lot. It looks like you planned ahead for DCC. You could have a train running around layout while switching the businesses on the inside working from the track inside the station. Or just use blocks DCC not necessary.
Les
Les
It's actually wired for a block now...but when I go DCC I'll remove it. The ArrowHead Mills building is a kit but I don't remember by who...let me do some research as I remember seeing it on several websites. I cut out the Arrow Head from a grain box my wife was about to throw away...seemed to fit that space well enough. I really need to get the layout away from the wall so I can get photos from the other side. Thanks for taking the time to look it over and the positive words!
Herc,
I love your layout! You got a lot of track and industries, but it doesn't "feel" crowded. The sweeping curves and landscape elements really help to expand the space and make things seem farther apart and more natural. Couple that with the continuous running while switching the industries and what your left with is an A W E S O M E layout!
I love your layout! You got a lot of track and industries, but it doesn't "feel" crowded. The sweeping curves and landscape elements really help to expand the space and make things seem farther apart and more natural. Couple that with the continuous running while switching the industries and what your left with is an A W E S O M E layout!
Actually that Arrowhead Mills building is a Heljan kit of a print shop. I bought it built by another modeler, kept the original cream yellow walls and red roof but weathered it to match buildings around my area then found a good match for a business sign from a cardboard box. If you look really hard you can also see a Keebler sign on the building at the rear of "industry row", again saved from an empty box destined for the trash. Look for: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Weekly Herald Print Shop[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]
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