My tunnel/ river

[Tjsingle]

Hi

I need some opinions about my work on my tunnel

Heres Some pictures

Before

After

 

and my river base, still need to poor realistic water

 

comments?
Tommy Single

[mikesmowers]

  Tj, from what I can see they look alright. Is there any way you could make the pics any larger? they are kinda small.                Good work from what I can see.              Mike

[Tjsingle]

thanks I'll make the pictures larger

[twhite]

Tommy--

Looks fine to me.  One thing about the tunnel--since it's on a curve, make sure you've tested it with your LONGEST freight or passenger car.  I made the mistake of installing several of my curved-tunnel portals before testing them with 85' passenger cars, and I had some clearance problems with cars scraping the inside portion of the portal, had to take them out and re-install them.  My bad.  It wasn't a major problem, but it was an annoying one. 

You might want to darken the color of the riverbed a little--I'm not really familiar with the geology of the particular area of the country you're modeling, but with a little black in the center, and 'feathering' the color lighter out to the  banks, when you pour the realistic water, it will give you the illusion of a lot more depth.  Just my thoughts, you understand.  But I think you're pretty much on track with the projects.  Keep us posted, okay?

Tom

[Tjsingle]

I've Tested the track, and i can run all my heavy weight passenger cars with ease, and other assorted cars. The river bed does look a little odd, so i'm going to take your advice and darken it.

[chutton01]

Wait a minute in regards to that river; putting aside the coloration of the bed (which should be darker, as already mentioned), is it supposed to be a canal, or a natural river?
Because the ground to the right of the river in the picture slopes downward, and seems to do so to the left also, but not as much (on second glance, that does seem to be sloping up, so forget that) - one good rain storm and that river is gonna overflow it's banks and do what water always does (excluding capillary action) and seek a lower level - right where that van is (a van down by the river).  If it's a canal or a river banked between levees (which need to be much higher), well, that one thing, but to me it seems a bit off...

[Tjsingle]

hmm now that you mention it, you are right, the banks are way to short. Now I'm thinking its more like a creek than a river am i right?

Tjsingle

[camaro]

Tj,

 

You can always add tint to Envirotex to darked the water and possibly darken the riverbed.  I know they sell various tints for Envirotex at Scenic Express.  I am going to try this on my canals.

www.modelrailroadforums.com   see: Cutting a canal

 Larry

 

www.scenicexpress.com

[Dallas Model Works]

Here's a tunnel watchout:

On my old layout, a hill was made of cardboard web and plaster cloth construction.

I did the due diligence and tested all my cars for clearance in the tunnel.

Then, one day about a year later, a long car got stuck. It seems the web had sagged imperceptibly under its own and the weight of the scenery just enough to catch  the top corner of the long car.

Surgery was required and a lesson was learned!

 

[chutton01]

hmm now that you mention it, you are right, the banks are way to short. Now I'm thinking its more like a creek than a river am i right?

Well, if your gonna leave it like that, then maybe add rip-rap or concrete or something to indicate that mankind wants that river/creek to flow that way above a natural depression and will maintain it - for in the real world, even if that river did flow like that for a few years or decades, assuming no funky geological formations that make the banks impermable, the river would eventually overflow, cut through it's banks and flow into the lower area, possibly forming a lake or pond.

Does it make sense to model it as a drainage or irrigation canal, or maybe a creek in a park or an aquaduct or something?

[Tjsingle]

Im sorry I see what your getting at, but my prototype is in a rural setting, a coal mining town. But since i have the weekend, ill work on it a alot more.

I'll get you posted and thanks for the suggestions.

Tjsingle

[larak]

Hi Tommy,

1) Would real vegatation hang over the retaining walls that much? I don't know what things look like in your neck of the woods. Just something to ponder.

2) I like the log over the creek idea (used it myself). The log itself is a bit large in diameter compared with the visable trees. Are there other large trees nearby but out of the shot? Also consider where that fallen tree came from. If it wasn't placed there by man, then maybe add a stump near one end and a part of the top near the other. That one little detail will help turn a good scene into a better one.

You're off to a nice start and these guys have given some excellent advice.

Karl 

PS: Glacier gravel co. building in the background ??? 

[HHPATH56]

Hi,

Looks like a great start for both the tunnel and river.   A little smoke soot weathering above the tunnel portal, and on the track below will help with realism.  Before you pour the liquid water, be sure that the base is level, and perhaps paint the river base blueish brown. Get one of the Scenery books from your LHS.    Below, is a shot of one of the rivers that is cascading down a deep ravine.  I use Magic Water, but any other brand works well.  Add rocks, branches, fishermen,as well as white slashes to indicate rapid flowing water around objects, or over falls. I used a commercial river and forest background.      Bob

[Dave Vollmer]

For water, I really like the results I got with Woodland Scenics Realistic water with Water Effects for texture:

BTW, I like the coloring on your tunnel portal and wing wall.  It has that random, splotchy effect that's hard to achieve, but make it look like individual stones.  Good job!

On piece of minor wisdom I'd like to pass along.  The building stone quarried in Pennsylvania and used by the Pennsy was typically brownish in color and very dark.  Most photos I've seen and PRR stonework I've inspected in person are such that the mortar is much lighter than the stones.  This is sort of the opposite of what most modelers do when they flow a dark wash into the mortar lines.  Here's what I mean:

[Packers#1]

From what I can see, great job.

[Anonymous]

You're off to a good start. I reckon you just need some more detailed weathering and i also think the river should be wider and deeper to add a more realistic sense.

Sorry if i have repeated anything from any other posts but i did not read through them all.

[Tjsingle]

Hey guys thanks for the suggestions

Let me clear something up, the "river" is actually a creek, but after some thought a river seems more realistic, how should I model a river, on a curve, remeber I made a mistake early in construction, No foam core, this is a problem if I want a larger/deeper river

Tjsingle

[Tjsingle]

For water, I really like the results I got with Woodland Scenics Realistic water with Water Effects for texture:

BTW, I like the coloring on your tunnel portal and wing wall.  It has that random, splotchy effect that's hard to achieve, but make it look like individual stones.  Good job!

On piece of minor wisdom I'd like to pass along.  The building stone quarried in Pennsylvania and used by the Pennsy was typically brownish in color and very dark.  Most photos I've seen and PRR stonework I've inspected in person are such that the mortar is much lighter than the stones.  This is sort of the opposite of what most modelers do when they flow a dark wash into the mortar lines.  Here's what I mean:

Lets just say with the random coloring that I was in my backyard pooring paint on plaster.