Blackwater Canyon Line - April 2, 2025, Brick Street Extension Planning

Thank you, Gene, T-bone1214, Ted, Dave, Mike!!

T-Bone, the cheese grater and coffee grinder sound like good ideas.  I don't have either.  I guess I am a minimalist when tools are concerned.

Ted, your examples of the Mig Ammo paint do look great!

Dave, yes, I guess it is becoming my own monster.  Yes, I do plan some interior detail due to the good sized windows and doors an it's planned location near the layout edge.  What goes is is still to be determined.

Mike, I have heard of making the chalk wet for weathering, but haven't thought of it in a long time.

Good morning Mark! Sorry I haven't commented lately but I have been watching your wonderful work and I think thigs are looking great! I hope to get there one day!

From where I sit now it just seems so far away!

I will keep watching and chime in when I can!

Please take care and keep up the wonderful work!

Mark, great work on the building. The concrete can be tough to get just right. I think it looks good, but you are the one that has to be happy with the results. I use Pan Pastels weathering powders and have found that a little goes a long way. But again, if you find the chalks are better for you, then that’s the way to go. I like the detail you’re providing with the build. The building will be a great addition when you’re done, keep up the great work.

Andy

Great job Mark!  You have the patience of Job!

I don't know Mark, looks great to me! Can't wait to see it finished and on the layout!

Thank you, Mike, Andy, 42trainman, Darrell!

Darrell, yes it is growing on me.  I was looking too closely at it.  When I moved over to the layout where I plan to park it, I liked it.  I'm with you and others.  The color Dennis recommended is right on for aged concrete. 

42trainman, Well Job did have his moments; but thank you.  I have heard people comment on my patience since I was a teenager; which was long, long ago. 

Andy, I think I am going to buy some Pan Pastels.  I do not like to weather much, since I like things to look like they are well maintained.  However, concrete, stone, and other like structures just keep on with no maintenance so after a while they need weathering.

Mike, I can sympathize.  I spent about 20 years when the girls were growing up without a layout.  I got on various email groups, bulletin boards, forums, and always felt sad spending my time fixing toys, going to music practices and performances, and umpteen girls basketball practices and games.  Holly played for 13 years, and I don't like basketball.    I prefer baseball.    However, it was all worth it!  Holly teaches private lessons and performs as a soprano and harpist.  Heidi is an artist working in some very seldom seen art mediums.  They are in their 30s and are responsible, well adjusted adults with great husbands!

The Mig Ammo Terraform thin concrete arrived yesterday.  The color is great for newer concrete, but I was surprised how gritty it is.  Ted, you did show me.  I painted it on the inside walls of the lowered floor section.  The difference in color between it and the Krylon Desert Bisque spray makes this look like concrete that hasn't seen any weather.  That is good.  I did find it too rough, so I sanded and filed down the rough edges when dried and popped the lowered floor back in.  This photograph shows the difference between the two.  The bisque is seen on the top of the foundation and the new paint on the interior wall.  I like it.

The building is coming along nicely Mark. Looks good.

I have a set of powders that I've tried a few times. One thing I have found it that they tend to disappear when topcoated with a clear matte spray. I haven't tried sealing- weathering- and sealing though. I've added a couple drops of water to moisten the powder before applying.

NOTE:  ebay link deleted per TOS.  Bob....please review the TOS.

Some acrylic washes may help tone down the foundation too. Think of the splash up from the ground and how the base will be darker than the top.

Bob

Morning Mark, I think it looks just fine! Remember it is a coffee building and its going to get dirty so just throw a little grime to it and call it good! Either way you have been doing such an amazing job on this building it make me want to get a Dennis building! Just to see how I could do! LOL

Mark, while reading the discussion on weathering it educated me to new possibilities. For your immediate purposes would dry and/or wet coffee grounds work?

Jay

Thank you, Bob, Mike, Jay!

Bob, I know what you mean about weathering, shading being hidden by matte spray.  Maybe you should spray before and after as you wondered.    Yes, the mud splatter at the base is a good plan!

Mike, Yes, it does make sense to make it grimy; like Dennis' example.  Dennis' instruction sheets are top notch!  The instructions make it easy to identify all the parts.

Jay, Coffee grounds is a good idea.  I actually thought that was where Mike was going to go when he reminded me it is a coffee building. 

I made a little more progress on the interior of the Sanky Wanky Coffee Co kit.  I decided to see if I could get a removable second floor built before deciding on where to put interior walls.  This is mainly because I wanted to do something, and this part I knew what I wanted.  Confused yet?     I used some 1/8" x 1/8" styrene stock that I had on hand for the braces on 4 walls.  I decided since I was going to use some 1/8" thick styrene for the second floor sub-floor, I didn't need the braces to go the whole way to the corner.  No, this wasn't any calculation; I only had this much 1/8" x 1/8" styrene.    I did this on all 4 walls.

