12-12-21 Update: The Kiski Division - New Hillside Started

Wow, impressive & inspiring !

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. The room my wife I decided on (half of our garage) is the same size basically (34'x25') so I will definitely follow for inspiration for what to do with the space.   

Looking good.  I especially like how you appear to have avoided the need for a long reach.

Do you have a plan that you could post?

Nice hills and mountains! This is going to be a great layout.

Nick, very impressive with a nice variety of structures. In the second photo, that’s a wall begging for a backdrop.

Jay

Terrific work and thanks for sharing. 

You should document your progress with a youtube channel!  Layout looks like its off to a great start

Thank you everyone for the kind words, it means a lot!

To address some of the above comments:

I tried my best to avoid areas that would be problematic to easily reach. For the mainline table, there is nowhere that exceeds 3' in depth. The only areas that are tricky to reach are in the corners of the wall where the current hillside is built, but once scenery is completed I should have little reason to need to access that area again. For the tunnel underneath the mountain the benchwork is all open with only the surface directly under the track covered in plywood. If there should be a derailment, I can easily go under the table and pop up inside the tunnel.

I sadly don't have a real track plan of the layout, not quite sure how to use those fancy programs haha. But I can draw up a rough sketch on a piece of paper later this evening.

And the tentative plan is to cover that long back wall where the eventual town will be with building flats from PTF designs. I'm also contemplating adding a sky backdrop in that area as well.

Again thank you all for the comments!

Nick

Very nice!

I'd be interested to see what you decide to do about a sky backdrop. I'm in between on if I want to add one or not.

@BillYo414 posted:

I'd be interested to see what you decide to do about a sky backdrop. I'm in between on if I want to add one or not.

Yeah it's something I've been going back and forth on. If I do it It'll only be for the long back wall where my buildings are (I'll try to get some pictures tonight). But for the rest of the walls I don't think I'll add the backdrop since the mountains are mostly covering the wall anyway. We shall see though.

Nick

@Nick's Tracks posted:

Yeah it's something I've been going back and forth on. If I do it It'll only be for the long back wall where my buildings are (I'll try to get some pictures tonight). But for the rest of the walls I don't think I'll add the backdrop since the mountains are mostly covering the wall anyway. We shall see though.

Nick

My layout will be 48" tall and there is a ton of commotion on the layout that I think would draw the eye away from the lack of sky. I just wonder if putting blue on the ceiling and wall would help immerse you better. It's hard to tell without prior experience.

@BillYo414 posted:

My layout will be 48" tall and there is a ton of commotion on the layout that I think would draw the eye away from the lack of sky. I just wonder if putting blue on the ceiling and wall would help immerse you better. It's hard to tell without prior experience.

I think painting the walls blue would be an improvement for sure. The electrical panel will also be covered up with an access door which will improve the look. Being in the heavy construction phase right now the room is a bit of a cluttered mess but once things are tidied up it should be more immersive. Black skirting will also be added hopefully soon. Thanks for the suggestion!

Nick

I meant just in general on any layout haha I wasn't trying to be critical. Hope I didn't come off like a jerk.

@BillYo414 posted:

I meant just in general on any layout haha I wasn't trying to be critical. Hope I didn't come off like a jerk.

Oh no not at all haha. I like your idea.

Nick

Phew haha that's good. I was originally thinking using masonite painted the color of the sky would be good because you could curve it up a wall to the ceiling and blend the shades. Hopefully it would give a 3D effect.

Or else I watched too much Bob Ross on Netflix.

Wow! I really wish I had the space (and the money) to build something like that. I'd like to build a layout set in the modern day in the deserts of Arizona, Nevada, and California. Hopefully, someday I will do a new layout. By the way, command control is fantastic. I use Legacy, and I love it.

Very impressive. Looking forward to seeing it progress!

That's a really interesting idea. I might consider attempting something like that.

Dylan, Legacy really is fantastic. I have DCS wired up as well for the odd MTH engine I run here and there, but it's such a pain to wire properly on anything larger than a small layout.

ES44AC, thanks for the kind words!

That's great, looks like it'll be a fun layout to run on!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

That's great, looks like it'll be a fun layout to run on!

Thank you!

Nice work on all counts Nick.

Looking forward to your pic updates

Looks really good from here. You'll get a lot of enjoyment there.

Your layout looks great!  I'm looking forward to seeing a vid of that PRR T-1 running!

Nice job!  Looking forward to more pics.   Southwestern PA was also my 1st choice when putting together my layout.  There are a lot of older small towns that gave me ideas.  For the clouds and backdrop I hung 4x8 sheets of Masonite.  It was easy to put up and paint and looks good with the flats I built.

Nick your layout looks fabulous and a very big undertaking. Good luck with your design and keep up the great work and keep us posted. I will be following this one.

I'd enjoy seeing a sketch of the trackplan.

There are lots of very neat PRR lines in Western PA.

Nick:

Your L-shaped layout platform provides opportunities for a track plan that transcends traditional rectangular layouts that are typically dominated by loops of track around the perimeter with some sidings.  Many OGR FORUM-ites wish for the space your have dedicated to your Pennsy-inspired layout.

My two-level L-shaped layout is much smaller (15x19 feet) and rendered in a plainer style than your empire with elegantly crafted scenery. You are making full use of Lionel's TMCC and Legacy technologies - a great control system. Cardboard strips and plaster cloth create a lightweight yet strong foundation to support added-on scenic magic. Carry on valiantly!

Some pix of my two-level L-shaped layout are attached -- although modest by comparison.

Mike Mottler     LCCA 12394

Thank you again everyone for all the compliments! It makes me want to go down in the basement and work away

PRR Joe, I really like your backdrop and elevated flats. I'd like to accomplish something similar.

Mike, all of the buildings on your layout look really great! I especially like the MTH drive-in restaurant in the first picture.

Hi Nick,

On the subject of sky backdrops, I recently had a conversation with an gifted HO modeler who models the Lehigh and New England. His approach was to paint the backdrop using two shades of blue. The upper half was painted a brighter sky blue and the lower horizon with in what was called Ice Blue (almost white) at the same time, in short sections,  using rollers and then, while still wet, blending them with a broad  brush. It looked like a typical sky in Pennsylvania, no clouds to distract the eye away from the layout, but adding great color to it.   I believe the paints were from Glidden. The look is exactly what I was looking for for my  soon-to-be layout.  Earl     

I'm jealous of all the space, I have a 23 x 12 layout under construction, but 33 x 25 would have been wide open spaces, like three times the area!!!

Very nice, great work.

Earl, that's an interesting technique. There's an old DVD video I watched years back that demonstrated painting a sky backdrop in a similar fashion where it gets lighter at the bottom. I think I'll heavily consider trying that; will probably get a scrap piece of something to test it out on first.

I would suggest that you purchase Jim Barrett’s “Building a Layout “. It has outstanding insights, in general, and goes into easy to read details.

Nick, what you have built looks great and you have accomplished it since September!  I'll be glad to see what you continue to do!

I would go to great lengths to make sure both loops are a minimum O-72.  If you ever want 21 inch passenger cars.

@wb47 posted:

I would go to great lengths to make sure both loops are a minimum O-72.  If you ever want 21 inch passenger cars.

Due to space limitations there are a few spots on the inner loop that had to be O-60, but it works enough for me. Luckily, the majority of the layout is O-72, O-84, and O-96 with the outer loop being O-72 minimum. The PRR Broadway cars in one of the pictures are the 21 inch variant from Lionel. They're a real pleasure to run

Here's a quick video of one lap around the mainline. I apologize for the messy layout and rather amateur video, but hopefully it gives a good general view of the track plan.