It's mostly done!

Here it is, just about finished! I need to order some cacti and plant some scraggly bushes, but what I'm calling "Matthew's Mine" is otherwise done.





If you are wondering where the mine is, the guys digging at the hill in the background are just getting started on it....

Today's progress

As you can see, today is more of the same. I just thought I'd post a few pictures. Enjoy...

Scenery!

I've started on the scenery, and it looks like it'll work out well. I have a 70 pound bag of general purpose sand that I got at Home Depot, and I bought a quart of paint that pretty much matches. So my scenery will have a kind of reddish hue.



I painted the ground and then sprinkled sand over it. I'll vacuum up the extra later. You can see a wet area where I had to add some sand to cover where I put card under the track. The grey rock in the background will get painted to match everything else.

Building Scenery

I've started roughing in the scenery on my micro layout. So far, I've got a gentle hill climbing out to the edge of the layout over by the turntable, the area where the waste water will be is dug out, and I've started building up the mountain for the tunnel.



You can see the wood grade crossing I built for the dirt road, and where the road will probably be, on the left. The mountain in the back doesn't have a top yet, but the rough shapes are progressing. The hill by the turntable doesn't show up too well in this picture.



The mine train is nosing it's way out of what will be the tunnel. The water area is in the front, and the black dot indicates where a water pipe will come out of the ground. Oh, you can also see that I've replaced the stock Atlas turnout control with a Caboose Industries ground throw. I think they look a lot better.

First Run at Matthew's Mine

I got the wiring done, and decided to run a train around. Here is the video I made to commemorate the occasion.



Now that everything is running, I can start to work on the scenery, which is always the fun part.

I stuck a few buildings and people on the layout, just to have them there, and you can see where I have been doodling out hills and valleys.

I'll be posting more pictures as the scenery work progresses.

The Micro Layout

This morning I started on an On30 micro layout, after many months of threatening...



Here is the base...22 inches by 32 inches, made with 1X4 stock. The top is 1/4 plywood.



Here is the underside of the base. I drilled holes for running wires.



I put a layer of 1 inch foam over the plywood. I can carve little dips and hollows into it later.

I've got the main loop of track laid. The curves are 10 inch radius, so only small equipment will run.

I've noticed that the base under the track going to the turntable will need to be built up a bit. I'm thinking I'll use something like matte board. In case you're wondering, I made the turntable from a CD and case.



The main loop has been wired, and a train is running! Once I finish with all the track work and am satisfied that it all works reliably, then I'll start building up the scenery. Eventually, the engine will push a string of cars out of a mine tunnel and into an ore processing building. There should be a small pond with scummy water, a mountain (or at least enough of one for the mine) and little hills and dips.

There will also be plenty of trees and greenery. One of the reasons I'm building this layout is to experiment with some interesting looking techniques I've read about.

But, I think I've done enough for one day....

Plano Train Show

I got to The Favorite Spot, in Denton, alright. The place is amazing! If Bachmann makes it, they have it in stock. I spent about an hour weighing my options and drooling over the things I could choose from. I only went a little bit over budget, so feel pretty good about that. I should point out that the owner, Ray, and his workers are all really nice people, and eager to help or answer questions.

I attended most of the first day of the Plano Train Show, and had an absolute ball! Lots of layouts to see, lots of venders to buy from, and of course, I was there to run trains with the Texas On30 Outlaws. They are a great bunch of guys, and we had fun running trains, explaining On30 to the visitors, and admiring each other's work.



Here is a brand new On30 0-4-2 Porter pushing a string of side-dump cars across a bridge at the show.



This is a picture of a Push-Me-Pull-You, we made with a couple of Davenports, on the auto-reversing trolley track. We had about eight feet of track on the auto-reversing line.



This is part of Mike Duva's swamp module. Beautiful work! The water has depth, and everything is dirty looking.



Part of Don Culverson's Maydell module. This one inspired me so much that I made one of my own!