Adding a lift-out, and more scenery.

In my last post I mentioned that my next job was to add scenery to the section of track between Pauls Valley and Wynnewood. 

Before starting on the scenery, I cut a hole in the plywood so that I could build a lift-out hatch to provide access to the north staging yard turnout ladder that is located under this section of the layout. The turnouts were originally installed back in late 2003, and although they've never given me any serious trouble, that might not always be the case (touch wood!).

The base for the scenery was a sheet of extruded styrene foam that was cut and formed to provide the required "landscape", with a removable (lift-out) panel to cover the access hatch in the plywood. I covered the foam with a layer of plaster bandage, and then built up scenery on top of that.

This photo shows the view from just inside the train-room door. Pauls Valley is on the left, and Wynnewood is on the right. The area that I've been working on is along the wall at the far end of the aisle.

This is a closer view of the scenery in the area between Pauls Valley and Wynnewood. I wanted to add a few more trees to better mask trains running between the two towns, but I've run out (again). So that will have to wait until I've made another batch.

These next photos show the layout with the access hatch removed, to reveal the ladder turnouts on the level below.

As usual, I will post better versions of these photos on my GC&SF FB page.

Thanks for following along, and please stay safe.

Regards,
Ron