SP&S Shelf Layout

[Fluesheet]

Mountain, this is a very nice photo essay. Thanks for taking the time to post the photos!

[mountaingoatgreg]

Thaks everyone for the kind comments...I am really happy with how everything came out except my large rain cloud so of course I fixed it. Now I hate to do this but now I need to do the foreground and cover up some of the work...oh well it will look good when it is all blended together.



Gary: I don't think you will have any problem with your backdrop once you get going. It really is not that hard and if you can build a bridge you can paint a backdrop. If the day job ever dries up I might come to houston and paint for room and board???

[Gary S]

I might come to houston and paint for room and board???

Now THAT is what I'm talking about! And although to a certain extent it is tongue-in-cheek, there is also some seriousness there! Hey, plane fair and some food and a comfy bed would be a small price for me to pay to get 170 feet of backdrop! And "talkin' and runnin' some trains" would be the icing!

Last night, I called my wife into the computer room to look at your backdrop, and she was really impressed. I still can't get over how well done it is. I'm thinking you could do an article for the railroad magazines.

[P5se Camelback]

But does Greg have the prerequisite 'Fro and goatee?

I was initially going to ask if you had spent mornings as a kid parked in fornt of the tube watching Jon Nagy paint similar things, but then I figured you are probably too young to remember him. He didn't have a "Fro, but he did have a goatee ... and a beret!

In all seriousness, though, I wasn't totally surprised by your brush wielding on the backdrop ... I recalled your pencil control in the architectural drawings from a little while back. You do nice work ... solid drawing/painting impliment control!

[BOK]

All that artistic talent and he runs locomotives (real ones) too.

Barry

[ocalicreek]

"Happy trees..." and some happy little mountains too make for happy model railroaders in front of your great backdrop! Nice work Greg!

There's another 'fro and goatee adorned painter who happens to be a modeler you may have heard of...

   

Malcolm Furlow! Yes, it's a beard and not quite a goat...although recent pictures show him to have the goatee, the fro has since mellowed with age. Thankfully his adventurous modeling has not!

Looking forward to more, Greg!

Galen

[mountaingoatgreg]

Yeah I am a youngin...I am only 28. I do remember seeing Bob Ross on OPB in Middle School if I was hhome sick or didn't have school. I think they were well into the era of the rerun, but I alwasys thought he was interesting.

So no Fro for me....but I do have a Goatee sans moustache...seems obvious with a name like "Mountain Goat" Greg

On another note I have been working on laying some rail. We have a Division Meeting on October 2nd I would like to be able to run trains on the entire layout. Nothing like a deadline to make you panic...I mean progress.

[mountaingoatgreg]

So,

Here is what I have been up to. I was able to get most of my track done right up until I ran out of wire. So I took some photos of what I have been working on.





More on the blog
http://oregontrunk.blogspot.com/

[Gary S]

Great scene Greg. Looking forward to seeing some scenery to blend in with the outstanding backdrop. Oh... the rollingstock looks great too!

[mountaingoatgreg]

Hey Guys,
I was able to get all the trackwork done this week and along with all the trackwiring, minus the switchers.
These means it is time to:

RUN TRAINS

Well maybe I should wire up my tortoises first...
I was able to do some testing and so far the only dead spots I have are the switches which I have not wired up yet. Once they are completed I can make up some switching scenarios and practice my switching. This also means that I can start on Scnenery and get to cracking on the buildings...

Here is my test train The Redmond Switcher shoving cars into the Ponderosa Moulding lead.

[Steve]

Oh no....Greg's running trains!
It will probably be a few months before the euphoria lessens and we can see more progress..........

ENJOY!

[AlcoRS1]

I have a small SP&S shelf layout, here are some of my SP&S roster,

   
   
   
   

I have
4 Alco RS-1, 3 are in broad strip 2 are brass, 2 atlas.
3 Alco RS-2 2 Proto 1K, and 1 Brass
1 Alco RS-3, Brass.
1 Alco S1 Proto 2K

other locos I run are

GN RS-3 (ATLAS/Kato)
NP RS-11 (ATlas/Kato)

[Steamtrains]

That's some "stable" of locos you've got..!! I also spy an Ulrich gondola behind that Geep....I've got two of those babies...They're gorgeous...!!

BTW...What kind of paint did you use for the backdrop..?? I'm ready to take the plunge...I've already "prepd" 32 linear feet of it, but I'm kind'a hesitant of putting anything over that white latex I've already got on it....

[mountaingoatgreg]

AlcoRS1
Welcome to the Gauge...Might I suggest starting a thread of your own as it looks like you have a very interesting setup going on. I have thought about making a small shelf layout focused on the Hoyt Street Yard area of Portland, but that is WAY in the future. I still have lots to do on my current project and it should keep me bust for a very long time.

Gus
I am cheap...I used regular house paint from Walmart for the base coat. I started with White and super lightblue. Using three brushes I painted white on the bottom blue on the top then working up I used a different brush to blend the colors together. The mountains and what not were all done using a set of paint from the local Mega Hobby Shop and a set of cheap brushes. I mixed all my own colors but you can just purcahse the colors you need. I recommend the book by Danemann from Kalmbach on backdrop painting!!

[Steamtrains]

Thanks for that info....I'll check out the paints at Wally World tomorrow..!!