My first Layout - a 5' x 9' Modern BNSF Freelance


Rico said:
I'm glad I stopped in when I did, very nice!
I still can't believe you squeezed all that into a five by nine and managed to get that big railroad feel, well done!
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I think he's having us on, more like 50 x 90.
 
Might be a bit hard to carry to train shows, but no-ones going to be dissapointed with the amount of visual confectionary available with this layout.
 
That's a really nice layout, FT. The backdrop does a great job of breaking up the loop. Proof that a roundy-round can be fun and interesting.

Steve S
 
tootnkumin, the layout splits down the middle into two 2.5' x 9' halves. That makes it much more portable. The backdrop is detachable, as are almost all the structures, for extra portability.
 
flyingtiger said:
tootnkumin, the layout splits down the middle into two 2.5' x 9' halves. That makes it much more portable. The backdrop is detachable, as are almost all the structures, for extra portability.
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Haha, I was referring to the 50x90 being a bit big.
 
What an inspiring layout. I am building a 4 x 12 layout with a scenic divider with two long scenes and two short scenes on either side. You've really shown what the concept of scenic dividers do for a layout. Now, that said...even your plain blue ones look great, but could you imagine some professional ones. Holy crap, this layout would POP. Seriously great landscaping on this!!! Amazing work, for sure. I think will rival it, though...;):cool::rolleyes:
 
Yep, it's HO Scale. I finally had time this weekend to learn Photoshop, or at least enough of it to do what I want to do for the backdrop, so I will begin that process this week, and hopefully have it finished in a couple of weeks, then I will add some more pics. I got some great new material to make grass from ScenicExpress (Heki Pasture TURFGrass) that looks amazing on the layout now. I attached one pic, which does not do it justice in my opinion. Still need to add some more, then will add more pics. ledzeppelinfan1, I appreciate your competitiveness. When I see a layout I really like, it inspires me to do more. I was mostly satisfied with my layout, until I saw some photos recently of Tom Johnson's Logansport and Indiana Northern (the layout where I got the grass idea), and now I feel like ripping everything apart and starting over. But, since I am committed to our first train show in a couple of months, that's not going to happen. Instead, I will redo small sections at a time when I am able. But first I need to finish the backdrop and add the fascia. Anyway, thanks for the comments, and hopefully more pictures soon of the new grass and backdrop.
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Wow...yeah...that guys layout is ridiculously realistic and the backdrops are just phenomenal...completely seamless transitions. Thanks for sharing that...but don't knock your own work. With backdrops like the ones he has yours would be just as good. Seriously.
 
I don't think I will ever match him in terms of backdrop transition. He is a retired art teacher. My structures, weathering, and overall realism are not quite up to par with him, but it is a goal of mine now. Little by little. Is your plan to do the small scenes on your layout on each end, and the longer scenes on the sides? There was an N-Scale layout that was in MR many years ago that accomplished that quite nicely. I believe it was a Western Pacific layout, with one end being the bridge over the Feather River canyon, one side being a prairie town with a Grain Elevator, the other end being a large town, with a small yard, and the other side being another small town. It was very nice for a small layout, and the scene divides worked very effectively. Good luck!
 
flyingtiger said:
I don't think I will ever match him in terms of backdrop transition. He is a retired art teacher. My structures, weathering, and overall realism are not quite up to par with him, but it is a goal of mine now. Little by little. Is your plan to do the small scenes on your layout on each end, and the longer scenes on the sides? There was an N-Scale layout that was in MR many years ago that accomplished that quite nicely. I believe it was a Western Pacific layout, with one end being the bridge over the Feather River canyon, one side being a prairie town with a Grain Elevator, the other end being a large town, with a small yard, and the other side being another small town. It was very nice for a small layout, and the scene divides worked very effectively. Good luck!
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Yes sir...that is exactly my plans. One long side has a city backdrop with large yard, the other long side is a country town in the with the plains in the backdrop with 4 spurs for industry...even going to have a street running scene on the long spur to the grain elevator. One short side through the woods with a river hugging the curve, the other short scene is rural passing a farm...this one could change. Any ideas for something different on that one?

I'll try to look that layout you mentioned.

And yes, his backdrop transitions would be quite difficult to match, to say the least.
 
I think that sounds great. The two things I wasn't able to incorporate into my layout are the farm scene and the yard. I plan to add both though as I expand the layout to an "around the walls" layout, with the layout as it exists today becoming a peninsula. I can't think of a better choice of scenes for what you have planned. Make sure to post pics on here as you build.
 
Finished the backdrop on the big city side, minus some clouds, which I still need to do. Next step, small town backdrop.

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This is the best shot, in my opinion. It really blends in well I think, and completes the scene. It is a huge improvement over the basic blue background.

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Merging a street into the backdrop is a difficult task at best, and nearly impossible at other times (as it will be on the other side of the layout where the street does not meet the backdrop at a right angle.) I plan on typically having a vehicle sitting here to kind of hide the transition. I should have played with print shop more to change the color of the road in the picture to match the layout, but ran out of patience. Luckily, the scenes are double-sided tape attached, so I can peel off an redo. We'll see how long they stay adhered.

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Not too bad. I bit of glare on the elevator image from the light. Looks better in person.
Thanks
 
Is that a commercial backdrop, or did you have it made or make it? That skyline is vaguely familiar, but I am not sure whether I'm recognizing it or not.

This is all just really great work. Thank you for sharing it!
 
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