The Prince William County Model Railroad Club assisted in building a layout at a local train hobby shop, the Rip Track in Woodbridge, Virginia. Unfortunately, the Rip Track was forced to close and the layout was removed. The photos and drawings provide an excellent step-by-step guide to building a medium sized layout. Designed by Brion, club members are providing their talents and expertise to bring the plan to reality. The Rip Track provided the materials for the layout construction. Other than basic lumber, all train related materials are off-the-shelf products. Construction started on September 5, 2002 and we achieved our goal of having trains running by Thanksgiving.

Session Twelve

Bridging the Gap

Click on any image to enlarge.

This is the track plan as drawn by Brion. The plan calls for a wide variety of scenery and construction methods. Visitors were able to see many different aspects of model railroading. The plan provides for the ability to convert the layout from HO scale to On3 by changing structures and rolling stock.

Our small bridge over the pond continues to evolve. Using scale lumber the bridge was built in place. The wood was stained with a mixture of brown paint. The beginning of water has been added to the pond.
This overhead view shows the Code 70 rail that has been added as a guardrail. The guard rail was bent by hand and glued in place.
A wider view from the front shows how nicely the bridge fits into the scene. The fascia board has been primed in preparation for final painting.

	On the far right side of the layout is a small pond that's had a trestle installed. Again using scale lumber that was stained, the trestle was built in place. The water was added using Woodland Scenics Realistic Water.
	The water was merely poured in place and allowed to dry. From this angle you can see the guard rail that really makes the scene.
Painting the fascia board gives the layout a "finished" look. After the green latex paint is dry, a matte finish will be applied to make the fascia less prominent.

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