I need help with my tunnel. My double main line goes under an overhang of my interior stairs and it works great for a tunnel how should I enclose it? I did some plaster rocks as a temporary cover until I got back around to it. The one thing I am kind of leaning too is putting up a brick or stone wall and then using some background buildings on top as I am putting in some background urban buildings along the wall to the left of the tunnel. Or the othe thought is to leave the plaster as is and just got back and put in some ivy or other kind of growth up the rock. I am open to suggestions.
One option that should work OK is the urban scene you suggested with structures and retaining wall, making it appear as if the tracks disappear beneath a city. You could also extend some shallow relief buildings to the left of the tunnel entrance to disguise it a bit more, and represent a city at ground level without the retaining wall.
Another possibility is adding a backdrop of dense trees, complemented with some 3D ones, so the tracks seem to disappear into the trees.
You could have a signal bridge across the opening, or use a highway bridge across the whole scene.
Unless you have other mountain scenery in the immediate vicinity, a mountain and tunnel scene is probably less effective than the other possibilities, as it could seem out of place. If you want to keep the tunnel, try additional hilly terrain as a transition.
Rob’s idea will work OK.
One of the problems that you have is the area that it is in because it is narrow. You really don’t build a tunnel. You build a mountain that a tunnel goes through. At least that is what it should look like.
If you want it to look like a mountain, you should paint a mountain on the wall in front of the tunnel area. Then you can work in a steep sloping shape up the wall some over the tunnel.
If you are new at this, use Rob’s suggestion. It will be easier in the long run.
I have been at it for about 3 years [;)]
and I agree, Rob has given some good ideas. The overpass one does sound good. I would have an overpass 90 degrees to the main line and then run a faux elevated road- pillars and guardrails- across the stairs part that stick out so it looks like an intersection, similar to this one not far from my house.
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i think the main problem with the tunnel is the enterance. Why couldn’t you move the tunnel enterance forward a bit so it gives you more room to create a good looking tunnel enterance and like Rob said paint a nice looking mountain scene on the backdrop.
Scott