Starting to learn how to us rock casings

This is the smaller of the two molds I have it's just been painted with white lacker and it's drying so I can cast the mold. About fifteen minutes after the reason is pored it's ready to be hot glued onto the hard shell. Because it's still pliable it can be shaped to what ever contour you want it to be.

This is the larger and more rugged rock molds with a fresh coat of paint drying. It's fun to cast these and then while they are still pliable you can tear them and do just about any thing you want to when you are gluing them to the hard shell.

Here is some castings glued to the hard shell. I will get this section all covered with the rock casings then I will start the painting and detailing portion. The bottom of the river is almost done even have the bridge supports cast and glued into place. I used a mold that looks like bricks have been used to build the supports.
Just a few more castings to add then the painting and detailing will be the next step. The upper track in this photo is going to be a bridge just not sure what type it will be yet. My goal is to have this section all done this weekend.
When I am waiting on the paint to dry I work on my 4-8-4 Northern Steam locomotive kit. Starting to get the boiler details filed and glued on then it's time to put the boiler on the drivers and frame. The tender is done and as soon as I get the boiler mounted it's time to paint. This is a Bowser cast mettle kit that I have had for about eight years have about fifty hours into it all ready. I just started to work on it agin this week it's been about seven years since I have worked on it.

All of the track is down now it's time for scenery

After laying the upper level of track I realized I needed to reverse this cross over so I used a putty knife to pull up the track and installed two right handed turnouts instead of left handed. This will allow for the trains to be turned around at each end of the run. Just had to sand the roadbed and re-glue the track down.
Have all the track down and have started to put the foam board support for the Geodesic foam scenery.
This is going to be a river flowing from a water fall with a bridge over the river on the upper level and three bridges on the lower level. I have started to learn how to use the geodesic foam which is the base of the river bed. It's a two part epoxy that you mix and spread over window screen. It sets in about ten to fifteen minutes to a point where you can still mold it to the shape you want. After about an hour it's set hard and ready for finishing.

It all stared with a table

I had started to lay out the track before I started to use the foam board so I had to redo all the lay out of the curves. I had made measurements for the radius points and transfered them to the 2" foam board. I then used felt markers to mark out the curves. There are 18" and 22" radius curves and two of the curves are a combination of both.

I first put down the lower level roadbed and track and made sure it was good and smooth before adding the grades to the upper level. Both inclines are at about 2.5% and are 4.5" above the lower track. At this point I was planning on using plaster cloth for the scenery and had put some down on the outside incline.

With the upper level subroadbed ruffed in it's ready for roadbed and track. Most of the track is Atlas sectional track and some flex track on most of the curves. I have been given several boxes of model railroad buildings, track, and rolling stock from Monte McKeon a friend who had built a model railroad with his grandfather when he was a boy. Most all of his railroad was in boxes and so I am using some of this track as well. I am using cork roadbed and it's all glued down with Liquid Nails for Projects.

This is a double dog bone laid over it's self so there is one loop on the lower level and one on the upper level.

Planning on having tunnels as well as bridges.