52 minutes ago
I had some time off this past week and got a few things done on the layout.
I want to work on the scenery in the narrow guage logging area and around the enge facility. Before I started any of that I dropped feeder wires to all of the track that I had just laid. I'm not wiring that up just yet, but the feeders had to be soldered in before I start any scenery or ground cover. I then added a short plywood 'bridge' from the future sawmill track to the plywood tunnel portal form. This won't be more trackwork, probably more of a logging trail or abandonned logging spur.
After that I worked on the tunnel portal in the foreground.
As I mentioned eariler I made a plywood scenery form for the tunnel portal. I was originally going to place the portal right up against this but the track curves right behine so I had to move the portal out a few inches so that my passenger cars won't hit the inner liner of the portal. A few blocks of foam did the trick. it worked out better this way as I'm able the blend the portal into the hillside a bit more realisticaly. I have some cardboard strips stapled down to form the hillside and I have the basic outline to where a stepped retaining wall will go with a piece of white card. I'll scratchbuild the retaining wall, copying the construction of the portal. I also ballasted the track inside the portal as it would only get more difficult to do it later.
The other thing I did was to attach this small plywood platform beside the narrow guage spur. This is a future log loading area that I needed to add before I build in any scenery forms.
I want to work on the scenery in the narrow guage logging area and around the enge facility. Before I started any of that I dropped feeder wires to all of the track that I had just laid. I'm not wiring that up just yet, but the feeders had to be soldered in before I start any scenery or ground cover. I then added a short plywood 'bridge' from the future sawmill track to the plywood tunnel portal form. This won't be more trackwork, probably more of a logging trail or abandonned logging spur.
After that I worked on the tunnel portal in the foreground.
As I mentioned eariler I made a plywood scenery form for the tunnel portal. I was originally going to place the portal right up against this but the track curves right behine so I had to move the portal out a few inches so that my passenger cars won't hit the inner liner of the portal. A few blocks of foam did the trick. it worked out better this way as I'm able the blend the portal into the hillside a bit more realisticaly. I have some cardboard strips stapled down to form the hillside and I have the basic outline to where a stepped retaining wall will go with a piece of white card. I'll scratchbuild the retaining wall, copying the construction of the portal. I also ballasted the track inside the portal as it would only get more difficult to do it later.
The other thing I did was to attach this small plywood platform beside the narrow guage spur. This is a future log loading area that I needed to add before I build in any scenery forms.