My Milwaukee road layout


More about the corn, it the ears are yellow and full, it is fall and some grass would be brown and the tree leaves may be turning a bit.

This is super picky. I like your scene very much and am a John Deere fan and have put many hours on a tractor like the one you show, back in my youth.

Great job--lasm
 
Thanks LASM!
The picture on the box of Busch corn sure is deceiving! I'll be buying another box at some point and making only 1 corn field. I may just do a road the will parallel the tracks for a bit. This past weekend I went down to champaign Illinois to see my family and route 47 closely follows a set of tracks part of the way. So that's pretty much where I'm at currently
 
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I got more basic scenery done around the grain elevator and laid the road. There are a few details to be added still but this is pretty much the finished product.
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The lumber yard is kind of roughed out for now. Eventually I'll get some stacks of wood and people etc. I'm really happy with the progress that I've made so far and hope to get all the small details added soon.
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Here we see the patrol sitting in the siding while the crew takes a lunch break. This may give you a better idea of what the scenery looks like so far.
 
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I've still gotta add some vehicles here but this area will be a park for the towns residents to hang out at.
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I got the road and parking lot laid, still needs striping (which I don't have yet). And I added telephone poles too.
I tore out the diamond that was in front of the engine and that area will now be a cement complex. Thursday I'll have the bench work done and track laid for that.
 
OldGuyHO said:
Use a paint marker to do the striping. The come in while and yellow and work well, with patience.
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That's a good idea! I've actually got some paint markers at work so I'll have to bring those home. Any tips on making the lines look good?
 
Use a painting ruler for straight line (has a raised edge, you can make one with a steel ruler and some thin cork under leaving the edge hanging). Keep the asphalt paint handy for touch-ups and to repaint messes. Patience. Draw guidelines in pencil for curves.
 
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OldGuyHO said:
Use a painting ruler for straight line (has a raised edge, you can make one with a steel ruler and some thin cork under leaving the edge hanging). Keep the asphalt paint handy for touch-ups and to repaint messes. Patience. Draw guidelines in pencil for curves.
Click to expand...

Ok that sounds fairly easy. I've got plenty of left over paint for any mistakes I will make. Thanks for the advice!
 
I love the way you've done the broken edges and uneven 'bitumen' surface, looks just like you'd find at a small station. If the lines are a bit worn looking would fit in well. Maybe a light dusting on the vehicles with cement or wheat dust?
 
Nice looking layout, Milwaukee road has always appealed to me, and I plan to add a couple of locos to my roster. I have an old Proto 2000 SD7 that I am going to rebuild into an SD10 but still unsure of the second unit yet
 
Stickymonk said:
Nice looking layout, Milwaukee road has always appealed to me, and I plan to add a couple of locos to my roster. I have an old Proto 2000 SD7 that I am going to rebuild into an SD10 but still unsure of the second unit yet
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I've got a proto sd7 as well but am not very good at scratch building or custom making things. Post up some pics if or when you get the sd10 done!
Thanks guys for the compliments. I've done and lot of learning with this layout and continue to try and find better ways to do things or areas to improve. Hopefully soon I can post up a picture of the cement company, even though it isn't complete yet
 
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Here's the small corn field I did. And I got the telephone poles installed too. Eventually I'll had the "wires".
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I need some advice with what to do here. This pink foam is across from the cement complex. What I'm thinking of doing is having a small creek and "pond" area with people fishing and a bunch of trees. Does this fit here or should I just do a hill or something else?
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This is the cement complex and new track I laid yesterday.
 
Your layout is looking great. As for to your question, I would probably put a hill in rather than a pond etc. Some how, the hill seems to fit better with the surroundings and being at the end of the layout.

At the end of the day though, it is whatever looks best to you :)
 
If you want to keep the pond, you could take a hint from many farms and country properties here in Aus. Delete the stream and make it into a dam for water storage. Slope the ground up from it to the backdrop so as to make it look like the rainwater catchment for it. Bring the pond out closer to the edge (make it larger) and build a raised earth wall on the lower sides (increase the storage capacity).

Many of these dams are stocked with fish so a little jetty built out into it for fishing or tying a boat to would be appropriate. A small campsite with a hiker's tent is another "extra" to include.

P.S. Oh yes, and if you want to make it a Queensland dam, a few cane toads around about would also be appropriate
 
I guess corn needs water, but the toads won't be interested, no cane beetles.

I was being a bit facetious about them, 'cause here they're a feral pest, introduced from Hawaii in the 1930's to control the sugar cane beetle. Breed at a phenomenal rate and are deadly poisonous if licked or eaten by wildlife. Are now found down the coast of New South Wales (gets a bit cool for them further south) but have spread right across the "Top end" (tropics) and are now working their way down into Western Australia. When I find them in my back yard at night, the back of a spade is employed.
 
You're doing a nice job there. When I was a Kid I spent many hours riding in the cabs of Milwaukee locomotives in Montana. You see to be capturing the feel of the Milwaukee Road very well.
 
A corn field would be fine up close to a pond. If it's an old pond that's just about silted in, then the field might come fairly close to the pond, but just remember a farmer needs room to turn his equipment and he doesn't want to end up in the water! If it is a fairly new pond used for recreational activities, then it would be well maintained (mowed grass) and maybe a cabin for weekend living. Just something to consider. You're doing a fantastic job, by the way!
 
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