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Gregg, How about that TRACKPLAN? The trackwork looks really interesting!
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Gregg
I've run out o superlatives; a magnificent railroad in the making.
Peter [:-kitty]
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Thanks Peter.quote:
Originally posted by Peterpools
Gregg
I've run out o superlatives; a magnificent railroad in the making.
Peter [:-kitty]
Gregg
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Thanks. Yes, plenty of angles and photo opps, but I need to get some more work done first. In the mean time, here is a test shot from the river feeding the harbor, which will be a good one once the river is finished.quote:
Originally posted by wickman
Simply amazing work. Please keep the photos coming , I'm sure there's a few angles you haven't captured yet
Gregg
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Gregg,
I love looking at the photos of your layout - it's simply stunning. One of the things that stands out to me is that you seem to have planned the whole layout, rather than simply the placement of the track. It's this that helps to make the scenes so believable - they really belong together. Looking forward to seeing more. I only wish I wasn't so far away - I doubt I'll ever have the chance to see this "in the flesh."
Tony
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Hi Miles. The track plan seems to be in high demand. As mentioned above, I need to find time to make an update showing recent changes and then post. Originally two loops, (a lower HO scale loop with associated sidings and an upper narrow guage loop), I made a change after my lighting project, tying the two together and making the upper loop dual guage. Anyway, I promise to post the plan, some day.quote:
Originally posted by Miles
Gregg, How about that TRACKPLAN? The trackwork looks really interesting!
Gregg
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The Town of Diablo Fallsid="size2">
Above those oak covered hills sits the town of Diablo Falls. Surrounded by a cascading river, Diable Falls thrives on the nearby mill industries, as well as a strong tourism business. Here are a couple pics to give you a feel of town. As you can tell, the townfolk are not lacking for scenic views.
Houligan's Alley - (kit-bashed FSM Houligan's combined with a kit-bashed FOS Deckers Tar Soap)
The Diablo Falls station and hotel (kit-bashed SRM Kendall's Stove & Tank)
Houligan's Alley - (kit-bashed FSM Houligan's combined with a kit-bashed FOS Deckers Tar Soap)
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Gregg
Your layout is giving you exactly what you were setting out to accomplish. A great overall look, and lots and lots of photo ops of mini scenes. Tremendous work!!
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The Rail Yardid="size2">
The rail yard sits between Diablo Falls and a mountain, providing a transition between the oak covered hills and the redwood forests. This yard is far from complete, but many of the structures are cut in place giving a fair perspective of how it will look.
Can't wait to see this yard finished!!
Gregg
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This railyard is anchored by a wonderful SRM Brick Roundhouse. Other structures shown include an FSM Timber Coal Tower, a Campbell Water Tower, an FSM Sandhouse kit and an SRM Car Shop - Diesel Shop, which will be used as a car shop only, consistent with the 1930's era of my layout.
Gregg
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Whew! To say this layout is amazing is an understatement of gigantic porportions.
I'm wondering why you have what has to be the MOST BEAUTIFUL coaling tower I've ever seen (seriously) in a region that has almost no reserves of coal? (Other than that region near where the Black Diamond Lines MRR club is in the delta.) I began to see your maintenence facilities and I was expecting a nicely weathered oil and diesel fuel tank and a few oil columns on the ready tracks. Please correct me if I'm wrong, or if there's a specific reason why you're running coal? (Perhaps steamships full of coal come to the port city of Grant's Landing and it's easier to bring coal than oil from the docks to the roundhouse?)
That roundhouse is a masterpiece, but the real star of the show has to be that yard storage/maintenence building with the shingled roof(s) and loading dock with the pillar crane. The detail is absoluetly stunning!
That 2-4-4-2 is a great locomotive very representative of Northern California, an excellent choice.
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I totally agree with Miles about the coaling tower being an extraordinary model, and the storage building being an even more extraordinary model.
I'd say that it doesn't sound very important to me that the layout takes place in an area with no coal resource. The presence of that fabulous tower is sufficient for me to believe something has been found somewhere...
Fabulous yard, Gregg. Fabulous layout.
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Miles,quote:
Originally posted by Miles
Whew! To say this layout is amazing is an understatement of gigantic porportions.
I'm wondering why you have what has to be the MOST BEAUTIFUL coaling tower I've ever seen (seriously) in a region that has almost no reserves of coal? (Other than that region near where the Black Diamond Lines MRR club is in the delta.) I began to see your maintenence facilities and I was expecting a nicely weathered oil and diesel fuel tank and a few oil columns on the ready tracks. Please correct me if I'm wrong, or if there's a specific reason why you're running coal? (Perhaps steamships full of coal come to the port city of Grant's Landing and it's easier to bring coal than oil from the docks to the roundhouse?)
That roundhouse is a masterpiece, but the real star of the show has to be that yard storage/maintenence building with the shingled roof(s) and loading dock with the pillar crane. The detail is absoluetly stunning!
That 2-4-4-2 is a great locomotive very representative of Northern California, an excellent choice.
Thanks. To address your comments and questions, let me first take an aside into the history and geology of this Diablo foothill area in which I live and model.
Mt. Diablo, which is seen in the pictures above, has a long mining history (coal, limestone and mercury). The towns of Summersville, Clayton, Nortonville and others were established to support this mining. The fact that in 1866 a legislator tried to get Mt. Diablo's name changed to Coal Hill, gives you an idea of the history of coal in this region.
The coal was needed to support the cities of Oakland and San Francisco, as well as local industry. Mining did not end due to a lack of coal deposits, but from competition from cheaper sources imported by boat and rail. (Higher mining costs resulted from the tilted strata which created water deposits which was expensive to pump out.) When you live in an old mining town you pick up a little history.
So, for my fictional layout, the motive power is equally split between coal and oil. The coal is both mined nearby and brought in by rail and water. Oil is brought in by rail. You do not yet see the oil storage/fueling facilities because only the stuctures with a diorama base are mounted. The others will be added after the balance of track is installed. Here are a couple more shots of that coal tower you like.
Gregg
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Frederic,quote:
Originally posted by Frederic Testard
I totally agree with Miles about the coaling tower being an extraordinary model, and the storage building being an even more extraordinary model.
I'd say that it doesn't sound very important to me that the layout takes place in an area with no coal resource. The presence of that fabulous tower is sufficient for me to believe something has been found somewhere...
Fabulous yard, Gregg. Fabulous layout.
Thanks. As noted in my response to Miles, coal was obtained from nearby mines and imported by boat and rail. Here is another shot of the tower.
Gregg
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Living on the only a small drive farther west of aforementioned Mt. Diablo, I had a vague Idea that there was some coal mined there, thank you for filling in the history of this exceptional operation. So that makes perfect sense. So what era are you modeling to accomodate this "coal boom" timeframe? (it looks like 1920-1935 to me) Also, how is the history of the C&D railroad coming? Do you have a route map? A logo?
I like the mixed-fuel concept, that should add flexibility and obviously the benefit of being able to model both types of facilities.
Thank you for the extra photographs of this majestic structure, your excellent craftsmanship is really evident here.
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