Well, a week later and things are really taking shape! I’ve gotten all the layout lighting done. I used inexpensive incandescent fixtures fastened behind the valance and compact flourescent bulbs. You’ll notice some areas have a yellowish cast to the light. There I used some cheap dollar-store CF bulbs. The more natural coloured light comes from daylight CF’s I purchased at Home Depot.
The walls and backdrop are painted and track laying has begun in ernest.
The first photo shows Stevenville on the left which bends around into Bayside Yard (bottom photo).
As you can see by the sign on the valance this area is Derwin’s Drop. I won’t get into the details on the origin of the name but it involved a person named Derwin and something very expensive dropping to the floor.
It appears there will be quite a grade here, but the benchwork was built like this to accommodate an open-pit mine of some sort here. The track will be on a grade but not nearly as much as this benchwork would indicate.
I made a sign for each town using a computer and laser printer. The letters are white on a printed black background. I cut the excess paper from around the sign and glued it on the valance with 3M Photo Mount (or something like that). I was surprised at how closely the printer’s version of black matched with my paint store’s version of black.
This is Kenville, at the bottom of the grade from Derwin’s Drop.
This is the west end of the layout. Tidewater Yard is on the left and Chappellton is on the right. In the bottom photo you can see the background painting from the old layout. I left it there just in case I would be able to use it on the new layout, but I don’t thnk it will blend with my plans for this area.
That’s it for this installment. Be prepared for a big shock with the next entry!
Scott