Using Blair Line's truck dump, I was able to squeeze this simple coal loader into a very tight corner of the layout.  This gives me the opportunity to use that space for a nice little scene that generates traffic, doesn't look out of place, and will be simple to put together. 

 

The first thing I had to do was partially assemble the truck dump, so that I could get the surrounding scenery built up to the correct level.  In the thumbnail to the left, the stairs, upper deck, and the support next to the track have been temporarily placed to check for fit.  Those items will not be secured permanently until the scenery below them has been installed.  Notice that I built the model with the stairs on the opposite side of the dump than shown on Blair Line's website, so that it would fit better on my layout.

 

For this corner of the layout, I simply used up some of the left-over wood filler instead of spackling compound.  I didn't bother sanding the filler flat, I just simply sanded down any severe peaks or edges.

Since the "structure's" foundation was already in place, ground cover and ballast was added to this scene at the same time as the rest of the layout.

 

In both of these shots, you can see part of the staging below.

The scene then sat around for awhile until I was ready to complete it.  The first step was to build the trunks and branches for the trees to be included in this scene.  Due to the small space, I basically built the trees to fit.  I temporarily setup the truck dump, placed a hopper in the siding, and a large car to check for clearance, and then built four trees to fit the area.  Once I had the copper wire bent up into positions I wanted, I soldered the trunks/branches to make the shape permanent.

I used spring-loaded clothespins to hold the trees while I soldered, painted, and applied foliage.

 

See my tree page for a more detailed explanation of how I build my trees.

After the trees were assembled, I positioned them and checked for clearance one more time.  Once I was satisfied that everything was correct, I glued them into place.

Next, I applied the foliage under and around the truck dump.  Once that was done, I finally permanently mounted the truck dump with some Walther's Goo.

 

Then I applied foliage to fill out the rest of the scene.

To fill out the scene, I used a combination of Woodland Scenic's fine foliage, and clump foliage bushes and underbrush.  When you separate the fine foliage, you tend to end up with some smaller trees and bushes that are mostly bare.  I use some of those in places like shady areas, and I fill the rest out with small pieces of underbrush left over from making trees.  The drive and pathway was simply made from some "buff" ballast.

I am intentionally making the vegetation for this layout rather thick.  But this little scene seems to be an island unto itself, separated from the rest of the layout by a pair of tracks, and the vegetation seems to me to be a little overdone.  Down the line, when the rest of this part of the layout has been completed, I hope that it will blend in a little better, and look less out of place.  And even if it doesn't, I can thin things out afterwards.

 

Once I decide on a technique, I will "dust" the foliage with different colors of fine ground foam, to give some depth to the green color, and eliminate the monochrome look the foliage currently has.

I put together GHQ large dump truck kit to finish out the scene.  You can assemble this kit so that the truck bed can be at any position, from full down to full dump.  These models have alot of great small detail, but all of the fine detail makes the parting molds stand out a bit more.  So taking the time to shave or sand the parting molds so that they are blended well makes a big difference in the final result.  And I really like how these models turn out.

In addition to adding some fine ground foam for color depth in the foliage, I also need to do a little paint touchup on the dump truck, and then weather it, so that it doesn't look like it just came from the dealer's lot.

 

But it's nice to finally get one scene on the layout finished.