Mopac layout

Thanks Steve. I'm hosting one of the local clubs in mid October, so I hope to get a little more done before they come.

 

Yes, hosting a group is a big push for the layout buidling. And we will see more pictures. :angel:

Wolfgang

 

I hope to get a few pics Wolfgang. After this there is the Plano show in January as well as the Lone Star Region of the NMRA here this summer. We'll see how the $$$ hold out over this financial BS we are dealing with here in the states not to mention the school district I work for is laying off 1200. If I'm part of that then NOTHING gets done.

 

Well I guess its time to re-fire this thread. My how time flies. I'm sure there are many new members on this site since my last post. Sorry for the delay but after the Plano show this past January, I just went through a stage of burnout (rumors of my death are premature). Since the last post I added a unloading ramp for my TOFC traffic in Van Buren


and the basic layout of a scrapyard in Alma


Additional details will follow as I find them or build them.

 

Just for grins I had the layout on tour for the LSR convention this summer. ONE person showed up so I guess I won't do that again. I tend to have a better turnout during the Plano show in January.

Since the mainline is complete (branchline still needs to be laid) I enjoy operating what I have so I don't get a lot of modeling done. The biggest problem with modeling Arkansas is trees. So of late I have made a concerted effort to get more trees added to the layout. Right now I'm working just east of Alma along the Arkansas River



The trees in the front are the most recent. I've added about 100 over the last couple of months. All of them are made from Nandina armatures and WS foam. I will try to get more pics posted later (promise).

 

great work, now I need to update the RGW profile. ugh! Michael

 

Thanks RGW & Bob. At this date UP was just another competitor. As promised, here are a couple of pics of the area I'm working on. First a closeup that will really jog your memory banks if you were/are a MOP fan...



Here is an overall pic of the same area with an eastbound local headed for Spadra.



Ya'll enjoy while I get back to making more trees. I'm beginning to think that this layout eats trees.

 

Good stuff.You know the best thing about this is now we have another HO thread going.LOL...:thumbs_up::thumbs_up:

 

That was the point I was trying make! More HO!
Please don't get me wrong, I see great modeling in all scales on this thread. I would just like to see more HO and I think modelers in the other scales would too. That's what the forum is about: learning from each other no matter what scale.

 

After I shape the foam, I cover it with a layer of plaster and carve the strata.

 

This weekend I had some of the usual honey-do's not to mention mowing the yard which is every weekend. Sunday I had time to make some trees to help fill in the ridge line above the river. I'll try to get some pics posted sometime today.

 

As promised here are a couple of picks of this weekends work. Sunday morning I made about 3 doz trees to fill in more of the ridge line above the river. Here are the trees ready to install. I just shot these using available room light so the pics aren't that great.



Here is the ridge line where the trees will be planted



After planting



3 dozen trees don't go very far on this layout. The gap was closed by about 2 feet. I still need to build probably 100 more just for this area alone. Trees on this layout could turn into a full time job. Now if I could only get paid.

 

Nice! Looking good! Thanks for the updates.

 

Thanks Bob.

While fishing with a buddy along the river, I caught this "grab" shot through the trees of a westbound headed for Van Buren for a crew change. The lead unit was U30C #3326.



All those darn trees I planted are starting to get in the way. :tb-tongue:

 

Sweet looking layout.I went back through all the post on this thread last night and realized you have been at this a while.Great progress though.:thumbs_up::thumbs_up:

 

I was hoping for that effect when I planted all that stuff. My wife was asking how many trees I thought it would take to finish the layout. Right now I'm thinking somewhere between 3 and 4 thousand.

 

Thanks. I have been working on the layout for around eight years. This is that "if I had this much space, this is what I would build" layout for me.