The Hills Line is an eight mile industrial spur of the Iowa Interstate Railroad serving the eastern Iowa towns of Iowa City and Hills. This HO Scale version is designed to replicate the practices, policies, and procedures found on the prototype to provide guests and operators a flavor of real-life railroading.
Recent Posts
Static Cling
I’ve previously written about the dual realities of The Hills Line. Long story short, there are elements of the layout that are only present for photographs or videos, and exist for as long as it takes me to create said media. Otherwise they’re kept elsewhere. The two biggest examples are figures and automobiles. My aversion … Continue reading Static Cling
Parking Spaces, Part Three
Finishing up the Johnson County DHS Parking Garage in Iowa City. Since only the top deck is visible, it’s the only one I took the time to add striping for the parking spots. The bottom deck is better left to the imagination. I marked off the individual spots to make sure they would all fit … Continue reading Parking Spaces, Part Three
Parking Spaces, Part Two
With the bulk of the Johnson Country DHS Parking Garage assembled, I can turn to the elevator shaft and stairwell. Despite taking the time to scratchbuild the structure so that it better matches the prototype, including the full stairwell was well beyond either my desire or ability. Luckily this portion of the garage faces away … Continue reading Parking Spaces, Part Two
Parking Spaces, Part One
For the Johnson County DHS Parking Garage, the last structure needed for the Iowa City section of The Hills Line, I decided to attack this project as a series of sub-assemblies. The first segment was the parking deck itself, since it was a relatively straightforward process to design and construct. The concrete portions were made … Continue reading Parking Spaces, Part One
The Hills Line 