The wife's HO Atlas layout...


Man, you guys all have layouts going and I am so jealous LOL. Looking great Tony. I have been watching your progress on this and I think you are kicking butt on it. Anxiously waiting for more photos!
 
Kevin,

Thanks, if only you knew or saw all of the "stuff ups" getting this far, and there were plenty of them :) Now I have the majority of the buildings I want, things will progress a little quicker.

Cheers mate
 
Great updates. Looks like a great set of structures you have have there. Would like to see some more of the 'other side' though, if you will. :)

Got my taxes and will be headed to the hobby shop Saturday!!! Whoohooo!!!
 
Not much to see of the other side (the Dark Side) as yet; but, as I put it together I will be posting progress pictures. Just as a taster though; my intention for the "other side" is a fairly steep cliff running down to the inner line. Will possibly be running the main line through a short tunnel.

There will be a small depot/station where the inner line terminates that will be "cut back into the cliff face. That station/depot will service a recreational lake that will take up a large part of that "other side". The left side will connect to the "other side" via a series of rolling pastures, and a house or two.

That is pretty much the entire layout in words :)

Cheers guys,
 
gator do 65 said:
Looks great,
One question, How did you get that cool texture on the mountain(s) ?
Talk about talent, WOW!
Click to expand...

Thank you but I'm not sure about the "talent", it really was hit and miss.

In a nutshell, I formed the basic shape of the mountain with 1" EPS foam.

Once I had the fundamental shape, I started layering the foam with 45 minute cure plaster of paris using the back of a "T Spoon" to spread it.

Once I had the plaster in a similar shape of the foam, I used thin, irregularly sliced bits of EPS scattered around it, then plastered over the top of that again. I continued laying the plaster until I had something that looked close to what I see outside my home.

As the final layer of plaster started curing, I'd use the back of the T Spoon again to add a bit more shape.

The rock face was done by waiting for the plaster to "almost set", then I went nuts with my knife cutting grooves into it, leaving the plaster that had been cut out where ever it fell. I watched Nightmare on Elm Street before doing that, just for inspiration :)

That is all there is to it. As said, not much talent just hit and miss technology, keeping my fingers crossed and referring to my real surrounding terrain. and the rock faces we have here. In short, it isn't hard just very time consuming and messy, something my wife constantly reminds me of.

Thanks again for your kind words, they flatter me unjustifiably and are appreciated.
 
Wombat ( aka tony ),

I've been following your progress and your talent shows without doubt!!!! I can understand the shoot from the hip attitude as my whole layout is built from cardboard and paper:cool:
But it runs!!!

Keep it up your wife will be happy and that counts more than any praise from a comment!!!
 
gator do 65 said:
Wombat ( aka tony ),

I've been following your progress and your talent shows without doubt!!!! I can understand the shoot from the hip attitude as my whole layout is built from cardboard and paper:cool:
But it runs!!!

Keep it up your wife will be happy and that counts more than any praise from a comment!!!
Click to expand...

Gator do 65,

You make two very valid points, having a railroad that runs and keeping the wife happy. I'm just fairly fortunate that I have a reasonably tolerant wife.
I work on the attitude of, if you don't plan anything, nothing can go wrong. Well, that's the theory anyway :)

Cheers and thank you again for your compliments,
 
Your layout is moving along great. I like what you've done so far. Looking at your business district, it appears that you have a single roadway coming into town and making a loop. I know of very few towns that are located at the end of a road. I would suggest that the roadway that you have coming into town, continues either up towards the mountain and either disappear into a tunnel or disappear behind some trees. Then your business district could be arranged along that roadway as well as along streets coming off that road. It might provide a few more options in how you arrange the structures in that area.
 
Jim,

Thanks for the idea regarding the road layout. I have to admit that I am having issues with the business district setup too, hence my stopping work on that end of the layout for the time being.

Scott,

More pictures are soon to be posted. I tend to get into the work, have a "train of thought" and just keep going, forgetting about photographing things as I go until I complete the section I am working on. Also, think I have some of the "leftovers" ready to send out to you too. Will get them sent in the next couple of days.

