In HO scale, how wide should roads be...

[railroadinmedic]

In HO scale, how wide should roads be...Versus the tracks?

Also, what is the best materials to use to make paved roads?  Gravel roads?

As normal, Thanks in advance to all who respond!

[tstage]

Carl,

For paved roads, there are several ways to do it.  I like using rolled cork sheeting that comes with the adhesive backing and cut it to the appropriate width.  I picked the cork sheeting up at Office Max.  It comes in 18 x 36 rolls and costs $6-8?  Cutting curved sections will be the most challenging.

To fill in the gaps in the cork, I use a thin layer of vinyl spackle.  Apply the spackle, let it dry, sand it lightly, apply another thin layer, let that dry then sand it lightly again.  For painting the road surface, I found that grimy black works very nicely for a slightly weathered asphalt look.

Carl, hope that helps...

Tom

[railroadinmedic]

Hey Tom, thanks for the info on the rolled cork..I will check that out when I get to a hardware store next time. 

So, could you tell me, what is the width of your roads for an HO layout?

[selector]

I would think that a back lane, the kind between back yards in older areas of town (1920-1960) would be in the order of 1.5" at their widest.  On a secondary road or a street, the lanes would be near to 1.5" wide, so a two-lane highway and a modern street would be a bit under 3" across, perhaps as little as 2.75".   You can find thin foam strips that are sticky on one side...foam tape I guess...and it makes good sidewalks.  Their widths will have to be added to the road/street if you intend to use them. 

[loathar]

The 2 lane blacktop road in front of my house is 24' wide not including the shoulders.(2-12' lanes) 24'x12" devided by 87 works out to 3.31" for a HO road. I personally think that looks WAY too wide. I make mine about 2.5"-2.75".My

[tstage]

Hey Tom, thanks for the info on the rolled cork..I will check that out when I get to a hardware store next time. 

So, could you tell me, what is the width of your roads for an HO layout?

Carl,

I'll have to double-check that when I get home.  I think for a 2-lane rural road I had it at 2-3/4" (HO). 

The 24' width that Loathar mentioned is accurate for modern roads.  That comes to ~3-1/3".  I agree with Loathar.  For me, that's a little wide for my taste.  So, that's why I chose 2-3/4".  Unmarked roads (i.e. no lines) could be 2-1/2".

Tom

P.S. Carl, I forgot to mention that the 18 x 36" cork rolls are ~1/16" thick. 

[Anonymous]

I just put down a 14" or so long grey colored gravel road from a Power Station crossing over two tracks to the roundhouse yard that was about 2.25" wide.  I have a slight crown in it with rocks and weeds on the sides.  For the track crossing I will use styrene inserts weathered to look like wood planks.

If it were much wider, I don't think it would have looked very convincing (not that anything I do is that convincing to begin with ).

[bogp40]

For rural roads that wander throughout the layout, I find that 3" average works about right. A good rule of thumb, especially if space is limited, is to make the road wide enough for 2 scale trucks to pass. I use dyed plaster and lay the plaster with a 3" putty knife. I flex the blade and allow a crown in the plaster.

City streets where there will be various lanes, parallel parking, curbs and sidewalks, your best to scale and do a layout first. Some modeler's license may be used, but you can't vary too much or the scene can be thrown off. In the pics below the roads were made to the width of the bridge. Other roads vary from 4-41/2"

[Anonymous]

BogP40 -

Wow! That is a great layout, thanks for sharing... 

 

[MisterBeasley]

This is Main Street, when it was still under construction in the background.  It's 3 inches wide, curb-to-curb.  I made the street with a thin coat of Durhams Water Putty, and painted it with gray acrylic in a wash to make the coloring less than perfectly uniform.

 

This is the cross street, Penny Lane, looking into the same intersection.  It's only 2 1/2 inches wide.  In this case, it was a choice between the road and the sidewalk, and I chose the sidewalk for that extra half inch.

The sidewalks are made of thin styrene, painted "rainy day gray" which is a touch lighter.  I drew the sidewalk lines on with a pencil.

This is a Rix highway bridge.  It's just about 3 inches wide, which I used for the road width here because I didn't have any particularly tight space constraints.  Again, it's Durhams Water Putty.

You can click on any of these pictures to blow them up for a better view.

 

[tstage]

Carl,

I checked my road width and I did use 2-3/4" for my rural 2-laner.  I also have a smaller 2-1/2" wide road coming off of it perpendicularly.

What you might try, Carl, is cutting various road widths out of 8-1/2 x 11" pieces of paper and seeing how they look to you on your layout.  If you have them, use a couple of cars and place them on the road to get some perspective.

I made some road templates in Word that I would be more than glad to e-mail to you, if you want.  Just let me know.

Tom

[jeffrey-wimberly]

My roads measure between 3.5 to 4 inches wide and are made of plaster.

[ShadowNix]

bogp40,

HOLY COW!!! Nice layout, man.  Where you been hiding the pic's!!!! SWEET roads, as well as the rest of the layout!  Kudo's to you!

Brian

[loathar]

BogP40 -

Wow! That is a great layout, thanks for sharing... 

 

No doubt! That things SWEET!!! Excuse me while I go spit on mine.

[bogp40]

BogP40 -

Wow! That is a great layout, thanks for sharing... 

 

No doubt! That things SWEET!!! Excuse me while I go spit on mine.

Hey guys, not so fast, this is my club layout www.ssmrc.org for more info. It is a product of a many years and many members hard work. I don't even touch the benchwork and I'm a finish carpenter. I go there to enjoy myself and do scenery, bridges etc.  And run trains of coarse!

PS: none of the scenery in those pics is mine, that was done by other talented people.

[tomikawaTT]

The 2 lane blacktop road in front of my house is 24' wide not including the shoulders.(2-12' lanes) 24'x12" devided by 87 works out to 3.31" for a HO road. I personally think that looks WAY too wide. I make mine about 2.5"-2.75".My

If you model roads to true scale width, the result will be to shrink your layout!  Miles will quickly become yards, and yards will shrivel to feet.

Here are some urban road widths, southwestern/modern city:

• Street in a subdivision - 45 feet wide (6 and a little inches in HO).
• Two lane (plus turn lane) through street with parking - 60 feet (8+ inches).
• Four lane (plus turn lane) through street, no parking or safety lanes - 60 feet.
• Four lane major street, center island and wide safety lanes - 85 feet (almost 12 inches).

And some rural roads, southwest:

• Typical two lane; 26 feet of pavement, plus 8 foot unpaved shoulder on each side, 40 feet total between ditch lines (5+ inches).
• Texas two-lane; 40 feet of pavement, plus 10 foot unpaved shoulder - 60 feet total.
• Interstate; 36 feet of pavement and 10+ feet of unpaved shoulder in each direction, plus median, easily 2 feet or more in HO!

Pretty obviously, selective compression and forced perspective are absolutely necessary.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with very few roads)

[loathar]

Quote-Typical two lane; 26 feet of pavement, plus 8 foot unpaved shoulder on each side, 40 feet total between ditch lines (5+ inches).

They don't know what shoulders are in this part of Tn. 1' of gravel and a 4' deep ditch on each side. You should see the roll over wrecks in the junk yards here.

[tomikawaTT]

Quote-Typical two lane; 26 feet of pavement, plus 8 foot unpaved shoulder on each side, 40 feet total between ditch lines (5+ inches).

They don't know what shoulders are in this part of Tn. 1' of gravel and a 4' deep ditch on each side. You should see the roll over wrecks in the junk yards here.

Now you know why I left Tennessee   (Used to live in Ashland City.)

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)