Question about Snow?

[Munster518]

I just recieved my new CTT today and I was blown away by the pics of the holiday layouts with the snow on them. My question was, is the snow bad for the gears and electronics of the engines? I noticed that the woodland scenics snow is very fine and wound't take much for it to get inside an engine. Otherwise, the snow looks great, but that was my only concern, thanks.

John[:D]

[cnw1995]

It sure is bad - you don't want some of that loose stuff on the tracks. Keep it away from the tracks or at least glue it down... I've used shredded packing paper for snow - and inevitably, if I'm sloppy about it - it gets picked up by the engine - it took me a few days to diagnose a 'hitching' in my prize steamer - that I thought was electrical - only to pick it up to see this paper gummed up in the gears. I've used all three 'types' of snow featured in the article as well as a fourth - cotton balls and rolls.

[wrmcclellan]

We use a lot of the Dept 56 snow on our club layout. Keep it off the track. The fine particles cause the center rail rollers to arc and pit pretty badly - sometimes to the point of the loco will not run until you scrape it off and poli***he rollers. It is not as bad on the drivers as there is more contact.

[waltrapp]

I'm glad to see that someone started this topic because I've been itching to ask something about the snow article.

As a boring reminder, I only have a Christmas temporary layout. I completely dismantle it each year, which means NOTHING can be glued or permanently put in place.

One year I made a snowy scene and used baking soda (or is it baking powder?? whatever Arm&Hammer is). Worked OK but it kind of stuck to roof tops and things. It did wash off but it took a while to clean everything. However, the main thing is that it stayed in place and didn't blow around - remember, it wasn't glued down.

I will be doing a winter scene again this year. A REQUIREMENT is that the 'snow' has to stay in place un-glued. That rules out all of those plastic-type snow products. My front door opens into the living room and the air-rush would blow the light plastic stuff all over. The baking soda stayed in place.

I was wondering about the Woodland Scenics Snow product that was mentioned in the article. Bob used a sifter to apply it, which to me implies that it might be somewhat like a powder.

If you've used it, do you think it would stay put unglued?? If not I'll go back to Arm&Hammer.

thanks - walt

[laz 57]

Last night State College Pa. got 5 inches of the real stuff.
laz57

[Bob Keller]

The Woodlands Scenics snow is pretty heavy, and I think it would take a pretty brisky breeze to move it. Probably somewhat less a hazard to gears than cat/dog hair or carpet fuzz, but you wouldn't want to apply it with a train on the track, or where it could get into gears or lube.

A number of years ago we did a snow scene with the 20th Century Limited pulling away from a camera (and one of my NYC Dash-8 repaints coming toward the camera). We used baking soda for the shot and it really got everywhere and was pretty tough to clean out of all the nooks and crannies. We've never done that again!

The image is still one you see on some of the holiday time subscription cards inserted in the magazine.

[cnw1995]

Bob, I 've had that shot pinned to my bulletin board right above the computer here at work for years. A great shot.

Walt, why not try the cotton rolls? I got a few bags at Dept 56 displays - and also a dollar store. It's more like a snow 'mat' - rolls out easily and you can cut it into shapes. It's all pretty much the same depth - I have to hide the edges against a wall or behind a hedge.

[rlplionel]

Here's what the cotton rolls look like on my layout. It is not glued down and stays in place pretty well. Before I added the track bed, it would sometimes creep toward the track and then get picked up by the locomotive gears. The track bed raised the track enough so that this is no longer an issue.



Robert
http://home.surewest.net/rlplionel/Robert.htm

[cnw1995]

Beautiful, Robert! Here is a picture of mine - my rolls were pretty thin - I could pull them out a bit. ]

[dwiemer]

One problem that comes to mind with baking soda is that it absorbs moisture, so you might think twice if it will get anywhere near the metal parts of your layout or on the trains.

[thor CNJ]

When I do the Ocean Grove show, my "snow" is actually tableclothswith white felt linings. Looks like snow, but flat enough for figures to stand. No trouble with stuff getting int othe gears, and after the show we just wa***hem and save them for next year.

I have also used a sheet of something called "Buffalp snow. Not bad, but not as easy a ground cover sas the tablecloths.

[cnw1995]

Felt makes great snow - in a toy train kind of way - it's flat, very little fuzzy, and white. I forgot about using that - we used to have rolls of it 'left over' from grammar school projects.

[Anonymous]

I just use flat white paint, which I sprinkled with craft store mica while the paint was still wet (do this outdoors so you can cope with the excess). Mica is clear, but reflects lights to make it sparkle. In front of my snow plow, i use a whisp of cotton. Not quite as nice as the ones in CTT, but NO mess or clean-up.

[thor CNJ]

The reason I use the tablecloths is because they are portable and re-usable. They look good, and figures of people and animals wil lstand up on them. We set up a litle farm complete with miniature livestock and the hokeyest farmers ever seen in a to yset. Bought the farm in Rag Ship for $10 - it came ina carry case. This year I'll also be setting up some of the tin soldiers I cast, and a wooden castle I acquired last week. Trains, tin soldiers and little farm sets. And my wife wants to set up a zoo. Every year at the show ,we up the ante with something new.

I also use cheap cotton tree skirt material to make a tunnel for the show - just use cotton and a cardboard box for a disposable tunnel.

[waltrapp]

Back to the Woodland Scenics snow for a minute, OK? Bob said it's pretty heavy. Does that mean that it's not a plastic material but more of some type of powder??

dwiemer: you're comment ("One problem that comes to mind with baking soda is that it absorbs moisture") is why I'm willing to try something else. I believe that's why the stuff stuck to roofs and things the only time I tried a winter scene.

I considered some of the options listed above and I think I prefer a 'pourable' something or other material. I want tire and foot tracks in it, I want to have my 2 snow plow trucks plowing the roads with piles of the stuff in front of the plow with the sides of the already-plowed road piled with snow, I want it sprinkled on some building and vehicle roofs and maybe even light coatings on some people, etc. I don't think the 'sheet' type of suggestions would work well for that.

I guess I could combine materials but since this is a temporary layout and I'm only talking about 4'x5' I just want to put something down and be done with it. I don't often do a winter seen.

thanks - walt