Here is the 1/8" subfloor resting on the braces.  To do this, I had to keep the end wall not glued to the structure, so I could slip it off and slide the floor in from the side.  You can see the window backings are in the way to slip it out.  I think I recall Myles 'Trainman2001' had a similar situation where he made a two-piece floor split down the middle to get it in and out. 

Here is the floor with the same Northeastern stock I used for the first floor.  I think it looks passable.

Notice in the last photograph that I have installed the brick strips at the top of the two long walls.  I did this waiting for other glued parts to dry because reading on, that is the next step in Dennis' instructions.  He states that the roof assembly has to be pushed up from the underside of the building and these act as stops for the roof.  All 4 walls will be capped with strips painted to look like concrete. 

Since I glued the ground floor flooring into place, but left the brick walls unglued I can still install the roof assembly from the underneath.  That is good.  However, since I would need to build interior details on these floors before covering everything over, I could do that with the second floor sitting on the workbench then slip the whole thing into the building before attaching the 4th wall permanently.

Rubin's question about lighting must be considered before putting it all together.  I wouldn't be able to take the roof off this building like my other buildings for troubleshooting if lights go out.  Maybe I should just concentrate on accumulating some details for the interior and building some interior walls and doors, and then a "light" will come on as to how to do the lighting.    Bad pun.

Thank you for taking a look, and any suggestions are appreciated!!

Mark:

That looks great!  Can’t wait to see it completed.

Nice progress Mark, looking good.. keep going'...👍😁

Thank you, Zac, Ted!

Nothing new to report!  😮

It's coming along very nicely!! The detail in the flooring is outstanding!

Congratulations Mark that is looking masterful. Perhaps you could rig something on the ends of the second floor so that it could be lifted out. I would put it out there looking for lighting recommendations.
Jay

Thank you, T-Bone1214, and Jay!

Jay, I have thought about something like you mentioned to pull out second floors from buildings like you suggested for other buildings.  Since this building has extra strips around all four sides that show bricks on the sides of the walls facing the roof, I don't think that would work.  That is why I thought of not gluing the end wall into place.  I do not think that would be very practical for moving the building and to seal the joints from escaping light.  There is always a new twist to each project.  That can cause more headaches, but make them more enjoyable as well.

Yes, I should check on lighting ideas, just as I need ideas for interior details.  I envision this building as a warehouse where coffee is off loaded from trains and then loaded onto trucks for local and regional delivery.  The product could be moved from larger containers to smaller containers for delivery.  It seems that most of the interior detail would be crates and boxes.  That would possibly be good enough to convey something is going on inside the building.  Yes, I would need a few employees as well.  I will have to research ways to make a lot of crates and boxes since buying ones on the market could easily be more expensive than the building kit itself. 

Mark, the last structure I built featured an outside enclosed staircase. I had a plan as to where it would go. But plans can always change. I really didn’t want to glue it in place and excavate terrain to get it to sit right. I glued a small piece of thin steel inside the staircase and glued a rare earth magnet to the buildings inside. Place the structure and then the staircase and the magnet holds it in place. You can get fairly small magnets. You may be able to come up with something that will let you make that end wall removable so the flooring can all stay in place.

Being a detail junkie. It can get expensive. Especially buying multiple castings such as shipping crates. With the arrival of 3D printing. You don’t read much today on plaster casting details. While still an investment. If you had one casting of crates to work with to make a mold off of.  You could create a rubber mold and pop out as many castings as you need. Hydrocal can be removed from a mold in about 20 minutes. While it’s curing you can work  on other projects. Or if your like me. Time for another cup of coffee.

Mark:

Another idea is that the company manufactures coffee roasting equipment. Here is a picture of a company in NY that built roasters.  NOTE:  picture removed per TOS copyright.

Mark- I was going to suggest magnets like Dave did to hold a wall panel in place. The angle could go on both walls of the main structure to catch the magnets.
This would serve to block any light from leaking out of the seam too.
For interior details, look for an image of a crate/ crates and print on cardstock and make your own.

https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/shipping-crate

Bob

I really like this picture, the time frame and the graphics on the building. But the structure you’re building so well, Mark, may be a bit small for a manufacturer of equipment. But maybe some building flats might solve that problem.

Thank you for the replies, Dave, Zac, Bob, Rubin!!

Dave, I like the magnet idea!  It sounds much like how Lionel uses them on diesels to hold the covers for switches.  I am thinking I would put the wiring bus/conduits on the opposite end of the building from the end that is removable.  I can finagle something.  Our older daughter has made molds to make multiple doll parts.  She poured some kind of polymer so the arms and legs could be flexible.  Anyway, I saw how the process went, and yes lots of cups of coffee! 

