Refining Scenery, Part 4

In this series of posts, I am describing some quite minor refinements to my layout scenery, not because they are noteworthy projects, but to illustrate that even a nearly complete layout like mine still has some needs for scenery repair, upgrade or completion. The second of these was a good example, simply moving  two trackside details farther from a ground throw; it can be found at: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/12/refining-layout-scenery-part-2.html . (It also contains a link to the first in the series.)  

In the present post, I don’t describe a correction to layout scenery, as I did in the first two of these posts; instead, I describe completing an area that has been “bare ground” (actually, brown-painted Homasote) for years. In the photo below, it is the area against the backdrop, identified with the arrow, to the left of the long, low gray building (Pismo Marine Service). The small yellow shed was a candidate for this area, but will be used elsewhere. There’s really nothing there but a tie pile (you can click to enlarge the image).

What I decided to do was to add some kind of a (different) shed in this area, along with some terrain character that would look as much like dirt piles as anything. I made a couple of low piles using Sculptamold paper mache, as you see below. Note also the distinctive texture of the Homasote “ground” in the area (you can click on the image to enlarge it if you wish). What used to occupy this area was the foreground stack of ties.

Obviously we don’t want to be presenting snow piles, located mere yards from the Pacific Ocean in central California, so these were promptly painted brown.

Then the same scenic technique described in the previous posts in this series was used to cover the piles in dirt and a little grass, leaving the space between the piles open. The area is now prepared for the next step.

The intent for the gap between the two dirt piles was to accommodate a shed of some kind, whether a railroad-owned shed or something associated with the warehouse business to the right, in the scenes above. The real purpose is to fill the empty area that you see above, which can’t accommodate an industry to be switched because it is alongside a turnout. My choice was the Tichy kit for a handcar shed, which follows a C&O prototype, though I won’t be representing a handcar facility, just a shed. But that will be the topic of a future post.

Tony Thompson