New Layout Update! August 28, 2015 edition.

I was curious to see how tunnel junction at the center of legs would develop. I thought there may have been an opportunity for a valley there. It looks good and you have plenty of work on your list.

It's almost time for your artistic eye to take over. It's showing already.

Have you tried the steak knife attack on the foam? The technique leaves you with a rock like surface ready for paint.

Mark,

I think the photo with topside creeper answers the window access question.

Thanks for the compliments/encouragement guys!  Yes I have  LOT to do but at this point I'm getting to start doing more artistic work rather than structural.  The last major hurdle is connecting the trestle bridge to the other side of the river valley and continuing it on to the section you see built above the new swamp/pond area with the two canoes.  

The trestle section has not been measured but it isn't going to go too long.  I just haven't built up the mountain on the other side of the river yet where the tracks will land coming off the bridge.  At that point it will begin a slow descent to meet up with the tracks you can already see in the far corner of the layout.  Its only about a 3/4 inch difference in height.  

The window will stay open with no backdrop in front of it as I do love being able to see outside while in the room.  I would be more realistic with a backdrop.... even more so if I took out the window unit and carried on the backdrop there too, but I like my view and being cooled in the summer so it all stays!  Ha ha

Oh, and I've ordered a 25lb bag of Sculptamold as I have grown very fond of this stuff!  I also bought a bottle of Realistic Water for the the pond and river.  I tried pouring some acrylic gloss but it ran between the boards of what I THOUGHT was a well sealed area.... oh well.  I'm not too worried about a beautiful clear glass water look there because it is a swamp/pond anyway!  

There is a ridge along the yard where another line is about 2 inches lower than the yard.... I haven't taken a good picture of that ridge but I jammed a flathead screwdriver down and pulled outward all along that and it did the rock face nicely.  The steak knife approach needs to be tried too though.  There is still plenty of rock face that will be done as well as some that could be improved upon so that technique will be tried!  Thanks!

Tackindy,

yes, I have always kept access to windows a priority too.  

Moonman,

Yes the creeper sure does answer that question.  It was plain as day, but I must have been having another senior moment not to figure out it wasn't just for reaching the back of the layout.  lol. Joke's on me, once again!   Ha, ha!

Back to window access, I have seen some guys cover them over, with no access provision.  I set my old layout back about 18 inches from the wall so I could crawl under and up to the windows.  That was okay when in my 30s, but now at 58 and not building for a year or two, I will provide easy access to my windows.

Yeah the creeper is my ONLY access to that window.  The house was built in 1976 so the windows are not easy to open in the first place.  I figured I would put the ferris wheel in a little park setting in front of the window and it would kinda blend in with open sky behind it?  Maybe?  

coming along very nicely

A few pics of the highway bridges going up!

It's been a while.  Here are some pics taken last night.  

You can see the city taking better shape and it has electricity run.  Still working on street lights and sidewalks.  Then I'll be placing cars and people and really making it come alive!

You can see the gulch/valley taking shape.  I finally got to work on the other side!

A better shot of the valley taking shape!

In this one you can see both sides of the valley.

Once the major landscape structures are done I'll go back and do some nice tunnel portals and stuff!  

tackindy; I see in a couple of your photos that you own a topside creeper. I've had mine about 3 years & love it. Quite a useful tool if you have the room.

Yes ABSOLUTELY!  I wasn't planning on needing anything of the sort with this layout but quickly realized leaning over with on a stepstool and finding a place to brace myself with a hand on the layout AND only having one hand left to work with was just too much.  I do love the topside creeper!

Eventually when the town and back corners are done it will be folded up and placed under the layout.  

tackindy,

First I am happy with your progress on your layout.  It looks like it will be a fun layout to operate trains on and it will be scenically appealing.  In fact it already is.

Second, Spence's and your comments on the topside creeper.  I do not have a layout per se right now, but have had several in the past.  In my younger days, I was able to reach over a farther distance than I would like to now.  In this image, how deep is your layout from front to back and what is the height?  What I am thinking is that I may want to get one just for a layout in the mulling over in my head stage that isn't really that deep.  I am just playing around with some temporary loops in some spare space until our last daughter to leave home does so, and I can acquire her 12 x 12 room.

Its about a 52 inch reach and the table is about 2.5 to 3 ft high (I'm at work and not home to measure).  I designed the layout to not need too much help reaching into the layout to work/correct derailments but once scenery is added it just became too much to find a spot to brace myself on to lean in!  The Topside Creeper just lets me climb up and lean right out over everything.  I didn't HAVE to have it now but after buying it and putting it together and using it a few times I realized I am very happy I did!  I did have some buyers remorse looking at that big old thing but then once I used it that went away!

That is lower than what I have been used to.  My layouts have been about 4 feet high.  I think as low as yours, I would soon get a back ache, just reaching halfway in.  The topside creeper is a bit pricey, but I can see it can be worth it's weight in gold.  I will probably get one myself once I start my next layout.