Zac, it seems they have every kind of company in New York.  That is a great photograph!  For some reason I love anything from before I was born in the mid '50s.  I hadn't thought of anything other than coffee beans or ground coffee for the business.  I'm thinking since I am trying to model small town West Virginia that would still work best, but I always appreciate ideas since I am not very good at thinking outside the box. 

Bob, I really like that web site you linked.  Looking through the windows from a foot or two away I would never think they are cardstock.  Wat a massive variety!  I had been thinking of cutting blocks of wood and painting them.  On the first page, I saw some that would make good small crates and even some cardboard boxes.  I think the intermodal containers I saw towards the bottom of the page are out though! 

Rubin, I agree the building in Zac's photograph has great graphics and fits my time frame, but a company like that would need supporting structures.  Since this is going to be a foreground building with a curve just beyond, flats wouldn't work out.  The kit itself is so large for my small layout, that is the only spot where it would work.  I ended up with more track than I originally planned! 

Looks great Mark! I also used straws as electrical conduit to hide wires. Below is a photo of card stock I used for one of my loading docks, thanks to Bob and his wonderful link!

I just sat them back about half an inch from the opening as I was making this a building flat!

I hope everything else is going well and you're staying safe and healthy with the little misses!

@Mark Boyce posted:

...snip...  I ended up with more track than I originally planned! 

Don't we all!

Thank you, Mike, Dave!

Mike, I remember your straw conduits.  The loading dock looks great!  I'm still looking over printable crates and boxes from the link Bob gave me.  I did order a couple of detail parts, one of a man with a manual pallet lift and crate and one bending over open boxes.  Those will give me some workers doing something, and hopefully I can do the rest the cheap way.  I still need to look at lighting.  I know Bob and others have used a lot of Evans Designs.  The wiring won't be a problem.

Dave, yes we do.

Always better to have more track left over than not enough to finish the job. I can always find things to do with that excess track.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Mike, Dave!

Mike, I remember your straw conduits.   ...snip...

Dave, yes we do.

I have been saving my soda straws for pipe loads.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Mike, Dave!

I'm still looking over printable crates and boxes from the link Bob gave me.

@Mark Boyce

Mark:

Can you please post Bob's link again, I missed it and would like to see it.

https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/shipping-crate

@John H posted:

https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/shipping-crate

Thanks John.

@John H thank you for sharing the link for Randy!!

Hi Mark, here are three links for cardboard boxes and other paper items you may find interesting for your Coffee building'...

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/492649950817816/

https://i.pinimg.com/originals...a15105e2e02b3eff.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals...71c8383faf3e3975.jpg

Let me know what you think' .😉

Ted, there are some good possibilities there.  No not the Starbucks box!  😄.  I will see about some others and post something.  Thank you!!

Ted, I did save some 'cardboard boxes', printed and assembled one for a trial.  Not bad looking in the window with the desk lamp shining to brightly on the top.  Now I need a bunch more.

Bob, I'm still looking at the crates since you can only copy 10 on the free trial.

I finally got something more done on Scenery Hill.  It is pretty rough looking, but a start.  I found I had trouble as I moved along painting, that I was picking up strings of the batting with the soaked paint brush.  The picked a bunch of little paint soaked fiber balls off the part under the hotel after the paint dried.  Working with the scenery chest high, I couldn't tell until it dried over night that I had missed a bunch of spots.  That can be fixed.  The variants in grade are just 1-inch Styrofoam under another layer of batting.  All in all, it's not bad for a first try.  I broke my misting bottle for soaking down the ground foam to add more.  I need to buy some more varieties of ground foam as well.

Eventually, here will be rock cuts along the track that is covered with blue tape.

As an aside, the name Scenery Hill just came to me this afternoon.  There is a place called Scenery Hill south of Pittsburgh along US Rt 40, The National Road.

Mark that looks great for a first attempt or after 20.  Its all about imagination and what the area tells you it wants to be. Looks like you are going to need a few more trees.   Scenery Hill is a great name.

Thank you, Jeff!  Yes, more trees for sure!     I was able to balance the tree you sent me on the flat surface with just the base/root structure.  Not so once I glued the batting down.  I'll have to put a finishing nail or something into the bottom of the trunk to anchor it to the scenery.

Mark I have somewhere in my files, been looking for it, free shipping crates (paper) in 1/48 scale... They are very life like.. Just can't find the darn file...

Looking good Mark. The name is fitting for the scene.

Gene

Hi Mark,

Your scene is coming along so incredibly detailed with an overall continuity of purpose. Great job!!!! I like the name Scenery Hill also, that reminds me when we first got our yellow Lab puppy, she would always go up the side of the driveway and use that area as her bathroom. My wife always would joke about being careful while walking around poop hill.  LOL Great Job Mark!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Bob, I'm still looking at the crates since you can only copy 10 on the free trial.

