Rural Fences

The Buena Vista Branch is a relatively simple scene, a few tracks, a mostly dry river, and some hills. There aren't any major structures, no industries, and very little traffic. As a result, I felt it was important to add variety and interest through the detailing. 

As part of this process, I focused on the fences that line Buena Vista Road (now called River Road). I had a few images to work off, including this postcard from 1928.  

Postcard showing Buena Vista Rd as it crosses that PVC RR south of the Spreckels Refinery

Using Berkshire Valley's EZ-Line and some wooden fence posts (scale 4"x8" that I split in half to make 4"x4" posts), I made these barbed wire fences. Slightly tedious, but otherwise fairly easy to build. I varied the number of wires on some of the fences to show some history and variety in construction preferences.

The closer fence has two wires, while the background one has three.

I then built this wooden fence to keep the traffic (horse, buggy, car), on the road and out of the river. It was built with the same strips of wood, individually cut and placed. This was very tedious. I've been slowly adding more India Ink/alcohol stain to the boards, I don't like how light they are. 

All in, this has been a simple project. While I spaced the work out over a number of evenings, this could easily have been done in an afternoon. These small details add another layer to the story, creating a unique scene with a number of elements to discover.

Products used:

Berkshire Junction- EZ Line - Rust Colored "Fine" (0.25 mm diameter)

MIdwest Products - Various strip wood, cut to fit the scene (approx. 4"x4" posts)