Oregon Joint Line N Scale

[Denver Road Doug]

Thanks Doug, I usually think of the term "grandiose" as being a descriptive adjective for a Liberace (or maybe lady gaga for the youngsters reading this) performance, but I'll assume you didn't mean "way over the top"   

Yes, I did mean that...but not about YOUR work, but rather the (real life) scenery itself.  To me the most breathtaking scenery is almost hard to believe what one is seeing. (so, very much over the top!)  So my point was you have a knack for taking that awesome scenery and making it translate onto your layout in  manner that is beyond what most modelers are capable of. (and I believe at least one other poster was suggesting that or something close)

Maybe "majestic" scenery would have been better?   

[MichaelWinicki]

Simply outstanding!

Love the extra touches also like the crooked telegraph poles– nice touch!

The only thing that loses me a little is the backdrop color.  Maybe some subtle clouds or slight color variance from bottom to top... Not sure if I'm hitting it or not.

[Smike]

Take that HO.... 

Seriously great work taking the vision and carrying it out with such a high level of scene recognigtion on rarely modeled terrain.

[SSW7771]

All I can say is FREAK'N AWESOME!

Marshall

[coldriver]

Simply outstanding!

Love the extra touches also like the crooked telegraph poles– nice touch!

The only thing that loses me a little is the backdrop color.  Maybe some subtle clouds or slight color variance from bottom to top... Not sure if I'm hitting it or not.

Thanks.  Like I said above, I will be painting or adding a photo backdrop eventually, but I have much more pressing issues to attend to right now  There's also more sagebrush to plant, more talus to add, etc.  When I do finish the backdrop it will be a mix of rock and sky to give the scene more depth.

[MichaelWinicki]

Thanks.  Like I said above, I will be painting or adding a photo backdrop eventually, but I have much more pressing issues to attend to right now  There's also more sagebrush to plant, more talus to add, etc.  When I do finish the backdrop it will be a mix of rock and sky to give the scene more depth.

I apologize.

I missed that part.

[coldriver]

Here's some photos of my canyon scene showing how I'm expecting to access the track in the case of derailments and such.  Time will tell if this will ultimately be satisfactory, but I least I can reach every point on the track. 


This shot shows that the canyon has a backdrop on either side with the obvious problem being access.  The notch on the left backdrop in the foreground is set to my armpit height so I can reach over it.  I wanted to maintain the maximum possible backdrop while keeping the minimum required amount of access. 

My idea is just to have a removable backdrop panel as shown here and reach through a side canyon.  Right now it's just quick-release clamped in place, but ultimately I'll probably attach it with hinges or something (ideas?). 

So between the notch in the foreground and the removable panel at the rear I can reach all of the track.  What I didn't consider however, was that as I'm stretching to reach all areas of the track I'm also trying to maneuver past a slide fence which extends partway over the track.  Fortunately there's just a few inches that are really a pain to reach, but no doubt if a derailment is going to happen anywhere, it'll probably be in those few inches...   

[mcjaco]

Have you thought about nixing the backdrop altogether, and letting operators enjoying looking down those bluffs into the canyon?  Maybe just use the backdrop for photos?

Really great stuff throughout!  Bring on some more!

[coldriver]

Have you thought about nixing the backdrop altogether, and letting operators enjoying looking down those bluffs into the canyon?  Maybe just use the backdrop for photos?

I have, in fact in the five months I've been building this there has been no left backdrop.  The dead-end aisle behind the backdrop is only 20" (meant to be emergency access only) and I don't recall anyone ever using it in an op session other than for the occasional derailment or stall even though the far end of the canyon was essentially done for most of that time.  I really want to force the perspective of parallel viewing of this scene rather than our typical perpendicular (or at least sharp angled) model railroad scene viewing.  I understand that type of view make not ring true for the Easterners on this board, who are faced with a lot more trees and other obstructions which limit prototype parallel scene viewing winding through s-curves and such.  But it's very common in the west (at least beyond coastal areas) and I want this layout to scream "WEST!" 

[Rossford Yard]

Yet another good idea in the layout. I think John Armstrong wrote of "view notches" but I don't think I have ever seen one on a real layout.

[SSW7771]

Personally, I think the backdrop accomplishes the goal of focusing the view down the canyon, like a "railfanning" spot. 

Marshall

[coldriver]

I finally finished my track plan in Xtrackcad!  As a reminder the layout is 25' x 28' and all track is in place except between Dayville and Monument Yards (actually there is track in place, but I'm going to rip it out and replace it with what you see here).  There's also a lower deck which is mostly staging which I'll post in the future (I need a break from this).  I certainly welcome any of your comments and requests for explanations and photos of areas you might be particularly interested in.
 

[coldriver]

Personally, I think the backdrop accomplishes the goal of focusing the view down the canyon, like a "railfanning" spot. 

Marshall

thanks Marshall - that's exactly what I'm aiming for.  Back when I lived in the PNW I frequently sought out vantage points in the Columbia Gorge, Deschutes River canyon, etc to get photos such as this. 

[coldriver]

I finally finished my track plan in Xtrackcad!  As a reminder the layout is 25' x 28' and all track is in place except between Dayville and Monument Yards (actually there is track in place, but I'm going to rip it out and replace it with what you see here).  There's also a lower deck which is mostly staging which I'll post in the future (I need a break from this).  I certainly welcome any of your comments and requests for explanations and photos of areas you might be particularly interested in.

OK, this is surprising - getting the track plan into XTrackcad was a lot of work, which I did specifically to solicit feedback here.  I've never seen this forum go totally silent when a track plan was presented.  Anyone?...

[Scottl]

I'm full of envy, it looks pretty good to me.  Big layouts like that tend to get a muted response, as they are hard to digest.  Micro layouts and HCD tend to be simple enough to get a feel of things pretty quickly.

For me, it is hare to really get a feel for a layout without knowing the topography, but I tend to be more interested in the scenery.