Tunnels

[Anonymous]

Hi;

I'm new here and was looking for some help on how to build a tunnel on a HO scale layout. Any tips or links would be greatly appreciated. Thanks[:)]

[jwmurrayjr]

Well...

That's a pretty general question. Kalmbach has some good scenery books that deal with tunnel construction. That's a good place to start.

Otherwise you just "box" in the runnel area and build scenery on top of it. Be sure to provide for track access for the inevitable occasional problem that will occur in the tunnel while running trains.

[Anonymous]

If your tunnel mouth is on a straight track there should be no clearance problems, but be VERY careful if the approach and exit are on curves, as some rolling stock and very large locomotives have surprisingly large overhangs. Before you finally build the tunnel mouth into your scenery, make sure that there is sufficient clearance on the inside AND the outside of each track. Some long modern coaches and wagons take up a lot of sideways room on shorter radius curves!

[cwclark]

I build my tunnels from scratch..first i build a jig on a flat piece of sanded plywood ... I take three pieces of 1/2" x 3/4" wood and drill holes in them to be held in place by sheet rock screws....position the three boards in a "U" shape and screw them into the plywood....now to form the tunnel itself...I take 1" strips of cardstock and tape them together so that they fit inside the "U" shaped frame....I bend them into a curve shape to form the contours of the inside of the tunnel and gently hammer nails against the cardstock to hold them in place...I then mix enough plaster of paris to complete the tunnel and pour it into the mold I just created (add a few strips of gauze to the pour for added strength) ..I let it sit overnight and in the morning I very gently pull the nails and unscrew the sheetrock screws and remove the wood frame from the tunnel...I then sand it smooth, then take a hobby knife, and etch out a stacked rock or brick pattern on the front side of the tunnel...it takes a long time to build one but to me it's fun to do....just remember to be very gentle with the plaster..it breaks easily and one false move and you get to start all over...Chuck[:D]