Lockwood Creek Diorama

Gary Beatty, who hosts an annual get-together for On30 and other small-layout enthusiasts at his home in Riverside, issued a challenge to this year's participants -- to build a scene or micro-layout in 100 square inches or less.

A year or so ago, when I was building the San Emigdio Canyon mini, I built a Campbell pony truss bridge -- an HO scale model that I modified slightly for On30. After a couple of weeks of work, it was a thing of beauty, if I do say so myself. I took it out to test-fit it on the layout ... and dropped it on the concrete garage floor, breaking it into several pieces. I rebuilt it, which is never as much fun as building it the first time, but I got it done, almost as good as the first time, took it out to test-fit it ... and dropped it again. At that point I concluded that the gods were against me, set that bridge aside, and built a different one, a Campbell deck 

I always had it in the back of my mind that I would eventually do something with the pony truss--maybe a small diorama. So when Gary issued his challenge, the pony truss was an obvious choice.

Here's a work-in-progress picture of the resulting diorama.

Many of my modeling heroes -- guys like Gary Beatty and Dave Meek, or going back further, John Olsen and Malcolm Furlow -- have emphasized that model railroading, at its best, is based on storytelling. I sometimes feel like those guys are writing novels, and I'm writing postcards. I mean that in a good way, I think. Anyway, even more that the San Emigdio Canyon, this diorama is like a little postcard. I'm not an artist like Gary or Dave, but I have enough of an eye that through trial and error, I can get to a point where things look right, and when I think about it, I can figure out, in retrospect, why it looks right. An example here is the pine tree. I stuck it in there on a whim, and was immediately struck by how the strong vertical adds drama to the scene. I recognize it when I see it; the real artists would know to put it there in the first place.

1/6/26: Here's a little more progress. The abutments and retaining wall are made from coffee stir sticks and a little stripwood. The piers are loosely based on plans in the Model Railroader Bridges & Trestles book.

1/9/26: More progress. Carving and filling completed, fascia added, first coat of paint applied.

1/12/26: Added some color to the rocks. I think the rock colors work well with the bridge timbers. The areas that are still tan will be covered by soil (sifted decomposed granite, sand harvested from Lockwood Creek, and/or sanded grout), grass, or other vegetation.

1/21/26: l added ground cover and vegetation over the last few days. I'm pretty happy with the look. Base ground cover is a mix of sifted decomposed granite sand and sanded grout. I used a combination of vegetation materials for variation in color and texture. There's some Woodland Scenics Clump Foliage in conifer green, some lichen, Woodland Scenics Realistic Foliage (I think that's what they call it) and even some bits of airfern from my Campbell pine tree kits. 2mm green and 7mm straw static grass, and some paint brush bristles for reeds in the stream bed.

Here's a close-up of the creek. I poured the Woodland Scenics Realistic Water late yesterday and it's still curing -- it should go from cloudy to clear in another day or two. I hope. I probably should have added some pigment to it. I may add another thin layer with some brown or green added, when this layer dries.

Tomorrow, when I'm sure the "water" is well-set, I'll peel off the blue tape and paint the fascia dark brown.

1/23/26: As advertised, I painted the fascia brown. The "water" in the creek is slowly clearing, but seems like it's taking forever. I also added a Cumberland Shops engineer in #18's cab.