I finally got something more done on Scenery Hill.  It is pretty rough looking, but a start.  I found I had trouble as I moved along painting, that I was picking up strings of the batting with the soaked paint brush.  The picked a bunch of little paint soaked fiber balls off the part under the hotel after the paint dried.  Working with the scenery chest high, I couldn't tell until it dried over night that I had missed a bunch of spots.  That can be fixed.  The variants in grade are just 1-inch Styrofoam under another layer of batting.  All in all, it's not bad for a first try.  I broke my misting bottle for soaking down the ground foam to add more.  I need to buy some more varieties of ground foam as well.

As an aside, the name Scenery Hill just came to me this afternoon.  There is a place called Scenery Hill south of Pittsburgh along US Rt 40, The National Road.

Sometimes these limits will expire after 24-48 hours. Try again another day. If the images can be downloaded, then you can save them to your computer and print to your hearts content.

I like the name Scenery Hill too.

Bob

Mark, you may find this interesting'... and is applied to many buildings nation wide...

Mark, That beautiful structure and scenery just cry out for a backdrop.

Rubin

Idaho definitely needed all that neat landscaping. It's amazing how well things look when the settings become more realistic. All that Victorian "Main Street" gingerbread just begs for 3D printing, doesn't it?

Thank you, Gene, Ted, John, Bob, Rubin, Myles!

Ted, Yes I have the same trouble with files.  Even when I put them in a folder, then a year later I think, "What folder did I put them in?"    Those terms for parts of a Main Street building are great!  Some I already knew, some I learned from Myles, and a couple are new to me!

Bob, I will try what you mentioned on the site you shared with the crates cutouts.

Rubin, I purchased the Idaho Hotel from Myles when he was looking to free up some space in his downtown for some 'urban renewal" namely some of his wonderful scratchbuilt buildings.  As far as the backdrop goes, I have it here but took it down for two reasons.  One, to finish painting it, since it was the tail end of a painted backdrop I bought from another forum member and had a section of the Masonite left unpainted since it was hidden by a three dimensional hillside.  The other reason was so I didn't get the already painted part messed up with my scenery work.  Since I hadn't originally planned for scenery at this level, I will have to position it higher on the wall as well.

Myles, yes I need to smooth out the 'ground' before putting down a nice lawn, driveway, and gardens around the Idaho Hotel.  It's a long awaited start. 

Mark I think your doing a wonderful job with your Coffee building and your landscaping is wonderfully done! 1 head of warning, the more trees the more leaves you will have to rake and Myles is correct you need a smoother lawn unless you plan on getting one of those GR Mowers that eat everything! LOL

Keep yp the great work and please keep posting so I can keep learning!

Thank you, Mike!

Not to worry, Myles and Mike!  Since I sold Dad's 1951 Gravely when we sold the old homestead back in 2019, I decided to get landscapers in.  The Gravely handled worse terrain than what you saw in the photograph, if you could find someone like Dad who was man enough to handle the machine!!    It was a rare sunny February day today, so they did the first overlay of topsoil and grading at the Idaho Hotel site.    More to come.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Mike!

Not to worry, Myles and Mike!  Since I sold Dad's 1951 Gravely when we sold the old homestead back in 2019, I decided to get landscapers in.  The Gravely handled worse terrain than what you saw in the photograph, if you could find someone like Dad who was man enough to handle the machine!!    It was a rare sunny February day today, so they did the first overlay of topsoil and grading at the Idaho Hotel site.    More to come.

WOW your paving crew is brave! I cant wait to see how it turns out! I remember one day when I was working for the Roads Department they had us paving in the snow! LOL

Mark, I like how the building interior is progressing. I like your thought process and will remember it for my next build. The choices you’re making are adding some nice details, well done. Scenery Hill looks great! That area is an excellent addition to the layout. Keep it up.

Andy

Wow, Mark! I am just getting caught up on your progress. Love the interior floor of the Coffee Co. I just received my order of MIG concrete paint so eager to play around with it. Yours looks great. If you haven't already you need to ask Santa for a 3D printer. Makes making those interior details really slick. There are so many free files for printing various things on OGR's 3D file area and on the internet. Has made a huge difference for me. Don't have to buy everything anymore. Scenery on Scenery Hill looks wonderful. It's always a work in progress. I have to do some, leave for a while then come back. I see different things and have different ideas when I return to it after a few hours or a day. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the update!

Mark, the building and landscaping look great. A ton of progress since my last check-in

Thank you, Mike, Andy, Mike, RJ!

