Backwoods NE in Florida

[cuse]

I am starting this thread to share the progress on my layout, which some of you are familiar with. I began it in August 2012, as an N scale layout, but after track was laid I decided to follow my heart and convert to HOn30. After a few minimal trackplan alterations, I was on my way. Oddly, I decided to leave a remote corner of the layout in N scale, hoping that it's isolation would lend a nice forced perspective effect on what is not a large overall layout. I think it's worked out so far and I was able to display my best N scale structures and rolling stock.

I'll catch up with a flurry of photos and, hopefully, a good track plan to catch us all up to date.

Thanks for any interest, suggestions, or comments

John

[ACL1504]

John,

Of course you know the SBG will be following along.

Tom

[cuse]

I got a little bit done today, adding goop and ground cover to the turnaround that one sees when first entering the room. I plan for this to be a heavily forested hill that acts as a viewblock. Next step is to soak it with glue and quickly apply static grass where appropriate, some generous helpings of scrub and assorted undergrowth and then lots and lots of trees.

John

[cuse]

Calling it a day, but got the grass down, the vines up and some trees planted. The first photo shows (basically) the view as you walk in the door - heavily forested hill with a peak of something down and beyond. That would be the waterfront area featuring the most densely populated area of the layout (in terms of structures). Still many trees to plant on the hill, but I still need to secure the gravel road and clean up the track before I bury everything in trees.

John

[coors2u]

John, those shots look great. I love the one overlooking the dock area with the bridge just in view.

[cuse]

As always, I ran out of trees...I need to sit in front of the Dolphins game and do the pre-surgery on a bunch of SuperTrees to round out my Model180(?) today.

I did a nice patch at the top of the loop hill with what I had, but had to hold back as I still need to tune up the road with some more gravel and some foliage down the middle, not to mention picking out the static grass. One new viewpoint from the top of the Red Hook II warehouse.

Still debating about ultimate color for the fascia...I've always done a dark/Hunter Green, but I'm pondering Black

John

[tjseeley]

Nice work on both the bare trees and the evergreens.  With that beautiful color scheme, I still think a dark hunter green would frame it nicely, but not pop....It would blend, like a dark shadow.

[cuse]

I'm leaning back toward the Hunter Green Fascia myself.

Tonight's the night we host my brother's family for the annual Lasagna and "Christmas Vacation" watching party (going on about 20 years now)...I found time for a few more hours of tree-making. I also absconded my wife's holiday broom and used it for some nice vertical filler that my previous forests have been lacking. Bill Obenauf demonstrated it at the EXPO and it really resonated with what I saw all around me in Western MA in November.

John

[ReadingBob]

That corner looks really great John.  You're scenery work is top notch.  You've been busy in spite of the holiday season.   

We watched Christmas Vacation last night and Christmas with the Kranks the night before.   

[ACL1504]

That corner looks really great John.  You're scenery work is top notch.  You've been busy in spite of the holiday season.   

We watched Christmas Vacation last night and Christmas with the Kranks the night before.   

Cuse,

What Bob said on the layout! I love it! Tonight my Babe and I will watch Christmas Vacation for the umteenth time. It seems to be a family tradition for us every year! I love the theme song!

Tom

[gnatshop]

You've got them Arkansaw redneck Ledbetters watchin', too!
You know that they'll beat your chops if they see anything wrong!
So far, everything's Hunky-Dory! 

[cuse]

My layout's not large, so I tried to take pictures that would help you all get a sense of how it all fits together.

I'll start with the most unusual of the three sections...the N scale area. It is an isolated area that is all in N scale. I feel it effectively presents a nice forced perspective effect of distance. There's really no place in the room where the effect is ruined by your peripheral vision. The whole area is industrial siding, not through route, so I don't plan to run HO trains through the area.

[cuse]

The large middle Peninsula is intended to be the most "backcountry" area of the layout. The area (containing a wye through the woods) adjacent to the N scale area is intentionally devoid of structures to avoid anything from interfering from the visual transition between scales when seen from a distance. In fact, the trees gradually increase in size to add to the effect. The presently incomplete area will feature a Foscale enginehouse (on Reading Bob's worktable at the moment) and a small pulpwood loading siding. The enginehouse will be located where I left the uninstalled Tortoise on the layout. I plan to hide it among some dense forest, so you have to look through the woods to "find the scene". Also, note the track level is 5' above the floor, so the central ridge and almost any of the larger trees make effective viewblocks and scenic dividers to further enhance the illusion of a larger area. Some of the photos in this thread are taken with my arms extended well above my head to help show the track and scene arrangements, but non-NBA viewers wouldn't normally see it from that perspective. You can see the N scale area in the back, in a couple of the photos, and get a sense of the forced perspective I'm hoping for. One of the photos is labeled "Pritchards" as it is a scene heavily inspired by an all-time favorite from an early version of Frary & Hayden's layout (they called it Pritchard's Pond) featuring tiny trains squeezing across a land bridge between two bodies of water.

[cuse]

The final section of my layout features a harbor scene that will someday feature many structures and will (have to) feature multiple levels of scenery and buildings over the tracks. I've got quite a few kits including Fos' Executioners' Point, CCK Carolina Pulp (on the wharf), along with Fos' background flats and some Bar Mills and Railroad Kits structures to crowd this scene. I'll probably build scenery everywhere else before I attack this area as it will require the most creativity, planning, and patience. Patience is still definitely in the developmental stage with me

Thanks for following along...John

[GPdemayo]

John:

I'm here too! Can't wait for a Northern Division SBG so we can see it in person...