Give me steam locomotives or give me DEATH!
Berkshire Junction, bringing fourth the cry of the Iron Horse since 1900.
I'm sure there are others but you might take a look at Scenic Express and see what they have.
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/products.asp?dept=1153
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Berk765 wrote:Can anyone tell me the best way of building a road without using messy plaster? I've thought about using the black foam roadbed. Does anyone have a kit available for roads? Any suggestions would be appreciated guys and gals. Thanks
We used gray paint for our paved street. Seldom in real-life do you see black asphalt roads.
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
I took black paint and HO ballast and mixed them together. I then painted a country road with this mixture and sprinkled on some more dark gray ballast. After it dried, I used one of my die cast automobiles and put ruts and skid marks in road.
If I do a highway, I might do something similiar. I think a wall paper roller would smooth the pavement. Remember to put yellow solid and dashed lines in the center and white lines on the edges. Also remember there are other things painted on the road besides yellow and white lines.
You might get some ideas for signs and pavement markings from: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/traffic/publication%20manuals/omutcd/2005OMUTCD/03_Part%2002_111705_final.pdf
Scroll down the document to find the signs. It is a big file.
Also, put some guard rail at the curves.
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
I used black foamboard. I taper the berm then glue the road in place. Take water mixed white glue and paint the tapered berm and sprinkle fine sand on the berm. Once dry I take white blackboard chalk and color the foamboard then clean off the chalkdust to leave a gray irregular color effect.
I use printed paper. I'm not going for the realistic look. But if I was, I'd find nice asphalt and concrete patterns, print long strips, and lay them down where I need roads and sidewalks. I used 1/8" Masonite for the curbs.
You can get suitable textures for free at http://www.cgtextures.com/
I would recommend using a laser printer rather than an inkjet, since the surface of a layout is a pretty harsh environment for a computer printout. A laser print will easily last 35 years (likely more, but the technology hasn't existed much longer than that so life beyond that is purely theoretical). Depending on the printer and ink, an inkjet print might last a decade, but the worst case scenario is that it could fade in less than a year.
A print won't have as much physical texture as other methods, but when I look at the texture in the concrete and asphalt outside my house, the texture would be almost smooth if I scaled it all the way down to 1:48 anyway. So I would argue that a smooth-to-the-touch texture isn't unrealistic, as long as it looks like concrete or asphalt.
Now, from my own experience: It took me about an evening to lay down the Masonite on my 8x8 layout (including lifting up the track and sliding the pieces under it). With someone helping me, it probably would have taken less than an hour. Laying down my prints took 2-3 hours. With help, it would have taken a lot less. So with one or two people helping, you could probably have your Masonite down and paper roads down in a single evening. Then you could use whatever your preferred method is for the green areas.
We actually DO have BLACK asphalt roads down in Georgia. To model this, I have gone to WalMart and by the Camper/RV section in automotives, they have black textured self adhesive strips that look like asphalt roads. You will need to weather them a little with some dirt tire tracks etc., but they look good. It does depend on what era you are modelling. If you are modelling the pre 50s era, you would only use a single solid white strip down the center for lane dividers. After the early 50s they started with the double yellow.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Jumijo wrote: We used gray paint for our paved street. Seldom in real-life do you see black asphalt roads. Jim
Dennis, we have black asphalt road in NC too. Must be a New England Yankee thing. Better add those big pot holes for up NAWTH too.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
You guys beat me to it. My thoughts exactly.
Add some cracks, the deteriorating shoulders from frost heaves, and worn out center lines and we're all set. Up this way, what the sun doesn't do to fade the color from black to grey, the plows and road salt takes care of. Plus, we don't have Cool Hand Luke type road crews up this way to recoat them.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
ChiefEagles wrote: Jumijo wrote: We used gray paint for our paved street. Seldom in real-life do you see black asphalt roads. Jim Dennis, we have black asphalt road in NC too. Must be a New England Yankee thing. Better add those big pot holes for up NAWTH too.