Mike g, yes these paving guys around here are like school bus drivers when I was growing up.  Not much stops them!    I put down two coats of vinyl spackle over the hotel site, letting the first coat dry thoroughly before the second coat.  I could stand to scrape away some ground foam and extend the hotel lot a little more on the left front.  You can see they won't need the Gravely or your GR Mower when done. 

This is a good time to show a photograph of the backdrop section I pulled down since @rubin asked about it.  Our artist daughter gave me a wide selection of acrylics that should match the colors the original artist used.  I will also need to adjust the mounting brackets for the backdrop since the layout level on this section is about 8 inches higher than originally designed.  I'll need to chop off part of the blue sky since it would go higher than the 7' 4" high ceiling.

Andy and Mike LT1Poncho, I received the detail parts I ordered less one.  The one with the man moving crates with a hand lift is out of stock and they gave me a refund.  Drat!  That was my favorite.  Regardless, here is what I got.  The unpainted crate on the left looks to be 3D printed, since I can see the striations on the bottom.  The men at cardboard boxes are from molds.  They actually take up more floor space than I was thinking, which is a good thing for me.

Three more crates on the rail side dock.  I think I could put these on the docks and make some more cardstock printed ones inside.

Mike, Yes, I can see a 3D printer would be handy to have for detail parts.  With as many details as I want to make for my empty buildings and exteriors, I could probably find free drawings on the OGR and other libraries to pay for the printer over time.  I guess I need to be real good to impress Santa. 

RJ, I'm glad to see you back!  I hope you have been well!!

I'll add here that I was in historic Zelienople yesterday and stopped at CT McCormick Hardware for some additional containers of Woodland Scenic ground foam.  Of course I had to take a look at the rolling stock on the shelves.  This new Atlas PS1 boxcar followed me home.  I saw so many RF&P cars and engines for that matter during my years working for Virginia Power.  I want to make sure Jeff @ScoutingDad sees this car.  Yes, it is BLUE!  It isn't boxcar red, which always looks brown to me. 

Mark, if I recall correctly my class was the first and was done on an old Apple computer with floppy disk.

Mike, floppy disks for sure!!  I self taught a smidgeon of CAD when I moved to engineering from being a technician in 2008.  I love copy/paste!  👍🏻😃

Floppy disks?  You guys are youngsters.

My first project in the commercial world was the writing of a program (in DECSystem-10 assembler) of a paper tape reader to input data arriving in 8-bit packed image mode.  Yeah, that was arcane even in 1980. 

Mark - are you using joint compound or vinyl spackle?  Vinyl spackle is flexible and likely to be more forgiving than joint compound (that can crack under normal expansion / compression).  Just FYI.  Ohio River shorelines on the Panhandle are made using vinyl spackle for that reason.

George

Thank you George!

I didn’t know the difference.  Here’s what I am using.  I take it that it is vinyl because I can compress the thickest glob of it with my finger, and it returns to shape.

Programming?  I was never exposed to programming.  My background was in electronics hardware and starting at about age 40 as a computer user.  Dumb users!  😉

I just corrected my post a day ago to read 'vinyl spackle'.  Thank you again, George.

Mark I like the people and crates you did get, they help provide detail to fill out the scene. The backdrop section looks great and will help with a more finished look. Looking good.

Andy

Thank you, Andy!!

I have nothing new to report.  Many thanks to everyone who looked, commented, and 'liked'.

I have an update on the Sanky Wanky kit and the Idaho Hotel-Scenery Hill area.

I finally found photograph of warehouse boxes that I liked and printed out for the upper floor.  I sliced to size and glued to thick stock.  I didn't like the look of the print in the middle of the floor as it would make the area look half empty, so I printed another sheet, glued sections to each end of the section as long as the interior of the building, then folded it back to make it look like boxes are stacked near the middle two windows on either side.

The sections are not glued, but just sitting in place while I size up any other ways I could do it.

Notice too that I cut the double doors in half and glued them in place so they can show more of the lower level interior.  I decided how I can run wires for lighting (which I haven't even started to research what to buy) with very little cutting.  More on that when I get to it.

On to scenery.  Here are a couple photographs of the Idaho Hotel lawn and driveway.  I need to purchase a different color material for the dirt road.  One color labeled 'earth' took on a slight green hue.  Two others don't look quite right either.  I may have to build up the lawn to match all the layers of driveway before it's done.    It's a start.  My daughter gave me some flowering bushes that I am going to plant in front of the long porch and I'll get some more shrubs and trees as I go on.  I just sat the backdrop section in place for the photographs to show what I have and what needs painted since that was brought up before.  Yes, it is a little high as you can see through to the wall on the slope to the right.

Incidentally, the LED lamp closest to the hotel blew out, so I adjusted the next closest one for the photographs.  They are so hard to push in and twist to get in and out, that I didn't swap another in service LED to that spot for the photographs.  I ordered a pack of 6 yesterday.  There goes some funds I had earmarked for scenery. 

