The 'Canyon' at Skaneateles Creek

As scenery continues to develop on the Onondaga Cutoff, I am focused on getting the areas that visitors see first taken care of.  A major part of that has recently been finished, with the bridge on the M&E at Skaneateles Creek now finally crossing finished cliffs!   Here's a few images that show the newly-installed cliffs and vegetation.'

The new scenery really helps to focus attention on the open-deck bridge, which until now crossed a bunch of pink foam and plywood.

Birch trees, after a long hot summer, have started to turn to their fall colors a bit early.  These splashes of color really help to add some interest to the overall scene.

All that remains is to add a few more trees and foliage to better transition the backdrop, and then to add water to the creek bed along with some final details.  There's a variety of scenery techniques here:  plaster-embedded cloth over cardboard strips, foamboard insulation, various ground foams and polyfiber fabric, 'SuperTrees', static grass, etc.  My feeling is that using a variety of techniques and colors for foliage really leads an authenticity to the scene.

Scenery will continue into the winter, and will be mixed with time spent tweaking the signal system as well as work to add a few more locomotives to the active roster.  This is a great hobby:  so many different things to do, with such tangible and visible progress!  I haven't been bored in years.  It's a great relief from the daily grind at work.

Plenty more to come!  And, after several scenery posts, some more pics of actual trains are in order, too.  Stay tuned!

~RGDave