How about Sedum (Autumn Joy)?

Dear Jeff,

Interesting, I hadn't thought of "Heavenly bamboo". There is a current trend to use Sedum (aka "Autumn joy" amoungst the Aussie NG'ers for gums, which may be something worth considering...

http://www.trainweb.org/regnanstramway/Model%20Pages/Pages/Regnans.html

http://www.all-model-railroading.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=8942&page=4

There were also some articles back a ways by Mark Fry (originally from Gerringong), in AMRM which might be helpful... (try AMRM #210 and 211, June and August 1998 respectively)

Intrigued too at the theme for your layout, a logging railway based north of Berry. You may wish to have a look at "Broughton Vale Tramway", a HOn30 layout based on a similar concept, from back in 2000. The original geocities site is long gone, but the content lives on...

http://www.zelmeroz.com/album_model/members/klyzlr/BroughtonVale.pdf

http://www.zelmeroz.com/album_model/members/klyzlr/bv_01w.jpg

("Broughton Vale" did actually play host to 2 seperate sawmills, at least one powered by a man-made offshoot of "Broughton Creek", known as "Broughton Mill Creek". At least another 3 sawmills operated within the parish of the Berry township).

While the "Broughton Vale" layout focussed on modelling the sawmill < ----> mid-line winch site at Woodhill Mountain, the following "Nine Mile" layout (AMRM Oct 2005) covered the "bush end" of the line as it wormed its way south along the face of the escarpment, and eventually into Kangaroo Valley and the end-of-track (at, predictably, "the Nine Mile"). 

Good to see another aussie, let alone another Illawarra bod here onlist...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

ex-Dapto, now Northern Beaches of Syd....

Past Aussie-outline show layouts:
- Swans Crossing (HO/HOn3/HOn30)
- Broughton Vale Tramway (HOn30)
- Nine Mile (On30)
- Yallah 2 (On30)

So thats what that bush is called Thanks

I've been collecting those little trees for years. After letting them dry for a few months I spray them with a shot or two of 3-M or Duro all-purpose Spray Adhesive. Then using hemp string cut in 1/4 & 1/2 inch long pieces, I sprinkle these on the bare branches. Then I spray paint them with white paint mostly from the bottom center up along the trunks.

When dry I spray them from the top down with Aqua-net unscented extra super hold Hair spray. Next while the hair spray is still very wet I sprinkle NOCH mini yellow leaves on them. I call them easy Aspens.

With those skinny trunks you can cluster 20 or so in a small groups in and around the conifers and hardwoods and you have a great little section of aspens on your Colorado mountain side.

The Old City Hospital here in town has these bushes around the entire parameter of the Hospital and every fall they trim them back as they grow very fast. I also harvest the little tree growths just before the little berries start to grow in July and they are great for young hard woods.

Dan

G'day Cobber.

G'day John, It's a small world [Our Lord has a swell sense of humor] , when I first decided to model an Aussie layout I had in my mind to make it logging and some where near my town [Unanderra] , so I went to Google and searched around this area for Sawmills, "Brighton Vale Tramway" was my first contact and the info there was what decided me to place my layout where I have. My first 1220cm x 920cm module is of the valley containing the sawmill, the future module was to be the line to Kiama with dock loading to ships.

Thanks for your contact, It's good to make new friends and when they love little trains all the better.

Regards Jeff, willowcreekrr.site40.net/

G'day Dan

G'day Dan, Thanks for your way to make them, Good to meet you.

Regards Jeff.

Dear Jeff, The 2' gauge Kiama

Dear Jeff,

The 2' gauge Kiama Quarry Tramway down the middle of Terralong St has always nagged at me as a potential exhibition layout in either HOn30 or On30. The recent B'mann On30 Forney can be bashed into a very convincing 0-4-0ST Davenport a la "Kiama". Unfortunately the HOn30 renditions as once available via Chivers were never the greatest runners (based on the _old_ N scale B'mann 0-4-0 docksider mech), and would likely 'let the side down' in overall performance stakes.

