I am building a train table for my children and am laying out the roads to pour. My question is this: I have some roads at 2.5", some at 2.25", and two narrow side streets in the downtown area at 2". Is this acceptable? Will it look really bad? I have been on some roads that are like 14 to 16 feet across so I am thinking in the 1950s that were many and somehwere in the U.S. there is still. Does anyone have advice?
Draw them out and put some vehicles on them and see how they look to you. I think for my two lane country road I used about 3 1/2".
Hi lucasmark!
Welcome to the forums!
Congratulations on getting your kids into model railroading.
You may already know this, but something that is common to almost every layout is the concept of "selective compression". In other words, lots of things can't be done exactly to scale. For example, most of us can hardly manage a few feet between towns let alone what the actual scale distance would be. If you were to accurately model two towns only 10 miles apart you would need more than 50' of track!
The same thing applies to roads, and that is effectively what you have already done. If you are concerned, do a mock up as was already suggested. Show that to the kids to see what they think. I'll bet they will be fine with it.
One thing to consider before you pour the roads is the durability of the material you are planning to use. I'm not sure how old your kids are but if they will be actually pushing vehicles on the roads, you might not want something that is prone to cracking or chipping. Lots of modelers use styrene, and you can get it in black so any scratches won't be so obvious.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
lucasmark...and am laying out the roads to pour.
If you're trying to model asphalt, there's a method that doesn't involve the mess of pouring plaster and won't crack. Black craft foam (EVA foam) with gray craft paint sponged on works well. A lot of the work can be done at the workbench.
Steve S.
Easy answer, used in many towns with narrow streets - make those two-inchers one way.
There's a rather well-known prototype for a street fourteen feet from curb to curb. Ever hear of Wall Street - yes, the one in front of the New York Stock Exchange. The subway right-of way below is wider than the street above.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - where the roads were ruts in the mud)
The as-yet-unfinished road (in white) seen here will be less than an inch wide once a too-narrow sidewalk is installed on the far side of the road:
However, from the proper viewing angle (controlled by structure placement and a layout level built above this one), the ruse shouldn't be noticeable:
The option shown below is probably not useful for your situation, but does save space. A country road, meandering into the trees and hills....
...isn't necessarily all that it appears to be...
Wayne
I second the idea of using craft foam to create asphalt streets (and parking lots). I like to glue my foam road surfaces over a base of 0.040" sheet styrene so that I can create realistic grade changes and a crown in the road surface. I use Woodland Scenics Foam Putty to fill joints between foam pieces. This foam also makes it easy to add cracks to the road by simply cutting cracks with a sharp hobby knife, then going over the cracks with a fine point Sharpie to simulate tar sealant.
Getting back to the road width question, I find that 9 scale feet is the minimum lane width that still looks reasonable with a vehicle in place. You will likely find that this 9 scale foot width is a little narrow for trucks but looks fine with autos. You also need to determine whether you need parking lanes or not. Parking lanes need only be around 8 scale feet wide. If you choose to omit parking lanes in an urban scene, don't forget to add "No Parking" signage and/or red painted curbs. Small parking lots behind your structures (with signs directing customers to such parking) make the lack of parking lanes more believable.
Don't forget to force the perspective a little by widening your roads near the layout edge and narrowing them as they approach the backdrop. Models of smaller vehicles (like a sports car) can also assist in the forced perspective if you put the smaller vehicles near the backdrop and larger vehicles (like a truck or bus) nearer the edge of the layout. This may sound like overkill but it is easy to do and adds so much to the look of the road.
Hornblower
hornblower I use Woodland Scenics Foam Putty to fill joints between foam pieces.
You can hide the seam by making it look like a crack that goes across the road. On the backside of one sheet, use an X-acto to scribe an irregular line near the edge. Cut about halfway through the foam, then tear along this scribed line.
Set the other sheet face down on the table. Overlap this piece with the recently torn edge of the other sheet, also face down. Then use the edge of the top piece to scribe a line on the bottom sheet. Tear along that line. Now the two edges should match up perfectly.
You could also do something like the pic below. Use the clean edges of the sheets to make it look like the pavement was cut and patched.
Steve S
Pardon for off-topic, but your night scene is great Mel. Hats off to your intricate skill installing head lights and even tail lights in the vehicles!
Regards, Peter
I've traveled a few roads over the years and can only say they varied a lot in width. Of course it depends greatly on who is building the road..... private, township, county, state, or federal..
I looked into this for my 1959 era layout and ended up placing scale vehicles on a cardboard sheet to see what looked right, and what didn't. Can't go wrong with your own eyeball evaluation.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Steve
What a great way to hide seams in the craft foam road surfaces! Why didn't you tell me this BEFORE I finished my roads!?!?!?!