updated / added: April 27, 2013

Photos 827 - 896, starting 4/10/13 and ending 4/27/13, (902 - 911 added 12/03/13)

4/10/13 - After a rather long break of 16 months, I am finally in a position to continue on my layout.The 15th and Final Convention (October 2012) is history and therefore, most pending matters have been done. Of course, there is always plenty to do for the shop and the web site, but I really have to start with landscaping, otherwise, this layout will never ever look nice.
We start with the tunnel area on the East side. Lower Tunnel (left) = T1 and upper Tunnel (right) = T2. I am showing lots of details of every step !! The yellow foam is a special material "puren modur" which can easily be sculptured (carved) to the final shape. Pictures of building the tunnel area can be sen on page 5 photos 453 - 468.
4/10/13 Photos of Cajon Pass are used as a guide - 827	Left = Tunnel 1 EP, right = Tunnel 2 EP - 828
Foam carving is done with a stiff brush - 829	The ground between the tracks is already painted - 830
Erosion is an ever lasting process - 831	Fine details are done with a small file - 832
These rock formations have some similarities to Sullivans Curve - 833	Of course, it is different because every layout is with compromises - 834
Tunnel 2 area - 835	Tunnel 1 area (rock carvings are finished)  - 836
I started to paint the rocks in a beige/gray color mix - 837	But after the paint was dry it did not match to my expectations - 838
Service roads along the tracks are already with sand - 839	Close up of Tunnel 1 left side (w/o retaining wall) - 840
The part between the rocks and the tracks got already gray sand - 841	Hopefully, it will be looking realistic some day - 842
I finally decided to make a new paint mix in a light gray color . .  - 843	. . . as you can see on this picture (looks better) - 844
"Man at Work" - Melinda took 6 photos while I was working. The colors do not match to the other photos, but it sure gives an idea of "How to do".
Painting the rocks in a light gray color - 861	Afterwards, a darker color is used for the washed out sections - 862
It is a 50/50 glue/water mix for the application - 863	Only a small part will be brushed on with glue at a time - 864
And the sand is put over the wet glue area, immediately - 865	After the glue is dry, left over sand will be removed - 866
Afterwards, I started to add sand all over the place - 845	I also put some sand on the rocks - 846
Looks like the "untouched" land - 847	All retaining walls got a new paint job as well - 848
I added some darker color in between the rock levels - 849	It is still looking "naked" without and vegetation - 850
Part of my own small creation of the "Mormon Rocks" - 851	The vegetation is still missing - 852
4/14/13 - It is a very time consuming process to plant all the . . . - 853	. . . endless bushes and tufts - 854
As the surface of the ground is slanting, the hut needed a platform - 855	The plain surface will get some bushes etc. - 856
Landscaping takes a lot of time - 857	More bushes and tufts will follow - 858
The little house platform will be painted and sanded - 859	More vegetation will be added and some Joshua Trees as well - 860
Werner Enterprises is leaving Tunnel 2 East Portal - 902	at the same time, a UP WB with the last active DDA40X # 6836 - 903
yes, some Joshua Trees have been planted - 904	Tunel 1 at left is also busy - 905
from Tunnel 2, a bridge is going across the valley -  906	more landscaping will be added later - 907
908	909
910	911

4/27/13 - The time has come to take care of the tunnel area on the West side as well.
Lower Tunnel (right) = T1 WP (West Portal) and upper Tunnel (left) = T2 WP. First, I had to make some retaining walls. Afterwards, I cut the "puren modur" to fit behind the tunnels and the retaining walls. Next step was carving the foam to look more or less realistic.
4/27/13 The tunnels are still "naked" - 867	Left = Tunnel 2 WP, right = Tunnel 1 WP - 868
The retaining walls are made out of wood . .  - 869	. . . and painted in a similar color like the tunnel portals - 870
left (Tunnel 2 WP) tracks are going uphill toward summit - 871	right (Tunnel 1 WP) tracks are going downhill toward Percyville level - 872
These tunnel are short, just approx. 30 cm - 873	The main reason for these tunnels is the wall between Office 1 and 2 - 874
4 diff. sections of styro have been cut to fit behind the tunnels . . - 875	. .  and the retaining walls - 876
877	878
Ready to work on it - 879	some material is cut off with a nife - 880
carving is done with a stiff brush - 881	erosion is done with a file - 882
afterwards, the whole part has been painted in a light gray/beige color - 883	next step: apply some sand - 884
885	886
887	the lower part (below T1) got also retaining walls - 888
next step: vegetation has been added - 889	890
891	892
893	894
looking East thru tunnel 2 - 895	looking East thru tunnel 1 - 896

Technical Data of my Layout: Size: 4,5 x 6,5 m (13,5 x 19,5 feet), Era: Modern, Location: Southern California in the Mojave Desert (Cajon Pass), Layout Style: unconventional, in house along the walls, 2 swing up bridges, 1 lift out bridge, double track, min. radius 104 cm (41 inch), max. grade 1,5 %, Track: Atlas flextrack code 100, Turnouts: Peco code 100, Power: conventional DC with electrical feeders every 2 m, Mainline: 32 m (96 feet), Height: 93 cm (36,5 inch)

Overview of the layout (each square is 0,5 m)

Werner Enterprises HO Diorama built for the 14th Convention - click here

Did you see the Werner Ent. Truck Fleet ? - click here

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