Lineas Cubanas

Thanks for the words of encouragement and good to hear the back scene seems to be working!

Thank you both for your kind comments! I will try not to.....with the weather in Bath currently, there's no option but to work on the railroad! As its the new year, its probably a good time to take stock and make a list of what still needs to be done..... This is where we are at currently:

As discussed in the post above, I have now addressed the Cortas Manufacturing Company "Team Track" As a reminder, here it is on the track plan, front left of the layout: I used the photo above titled "The Bread Seller" as a guide....to be honest, I am more of a kit basher than a scratch builder so used this kit by French manufacturer A&P (Architecture & Passion) as a starting point: And this is the progress to date .......(obviously need to straighten the telegraph pole!) And the overall look of the left side of the layout......

Yes, good spot.......although it hasn't popped out to me in real life on the layout...... Vehicles are on the list to be weathered

More test fitting/experimenting with colours...... Getting there......... but not there yet!

I will need to change the layout's lighting to UV in order for these to flourish......

Thank you Thanks for the feedback Yes, I agree test fitting these bushes has made me realise that I need to arrange a transition from "The Green Line" to the yellows and browns of the surrounding scenery by using light, medium and dark greens including a more "yellow light green" I should think....

Test fitting the vegetation for "The Green Line" I have created a problem for myself.........(well created a problem in my head at least)...... Genius here..... decided that the vegetation on the layout would be best suited as yellow/orange/brown to match the dark greys of the back scene.......now I am not sure if the green vegetation will look incongruous with the other colours..... I cannot really have "The Green Line" without it being green!

How it started...... How its going......

I have found plenty of photos on Alamy to use as "inspiration" .......... Ruins of Downtown Beirut Martyrs Square Checkpoint Crossing of the Green Line 1989

I am going to leave the right hand side of the layout (and the exit to the staging yard) for the time being and address “The Green Line” area at the opposite end...... THE GREEN LINE The Green Line was a line of demarcation in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990. It separated the mainly Muslim factions in predominantly Muslim West Beirut from the predominantly Christian East Beirut controlled by the Lebanese Front. However, as the Civil War continued, it also came to separate Druze from Alewite, and Sunni from Shia. At the beginning of the Civil War, the division was not absolute as some Muslims lived East of the Green Line and some Christians lived in West Beirut but as the Civil War continued, each sector became more homogenous as minorities left the sector they were in. The appellation refers to the coloration of the foliage that grew because the space was uninhabited. While most commonly referred to as the "Green Line" it was also sometimes called the "Demarcation Line". It generally stretched from the North of Beirut to the South, and the primary street that followed the Green Line was Damascus Street. There was no formal line or continual security but it was common to see militia checkpoints that people crossing at particular points had to go through and snipers on top of buildings were common. Many of the buildings along the Green Line were severely damaged or destroyed during the war. Since the end of hostilities, however, many of the buildings have been rebuilt within the framework of the urban renewal project of Solidere in Beirut Central District. (Wikipedia) Here is a video that particular illustrates the damaged buildings and areas surrounding The Green Line in Downtown Beirut :

Agreed....going to have to combine quite a few things due to the height of the hole and the limited space due to the road width

Yes, but I think the height of the containers might be too high?.......am aware sharp increases in height in tight spaces can be visually jarring but am off to test fit it and see how it looks Thanks for the suggestion

Thanks for this.....something I need to consider

Yes, am liking the idea of pipe bridge/gantry, it needs something like that as I think I have made the entrance hole to the fiddle yard a bit too big.... This would work also with the prototype oil facilities found in Dowra on the map above....pipes, tanks etc

Thanks for the suggestions I have considered the advertising hoarding : it is a possibility but not sure if it will hide enough of the entrance to the fiddle yard? My default option so far during construction has been a lorry but as you can see from the photo below its just not big enough to hide everything (or the I have made the hole too big!) I agree that if I build an engine shed over the interchange track, its going to limit the train length for that siding considerably.....

