So I finally got some wood supplies, and built my bridge. I couldn't find real woodworking supplies around my area, I'm not sure if I'm just not looking at the right places or if KCK doesn't really have a place for it. I ended up using small popsicle sticks and a small square dowel.
Here are some sample shots.
I'm still working on weathering, and finishing up the earth paint on the whole layout. all of my rough areas are being difficult, and I need to go back over it with another coat of thinner paint (cut with water).
In the past week or so I have been busy at work and with a few things around the house, but I have been working on my layouts a little here and there.
On my coal mine layout I removed my lumber yard. Why? I was having a really hard time finding lumber rolling stock and trying to get it to mesh with my layout. I have also carved out the hill from which my mine will come from. I plan to use Z scale track for the mines cart system.
The pizza layout has made very little progress. I have painted the pond/stream bed black and have added a bit of dark brown paint here and there to make the edges more defined. I did win an auction for a Chessie System f9 with caboose that I will run on this layout instead of the Union Pacific f9.
Another thing that has happened is I got a few lots of rolling stock for my layouts. They're mostly box cars, along with a centerflow hopper and a modern UPS freight car. I will run 5-6 boxcars on the pizza, and the others will be held on to for my larger layout with a yard and industries.
So this weekend I decided to work on my first layout.I needed to figure out a way to get a coal mine into the layout, and I wasn't liking the idea of running cart tracks across the entire layout. I decided the best way to do it would be to add a small mount in the middle of the layout and create a mine entrance into the side of it. I carved the base of the mound out of foam and made the tunnel entrance out of a cardboard box to see what things were going to look like.
Here's a snapshot
The entrance would be made out of boxwood just like the tunnel portals. I'm planning on getting ahold of some wood supplies this week to start my work.
So this is the base of my pizza layout all carved up and ready for paint. The EMD-F9 is going to be running this layout with all of my boxcars and the Union Pacific caboose once I switch the couplers around to make it work.
Next time I post the lake and base terrain will be done, after that it's on to fabricating the bridge and laying the track!
So last night as I was waiting for Rachel to come home from work I went to run my layout a bit. I noticed I had a lot of extra track lying around from the set I won off of ebay, and decided to make another little circle of track and see how well things ran around it. I put it on a spare piece of foam and noticed that the track was the 9.75 radius not 11.25. With that I thought, "Hey I could make a real pizza layout with this and not have to spend a dime..." So I did! I started cutting and carving and ended up with a hill and a pond w/runoff.
I then put my saw down and decided I should give myself a bit of direction, and made this quick concept.
My EMD F9 will run this layout with my box cars. The pond and run off will be just paint at first until I get some realistic water I will be trying to make the turf look really rough and untended.
Here is a quick sketch of my final touches to the layout. I have decided to add a mine entrance and a small rail system that will lead to the coal depot. I will just use some rails taken from some of my extra track to create the rail system. it won't actually be a working rail, and I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to create the carts.
after posting my progress on modeltrainforum.com, a contributor mentioned something I had kind of put aside. Tunnel portals. I wanted to build my own and go for a rustic mining feel but never found the information I wanted. I then started doing some backward research, looking up types of wood for small things like doll houses, then how to age them. I finally came to balsa/bass wood and some aging techniques that I think will work really well.
I have finished my basic terrain as of now. My last steps are blending my buildings into the terrain, adding a dirt road, and then adding other little things like people, animals, cars, signs, and more.
Here are some shots of my progress.
To add my base terrain I first covered my rails with some masking tape, then sprayed down the entire layout with scenic spray. I then sprinkled on a mixed fine green turf. Once I covered the entire layout I added a medium green turf on top to add some depth. I then added bushes, gluing them down with elmers glue. Once I was happy with the base terrain I then sprayed the entire layout with more scenic spray. The trees are just sitting on the layout until I get some more and decide where I want to put them for sure. I still need to get some light grey ballast to add my gravel roads and parking lots.
You may have noticed a new locomotive in the shots above. It is a bachmann 0-6-0 from a Yard Boss set I won off of ebay for a mere $26.
It runs fairly well. I also won a lot of rolling stock that game with a Life Like GP38 that just needed a good cleaning. Now I have 3 descent engines to run on this layout, along with a good amount of rolling stock. I am looking around for a lumber load for this setup. I have 5 coal cars and a handful of box cars/tanks but no lumber loads to match my lumber yard.
