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Lee Marsh takes you on a tour under the mountains of his HO scale Great Northern Ry. Cascade Division, featured in the June 2020 Model Railroader. You’ll also learn how Lee used plaster hardshell scenery to make removable scenery sections and access hatches.
To Ronald’s question, the tunnel liner segments were made out of plaster with Woodland Scenics molds. The half segments are connected with a piece of plaster cloth across the top to form a full arched segment. There is no connection longitudinally between segments. They are removable in case I need to access the track. To fit the segments along a curve, I used a rasp to taper the ends of the segments.
Really creative staging solution and full of great ideas. Execution is well done; excellent craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing this walkthrough!
Great video,very interesting!
Harold C. Brown, Jr. Job well done-seems like you spend great time in completing your staging areas and have things lined up for operating efficiently. Your work is very professionally accomplished and a joy for the neat-freaks to duplicate. Thx for sharing your works hoping you will continue with updates of what is what and why.
Thanks for sharing. Not the easiest to build I’m sure, but an ideal outcome.
We have a hardshell canyon wall consisting of plaster dipped clothes dryer sheets laid on chicken wire or screen depending on the span between supports. Support is with ribs cut from scrap housing construction materials forming a man way tunnel behind the layout. A second coat of plaster turns it into a hardshell. Thanks for the pink cube tree roots idea, now we know how best to anchor our future trees. Are your tunnel liner segments commercial such as Woodland Scenics or homemade or a combination? Could you provide a little detail on their construction? Great layout! I’m a lifelong GN modeler myself and love modeling the Cascade Division. It is always interesting to see how other modelers interpret the same area. I’m just now reading your article in MR so it was a good time to see behind the scenes in this video. Thank you for sharing.
What bothers me about some of the modern layouts is that there seems to be much more trackage devoted to staging than actually running the trains through scenicked parts of the layout.
Excellent video, very innovative techniques.
WOW , Since retiring I have been thinking about getting back into model RR, going from the simple circular track under the Christmas to something a bit more involved, this video has not only opened my eyes but has gotten my imagination going. I really enjoyed the tour behind the scenery. Thanks
I always get excited when I see a recreation of any part of the GN electrified division and yours is very good. 25 years ago I started a similar themed layout in HO scale and planned to model Wenatchee to Skykomish. Benchwork and a large portion of the yard on a curve at Wenatchee were in place before a move into town stopped the project dead in its tracks. Go GN! and thanks for sharing your masterpiece.
What a beautiful layout. The perspective is eye pleasing. You have re-created northwest railroading for us to enjoy.Thanks for sharing.
To Paul’s question, I planned all the visible track and the main staging yard (then 4 tracks) in one take. The two stub-ended yards, the fifth track of the main staging yard, the curved throat of that yard, and the cassette extension of the one stub-ended yard all evolved from the realization that there was much additional usable space under the hard shell after its construction.
Great video! I love the way the attach folds back out of the way. Also, liked the fact you could walk the full length of the staging yard underneath.
Thank you for sharing your great layout and giving me some ideas for my own.
Thank you, this was a great video to watch
I really enjoyed seeing your Layout Scenery from behind the Scenes. I have never heard of the ‘Hard Shell’ technique before and I only wish I were that good at Joinery. Did you Plan the Layout in ‘one take’, or did it evolve from using the Hard Shell approach? Thank you, Paul
To Robert’s question, yes, the pink foam blocks are the “roots” of the larger trees. The process is: drill a hole for the nail that projects from the bottom of the tree, hot glue a pink foam block underneath the layout, then anchor the tree into the block.
Beautiful layout. Acess section neat idea, very novel
Thank you. Many great ideas in this video. Since i’m still in the planning stages I’m going to have to remember the excellent ideas here.
Great design. Can’t wait to learn more in the June MR
Thanks for sharing this video. Amazing Layout! You’ve given me quite a few ideas as I plan my layout!
Really enjoyed the tour. Thanks for doing it.
Got a question; what are the red or blue blocks on the underside for? My guess would be the root system for the larger trees.
In an age when so many layouts are constructed using foam for the scenery base, it’s interesting to see how the hard-shell technique can still be an effective way to act as not only a scenery base but also to aid in giving one that extra amount of useable space. Very nicely done and a great video record.