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californialandscape.jpg
This picture shows the California Loop looking through the valley to Hollywood. The mountains and rock faces have been built and painted, though the tunnel portals have not. There will eventually be bridges going across the valley in all scales. Back


californialandscape2.jpg
This picture shows the California loop from the middle of the room. Laguna Beach is in the foreground, the pullout section behind it is missing, and Hollywood is in the back. Mountain peaks were built to the left for the castles to have a home. The Sunset Strip pullout section just below Hollywood is missing as well. Back


californiazloopsnew.JPG
This picture shows the projected Z loops that will go around the new mountain peaks. These were about 3/4 " wide strips cut from 1/4 inch plywood. The curve radius is for the Marklin 8 5/16" radius track. The strips of plywood are positioned and anchored with 1 x 2s, which will eventually be replaced with rock cliffs and bridges. This will expand the Z scale "California Fantasy Railworks" out over the N scale tracks. This will somewhat spoil the forced illusion of distance, but since it is quite a bit higher than the N, it is acceptable to the eye. These high mountain top loops ad a whole new dimension to the layout, making it more of a fantasy dreamworld. These loops should steal the show when the layout is finished. Back


castlemountainnew.JPG
This picture shows a closeup view of the new Z loop going around the California fantasy castle. The mountain had to be raised up about 6 inches and widened to fill the radius of the loop. To do this I had to break the mountain apart and place filler rock faces pieces in the gaps. Then I'll fill in the gaps with calking filler, using small pieces of cardboard to help fill the larger holes. There will be a new turnout spur for the castle, a "driveway" so to speak. Back


centralcaltunnels.jpg
This picture shows the central California rise in the background with the space needle on top. This will be a "smaller than Z" airport. The space needle is the airport tower. Below that is a N tunnel, and in the front is an HO tunnel. The portals and retaining walls are resin, cast from a mold made from an original. They and the rock walls are marked and cut with a dremmel tool cutter, and then hot glued or screwed into place. The screw only leaves a small hole, easily filled, and it's fast. After they're positioned perfectly, they are calked in ALL cracks, and cleaned up while still wet with wet fingers, rags, and a wet paint brush. (it's much easier to do wet than after it dries.) I used brown calking in places because it will be painted brown later anyway. Back


circus2.JPG
This picture shows the circus area after the rocks have been screwed in and screwed into place. The tunnel portals and retaining walls are also mounted and calked in all cracks. 2 of the tunnels you see are for roads, not railroads. The new Sugar Mountain on the left is connected to St. Louis by Z bridges as shown. Back


circusnewtunnels.JPG
This picture shows two new tunnels, a road tunnel and a double N train tunnel. These are brand new tunnels that go through the extended St Louis mainland. This extension was necessary for the bridges to Sugar Mountain to look real, though it took away some of the circus space. Back

#1
circusscape.JPG
This picture shows the Circus area with the new Sugar Mountain at left. This new Z loop that goes around Sugar Mountain adds to the entertainment of the St Louis loop, so that it compares to the California loop. Back


circustunnelsright.JPG
This picture shows the new tunnels at the right of the Circus area as viewed from outside the garage.. at the bottom are the double N tunnels, and above are the three Z tunnels that go around the back of the Z layout. These Z lines will go under the new St. Louis "Tiny Trains" layout, which will be called the "Rhythm and Blues Railroad." Back


curvenzclose.JPG
This picture shows the N tunnel going under St. Louis at the bottom and the Z double tunnel portal at top, which goes under the new "Tiny Trains" layout. This view is from the curve before St. Louis. Back


curveright.JPG
Stepping back, we see the curve to St. Louis, with the "Z" arch in the background. The curve pullout section is in the foreground, and rock faces are screwed into the 1/2" plywood with drywall screws as shown. These will be removed after all edges and cracks are calked. Back


curvescape.JPG
panning to the left, we see the HO track going left to downtown, and the double HO tunnel going under St. Louis. The road is also curving up and around, and is currently plywood painted black. Eventually we will lay "car following wire" on the road, and then plaster over the wire with a roadlike surface. notice all the drywall screws holding everything in place. Back


downtownfrontleft.JPG
This picture shows the tunnel going from the HO yard underneath downtown. The arches had to be widened, and I'm still not sure how to fill in the gap. The cement retaining walls are calked in with brown calk, and the road up to downtown starts at the bottom. Back


downtownfrontright.JPG
Moving to the right, we see the portals and retaining walls for the tunnels that go under downtown. the yard is to the left and the road going up to downtown (over the gray portal) is part of a pullout section. The tunnel at far right goes under Union Station and joins the yard to the inside loop when it emerges from the tunnel at the "curve." Back


hodowntowntunnelsright.JPG
This picture shows where the tunnels emerge from underneath downtown at the "curve". The yellowish resin retaining walls and portals are trimmed with a dremel tool and hot glued or screwed into place. All cracks are calked, and cleaned up with a wet finger and wet painbrush. Back


