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Make Detailed Cypress Tree Stumps

Mosquito Creek Lumber Company’s Climax steam locomotive makes its away across the deep swamp on the way to the logging camp on the author’s On30 narrow gauge model railroad. The cypress stumps are an important scenic detail that helps set the location of this freelanced model railroad.

Make Detailed Cypress Tree Stumps

December 2024by Joseph Kreiss/photos by the author

What would a Louisiana swamp logging railroad be without the towering iconic bald cypress tree? I asked myself that question back at the beginning of my On30 model railroading journey when the concept for the Mosquito Creek Lumber Company, a deep south bayou swamp logging railroad, was born. Besides the rustic hand-laid track, the scratch-built low trestles spanning murky, duck weed-choked swamp waters, I knew I would need to build a lot of trees to make my swamp concept look convincing.

Work on my current 10 by 12-foot spare bedroom freelanced swamp logging layout has progressed to the point that two large sections are now mostly complete with scenery work underway. I am now focusing on building trees and stumps for these areas.

Over the years, from building the initial basement-size layout, to my current compact shelf layout in a spare bedroom, I have experimented with numerous techniques to model the swamp trees. My early attempts to model a cypress tree always seemed to fall flat. They were close, but not close enough. If I was going to build a convincing cypress tree on this smaller pike, I would need to nail the signature cypress flared root system in a realistic manner.

Cypress Stumps

I have amassed dozens of photos of Louisiana cypress trees, the result of many hours spent searching on the internet. The bald cypress spotting features are, of course, the tree’s flared conical root structure and the fact these trees mainly are seen growing in the shallow waters of the deep south Gulf Coast region.

While the mature cypress tree doesn’t compare in size to the mighty old-growth coastal redwoods, which can grow as tall as 300 feet and be as wide as a house, the bald cypress is no slouch. Bald cypress can reach heights of 120 feet with a trunk three to six feet in diameter.

I believe incorporating tree stumps into my swamp forest areas helps to give the illusion of the passage of time. Whether huge, rotting old-growth remnants of the glory days of logging, or smaller diameter recently cut trees, the stumps give these scenes a sense of history.

Cypress Stumps

Inspiration for my tree stumps came after a recent visit to the coastal redwood tree groves of Northern California. I spotted a huge redwood stump that had apparently decayed in the center and was providing ample nutrition for dozens of ferns and a small sapling. Over the years this ancient tree has become one of Mother Nature’s planter boxes. I wanted to model this unique scenic feature, too.

In addition to the cut stumps, trees that break off during powerful wind storms leaving a torn, jagged stump can also bring interest to the scenery. This is especially true if you are modeling the Gulf region like I am, where many trees are tattered survivors of frequent hurricanes.

For my swamp logging layout, I am modeling bald cypress trees. But, with some slight variations, you can use my technique to make stumps of other tree species, such as redwood, pine, or cedar. This building method is suitable for trees and stumps in all scales.

Cypress Stumps

Start With a Dowel
For the cypress stumps (and my full-size modeled trees as well) I start with a hardwood dowel as the core. These dowels come in a wide range of diameters and are easily sourced at your local hardware store, craft stores, or large home improvement centers. The hardwood dowels I use range in diameter from ¾” to the thick 1.25” clothes hanging poles. Those diameter dowels convert to be three to five feet wide in O scale, and a massive nine feetwide in HO scale.

Judging from old photos of cypress logging in the south, most trees were cut where the root cone tapers into the tree’s narrower upper trunk. Typical cypress stumps were usually quite tall after the trees were felled. To get started, I used my power miter chop saw to cut the dowels into lengths of about two to four inches. In O scale these sections of dowel measure from 8-feet up to 16-feet tall.

Adding Character
As a precaution, always wear proper eye, face and hand protection for these next steps. I wanted to add character to a few of the old stumps by hollowing out the center. I securely clamped a dowel into my bench vice and used a power drill fitted with a wood spade bit to help cut away about a half-inch deep of material into the center of the dowel. Depending on the width of the dowel, I used a bit size that was slightly smaller so to leave a thin ring of wood around the top edge…


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This article was posted on: November 14, 2024