Scenery must depict realistic, commonly found rail-oriented scenes, with prototype locations preferred. Scenery must allow hand-cleaning of all tracks using a "track eraser" type cleaner. Materials and techniques are free.
For basic scenery: Initial layer of Woodland Scenics #T44 Burnt Grass with #63 light green sprinkled lightly over top as accent colour/texture. This is a base color allowing ends of modules to match and flow together. Feel free to blend this color into your scene.
Suggestion: Midwestern/Western scenes should be modeled. From the heartland to the Foothills and everything in between. Example: Rolling hills, valleys, small towns with false front buildings, typical industries for the area, junctions, prairie scenery with a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees, etc. Modeling real scenes is encouraged with no need to compress too much into a module.
Ballast must be "fine Woodland Scenics B1393 "Gray Blend Fine (shaker bottle)". Modules 12 feet or longer may use other ballast colors (to match a prototype locale, for example), but must transition to the standard ballast at module ends.
A flat horizontal scenery profile is used at module ends. Scenic "ground level" at module ends is nominal 3/8" below top of rails (see sketch in Section 3.0). Landscaping along the module ends must be designed to smoothly flow into adjacent modules - avoid features such as roads, lakes, and so forth from running against the module ends (see INTER-MODULE JOINT TREATMENT, below).
Suggestion: Using HO cork roadbed under mainline track to meet the 3/8" ground level guideline.
Note: scenic contours within a module between the flat end profiles are free (i.e. entire module does not have to be flat; in fact table-top flat modules are discouraged).
Polyfiber covered with fine ground foam (i.e. Woodland Scenics "turf" material) to simulate undergrowth "thickets" is temporarily placed over joints during a setup, in random patterns, shapes, and colors. This technique hides the joints and transitions scenery from module to module. Polyfiber thickets must be placed clear of the track right-of-way. Any other ?bushy? thicket type of removable scenery will be acceptable as long it is compatible colour-wise with the scenery at the ends of the modules. See "Required Items" further on in this document.
No backdrop is allowed as modules are viewed from either side and are also meant to be reversible.