This is my first attempt at building some actual scenery. I've liked the Polar Express layouts that use the two reverse loops (the North Pole), the viaduct, and the scary mountain. They are really the big scenic changes in the movie. This could be in the layout forum, but I am at the scenic part now. I thought I'd share my project as many shared projects posted by others have helped me.
I wanted a spiral for the mountain and had to keep it in a 4' x 4' space. It also has to be portable, as the three major pieces will be plopped onto a modular layout inside of larger radius loops. So, here is my attempt. I laid the track according to the plan I designed using SCARM. I only needed a minor design adjustment at the exit off the top. Thanks, SCARM. I used temporary blocks to confirm the elevations and tested with Thomas. (A useful engine indeed!) With all working well, it was time to build the mountain.
I started with a 4' x 4' piece of 5mm floor underlayment. Laid the track and traced the spiral. I cut the roadbed from about six inches from the start of the elevation(left the end attached) and went around and cut the end at the top. I then cut blocks for the supports at the correct height and beveled the top edge at 4°, which is the slope of the spiral. Noticing that the center bottom needed more support, I cut some blocks to cross the space created by cutting the roadbed out. Then I needed some tunnel supports for a short space so the train could exit over at the top. All of these were glued with PL Construction adhesive. The base and spiral will be removable with power feeds. The corners will get rounded off. The track and the back ground level corner will be attached and stay. The exit off of the top will connect to the viaduct.
Finally, the mountain. I need to keep things light and transportable, so I am using techniques published by Dave Frary. I didn't like the wedding cake look so I took a different approach. The spiral rise is 6" and the mountain will be 30" tall. That won't fit through a door with the base together, so the mountain needs to be removable. I cut the mountain shape forms from the same 5mm underlayment. I braced the bottom and added a 1" dowel piece with a screw eye for lifting. The screw eye will come out when the mountain is installed.
So, next week will be the screening and foaming using Great Stuff. The screening will let me create the ridges for the underlying shape. Then I'll be cutting the foam after it dries. The mountain and edges to the inside roadbed will lift out of the center for transportation. The base will transport separately with power feeds built in.
I used the Alaskan mountains as inspiration, since the Alaska Railroad will be part of the whole layout. Denali is way to large, so I am getting details from this mountain near the Knik river bridge.
I'll post photos of the steps and as I build and finish the mountain around the module.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome. I hope this works!
My last Christmas layout was an elevated dogbone where one loop ran over the other. This would have been perfect for my son to run his new set on. With this info in mind I may have to re think the whole thing!
