I’m still here! Is it normal to take 10 years to build a layout?
Back at it. My 5 year old grandson helped me to paint some scenery this week.
I have simplified things a bit - removed a few roads and structures. I will be building a scale model of the Derry aka Bangor Standpipe soon.
Here are some photos of things as they stand today:
Starting from the Derry Yard:
You can see my duckunder track coming in from the left that allows me to run all the way around my U-shaped layout. It is a bit crowded right now, but most of the rolling stock won’t be there.
Moving right out of the yard, you can see 29 Neibolt Street, a trestle over the river and Witcham Street:
Moving further right around the ‘U’ you can see Tracker Brothers, The Barrens, the Paul Bunyan statue and the Aladdin Theater, as well as Christine on the bridge where the Canal starts.
And further to the right is Center Street, with the Falcon Bar & Greyhound Station with the Canal behind.
This week was mostly painting a base coat to cover up the foam and wood. The scenery here will be mostly rock face on the vertical parts and ground cover and trees etc on the top. I used drywall paste on the right and Sculptamold on the left - you can see how the Sculptamold looks much better in terms of texture, so I’ll be adding a thin layer of Sculptamold on the right to match.
Depending on how it looks, the plan is to use carving plaster to make the rock face and paint it to try to make it look real. This is where I would appreciate advce and feedback, since I haven’t done this kind of scenery bef
Even though it is taking a long time, it is still more of a layout than some of us have! Great to see some progress. I love the concept and need to brush up on my King for some of the locations! Have fun.
Where’s the Kitchener Ironworks going to go, and is it going to be ‘functional’ as rebuilt, too? [:-,] You’ll want signs of River hydro mill industry too, with that kind of fall through town…
Tracker Bros. goes right behind the depot: they might have crossdock from a team track or even one of those intermodal ramps…
Is this pre- or post-'85? (From what I see in an earlier photograph, I sure hope the former! [:O][:o)][:O]) You need a Standpipe, perhaps just as part of the backdrop… or the memorial on its site.
Where is the path up to the pet cemetery? [Note to Kalmbach for ‘stage three’ attention… why do we have a Cujo emoticon but no Church?]
All awesome ideas. I do have Tracker Brothers which will have the baseball field in back. I am actually planning to build a scale model of the Standpipe. I visited it in 2015 and took lots of photos inside and out. Love the Pet Sematary idea and the Worumbo Mill. Not sure I have room for the Ironworks, but maybe some remnants! The layout covers several time periods with elements from the 1970’s & 1980’s for the most part.
Not sure what happened, but I can’t get access to my original Aralai account here, so I created this new account. I can’t seem to add an avatar or Bio, but I will be posting with this account now. Made some track simplification changes which I will post soon. I know it has been a long time!!!
Here are the recent track changes. I am running DC, and want some flexibility to run two trains concurrently as well as some variety in continous run loops.
I am also converting my two ‘Duck-Unders’ to ‘Lift-Outs’ since I am tired of both bending over and whacking my head on them. The double track one was always designed as a lift-out - I just never cut the track for it. The single track one near the door should be an easy conversion. It will be nice to be able to just walk in.
I’m thinking of making the single track one a drop-down - hinged so it can just drop down like a table leaf. The double one is designed with pins and butterfly nuts to just pull up and out.
