The 2008 NMRA British Region convention had a mini layout competition. The only rules (after much debate) were that it had to be less than 8 square feet with a maximum dimension of 4 foot.
I worked out that I could fit a 3 foot diameter circle in this space and drew out a full size track plan. I wanted to do a river, tall trees, rocks and a camp as well as a circle of track and a siding – all in On30. I managed to fit it all on the track plan by incorporating a lot of height and very tight curves. I wanted to block the view through the middle entirely with trees so there was no need for a backdrop. A photo of the Elk River Lumber Company inspired me to lay the tracks through the river with the water running up to them…
The rest of the story is in the July 2009 Continental Modeller here but there are a few construction photos below:
The track plan:
The foam base:
Hand laying the track:
The first rock faces and sculptamold ground forms:
The first scenery:
The river bed:
The first trees:
The lattice that holds the tops of the trees upright:
Some final photos:
The Continental Modeller article can be found here.