It's finally starting to be fun...

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cncproadwarrior

cncproadwarrior

North of the 49th
Building my layout is finally starting to be fun. The benchwork is done and the extruded foam glued down. I've started laying track and creating basic scenery so it's finally starting to take on the look of a railroad. The ballast is from my free sifted stuff.

Here are a few pics of one corner of the top level. It's an outcrop of rock where the railroad was carved out. Some trees and shrubs will be installed on this piece of rock shortly. The track will be weathered also.

My backdrop of wispy clouds on blue sky didn't turn out too bad either.;)
 
Looks excellent so far, Bernie. The sky is much better than the usual blue with some puffy clouds. If I may make one suggestion, use an air brush and spray your track with a 50/50 mixture of rust and rail brown. It will eliminate the glare from the metal and reduce the apparent size of the rail as well.
 


Thanks for the suggestion Jim. But is it not too late to air brush the tracks now that the ballast is laid? I guess I should mention that I have an air brush but have never used one.:rolleyes:
 
No, Bernie, it's not too late at all. The colors will also blend in the ballast in the center of the track while leaving the shoulders fairly clean if you mask with some cardboard as you go along. I weathered my track and ballast at the same time and I think it looks pretty good.
 
Ah yes, the old cardboard on the tracks trick.... :D

Sounds like a great idea. I've been collecting pics of tracks from railpictures.net and I like the rusted rail and tie look. And I've been meaning to try out that air brush. So far I haven't had the nerve or resolve to set it up. All I need now is a source for compressed air.:rolleyes:

Also, now that my "rock" is finished and painted, I think I'm going to round it off a bit. In other words, less jagged and more smooth. Why do I always change my mind AFTER it's finished??:confused:
 
If it's starting to be fun you're doing something wrong! :)
Looking good Bernie! How did you make the rock?
Ballast turned out great!
 
my mountain and tunnel

what do you think of this mountain Bernie?:D still have to add the trees and the greenery
 
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Very nice work so far...and this is the point where it all began to 'take shape' and be some fun for me, too. I began to develop more confidence at this point.

Just an observation about function, not form...are you sure you have good lateral clearance outboard of the rails in the first photo? If you are running longer engines, mostly steamers, you could get a nasty surprise if the pilot beam or the rear corners of the cab scrape the rock face. In the case of my humongous Rivarossi C&O H-8 Allegheny (were they really that much bigger than a Y6b or a Challenger?!), it was the low hanging and wide swayed end of the engineer's side injector overflow that scraped everything low down there. It took a lot of rock paring and repainting to get things quiet.

-Crandell
 
Thanks Crandell, good point. There is lots of clearance for my SD40-2s but I have one steamer, a 2-6-6-4. I'll check that out before I go any fruther.
 
Redwine, nice job on that mountain. I probably wouldn't have made the section next to the track quite as vertical but the retaining walls will make it look OK.

Bernie, you may find that the current rough look is softened up considerably when you add vegetation. Those rough spots and outcroppings make a natural resting place for vegetation. Hills that are too smooth actually look pretty unnatural and are harder to landscape.
 
UP2CSX said:
Bernie, you may find that the current rough look is softened up considerably when you add vegetation. Those rough spots and outcroppings make a natural resting place for vegetation. Hills that are too smooth actually look pretty unnatural and are harder to landscape.
Click to expand...

Jim, that decision has already been made. My wife came down to the train room for the first time in a week. She noticed the "rock" and could not get over how nice it looks. Remember I'm a newbie at this.:p

Anyway, I told her that I was going to round it off a little and she "suggested" that I leave it as is. After some "negotiating", as usual, she won the day. So it stays as it is. :D

Crandell, there is more clearance than shows up on the pics. But I checked the clearance for my 2-6-6-4 and although the rear swings close to it, there is still plenty of clearance. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Bernie, sounds like your wife has good taste in scenery. Sometimes, it seems women have a better eye for what looks "right" than we do.
 
Good looking rock, Bernie. I agree, you made the right decision, on 2 levels :o) Great texture and color. I agree on weathering the track - it will make a big difference. I've just started and am using paint pens. Its a lot more work after the track is installed but worth it.

Redwine P = that mountain is going to be a beauty. Looks like it could be the beginnings of a strip mining operation.

Jon
http://www.dollhousedesigns.com/ModelRR/ModelRR.html
 
Jon NFL said:
Good looking rock, Bernie. I agree, you made the right decision, on 2 levels :o) Great texture and color. I agree on weathering the track - it will make a big difference. I've just started and am using paint pens. Its a lot more work after the track is installed but worth it.

Jon
Click to expand...

Thanks Jon. I started weathering the track with Floquil paint pens. Although it's easy enough even when the tracks are ballasted, I find that the paint is semi transparent and does not cover the rail completely. I gave it a few coats and it seems to be better.
 
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