I see a lot of hills clouds and trees wondering if anyone knows of or has done something by the sea or a lake as a backdrop subject?
The NKP runs along the great lakes maybe a NKP fan has tackled this issue or even something in Florida with the ocean done as a backdrop. I love to see pictures if you got them!
Thanks for your time![:)]
John Pryke’s Union Terminal RR book had a small section on how he used photographs of Boston and it’s harbor to create his backdrop. I could copy the page/pages (sooner or later) if you can’t track it down.
Mark Alan
I have started a layout with an island seaport theme which will have some ocean background. The island seaport is accessed by a mile-and-a-half long stone arch rail causeway, represented by the top portion of 8 Atlas viaduct sets. Bay background to be painted so horizon level is about even with rail-top level. A highway bridge behind (from layout viewer’s POV) the rail causeway will help obscure the transition from flat modeled water surface to 2-D backdrop.
Computer nrendering of planning finished scene–
causeway scene halfway done Jan08. I propper up a paper sky-and-clouds background to pose a temporary scene.
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In the prototype scene, long argo sheds divide the shipside loading area from the main railyard and station area. 
My layout will have cargo sheds at the back of the layout (with staging tracks hidden inside!) and the tops of ships visible over roof of the sheds, painted on BG. Trackplan of this part of layout…
All I have so far is roadbed and track so nothing to show of actual layout. Here is a computer persepctive rendering of planned scene…
nice layout! anyway i could see the whole thing?
leighant - Great shots is that N scale?
Love to see more and anyone else’s work!
This one’s pretty simple, the ship is a computer printout. it needs some more bushed to mask the join.
Yes it is N scale. However the only “shot”, ie photograph, is the side view of the reefer block on the arch causeway, and it is only posed on one section of a so-far unassembled non-operating layout.
The 3/4 high-angle oblique view of the causeway scene, and the view across the passenger station platforms towards the shipside cargo sheds are Amiga Video Toaster renderings of 3-D computer models built in Lightwave 3D back about 2001. I have been dreaming and planning towards this layout almost a decade and was about to start assembling sections in my spare room over the last Christmas holiday before a financial/housing situation landed an in-law camping in the room.
I would love to see the layout take shape in real life. You can view a long drawn-out discussion of the plan and some early construction and mockup views at
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=88991&highlight=island+seaport
Or skip the discussion and just look at my gallery of pictures with layouts long past, recent and wanna-be:
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/2660