I know - I don't update this blog very often. Part of the reason is that I don't get as much time to work on the layout as I would like to. A relatively recent project was adding some texture to the ground surfaces. I added some ground foam to simulate grasses and weeds. I also added some ballast to the tracks and some other gravel elsewhere on the layout. Will trees be in the scene soon?
I don't happen to be terribly strict in my selection railroads or eras of my rolling stock. You'll see several road names in my layout. It helps keep some variety in the scene. Pictured here are a pair of Montana Rail Link SD-35's.
I have recently decided that I love the old Alco RS-3 locomotives. I found some at White Elephant in Spokane, WA. In Atlas tradition, they run flawlessly and have fine detail.
I have gotten some detail on the gravel depot. It included a bit of paint and weathering. Pictured here is a Burlington Northern GP-38. I have always loved the low nose GP series of locomotives!
I have not yet finished the gas station, but the details are in the works soon. They will include a sign, decals, and a few paint details (like the gas pumps).
Amanda and I managed to find Kato's Great Northern Passenger set. After some effort we managed to find all the pieces (all three sets of cars and all three locomotives). The last set we got even has the lighting kit installed already.
Here is another view of the GN F7 leading the passenger train.
"See! The Cliffs of Insanity!" Well, the cliffs of something, anyway. These rock faces looked good after I painted them, but the additional textures I made the textures look really sharp! 
The BNSF C44-9 brings this scene to a much newer time period. I added some gravel in the ditch area and I put some gravel around the depot to represent the parking area.
Just for kicks, it is interesting to try seeing the same scene with different locomotives. This is an identical composure to the picture of the Montana Rail Link photo at the top of this post.
