Dunham Studios new Quechee Gorge Layout

If I had the cash I'd gather it up and pay you a visit......very nice work!!! 

AMCDave posted:

If I had the cash I'd gather it up and pay you a visit......very nice work!!! 

From what we've seen and the work involved , I'm guessing $70 - $80,000.00 ?

Today was one of those days that at first glance seem as though nothing is happening. But a second look shows that the details being worked on represent real progress. Fletch has been soldering drops, Roy working on bridge facings and Bob has cur and is checking out the supports that hold the large control panel to the fascia. And, oh yes, Roy's filled in the stoney river edges which he'd had to cut away for bridgework.

Barb.

Just a few updates today. The supports for the large control panel are being attached to the fascia, while the small control panel's supports have just been set out to measure and will be fitted to the fascia shortly.

Barb

I've got to tell you, there is no greater compliment than that.  When I was growing up, John Allen was the "God of Model Railroading".   Probably still is.  Through all the technical advances of the last fifty years few, if any, have surpassed his eye for detail and his eye for humanity.  Nobody really understood what he was doing then, that it was something more than just model trains.  He was creating a world, not just of his own (though it surely was that) but something more, something deeper focused on basic humanity.  Ironically, the thing he did for himself became an icon of both period and fantasy design humanity.  That humanity of John's has pleased many generations now.  I've had a similar stroke of luck in being able to have designed Public Train Exhibits that have pleased literally millions of people.  All the audiences in the sixty years of my theatrical design career don't come close to matching the numbers of viewers of The Station at Citigroup Center and all our other Public and Museum Exhibits.  More than seven million all together.  That is also humbling.  Very humbling.

I remember reading John Allen in his last years!  I got the book on him by Lynn Westcott as soon as it came out!  He was tremendous regardless of technology and materials he had available.  This layout is looking fantastic!

Control Panels and Controllers. The large control panel is in place flanked by Z-4000's. The small control panel is in place as well.

Bob and Ray created a Layout Ladder so the client can get to his trains on the inner loops without leaning into the scenery. A great help. (You'll notice that the mountains are off the layout again. They're getting their scenic details and they and the backdrop will be returned to their places soon.)

Barb

The ladder is a great idea. Nice looking as well. I bet it folds up too?

Very ingenious idea for the ladder!!!  

David

Quechee Gorge Layout!!!

Wow!  I grew up in Vermont... Mendon/Killington ... been through Quechee about a million times and have never been this excited!!!!  

Before going on to building the model of the Mill (which is looking great), Delia 'planted' grass and bushes and started planting trees on the detached mountain tops. Roy, meanwhile, has been spending days (you know how that goes!) spreading ballast. The main line is in gray. The next level up is brown. And there's lots of track to be ballasted. There will also be a third color used. But that for another day.

Barb

That layout ladder is one fine piece!! You guys think of everything. Very impressive. 

One word - Amazing

Delia's busy planting grass and bushes...with trees to follow. She also built the mill and has the river wonderfully defines for its entire length. You'll notice that the mountain tops are back in place. (A note: seams will show until installation because the layout has to be disassembled for transport and reassembled on site at which time the seams will be sealed and the layout will appear 'seamless.')  Mike, who spent the day under the layout, is here seen reading the manual on switch lights. And YES the lights went on.

Barb

The grass is growing....and tomorrow Clarke will go over building placement with Delia and Roy.

Barb

amazing craftsmanship!

This is amazing, but I did have one question... So much effort was put into this to make it look as real as possible, so why are the switch machines on the table surface and not mounted under the table?  Was this something the customer requested?

Well, you can't put the third rail under the table either!  There's a point when reliable operation trumps everything else.

Clarke has temporarily placed buildings on the 'front' (trestle and waterfall) side of the layout and Delia has already cut some of them in. Although there's much yet to do, this placement with the backdrop in to give perspective, allows everyone to understand how it will all work.  I've taken photos with front left, center and front right views and views from the 'back' which is the side with the viaduct.

Barb

Haven't seen Any new updates on this awesome layout?

Coming Back Soon to this Web Space!

Hang in there!  I'm just back from my "other life" as a Broadway Set Designer.  I've just designed the Hal Prince production of "Candide" for the New York City Opera, which opened last Friday night to rave reviews for the show (and me!).  See Monday's New York Times review if you're interested.  Barb is now in the process of updating everything to do with Quechie Gorge and has gotten as far as the Dunham Studios Facebook site.  Look there, if you can't stand to wait.  OGR is next in line. 

After our 2 weeks in New York and the grand opening of CANDIDE at City Opera (look at Dunham Studios facebook for photos of Clarke's set) I had to do some catch-up on my photos of Quechee Gorge Layout. It looks beautiful. Delia's been doing scenic development and getting the buildings placed. They still need pavement, streets, street lights and final placement but this gives you a very good feel for what's happening. Roy has been planting trees like a madman and doing bridge installations. After the scenery is in place and the electrics are fully installed (those streetlights among other things) the trestle (which has been in a finished state for a couple of months. And, yes, the river through the gorge needs to get its 'water'! By the way, if these aren't enough pics for you I have some additional shots on the Dunham Studios facebook site...where you can see Clarke's CANDIDE sets as well.

Barb

Simply amazing.  Thank you, capitalism

Roy has added some 'dead' trees for effect. Delia's mixing color into the 'water and she and Roy are starting to layer the pour. Meanwhile, Mike is under the layout working on the multiple signals.

Barb

The attention to detail in all phases of construction is impeccable!

