Taking The Scenic Route: Part 2

I puzzled over what material I should use for the backdrop itself. Masonite is a popular choice but the most common kind at Lowes appears to be peg board...

Lowes Idea of Tempered Masonite

All those holes are great for hanging tools but not mountains and sky. I found 4' x 8' sheets of plain old tempered masonite at the Home Depot. It was less than $10 a sheet.

The backdrop is about an 1" thick. I didn't want something that required a lot of real estate. I'm constructing the backdrop of masonite panels with the 74" wood supports sandwiched between them. I installed three supports and set up one panel so I could get a general idea of how things should go together. I wasn't able to visualize the actual spacing and location. Working with the real parts makes that much easier...

Backdrop: Support Side

Backdrop: Horseshoe Curve Side

With the masonite in place I can see that I need at bit more room on the Curve side. At Kittanning Run, at the east side of The Curve, I set the backdrop where it's shown on the track plan. This is about four inches from Track 4. There is a quite a bit more room on the Juniata side, between the backdrop and the passenger mains...

Kittanning Run, East Side of The Curve

The backdrop at Juniata will be an urban scene. I hope to depict the PRR shops. There will be a fence and some building flats. A siding will serves the shops and act as the interchange track for the Altoona Northern. Not much space is required although the plan shows otherwise...

Track Plan at Cross Section

Cross Section

I was thinking I could use the individual sidings for spotting cars and keep a switcher busy. I'm not sure this would work out. I think a better idea is to keep the interchange track and create "fake" turnouts that appear to access the shops. This allows more room on the McGarvey side, enough room to build a fair representation of an actual mountainside. Having realized this, I moved the other two supports further from the roadbed. At Kittanning Point the distance is 6" and at Burgoon Run 4"...

Kittanning Point

Burgoon Run, West Side of Curve

Four inches doesn't sound like much but at this point the backdrop is halfway between Burgoon Run and Bennington. No more room...

Backdrop Between Burgoon Run and Bennington

Having looked at this area it has occurred to me that I might be better off not bringing the backdrop into the Bennington peninsula. I should just build the "mountain" so its thinner at this location. Have to think this out. In the meantime I'll be moving the backdrop closer to Juniata.

Regards,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Allegheny Eastern Railroad