Layout Update: Around the Edges

Years ago when I installed the photo backdrops on the walls around the layout, there were a couple of issues that got designated For Later:

The full-length backdrops did not extend all the way down the wall by the engine terminal:

Oops pt. 1

More jarring for me, I aligned the backdrops at the level of the yard and engine terminal, setting aside the fact that in the transition section the scenery base is 2" lower.

Do not under any circumstances look behind the bridge

This is exacerbated by the layout being a couple of inches out from that wall, so when you are standing closer to the bridge you see a nice strip of sky blue below ground level. In retrospect Fiona and I should have painted the bottom half of the wall dark green or something less eye-catching, rendering it Somebody Else's Problem.

The first issue was much easier to resolve, as I had some extra backdrops and they are pretty well aligned to flow one into the other. The trick was not to repeat a backdrop in the same field of view, which took some planning.

So, out came the scissors and et voila:

That's better

That got my mind back on track for solving the other problem, which was thornier as it would involve

• What to use for the scenery block
• How to get it to stay in place
• Covering four feet of space
• Minding the gap

At first I thought about using some more spare backdrops, cutting the sky off and reshaping the hills, but I wasn't thrilled with that. I finally decided to dip into the strategic reserve of 6" x 9" Scotch-Brite pads I had picked up long ago with something like this in mind, and scrounged my scrap lumber for four feet of 1x2 and the hardware drawers for mounting bolts. Using Scotch-Brite pads would also fit in with how I screened the interchange track on the rural section.

There were two options for mounting what I am calling the "mediumdrop": to the layout or to the wall behind it. Space and clutter considerations ruled out the first option, but the second option was not without its challenges. The other side of that basement wall is a prime storage spot for tabletops, ladders etc. so all of that had to be moved. Then I had to determine the best height for mounting the 1x2 by looking at a mockup of the mediumdrop from the layout side, but had to measure and drill the holes from the other side of the wall. The wall itself is 1/4" paneling mounted to studs with the studs on the storage side, so I couldn't just lay a yardstick end to end and measure; I had to mark one hole at X and then measure from both sides of the stud to get the proper spacing for the next hole.

(At this point I need to break off and apologize for the lack of in-progress pictures. The combination of finally figuring out what to do and having the time to do it spurred me to get it done with as few distractions as possible. Also my workbench is embarrassingly semi-functional and I did most of the work on the very edge of it.)

I briefly pondered what adhesive would be best for gluing Scotch-Brite (pathologically porous) to wood, but then remembered I have a staple gun which reduced drying time to, well, zero.

With the pads attached I did a test fit and realized that when I did the first test fit of the 1x2s to their mounting holes I didn't take into account the width of the Scotch-Brite pads. Fortunately there was just enough space to fit the assembly behind the layout and get the bolts into position in their holes.

The main goal of the test fit was to establish the minimum height of the pads for cutting the tops into a more natural wavy contour.

And here we are:

That's so much better

This is one of those projects that when you are finished with the basic work, you wondered why it took you so long to just do it.

Eventually I will cover it and the earlier interchange screen (at left in the photo above) with some scenic materials - ground foam, clump foliage, some spare puffball trees - to reduce its two-dimensional appearance. I think I will also insert a spacer below ground level by the yellow structure so it stands a bit more upright. But for the moment it has achieved its initial goal: to make the wall there, if not somebody else's problem, at least not mine.