I bought these WS tunnel portals and the clearance above the train just seems a little higher than I expected. I kind of like a tighter fit, low clearance look. Does it look okay? If it seems high could I lower it by cutting into the foam and lowering them a bit. But then the bottoms of the portal will be hidden. Maybe I should just leave them alone. As I delve into the landscape end of things on the layout, I am starting to struggle as my artistic abilities leave much to be desired. All opinions greatly appreciated.
Brent
Edit; I took these pics with a Nikon D5000 and they are sharpe images on Photobucket. I don't know why they're fuzzy on here. I tried twice.
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I've noticed the same thing on several W/S tunnel portals, so after reading your post I took an unused one and compared it to all the other tunnel portals on the layout and all are significantly lower.
Some are Chooch castings some are one's I casted a long time a go and some are these wooden ones who I have no idea manufacture was. The differences range between 2 and 4 scale feet whats up with that modern double stacks perhaps?
Funny thing is, back when I used Woodland Scenic portals on an N scale layout I had, I had to raise the portals up, there wasn't enough clearance, and I wasn;t running hi-cube cars and stuff. Could be me, but I don;t think they look unreasonably tall, at least for standard gauge lines.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
BATMAN All opinions greatly appreciated
It may be an optical illusion but the track doesn't seem to be centered in the portal.
Happy Railroading
Bobv
Don't Ever Give Up
Woodland Scenics redesigned their tunnel portals after purchasers complained that they would not clear double-stack containers.
cacoleWoodland Scenics redesigned their tunnel portals after purchasers complained that they would not clear double-stack containers.
Exactly, those portals have been redone for modern ops with over height cars., Double stacks, autoracks, high cube boxes...etc.
The older WS portals and other brands are better for earlier time periods.
BATMANIf it seems high could I lower it by cutting into the foam and lowering them a bit. But then the bottoms of the portal will be hidden.
If you never plan to run double-stacks or high-cubes, you could modify the casting itself. Instead of burying the base, cut a slice out of the middle and re-join the sections. This would be a bit tricky, as these are fairly thick castings. I usually use a Dremel for cutting Hydrocal or plaster. If you do it carefully, you can use a bit of Hydrocal or Plaster of Paris to patch the seam, and then paint and weather the portal.
For sanding Hydrocal castings to get them smooth, I use sanding screen. This is a metal screen piece that's used like sandpaper, but it doesn't clog up and wear out immediately like sandpaper would. You can find it at the hardware store over with the drywall compound, because it's used for finishing walls.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I used a variation on Mister B's suggestion. Rather than creating a seam, I just cut off the bottom and will cover the base with bushes so the lack of foundation won't be noticed.
Tom
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
Coming down halfway between the two preceding posts, I suggest cutting along the top of the footing, then removing an appropriate 'slice.' As for how much to cut, put an NMRA gauge on the rails and measure the vertical distance between it and the portal arch at the closest point.
Then be aware that it will have to be notched if you ever decide to run double stacks. After all, that's what the prototype did...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with really snug tunnel portals)
I would either cut off the bottom or cut out the foam base, install the portals and glue some correct sized styrene pieces to the base and re-paint and weather accordingly.mh.
Thanks guys! Lots of good suggestions have been made. I was thinking I would be buying new portals, but now I am leaning towards he idea of cutting off the footing, removing a bit and putting the footing back on. That way if I make a mess of it I can plant a bush or two in front of it. Now to determine the height of this portal that was put in place in the early 1900's.
Prototype tunnel portals varied in size, yet I agree the size on this one is bigger than I've seen, particularly for the steam era. Early-built portals were smaller in size than later ones. For instance, some eastern roads built in the 19th century weren't able to handle the taller box cars being introduced in the early twentieth-century decades. In more recent times, some tunnels have had their floors lowered to accommodate double-stacks.
I suggest you create several cardboard templates with different portal heights and compare them to your largest/tallest rolling stock. Choose a height that comfortably accommodates them.
Mark
If you mess up your portal, you should be able to create your own at least as handsome as the one on the north end of the Searles tunnel. This new portal replaced the original one after the SP daylighted a portion of the tunnel subsequent to a fire collapsing the tunnel.