This was the latest photo of the Allegheny Mountain. This area was complete as far as track and major scenic components were concerned. Some distant pine trees had been planted. The backdrop painting was an on-going effort. The latest additions were the front fascia board and a rock overflow on the left side. The left side by Gloverstown Tunnel needed more work. The track is only about 3/4" away from the back wall there, so it was a bit tricky.

Design

Although this area of the layout was called the "Allegheny Mountain", it was by no means a scale model of the real mountain. The mountain covered the room's entrance and acted as a duck-under. Having the duck-under here allowed me to model a mountain, because the track was still fully accessible for cleaning. The track was simply a continuation of the double mainline. The inside curve had a 28" radius and the outside curve had a 30" radius. The beauty of an around-the-room layout is that you can afford the space for these kinds of broad curves.

This photo shows the view from the room's entrance. The support boards for the mountain/duck-under cover had already been installed. To enter the room, you'll only need to clear the bottom of the track's supports which sit at about 60 inches above the floor. This photo was taken on April 30, 2001.

This is an eagle-eye shot of the mountain's structural framing members. You can clearly see the double mainline curving through the mountain. The large cutouts in the framing members are so that we can access more of the track hidden in the mountain for cleaning.

On May 12th, 2001 work on the mountain continued. The mountain's structural support members were placed at an angle. The mountain's slope created a set of complex angles, so the quarter-inch plywood was fastened to the side members as best as possible. It was bent and wrapped, but that only added to the effect.

To better help visualize the end result, I added some sheets of freezer paper and to do some "planning". This paper holds its shape almost like aluminum foil, but is a bit more flexible.

By June 10, 2001, 1-inch strips of cardboard were cut and weaved to create a web to act as the foundation of the scenery elements making up the mountain face. The pieces were glued together using a hot glue gun.

Here is a glimpse of the approximate location of the Reagan Tunnel.

While the plaster cloth was drying on the Crystal River valley area, I added more strips to the mountain to tie it in with the wall better.

The plaster was still wet on the mountain.

Allegheny Mountain in the background with Crystal river in the foreground. Sure seems like winter here!

A layer of Sculptamold was added when this photo was taken on June 30, 2001.

About a month later I had painted the mountain a base color and started painting the very distant forests on top of this and other mountains (the light green color).

Looking at the mountain range from a different angle you can clearly see the rock formations. The area around the tunnel portal still needed some more plaster work.

The rock outcroppings have been painted.

By September 9, 2001 I had a grouping of pine trees growing in the mountain.

This photo shows the painted front fascia board. Using joint compound and tape I was able to completely hide the screw heads.