New Grade Crossing

I went ahead and put in a "road" at one of the grade crossings. More than a test - just wanted to see the finished product. The ballast is not complete on the tracks, but the road is. Mostly dirt with a little gravel. I was trying for a very uneven surface with lots of variation - like the real non-maintained road from 1950.

Instead of doing more roads, the next step is to actually get the backdrop installed. I have been printing the photos myself (rather than at Wallys) - a long single piece was just going to be too hard to work with and my printer does a fine job on 13 by 19 pieces. I will be printing the digital photo of Dolores on matte paper, then glueing it on 1/8" foam core. I will be cutting around the top of the cliff so no sky from the photo will remain. The foam core will fit into a small slot I left at the rear of the styrofoam base and be self-supporting. The first three pieces are printed and I am glueing them down. I will post a photo when I get at least the rear portion done.