New On30 Track Plan

[logandsawman]

The wooden fence looks great, too. Is that a kit or was it scratch built?

Dave

 

[BayHighRY]

Thanks! That's a Woodland Scenics pre-made fence you can get for $20. I thought of making my own, but they have some great products I couldn't pass up! Prepainted and weathered and everything. Hard to beat for that price and convenience.

 

[BayHighRY]

Updated other side of the mountain where the engine house and pine trees are going to go. Ground cover and rocks have been painted with initial bushes and grass added as well. Might start looking at the next module over now and doing more ground cover/tree work and start building the track plan with switches.

 

[Topherisme]

Looks like a really fun build, and you are doing it so well, pleasure to watch it come together with you

 

[BayHighRY]

Thank you! The whole point of this build was to finish it quickly (within a year). I didn't want to have one of those never ending layouts that never seems to be done. Something functional and small fits my needs for now, and the first panel is almost done! Next will be the hardest part - the water feature, building the custom trestle, and the static grass, which I still have to figure out.

 

[BayHighRY]

Need a custom retaining wall? How about some balsa wood, chopsticks, and cutting up a foam grade crossing and gluing it all together to make a wall vertically?

(Note, the brown wall is an actual model that turned out to be too thick for my sliver of space on the side. So I used that as a guide and created my own cheap alternative. Painting and gluing it in place comes next.)

 

[BayHighRY]

The second panel is coming together. This will consist of the switch to go to the main double engine house and coal loading tower. Phone poles will be coming in soon. The retaining walls have also been painted and installed on the lower track line. Extra trees will be filling in the hillside, and I'm thinking about putting in a road through the grass that will lead to the station on the top of the line.

 

[BayHighRY]

Been a while since the last update, the second module is more or less done. Decided to do a scenary first approach since I already know my track plan. One problem I've yet to solve is how to connect the modules track wise - perhaps running a wire between tracks is the easiest approach? But I know I'll have to get schooled on electrical wiring as I want to make it a DCC Compatible layout. This will also mean selling half my rolling stock eventually including the shay but them's the learning curves. More trees and foliage to be planted as the third module takes shape with the coal tower on the upper town portion.

 

[BayHighRY]

Another smaller update, traded in my Shay for a 4-4-0 classic American and gave it a fresh paint over and weathering and wood tender load. Next up is doing static grass application and more panel work, as well as starting the heavy lifting on the 3rd main panel and 4th end panel. Also finished a water tower cut and added more weathering to the mining shacks at the top of the layout.

 

[BayHighRY]

The 4-4-0 makes it's way around the highline trestle, over the newly completed waterfall and creek. The trestle is all hand made and painted, installed into the mountain using plaster and then painted over. The water effects below are done with a mix of dyes and Woodland Scenics water effects, with dirt and sand mixed in. Panel 1 of 4 is about as good as I can get it right now, and will be moving on to the tunnel section on panel 3 next.