Started placing the structures on the interior of the layout and working out where street lights will be placed. I\'ve shelved the idea of power poles and electrical lines in favor of underground lines in the interest of \"scenic beautification\".

OK, I\'ll try again, me and photobucket haven\'t been happy since the last Java upgrade.



Next up is the lawns and gardens in the residential area, and the inside of the grade into town.

Thats come a long way in a short time. Looks superb,its kind of giving me a bit of enthusiasm to start work on mine again.
Look forward to the next update.
Frame

I should mention that the white spots on the mountains are pre-drilled holes for planting the trees when I\'ve moved the layout onto it\'s benchtop. They look bad for the time being, and it\'s better to not plant the trees until it\'s been moved than risk breaking them while the layout is being moved.

Thanks Frame. Test ran the layout this afternoon with my Rivarossi 4-6-6-4 and no problems, derails or uncouplings. 14 cars and a caboose behind the Challenger, and the 2% grades didn\'t phase it at all. Have to wait for some more cars or Micro Trains couplers to get here to give it a real test. Half of my cars are from the early 80s and have the old style couplers on them, and I can\'t find the idler car I made up back then.

Another day, and some more progress in the landscaping. Work is going slow while I wait on some parts to arrive. Started to plant trees, sort of plant, no glue yet. 3 of the 5 road crossings are in place. I\'m using wood crossings, and these are very easy to work with. Ran the Challenger again, found an idler car and some more came in the mail, so with 25 in tow, the challenger pulled right up the 2% like it wasn\'t there.

Those buildings look real.

Thanks GJ. The brick buildings are washed in white or a very light gray. Roofs are done in several coats of medium gray, followed by a misting of black, then white, and finally a misting of gray to give the gravel look on the flat roofs. The shingle roofs are done the same way with a dirty brown or dark gray wash for weathering. The metal roof on the shop is done in dark gray with a dirty brown wash and some rust highlights.

Here\'s a shot of the curved road crossing. The inserts are laser cut wood and the road surface is ceramic tile thinset mortar.

I\'ve also planted a couple more trees, but didn\'t get as much done as I wanted to.

OK, lots of pics today, almost ready to make the move to it\'s final spot. I\'m still waiting on the street lights to get here then once the wiring is done, I can move it. Still have about 100 or so trees to plant.
I\'ll start with the south end campsite.


South end businesses.

One more from the south business area.

This is the south street and confusion corner, named because of the 3 way stop.


From the south end looking north over the south street.

The northeast end rail yard and brewery

Scott\'s customs, Evans equipment and the railyard.

Some shots of the brewery. (the gray trailer is Canadian, some outfit named Nobleco)

And the north end fire station city shops and site of the future truck stop and diner.

Very nice.
Frame.