Building A Street and Sidewalk??

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I have 3 structures that are going to be on a street on my HO layout. The foundation is plywood. I’ll be using Woodlands Smooth-it for the street and sidewalks. But what is the best way to pour Smooth-it to achive the thickness or the street and then the height of the sidewalk? The structures will be sitting on top of the sidewalk so I guess I’ll pour a foundation where the edges of the structures sit.

Thoughts?

2

It seems to me that you’ll need forms, just like the prototype uses, to contain the pour for the road, and then again for the sidewalks.

I opted to use sheet styrene for both the streets and sidewalks, and used 4’x8’ sheets of .060" styrene. I also use it for scratchbuilding structures and some parts of rolling stock, and am working on, I think, either my 6th or 7th sheet.

Here are a few photos…

This one’s quite recent, and is only partially done…

…where there are railway crossings on the city streets, they’re also done with styrene…

Most of my “paved” streets are flat, but it’s also possible to crown the pavement if you wish, as seen below…

…a simple strip of styrene under the “pavement” creates the crown, and, as you can see, the sidewalks sit atop th

3

Exactly what I was thinking but, as always, Wayne was quicker on the draw. So, +1. [Y]

Rich

4

I have had good results using these sidewalks made by Smalltown USA. They have alley and driveway entrances and pretty good detail.

The way streets are built now, the curbs are cast and finished first. The curbs set the elevations and drainage for the road. Then the baserock is mixed, compacted, and finally paved.

I build my model streets a similar way. I put these curbs in place, then use drywall joint compound that has been tinted and mixed with filter sand, to form the roadway surface. I used a semi-riged wet sponge sander to make the final roadway profile.

I have the sidewalks and roadways done before any buildings are permanently mounted.

-Kevin

5

I also use the small town USA sidewalks. I spraypaint them with a rustoleum flat antique gray and brush paint a few individual squares for repaired slabs and then brush over it all with a brown charcoal chalk (on paper towel) you can get from an art supply store. Havent put down any roads yet, but I saw one great example on YouTube where they actually painted flat sheets of trackbed cork with dark gray flat paint and it looked just like asphalt textures

6

Thanks for all the feedback, tips and ideas.