...

I'm having a hard time digging that hidden turnout.  I know, it's been a challenge figuring out how to resolve it...

Except it may be best to put it near the throat of the tunnel, and let the two lines be separated through the tunnel...

Hidden Turnout

I know what you mean, Benny, but I'm not too worried about it though. It's hidden but easily accessible. I've built in access through an opening in the scenery and the bench work is only 24" deep. Plus the Peco turnouts are very reliable in my experience.

Oh no!

Every time I think that the urge to turn my HO Tonopah and Tidewater RR into the On30 Death Valley RRwy has gone away, I see something like this and it makes me what to rethink my decision.  Very nice!

Superb

Hi Dave:

I've been a lurker over at Railroad Line for a long time and the Thunder Mesa RR is one of the few layouts I eagerly anticipate progress reports on.  Although my interests are HO urban/industrial/rapid transit, I very much enjoy your posts and your how-to's and admire your artistry and creativity. By the way, any progress on your N scale layout?

Best,

JG

Thanks

Thanks guys. Jeff, the N scale layout is in limbo at this point since I'll be expanding the On30 line into the space it currently occupies. I'm not done with N scale though and am currently exploring possibilities on where it can be relocated to or modified to fit. It's built with Kato Unitrack so changes are still fairly easy at this point.

But wait! Plans change...

Here now is the official up to date TMMC plan that incorporates Verne Niner's San Lorenzo diorama into the layout:

Much more on the Thunder Mesa website.

Expansion

There's a big new post today on the Thunder Mesa website bringing things up to date with the expansion progress and a redesign for the town of Thunder Mesa.

Nice

I really like the addition at the end of the island, Dave!

How much space?

i haven't had a chance to jump out to look at the blog, been at a church social for 5 hours.  So, how much space did you have to open up between the wall and the layout on that end?  It looks great.  You are off to a start for a good looking town.  However, and there is always a however, I understand the way you positioned the buildings for display, but in a real old Western town wouldn't the buildings be facing each other over looking an old dusty street? Just a thought...

Den

Depends on the town

Yes, old western towns most often had false front buildings facing each other across the street. In this case, that would mean the front row of buildings would be turned around and their rears would be facing the track and the aisle. Now, the backs of buildings can be quite interesting, but that's not a scene I'm much interested in modeling here. This is a boomtown where structures have been thrown up on the edge of the mesa on any space available, much like Jerome. It's also a distillation and a caricature, and I'm cheating here to get the look I want. Think of it like a movie set. It's really just the suggestion of a town - the rest is in the viewer's imagination. And, of course, my town is based on Rainbow Ridge, where the buildings all faced the viewer. Realistic? No. Cool looking?Yes! The buildings are also all much too small for a "real" western town. Good thing reality is not what I'm after. 

To get the space, I moved the Thunder mesa section out 3' from the wall and then added 6" on to the bench-work, ending up with a 30" wide aisle.

Excellent Job !!!

You have captured the spirit in a magnificent way.

Hey Dave

Thank you, Nick! And Bremner,

Thank you, Nick! And Bremner, thank you for the excellent photos. I've spent a bit of time down in Tombstone myself and those are some great shots.

Hey Dave

Rainbow Ridge

To be clear, my town of Thunder Mesa is based upon the entirely fictitious mining town of Rainbow Ridge, much of which still stands today above the queue for Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland in California. I have some history with this place and one of my goals with the layout has always been to pay tribute to the artists, designers and engineers - both past and present - who have helped to bring so much joy and inspiration to the world. So, I'm actually modeling a caricature of a caricacture; a model of a model and imagineering the entire thing as if it might have been the real world prototype that inspired Disney. This approach lets me get away with a lot of stuff one would not usually see on a "serious" model railroad (whatever that is). I get to have my cake and eat it too, with a layout that looks like a theme park attraction but can be operated (more or less) like a real railroad.

Here are some photos of Rainbow Ridge for the uninitiated:

All of this is explained in great detail on my website.

Tombstone

Those photos brought back a lot of memories, I spent a lot of time at Tombstone and Bisbee, AZ back in the mid-70's. That is neat.

@ Dave

Well, now that I know what your motivation is I say go for it!  I can't wait to see how this will turn out.  Did I spy a number of old vehicles to go with it on a side table?

Den

drawing

Dave, what programing did you use to draw out your layout ?

Vehicles

Actually, Den, those were from an earlier layout. My era here is 1890 - 1910 so there might be a Model T or two but most non-train transport will be wagons and horses.

...

It makes perfect sense if the buildings are all facing the railroad if they put the railroad right through the middle of town after the town was built...why there?  simply put, it's the best [or ONLY] grade!

Nick

I draw my plans the old fashioned way, with a pencil and paper. Then I scan them and digitally paint them in Adobe Photoshop. It's a technique I often use in illustration as I find the hand drawn line gives a warmer, richer feel to digital work.

Works for me!

I'll go with that!

Also, I've been in some mining towns in Colorado and here in Arizona where the road switchbacks up the slope so steeply that there is simply no room for buildings on both sides of the street - at least, not with a fancy front entrance. I used to rent a place in Jerome, built into the hill, that was two stories high on the uphill side, and five stories high on the downhill side. It was built around 1900 and the fancy front was on the downhill, facing Main Street. As the saying goes, there's a prototype for everything. 

In Tehachapi CA

The buildings downtown are on the south side of Tehachapi Blvd, across from the railroad.

pqe

Dave

Thanks for the info on how you draw your layout. Looks very nice.