Exit Stage Left

The branch leaves town through a hole in the backdrop.  I didn't want a tunnel here, so I opted for disguising the opening with trees.

Here's the edge of the scene.  Milton is the town on the upper deck.  From normal viewing angles, the hole in the backdrop is now mostly invisible.

Given the height limitations for trees here, I picked out some of the larger Super Tree armatures to use by themselves, without building anything onto sagebrush to make bigger trees.  Broken sagebrush bits were used for deadfall, and I threw in another piece of sagebrush for a dead tree.  The color and shape of its branches mimics the painted backdrop trees and helps tie everything together.  Some Russian olives amidst the backdrop trees brighten up what is otherwise a dark corner, but I don't want to make things too light back there.

Cargill Spur

The first industrial customer in town to receive serious attention is the Cargill elevator.

The spur is level while the branch climbs about 0.5% up toward the left. The minimal grade allows the branch to start going uphill to the junction while not being steep enough for cars to roll while switching.  I used 3" wide roadbed to allow for a fill and some ditches rather than building the whole place flat.

The available space allowed for structure flats only about three scale feet deep, and the area is only about eight inches tall.  I reviewed numerous photos of prototype elevators for structures that could fit in a restricted space while still looking like a convincing place to spot several cars at a time. 

The building in the middle was kitbashed from leftover parts out of a Walthers ADM elevator.  The height of the door determined ground level.  There was a mounting hole for a pipe in the wall, which I decided to cover with a vent built from scribed and strip styrene.

This part of the complex is mostly .060" styrene sheet.  The loading chute, ladder, platform/railing and access door are parts from Rix grain elevator and grain bin kits.  The concrete pour effect is done with masking tape and pastel chalks.

This one is Evergreen .030" corrugated styrene.  More strip and sheet material were employed for doors and tracks, and the vents and chutes are again from Rix.  I had all this stuff sitting around as scrap from earlier projects.

I represented separate corrugated sheets by drawing lines onto the paint with a pencil and weathering around them.  From typical viewing distance the effect is reasonably convincing.

Most of the time there's a bunch of covered hoppers spotted here, so a viewer usually sees something like this.  Now that I have an actual scene here I might need to consider weathering the hoppers.  The car card box is for Milton above.  Cargill has a separate box on the lower fascia out of view to the right so it doesn't overlap with the Milton operator's work.

Note how the light on the lower deck isn't quite a match for the rest of the room, hence the bluer look in photos.  I may change the lights out at some point, or worry about editing photos some more, but not now.  I have other things to do.

So glad...

to see posts from your layout again Rob! 

It seems to me that on your layout you've chosen to model fewer but bigger industries than most of us do. I'm starting to see the wisdom in that. It makes things so much more believable, and in the end probably allows just as many cars to be switched, if not more, than a number of smaller industries. 

Your blogs have always been an inspiration for me on my layout, and I look forward to following the development of your Raft River branch!

Thanks Paul

Yes, that's true.  A typical Raft River Turn has around 15-17 cars, and there are only two industries to work.  The other one besides Cargill is a lumber mill with multiple structures and spots.  I have several customers which require spotting cars at individual doors and/or have separate buildings requiring extra moves.  That kind of thing enhances realism while providing plenty of activity for a switch crew.

Deck heights?

What heights off the floor are the two decks?

I really like that elevator!

Nice work!

Beautiful work as always, Rob. I especially like the elevation change between the spur and the main and the scenery between the main and the edge of the fascia. Is that another one of your painted backdrops to the left of the elevator or have you started using photos? It's hard to tell from the photos in the post (maybe I just need my glasses). If it's painted, I really like the hint of a building building behind the trees just to the left of the elevator. Nice touch.

Tom Patterson

More Great Work!

More great work, Rob! I look forward to each of your posts!

I was wondering what you use for your "desert" ground cover?

George J

Thanks Guys

I think right here they're approximately 39" and 53".

