And found an updated Google Earth Image from last August.
Great shot! Remove the borders, get closer and you got a real shot! Really looks good, Ken. Blended right in.
Like so?..
Ats better
That engine picture is great!
Yes it is, now he just needs a few people, and maybe a dog in the picture.
I haven’t gotten around to adding all the little details yet; cars, people etc. Maybe by the Ops session I can have them out…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Ken, I was just kidding you. I wish my layout looked half as good as yours does.
David Maynard said:
Ken, I was just kidding you. I wish my layout looked half as good as yours does.
It probably could if you spent more time working on it and less time here on LSC telling us how it is properly done or how you would do it !
That statement could apply to a lot of folks. Hobbies are to be enjoyed. When it becomes too much like work, I take a break.
And I thought that when folks asked for advice, we were supposed to try and help, based upon our knowledge and experience.
Edit to also say; I was trying to complement Ken on his beautiful railroad. Why does it have to devolve into this type of conversation?
David Maynard said:
That statement could apply to a lot of folks. Hobbies are to be enjoyed. When it becomes too much like work, I take a break.
And I thought that when folks asked for advice, we were supposed to try and help, based upon our knowledge and experience.
Edit to also say; I was trying to complement Ken on his beautiful railroad. Why does it have to devolve into this type of conversation?
I agree
David Maynard said:
Yes it is, now he just needs a few people, and maybe a dog in the picture.
Always needs dogs. Dogs and railroads go together. Trash and weeds, also. Ken’s ground cover (moss) is really growing and the compacted old dirt is looking great! Ken is a master at weathering and most of the realism seems to come with the help of time and thyme.
Very cool. Just reading from the start. Basically only 2 years in the making - quite impressive!
What are your thoughts comparing it to the old layout?
Looking forward to seeing it all again at the end of this month.
I’m enjoying this edition much more then when it was on the ground. And I did put a lot of thought into what I wanted to accomplish. 75% of what I’ve planted on it, so far is doing good. Most of what maintenance I have to do is around the switches, spikes pop out, dirt and grunge and that’s relatively easy to take care of. The only drawback is it’s location, under the pine trees. It can become a wind tunnel under there, plus the sticks and twigs from the trees, and I do get the occasional critter that wants to dig holes but I can handle that compared to what maintaining it on the ground entails. And no roller coaster up and down track from the frost heave. Which was my main reason for doing it this way. The track work hasn’t budged.
I was limited with the amount of yard trackage I could have on the old layout. This arrangement fixed that problem. (You need an engine house, Bruce???..(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif))
If a car derails, it’s easy enough to pop back on the track, and 9 times out of 10 it’s easy to spot the problem and fixing it without standing on your head.
I’ve also found it’s not much of a problem if I want to change things around, like what I just did in Porter and at the bridge approaches. Scrape the dirt off the screening, realign the roadbed, and relay the track. Since most of the screws I put in are straight down into the trimplank, it just a matter of finding them and removing them. And the harp switch stands don’t get kicked and bent.
I just planted 3 things I bought at the Train Show. 2 were Thymes that I just planted directly on to the layout. The 3rd was a small Arborvitae that I built a planter box for and attached under the layout. I’ll have to extend the irrigation system to cover those.
All in all, I’m tickled with what I have now.
Wow!! Very impressive. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)I really like that station.
This is a demonstration of how I plant larger shrubs using a planter box under the layout.
Decide where I want it, then scrap the dirt off the screen, making sure it’s in the opening between the supporting x-members. The cut the fabric.
The box is on the left. I line the planter box with the weed fabric to keep the dirt from draining out and add some screenings to the bottom for drainage. I then fill the box about half way with dirt. A view of the box on the underside of the layout.
Then it’s just a matter of placing the plant in the box and filling in around it.
I’ve also done this with some of the larger Thymes I bought.
The smaller ground covers like this Treadwell are planted directly in the dirt.
These were planted 2 years ago directly in the dirt and are doing just great.
Look forward to copying this soon
That is a great idea! I’m guessing a really cold winter could give the roots trouble, but hey you can always replant.(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Ric Golding said:
That is a great idea! I’m guessing a really cold winter could give the roots trouble, but hey you can always replant.(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
I suspect the heat lamp and drying rack is in the shed