After a long summer it is good to be back to the layout.  I continue looking for natural material to use and I happened to be looking at corn stalks yesterday.  The tassel at this time of year is dark brown to almost black in color.  When I grabbed some it came out in a long strand that included a reddish colored strand, as well.  Some quick work with scissors produced a nice looking brush material that contrasts nicely with the tan colors already in place.  Some glycerine should preserve this nicely.  Here are some test shots.  See if it works for yo

I've been reasonably pleased with the outcomes of using natural products, like weeds, to model trees and bushes on my layout.  Since the primary portion of the layout is only about 8" deep some scenes have not had the depth that I felt I wanted to capture the deep woods feel so common in Ohio.  This pic shows that lack of depth:

I recently completed some revised track work and had the opportunity to operate my layout for the first time in months.  Since the track for this section is essentially complete I began to think about operations.  I've written complex paperwork programs in Excel, including a complete communication program that does everything from simulating switch operation paperwork to starting a diesel (by throwing every proper switch) to performing random inspections and other functions.  I wrote a phone app to simulate connecting an air hose and opening angle-cocks and one calle

I have continued the journey of searching for natural products to use on my layout.  My last blog demonstrated the use of natural material for tree armatures and for foreground quality bare trees.  Today I was in the field and found grasses.  I cut off numerous tips and found a few uses that many might find useful.  Here is what they look like from the field

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Ohio in the fall is often cold, hot, rainy, snowy, and beautiful, often on the same day.  For me it is a chance to get out into the fields around my home to pick trees for the layout.  For a little effort I can pick hundreds of reasonable, and free, trees in an hour.  Compared to store-bought, they are more realistic and can vary from an inch to more than twelve inches in height.  Their structure is delicate and represents late fall/early spring trees here in Ohio.  The evergreens are nothing more than grasses hit with cheap hairspray and some ground foam.  Eac