Looking good Mark. The interior view thru the windows adds a nice touch of realism to a vacant floor.

Gene

Mark, I like your thoughts for the interior. It looks good. As far as the dirt road, you may want to mix a custom batch of paint. Write down the exact amount of each color so that you can replicate for future projects.

Andy

Thank you, Andy!  Now I just need to figure the lower floor with the open doors.  That is where the three dimensional items will look much better.  I got thinking like you since any ground cover, whether ground foam or the finest sifted sand, would look too granular for a hard packed dirt road.

Looks good Mark.

The gap in the backdrop could be hidden by another hill with trees and shrubs.

I have a load of light brown sand that I co-worker gave me. It's good for dirt but it's too light brown so I usually do a brown wash over it after the glue dries. I left the original color on the hill to the left of the tunnel.

Same sand in the yard toned down with a dark brown wash.

Good morning Mark, Things sure are looking good I like how the interior of your coffee building turned out.

The hotel area is coming along nicely and a few more flower and shrubs should look perfect! As for the dire driveway, I know this might be more then you were thinking, but for my dirt work on my old layout I took dirt from my yard sifted it down to as small as I could and then cooked it in the oven to kill anything that might be growing. LOL To apply it I put down some white glue dirt and water and glue mixture again. You cant beat the real stuff! LOL

  Mark, I’ve built a few dirt roads. I’ve used Mike’s method but I believe I used sifted real gravel. I’ve also used Woodland Scenics fine buff ballast mixed in with some of their earth. Pretty much a lot of my scenery was in place before Scenic Express came along. So most of what was done was referencing Dave Frary’s book on scenery and using home grown recipes.

I use to watch a lot of Allen Keller VHS tapes when I started. Dick Elwell who had a fantastic New England themed RR. . Offered one tip in the construction of dirt roads. After everything was good and dry. He went over the road with sandpaper wrapped over a block of wood. It would tone the road down color wise and take the coarse harshness out of it by I guess. Scuffing some of the ballast material off the surface.

Mark, I'm so happy that Idaho has found such a nice home. I wasn't giving it the TLC that it deserved. When the landscaping is finished it's going to be a great installation.

@Mark Boyce posted:

I have an update on the Sanky Wanky kit and the Idaho Hotel-Scenery Hill area.

I finally found photograph of warehouse boxes that I liked and printed out for the upper floor.  I sliced to size and glued to thick stock.  I didn't like the look of the print in the middle of the floor as it would make the area look half empty,  ...snip...

Don't forget to leave some room/aisles/ whatever for the material handling equipment.

Another thought: A freight elevator to get material to and from the second floor.

It is progressing very well. The Hotel is a great-looking building!

Mark,

You may also want to dedicate part of the ground floor to an office and counter area. You could do this with backlit images or with 3D models of desks, chairs, bookcases etc that are found in doll house  catalogues. You can also find miniatures of all kinds of joists and equipment that might be useful for the warehouse. I’ve got a whole raft of models of table saws, drill presses and other equipment for a factory that I will return to after I’ve made more progress on my layout.

Both of your structures are looking great !

Rubin

Excellent work, Mark!

Peter

Thank you, Bob, Mike, Dave C, Myles, Rubin, Dave, Peter!

Bob, good suggestion.  I could certainly put in trees and bushes to hide the gap.  I need to revise my brackets holding the backdrop if I am to leave it at a higher level than the original position.  If I do that, I will need to put another small backdrop between the original table top and the lift up.  Or, since I have more painting to do, I could paint another mountain/hillside higher than what is there now and put the backdrop where it originally was.  That would cover both problems.  I'm starting to lean that way; but who knows?   Your brown solution worked out well!

Mike, real dirt.  Baking dirt.  You took me down memory lane.  How many times did we walk into my grandma's house to that distinctive aroma? odor? scent?  Who needed potting soil from the hardware store, when you could just dig some out of the compost pile, and bake it?  I do have two dirt piles from my drainage ditch work two years ago that I could dip into for some scenery!

Dave C, those are all good ideas for dirt patches and roads.  After typing out the last message and posting photographs, it occurred to me I am doing this all wrong.  Certainly a sizable mountain hotel set in the mid 50s would have a gravel lane and parking area to keep the guests' cars out of the mud.  I have a selection of gravel and ballast from my HO days that could work for a gravel road.  I will certainly be putting in some dirt roads later on the layout, so all your suggestions will help.

Myles, I have you to thank for the star of the scene!!  It still looks great!  With moving the hotel back and forth, I can attest to the fact that it is built rock solid.  It is a testimonial to the care you gave to make sure everything was glued tight.  I know it will hold up to moving on the rare occasion I need to lift up the base to access track below!  Thank you!!

