PIONEER "X"

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Railhead001

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This months marks my 1 year anniversary of starting the Modified Brazemore Yard Layout thread which chronicled the development of modifying a layout that was thought to be "unmodifiable" because it was a payware piece. Over the months it began to grow into a completely original set of layouts that were highly detailed and offered a refreshing change of scenery quite literally. I am still very proud of what was accomplished with that layout series not only in design but also as a how to guide for others.

So what better time then on this anniversary to begin a new version for my Modified Pioneer & Freedom......................beginning with the City of Pioneer. A gigantic thanks to JointedRail for their release of old town buildings. Pioneer city has replaced the area where the "Ol Betsy" coal mine resided.


Below is the original area with the Ol' Betsy mine showing the area where Pioneer town was built.




I decided to keep the land shape as it is offering a great location for the foundation of small town nestled in between some mountainous terrain.



 
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I decided to make a brick trail for a casual stroll at the edge of Pioneer town and added one to the opposite side of the road. Details include a walker, bus stop, phone booth, newspaper machine and trash can along with some people.








I decided to turn one of the JointedRail buildings into a hotel by adding a Neon sign and some people heading in and one traveler about to catch a cab.





One of the challenges with this layout was that since I did not want to alter the ground I had to think of how to design on uneven terrain. Having "flat" land is easy to build upon and this offered a challenge. To overcome this hurdle I turned to Dave Snow's "Build-a-facility" series and used several steps to make the city more realistic whether for buildings or trails you will find lots of steps in all shapes and sizes throughout this town.


As we head north into town we come across Johnny "graffiti artist" Edwards doing what he loves to do best, tag any available piece of real estate he can find.





A simple scene to make with DLS items readily available including the graffiti.
 
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As you can see the town also has some older style street lamps lining the main street to give it that "Old Town" feeling in the modern age. Pioneer town was originally home to coal miners, after the coal bust hit the town decided to reinvent itself instead of becoming a ghost town. Now you will find cafes, coffee shops,bars and clubs along with trendy shops to keep the tourists money rolling in. Pioneer also throws several concerts and festivals throughout the year to keep tourists coming back.


Besides the street lamps I also added my third set of ATLS functioning crossing, each set is different and offers either flashing lights or gates raising and lowering along with bells ringing, Took a minute to remember how to install it but well worth the effort. Note: Throughout the town you will see added signs to the buildings to make them more realistic such as the Bail Bonds sign above to the right of the flashing crossing. I added Dave Snow's street RR crossing stencils as well to complete the area.
 
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cascaderailroad said:
Looks great except for concrete ties, would be better as wood
Click to expand...

The reason its concrete is I wanted to make a "modern" railroad for the BNSF, so with that being said I have a section that I turned back to wood for an abandon Amtrak depot that will be used for MOW equipment. Pix will be coming soon for that area but it is still work in progress.......my last Modified Pioneer & Freedom layout on the DLS is concrete ties because the backstory was the BNSF was leasing land to CSX Rail Corp but decided to end its lease and reinvest in the infrastructure of the railroad including converting to concrete ties to be more efficient and cost effective. This version is literally on the fly. I have not decide to what the industry them will be.....I may wind up going back to my original Modified Brazemore Yard Layout theme and make layout "Grain" themed...........then I could have a self contained industry with silos, feed mills, food processing plants and warehouses for storage making ops more fun. Each section of this layout will eventually be redone so it should be interesting to see where it goes................
 
Last section for tonight will be the area next to the rail crossing. I wanted to give that junk yard vibe you often find in small towns that have trains passing through. The first area before the crossing is just a side yard with a dirt bike propped up against the wall and some trash cans and a pile of tires. Weeds and a concrete wall finish this side while abandoned junk litters the opposite side. Old car seats, a couch, water heater, stacks of newspapers, old tire pile and a crashed car round out a scene while a person checks out the derelict bits and pieces for scrap. (More graffiti to add to the old town charm)







A different angle to see the items lining the wall.
 
