# A beginners progress at laying track, etc



## daleb (Dec 19, 2008)

Two things I never do...work fast or finish a project. It's been at least three years to get to this point and have some photos to share. After some false starts in the tunnel and mountain making business, I finally settled on a scheme that will suit me best. I gathered from others efforts that literally tons of rocks and hours of labor and sweat go into constructing mountains out of natural materials. I liked the hard shell approach and in a summer I had the beginnings of a sizable mountain built over a twice around track I built for a mining enterprise. However, I didn't envision the efforts necessary to throw a mountain together and worked like an Egyptian slave mixing stucco and dipping burlap into it to slop over my chicken wire framework. The net results were pleasing, though, and further steps involve molding cement rocks and adding a second coat of rough stucco plus a paint job to make things look real. I am adhering to a strict 15 foot rule but will still try to get good details onto buildings and rolling stock. Oh and another thing. I don't do well in the garden. To ensure that nothing about the railroad is attractive to the deer who graze through regularly, I stripped the entire layout bare and sterilized the soil. I guess its my own scorched earth plan. Pea gravel lays now where once poor quality grass resided. You will see an 8 foot Howe Truss in some of the pictures. That was an E-Bay acquisition which was originally a 4 footer double track thing. I simply split it down the middle and added my own timbers a la Lowes garden stakes. Things are going well (in my mind) but I am now working on ballast and power, two whole other problems. I will save those questions for other topics. Here are my web sites:

*http://photo-sharing.winsoftmagic.com/1/nz5ni8le.htm*

*http://photo-sharing.winsoftmagic.com/1/oe6ykox9.htm*

Regards, Dale


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## reeveha (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good!!


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## dltrains (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome aboard first. Then I'd say nice start keep up the good work, but you cut us short on that part, so I'll just tell you that it looks like you've got a good plan there with some operating possibilities. 

Dave


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Cool mountain. 

Glad you have Clyde to inspect everything. 

Madonna's Peak?


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Dale, 

Mountain is looking good! 

Best, 
TJ


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

Mountain looks good. I like that bridge too!


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## Bills (Feb 20, 2008)

Nice bridge, nice mountain, nice cat.


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## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

Very nice: 

That cat, with that mountain @ Halloween..... with a ghoulish train... 

The perfect setting 

Enjoy

gg


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