Forward and Onwards

Well I have finally finished making the seven piers for the trestle. When you compare the original dowel to the end product there is a few hours work to be done. To make the piers I used a full sized paper template which was glued to some timber.  Then with the dowel in position I hammered in some nails to make a jig, nothing fancy but it worked. So after a lot of cutting, drilling, filing, painting and weathering they are ready for be placed into position. I have put the nut and bolt casting into position. I suppose in the overall scheme, they wouldn't be missed if they weren't there but they do improve the finished look. Each pier took over an hour to complete the painting and weathering.
So with the bridge slowly coming together I turned my attention to the road that goes under the trestle on the Eden end. I felt that the base I originally made was too low, so I used some foam to raise the road level closer to the bottom of the trestle.

Using cork for the road surface

I used some thin cork for the road surface. I made the road slightly curved which looks better than a straight road. Then end product while intended for O scale looks like it is only wide enough for a  single lane road. I guess I don't have enough room to place the 'Road Narrows' sign. The building of this corner section is like playing chess in that you have to think ahead and plan out the finishing of each section. It will be
easier to make the road and scenic under it before the bridge is put into place.

The road is in place

End supporting wall for trestle

The end supporting wall in the above photo was made out of some supporting timber and the horizontal boards were actually ice cream sticks cut in half and weathered. The donor ice creams were from Cyclones and Jelly Tops. (Although any other flavour will do) They were weathered with chalks.

Dirt at the side of the road added

After looking around the shed for a while I finally found my ice cream container with the dirt I use to represent the ground. It was placed beside the road and glued into place. Best thin it was free from the road side out the front.

Slowly the greenery is added.

Once some greenery is added the scene comes to life. At least most of the scenic materials on this particular board are foam of various types which will help with the end weight.

I am always on the lookout for scenic material and I often cruise around the "Two dollar shops" looking for suitable material. I recently came across the above item and on close inspection found that it was made up of individual 'plants' that I could maybe use.

I ended up buying a plant and although the price originally showed $16 I found when I got to the checkout that it must have been on special at half price so only paid $8. I always like a bargain. The plant will allow plenty of individual plants to be placed around the layout. The closest plant in real life would probably be the birds nest fern. As I am working in O scale now they seen suitable but I don't think they would readily work in HO scale.

Some of the plants in position around the waterfall

I have placed a few around the waterfall to see how they look and they seem to work OK. They give some variation in the scene and catch the eye readily.
Happy modelling for now!