Bob,
I should have added that not all trees are mature and smaller ones are fine, especially in the background. But not having some mature trees just looks funny to me, unless you're modeling a Christmas tree farm. Also as Bob said, tree height varies with location. If I was modeling the temperate rain forest of the Pacific Northwest, my trees would need to be a lot taller. Also as you go back in time, your tree mix and size might be different; modeling old growth forests, for example. As far as logging modelers, I agree we need more stumps and slash modeled. Although sometimes the close in trees weren't cut first, other than those were the sawmill and town were located. Dave Heine Easton, PA Sometimes logging modeler From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bob Werre Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 10:29 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: {S-Scale List} Average height of Spruce trees in Alaska/Can.? There are two 'trains' of thought regarding the height of trees for their layouts. This is why I make and sell trees specifically for the customer's needs. I have a 3-rail customer who wants everything 12" or above. On the opposite end it's really hard to actually make something for the N or Z folks that looks good--maybe they'll start making nano-trees. S Scale is really ideal when it comes to things of this nature. And yes, the days of accepting Life Like or Lemax type trees for the layout are hopefully gone forever. However, I do remember the thrill of getting some for Christmas--5 for a dollar! They were about 3" high and had the plastic base--a real bear to get them standing on sloped terrain. One thought is that if you're modeling trees you may want them to the height that Dave is talking about. This is ideal for the shelf type layout where the background is really close. Or if you're modeling a layout with many other considerations you will likely have to compromise and scale back that size. Much of that will depend on how much area you have before you bump into the background wall and what size your mountains are. I have a photo in my train-room that I shot just outside Ogden, Utah. It's a shot of a Eastbound UP train with the really tall mountains the distance. The mountains are moderately full of trees on the lower elevations. However the train, the trees and everything else is tiny compared to the mountains--imagine a N scale train, with HO trees on a garden live-steam scale mountain setting! Just guessing, but I could imagine that mountain being 10-12' in height. As has been mentioned trees at higher elevations are often not much larger than the shrubs in your yard, while further down in the valley's they are the ones used for telephone poles and formerly ship's masts. Trees grown in more southern climates have longer growing seasons; if they're growing in flatter terrain they generally get more water and less rocky soil to deal with. So this will effect what your trees should look like to some degree. It's interesting to see many photos shot in the logging and mining districts. Those areas were stripped clean of anything usable, so sometimes I debate logging Shays snaking around really tall beautiful stands of trees. Loggers generally went after the easy wood first and that would be growing right next to the tracks. In fact those trees would have likely been made into the ties for the track and mine supports. Another thing can be said for small trees. I was visiting my home country of the Dakota's in winter. I was somewhat surprised at the small size of the deciduous type trees that were sprinkled around the prairies. Without the fullness of the leaves, they were likely not over 15" in height. A short growing season, sparse rain and the occasional ice storm as kept them small and wild looking. Bob Werre PhotoTraxx On 7/23/12 8:07 AM, David Heine wrote: IMHO, most model railroad trees are too small for mature trees. Just look at the trees around the area. For trees in the 60'-95'range you wind up with a tree 12"-18" tall. I have seen an O scale modeler model 150' trees which looked neat and yes, they were 3' tall. Dave Heine Easton, Pa -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:[email protected] <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of empirebuilderjjhill Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 7:01 AM To: [email protected] <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: {S-Scale List} Average height of Spruce trees in Alaska/Can.? Hi Jace, >From what I've read, White Spruce regularly reach heights of 90 feet, with some topping out at 130 feet, Black Spruce regularly reach heights of 50 feet with some reaching 90 feet and Sitka Spruce can reach heights of 315 feet with most mature trees measuring over 200 feet in height. Putting the Sitka aside for a moment, would you say that most trees in Alaska and Canada range from 40-80 feet in height? I ask because, being used to the 8-foor (scale) pipe cleaner "Christmas Trees" the truck I cut for one of these trees looks ridiculously large. ~James~ ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links
