Buffalo Canyon Mining Company in On30

[PRR Modeler]

Mike who makes the figures?

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

Thank you so much, Dave, Rick, Jerry, Larry, and Curt. I appreciate you following my builds.

Curt, the figures are from assorted sources, but the majority came from Cumberland Shops' platform characters.

Have fun,
mike

[Philip]

Great!  Figures are fantastic Mike! Glad your on the mend comrade!

[ACL1504]

Mike, Howdy,

The figures look fantastic and the scene at the station is wonderful.

They make the scene come alive with activity.

Tom

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

Philip and Tom, thank you for your encouragement and comments. 

While paint and decals dry, I've been working on the layout.  While I've focused on the depot area, I've been tweaking the structure locations.  

The depot area.  I moved Belvina's Cafe to a location next to the depot area (on the far left).  I figured folks needed a place to eat that was nearby. The support runners from its previous life were removed and will be replaced by brick columns.



Do you think Belvina's is too large for the scene?

Have fun,
mike

[PRR Modeler]

Larry if the café is the far left structure I think it is overage for a eating establishment. Can you resize it?

[friscomike]

Larry if the café is the far left structure I think it is overage for a eating establishment. Can you resize it?

Howdy Curt,

The back story was that it was brought over from Belvina's logging business in Eastern Oklahoma.  It was a kitchen there, so I repurposed it for Quitaque.  It does look big and doesn't match the normal western Texas structure.  I was just trying to use what I had.  I may build a smaller one and repurpose Belvina's to the mountainous part of the layout.

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it.  

Have fun, mike

[Rick]

Mike, it's a good looking structure, but for that scene it is too big.
Using it elsewhere is a good idea.

[friscomike]

Howdy folks,

Curt and Rick, thanks for the confirmation.  I'll find another home for Belvina's.

I've moved structures around, trying to get the best and most realistic appearance.  Here is the latest arrangement.



The far left white placard is for a barber shop, and the one next to the bridge in the center is for the Maroux Hotel that is currently in the design stage.  I've finished the front, back, and sides of the hotel.  Next will be the details like lines for clapboard, roof joist cutouts, etc. 
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The structures from left to right are:  barber shop, post office, general store, sheriff's office, hotel, gas station, saloon, Masonic Lodge, fire station, livery stable, and tannery.

A view from the left end of the layout.


Please share your thoughts.

Have fun,
mike

[PRR Modeler]

Looks very nice. I really like when a train can go under a RR bridge. That looks like a sharp curve going into white area.

[friscomike]

Looks very nice. I really like when a train can go under a RR bridge. That looks like a sharp curve going into white area.

Curt, the white is actually the unfinished main street. (I've been delaying the construction until I decided between brick and asphalt, which were both appropriate for the era and location.  The main town is located in the ravines below the caprock.  Have fun, mike

[Rick]

Mike, all your buildings look very good.
When I think of old west towns I imagine that they are closer together.
Something like this:

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi Mike.

Your layout is looking very good.

Here are a couple of thoughts for you to investigate.


* Curve the road away from the layout front to stop the monotony of parallel lines.
* Rotate the structures at 90 degrees to the road, not the layout front.
* If the road bridge is over a river, curve the river in the opposite way to the road.
* Raise the road up to the terrain behind where the trackwork is and then back down.
* Buildings in this area can be raise up with the road, all at slightly different heights.
* All this can be easily mocked up by using some polystyrene (or books in a pinch) to add building sites  at different elevations, and coloured paper used to represent the road and the river.
* Where does the road go?  Does it pass through the town and recross the railway?  Or exit off stage at the front right?
* If you find the raised structures are too much of a visual block for the scene behind, consider eating into the scenery behind to allow the curved shape of the road.  Even if doing this I would still change the elevation of the structures slightly.  Its a small thing, but really helps to give the feeling that the terrain was there first and the structures were built into it.
* I agree with Rick about the proximity of the structures.  Maybe check out Dave Meek's Thunder Mesa layout.  I love the arrangement of his small town.  It may well give you some ideas.

Cheers, Mark.

[Pennman]

Mike,

Your layout looks fantastic! I had visions of a much bigger layout that you were making, but I like this setup very much. It appears your scenery makes it rather real too. Very nice work.

Rich

[deemery]

I agree with Rick.  Structures in boomtowns, particularly in mountain environments, had their buildings constructed very close together.  

And lucky you to get a free consultation from Mark, our expert on urban real estate planning and execution.

dave