Now that I'm back from vacation it is time to get busy on New Beau City, the large city scene on the railroad, the Mid-Atlantic Railway System. The city scene is essentially the last part of the railroad to be built and I've waited till now to start it as frankly this large and somewhat complex project has seemed a little intimidating. The hope is with a basic plan in mind and with advice from friends Don Miller, who is a modeler with an engineering background and Dennis Brennan who has both an artistic eye and modeling skills, I can create a city scene that will do the railroad justice. Here are some shots taken this morning to serve as "before" shots. Up to this point I have built the railroad pretty much by myself, but before going on vacation Don and Dennis came to the house to help me erect some hardboard to serve as the backdrop to the city scene and to block the door/window behind it. I had hoped to have the backdrop painted sky blue before leaving on vacation, but that didn't happen. So today I am going to use spackling to fill the screw holes and the seam where the hardboard pieces come together. Then tomorrow, after sanding I hope to be able to paint the backdrop sky blue. Here are several photos to serve as "before" shots as the city work gets underway. I'll say more about the plans for the city in future posts. I hope some will follow along and offer comment in the form of tips and suggestions as the work progresses. Thanks, Bo 