Dave, I have been thinking about how they would move freight between floors and of course move it along each floor.  As far as adding an elevator, I am thinking it may not be seen from the windows, but I do need to have some workers and equipment right inside a few windows.

Rubin, I am thinking the single story portion could be a supervisor's office, and the area with the lower floor and door that a person could walk in or even drive a truck in could be a sales counter.  I just need to start looking for items to use.  The dollhouse detail parts is a great idea for some of those things.

Peter, I'm always glad you take a look knowing you have so many irons in the fire!

Here's the Idaho Hotel scene with freshly graveled lane and parking area and fertilized lawn for a greener tint.  There is still a lot to do.

I'm in the process of matching colors that daughter Heidi gave me to finish the backdrop.

Great looking scene Mark.  The balcony needs some rail fans with that view. I really like the tree. Is this something you made ?  I see the roots at the base. Something you don’t normally see with commercial trees.

That really looks great Mark. Real statement piece as you come into the train room.

Bob

@Dave_C posted:

Great looking scene Mark.  The balcony needs some rail fans with that view. I really like the tree. Is this something you made ?  I see the roots at the base. Something you don’t normally see with commercial trees.

Thank you, Dave!  Jeff @ScoutingDad made the tree.  He did a great job.  Yes, rail fans will be there when word gets out!

@RSJB18 posted:

That really looks great Mark. Real statement piece as you come into the train room.

Bob

Thank you, Bob.

I’m a tree junkie. Layouts well populated and I’ve made them a variety of ways over the years. This one got my attention because it’s different from anything I have. I like variety in my trees.

  Jeff did a great job on it.  I’m guessing maybe twisted wire to for the armature seeing there’s visible roots. The flocking has a nice airy look to it. Nicely done.

Picture perfect! The scene looks warm and inviting! Can't wait to see what you do next!

@Mark Boyce that’s a great looking hotel and very nice scenery. I love the large tree. The positioning of the hotel looks really good on the curve of the railroad. Can’t wait to see what you do next! Thanks for taking the time to share.

Mike

@Mark Boyce posted:

Here's the Idaho Hotel scene with freshly graveled lane and parking area and fertilized lawn for a greener tint.  There is still a lot to do.

I'm in the process of matching colors that daughter Heidi gave me to finish the backdrop.

As Bob mentioned that is a great statement piece. You have to feel great about your accomplishment. Congratulations!

Jay

Looks very welcoming Mark!  Super!

Mark, nice job on the hotel scenery. Now a little work on the backdrop and you will have an eye carcher. I take it you got a pin in the base? 

Guys the tree is a wire arbor, coated with latex and then wood putty. Then spray painted. I used painted furnace filter material to form the tree shape and then used Super Leafs. The tree is about a foot tall. I am working on several fabrication methods to get the look I want but also does not require days to build. Very pleased to see Mark using it alongside the nicely done hotel. Jeff

Mark,

That hotel is looking fabulous!  Nice job.

George

@Mark Boyce posted:

Here's the Idaho Hotel scene with freshly graveled lane and parking area and fertilized lawn for a greener tint.  There is still a lot to do.

I'm in the process of matching colors that daughter Heidi gave me to finish the backdrop.

Wow Mark, looks great with a little ground cover and scenery. It is quite the showpiece on the layout.

Gene

Really well done,!Mark. I can’t wait to get to that stage and start converting boxes ( of kits) to buildings.

Hi Mark, This is a very nice hotel scene. It gives purpose to the railroad. Great attention to detail with the little signs and of course your well placed tree.  I look forward to seeing more as you bring it along. Bill

That looks terrific. Much better than it did on my pike. Again, glad you have it to enjoy it.

Mark you once again did an amazing job on the hotel! I love all the scenery, grass and trees. You also did a wonderful job on the driveway! One thing to think about adding is some little furry 4-legged friends! LOL

That's simply fantastic Mark!

Nice job, Mark !

Thank you, Dave C, T-Bone1214, Mike LP1-poncho, Jay, Bob G, Jeff, George, Gene, Rubin, Bill, Myles, Mike G, Darrell, Richie!

Whew!  I hope I got everyone.  I am truly overwhelmed!  Thank you everyone for the support!

Dave, I want to learn how to make some distinctive trees as well.

Jeff, thank you for answering Dave's question on how you did it!  Actually, I was able to balance the tree just about where I want it to take the photographs.  It still hasn't fallen since last evening when I put it there.  I do intend to drill a hole in the base and put a finishing nail in for a pin.  I have lots of them, and don't have any other use for them. 

Rubin, I hope you get to this point soon.  I have wanted to get back to building scenery for years myself.

