Phil made a good suggestion on the last post about the engine house.  Instead of having the whole facility, why not just a sand/fuel facility. A great idea I thought.  I instantly thought of this scene from Jim R.’s Oakville Sub layout.

I did a quick little change to the track to show where a small platform could go to handle about 4 engines. I could maybe push the switch a little down too to increase that capacity, but I don’t want a spaghetti of track work in this little area.

My Daughter just couldn’t stop saying “CHEEEEEESE!” when she saw the camera, so I had to get her in the pic too.

This certainly un-crowds the area and even leaves a good bit of room for a small yard office building (this or this).

Thanks Phil for the suggestion!

Shaun Track

Last night I started playing around with the Elmwood side of the layout, seeing where buildings were going to go and what not.

I always thought that Model Railroader’s placement of the engine house was kinda odd being on the other side of the mainlines; so I tried placing it along side the yard tracks to see how it would look (and fit).

It’s a tiny bit crowded, but I think it makes more sense having the engine house there in the yard too. As you can also see, I placed one of the Consolidated Dairy structures in the original engine house locati0n for another industry spot.  I haven’t settled on a specific commodity yet though.

This change also opens up the middle a bit more for some static structures.  I have a Shell gas station I may place here to sit along the highway that will run along the back of the layout, maybe a Taco Bell if there’s space.

An Interstate/Highway overpass is also planned for the middle of the layout running just over the passenger platforms (shown below).  So that those items will fill that area nicely.

Here’s a look at the Dixie Paper side of the layout, along with a “sky” view.

Shaun Scenery, Track

Got the first siding installed and in operation today.

Shaun Track

Depending on the angle you’re looking at the track at, the weathering can look a little “weird” in spots (ie:  too heavy here, too light there, etc..) because you’re seeing the sides of the ties which are either not painted at all, or still have a dark coating of paint.  Once the track is ballasted eventually I think it’ll look nicer.

But enough of painting for now. It’s time to add a siding!

Shaun Track