Nothing stands still at our layout. We have, and soon to be had, a niceish backdrop on the outside west wall of the layout. Then we – I use the collective we ‘cos I really can’t remember who came up with the idea – that it would be grand if visitors/members could plonk their phone/camera on the front or back of a consist and take a movie of the engineers’ or conductors’ view of the layout. That idea invited an inquest as to the existing scenery and how good it would look and did we have 360 degrees of scenery.

So, I opened my mouth and inserted both feet by suggesting that we make the outside west wall much more “real.” After consulting with our computer guru Roger Thornburn we came up with the idea of tootling down to Big River in Mendocino and taking a 360 degree set of photos and stitching them together and then cutting the circle and sticking the 40 foot long photo on the wall. Just like that!!!!!!

Well, the project is well under way. VP Lonnie Dickson got sheets of high quality plywood and sliced them up. I sloshed on some paint on the slices. Roger had the photos printed on sticky paper in 4 foot lumps. Then Lonnie and I, with a GREAT deal of trepidation stuck the first two sections on one of the pieces of plywood that Lonnie had sandpapered as smooth as a baby’s bum.

One of the strips of plywood after it had been sloshed with undercoat and the sky added

The first section – Lonnie showing off our handiwork to the president, Chuck Whitlock

Four more sections to agonize over.

In our efforts to provide scenery “action” on all 360 degrees of the mainline Chuck Whilock has begun building a MOW station in the outside north west corner of the layout. In the two pics below you can see the first two buildings in place. Still be added is a water tank and fencing. Finally, the rest of corner will be planted with trees.

First two buildings of the MOW way station installed on the north west outside corner of the MCMR&HS G Scale layout in Fort Bragg

Boomer jack consist passing new MOW station

In a previous blog I explained how the bottom layer of panels were attached to the outside west wall.

Stage 2

The next step was to increase the amount of sky. This was not part of the original plan. But, we had enough plywood to make/paint enough panels to increase the sky as you can see in the photos below. You can also see how we have started to try and make the window “disappear.”

Second layer of sky installed and bluing of window started

Stage 3

Here you can see that we changed our mind and decided to paint the window panes too. We checked the inside west wall and the loss of light from painting the panes had no appreciable effect on the light coming through the window.

The view from the south end. The painting of the panes made the window “disappear.”

Here’s the view from the north end …….

View from the north end of the west wall after painting the window panes

Stage 4 and 5

Here you can see that the gap below the paneling has been painted matching green (Stage 4) and you can see that the old trees in the north-east corner have been removed  and a new section of backdrop installed (Stage 5)

Trees in north west corner removed and painted backdrop installed. Gap between west wall backdrop and track painted

Stage 6 is to install the first trees on the outside west wall in the north east corner.

………

One of my long held dreams is to have a camera sit atop a freight car and take a movie of the main line from the engineer’s view point. This “dream” took a huge step forward when the backdrop on the north wall was installed. Further progress was made when the portal on the northwest corner (looking along the north wall) was put in place. Another big step was the installation of the portal on the northwest corner facing down the west wall.

The backdrop on the west wall could not be more than one half inch thick in order not to impede the trains on the inner main. Using some new quarter inch ply and a lot of plywood rescued from club member Dan Fessler’s old layout I started wooding. The west wall takes the brunt of the incoming weather from the sea. To protect the backdrop I sloshed 3 coats of paint on the wall side of the panels and 5 coats on the outer/sea facing side.

Then came installation day. I was most afraid that a project I had started some two years ago would not fit. The crew of President Chuck Whitlock and master carpenter Lonnie Dickson outdid themselves overcoming any/all screw ups I had made. See below to see how my anxiety was quelled.

Before we started

If you click on the above pic you can see the west side portal.

Bringing the sky from the painting area to the west wall

As I brought the panels into position my anxiety rose ……………….

Lonnie fixing panel 2 with Chuck “advising”

As you can see in the above photo the painting on the portal and the hills don’t “fit”. No prob – I have a list of 11 additional tasks before I’ll be satisfied!!!!!!!

Lonnie and Chuck working on panel 3

What a visitor would see after panel 3 was installed

After I took the above photo I was convinced the backdrop would be the pits.

Adding the sky behind panel 8

As you can see Lonnie and Chuck have solved the prob of getting around the protruding window sill on the left.

Making sure that the panels are no more than one half inch from the wall

What the visitor sees when looking down the west wall

After I took the above photo I was mucho plenty relieved. As long last we had scenery, albeit incomplete scenery, all the way around the outside of the layout.