Chesapeake and Ohio in Central Virginia

[chuck geiger]

Caleb taught David Frary

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Caleb taught David Frary

I think this may be a new meme.

I heard he was also consulted by John Armstrong.

[chuck geiger]

I was thinking Mr. Zip Texturing Ed. Bill Mc Clannahan

[chuck geiger]

Caleb you have to give up your land form techniques and products. You might have before.

[chuck geiger]

Yeah, I was originally going to have a backdrop, after seeing other 2x4' layouts like Chuck Geigers that use one so well, but the plan is do a lot of outdoor photography with this layout, so not have a backdrop opens of a few more angles. I also wanted to let elements of the scene like the river and road have a bit more room to stretch out without being cut off by a backdrop. Hopefully all the scenes will flow together nicely.


Caleb.

Thanks brother my new 2x4 will hopefully be BNSF Mojave Sub and I am looking at no backdrop and open landform like yours with a desert spin of course.  I love what this guy in Australia did with BNSF Mojave Desert land forms.

Or if I do one, low blue.

[Caleb Austin]

Caleb you have to give up your land form techniques and products. You might have before.

Sorry Chuck, I missed this. On this layout I used foam board, shaped with a knife, then a rasp, then sandpaper. I usually coat everything with a thin layer of plaster of paris. It dries pretty quick, and as it does I can smooth it out with my fingers.

I mostly just study the land forms of the area I'm modeling, and always think in cuts and fills, how the railroad surveyors would have carved the the existing terrain. I can't remember who said it, but there is a quote about shaping land forms that said it should look like terrain with a railroad running through it, and not a railroad with terrain placed around it. There are a few places I missed the mark on this layout though. I think I should have carved the main hill in the middle down a little more, it looks a tad un-natural to my eye. I can disguise that with trees though.

Caleb.

[Caleb Austin]

I've made a bit more progress in the last month.

Here is the creek bed now. might do a bit more painting here and there, but ts mostly finished.



I've carved a bunch rocks around this cut, that transitions to a clay embankment.







You can also see where I've started roughing in where the forest will be with some ground up leaves.

Most importantly, I installed a fascia around the while layout! This is a big deal for me because I've always procrastinated on that until the layout is almost done.

Thanks for looking.

Caleb.

[OldEastRR]

I can't remember who said it, but there is a quote about shaping land forms that said it should look like terrain with a railroad running through it, and not a railroad with terrain placed around it.
Caleb.

I feel the same way about terrain. And that saying is one I practice, don't recall the source. One mistake modelers make when planning layouts is they mentally place the lowest point of the land at track level. They can avoid this pitfall by assigning the lowest level of the scenery (water surface, dry rock canyon bed, street level under a viaduct, etc) as zero point, and the track at some height above that. Even if that zero point is the top of an HCD, plywood sheet, or slab of Styrofoam, by thinking of the ROW as having to be elevated above that helps plan variations of ground level below as well as above the track height.

[Cajonpassfan]

Looking really good, Caleb!
Yes, the landforms should look natural if you were to remove the track and restore cuts and fills to the "original" condition (in hilly terrain, cut and fill volumes should generally balance).
Looks like you're nailing it!
Otto k.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I forget. What are you using for your "leaves"?

[wazzou]

I forget. What are you using for your "leaves"?

Leaves.   

[Caleb Austin]

Yep! just real leaves from my back yard, ground up in a blender.

Caleb

[Santa Fe Guy]

There ya go.
Dried up tea leaves work also. Just cut open your old used tea bags let em dry and voila.
Rod.

[mu26aeh]

There ya go.
Dried up tea leaves work also. Just cut open your old used tea bags let em dry and voila.
Rod.

I have 3-4 shaker cans of tea leaves in my cabinet, a box with enough bags to fill another one, and my friend has 2 more shakers full.  We use it as filler material for a custom forest floor mix, adding various colors, shades, coarseness of foams etc.

We drink a lot of tea 

[chuck geiger]

See sh@! just got real - You don't get this anywhere but RW. Old East and Caleb, right on. I have never done
this concept, but will on next one. Scenery comes first then track. Duh!