# Question Regarding Scenery on Layout



## JStussy (Dec 31, 2020)

Hello,
I'm planning on expanding my layout to reflect a mountain railroad and town with various industries, and had two questions regarding scenery.

First, one of the industries I'll have is grain, with a grain elevator and field, though I was wondering if farmhouses were ever located near grain elevators.

Second, I plan on building mountains in the center of my layout, and wanted to know the best way of modeling a stream/river running down the side of one mountain and onto a flat area.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Yes, farmhouses could be near grain elevator. But most weren't, when I was growing up. You have lots of room in farm country and no one really wants to live next to any industry if given the choice. On the other hand proximity to employment, etc., always trumps oreference is some case. I recall a small town that sprang up around a grain elevator/rail loading spur in SE colorado, not much more than one main street and maybe sixty houses, where there were houses very close to that elevator. So yes.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

In the Midwest you often found Grain Elevators in small farming communities.
It would not be surprising to see a farm house not far from the grain elevator.

Don


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Grain elevators can be found next to farm houses. Here are a few in Strasburg, PA.









Clear silicone caulk makes a nice waterfall and might work well for a stream running down the side of a mountain. Laydown beads of caulk on wax paper, work it a bit in the direction of flow with a stick and after it cures, cut it to fit the creek bed. Put some cotton at the bottom to represent froth. For flat water surfaces, I’ve tried Woodland Scenics Realistic Water and it worked OK, but in time, the canoes "sunk" into the plastic and were a devil to remove. I currently have a lake made from crinkled aluminum foil painted blue – not terribly realistic, but good enough for me. I also have a stream made from wavy shower glass with the paint on the underside.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Grain elevators here in Southern Illinois can be right in the center of town, on the outskirts, or anywhere in between. Including next to homes and businesses.

What I've never seen is a grain elevator in the mountains.

The photo in post 4 appears to be two barns and a feed or storage silo. That doesn't look like any grain elevator design I've ever seen before.


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## JStussy (Dec 31, 2020)

That looks really neat, and I'll have to take that into consideration. On a side note, I've probably seen a few of these farmhouses out in Strasburg, as my maternal grandmother lived out in Lancaster County and would take me on the Strasburg Railroad when I was little. I credit that little short-line railroad, as well as a certain blue tank engine, with instilling a deep love of trains and railroads within me.



Lehigh74 said:


> Grain elevators can be found next to farm houses. Here are a few in Strasburg, PA.
> View attachment 563479
> 
> 
> ...


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

A grain elevator can be a nice sized bomb if it explodes, I would want it some distance from my house.
Some old ones are being rebuilt into a houses.
turn off the sound, first one I found,


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)




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## JStussy (Dec 31, 2020)

Indeed. Considering where on my layout the spur line for the grain industry is, though, it might be tough to fit the grain field, the elevator, and several houses. I've seen grain elevators with mountains as a backdrop on some HO scale scenery kits, just never one actually on a mountainside.




MichaelE said:


> Grain elevators here in Southern Illinois can be right in the center of town, on the outskirts, or anywhere in between. Including next to homes and businesses.
> 
> 
> What I've never seen is a grain elevator in the mountains.
> ...





Lee Willis said:


> Yes, farmhouses could be near grain elevator. But most weren't, when I was growing up. You have lots of room in farm country and no one really wants to live next to any industry if given the choice. On the other hand proximity to employment, etc., always trumps oreference is some case. I recall a small town that sprang up around a grain elevator/rail loading spur in SE colorado, not much more than one main street and maybe sixty houses, where there were houses very close to that elevator. So yes.


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## 65steam (Dec 18, 2019)

Here are some pictures for you to consider regarding elevators in the mountains.

Montana's Grain Elevators


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

JStussy said:


> That looks really neat, and I'll have to take that into consideration. On a side note, I've probably seen a few of these farmhouses out in Strasburg, as my maternal grandmother lived out in Lancaster County and would take me on the Strasburg Railroad when I was little. I credit that little short-line railroad, as well as a certain blue tank engine, with instilling a deep love of trains and railroads within me.


As a matter of fact, that photo was taken a few weeks ago while riding on the Strasburg RR being pulled by N&W 611. And there was a little blue tank engine parked in the engine house with a facemask.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

65steam said:


> Here are some pictures for you to consider regarding elevators in the mountains.
> 
> Montana's Grain Elevators


The eastern two thirds of Montana is prairie. While there my be mountains in the background 100 or more miles away, I still have never seen a grain elevator _in_ the mountainous regions.


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## 65steam (Dec 18, 2019)

MichaelE said:


> The eastern two thirds of Montana is prairie. While there my be mountains in the background 100 or more miles away, I still have never seen a grain elevator _in_ the mountainous regions.


