Here are three pics of my loading pens. HO scale, set in 1950's/early 1960's central Arizona.
It is just about done, I think. The windmill needs to be finished, there will be some cattle in the pens, and in the first pic you can see a hay shed in the right centerr. I have some hale bales which will be placed in there to create the illusion of a full structure. Also, I will probably put some clump foliage in a few places along the outside of the corrals. Somehow though, I think this looks sort of blah and may have fouled up with the ground cover. Anyone have any opinions?
It is just about done, I think. The windmill needs to be finished, there will be some cattle in the pens, and in the first pic you can see a hay shed in the right centerr. I have some hale bales which will be placed in there to create the illusion of a full structure. Also, I will probably put some clump foliage in a few places along the outside of the corrals.
Somehow though, I think this looks sort of blah and may have fouled up with the ground cover.
Anyone have any opinions?
Bear "It's all about having fun."
Where is the cow flop?
Realism goes only so far. Although those dark spots in the corrals look sort of floppish.
Bear:
I don't think it looks blah at all. You have done a great job on weathering the fencing. With the details you plan to add it will be a great scene, especially once there is some livestock present.
One suggestion I would make is that I doubt there would be much greenery left inside the pens if they are still active. I would suspect it would be all mud. Doing the pens in mud would provide some contrast between the pens and the ground outside them.
If you want to get really fussy, there wouldn't be any greenery immediately outside of pens where the livestock could reach their noses and tongues out to get at it.
I would also move the water troughs closer to the water source but that's just me being picky. If they were right against the bottom fence they could be filled without having to go into the pens.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Thanks Dave. Originally I was going to have just mud inside, and put down a layer of Arizona Rock & Minerals Earth. But then I scored some photos off the internet that showed loading pens that had vegetation inside of the corrals. At this point I am conflicted which is why I did this post. Remving theground cover in the corrals is no big deal, though, just douse the area with rubbing alchohol and wait and scrape.
Bear, I edited my post regarding the location of the water troughs.
I suppose the amount of greenery would depend on frequency of use. If they were busy I'm guessing the amount of traffic would beat the grass down, especially in front of the water troughs. Maybe just make that area a little muddier.
Good ideas, Dave. Will probably make it so.
This is how my stock pen ended up. I chose pork instead of beef as the livestock. This is the way I ended up, with a muddy pen inside.
Earlier on as I built this scene, I used a straw bed instead, but I didn't like the look and switched to mud.
Other than pictures, I know nothing about livestock pens. I was born in Brooklyn, NYC, and raised on Long Island. I live in the Boston Burbs. So, my modeling is based on pictures and imagination. But, I throw these out for comparison.
I think your scene is fine, and you will like it a lot more once there are some cattle in the pens. Perhaps an era-appropriate pickup truck or some piece of agricultural equipment would add an additional focal point, but I see nothing wrong with what you've done so far.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Why not have just a single fence separating each pen? Having looked through some pics, that seems to be the way they were usually built.
http://cache4.asset-cache.net/gc/ngs0_4527-elevated-view-of-cattle-pens-in-omaha-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=TRGWfanz5mWVQQvbP0IUljljbSx4bMTShEbbZQtRMYn4mqUY0GkZwThQiPVUoLgL
Steve S
Yeah,live stock areas do look blah with lots of "cow patties" laying about..
These areas are not for those with weak stomachs due to the olfactory aroma from those patties and the brown colored ground.
I know this first hand..My father in law kept live stock that he would sell at a live stock auction and I went with him several times after my railroad career ended..
Your earlier pens looked much better then the pig pen with fresh hay.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
S, it is a function of the kit that I used, although on another part of my layout there are unloading pens and a packing house. Those pens are constructed similar to the ones you have in the pic you posted.
Thanks Mr.B. In fact, I too, am originally from what is now a Boston burb and I understand your lack of first hand knowledge about corrals. I like your first pic with the mud.
hon30critterI doubt there would be much greenery left inside the pens if they are still active.
I wouldn't expect to see any greenery at all. On my trips to Arizona, I don't recall seeing any green that wasn't deliberately planted for decorative reasons and carefully maintained.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
I noticed that the pens in Steve's picture were pretty dry. Mud would seem to be more fitting for pigs as Misterbeasley's pictures suggest.
Definitely no greenery though as Carl425 said.
