Sunday, July 7, 2013

And so it is finished

It took much longer than I anticipated, but the changes to the scenery around North Pierce are finally finished- at least for now. Here's a shot of the overall scene.




























And here's a shot of how the area looked last December before the changes began.




























The small stream is intended to look like what one might find in the woods in the middle of summer with very little flow.







in the photo below you can see how the stream curves around to the left behind the trees.




























And finally, a couple of rail fan shots of the area.




















































The west end staging yard is now in service and 4 tracks are in place. During the last op session, 2 trains went west from Hollister Yard for the first time. Below are a couple of shots of the staging yard.




















































Eventually there will be 12 tracks in both the east and west staging yards. This will have a significant impact on operations on the layout, and I'm looking forward to adding equipment and revising the operating scheme as new staging tracks enter service. 

I'm reasonably pleased with the way the scenery turned out in this area. Additional small details will be added over time, but for now, the project is finished. The biggest improvement is the addition of the west end staging yard, and it's nice to finally have it in operation.

2 comments:

  1. I really liked the shape and complimentary curves of the tracks and stream in the first arrangement. Somehow it worked to lead the eye into the scene, back into the hills.

    But the new stream appears to be much more realistic in terms of color and texture, and no doubt the staging should be great. Nice to see it come to completion, at least at the stage it is in at present.

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  2. Thanks, Galen. I was surprised by the reaction of some of the crew when I told them I was going to tear out the original scene. It was a favorite among some of them. It's too bad that the original plan for hidden staging didn't work out, but that's history now.

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