ndowntowntunnelsright.JPG
This picture shows the N scale tunnels going under downtown. the front two lines are the downtown station lines, and the back two lines are the main lines. The portals and walls are hot glued first, and then the rock faces are cut and hot glued into place, like a mosiac. Finally all cracks and holes are filled with calk. Some of the cracks between the retaining walls are not yet calked. Back


nturntable.jpg
This picture shows the N turntable with the HO road going up in the foreground, and the central California Z scale mountain in the back. The mountains are already painted, though crude and not yet fully detailed. Back


nturntablearea.jpg
Moving around to the right, we see the N turntable and the Central California mountain from a different angle. The foreground will be the HO turntable area, and the road going up the hill around the N turntable area helps blend the HO scale with the N scale. By the same token, the road going up and to the left from the N track to the Z track helps blend those scales as well. It's hard to see this road as it's not painted yet, and the track is covered with masking tape. Back


rockylandscape.jpg
This picture shows the Rocky Mountain corner. The foreground shows the road that goes back and forth up to the N yard. (all track is covered with masking tape). This winding road is a pullout section to get to track underneath. Behind the N yard is another back and forth winding road that goes up to the Z yard, and is also a pullout section. The Z yard goes in front of the yellow Z layout, which is unpainted resin rock faces calked in place over the original styrofoam layout. Just to the right is the Z loop that will go around the Z turntable and roundhouse. The far "Tiny Trains" layout behind the Z layout is not yet started. Back


rockyntunnels.jpg
This picture shows the N scale yard (covered with tape) and tunnels at the right of the N yard. The far two lines of the yard go through the tunnels and join the N mainlines to the right. Below is the removable HO road that winds up to the N yard. Back


rockytunnels.jpg
This picture shows the HO tunnels between the Rocky Mountain corner and the HO yard. The bottom two tunnels are both HO, and the top long tunnel is the N scale tunnel, and is wide enough for 4 lines. The Z scale trains go along the top. Back


rockyvalley2.JPG
This picture shows the location for the Z valley along the Rocky Mountain wall. The Z bridge goes in front the background showing a small old west town. In front are N lines (covered in tape) and below that, bridges and rock faces in the HO part of the back wall. Eventually the Z valley will be expanded to the N and HO track, as soon as we knock out more rock faces and install the bridges. This project will be put off till probably next winter.


stlouis&sugarraymt.JPG
This picture shows St Louis with the rock faces calked in. The road between the lake and the N town goes up and into a tunnel at Sugar Mountain at right. Back


stlouisfarloop.JPG
This picture shows the new Z loop that comes from St. Loius and goes around Lookout Mountain. Lookout Mountain is hollow at this point, and the point where the Z track crossed is in mid air. Eventually St. Louis Z mainland was expanded to the point of the crossing for a more realistic look. Back


stlouiszscape.JPG
This picture shows the left half of the Z layout with the St. Louis arch. Behind it is the "Tiny Train" layout, a 4" x 34" layout. Rock Faces are being hot glued and calked to the blue styrofoam. Back


stlouisztunnelsnew.JPG
Moving to the right, we see the tunnels that go through the new section added to the St. Louis layout. The portals and retaining walls are hot glued in place, and then the rock pieces are positioned like a mosaic, and then the cracks and holes calked. The screws are now ready to come out. Back


sugarfalls.JPG
The new Lookout Mountain, as shown, will have a waterfall coming from the valley between the two halves of the mountain. (The blue water was added in photoshop). The valley in the mountain will be Z scale or smaller. Back

#1
sugarmt.JPG
This picture shows the new Lookout Mountain that was constructed in the space as shown. Pieced together with mountain rocks that were curved into place while still soft, and screwed to a wooden infrastructure. The Z loop around the top is still under construction, and the entire mountain, including the HO Tunnel at bottom right, can be removed as one piece. Back


turntable-rocky.jpg
This picture shows the table full of tools, where the HO turntable will be. The HO, N, and Z lines behind it are covered in masking tape. To the left is Central California mountain, and to the right is the Rocky Mountain corner. The spokes of the N turntable can be seen on the left.Back


zrocky.JPG
This picture shows the Z scale Rocky Mountain layout, with the space for the "Tiny Trains" layout behind it. At left are the Z tunnels where the Z track goes under the "Tiny Trains" layout. Back


zrockyleft.JPG
Zooming in on these Z tunnels, we see the rock faces, plywood, blue styrofoam and calking that finishes the corner. Back


zrockyright.JPG
This picture shows the Z tunnels on the right side of the Z Rocky Mountain layout. We see three Z tracks going under the "Tiny Trains" layout, with the rocks and calking to finish the sculpture of this rather complicated area. A new small mountain at the far right is part of the right half of the Z tunnel portals, allowing the entire section to be removed easily to get to the Z track and Z switch buried underneath. Back


zrockyvalley.JPG
This picture shows a close up view of the new Rocky Mountain Valley along the wall. This valley was created simply by knocking out a section of the rock and installing a bridge. It breaks up the East and West halves of the garage layout, and adds interest to the formerly boring stretch to track along the back wall. Detail and water under the bridge are not net started. Back

Contact Ruben Mac Blue, chief engineer of the Rock City Railroad Co. at 323-461-6600.