Yes, so it would be necessary somehow to convey a sense of distance between the scenes.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

Here is my grain elevator. It was a kit by a company called Gloorcraft. The boxcar should give you some idea of size. As mentioned, every small town in the midwest was built around a grain elevator. All the farms 20 miles around would bring their grain to it by wagon for transfer to train cars. After the autos arrived farmer could travel further and eventually some grain elevators used trucks instead of trains.


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## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

Lehigh74 said:


> As a matter of fact, that photo was taken a few weeks ago while riding on the Strasburg RR being pulled by N&W 611. And there was a little blue tank engine parked in the engine house with a facemask.
> <Snip of Photo>


 If I had known that engine was there, my itinerary might have changed a little. I was in Strasburg at the end of June to go the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania before heading up to see family in Lebanon County. We looked at going on the train ride but ran short of time. With all the grandkids and great nieces and nephews, that little blue engine might have been more interesting for most of them, I think.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Gel gloss medium is great for rushing streams. Try not to make the mountain too tall, and don’t have your stream running from high to low in a straight run. Make it meander a bit.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Steve Rothstein said:


> If I had known that engine was there, my itinerary might have changed a little. I was in Strasburg at the end of June to go the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania before heading up to see family in Lebanon County. We looked at going on the train ride but ran short of time. With all the grandkids and great nieces and nephews, that little blue engine might have been more interesting for most of them, I think.


That little blue engine is part of a traveling event, not a permanent part of the Strasburg collection. They often park at host railroads between shows, with the stipulation that it can't be immediately identifiable. Because of trademark considerations (the Thomas brand is owned by HIT Entertainment), it can't be used by just anyone who wants to. (The same reason railroads can't run "Polar Express" trains any more -- Warner Brothers owns the trademarked name). Anyway, if you want to take the kids / grandkids to see Thomas, you have to find an event. There is one at the Essex Steam Train in SE Connecticut around Labor Day weekend. I have heard that there is a fully operational model of Thomas running around, but most of them are just dummies with a steam generator inside, and the host railroad provides the actual motive power (usually at the other end of the train).


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Separately, you want to distinguish between a grain silo and an grain elevator. Grain silos are found all over the place, and hold feed for a single farm; grain elevators are truly massive structures that hold entire harvests from multiple farms prior to transporting it to customers. The structure in post #4 is a silo, not a grain elevator.

For streams and water, I use artists acrylic media. These go on white, but dry clear, remain somewhat flexible, and last virtually forever without cracking or yellowing. They are expensive, but worth it. Acrylic gloss medium is great for flat rivers / lakes, etc. You can tint it with acrylic paint, if desired, but you only need a thin layer -- the illusion of depth is created by painting the bottom darker in deeper spots. Acrylic gloss gel works for wilder sections of water (and can be used to make waver and or ripples on flatter water as well). It can be tinted or painted white as well to suggest foam.


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

JStussy said:


> First, one of the industries I'll have is grain, with a grain elevator and field, though I was wondering if farmhouses were ever located near grain elevators.


There could be if there simply happens to be a farm next to the elevator. But the elevator has no direct association with the farmhouse since it's not a "farm" structure, but a large storage and distribution facility.

The silo(s) on an individual farm, even a large one, are not going to be rail-served. The farmer will deliver their grain to the local distribution facility.


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## Wooky_Choo_Bacca (Nov 13, 2020)

Big Ed said:


> A grain elevator can be a nice sized bomb if it explodes, I would want it some distance from my house.
> Some old ones are being rebuilt into a houses.
> turn off the sound, first one I found,


I'd have to fit one with an elevator


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## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

The State of Washington is #3 in wheat production in the U.S. - you could "selectively compress" the distance between the Palouse Hills and the Cascade Mountains. There is a "Palouse to Cascades Trail" on the right-of-way abandoned by the Milwaukee Road.
Palouse - Wikipedia


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## 65steam (Dec 18, 2019)

GNfan said:


> The State of Washington is #3 in wheat production in the U.S. - you could "selectively compress" the distance between the Palouse Hills and the Cascade Mountains. There is a "Palouse to Cascades Trail" on the right-of-way abandoned by the Milwaukee Road.
> Palouse - Wikipedia


There's a great photo of an elevator with background mountains in the article you linked.


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## PrairieKnight (Nov 10, 2015)

I put my grain across from from my cattle and feed yard. Works well with using the middle of three spurs as a holding track for both industries


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## Railtunes (Jun 19, 2012)

JStussy said:


> Hello,
> I'm planning on expanding my layout to reflect a mountain railroad and town with various industries, and had two questions regarding scenery.
> 
> First, one of the industries I'll have is grain, with a grain elevator and field, though I was wondering if farmhouses were ever located near grain elevators.
> ...


