The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

Would a 1980s vintage Cat IT18 work?

https://www.ghqmodels.com/collections/1-87-ho-scale/products/it18-log-loader

Not sure how Ghq's kits look in HO but definitely an option.

That might work!  Really well.  I don’t know that I’m capable of building a kit that meets the level of my expectations, but that looks era-correct.

DFF

[wm3798]

Better put in a traffic circle.  I hear they're a good way to up your page count!
Lee

[wazzou]

Better put in a traffic circle.  I hear they're a good way to up your page count!
Lee

Lol!  I had to stop myself this morning from further adding to the drift. 
Sorry @wm3798

[muktown128]

Better put in a traffic circle.  I hear they're a good way to up your page count!
Lee

Is that a roundabout way of trying to prevent thread drift...

[davefoxx]

Base scenery layer restored.  Just have to figure out how I’m going to finish the ground covering in this area.  It’ll definitely be more trees on the high side of the road to finish the scenic divider, but the low side?  We’ll see.



DFF

[wazzou]

MOW storage, junk yard, team track with a ramp/dock?

[davefoxx]

MOW storage, junk yard, team track with a ramp/dock?

I’m going with a team track/transloader there.  Sorry, I meant the hillside and around the bridge.  I don’t want to bring kudzu to this side of the layout.

DFF

[nkalanaga]

For most of the east, you can't go wrong with more trees!

We moved out of our house 24 years ago.  At the time, the area in front was where I parked, so all gravel.  There is now an 8-inch diameter sycamore tree growing there. 

I grew up in the Northwest, on the dry side of Washington.  There are places there that haven't grown more than grass since the Ice Age.

In 1977 we went through Colorado on vacation, including through Gunnison and over Cerro Summit.  The narrow gauge was removed in 1949, 28 years before.  Not only was the roadbed still visible, but it still had some ties, and we recognized the bushes from 1940s calendar pictures.  A little bigger, but obviously the same bushes.

That's the difference rainfall makes!

[davefoxx]

I’m not 100% satisfied, but, after two attempts to paint the road markings and one sanding and respray of light gray primer to start over, this is likely the best I can do.  Since the layout is tall, you don’t see nearly as much as in the picture below.  I can also plant trees in front to hide the remaining sins.  The worst defects became asphalt patches , which appear slightly darker in the photo than in person.  I’ll likely spray a clear flat finish over everything and do one more dose of weathering to blend it all together.  Once, I’m as satisfied as I can get, I’ll glue the bridge and road sections down and work on the shoulders.







I’ve also started on the guardrail and have about 24-30” of railing to finish on the low side of the highway.  What’s installed is merely temporary and still needs paint.

DFF

[Steveruger45]

Looks good Dave.  I like it and the road patches.  Maybe could use a road crew repair scene, you know, a couple of red/white barriers, orange construction barrels and such.  I say this as I’m pretty sure you will be seeing all sorts of “things not quite right” in an overly self critical way that I don’t see..

[davefoxx]

The first line pole was installed on the layout this evening, as I try to add final details to the trestle scene.  I placed it next to the abutment at the right end of the trestle, so viewers can appreciate the weathering of the wood pole, the insulator color, and the . . . oh, crap.



DFF

[packers#1]

Looks like every random field along US25 on the way to Grandma’s house in Greenville; seriously well done!

[C855B]

You forgot the guy wire.

[davefoxx]

Looks good Dave.  I like it and the road patches.  Maybe could use a road crew repair scene, you know, a couple of red/white barriers, orange construction barrels and such.  I say this as I’m pretty sure you will be seeing all sorts of “things not quite right” in an overly self critical way that I don’t see..

Thanks, Steve.  I’m afraid the road crew scene would draw your eye to the road.  I walked away from it and will admit that it’s growing on me a couple of hours later.  It’s just that I worked so hard on the bridge that I expected better from the adjacent road pieces.  But, again, the camera was kind and it just meets the three-foot rule.  Maybe I’ll feel better about it tomorrow or when I’m next JFRTM and not so focused on the highway.

DFF

[davefoxx]

You forgot the guy wire.

Can you tell?   

DFF