On30 'Steam in the Woods'

Welcome to 'Steam in the Woods', documenting the construction of my first On30 narrow gauge 'mini-layout'. After being a long time HO steam-era collector I got the chance to view an On30 modular layout at a recent hobby show and the larger O-gauge sized engines running on narrow HO-gauge track was so appealing to me that I immediately began doing some research and soon after got hooked buying engines and rolling stock. Now... with several engines, and cars for them to pull, I've decided to try my hand at a very small layout build that will allow me to 'test the waters' of layout building, scenery, track laying and weathering. My goal when finished is to have a 'professional looking' diorama-like layout that will allow me the enjoyment of watching my model trains in action while appreciating the hard work that goes in to making a great looking model railroad. 

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for updates,

 Shawn

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5/20/07

A few new vehicles have been aquired for around the mill area thanks to my father in law. A black pickup and another quick image of one of the cars can be seen on the last page of the 'layout' section. I have planted a bunch of bushes however still need to take some good images of them but should have those uploaded soon.

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4/20/07

The lumber mill owner just bought himself a new shiny Ford delivery truck to help transport cut lumber to the customers in town. Of course its not 'brand new' being a 1934 however its still in great shape and for the price it was a real bargain. Check it out on page 3 of 'The Lumber Mill' section.

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4/10/07

Trees have now been added to the layout and new images, there are a bunch, have been uploaded to the 'On30 Layout' link to the left. New images begin on page 3. Next I will be working on bushes, shrubs and tall grasses as well as other details like figures, additional vehicles and possibly some deer and other wildlife hidden amoung the trees.

I've also placed a few more 'area specific' images in both the 'Water Tower' and 'Lumber Mill' sections so check them out.

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4/5/07

In the 'On30 Rolling Stock' section my newest Bachmann flat car has been added. In the 'On30 Layout section a few new images of the layout with some ground cover have been added. At first it was 'too bright green' for my liking so I switched to a base foam of 'earth', followed by 'earth blend' on the hills then have added some 'burnt grass' over much of the flat portions to lighten it up a bit. Still have a bit more ground foam to work on then plan to plant some trees and begin adding shrubs and grass clumps to certain areas. 'The Water Tower' section has my inspiration image added and I have made a few more changes to the water tower that I need to get images of. Will have those added soon.

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3/29/07

Added just a couple of images to the 'Lumber Mill' showing the gravel almost completed. I have just a little more work on the west side of the tracks but the parking area and land around the mill is completed. The square edges of the gravel will be smoothed out some once I start applying some ground foam.

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3/25/07

The lumber mill is now attached to the layout. I've built the gravel road, with wood crossing, to the mill and am extending the gravel  around the building covering the entire track area in back and making a parking area for workers and incoming trucks in the front. I've also made a wooden 'box-bumper' for the dead end rail behind the mill and filled it with the same gravel as the road. See the 'On30 Layout' link to the left for the most recent changes. Sorry in advance for the dark images.

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3/23/07

New images added of the updates to the lumber mill. The roof that was painted flat black now has overlapping strips of black tissue paper to simulate thin tar paper as well as now has a smoke stack. The 'log-in' door now has a log ramp made out of thick and sturdy beams and has been distressed and stained a little darker than the mill figuring fresh cut trees might leave sap or other residue on the ramp. Click on 'The Lumber Mill' link to the left to check it out. Most recent updates on page 2.

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3/17/07

Please see the now added albums of engines, rolling stock, the layout and a few attempts at scratch building some structures. I'll be adding new images when available as progress is made.