There may not have been grain elevators _RIGHT IN_ the mountains, but here are three that have mountains in the background. You can Google more information about each one - and find others - with some creative online searching. Note that, while these three are still standing, they are no longer served by railways, though they were up until the 1990s or even the early 2000s.











Menard, Montana, in the Gallatin Valley, northwest of Bozemen. Built in 1913. Formerly served by the Milwaukee Road.










Azure, Alberta. Built in 1927. Formerly served by the MacLeod Subdivision of the Canadian Pacific. While this photo doesn't show the detail of the elevator, it does show the Rocky Mountains in the distance.










Raley, Alberta, near Cardston. Built in 1905, this may be the oldest remaining elevator in Alberta. On the Cardston branch of the Canadian Pacific. While the railway tracks have been removed, the red-painted part of the elevator was renovated and is still being used to store fertilizer.

I won't say anything about building mountains, as there is _*beaucoup*_ information online about this topic! But I will say that a waterfall is a very attractive way to get water off a mountain in a very short distance!
Here's one I built on my module. It's a real place in Taiwan called Shifen Pubu. Shifen is a town on the Keelung River in northeast Taiwan, and _pubu_ [POO boo] means waterfall in Mandarin.








First the prototype,








and here's the model - pretty close to prototype scale. I added the viaduct in front of the falls for a better view for the train passengers. The real line crosses the river above the falls on a different type of bridge. But my model bridge _IS_ a real one - from Switzerland - salvaged from a former layout! The railcars are Taiwan prototypes. I've since added the background scenery above the falls, using a print from the prototype photo above.
Railtunes (Paul Ingraham)


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

That would be representing the Landwasser viaduct on the Rhätische Bahn? What is the extra structure under the main span?


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## Flyer4ever (Mar 26, 2017)

So, thought you might be interested in these views of my river scene that meanders down the hillsides from a lake at the bottom Mt. Rainier. I formed the river’s route as the terrain was being installed and painted the flowing water and waterfalls using acrylic paint. It came out so well that I’ve shied away from enhancing it further…(PS, the layout is S scale post-war American Flyer)


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## Railtunes (Jun 19, 2012)

MichaelE said:


> That would be representing the Landwasser viaduct on the Rhätische Bahn? What is the extra structure under the main span?


No. It's the Baltschieder Viadukt on the BLS North Ramp.
Here's a photo from 1935 showing the bridge in its original form. If you look it up today's version, it has been double tracked and the truss bridge span replaced by a newer style. The arches are still in place.









And here's my model in its original setting on my BLS layout from the 1980s-90s. The layout had functioning Swiss prototype Sommerfeldt catenary. The train is an Italian prototype with a Rivarossi locomotive powered off the wire. Yes, I know it's the wrong voltage! LOL!









And, for comparison, here's Landwasser on the Rhätische Bahn meter gauge line. It's a lot taller and doesn't have a truss span.









Railtunes (Paul Ingraham)


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## Railtunes (Jun 19, 2012)

MichaelE said:


> That would be representing the Landwasser viaduct on the Rhätische Bahn? What is the extra structure under the main span?


There isn't any structure under the main truss span. That's a rock formation that is in that position at the Taiwan location. There is a hiking path under the single arch at the left, which is also a Taiwan feature, and there is also a hiking path along the BLS line as well.
Railtunes


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Thanks for the info. Sometimes hard to say what something is or isn't when viewing a model.

That's interesting that you used live catenary. I have full catenary on my RhB line, but for visual correctness only. The locos still pick up power from the dual gauge track.


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## JStussy (Dec 31, 2020)

Steve Rothstein said:


> Indeed. From what I've seen, "Day Out with Thomas" is a fun (and big) event at the Strasburg Railroad, though I would recommend getting there early, as parking tends to fill up faster than usual. I also may have mentioned this before, but I credit Thomas the Tank Engine, and the Strasburg Railroad, with instilling a deep passion for trains and railroads within me.
> 
> 
> If I had known that engine was there, my itinerary might have changed a little. I was in Strasburg at the end of June to go the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania before heading up to see family in Lebanon County. We looked at going on the train ride but ran short of time. With all the grandkids and great nieces and nephews, that little blue engine might have been more interesting for most of them, I think.


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## JStussy (Dec 31, 2020)

Indeed. While I plan on putting the mountain in the center of my layout, I don't want to make it so tall that it becomes topheavy or completely obstructs my view of the surrounding tracks. I also figure that since I'm on the short side (about 5' 2"), I should have my benchwork be about 3 feet (or under) in height.



mesenteria said:


> Gel gloss medium is great for rushing streams. Try not to make the mountain too tall, and don’t have your stream running from high to low in a straight run. Make it meander a bit.


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