I am asking the MHR community for some help in solving a problem I created with my choice of layout scenery. My layout was originally conceptualized 25 yrs ago as a much smaller layout with no intention of adding a backdrop or anything like that. I started this current version with the old idea then expanded it because I had the room to do so. Although I do plan on adding a backdrop at some point, I didn't take this into consideration when I stuck with the basics of how I originally thought the scenery would look. 

Since my last post I had glued hydrocal rock castings to the mountains on the newer section and colored them after having glued the tunnel portals and retaining walls in place. The next set of photos shows the progress.

This is the newest section I mentioned in a previous post with the mountains and portals in place.

After fixing my problem with getting my locos up a 2% + grade (it was never consistent for the entire run) I then saw another aspect of my original plan that I never really loved. At that point I had my loco run up hill about 4 inches over the course of 8-10 feet or so but coming back down hill was done inside another tunnel on the opposite end of the layout in about 3 feet. Needless to say it was a steep hill downward though a few tests showed that locos would not fly off the track or even move that much faster so it was doable but I didn't love it.

I left off with the stage of my railroad development having built the benchwork, added foam risers and platforms, fascia, newspaper and tape to prepare for the addition of Woodland Scenics plaster cloth for the mountains.