This page showcases some of the scenery projects that I worked on at The Model Railroad Club from September, 2013 to around mid 2021.
Most of these projects, especially those that were done prior to 2018, can be classified as repair and rejuvenation. The years of dirt, dust, use and abuse, and lack of maintenance had taken their toll on the club's HO model railroad. But while repair and rejuvenation was the first objective, I also strived to make improvements along the way and try out new materials and techniques.
I should add that all of the original scenery work was done by other talented members of the club, most long before I joined back in 1990. I did help make and install many of the original SuperTrees back in 1998 but almost all of those ended up getting repaired or replaced.
Here's a short video that shows before and after shots of the scenery work that was done between 2013 and 2017.
Locations: Gilberton and Ashland
Here are some new bushes that I installed.
To see how these were made click on the "Making Bushes" page.
Location: Gilberton
Some of the ballast in the Gilberton Yard was not glued down properly.
Here's the same spot after all of the bare spots were filled in.
Some time ago I covered the Gilberton empty car yard with static grass so it was completely overgrown. I used mostly a Heki 6mm dark green blend and though I like the product, after a while I decided it didn't look right, not crummy enough. Time for a change.
First step was to lightly spray paint the area with a light brown color. I didn't want the area to look too brown so I tried to be very careful not to overdo it, a little misting here, some more there and so on. After a while I started to get a camouflage effect, it didn't look right. So a little more here and there, some from this angle, some from that, still looked like camouflage. So a little more and before you know it, guess what, too much brown!
Now I had to go back take some corrective action using Woodland Scenics green blend ground foam and some other static grasses. After a while it started to look right, nice and crummy.
The yard tracks in the original Gilberton yard didn't look too bad, except for the stains caused by spilled alcohol used to clean wheels. The problem was that the ballast color was so different than what was being used in the newer portions of the complex. It just didn't look right.
After masking the rails the yard was spray painted flat black. Additional dirt, grime and weathering was added later. Now the color of all of the yard tracks is more or less the same.
I wrote an article on ballasing for the Whistle Post back in 2019. The Whistle Post is the offical publication of the NMRA, Northeastern Region's Garden State Division.
You can download a PDF copy for free by clicking on the cover photo below.
Location: Freeport Coal Facility
Finally, some new scenery! Here work is just getting started with masking tape used to begin the process of creating the landforms.
Next the tracks and the areas in between are painted black. It's amazing the difference some color makes.
Plaster cloth has now been applied over the masking tape.
Sculptamold has been applied over the plaster cloth, rock fomations have been carved in and basic color added. It's far from done but progessing nicely.
More work completed. The river foundation has also been raised a bit.
Ballast added.
More ballast shots. Notice the coal scattered about the yard.
Riverbank under construction.
In this shot you can see that a good portion of the riverbank has been completed. The rocks are Vigoro brand marble chips that I purchased from Home Depot. I got a 40 pound bag for less than $4.00.
Ballast added to the main.
That was the last scenery project that I documented at The Model Railroad Club. I have since moved out of the area so am no longer an active member. It was fun while it lasted!