Myles, I don't even remember how the scene looked in the town on your layout, but thank you again!

Mike, yes it needs to be dog friendly and perhaps also some wildlife nearby.

I do think the scene looks inviting as well.  I wanted something like railroads built in the late 1800s to entice more passengers to ride the trains, but now serve as a getaway and railfan location.  I certainly have to get at finishing that backdrop.  The scene really needs it now.

Also, the scenery is quite flexible when I take the hotel, cars, tree off the layout so I can lift the lift up to get to the tracks below.  I need to get this done, so I can remove the newspaper protecting the lower tracks below so I can run trains on the lower tracks.

It looked like this… Your's is way better. This was its second home. It was moved to find a spot for the Hopper House.

@Trainman2001 posted:

It looked like this… Your's is way better. This was its second home. It was moved to find a spot for the Hopper House.

👍 That is a very cool parking sign'.. And a very nice scene all around'..

Thank you, Myles!  Now I remember your scene and that you moved the hotel for the Hopper House.  I agree with Ted, the Parking sign is great!  I remember it as well.

Moving the hotel makes me wonder if I ever saw a model scene of a crew moving a building.  I Don’t recall one.  About 15 years ago, they moved a Victorian house about a block and a half up Main Street Butler, then turned a block from Main to the prepared location.  The house went right past our church.  Our younger daughter Holly’s ma-in-law videoed the day from an upstairs window of the church.  That would be quite a unique scene to model.  No, I’ll not tackle it!  😄

Mark, if painting a backdrop is creating an issue, perhaps just get a piece of masonite and paint it a light grey.  (That's what I did)  You can always go back and do the detail painting.

You should be able to push a pin/nail into the wire bundle at the base of the tree, its not super tight, so a finishing nail should go in easily. 

Thank you, Jeff!  I’ll do that with the nail.

Here is the backdrop section I cut off the end of a larger piece that I just need to finish.  I think now is a good time to get going on it! 👍🏻

@Mark Boyce posted:

As an aside, the name Scenery Hill just came to me this afternoon.  There is a place called Scenery Hill south of Pittsburgh along US Rt 40, The National Road.

Lovely little spot with a whiskey rebellion era tavern that unfortunately was heavily damaged in a fire about a decade ago.

Only trains I knew of THROUGH the town would have been stagecoach wagon trains on the National Road, but overlooked Cokeburg, PA to the north AND Marianna, PA to the south. Both coal/coke patches on the PRR Ellsworth Branch.

@Greg Nagy posted:

Lovely little spot with a whiskey rebellion era tavern that unfortunately was heavily damaged in a fire about a decade ago.

Only trains I knew of THROUGH the town would have been stagecoach wagon trains on the National Road, but overlooked Cokeburg, PA to the north AND Marianna, PA to the south. Both coal/coke patches on the PRR Ellsworth Branch.

Greg, Yes indeed on the Whisky Rebellion.  I did not know about the fire.

Thank you for the scoop on the stagecoaches on the National Road!  They had a route from Pittsburgh to Erie that went right through here in Butler.  There is so much great history out there!

I really enjoy these discussions of local and U.S. history I’m an avid reader of history and part of my layout will reflect downtown Cleveland’s West 6th Street, where many buildings still in use date to the 1860’s. It’s northern end led to the now demolished PRR downtown station, which was essentially on the same site below downtown ( albeit rebuilt and expanded) from 1860-1960, when it was demolished. The Pennsylvania never was willing to use the much grander Cleveland Union Station, a.k.a. Terminal Tower, although an entrance was reserved for it during the construction.

i’m still trying to think through how to scenically incorporate graphic references to Brooklyn, New York, and Cleveland, where I’ve lived most of my life I’m looking at some Cleveland photo backdrops, but I haven’t reached any decisions yet. Time will tell…

Rubin, It is always a challenge to decide what to include in a layout out of the many things we would like to include.  Also, how to depict what we do show comes into play.

I have the backdrop painted and in place resting on the lower brackets to se how I like it.  I think it turned out pretty good.  I included a few scenic items like the small Woodland Scenics trees, some bushes, and a little produce stand our daughter gave me for Christmas a year ago. 

There is a lot more I can add to the scene, but I decided to stop for now.  I wanted to uncover the tracks below so I can run trains over the lower area for the first time since last fall.  Also, I'm going to try to finish the Sanky Wanky Coffee Company building.

Thank you for looking.

Mark,

The scene really is coming along nicely. I really like how it's coming "alive" as you add more details. With all of the creative things you have done, I really like the road leading up to the area. I'm not sure if you posted it before but this the first I've seen it. I think you have a good idea in taking a break. It's nice to just take a step back and admire your work while running the trains. I also found that this is where fresh ideas pop into my mind to enhance something and add more detail.

Well done,

Dave