Scenery Musings

As the summer draws to a close - hard to believe - I have been able to spend more time on scenery.  Note that spending time on scenery, at least at this early stage, does not mean spending time building scenery!  Much time goes into trying ideas and into dreaming up how a scene should look.  I am using a small part of the M&E mainline near Skaneateles Creek to test some ideas for scenery construction and materials, and so far, the results have been educational, with some being good enough to be used systemwide.

Looking railroad-North along the right-of-way, we have a quick grab-shot from the iPhone allowing us to see some of my newly-modeled cliffs, including overgrowth, and some lineside vegetation.  I am going to take my time with overall scenery so as to make sure it has the effect it should - deception.  I still have a ways to go.  The track here is a work-in-progress, and needs better weathering and finished shortline-style ballast.  And in fact, since this photo was taken, I have added several layers to the area at right.  What is seen here, though, are cliffs made from aged locust tree logs, accented with polyfiber ground covering from Woodland Scenics.  Future additions include highlights with leaf particles from Noch, as well as some paints to add variety.  The trees here are commercially-made, and soon will be joined by handmade trees.  Like most northeastern layouts, I will need many many more trees!

Comments are always appreciated - feel free to comment here or drop me an email.  I want the scenery to be as effective at setting the locale as the signals are.

Best wishes for a safe, happy Labor Day weekend!
~RGDave