I tried to create a grade crossing using Woodland scenics Road System Learning Kit. Results below.
I used stencils for the double yellow line (I think Foscale).
The "shack" is a kit from Bar Mills. I think? prototype purpose was for a person to ensure intersection safety before automatic gates and signals?
Not all grade crossing kits are alike. The Woodland scenics are pretty short - I think about 2.5". Blair Lines are about 3.5 inches I believe.
I think it came out fairly well. I certainly learned quite a few things doing this:
Plaster air bubbles. The plaster for the road suffered from a lot of air bubbles. I mixed the water into the plaster - wrong! I learned that you should slowly mix the plaster into the water. I think I should have also used some wetting agent (soap or isoproply alchohol) to further remove water surface tension and reduce air bubbles.
Create a more gradual ramp up to the track. On on side I did this, on the other side it looks more like a ski jump. :( Lesson learned. I also wonder if I should have not even used roadbed at all?
Mount the crossbucks and power relay on some sort of "concrete" platform, either cardstock or styrene. I realize the power relax box "ain't prototype" in this scenario but I just wanted to try putting one together and putting it in a scene. (Details West) item.
I used real sifted dirt and flock grass. I think those came out OK. I'm going to add a 50's style billboard in the "vacant" corner and some cows behind the fence.
This was an experiment to learn some new skills. Mistakes were made but I'll know better next time!
Pretty nice for a practice attempt and you've already discovered a few things to do differently next time. Your shed looks very nice and while I agree that the crossbucks and relay box should be on concrete pads, there is nothing to stop you from adding those concrete pads. Your ground cover techniques are taking shape quite well. Overall, your scene is just as good as many modules I've seen at train shows.
I also try to avoid "ski jump" approaches at my rail crossings. My technique for roads is a little different in that I use styrene sheet (cut from a 4'x8' sheet to avoid seams) to form a roadbed. I use styrene strips to gradually shim up the styrene roadbed as it approaches a rail crossing. Don't forget a centerline shim strip to form a crown in the road. I use adhesive caulk to glue the styrene to the layout surface. I next cut pieces of Creatology Fun Foam (a 2mm thick sheet of craft foam) to fit atop the the styrene roadbed. If you do this prior to gluing down the styrene, you can use the styrene as a cutting template to ensure the foam pieces fit well. I use a spray adhesive to glue the Fun Foam to the styrene roadbed. Unfortunately, the Fun Foam is not readily available in 4'x8' sheets (at least I have not seen it offered that way) so I have to deal with seams. I have found that Woodland Scenics Foam Putty works well to fill and hide seams. I typically spray the road surface with gray automotive primer which gives a pretty good look of sun-bleached asphalt. I have tried paint pens, stencils and painter's tape to create striping. I cut a "railroad crossing" stencil from thin styrene sheet and have found that patient dabbing with an almost dry paint sponge gives the best results. I again use styrene sheet to fabricate sidewalks and either glue the sidwalks directly atop the Fun Foam or at least overlapping the edge. I next create gutters by placing strips of painters tape atop the painted Fun Foam road surface about a scale foot from the sidewalk curbs. I then use caulking applied with my finger to coat the space between the painter's tape and the curbing (a wet finger helps enormously). This gives a thin gutter edge along the masking tape plus fills any gaps between the styrene curbs and the road surface. After letting the caulking dry, I paint the sidewalks and gutters with a concrete color prior to removing the painter's tape. At this point, I weather the road surface using an airbrush and Pan Pastels. Finally, I use a hobby knife to cut cracks in the road surface and apply "tar" over the cracks using a fine tip black marker. The overall effect is pretty convincing.
Keep praticing until you are happy with your results and don't be afraid to remove stuff you don't like and try again. You'll only get better and better! Good job and good luck!
Hornblower
I think it looks very nice. While as modelers we should aim for the ordinary I have certainly driven my car over some ski jump crossings especially in rural aeas of Illinois. Supposedly there are standards for such things, either railroad standards or highway standards, that avoid the ski jump as well as the valley that invites sliding your car onto the rails in ice or snow, but obviously there are exceptions that prove the rules!
Depending on era the shack for the crossing watchman was usually for pretty busy crossings and out in the boonies the crossbucks alone were deemed sufficient. Going way back even crossings with bells and gates needed a shanty and watchman because those were hand operated.
One thing to think about with grade crossing details and other details that snuggle up pretty close to the ROW and that is vulnerability to damage while cleaning track or doing local switching and such. Some guys make the details mounted into the scenery but NOT glued or attached so that they can be plucked out for track cleaning or will simply fall out rather than break off if an errant elbow hits them. Guys who host enough operating sessions tend to develop a very good sense of how to anticipate the clumsiness and mount things in ways that save the details.
Dave Nelson
Fantasc work on the 1st attempt. Your efforts are quite realistic. Thanks for sharing the pictures, techniques, and inspiring me to try something new also!
I looked online about how others make grade crossings. Here's an interesting article from trains.com https://www.trains.com/mrr/how-to/prototype-railroads/six-grade-crossings-you-can-model/. It references an MR article from Apr 2017 that's quite detailed and helpful. The problem is finding BLMA concrete since not available online. Suggestions pls? Use stryne sheets?
Modeling a rural VA scene, a grade crossing is quite realistic. I too am curious how to avoid the "ski jump" inclines.
Here are a few more...
...a better view...
This one shows an incident which occurred at the crossing shown above...
...the vehicle's two occupants escaped unharmed, but several caged chickens were not so fortunate.
Here's the vehicle in earlier times...
Wayne