War on several fronts

New ship visits Burnside's Wharf

 Work progresses on parallel fronts.

The scenery at Burnside Wharf is almost done. This includes a new ship that I painted on the backdrop.  This took about 3 hours to paint, proving the adage that the easiest way to have a ship on your layout  is on the backdrop. I plan to add a few more ships to the scene on the backdrop.

I also started building the Provost Marshall's Office. This small building acts as the station for Aquia Landing. Any person that wants to ride the train needs a pass from the Provost Marshall.

I decided to place this building next to the wye turnout at the base of the Aquia  Landing wharf. This will allow me to replicate the scene in the prototype image fairly closely, even though I don't copy the track and building arrangement at Aquia Landing exactly.

I had to remove a few inches from the siding behind the PM building to make room, but that track is still long enough for several cars. This will be the track where the passenger cars are spotted.

Burnside's Wharf Completed

Switching cars on Burnside's Wharf

Some of Brian's figures

The people have spoken! The warehouse was voted off the wharf. Tonight I finished the planking and added a few details, including some figures from  Brian Kammerer's artwork.

For now, I can declare victory on this part of the project and move on to the next job. I can come back later and add more details, such as more figures, lines, additional ships in the background, chocks etc.

Decisions, decisions!

I was adding the decking to Burnside Wharf when Alicia took a look at the work in progress.  She said she thought the scene looked better without the warehouse on the wharf.   The actual Burnside Wharf did not have any warehouses on the pier. Omitting the warehouse would be more prototypical.

So, I thought I'd give it a try. I first finished painting the portions of the ship that were hidden by the warehouse.  Then, I took two comparison photos. What do you think -  with the warehouse or without?

If I don't place the warehouse on the wharf, I do have another place on the layout where I can use it.