From what i know Sid was in the hobby for 12 years, Sid is a self taught man.

This is a start, i have more in other folders i have to collect.

I have a bunch of pictures from when i was there, i willgather them up and post them here.

Sid's layout was insane. I got to see it in person. He spent a year with track software program designing it,then the next 10 years creating it. It had multi layers at opposite ends, and went into 2 different rooms with an upper and lower grade. His work shop was next to the layout room, and the train would make its way through the workshop. lol it took 9 minutes to make a lap around his layout.

He told me.. " Never plan on finishing your layout, it's not something you finish, it's something you do" The results will be way better and you will take your time that way.

Sid was a pretty cool cat. We spent hours on the phone chatting about cars, drag racing, growing up etc. He made me a better model builder, and i now have a new way of looking at things that i build be it trains or plastic model cars. He was a very patient teacher, he just expected me to apply myself and try.

I am sad to announce that my best friend, and model railroad mentor Sid Deitch, AKA Wounded Bear,Left the earth this morning after a battle with a long term illness. I miss him dearly, and am struggling with his passing.  He was a master model builder, his work was second to none. We spent hours on the phone, and i made an 8 hour trip last summer to spend  few days with him. His friendship and kindness meant the world to me, friends like him only come around once in a lifetime.

God bless you Sid, i hope your pain is gone.

Sheldon.

Thank you for the kind words. My good friend and mentor WoundedBear from this site, has been guiding me along. I guess i am a good student. I drove 8 hours last summer to spend a few days with him at his place. We have been car buddies, drag race buddies for 20 years. Then he got me into model railroading, and i really enjoy it. Sid has a beautiful layout which he has been working on for the past 10 years. His attention to detail is incredible.

I love doing it, it makes me feel good, and i forget about life for awhile when i am in the basement.

Good Morning guys. Thank you for the positive replies. Yes i am going to be taking a lot of time to consider lot sizes, parking and fences. As well as wooden walkways. I bought Some different fencing kits, as well as 300 wooden match sticks and a roll of florist wire for making fences. At this time i am just trying to get a feel for the space i have. Thank you for the picture of the company row houses Len.

Back to the houses. I am stuck right now, so i put everything back on the layout to see what the overall look is, need to continue with the landscaping. Still working from the middle out. But i am placing my company houses in my residential are to get some ideas on how to move forward.

I added an extra board to fill in the gaps, Wounded bear and myself split a whole bunch of scale lumber, it has come in handy.

I love the look of the steam locomotives, thats a cool project.

ok thank you will give that a try.

I have not had good luck with real dirt persay. I have fine dirt/ silt now. but i need to figure out how to get it soaked > i didnt try soaking it with Alcohol before i soak it with a water glue mix?

i am going to make my own power poles etc. I am going to try spandex thread, as it is stretchy and should give if bumped into.

Wonderful work Ken. I am really enjoying your progress, what is your secret to such realistic looking dirt roads. I am just starting to do gravel roads etc ,