# Rio Grande 10x18' layout progress



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Hello, I had posted progress photo in another topic here as recent as April of 2016 but lost my bookmark and only returned recently to have to reset my password - no surprise I couldn't remember it because these forums have rather onerous password rules, like maybe a bank should have but a forum?

BTW, forum member Rio Grande GP40 PM'd me last August but I could not answer due to user not permitting private messages - sorry, I tried! 

Here is a topic where I update also and am a forum moderator - Atlas Rescue Forums:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=25487&page=3

Here are some update photo's as I have finished filling in the sub-scenery so there is plaster cloth, plaster, base color and base texture down on the desert area of the layout:

May 3 2016

Finished the cardboard sub-scenery between the tracks and the river bank and the other side of the river bank. I also started putting in more plaster cloth but only got a little in before it was time to make fajita's for supper. 

Photo's added:





Corner before filling in with cardboard strips.



End is filled in now and river banks.





Started adding plaster cloth to area after cardboard in.


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Plaster cloth going in:


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

July 22 2016 progress:

Finished 99% of the plaster cloth last week:





Took a break from scenery and added tracks for engine and caboose area and a industry lead on the right side - a Pike Stuff 2-stall engine house is planned for the right two most tracks:



Extended additional yard tracks around to the left:


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Sept 25, 2016:

painted the plaster a base color now and added some sand to parts of it.









Today I'm adding more drops to the yard to give more electrical connections to the buss:


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Nearly got the yard tracks complete now - filled in a lot of the ties that have to be slid in where the tracks are connected. That was about half the day and got nearly all the yard tracks complete now.

End of the yard lead and a spur that will probably be a junk yard for gondola's.



Also some Tomar bumpers that I have had for years - they terminate two of the yard storage tracks.


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

October 9, 2016:

Have finished with the ground texture so that thats done have taken a box cutter blade to cut along the road bed and pull up the masking tape exposing the track. Also have tackled the river bed color:

Thanks to Rob Spangler for sharing his methods with acrylic pains. Surface yet to go - I mixed up three small batches of acrylic paint using medium cadmium yellow, black and tan colors to represent 3 major shades by trial and error and then blended them for the following results. The photo's are a bit over exposed - new LED lights above.


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

October 23, 2016:

Working on scrub brush and bushes:





Finally got the Rio Grande Zephyr out of boxes and ran it around a few times.


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

October 31, 2016:

Applied Mod Podge. Here are some photo's of it wet:


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Mod Podge is dry after a good 48 hour wait to allow the thicker parts to finish drying.









Posting this as of Jan 25, 2017 but have been working on a back log of HO freight car kits and took a break from the layout.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Thanks for posting photos of your progress over the last several months. Looks great! You have lots of room for scenery and/or buildings. Looking forward to further updates in the future.

Mark


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Thanks. Only rub is this is desert running so even having two tracks in part of the scene isn't very correct for the area and building? Well, they are few and far between out in the western Utah desert mainline of the D&RGW! I'll be putting most of the building in the Grande Junction Colorado yard opposite the desert area and there isn't a lot of space so I'll have to use flats.


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## Tony35 (Mar 18, 2016)

I will also be using MP for my river
Yours turned out great
Nice job


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

I was fairly pleased with the gloss Modpodge technique I learned from Rob Spangler but I did get tiny bubble formed which made it a little cloudy. My guess is the painted surface was a little rough the way the acrylics dried (for the river bottom color) and that caused the bubbles to form.

If I did it all over again, I would try to put down a thin layer of a glossy material, maybe spray clear gloss to coat the rough surface before applying the thick layer of ModPodge - that may remove the nucleation sites that formed the bubbles. Robs turned out very clear on his photo's.


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

That is going to be one fine looking layout.
Great yard.

Magic


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