I take it you are modelling in HO SG, but I know there are a number of NG'ers in the Unanderra area whom I'm sure you'd get along great with. Some of them are also involved with the Illawarra Light Railway Museum Society, and would be a wealth of "proto-inspiration" fodder for your locally-themed railway...

Looking forward to hearing of future updates on Willow Creek...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Thanks

Thanks John.

Gum Trees!

These are great leads!  I'm gonna need LOTS of these for my modeling of the right of way in California, which is just covered with eucalyptus trees!  Most of the places where my track penetrates openings in walls, which wouldn't actually be tunnels on the prototype, are going to be disguised with thick copses of these trees.  I guess more research is in the cards to find where I can get these plants!

  Paul

I wondered if the gum trees were another name for Eucalyptus?

One reason there are so many Eucalyptus trees in So Cal is that they were used extensively as wind breaks around the citrus groves.  As the citrus groves were removed and replaced with subdivisions, the "eucs" were left behind to line the streets, and along railroad tracks.  Paul, what area of California are you modeling?

Eucalyptus

G'day Russ, Yes they are the same, when you hit a Eucalyptus it bleeds "Gum" hense Gum Trees, the Koori [Aboriginal] used the gum to glue their bark canoes.

Regards Jeff.

I grew up on a Ranch in So Cal with rows of these giant trees

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley just north of Los Angeles and we Had 40 Acre Ranch with 20 Acres of citrus Orange,Tangerines and grapefruit along the front of our property we had a 1-1/2 mile line of Eucalyptus trees running north to south as a wind break against the 100 MPH Santa Anna Winds every fall.  We also had a second row  running the same way 3/4 of a mile south of the Main House in 3-1/4 mile sections. These were totally Wind diverts and when I was a Kid before 1965 there were a lot of these rows of 80 to 150 foot tall Eucalyptus all over the San Fernando Valley. They have a bark that the Adobe Indians women and the Mexican women would peal off the trees and make baskets with them.

I was told that the Indians and the Mexicans planted these trees in the 1600's to stop the winds from blowing away all their Corn and other crops. They also used the Gum to coat their Homes as a weathering agent so that water would run off the adobe structures and stop the erosion of the adobe bricks.

As children we would peel off layers or the bark 2-6 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick sometimes over 20 feet long. These trees have no natural enemies or bugs and were said that some of the larger trees in the valley were over 600 years old

Dan

lots of eucs

The modeled portion of my proto-freelanced San Pablo, Sonora, and Fresno (SPS&F, since I like both SP and Santa Fe) will start in Richmond (and Oakland, for SP trains), run through Contra Costa County, and end in Martinez (SP) and Port Chicago (Santa Fe), and east of Byron Hot Springs (Sacramento and Fresno for SP and Santa Fe).  It makes more sense in person... Anyway, the portion between San Pablo and Martinez runs through Franklin Canyon, which is rife with several species of eucalyptus right along the right of way, with oaks and other natives in the scrub woodlands higher on the hills.  There is a road in Sonoma County, between SR 37 in Vallejo and US 101 in Petaluma, called the Black Point Cutoff.  It's changed over the years, and portions are lined with eucs whose bases are probably seven or eight feet in diameter.  There's a highway warning sign that says "Watch for Falling Trees," and my grandmother used to call it the longest stretch of road in California without a Chevron station.  I'm not modeling that exact portion of the state, but I will be modeling Pinole (and implying Hercules is close) because those are the places my grandparents (great gradnparents) lived.  My great grandfather was the section foreman at Glen Frazer on the Santa Fe in Franklin Canyon, and the freight station there will be a key scenic element!

Paul

Paul, you don't need a tunnel, a cut will do.

I don't know how many places your trains will come through a wall, but you don't need to just use trees to hide it.  The area you are modeling is hilly even if the railroad didn't need tunnels.  The hills were small enough that they probably used a lot of cuts and fills.  You can hide the "tunnel" opening through your wall with a small hill as a view block.  Bring the tracks through at an angle and put the hill so that it blocks the view of the opening.  You can use the eucs as well, but I think having more than one type of view block is more interesting than using the same type of view block on every occasion.