Thanks both..... Am considering the following to hide the entrance into the fiddle yard: 1) Overbridge - not really enough room with the position of the apartment block 2) Scenic Tree Break - may work but am not sure what a load of trees are doing in the middle of the road? 3) Building eg Cafe - don't really have anything left over that fits the space and it may obscure the street level businesses too much If I use the interchange track (as well as the road space) I could possibly : - Scratch build an Engine Shed scene like the one at Furn El Shebbak yard...... - Scratch build an Oil Facility scene as they are numerous in Dora (area of East Beirut the layout is situated)..... Food for thought.......still test fitting what will look best in the space (or indeed whether its best to leave it as it is) Any feedback/thoughts are always welcome......

Thanks again......had to address the "cracking" as soon as possible as it was starting to annoy me....... Still need to address the back gardens of the French Style houses..... I am beginning to think the "great hole in the sky" needs something in front it to disguise the entrance to the fiddle yard.....not sure what exactly as the road ends abruptly at the back scene in front of it...... I am going to leave it for a while, come back and see how I feel about it ....going to move onto the other end of the layout and address " The Green Line"

Thanks for your kind comments and words of encouragement! There is a "glimmer of hope" on the "brooding" backscene where the sun is starting to shine through....... This area is the spur between the concrete fences to CalTex Oil Co The spur runs behind the apartment block into staging......the fences need to be extended and the gardens finished at the back of the French style houses There seems to have been an "Earthquake".......have totally messed up the baseboard join by not putting something more solid at each end (of the boards) such as a wood strips and have relied on styrofoam which is far from ideal.....

Ok .......so here we have the siding to the left and behind the wall that will lead to Cortas Manufacturing Company (Canning & Refrigeration). I haven’t quite decided what the industry/buildings will look like. Initially, I was using a N scale building I had spare, thinking it would work but it just didn’t! So I am heading towards using this prototype photo as a guide ……… I think its realistic to assume some of the Cortas buildings have been badly war damaged and this track is used more like a "Team Track" for many businesses and industries in East Beirut. You will note that the wall has posters on it. These are/were very common in Beirut. This photo is from before the war in early 1970s: When the war started the use of posters escalated considerably as they represented: “the struggle for Lebanon which raged on its streets. From 1975 to 1990, different factions in Lebanon's civil conflict flooded the streets with posters to mobilize their constituencies, undermine their enemies, and create public sympathy for their cause. The posters displayed a dramatic clash of cultures, ideologies and meanings." From: Off the Wall (Political Posters of the Lebanese Civil War) by Zeina Maasri I have number of posters to add to the many buildings and walls etc but am in the process of researching what was most likely seen in East Beirut. I am using this book to help me which also contains an excellent and succinct biography for the war:

Here's my progress on the roads:

Here is my interpretation of the "Ashrafieh" district with the buildings weathered and some details added: Am moving onto the roads next to give this area a break.... The building on the left in the above photo is actually N scale and a temporary stand in as I have not decided what I am actually going to put here to represent Cortas Manufacturing Company (Canning & Refrigeration)

Hahaha.....am afraid it's already gone to the Great Billboard in the sky......namely covered with a suitable Lebanese advertisement I may have another Cuban one that you can have if needed? And also have some vehicles : namely the horse and cab in the photo above posted November 14 and some 1950s vehicles..... I am not sure what I have left.....let me know if you are looking for anything specific

Thanks, am heading in the right direction which is good to know...... Not really, as I cannot seem to enlarge it enough to see any detail Thanks for this link as it has also allowed me to re discover Borre Ludvigsen "The Railways in Lebanon" site. His original site had disappeared from the internet some time ago and has obviously been uploaded to the archives of AUB. For anyone interested in the Railways of Lebanon, both standard gauge and narrow gauge, it contains the most comprehensive coverage including maps, info and photos. Some key pages below: Home Page https://lib-webarchive.aub.edu.lb/BorreLudvigsen/https://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/385/railways/index.html Rolling Stock https://lib-webarchive.aub.edu.lb/BorreLudvigsen/https://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/385/railways/stock/index.html Branches https://lib-webarchive.aub.edu.lb/BorreLudvigsen/https://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/385/railways/branches/index.html

That's good to know as I came to the same conclusion and have already purchased two. They are sitting on my workbench waiting for the Xmas Holidays when I hope to address my rolling stock...... Again, I have purchased the following: They just need to go into the "shops" and come out like this: Photo: Borre Ludvigsen