David

People have asked about the "Layout Ladder". Well here's Roy using it to do scenic work rather than chase errant trains. (That comes later!) Also a picture of The Trestle, assembled and awaiting its chance to strut upon the stage (so to speak).

Barb

The little town has sidewalks, several bridge supports have been widened (for esthetic as well as realism purposes), more ageing has been done...and we're about ready for the trestle to go up. I'm standing in the wings with little people waiting to make scenes.

Hang in there with us. It will all happen!

Barb

The bridges and scenery is looking better and better all the time!  Yes, the little people will make the layout come alive!!  Thank you for the updates!

We're up to "a river runs through it." Notice how Delia has taped off the end where the river starts so that when she poured, water didn't go over the edge.  The photo of the 'start' area came in sideways. It's straight at my end so I'll try again to add it as the last photo in today's series. Other wise, just look at it sideways as OGR Forum doesn't seem to accept horizontal pics.  I noticed that several of my pictures are pretty dark. I prefer not to use a flash but with the gorge and with the high rocks much of the water action is in shadow. Tomorrow I'll try and reshoot a couple of the pictures to see whether you can see what's there better with these. Our weather forecast for tonight is pretty awful so I don't think anyone will get here but I'll get out to the studio and see what I can do better with.

Barb

Thanks to a very special guy who took my too-dark pictures and photo-shopped them, we can all see how the 'river runs through it.' And it looks wonderfully real thanks to Delia's talents.

Barb

The trestle is in! Delia and Roy installed it this morning and are now putting in the stringers. As Roy continues with the stringers, Delia marks the back of the fascia piece which Bob & Ray have cut so they can cut it to shape tomorrow. They've blocked out the large pieces and even cut the little doors which will allow the client to reach inside 'the wall' to get to any trains that may need care.

Barb

The stringers are in and Delia's putting in the cross ties that go under the trackboard atop the trestle. Meanwhile, Bob & Ray have cut the  fascia (facing) to match the mountaintop shapes that Delia drew on them yesterday. Ray is working on some of the underpinings before he puts on the fascia, which will cover the foam layers of the mountains. Less complicated facings will go around the entire edge of the layout.

Barb

There was a train (actually an engine) happily running for several hours on the trestle loop today. After a lot of creative adjustment  and modification  John has street lights installed all around the layout. The units the client bought were too tall to fit the layout aesthetically even though they claimed to be "O." This is where artistic choices have to come into play. Anyhow, the lights look good...and work. The little town has its pavement and lights. When the buildings are attached, I can begin to populate that section and the industrial area below. Not all of the structures throughout the layout can be attached before installati9n. Some straddle a seam and some are too large to be attached and let the layout pieces fit through the client's door.

Barb

The fascia is coming together. The lower parts will be green, the upper areas will be tan and a "belt" of clear pine with a 3-step stain, will tie it all together. When those pieces are on, Delia will scenic the edges where mountain meets fascia. At that point her work will be pretty much completed until installation. I've started populating the layout, with people and details placed in the small town and on one building on the "back." I'll get to "people-ing" the Industrial Area under the small town as soon as those buildings (which have already been wired for lighting) are permanently attached. And although it's out of place in my narrative, I've tacked on a photo I took a couple of days ago (and forgot to show you) of the view over the trio of bridges from the "back" side. Now the bulk of the finish-up lies with the electrics guys who will make sure the lights go on and the trains run! (Not a minor consideration!)

Barb

Barb

Any chance you'll be taking a video of this layout when it's all done? It's been fun watching this layout come together and even though you've posted many photos of it, I just can't get enough of them to fully appreciate the whole layout. I would love to see a video of it. Thanks again for sharing this amazing build with us!

          This is indeed turning out to be one of our best layouts, which is saying a lot considering that there's more than fifty of them by now.  But the "Quechie Gorge" absolutely is one of them.  Thanks for the suggestion about the video.  We'll try to get that done.  We've also been talking to some folks about turning these posts into a "How To Book".  I'd love to get some reactions to that idea from you guys and gals.  The subjects would run the gamut from completely "Toy Train" to extremely realistic layouts like this one.  Maybe even some HO layouts thrown in for contrast.  Obviously it will be largely a photo book but with much larger and detailed descriptive copy as well.  Our next big project will be a very large (12 feet by 32 feet), very "Toy Train" layout.  We'll post the design drawings for that layout shortly, as soon as the client approves them.  It doesn't have a name yet.  We'll have to get the gang together and see what their consensus for that name choice will be.

Clarke

Clarke,

Put me down for two copies of the book.

Joe Gozzo

John has wired in the Quechee Gorge Layout's control panel. (The two controllers will flank the panel.) I just want to point out a couple of details on the graphics. First: a ticket for the Woodstock Railway , which was the actual rail line that used the trestle bridge that crossed the gorge. Second: a locomotive crossing the Quechee Gorge trestle. The photo is taken from a period postcard of Quechee Gorge. And speaking of details, the client wanted an outhouse on his layout. No big deal. But when I came back to the studio the next morning,  three voyeuristic bears had appeared. No one claims to know how they got there. You just can't trust those Adirondack bears to stay at home and mind their own business.

Barb.

Now it's mostly up to the electricians. All Delia has left is to do the edging when the fascia is up after Roy finishes staining the clear pinewood belt. Roy has to put several more stain layers on the 'belt' which is between the tan painted upper fascia (backing the mountains) and the green painted t-111 base and then he, too, is finished. (There's more to do scenically after installation.) But with the controls and controllers in, the electrical guys, have to make sure the signals, turnouts, switches ...and the trains...all work. This is a complex layout electronically and will need a more-than-usual amount of fine tuning.

Barb