Cheers,
 
wombat457 said:
Gator do 65,

You make two very valid points, having a railroad that runs and keeping the wife happy. I'm just fairly fortunate that I have a reasonably tolerant wife.
I work on the attitude of, if you don't plan anything, nothing can go wrong. Well, that's the theory anyway :)

Cheers and thank you again for your compliments,
Click to expand...

Compliments come easy when well deserved! As for tolerance it was the wife's idea to expand from 4 x 12 to 9 x 12! Maybe the reason we just celebrated our twenty first!!:cool:
 
gator do 65,

Firstly, congratulation on your 21 st Anniversary. Nowadays, not too many can boast something such as that.

It sounds like your wife and mine are similar, both have an interest and that certainly helps getting things :)
 
Slow going ...

Afternoon guys,

For those wanting an update on the progress, here are a couple of photo's of what has been going on in the past few days:

Img_0015_zpsccb6a0a6.jpg


Img_0016_zpsec95b93e.jpg


These show the right side of the track, where the tunnel is going to be. Right now it looks like nothing and very much out of proportion, that will change with the "growth" of the cutting infront of the track work, albeit by not very much.

The foreground is the location for the lake and takes up much of this side of the layout. I don't know how clear it is; however, you might be able to determine the lakes outline with a small island. Owning an island is my ambition, and I think this will be the only one that I can manage, hence its inclusion :)

I obviously have a lot more plaster work on the cliff behind the station and elsewhere, and that will be the focus of my next update.

Thanks for following along with this guys. It is your interest, along with my wife's begging to get it finished, that keeps me going at a reasonable pace.
 
wombat457 said:
gator do 65,

Firstly, congratulation on your 21 st Anniversary. Nowadays, not too many can boast something such as that.

It sounds like your wife and mine are similar, both have an interest and that certainly helps getting things :)
Click to expand...

Thank you, we've outlasted all our friends!
I really like how you set the building in the mountain, originally I was having trouble envisioning your thoughts! I failed mind reading 101:eek:
 
Thanks guys,

After working on this until 3:00 this morning, I am now looking at it and not sure if I like the over all results. It just doesn't look right. I am going to have to re think the track position I think, and perhaps move it one section of track forward, then move the hills (currently infront of the track) back to join up with the tunnel side. I don't know, I'm having a brain freeze moment.
 
wombat457 said:
Thanks guys,

After working on this until 3:00 this morning, I am now looking at it and not sure if I like the over all results. It just doesn't look right. I am going to have to re think the track position I think, and perhaps move it one section of track forward, then move the hills (currently infront of the track) back to join up with the tunnel side. I don't know, I'm having a brain freeze moment.
Click to expand...

If I am picturing the change you are considering correctly, then that is going to take up a lot of real estate and possibly kill your plans to own an island. You do have some options though if you don't like the look as is.
You could move the station to the other side (lake side) of the tracks. It would make the station more accessible to passengers and allow a more gradual slope down to the track from the hillside.
Another possibility would be to start the curve one track section forward as you are considering, but have it straighten out sooner so it ends up angled a bit more towards the base of the mountain. This might allow more space around the station on the far side of the track. It might also allow room for the hill in front of the track as well as on the far side of the track with a "cut" through the hill. It might even make it possible to have the lake extend to the far side of the track and provide an opportunity for a bridge. This would tie the lake and the track together as part of the same scene.
Then again, if you move the track and station forward a track section, then the track could still be on a bridge over the lake and the station could be on a peninsula that sticks out into the lake (or even an island), possibly with a few vacation cottages or a resort hotel around it. That would make it a nice little place to go fishing and get away from it all.
 
Okay, I consulted my structural engineer (aka Mrs wombat) and the entire front hill section has been removed for a flatter landscape running down to the lake. Looks like it's time t start again.
 
Jim,

Just read your post and one of my concerns was the placement of my trestle bridge. I like the idea of the "station on the island" and your thoughts about angling the track more.

If I shorten the straight approach track by perhaps 4" I could angle the track towards the right hand corner. Doing that would give me more space between the tunnel cliff and the track, allowing me to extend the lake to the cliff face and place my trestle bridge on that curve. This way, I keep the lake about the same size as it is, have my bridge in place and have more land for structures to place around the lake and station, if needed.

Does that make sense?
 
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