Thank you so much for your report.

Spence, thank you for asking about it in the first place

As you can see, there has been work going on.  The Mountain on the opposite side of the gulch is roughed in (where the supply store is sitting).   There is also a tunnel and buildings over the far corner.... a better picture is next.

I think there is going to be a logging operation at the base of this hill between the two tunnel portals.   I was also thinking about putting the supply store here and putting the logging operation where it is.  We'll see.

Two of the loaders for the logging operation are sitting above two tunnel portals I've completed hacking up to fit in.  

Just a picture of my Hogwart's Express I painted and installed TMCC/cruise into.

And finally a shot of the supply store I filled in the deck on with supplies and people.  My brother in law gave me a John Deere flat car with two old tractors on so the store might get renamed to Privett Supply.  

So I've been working on finishing up some terrain and painting and staging scenes.

You can see the Supply Store moved over towards town.  This was were the logging camp was going but I realized a spur could be added on the other side for it instead.  Behind the PRR Atlantic you can see the top of a Rico Station.  Trees are being planted soon!

And here is the logging staging area.  Two log handlers and a shack that hasn't been decided where it will go occupy the area now.  This area will be heavily forrested once I get around to it.  

Just a shot of the peninsula I took last night before going to bed.

A shot I took showing downtown and the coaling tower being tried out in yet another new spot.

Looking back towards the new area... fresh paint and all!

This shot gives you a good look at the logging camp on the left and the built up section on the right with the supply store, Rico Station, and town on the uppermost portion. 

Mark B. Keep an eye open for Micro Mark. They have sales on everything from time to time. I bought my topside creeper @ a reduced price. I think with shipping it was $249.00 or $259.00 about 3-4 years ago.

Two dark videos of me running a few passenger trains tonight!

I kept looking for the extra behind the dark color passenger cars.

The city looks good. It's coming together.

 Is it me or no audio?

Is the top running? Edit...ok, I saw the freight up top.

Spence,

Thanks for mentioning it!!  I have seen it in the Micro Mark catalog!  I will have to keep a lookout.  I'm not buying trains much right now.  I am trying to get track, layout materials, and tools I may need in the future as it looks like after my wife and I have our upcoming surgeries, she will be loosing her job this summer along with a nice medical benefit package.  My guess is we will not have as much discretionary income from then on and up until I retire in a few years.

The extra what behind the dark cars?

Yeah I think the audio cut out.  Its just a roar anyway with 5 trains going.  

Looking real good! 

The other train(extra)...the engine has green classification lights.

We like the roar 

Nice videos!

Peter

enjoyed looking at you photos and videos - well done

rdeal

  Moonman.   How soon did you expect the next train?  RIGHT BEHIND the one with the green classification lights?!?!   If the video had continued just a bit longer you would have seen the one behind it!  And actually, it too had green classification lights because after about a minute yet ANOTHER ONE came through and HOLY MOLY IT HAD EM' TOO!  Sure enough those guys just kept coming!  Just over every minute yet another came through!  I don't know who they were hauling but there were a lot of them!  

Too funny! Point taken.

Pardon the terrible pix, but I love my topside creeper, how else could you do a triple decker?  Great looking layout BTW, lot's of fun coming your way for sure!  Russ

Russ, you and Spence have the wheels turning in my head.  I just looked up the topside creeper on Micro Mark Web site as Spence said.  $259 right now.  I can think of some other uses for it other than just on the layout.  Hmmm.

thanks!

Well these are really just automotive topside creepers for leaning out and over the engine bay on larger vehicles.  The height adjustments was for working on pickup trucks up to semi tractors.  

Layout is looking good.  Enjoyed the videos.

Wow, that's really a nice layout

I will post about it in SCARM Layouts & Track Plans site, so more users and model train fans to see it

Mixy

Its been a while since an update!

The last 2 photos show the vision that you had almost a year ago. I recall the posts before this thread when you were trying to get the deal completed on this house.

I hope the house and the move have been good for you.

Nice work on the layout. It looks fun to run on.  Now what? Do you think a layout is ever done?

Congratulations!

Oh its far from done.  There's still tons of detail work to go.  I rough everything in and then go back and add details.  That way I get to run trains through scenery faster!   And yes we are loving the house and neighborhood immensely!  

Very nice....keep the pics coming as you progress....well done!

Peter

Tackindy; the layout is really looking nice. You mentioned in a previous post that the topside creeper is actually an automotive creeper. That is where I originally saw it. My local mechanic shop has had one for years.

Spent a few hours last night gluing cross braces to the trestle bridge. 

Ok, I put together a pretty cool timeline set of pictures from this thread on a website.  Check them out.  Kinda shows the progression in a neat way as you scroll down!  

http://peytonoriginal.com/trains.htm

John,

That is an excellent photo show of the progress of this layout!  It really is coming along nicely!  Thank you!