Grade crossings

[Anonymous]

First, how many here use grade crossings with signals?

And second, for those who do, do you cut your roadbed and fit the crossing in between and connect the rails OR do you place your crossings on top of your existing roadbed (to keep trackwork level) and then build up your roads. etc. to meet the crossing? Thanks-

[cacole]

We have two multi-track road crossings with electric signals on the Cochise & Western Model Railroad Club's HO scale layout, and five without signals. Of the protected crossings, one has flashing crossbucks and bell, and the other has the flashing crossbucks, bell, and crossing gates. For all, I built up the roadway at the approach and crossings with plaster, painted to look like asphalt. After the plaster was dry, a Dremel cutoff wheel was used to open up the flangeways.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cacole

We have two multi-track road crossings with electric signals on the Cochise & Western Model Railroad Club's HO scale layout, and five without signals. Of the protected crossings, one has flashing crossbucks and bell, and the other has the flashing crossbucks, bell, and crossing gates. For all, I built up the roadway at the approach and crossings with plaster, painted to look like asphalt. After the plaster was dry, a Dremel cutoff wheel was used to open up the flangeways.

Cacole, did you lay your crossings on top of your roadbed in between your track? Or did you cut away the roadbed in place where you put your crossings?

[cacole]

The plaster was just poured over the cork roadbed. I used 20 minute Casting Plaster, which does not crack as it dries, and can be smoothed and formed as it sets. Pieces of sheet balsa wood held in place with pins were used to hold the plaster in place. After the plaster was dried, the roadway edges were formed with a utility knife.

[cwclark]

I like to use light gray matte board for road crossings...I paint them with a mixture of indian ink and alcohol to show grease and oil stains on the road, lay striping with dry transfer 1/64" white or yellow striping decals from woodland scenics then cut the pieces to fit and glue them to the inside and outside rails...looks good when i'm done...cacole's idea of plaster works well too..i do that method if it's a country road crossing..it works best with the plaster diluted with water more than the 2 :1 mixture called for when mixing plaster..once the pour is made I take an old rolling stock truck and run it back and forth over the rails until the plaster sets so that it creates a flangeway between the rail and the plaster....chuck[:D]

[Fergmiester]

I use flashing lights. I will be making up additional crossing lights using a $5 circuit used fro a minature christmas light string used on minature houses.

As for the crossing grades them selves, well I haven't gotten that far. I suspect some will be dirt road crossings. I'll be using wood for the roadway.

[chutton01]

In the modern era of prototypical grade crossings, I notice a lot of the new/rebuilt ones tend to be level with the road - in other words, there is no hump (or not very much of one) in the road - either the road and rails are pretty much at the same elevation througout (most common, and easier in the real world of 3-D elevations than flat plywood layout-land), or the road very gradually rises up to the rail level, and then goes down (not all that common) - either way, there is not the noticable abrupt hump associated with just putting plaster over already elevated track and roadbed (that's not to say there aren't these kinds of humped crossings aournd - rather, they are eventually being replaced so trucks don't get caught on the incline, and cars don't bottom out).
Personally on a module I plan to built next spring, grade crossings will be the Walthers rubber mats (on main roads), asphalt colored plaster (with guard rails containing the plaster between the gauge) on secondary roads, and spurs sunk into dirt (the surrounding land is elevated via thin foam to the height of the trackage, then a thin layer of ground cover/sifted dirt covers the whole area including tracks, and adjacent road/lot/etc) - plus weathering, detailing, scenicing etc.
Searching around on this board, I found something I completely forgot about, although I have seen it quite a bit recently with track replacement projects:

"Modern day grade crossings on the UP (formerly SP) Sunset Route through SE Arizona are pre-stressed concrete cast inside an angle-iron framework. How they prepare the roadbed and crossties under these crossings, is unknown, because I have never been there when they were installing them; however, when you consider the height of the rail, the concrete could be 5 or 6 inches thick."

Dang, I better head out to the RVRR reconstruction in Cranford - they have several of these precast units installed, and I better measure and take photos before they install the remainder of the tracks and cover up the ends with dirt and ballast.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all for the replies, this has been helpful for me.