Craig,


Good luck with your new adventure, hope everything goes well


John

John,
I never get tired of looking at your volumes. I especially like looking at all the gizmos that you have on your workbench.  Keep up all the good work


John

Jerry


Thanks for the nice comments...Warning though:  I do change my mind alot


John

Karl,
Don't know what happened; but right above the pictures; there is line of small works...click on the tiny words...that's the company link

https://twinwhistle.com/whistlestopdiner.aspx

Hope this is a little larger to read

Quote from: postalkarl on December 03, 2021, 11:47:52 AM
Hey John:

Just went through all your pictures again. layout is looking just great. Who make the Whistle Stop Diner you have on the layout.

Karl

Karl,
Thanks for checking out my layout.  I hope this helps:


https://twinwhistle.com/whistlestopdiner.aspx

I have added a little mountain to the far side, where the Topside Creeper is



The lighting in the photo is terrible. The mountain is much darker than it appears in the photo...and the brown on the background isn't (make that wasn't) that noticeable.




The mountain only sticks out from the backdrop about 3 inches at the base


The rockface is almost vertical. I used Grand Central Pine trees opposed to deciduous trees because of the width of the trees. The very top pine tree is actually glued to the backdrop.

I will be adding the Mill Creek Coal Tipple to the scene.



The mountain color is much darker and it looks like I need to add more scenery; but it is more a cliff than a mountain. I was going to cover up some of the brown on the backdrop with sky blue. Maybe add a few bushes.



This is my first real scenery try. I would appreciate any opinions and or suggestions...do the rocks look like rocks. I probably added way to much color to them...I thought the tipple looked pretty good by itself...but placed next to the mountain, it looks brand new...so much for my wreathing techniques...I am going to have to really attack the tipple to make it look used.

After a long hiatus, I have returned to tinkering around on my layout...hopefully I have come to the point where I will stop changing things and start completing things.

This is what happens when you do NOT have a plan. More tearing apart. I had a plan in the beginning; but I just kept adding on more table work. The big mountain was a huge disaster. Square feet wise, the mountain was about 1/3rd of the layout. Trains went in and came out...big deal. So that is why I tore down the mountain. I cut an access hatch in the middle of the removed mountain area. That was doable; but it was a pain standing up in the hole. So...I tore out the end of the layout, making a "U" out of it. I added additional support legs prior to taking an axe to it.

Before:



After:


Each 'U' leg is about 25-inches wide.

I placed actual footprints of the kits that I will using on each leg.This leg shows Sierra West's The Shipyard.




This leg (next to the wall) will have Campbell's The Wharf and Knott's Landing; Bar Mills Waterfront Willie's and BIS The Waterfront

Oh no! I know what you are saying; what's the matter with this nut? He just ripped out a HUGE mountain range and he is going to build another one? Well, yes I am. This mountain will only be large enough to make this mine seem plausible. Should not be very large at all.





Finishing up on an RDA kit. It needs a lot of weathering and drybrushing

Sometimes what looks good on paper or print turns out impractical in real life. No one that enters my layout room has liked the huge mountain. I tried to dress up the mountain; but it's like putting fingernail polish on a sore thumb, it's still a sore thumb and it still sticks out like one. Too much lost space; only thing perplexing was wasting a that time and energy making the mountain...but I did gain a lot of experience along the way

Reason #73 for my lack of progress on the layout...I am easily distracted...this is a shot of  my workbench today

John


Awesome work.  Will you ever run out of space?

Craig,


Wow, the diorama is outstanding.  Great detail and craftsmanship.  My eye keeps going to the blue that you used on the building.  I've never used a vibrant blue like that in any of my builds.  Can you tell me what blue did you use for this?

I think I've gone where no man has gone before...I also think I lost the instructions

Still have more to remove. All of the upper track will be gone; plus the turnaround track on the wood risers. I will install pink foam over the useable track area to match the rest of the layout. I will be cutting away about two feet of the end piece fascia and have a walk-in area. My layout's main industry is wood products and breweries. I will be placing Jensen's Lumber Co. near Joanstown on the lower level. I also have SSlimited Toothpick factory which will be placed where Johnstown used to be. I have several breweries placed throughout the layout. I will be placing all of Walther's Pier & Traveling Crane and Carfloat apron on the right hand side of the ripped out mountain area. On the left hand side will be the Mountain Lumber Company Sawmill, Planing Mill and Shed, and the Sawmill outbuildings. I hated the mountain as soon as I completed it. That is all you saw when you entered my layout room and it stood out like a sore thumb. A ton of work and many, many hours went into the construction of it. It was a learning phase for me (never made a mountain before) and I will never do that again.

Well, I have changed the layout a little bit