Backwoods NE in Florida

[GPdemayo]

Yep...have to come see it, now that I'm just up Markham Woods Rd from you

Sounds like a plan.....we'll have to arrange a time. 

[cuse]

I got a bit done today...nothing glamorous but nice to make some progress and check a couple of boxes.

I thought it would be of value (to any watchers as well as myself) to try to give some context to the layout plan. I haven't drawn up a nice track plan, but that's something I'd like to get done and share soon. In the meantime, a short photo tour of the layout starting at the Wharf area.

The shelf expansion from the main 5' x 5' square is, shamelessly stolen from the many Dolly Varden layouts out there. I will not have the lower track under the ore loader, but, scenically, that's what I'm chasing. There will be an ore dock on the track extending out over the water and this will be one end of the point-to-point branch line up to the mine at the highest point of the layout. I've got the Circuitry reversing circuit dialed in so a short train can climb up and down from mine to ore loader without my intervention (which is how I like to "operate"  ). The branch curls around and over the river that leads to the wharf area, likely on a steel trestle and proceeds up an impossibly steep grade to spiral around over another high bridge and terminates at a mine scene. There are a couple of short sidings along the way and a small water stop but the goal is simple, dramatic scenery.

Here's a few pics that show the branch from wharf to mine...

[cuse]

The lower level of track is a loop, most of which will be hidden in the mountains. The scenic highlights are the very high trestle over a gorge right as one enters the room. I cut out a depression in the benchwork to really emphasize the vertical scenery. The bulk of the lower level scenery is based around a sawmill complex with log dump and a log feed (yet to be built) into a beautiful model that was originally (I guess it still is for now) a brewery. Other highlights are Fos' Executioners Rock, which is prominently displayed jutting out into the waterfront, and Sierra West Engine Service complex, along with several other structures squeezed in. I have a really nice little lighthouse that Reading Bob built that I plan to position precariously up on a rock face overlooking the sawmill waterfront area. Also, in the little nook/elbow where the expansion meets the original square, I plan to build a significant Silverado Mine complex (from a Builders In Scale/Caboose Hobbies kit). I haven't decided yet if I'll serve it by rail (would have to be a dummy track) or just trucks...that will be determined as I get a better feel for available space and the size of the kit.

I also still have a handful of built up structures that I'm struggling to find suitable places for...so nothing's done 'til it's done.

[deemery]

It's a West Coast prototype, but the Dolley Varden is a great example of a railroad that ran from mines to the sea.  see http://dollyvardenrr.com

dave

[Mark Dalrymple]

Its an interesting layout, Cuse.

I still can't quite imaging in how those two very different scenes are going to come together.  Have you thought about extending the tunnel on the lower track right out to the high bridge and having the hillside come out to the fascia?  Kind of split the scenes into two distinct areas?  You could just attach 3mm MDF to the side of the existing pine, taking it up much higher between the river gorge and the harbour.

I'm steeling that scene off the Dolly Varden lines for my layout too.  So cool.  And the prototype is already selectively compressed for a model railway!

Cheers, Mark.

[cuse]

Mark,
Not sure if I'm reading you right, but the bridge going over the gorge will have tunnels on either side (see the portals?). The hillside will have a little less steep of a slope leading down towards the Engine Service Shop and the coast line - at least enough to soften the scenic transition. Probably 70% of the lower loop will be hidden in the mountains (access from beneath). I will definitely have some steep rockwalls to manage the transitions - which I'm concerned about but I think is the most manageable way to get enough scenes into a relatively small layout.

As far as the high bridge going to the ore loader/wharf area, the waterway will diminish into a smaller river going under the bridge.

I can maybe make a little mockup of the landform to help any interested viewers get the idea ...and definitely help me see if my idea is workable. 

I definitely respect your layout design, so if I'm misunderstanding - please use tiny words for me   before I make a big mistake.

[cuse]

It's a West Coast prototype, but the Dolley Varden is a great example of a railroad that ran from mines to the sea.  see http://dollyvardenrr.com

dave

Thanks for the link Dave...so much great stuff. My favorite version is Dick Patterson's HOn30 version that winds in and out of the mountains. It's got a "down the gorge" viewing angle that I've never seen elsewhere. I think I've saved three articles about it over several decades.

[Mark Dalrymple]

I can maybe make a little mockup of the landform to help any interested viewers get the idea ...and definitely help me see if my idea is workable.

I'm sure we would all like to see this - but more importantly it will be helpful for you.

I definitely respect your layout design, so if I'm misunderstanding - please use tiny words for me  before I make a big mistake.

I'm afraid my tiny words would probably still not explain what I mean!  I'll print off one of your images and then use it to help me do a sketch of what I see.  It might be helpful or might not.  I'll post my image on your thread, but I wont be at all offended if you take it down again.  I think it splits the area far more distinctly into two separate scenes than what you currently have planned - but I'm not entirely sure of your imaginings.  I had noticed the tunnel portals.

Cheers, Mark.

[cuse]

Absolutely...Have at it...all ideas welcome. 

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi Cuse.

Pretty rough - but I think it shows what I mean.  Any confusion, just ask.  I imagine the howe truss bridge still being as you have it on the other side of the mountain.  The river is separate from the coast line.  The coast line is interrupted with the fascia going quite high as a cross section of the mountain.


Cheers, Mark.

[cuse]

Wow...yeah....I'm going to play with that. Thank you.

[nycjeff]

Hello Cuse, if you follow Mark's drawing that will be one impressive scene for your new layout. Can't wait to see what you do.

[ACL1504]

John,

I think Mark gave you a great look at the way you may want it. I like it.

Lots to think about and work on. 

Tom 

[cuse]

Yeah...I'm on it. Thanks Mark. 

I agree with you guys...and it's very much in line with what I had originally envisioned for my new layout...as influenced by Dick Patterson's Dolly Varden HOn30 layout. I need more masonite fascia material and didn't care to duke it out with weekend traffic at Home Depot.

[GPdemayo]

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with John.....