Building the Pinacle Creek Mining & Timber Co. RR

[tootnkumin]

Can't wait.

[HOexplorer]

Toot, You will have to wait a bit longer.

Before I can get to the pond I will have to seal it. I use clear silicon for this job. Before I can seal it I have to have all the rocks dry. (A few days)

You can see in this photo that managing time and jobs is important. While the rock is drying I put some WS Earth coat on the non rock surfaces. I don't worry about brown color touching my rocks. It is a well know fact that rocks can pick up a stain from surrounding earth! Really!



You can see the small pinnacle in the front is a late addition and only has a couple of sprays of gray. On the back left you see the edge of the layout. This was hard to figure out, but it proves stucco will stick to vertical walls. No stain yet.

When this is all dried I will take the pond bottom. Jim

[tootnkumin]

Clear silicone as a sealer? Interesting.

[tootnkumin]

I'm gonna run this idea by you Jim for the end of the headland where the tunnel comes out, to me it looks not quite right being rounded off.

It started me thinking about the name of the layout "Pinnacle Creek". This is in an area where exploration would most likely first have been done from seaward and names were given to areas, often because of landform features. (We have the Glass House Mountains just to the north) and a pinnacle would have to stand out and be clearly visible from that point of view.

How about turning that headland into a prominent pinnacle, the creek would then have taken it's name from both that main geologic feature and it's own one.

[HOexplorer]

Toot, Great minds think alike. I had initially planned to have a pinnacle there. As I couldn't seem to settle on shortening my desk and the track geometry was working against me I left it out. It would have made the layout hang over the desk a bit more and also cover up the window. I thought it would be weird to add more backdrop and I didn't care for the gap between the pinnacle and the exsisting layout cliff with window behind.

I would like to do have had it. I know what your saying. This is a good lesson for layout builders: it is your layout don't be afrad to change it. Think things through the best you can. Even if you do it wrong you can always change it afterwards. Jim

[tootnkumin]

Ha! I don't know about me having a great mind Jim, but I don't mind if you don't mind. The way I see it you won't need to come out much further over your bench, if at all, It just needs that last peak made a bit peakier (my word) and it's face made a bit chunkier (another my word) so it combines with that area where the hopper is now sitting. This might enable you to make the peak more 3 dimensional i.e the actual peak would move away from the backdrop.

The drawback to all this of course would be in having to relocate the top track forward as well, by curving the switchback siding around the base of the pinnacle.

Is that getting to radical?

[tootnkumin]

I'll bounce another thought here, If you were to bring the face of the pinnacle out so it's base rises from the lake you could really give this peak some emphasis. You could also have the top track siding going into a tunnel (save moving it). It would just mean that the bottom track tunnel entrance may need to be brought forward.

[tootnkumin]

?

[HOexplorer]

Toot, All good ideas for sure and trust me I ran this scenario through before as well. To do transfering of ore cars, including the loco, I couldn't shorten the upper left track. I have a Climax that stays on the upper level more or less permanently. My Heisler's does the heavy work on the 5 degree grade and leaves and picks up ore cars on the upper left end of the track. Since I have to uncouple by hand/tool I need full access to the upper track, no tunnels.

Also, I will want to use new and different camera angles and shots from my dest area. A bulging rock cliff would interfere with the long shot down the upper track, which is the longest straight run on that side of the layout. Photography is the primary concern in my building, thus I always give priority to land forms allowing important photo opportunities.

Thanks for your input. It will be valuable to those who read all this. Too bad you don't live here in San Diego. Jim

[Let's Roll]

Jim, I have thoroughly enjoyed all 67 pages of this thread as well as the commentary.

What is the elevation change from the pond to the upper track with hopper?
What is the elevation change from upper track to top of mountain above.
The reason I ask is it looks steep but very realistic.
Thanks
Drew