Yes it is.  No photos in use so far.

It's a base layer of sand, then some fine ground foam, followed by an application of static grasses.  All the layers of scenic texture are applied separately over coats of brushed on diluted glue.

Beautiful!!!

Very clever use of the space!!!  the was the trees match the colors of the backdrop is simply genious!!!

Perfect timing

Excellent work Rob and beautiful timing as I am just starting my lower deck and need some inspiration regarding hiding of helix entrances and exits.

Thanks .....

Rob Clark

More

Matching backdrop and foreground trees becomes simple enough once you use some basic color formulas that match typical ground foams.  Mixing greens from a combination of black with various yellows will do it.  Cadmium yellow deep hue works for mixing shadows, then cadmium yellow pale (or light) hue for mid-tones, then yellow light Hansa or some equivalent for final highlights. Adding black will turn any of those into a green. 

Glad to be of service, Rob.  I'm sure yours will turn out great.

OK, we've got the ingredients . . .

 . . . but you possess a marvelous talent for making them bend to your creative will, Rob. Would you ever consider doing a TMTV spot on painting backdrops? Just to help us mere mortals make the 2D blend better with the 3D?

Thanks Rob!

I'll give it a go!

George J

Video?

Yes, I'd consider it.  I'm not sure how useful model RR specific art instruction is, but I could try.

Moving On

Now for the lumber mill structures.

Building 3 now has a shell and a loading dock.  I'm kitbashing the basic structure, and Building 4 next to it, from a Walthers Tri-State Power Authority.  The upper row of narrow windows looks like a pattern I've seen in several prototype mills.  

I raised the door openings to dock height.  The bottom windows at either end will be covered with something; right now I'm thinking vents.

"Now for the lumber mill

"Now for the lumber mill structures"    Oooh this will be good! I'll have to make a new folder for reference pics, be sure to post many please!

Steve

Great work as usual Rob, it

Great work as usual Rob, it is always a treat to see what you put together on the layout. I have been a fan of bigger industries but fewer instead of lots of little ones for quite a long time. Your great model building proves that point very well.

Very nice work!

I like all the multi-deck railroads on this forum!

But Wait, There's More

Thanks again for the kinds words, all.

Building 4 used more pieces from the Walthers power plant (earlier photos showed some walls leaning against the backdrop but now they're spliced into one).  These lacked a cast-in foundation, so I elevated them on some plain styrene.  Space behind the track here is minimal, but due to the viewing angle the lack of depth isn't too noticeable.  The empty space at right will  be still another building, bridging the gap between the new structures and the existing ones.  When complete, the complex will be about 10 feet long.

Primed and Ready

Both mill structures received more work in preparation for paint.  I found the roll doors in a Walthers Medusa Cement kit.  They were intended to mount on rounded silos, but were easily modified to work on a flat wall.  I used some of the power plant components to build rooftop ventilators.  I also scratchbuilt some vent covers to hide unwanted window and door openings.

Fast Work

Rob, you obviously recovered swiftly from GBG!  Glad to see the progress in the past couple of weeks.

Bill Decker

Raft River progress

Hey Rob,

It would've been enjoyable to have been at GBG this year. I think I passed thru SLC during that weekend to or from Idaho.

So no indoor spots in this mill this time, correct?

IIRC, the woodchip track is to the right of the progress photos.

What are your plans for the load-out track for flats and centerbeams? (The one adjacent to the tail track.)

Regards, Joe W.

Re: Joe W.

Those are actually still there.  I re-used the old mill buildings, and the ones so far in this thread are the new ones I've added to them.  The indoor spots are identical to the mill you'd remember.

Correct.

I think I'll pave both sides of the track for fork truck access, and include a grade crossing to connect the paved areas.

Rob I just finnished watching

Rob I just finnished watching Toyman's visit video of your layout with the D.O.G. visit.  He did you proud mate. I had it up on my 60" in tv and was enthralled. Congrats