SCENERY HELP

First of all, not knowing what kind of equipment you run, make sure that any overhangs don't impact the wall. It looks close for me, but then I have some stuff with ridiculous overhangs. Rock faces add about 1/2 (or more) to the wall thickness. I'm not sure what your question is? Is it the left end that you're concerned about?

I think you may be trying too hard to blend two different types of scenes and overpowering that section of the layout. To me anyway, tenement houses suggest an inner city, urban scene while hills and rock faces suggest a more country/outdoor scene and I'm not sure the two are compatible. 

To my eye, I'd probably remove the hillside and walls and drop the tenement houses to layout level and add the other tenement houses and create an urban scene with a street, lights, cars, telephone poles, etc. and maybe a newsstand or laundromat. A plain sky backdrop or cityscape might work as a background.

It looks like you might also be able to squeeze a small hillside in between the last tenement house and the three (3) houses in the left corner, but less can sometimes be more.

Just my $0.02 !

Trainman point well taken. I have considered the distance between track and land form. There is about 3 inches I can push this section back but just had it there for this pic. My question is does what I am attempting to do make sense and if so what would you do from this point on. If not, in keeping with the idea of building vertically what are some other ideas for this area?

Richie C,

I appreciate your advice. On the other side of the white row houses there is a spur. There is enough room behind the spur for a couple of building flats I will put there. They were removed when I started to work in this area. Unless I am misunderstanding you, it seems like you are suggesting small hillside where the road will be between the two land forms, hence the crossing gates.

Hard to see from just a couple of pics, but I didn't notice the spur or the crossing gates so a hillside may not work, but I still like the idea of an urban scene blending into the three houses on the left.  

The row houses will be made to look "unkept" and will be part of my "wrong side of the tracks" theme.

I would elevate the row houses starting from further left (and maybe add another one or two row houses) so that the furthest-right row house is at the same elevation as the tenements. That would make the rock face continuous and longer, beginning at the left (next to the left-most row house) and extending to the right-most tenement.  I would put a street, sidewalk, and background building (say a store or an Ameritowne building-front facing the layout) beginning between the center row house and center tenement, and having the appearance of curving to the right, behind the tenements. I think it has the makings of an excellent scene and is similar to what I am considering on an extension at the left end of my 10'-by-5' layout. Were the tenements built from kits or scratch-built?

MELGAR

Melgar,

I appreciate you taking the time to give me some pointers on how to proceed. Are you suggesting I take the road from between the row house section and tenement section? That would be the only way I could make the hillside continuous and also add more row houses. The scene was to feature a road that went from the future small town over the grade crossing and between two hillsides. 

The tenement kits are from modeltechstudios. 

Dave

luvindemtrains posted:

Melgar,

I appreciate you taking the time to give me some pointers on how to proceed. Are you suggesting I take the road from between the row house section and tenement section? That would be the only way I could make the hillside continuous and also add more row houses. The scene was to feature a road that went from the future small town over the grade crossing and between two hillsides. 

The tenement kits are from modeltechstudios. 

Dave

Yes, the road could run in front of the row houses, then between them and the tenements, then behind the tenements.

I don't see or understand where the grade crossing would be.

MELGAR

Here is a pic of the area I was going to put the road in. Once I shave down the pop up the road was to run across the grade crossing and then between the two land forms.

David,

typically you would find an oil refinery or a chemical plant on the wrong side of town with the row houses. That is what the Curtis bay section of Baltimore looks like.

of course, I feel oil tanks should be next to everything but what do I know.

Alan,

You are absolutely correct! Many of these areas were and still are alongside tracks and near industrial areas on the outskirts of the city. You gave me an idea as far as a backdrop.

Dave

Alan Graziano posted:

David,

typically you would find an oil refinery or a chemical plant on the wrong side of town with the row houses. That is what the Curtis bay section of Baltimore looks like.

of course, I feel oil tanks should be next to everything but what do I know.

Got ya Alan....I was looking for the blast furnaces and a possible BOF!

OP- I love the old  style apartment buildings. You will figure it out

Nick

You could have the road cross the tracks and make an immediate right turn up the hill in front of the row houses as I mentioned before. Put a crossing shanty where the road crosses the track.

MELGAR

Maybe a 3D backdrop. Half a tank is better than non at all.

Where is the future small town to be located? Inside (in front of) the curving track? That would go well with the row houses and tenements on the hill.

MELGAR

Inside the track.

Will watch for future posts to see how you do this. It has the makings of an interesting scene that requires a lot of modeling work. It is similar to a 5'-by-5' extension that I have been thinking about adding at the left end of my 10'-by-5' layout (see my photo below) which already has a town (inside the curve) and a grade crossing (extreme left of photo to the left of the water tower). I plan to have the road turn right and up a hill after the grade crossing with city structures (stores and tenements?) along both sides of the road. Your tenement and row house models look great.

MELGAR

Melgar thanks for all of your ideas. They really turned on a "light bulb". I've been doing so many things on the layout as of late, in preparation for my open house, that this project produced a mental block. I'll be sure to post the results of my work.

I think the ideas you have for your layout would be a clever idea for an extension. When and if you do it, send progress pics from beginning to end.

Dave