Another "helpful and insightful" scenery making post from the owner of a plywood prairie!
dwiemer wrote: We actually DO have BLACK asphalt roads down in Georgia. To model this, I have gone to WalMart and by the Camper/RV section in automotives, they have black textured self adhesive strips that look like asphalt roads. You will need to weather them a little with some dirt tire tracks etc., but they look good. It does depend on what era you are modelling. If you are modelling the pre 50s era, you would only use a single solid white strip down the center for lane dividers. After the early 50s they started with the double yellow.Dennis
I have stood behind too many asphaslt pavers not to know that new asphalt is black. New Concrete is gray, and then it is sprayed with a white curing compound. The coloring over time depends on the bitumen content of the asphalt and the type of aggregate. I have seen reddish pink asphalt roads in certain parts of the country where the aggregate is primarily a reddish type of rock.
Just make sure your highway has a yellow dashed or solid line in the center, the water drains off of the roadway into an adequate ditch and there are 4' shoulders or else your plans will be rejectd by the DOT. Remember the clear safety zones, too. We wouldn't want our plastic people running into a tree too near the pavement, but then we could have a plastic furneral home for those not wearing seat belts.
Jumijo wrote: ChiefEagles wrote: Jumijo wrote: We used gray paint for our paved street. Seldom in real-life do you see black asphalt roads. Jim Dennis, we have black asphalt road in NC too. Must be a New England Yankee thing. Better add those big pot holes for up NAWTH too. Another "helpful and insightful" scenery making post from the owner of a plywood prairie!
Nope, Soundstop prairie. I built layouts before you were out of short pants. Another one of your misguiding comments.
Sing it with me everyone..."me...and my shadow...."
Those who can do (CTT Feb. 08). Some of those that can't follow us around trying to discredit us. Pathetic...
I have used gray matte framing cardboard for concrete roads. I have also painted the cardboard the color I want. You can glue gravel along the side edges to simulate a shoulder and hide the cardboard edge. I carpet tape the cardboard to the layout. In my part of the country (Michigan), aged concrete is a brownish gray color and asphalt is medium to dark gray.
For white lane dashes, I have used white mailing labels. With an exacto knife and straight edge, I cut the labels on a piece of glass, about 3/16" wide and 1" long. You can then peel them off the glass and stick them on the road. If you need solid yellow or white stripes, lay down a long strip of masking tape on the glass and paint the tape white or yellow. With a long straight edge cut them into 3/16" wide stripes and apply to the road.
Jumijo wrote:Sing it with me everyone..."me...and my shadow...."Those who can do (CTT Feb. 08). Some of those that can't follow us around trying to discredit us. Pathetic...
Don't take too much credit, somone may have helped get yours on there.
Jimmy, not to take away from your layout, it is cute. However, I have seen a lot higher detailed, realistic workmanship that is never submitted to any magazine. Perhaps a bit of humility would help in your presentation. Is my layout lacking scenery? Yes. But this is not the first layout I am making and as many have found, it is a journey to be enjoyed, not a destination that makes one better than someone else.
Respectfully submitted,
dennis
Well I have black and gray roads. I used the black foam product available through Scenic Express for the Lemax village area. It does the job. Actually the photos are from angles where you'd have to be 7'-6" tall to see. For the other road I glued down some cork road bed and then put a thin cover of spackling plaster over it and use that to form the berms. A little sanding where needed and then use paints. I used a rectangle template for the white lines and put some dirty white paint on. I might go back and glue down some gravel along the edges like previously recommended. I tried to get the effect of road repairs being done at some locations by using some fine cinder ballast. I'll add some signs and maybe some equipment in the future. I guess I'm looking at either a C- or a B+ grade for this project! With an A+ in enjoyment overall! Train on!
Here are some photos.
Hey Berk,
Man the only way to go is use shingles. If you cant find black shingles use any color and just paint them black. Man Im telling you they look just like asphalt. I have been waiting a long time to put roads on my layout until someone suggested shingles. If you have to paint them black make sure you use a flat black and not gloss. It will look like band new asphalt. If you want to you can dirty it up a little with a litle dirt. Man its great
Respectfully, I think the idea of using shingles is great if scale isn't an issue. It certainly lends itself well in conforming to existing surfaces without the kinking effect of stiffer materials. There's no mistaking what you're trying to represent once shingles are striped and weathered a bit...it's a paved road!
