Sean McGillicuddy said:
So is Jim going to make his own workers? Like a train engineer …
Jim, with no engineer I thought it was a run away Loco(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif) Nice video!!
I’m happy to report that the plants that Nancy picked and planted are doing pretty well! My bad plant mojo has not been enough to overcome her strong flora fu. She has had a few things in the way but is intending to get me the plant list + map soon. Still fighting irrigation a bit but made good progress this week and I think there’s a good plan in place to get it under control.
Meanwhile, a little bit of spring happening in the railroad:
Jim,
I am just now getting caught up on this thread. Wow! What a transformation! As a president of the local chapter of the Black Thumb society, this gives me hope we, tooic can evolve from lucky guesses to deliberate successes!
Aloha,
Eric
Jim they are looking great individually. Might I ask for an overview shot to see the layout in total to show how the diversity of the three areas blend ?
Roger wilco master Marconi…
As requested by David Marconi (aka Hollywood), here are more pics of each area so you can get a better feel for where various plants are situated and a bit of the big picture.
The planting and structures might be separated into a set of scenes, like this:
I’ll put a few pictures for each of those labeled scenes here. First is the city of Durango, which is full of succulents and is supposed to be a desert town:
Moving around toward the right (counterclockwise on the track plan):
And then even further along:
Moving on to the transition/rock fall area:
Here’s the logging area:
Next is the “canyon” area (not a great name, but, eh, why not?):
And the sawmill, back of the gold mine:
And finally (pant pant) the Jasper gold mine:
Sorry for posting so many pics. I got carried away :-).
Absolutely outstanding looking, but watch the rail gap at the jail turn out
Thanks Bill. Yeah that piece of track is just loosely sitting there. I need to get that finished off. That is the track leading to the stamp mill that doesn’t exist yet.
Excellent !!!
Thank you Jim those pics really show off what you have striven for. We get to see the way the plants blend and shape the scenes I can’t wait for pics as you are running trains and finding the photo ops you have created with all the plantings.(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Jim, one of if not the best small narrow gauge layouts one the web, great looking stuff
Well, thanks Bill, but I’ve seen some stunners and feel like I have a long way to go before I’m satisfied. Nancy has done a good job, imho.
I don’t see Area 69 on the map?
Just saying …
FYi, here’s the list of plants. Map is on hold until Nancy can visit though I have a first cut at many of the trees in the Jasper side of the pike. Picture at the bottom of the post…
Durango & Jasper RR plants
Pleasanton, California, Zone 9
TREES and SHRUBS
(Kat) Katsura Japanese maple – Acer japonicum ‘Katsura’
(Lio) Lions head Japanese maple – Acer japonicum ‘O Jishi’
(Cor) Coral bark Japanese maple – Acer japonicum ‘Sango Kaku’
(Pyg) Japanese maple – Acer japonicum ‘Sharp’s Pygmy’
(Drg) Japanese maple – Acer japonicum ‘Red Dragon’
(Box) Willow leaf boxwood – Buxus sempervirens ‘Salicifolia Elata’
(Skl) Skeleton bush – Corokia cotoneaster ‘Little Prince’
(Cop) Mirror bush – Coprosma repens ‘Pacific Sunset’
(Fus) Thymeleaf fuchsia – Fuchsia thymifolia
(Myr) Dwarf myrtle – Myrtus communis ‘Compacta’
(Ros) Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Irene’
DWARF CONIFERS
(Pod) Mountain plum pine – Podocarpus lawrencei ‘Red Tip’
(Lem) Lemon cypress – Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Wilma Goldcrest’
(Alb) Dwarf Alberta spruce – Picea glauca ‘Conica’
(Jun) Dwarf Japanese garden juniper – Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’
(Str) Blue Star juniper – Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’
GROUNDCOVER
(Brs) Brass buttons – Leptinella squalida ‘Platt’s Black’
(Als) Sweet alyssum – Lobularia maritima
(Lob) Lobelia – Lobelia erinus
(Sax) Mossy saxifrage – Saxifraga x arendsii ‘Red’
(Bab) Baby tears – Soleirolia soleirolii
(Bac) Bacopa – Sutera ‘Gold ‘n’ Pearls’
(Elf) Elfin thyme – Thymus serpyllum ‘Elfin’
(Fer) Fern
SUCCULENTS (desert and back of Jasper)
(Aeo) Black rose aeonium – Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’
(Gol) Jade – Crassula sarcocaulis ‘Gollum’
(Ken) Jade – Crassula sarcocaulis ‘Ken Aslet’
(Tom) Crassula ‘Tom Thumb’ (green pagoda w/red tips)
(Blu) Echeveria ‘Blue Prince’ (blue-green w/ purple edges)
(Per) Echeveria ‘Perle Von Nurnberg’ (blue w/lav. tips)
(Spr) Echeveria ‘Spruce Oliver’ (green w/red tips)
(Sub) Echeveria subsessilis
(Bar) Golden barrel cactus – Echinocactus grusonii
(Csh) Cushion spurge – Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’
(Zeb) Zebra plant – Haworthia fasciata
(Rol) Rollers – Jovibarba (Sempervivum) globiferum subsp. allionii
(Ice) Orange ice plant – Lampranthus aureus ‘Orange Form’
(Ele) Elephant bush – Portulacaria afra
(Gol) Goldmoss stonecrop – Sedum acre elegans
(Spn) Spoon-leaved stonecrop – Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape Blanco’
(Drg) Stonecrop – Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’
(Jel) Red jelly beans – Sedum rubrotinctum
(Min) Miniature pine tree – Sedum tetragona
(Hen) Hen and chicks – Sempervivum tectorum
(Cob) Cobweb houseleek – Sempervivum arachnoideum ‘Cebenese’
(Blk) Hen and Chicks – Sempervivum ‘Black Rose’
(But) Hen and Chicks – Sempervivum arachnoideum ‘Cobweb Buttons’
(Chi) Chinese Dunce Cap – Orostachys iwarenge
This picture is of an 11x17 map, first cut at some of the trees on a bit more than half of the Durango & Jasper. The plan is to create a laminated 2 part map so I (and visitors) can figure out what’s what:
(WTF) Rooster and chicks ‘inspectum my rectum’
(Brunt) Ken Jade belongs in the desert and he ain’t no succulent but he is a Ken Aslet !
BTW Jim …I forgot to add “Nice Plant List” !
Things continue to grow like mad. I’m so happy about that, given my track record. Kudos to Nancy… Here are a few videos…
Yay spring!
Man the layout really has blossomed. Looking great Jim(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Wow Jim your Layout is looking spectacular. Your plants are looking superb.
My critters would tear up the railroad to get to that salad bar!
Looks quite tasty!
Ha! I am guessing it would be a close race between the critters and the intense heat and sunlight causing them to burst into flames!