Layout progress (Video of trains running added 2/19/20)

Whoa!  That’s SOME progress.  That layout goes on forever!   

JOhn

Nice progress, You sure did make full use of your space. Keep posting

I really like your rock work and the retaining wall will look good.  Do you have a plan for accessing the hidden tracks when the scenery is completed.  Access looks tight around the furnace, but that may not be the case and I am fooled by the camera!

John - exceptional work so far, but that's a lot of scenery to complete.

Thanks for the video. Post more photos when you complete your Silver Mine and logging operations.

Sean

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have thought about access, and I think I will be okay. There is actually about an 18" gap between the back of the layout and the wall, so I will be able to walk around and access most of the hidden areas from the back. I am planning on building an access hatch at the center of the valley seen at the beginning of the video. There will also be one hidden track on the far side of the layout that will only be accessible by crawling under the table.

John, 

Very cool.  I love the work you did with the rocks/mountain.  Reminds me of my three-room table layout.  It took me a few years to figure out how to build around the existing stuff without interfering with their functions.  It's a never ending project.  It looks like you left just enough space (in most places) to get under there for backdrop installation.  Otherwise, as Mark suggested, you may need one of those topside creepers.

Looks great, and a really interesting track plan.  Keep us posted....

Jerry

John,

Those access areas in the back are seldom visible to me in photographs and I don’t think of them probably because I don’t have room to do it myself.  Sounds like you are covered on access!  A very good plan!

Jerry, Those are very nice photographs of yours as well!

johnf posted:

There is actually about an 18" gap between the back of the layout and the wall, so I will be able to walk around and access most of the hidden areas from the back.

You will have lots of incentive to remain thin as you age.

Awesome Work!

Ron

Here are a few pictures and a video to show some of the progress on my layout:

I live in Kentucky, so I have to have a horse farm. 

I just finished putting together this model of a silver mine.

I finally installed my Atlas turntable on the other end of the layout.

Here is a short video of a new bridge I installed near the center of the layout. I think I'm going to put a small town in this area.

All the scenes look great, John!  I really like the rock coloring!

Stunning rock work as well as track work! This layout already has a lot of character. Please keep the wonderful progress coming.

Dave

Johnf,

Any chance of sharing your rock creation and painting techniques? Outstanding work!

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Bob,

Here are some more details about how I did the rocks:

I used latex molds from Bragdon Enterprises to make hydrocal castings. I placed these as close together as possible and filled in the seams with carving plaster from Woodland Scenics. Then I used a small metal scraper to rough up the carving plaster to make it blend in with the hydrocal castings. Finally, I painted the rocks using the "leopard spot" technique that is described in this video from Woodland Scenics.

This is a picture of the latex molds. I made some smaller castings to help fill in the gaps.

This shows some rock castings in place but before the seams are filled in.

This is about half way through the process.

Thanks, John. Lots of work but worth every bit!                                                 Bob

Nice work, John.

What is the diameter of the curve at the end of your turntable ? I'm trying to figure out if I can install the Atlas TT inside either and O-36 or O-48 Fastrack reversing curve - thanks.

Richie,

The curve is 54" diameter.

Thanks, John - you have plenty of room there, so it looks like I might be able to go with O-48, possibly with eliminating one finger and shortening them a little bit. 

Wow! Very nice, I really like the length, you will be able to run long trains and have them look good. Great progress on the scenery, I understand with a layout this large the scenery takes time and some times seems daunting, don't get discouraged, in time it will be done.

Ray

John:

Thanks for this thread. Your layout looks to be great. Keep the progress reports and the "How-to's" coming.

Imagine the welcome you will get when you visit the Atlas heaquarters.  They probably have a coffee mug with your name on it.

Very neat work.  String straight right of ways.  Common sense turnout positioning.   Great panel.  Isolated multi train running w/o looking like a series of circles.  Very nice planning and execution!  Love the way you captured the behind the walls space.   Have you thought about a camera for the somewhat hidden TT area?  

You appear to be too neat and efficient.  Do you ever slow down and make a mess?

My layout has a similar blind area.  I tried a parabolic mirror but not do able.  Gotta spring for the cameras and flat screen.

John:

Just saw the two videos - excellent layout - realistic looking rock work.

Joe

Hello JohnF,

Thank you for sharing all this great information and your layout if fantastic.

Thanks Tom and Joe. I did put a cheap camera in the turntable area. It works okay, but I would like to upgrade to a camera with higher resolution at some point.

johnf posted:

I've been working on my scenery, and I thought I'd post a video to show my progress. I'm planning to put a logging operation in the valley behind the bridge and a silver mine on the upper level behind the valley. As you can see from the video, I still have a lot of work to do.

Bravo, John!!!! Your rock formations are second to none!

Here are some more pictures to show my progress. I finished the logging scene and closed up the access hole:

Here is a view from above:

I added a backdrop and have started work on the scenery around my silver mine:

John, It all looks great!  The rocks are great looking as is the logging camp and backdrop!

John,

The scene is masterful. AGAIN, the rock work is superb. You have done a great job at blending all of the colors into your backdrop to make a seamless appearance. Would love to see a train running through this area. Kudos to you for all of your work on this. Now we're anxious to see what area, on your layout, you transform next. Keep it coming!

Dave

Here's a video that shows trains running through the area where I've been working on the scenery.

John, you have done a very nice job!  The rocks look great, colored just right!

Simply superb! Rocks are so well done. The backdrop appears to be 3D. I have layout-envy!

Bob

Hello John,

Beautiful scenery, the rocks are perfect, wonderful job on your part. Keep the videos coming.

Thanks for your comments guys.  Next I'm going to work on the long straight area below and above the retaining wall. That should go a little faster than the previous section.