But generally the granular size is way too large to properly represent scale paved roads. I'd hazzard a guess that the larger grains on shingles would be fist size in scale. An option here would be the use of sandpaper instead. Something along the lines of 120 grit would suit the finer surface of O scale asphalt. Some types of sandpaper come in a dark grey that could almost pass for freshly laid tarmac.
If you happen to be modelling Canadian roads we're still using white paint for lines up here. It makes them easier to see when they're under 6" of snow.
Bruce Webster
dwiemer wrote:Jimmy, not to take away from your layout, it is cute. However, I have seen a lot higher detailed, realistic workmanship that is never submitted to any magazine. Perhaps a bit of humility would help in your presentation. Is my layout lacking scenery? Yes. But this is not the first layout I am making and as many have found, it is a journey to be enjoyed, not a destination that makes one better than someone else.Respectfully submitted,dennis
Dweimer,
Usually, I don't bother to read your posts. But someone told me I should look at this one. I'd completely agree with your assessment of our layout. It is certainly not overly detailed or realistic. But it was never intended to be. It's a toy train layout as opposed to a highrail layout. If my 3 children and I had strived for realism, we would not have used Plasticville structures or cheap, foam trees, or FasTrack, etc,... Heck, the station is just a scrap piece of 1x4 lumber cut and glued together. I honestly can't think of anything that is realistic on our layout.
I'm beyond happy with what my kids and I have accomplished with the Jumijo. We went from not even being in the hobby, to CTT cover story with our very first layout in only 1 1/2 years. That's an accomplishment! If my pride in that fact comes accross as somehow lacking in humility, but it wasn't intended.
Building the Jumijo brought me and my children together in a way that I doubt any other endeavor or hobby would have. The memories of building and running trains on the Jumijo will live on decades after the layout has been dismantled.
You have small kids of your own. I would highly recommend you sharing a similar experience with them. It's never too early (or too late) to get the kids involved. The Jumijo has been one of the greatest, most fun, worthwhile things I've ever done.
And a special thanks to Jon, aka Kooljock, for making Roger Carp aware of and interested in our layout! Both Roger and Jon have confirmed the conversation that took place after Jon interviewed Roger on the air for Bring Your Train to Work Day. Kent Johnson has also been one of our biggest proponents since day one. A sincere thanks to him as well!
Hello All!
I'll chime in here. I have seen Grey, Black, White, & even Pink/Reddish road colors. Especially on Interstate 80 in Pennsylavania where I-380 runs south of Scranton & intersects with I-80 eastbound around Mt.Pocono. The road surface there has a Reddish Color & it is not from paint either. You could choose any of the above to make a realistic looking road surface, although grey happens to be the primary color around these parts as even Black Asphalt Roads will turn a grayish color from the elements & sunlight over time. Take Care.
ChiefEagles wrote:Who gives a ---- about all that crap. Ashpalt is black.
Who gives a ---- about all that crap. Ashpalt is black.
Umm, why are we arguing about what color asphalt is? Roads are different colors in different parts of the country. I just drove on gray, almost black, and reddish roads going barely two miles to the pharmacy. Four different roads, three colors.
I didn't want to say anything but it's getting ridiculous. I don't know what's been going on here for the past 8-9 months or so. As best I can tell it's a few people with egoes that are entirely too big, still fighting the Civil War.
The Civil War ended 143 years ago. (Both sides lost.)
This used to be a nice place to come and talk about toy trains. It used to be bustling with activity. Now there's not much activity and a lot of it isn't about toy trains. And when it is about toy trains, it turns into an ego-fest.
I don't spend nearly as much time here as I used to. There are a number of other places where the people are nice, they enjoy talking about trains, and some of them even know a thing or two about them.
Maybe I'll get banned (whether formally or informally) for speaking up, but that's OK. There are other places that will have me.
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