yard scenery

[deemery]

Here's a look at my visible staging yard, after laying down a base texture and then 'yard mix' ballast.  I plan to add some brown 'scrub grass'.  I'm after a 'well used yard' look.  Later on, I'll ballast the main line tracks to the right, and the narrow gauge to the left.

Comments and suggestions very welcome!  Since this is a staging yard, I expect the 0-5-0 will be active on at least some of these tracks. 

dave

[vinceg]

Good topic. I have a similar situation...sortof. My staging yards will be "hidden" about 14" below the upper deck that will be the city of Chicago. I wanted a lot of room to work on the lower deck track in case of problems so this will be very visible. This is the only place I will have a double deck.

I have a friend that is doing roughly the same thing as you except that he is just using sand as the base layer. Keeps the cost down but does the job of getting rid of the raw look and also helps stabilize the track through the midwest seasons. He also throws some misc weedage here and there to spruce things up a bit (see what I did there?).

I think what you did looks more realistic (especially since he models in O scale!). But, I am expecting to try sand as well since it won't be a featured part of the layout. Also, my staging is truly off-layout to the north and south so there is no real active mainline alongside the storage tracks. Looks like your configuration is a little different and deserves the better quality that you're putting into it.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out for you.

Vince

[cuse]

I always like piles of ties, rails, fishplates mixed in with a whole lot of trash and weeds. There's so much you can do while still keeping it low profile. Especially with little splashes of colored oil drums, etc. I also think the FSM is the best example of colored track work...the ties, the rusty rails, etc- there's a lot going on color-wise in every inch of track.


The Hangman Creek Layout stands out in my mind for great detail between the tracks..

[deemery]

The base layer is stuff I sieved from a bag of 'paver base'.  I think it has a nice industrial look.  I probably should have used a smaller sieve, some of the 'rocks' are a bit big. 

dave

[friscomike]

`mike c   Dave, I like to see ballast and scenery on a staging yard, if it can be easily viewed.  You spend a bit of time there, so why not contribute to the overall look of the yard.  Adding some discarded freight items like pallets, boards, buckets, oil cans, broken couplers, etc here and there adds to the realism, IMHO. 

[S&S RR]

Dave


Very timely topic, I will be starting the scenery for my Eagles Nest Yard next week. My starting point is the ballast. On one of my field trips to GN country I took many pictures of the ballast and noted the size and color of the stones.  About 1 inch in diameter.  In HO scale that is 0.0115. I'm using the fine ballast from scenic express in a color mixture as indicated on the container in this picture. I just played with different ratios of material until I got what I think matches the color in my pictures.  I grabbed a micrometer and measured a couple grains of the ballast.  I got 0.0215 on the first and 0.0115 on the second. I wouldn't want anything bigger.
I will only be using the ballast for the track area with real dirt filling most of the space. 











The best way to visualize the scale of scenery materials is to place an HO scale figure in the scene.  I have been seeing a lot of layouts with 10 foot tall grass lately.

[postalkarl]

Hey Dave:

Your yard looks just great. Can't wait to see it finished.

Karl

[postalkarl]

Hey Cuse:

That is just beautiful scenery. Just love it.

Karl

[postalkarl]

Hey John:

I'll be watching.

Karl

[ACL1504]

Unless your yard is new or newly laid tracks, weeds will eventually show up.

On my small yard in Sanlando, the tracks are weathered and there are some weeds coming up. I haven't added old ties, scrap papers, and other small details that add to the overall scene.

Small yards were rarely if ever maintianed.

Looking south -



Same yard tracks looking north -



Tom 

[S&S RR]

Unless your yard is new or newly laid tracks, weeds will eventually show up.

On my small yard in Sanlando, the tracks are weathered and there are some weeks coming up. I haven't added old ties, scrap papers, and other small details that add to the overall scene.

Small yards were rarely if ever maintianed.

Looking south -



Same yard tracks looking north -



Tom 

Tom


That is great looking blast!  For some reason it looks like it has a lot of miles on it.

[vinceg]

Yep, looks great, Tom.

[deemery]

Thanks Tom, that's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for! 

I ordered some scenery stuff from Scenic Express, first order shipped to me from Colorado     That includes some 'dark earth' to put into the ditch between the main line and the yard.   I also ordered burnt grass and similar "not from the golf course" foliage.

dave

[postalkarl]

Hey Tom:

Looks just great as always. Can't wait to see more.

Karl