Anyone built a really thick forest with lots of tall trees?

They sound great, any pictures?

And if you model the desert I will trade you some sand for those trees! 

Meanwhile Wheeling45 is sitting back watching this thread laughing.

 

http://youtu.be/R8Lo9I4dEsM

J Daddy and others, you've really done great work, inspiring to say the least.

 

 

Absolutely.  Superb.

Wonderful J Daddy - your 'floor up' layout is among the few!

I make my trees using dried golden rod.  If you pack them in tight enough they do a fair job of representing forested eastern trackside scenes. In the photos below in the distance I used HO farm structures in forced perspectives.  There is an aisle under the hillside to the right leading to a small hidden workbench that looks out a bay window.  The near ridge behind the water tank is set high enough so the workshop is open to lighting from above but can't be seen from the operating aisle.  In the 7th photo you can make out a coal tipple in the distance on the branch line.  Operators use a 24" raised platform accessed from the hidden aisle to switch the mine.  As with the  aisle scene a forested ridge was used to hide the operating platform area from people standing along the Middle Div. mainline below. The branch does a 180 degree turn crossing over the aisle at 78" elevation.  As on the PRR's steep Tyrone and Clearfield coal branch, the siding at Summit is used by crews to double the hill when moving  loaded coal enroute to the mainline junction at Tyrone.  The branch line yard at Oceola Mills (photo's 2 & 3) is a collection point for empty and loaded hoppers serving mines on the branch.

 

I need to make more trees to complete the seen between the raised branch line and the Middle Division tracks below - but I've only been doing around 500 trees a year -  more than that I get bored - and/or an allergy!

 

Ed Rappe

In a word Ed WOW !!!! 

Fantastic photos of your layout, that is a lot of trees.

Ed,

Now there we are talking!  Great looking forests.  Looks just like Pennsylvania!!

Ed's layout is Simply one of the best model railroads in the world

I agree Eric...nobody models Pennsy better that Ed Rappe...outstanding!

 

Bob

So far Ed's "forest" is the best pictured.

 

However, I was still looking for more of a forest and not just a clump of trees that look like off-track greenery or shrubbery. I would like to see a massive number tree trunks below an even larger green canopy of branches and leaves.

 

That to me is a FOREST!

Alan, is that a serious comment?

I have been redoing all me scenery. Adding more evergreens and redoing my super trees with foam. I plant some trees and then see how they look. I am trying to pack a lot into small areas to get a somewhat dense feel. In some of these pics I see I have to change out some trees I just bought. They have a plastic base which after seeing them in the pics I have to do something different. So here are a couple of new pics.......Paul

Paul

It's definitely looking like a forest at this end.

 

Larry

I was just driving through West Virginia today thinking about this thread. It occurred to me that it would be interesting to attempt a large-scale deciduous forest in the winter.  Then you could really model lots of individual trees and have your work be seen. There would be a conifer here and there, patches of ice and snow, and so on. Anyone seen such a thing?

You need to be a little bit careful about having trains go through full scale trees.  The effect may be realistic, but the trains will be visually dwarfed by the trees.  Thus the trains no longer are the visual focal point. I am not saying this is bad or good, I am just saying you should be aware of it

 

In my case, I have close to full scale forests (of individually made and planted trees), but I keep them slightly away from the trains.

 

 

 On the other hand, I do have them flanking my roads.  The following shows how full scale trees can dominate a scene:

 

  Even in close up the trees dominate:

  

 

John,

I really like your placement of trees off the track a bit and along the road!

I also REALLY like your House of Duddy catenary system. Are you going to string the wires too?

Great looking scenes John.  My only regret about retiring and moving to Williamsburg is no longer meeting with the DC area Friday Night O scale group.  By hanging around with you and Chris (N&W Chris) this old dog could learn some new tricks.

Ed Rappe

Hello John, great pictures, lots of small details.

On the second photo the little bit of foliage laying on the side of the road to me looks like leaves.

 

Great job !!!!

I recall seeing a late Fall/Winter themed "N" scale layout (no snow or ice) that was very realistic based on the Monon. It was done that way specifically because of the difficulty of finding realistic trees and shrubs. The builder is a fellow named Lance Mindheim.

 

http://monon.org/mindheim.html

 

http://monon.org/models/mindheim/08-31clearcreek2.jpg

 

Simon

Wow, some of those layout forests look fantastic.

 

I'm just curious here, has anyone used real trees - Bonsai?  Not a forest perhaps but one or two.  I knew several folks who had them of a G gauge indoor (basement) layout and a tinplate layout, and they looked fun, if not terribly real, but I wonder if maybe . . .?

My only regret about retiring and moving to Williamsburg is no longer meeting with the DC area Friday Night O scale group.  By hanging around with you and Chris (N&W Chris) this old dog could learn some new tricks.

 

Look at it from our point of view, we now have to drive two hours on I-95 & I-64 to hang around with you guys and learn your new tricks!