CPR’s Boundary Subdivision
Due to the rugged nature of the Boundary Subdivision, numerous creeks and gullies must be traversed with bridges and trestles. Ex-
and a lot of secondary track well ahead of building any structures, bridges or doing scenery. Fortunately, model rail- roaders have great imaginations and can enjoy the experience of operating a layout in the absence of beautifully de- tailed buildings and spectacular scenery. So for the first decade of the layout’s existence, it was definitely the “Plywood Central.” Over the last five years or so we had made significant progress in advancing scenery and con- structing bridges for the layout. In fact we had fun playing with several scenery techniques during the last year of the layout’s existence since it was going to be demolished anyway. In the earlier stages of scenery con- struction, the shell was a cardboard strip lattice web glued together with glue guns and then overlain with plas- ter-soaked commercial paper towels. Since we modeled a mountain area, we used a lot of plaster rock castings and typically used the wet-cast method to apply them to the shell. Rocks were col- ored using an india ink wash and dilut- ed latex paint. Ground cover was a combination of just about every com- mercial product out there, plus some fine sand I sifted from a river near the line modeled. In later years we used high density foam insulation as the
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tra 4104 West is seen crossing a girder bridge (left), while Extra 8523 (right) is shown on the timber trestle over McCormack Creek.
scenery shell. Various tools were em- ployed to shape and cut it. (I strongly suggest that you do as much of this as possible outside, particularly if you are using a hot wire cutter.) A thin plaster coat was brush-applied to the shell, and then the same techniques were used for rocks, ground cover, etc. The area I modeled is covered in mil- lions of trees, so a quick and cost effec- tive method for model tree production needed to be developed. Starting with the original technique for furnace filter trees described by Gail Holland many years ago and a more recent modifica- tion technique by local modeler John Ostler, one of my regular crew, René Gourley,
developed an even faster
method to produce these trees. Since trees are not all the same color, nor are they illuminated in the same manner, we developed various color combina- tions so we would have the variety that Mother Nature has. In addition, by plac- ing smaller trees with the dark conifer colors against the backdrop, we could enhance the visual depth of the scenes. The ballast was a custom mix that
included a combination of fine natural sands and a couple of different Wood- land Scenics fine ballast colors. We used prototype photos as a guide to match both the colors and textures.
The layout featured in this article is now gone. It was demolished due to a move to our new home in 2012. Fortu- nately, this move yielded a layout room that is quite large, plus the opportunity to start over. The new layout design more closely follows the prototype and will capture many more scenes and fea- tures along the Boundary Subdivision, as well as some of the feeder subdivi- sions such as the Slocan and Phoenix Subdivisions. A double deck design has produced a mainline that is close to 500 feet long, which is two-and-a-half times longer than the mainline on the layout featured in this article. Starting over gave me the opportuni- ty to think about my experience and learning, and here are a few thoughts and opinions for your consideration. Avoid analysis paralysis. Don’t pro- crastinate on starting construction. Plan to an appropriate point and then, as Nike says, “Just do it!” No matter what you plan, things change. If operation is one of your main objectives, then start as soon possible because it will foster feedback from the operators that in my experience ultimately benefits the lay- out. Keep in mind that DCC is a must. Don’t be afraid to make changes to
the layout as it progresses. If it bothers you, change it! Always encourage con-
JUNE 2013
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