Carl, depending on fall and spring precipitation, you can get a lot of greenery in the Sonoran desertm including wildflowers. May not last long, but it can be colorful. Of the four great North American deserts, the Sonoran is the most beautiful and least desolate.
Paint your rails.
Looks great.
Steve
As one who has worked with cows over 40 years and been around them longer as an observing kid, I agree with the idea of no greenery in the pens or close by. Those hoofs chew up the soil rapidly and they reach through all they can. Also, the cow patties get the same harsh treatment and don't retain their form long, so aren't really necessary (they are more for less crowded pasture scenes). Your ramps would be well stained by many feet tracking the afore mentioned patties up the ramp as they go (or arrive).
Any time I've been near handling facilities the scenery is mostly stuff, rather rough looking facilities, boards replaced here and there, broken pieces of fence laying around. I'd leave the boards unpainted, an unnecessary expense. For the facility. Have some boards looking new and others weathered various shades of gray.
As for the water tubs, I'd back them up to ajoining fences so that one line down a walkway could be split and feed two tanks. Also, put them in the middle of the fence so that as many cattle as possible can access them at one time. Those critters take a lot of water.
Muddy pens would not be good, but they certainly happen. Keeping the animals reasonably dry and somewhat clean offers a better product.
Have fun,
Richard
IMHO, the stock pens look great. Add a bit of livestock and it looks super. What hampers the overall appearance is the looks of the adjacent track, which requires painting, weathering and maybe a different style of ballst - that pinkish look of it seems not suitable for the location - at least to my eyes.
Well, Sir Madog, the track will be weathered eventually. And while I appreciate your comments on the ballast, it is the ATSF mauve from Arizona Rock and Minerals, which I use on the spurs and sidings, and C&NW pink which I use on the mainline. It's an attempt to provide some color to the layout, believe it or not, although the ATSF does have a presence in Arizona.
Looks great. I think it just needs some livestock and people, or if it’s abandoned it needs tumbleweeds up against the fences.
j..........
bearmanMay not last long, but it can be colorful.
I must have missed that day.
I have seen pictures, though. Very beautiful indeed.
One of my favorite "rules" for a convincing layout is to model the ordinary, not the extraordinary. I would be inclined to go for the way it looks most of the time - the look that would cause most people to think Arizona.
!st question is where in central AZ.? North of Phoenix or around Prescott. You need some height so I would suggest trees. Mesquite, Juniper or depending on locale, Saguaros. Tumble weeds, desert sage, or other dark shrubs would great too.
Also what season is it? If it is early Spring the area should have mostly yellow blossoms. Volcanic rocks or other rocks?
But it is up to you as to what you want on YOUR layout. You don't need much from what I could see.
Early in the shipping season, you could have greenery like that. It got stomped pretty quickly. My experience is mostly with hogs, but if livestock isn't present, that well-feretilized earth start's greening up quickly.
If you will have livestock being shipped, then you could add cowboys, trucks or some other suggestion of how the critters got there. That would also be a great way to set the era, depending on your choices in pickups, semis, etc. An office, trailer or mobile home for the livestock buyer is another possibility. Not always present, but could indicate a busier facility.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I would go with less green, more dirt. Or maybe less green, more yellow and brown dead grass. A single fence between the pens. And weathered track.
But that's just me. Do whatever makes you happy.
While we are adding dirt, I would add some to the outside, center of the gates where the critters enter the pen. I like it though.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I'll jump in.
I think your fencing looks great!
I've been to Arizona and the surrounding area but always lived on the east coast so wouldn't try to model it. But I do know about pens and big animals having owned horses over the years. I'll agree with eveyone that there shouldn't be any green to speak of in the pens. And whether muddy or dry the ground should be very chewed up, especially near the gates. I would expect a pretty big depression in the dirt leading up to and through the gates.
I think the area around the pens where the cows don't go and can't reach from inside could have some good size green splotches just because there would be water used in and around the area. And the land certainly would be fertile.
Huntington Junction - Freelance based on the B&O and C&O in coal country before the merger... doing it my way. Now working on phase 3. - Walt
For photos and more: http://www.wkhobbies.com/model-railroad/
Nice work on the scenery and fences. While I model VA, I have a mix of horses and cows in one pen. That area has some green scenery, but not large bushes or trees. I've seen plenty of farm pastures with green for cows; pigs just need mud. You also might want to consider bending parts of the fence so it won't look so perfect. That's easiy to do by cutting off one piece and regluing it at a downward angle.