In this episode of Spaces to Places, host Gerry Leone focuses on the final details of the yard and roundhouse area on his HO scale (1:87.1) Bona Vista model railroad. He begins by placing background buildings and uses a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees to cover a hole in the backdrop. After ballasting all the track, Gerry adds weeds, dirt roads, and foliage to create a realistic scene.
Be sure to watch to the end! This episode concludes with an “engineer’s view” tour of the entire lower deck, showcasing the completed yard and the rest of the layout’s scenery.
>> Want to see more of Gerry’s work on a classic, familiar format? <<
Look for his Turning Spaces into Places Vol. 1: Rural Scenery DVD, on the Trains.com Store!
Wonderful series, what’s next?
Question though, you have completed the lower level, now on to the upper. You’ll have to cover all your lower artwork. Sigh!
Would it be better maybe to do upper level first then finish below? Just a thought.
I wish I had something approaching your skills but I’m trying.
Thanks for the kind words, Andrew! Skills are developed through practice and repetition, so keep building and trying and eventually you’ll stand back, look at your own work, and say, “Geez, that’s pretty good!” As far as adding scenery to the upper deck first, you’re right. It would have been easier to do it that way because, as you say, I’m constantly putting drop cloths over the lower deck when I work on the upper deck. That said, for some reason that wasn’t the way my brain worked. It said, “Start with the lower deck,” and so I did. Live and learn!
Hi Jerry and Jenny – congratulations on the lower deck completion! I LOVED the video tour. Well done! Thanks for sharing the BV5 with us.
And thanks for watching, Marcus!
Fantastic. You make it look easy (i’m in O gauge so roundhouse a bit harder to remove for me). I thank you for showing all the things that didn’t work and how you make them good. as you say lemon to lemonade. I noticed small crack in plexiglass corner for your building protector. I cover things like that with railroad patches.
Enjoyed the video and wondered if camera had wifi or just downloaded when done. Thanks.
-jkelty
Hi, John — It’s an older model GoPro. It does have wi-fi, but that’s just for the remote control function. It records on a mini SD card that’s removable.
Loved this video. As always, great result and very entertaining. I particularly liked the interior shot of the roundhouse at the end – and your problem with turnups. (LOL).
Ron, I have no idea where that brain f@rt came from. I can’t remember ANY time in my life when I’ve ever said the word “turnups.” And now…twice!
What were the shaped objects between the track entering the yard?
I was wondering the same thing. Then it cme to me that they might be Rivarossi (?) electric uncouplers. I’m sure Gerry will correct me if I’m wrong.
What you guys are seeing is unpainted, homemade re-railers. Way back in the Mesozoic Era I did an “Off the Rails” episode on making your own re-railers. (Maybe I should do that again on Spaces to Places!) Because I sometimes build trains in the yard with my ancient 0-5-0, I’ve put rerailers on the departure and arrival tracks to speed things up. Thanks for the sharp eyes, though!
Great stuff as always Gerry,
I love how this layout is turning out. Its a work of art, I would expect nothing less than perfection. All your layouts have been great, I enjoy all your videos from the MRVP days right up to today. Keep up the great work. I never miss one of your series, or layout building projects.
I look forward to the next instalment, as I always do.
Robert
Robert — you’re way too kind! Thanks for watching all that stuff! I wouldn’t go so far as to call the BV a work of art, but if you insist… I guess it’s more like a Picasso than a Rembrandt. 🙂
Congrats on finishing the lower deck – very impressive. And the video tour at the end highlights how the cohesiveness of the scenery blends together nicely between the towns, the country and the yards!
Thanks a million, Artie! I’d like to think that some of the cohesiveness is because I build one area after the other in sequence… with the exception of the big river from several episodes ago. I’m interested to see how I’ll blend that finished scenery into whatever comes before and after it!