One thing, I see that we're in the States so why don't you use american street light instead of the european one ( I'm talking about the big one not the small black one, sorry I overused "one" ) ?
 
MF01 said:
One thing, I see that we're in the States so why don't you use american street light instead of the european one ( I'm talking about the big one not the small black one, sorry I overused "one" ) ?
Click to expand...

To go with the Irish Pub that's in town.....oh wait I didn't get to that part yet :D

Actually I like the combination of wood and metal which I think makes it modern looking and older at the same time instead of just wood or just steel. (BTW: There really is an Irish Pub.....)
 
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Looking for some good Graffiti

:wave: Evening Railhead001,

A belated happy New Year to you sir......;)

Took a peak and the place is looking great as always. thanks for sharing the ideas, now all I need?

Just find all that great looking Trash and Graffiti junk! :hehe:

Update: Thanks for the info on finding that Junk.........Have a great week.....
 
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blueodessey said:
:wave: Evening Railhead001,

A belated happy New Year to you sir......;)

Took a peak and the place is looking great as always. thanks for sharing the ideas, now all I need?

Just find all that great looking Trash and Graffiti junk! :hehe:
Click to expand...

Just do a search on the DLS for "Graffiti" and the junk items are mostly from the "derelict" series by user name "Dinorius Redundicus" also on DLS,

And a belated happy New Year to you as well !!!
 
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Moving further down main street we have a dog and girl sitting on some steps watching as some light construction is going on across the street. What is really cool about this scene is you have a sound FX of the dark making a low barking sound.





The Bar with no name is a few door ways down , The neon Coors sign makes it easy to find..........









The back of the Bar with no name is detailed with a door from Dave Snow's Build-a-Facility series and some empty beer crates, pallets, and empty propane tanks. Again the garage door is from the Build-a-Facility series. I added several boxes with well known names on them and a forklift to move them. The truck you see has an animated man unloading boxes from back of it. Weeds and a roll of cable and a brick wall complete the area.
 
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As mentioned previously, Pioneer town wanted to rebrand itself as a quaint and hip small town. They began installing the older gas style street lamps and in here we some public works vehicles installing some hanging street lamps. I added the flashing yellow light bars to each of the vehicles. The bucket truck is by Dave Snow. The flashing lights offer a great effect when operating the layout.









 
In the last shot above you will see a narrow alley way with steps leading down into it and a bike rack. The ramp is off to the right of that alleyway if your're to follow it. I have a man with a handtruck that has a small box on it. The garage door was added and I believe it is from the Build-a-Facility series. Space is a premium in small towns and they have to be creative.



 
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As mentioned earlier, there is an Irish Pub and its name is the "Jolly Farmer". Besides hauling coal the Pioneer & Freedom BNSF is also a major grain supplier which is why the Jolly Farmer originally existed serving the local farming community. Now besides farmers a new crowd is enjoying its micro brews.
I added a wooden fence, flower beds, benches, umbrella tables, and people. Also put a parked motor cycle and of course as in the rest of the town a low brick wall. Later I came across the signs and thought they would be perfect for this location.





​






 
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After the Bar with No Name I added a small park with a monument. I also changed the low wall for this area and found some steps that matched. Added some people. a dog, twins on bicycles, man with a walker and put some benches and street lamps around the park to finish it.




A little ways down the street I thought a building with a lower level would be a nice fit. So I added some stairs, pay phones, a vending machine, anews paper stand, mailbox and used another door from Dave Snow's Build-a-Facility series.





I think the results came out pretty good. (Using the raise/lower tool I adjusted the height of the building to be lower and retextured the ground"
 
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Now you need a 42 mile long RGCX train rolling through that urban inner city, train watching from a cab view, on invisatrack ... Looks super detailed and realistic :cool:

If you lay a complex pattern of BNSF50 invisatrack over top of your roads, you can drive a driveable car, or a person, that as a cab view about your town, and get a way down low realistic view
 
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