Duckunder - Roanoke scene

Awesome stuff Will!

Nice shots Will - good to see this update!

Great job! And thank-you for sharing.

Very nice Will!  Just love that 58 Impala, that was one my favorites.  Certainly nice to hear from you also.

 

Everyone have a nice evening.

 

Ken

Nice! Will, where did you get light blue and white 1958 Chevrolet Impala by switch tower? Want to have one for my layout.

Thanks, fellows.

 

No one has yet asked why there is a giant green thermostat hovering over Roanoke like a weird flying saucer...

Diecast Direct.  I am sorry to say that they aren't cheap!

Will,

That looks to be a good representation of the Rural Retreat, Va. station made famous by O.W. Link and his Christmas Eve picture and recording.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzAJoW34DM

Jim,

 

It is indeed modeled after Rural Retreat as the station was originally built.

Will just beautiful, thanks for posting

 

Thanks, Alex

The OWL photo of Rural Retreat:

 

 

Originally the tower out front had a second story.

Here are a few bits of info on what I did for Will.  The town buildings are MTH, OGR, DPM and Woodland Scenics.  Most of the poles are modified Weaver.

 

The station and platforms are scratch.  The station is based on Max Meadows, Va.  It is similar to Rural Retreat and others with the B&B siding, tower and metal roof.  I worked from a picture from the Va Tech archives probably made around 1910.  The tower was 2 story then but one story by the time Link was taking his photos.  My guess is a fire but I don't know.  The model is all styrene.  There are no castings in it.   All the details are built up out of strips, rods, tubes, etc.   All the stuff came from Evergreen.  As Will said there are 1800 plus pieces.  The platform and dock are basswood.  The platforms are also styrene and based on N&W photos from the same source.

 

A check of Google earth shows the prototype station to be gone.  Max Meadows is just north of Fort Chilton on I-77 in southwest Virginia.

 

George Lasley

Will no wonder you havent posted in a while. The good citizens of roanoke couldn't be happier it seams. what a great station and town scene! You do great detail and scenery work! I am jealous!

George,

You do mean Fort Chiswell?

Will, glad to have you back. Great photos and even better scenery. Don't be gone for so long the next time.

Will

Just outstanding and thanks for sharing with us. I am really glad to see you back on the forum and the showing us your updates.

Nice work and great pics. The talent on the forum never fails to impress.

Well done. Great work and scenes. Very realistic.

Will my friend.....WOW!!  Absolutely beautiful.  Your layout is a museum piece for sure!  And George...you did an outstanding job on the station.  Perfect in every way. 

 

Will...it is so good to see you back and building.  I will never forget our talk over the phone those few years back.  I am glad that you have come back like the famous Phoenix...

 

Alan

Thanks to you all for your kind words.  I haven't been posting to the OGR Forum as actively as I once did, but that doesn't mean I am not interested.  I've been very busy lately with a consulting gig.

 

Thanks, George, for your correction on the station prototype.  George and I researched many N&W stations, including both Max Meadows and Rural Retreat, which, as he notes, are similar in style.  Here is an historical photo of the N&W Max Meadows station with its second story intact:

 

 

Nice work. I lived in Virginia on and off for twenty years or so and it sure looks like Roanoke to me. 

Very nice work! This looks great.

Looks great Will, glad to see you making progress once again.  I hope you will allow us to visit you and the Duckunder again one day.  Also; thank you for helping us (ECRR) out of a jam at the Aug. TCA show in Raleigh.  Just don't know what we're gonna do about Charles and David?

Will:

 

What was used for the power lines. They have the right greenish tint (I worked for the REA during my college days as a Ground Man (AKA "Grunt" because we always grunted for the Line Man up the pole) and strung many a mile of it.

Will, love how your buildings fade right into the backdrop, amazing work.

Will/George;

Outstanding work.  I don't know how it's possible, but I think this iteration of the DUTRY is even better than its predecessor.

Will;

As for your comment - I'll play:  Why there is a giant green thermostat hovering over Roanoke like a weird flying saucer? 

Yes, I did mean Ft. Chiswell.  I realized I goofed about bedtime.  The power and phone lines are EZ Line from Berkshire Jct.  It is really easy to use.  Comes in green, black and rust.

 

Thermostat Mountain State Park (where the temperature is always just right) 

is behind the scene.

 

Thanks for all your wonderful comments.

 

In my 55 years in the hobby the station rates as one of my all time favorite projects.

 

George Lasley

George Lasley is a great friend and a rare craftsman.  I couldn't have done this without him, and it's as much George's layout as mine.  He is a national treasure.  George's only shortcoming is that he's not much interested in operating; he just loves to build things.

 

To be even more astonished, get George to post photos of what he did for Jerry Davis' 2-rail layout in Cary (a Raleigh suburb).  Jerry grew up in California in the fifties, and he models the SP-ATSF shared SP main Mojave-Bakersfield in the mid 1950s complete with a gigantic Tehachapi Loop.  George built all the scenes, which are all nothing short of phenomenal!

 

Thank you all for your very kind words.  Everyone on the OGR Forum is always welcome to visit any time you get to Raleigh.  I always need help operating.  I mean it, and I can get George to join us to see both my layout and Jerry Davis' layout. Just give me a bit of notice.

Terrific work Will!

Awesome!!!!

 

Peter

 

speechless

Will, Great looking addition to your railroad!! Thanks for sharing with us.

Thanks, Paul, Peter, Pete, and Pops!  Come visit.

Will, very, very impressive. I enjoyed viewing all of your photos. Excellent model work! I would love to run my trains through scenes like that! Thank you very much for posting such great photos. And thanks OGR for providing this Forum for us all to enjoy!
Cobrabob.

Will,

The scenes are, as usual, realistic and convincing.  Great job.  Looking forward to seeing it in person as soon as practical.  Will call about the SCL GPs.  Have a great day.

 

Paul

Great work Will, good to see you back on the forum. It could just be the lighting in the photos, but it appears to be a bit of a hazy/overcast sky in your photos with the backdrop. If so, I like it.

Actually what you see and think to be sky is distant mountains.  The green of the near mountains is greyed out several times as the distance increases.  There is no sky or blue on the backdrop.  The top edge is the profile of the mountains.  The height is such that you can't see inside the layout and see other scenes.  Perhaps Will can post another photo or two showing this.

 

This let me get away without having to pick a sky color or paint clouds.

 

George Lasley

Great update will and George. Thanks. 

 

How close are you to "completion?"

Will:

 

So good to see your modeling again on the Forum - thanks for sharing.....