More Scenery

Latest progress on scenery. It took forever to build the cardboard support for tHollow Mountain. I'm seeing cardboard in my sleep. It was worth it as this view from a canoe on the Split may attest..

Clark's Summit

The canoe didn't go far, there's no water in the river yet.

The other summit of Hollow Mountain, Gateway, won't receive its full shell until Blair Furnace and East End are roughed in. There is another "mountain" between the two yet to be named...

Gateway From The Gorge

 The Quotidian side of Hollow Mountain has its first layer of shell applied...

Hollow Mountain From Hospital Hill

It looks better than I thought it would. The PRR tracks are dwarfed, just as they should be. You should be able to make out the ledge where the AE clings to the slope just above the four track mainline...

Hollow Mountain

The concrete coating on Othir Mountain and the Gorge was our first batch and not thinned enough to work right. It crumbled and had to be recovered in gypsum. It did look pretty authentic though with all the rock & debris in the riverbed. Some of the concrete is still in place and can be seen in the center of the photo...

Othir Mountain and The Gorge

The Average side of Hollow Mountain is ready for shell as soon as I remove all the screws that clamp the cardboard together.

I've been going through all my old Model Railroader magazines for structures and other scenery items. I found quite a few bridges that can be used. The AE may end up with wooden trusses and trestles. The stone and steel bridges will be used on the Class 1's.

Speaking of the Class 1's, I think I have mentioned in the past that the layout is generic. The two railroads the AE connects with can represent any road. The PRR and the Lackawanna are the current choices but other roads will also be represented. I picked up an Erie E unit at N Scale Supply for $25...

Erie E-8

I've been buying up decal sets for other roads. I have an E-6 that will wear the B&O set. CNJ, Reading, Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley and New Haven sets are already on my workbench as are the locomotives they are meant for.

Regards,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad