I have two areas on my new layout where I want to model a paved area all the way up to the rail head. What is a good technique for accomplishing this? Should the track still be on corkbed, or should I lower the track so that the "paved area" is not so deep. I want it to be flat vs slopped away from the rail head.
The first area is going to be an intermodel track with a fork lift style loader, so I only need the paved area on one side of the rail. The second area will be an loading area for the auto racks, I have not decided if only one side up to the rail head will be paved or if I will pave it between the rails.
Please offer up any help or suggestions.
Thanks.
i think i would go for total paving for the automobile ramp and one side only on the intermodal facility.
why not look at photos of prototype facilities and see what you like? best i can remember, the facility where i worked used a piggy-packer and the pavement went up to the edge of the cross ties, not all the way to the rail.
i think the cork would be a definite no-no and that the surrounding terrain should be level with the track.
you can use sheet styrene to make the pavement and a little art work will make it look like concrete or pavement of some sort. if you are truly ambitious (more so than me) durhams water putty can be poured and finished like concrete if you build some forms out of stripwood.
just my personal thoughts, i have not done anything like this on my layout yet and the closest i will come will probably be some streets and grade crossings.
Be happy in your work,
Charlie
If you have laid your track on cork already or don't want to deal with sloping it down, you can use foam board for your paved area. I experimented with some of it for a paved road, worked fine. It is just about the same thickness as the cork. If you want your surface closer to railhead height, you could shim it a little. It comes in various size sheets at craft stores. Our Dollar General has some smaller pieces too. If you get a large sheet, 30"x40" you can use it to scratch build structures, make a pad to hold a structure in place, a view block in a building and it is heavy enough to stand up for a scenic divider.
Have fun,
Richard
Have done this w/ styrene, foamboard and my preference, plaster. Much larger areas are better done w/ sheet stock. Just place any shim stock or use the appropriate thickness to get close to railhead height. For full rail crossings you can place wood crossings w/ one strip against ouside rail before paving. Newer crossings are done w/ rubber pads that can be simulated w styrene.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Roads are raised up above the ground for water drainage just like the track is on a raised roadbed. So your road level can be made out of cork or foam core board or some other material that has some thickness to it, to get it up. When the paved road reaches the rails, railroads generally have some type of interface device between the pavement and track, such as timbers or hard rubber mats. Modeling these has an advantage in that you can use them as the interface from your modeled road to the track as well. My roads are slightly higher than the ties, but not as high as the tops of the rails.
Industrial trackwork tends to be on the ground with no roadbed. Thus your intermodal track can be lower than the mainline. For these areas, I tend to use .030 styrene sheet. The handicap plastic signs from the big box stores is just right and cheap. I use it and add some support strips to the outside edges to keep it level. If you track is not straight, you can make a paper pattern of your track by pressing down on a sheet of paper laid over the track making rail impressions, then cutting the track shape out of the plastic.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I would think raising the road or loading area to cork height makes the most sense. You can always trim off the slope on the cork roadbed (or use sheets of cork found at various big box stores).
The treatment next to the track would depends on your local or what you are modeling. I have attached a couple of pictures from Springfield, MA Union Station where pavement is right up to the tracks with rubber spacers between the asphalt and track. Below those pictures are shots from Stafford Springs, CT where wood ties are used next to the track. Notice how close the outer ones are. Using this approach on your layout would make for an interesting transition of road to roadbed/track.
Alan
Co-owner of the proposed CT River Valley RR (HO scale) http://home.comcast.net/~docinct/CTRiverValleyRR/
Yes, yes, you do need the spacers between your pavement and your iron. That is the way it is supposed to be, even a dirt road gets good protection on a main lion!
LION tried it without such protection, and it neither looks as good or works as well.
LION used corrugated cardboard for the concrete apron, and once painted it tried to curve up and derail trains.
LION could tell you what to try, but as him has not tried it who is to say. Outside of the gauge lay a piece of insulated wire against the rail, and then build up to that. Inside of the gauge LION still needs to think about this one. Him likes the idea of the insulated wire, but you do have to keep it away from the rail. Or like the rural North Dakota crossing above, make some pre-fab somethings out foam or plastic.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
For this grade crossing, I used Blair Line (I think) wood pieces. I make my asphalt road surfaces with Durham's Water Putty, a hardware store item:
Here, I used styrene planking between the rails, and brought the pavement up to the rails on the outside.
I'm not this tall. I was changing the smoke-detector battery, so I had a ladder in the trainroom for this overhead shot. These crossings are all done by "paving" with Durham's Water Putty up to the rail heads, and then filling the space between the rail with flat styrene cut to shape. By using the same paint and doing some weathering, the styrene looks pretty much like the roads.
Mostly, my roads are below the tracks by the height of the roadbed, so there's a slope up to the crossing. If you want a flat crossing, raise the roads for some distance on either side. Your trains don't like the elevation change, but your vehicles aren't really going to care.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I like plaster for my in-pavement track. When styrene is used, it looks good, but seeing the ties and spikes in the flangeways kinda bugs me. The one spur that I used styrene on, I filled the gaps with plaster, the cleaned out the flange depth after an hour or so (plaster was firm, but not rock hard).
First time I used plaster, i was very careful while applying, to avoid totally burying the track but found this was not totally necessary. While a little intimidating, you can pour plaster over the tracks, totally burying it, then using a straightedge, screed the pavement to the desired level (keep it below the railheads, or you will scrape your pavement when cleaning the rails). Small notches in the screed will provide a uniform height; then sand when dry to smooth out any irregularities.
Tinting the plaster with cheap craft paint is a good idea, don't worry if all the pavement isn't the exact same tint (if it takes multiple pours), it will get a final topcoat of paint to even everything out; the tint is there so if chipped, a bright white spot won't appear.
Someone used those craft foam sheets for pavement, then spread a thin layer of plaster on top of that. When dry, he lightly pressed on the plaster, flexing the foam underneath, creating realistic cracks. Interesting technique, but I wanted a harder surface (I'm building modules that will get moved-same reason I didn't use drywall compound). The more water you add to your plaster mix, the softer the surface will be when hard. Add a tablespoon or so of vinegar to plaster to slow setting time slightly (and use Cold (refrigerated) water too).
I'd look at Google Maps; bird's Eye View is a great tool to see if your prototype has pavement all around the track, and to get a general idea of what those industries look like from a 'modeler's perspective'. Be careful though, I have spent several hours following tracks around and zooming into different areas to see how they can be modeled. lol
If the plaster pavement is totally messed up, don't panic, it's not set in concrete, it can be chipped away sufficiently to pave over with more plaster or styrene, cardstock, etc. Don't be afraid to try plaster...I was at first.
http://delray1967.shutterfly.com/pictures/5
SEMI Free-Mo@groups.io
I've spent the past week experimenting with this very thing. A while back someone asked about this in this thread, and I experimented with printing a concrete texture onto paper and inserting that between the rails. It could go the full width of the rails without interfering with the flanges.
Since then I've wanted to improve upon that and have been playing with depron foam and craft (EVA) foam. The stuff you get at Michael's and Hobby Lobby is too thick for code 100 rail, but 1mm thick foam should work. I couldn't find any 1mm thick foam locally so I've had to order some from an ebay seller. I used black foam with gray paint sponged on for asphalt, and white foam with spray paint speckled on for concrete. When the 1mm foam arrives I'll try it out and report back.
I'll post a couple of pictures of some of the early tests I did with the thicker foam.
Steve S
Here's a few photos of some early tests. Both the Depron and EVA foam are 2mm, which is too thick. One millimeter should work. I've got some black 1mm EVA coming in the mail that I plan to use for asphalt. The only place I've found that sells 1mm Depron is RCFoam.com. I'm looking around to see if I can find it locally before resorting to them.
(Sidenote: In these tests I've been using Atlas track which has HUGE spike heads which causes the foam to rest on top of them. IIRC, I think that MicroEngineering track has smaller spikes which should help lower the foam a bit. If I can get my hands on some ME track I'll try that.)
Here's Depron painted and washed to look like concrete. The advantage to Depron is that it's got a rough texture that works well for weathered concrete. The disadvantage is that it dents fairly easy.
Here's the EVA craft foam. It has a smoother surface than Depron, which doesn't look as good for streets, but would look good for smooth concrete floors, such as in an engine house.
I'm planning to put up a webpage showing different materials and techniques for modeling pavement. Here's a sneak peek at the plaster concrete I've been working on. It's not really suitable for pavement between the rails, but looks great for ordinary streets.
Tomorrow I'll post some pics of the asphalt I'm working on.
The 2 mm foam will work just fine, but bevel it away from the track and undercut a pocket for the ties. If you could make the cut at a 45 degree angle you would have these two pieces. YOu could try that with a table saw if you could temporarily attach it to the bottom of a board for safe cutting.
I tried beveling it and it didn't work all that well. If all you had was a single road crossing then it might be worth doing it. But if you had a large area (like an intermodal facility) I think it would be a lot easier to use the 1mm. Unfortunately RCFoam.com has a minimum order of 10 sheets.
It will work best if the rail heads are slightly above the paving. This will help keep low-hanging parts on equipment from catching on the pavement, and it will keep you from removing the paint from the road when you clean the track.
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
Schuylkill and SusquehannaIt will work best if the rail heads are slightly above the paving. This will help keep low-hanging parts on equipment from catching on the pavement, and it will keep you from removing the paint from the road when you clean the track.
That's why I've ordered some 1mm and 0.5mm sheets of the EVA foam. It should do okay on code 100 rail. The 0.5mm foam might even work on code 80 N scale track. I haven't been able to find the Depron foam locally in 1mm thicknesses. There's still a couple of places I want to check.
Closed.