I am creating a layout and obtained some free plastic piers (risers) to elevate track. Each pier is about 5" apart from each other (n scale). The track of course slides into the pier and is held in place by the plastic flange on the pier.
My question is, how do you hide these in a layout so they blend in with the rest of the scenery? I was thinking of what I believe is “magic stuff”. A foam developed that is used to seal leaks around electrical outlets. But you still have the plastic flange that is over the ties of the track. I really didn’t want to spend the money on the foam risers from “Woodlands”. So any help would be appreciated.
You could get the track where you want it, and then glue, nail or screw the piers to the benchwork. Then remove the track and saw the flanges off so it’s flat on top. Then build scenery over the piers, perhaps including some type of roadbed, then lay the track on top of that.
Sounds like a lot of extra work to me. Get some extruded foam board and build up layers to the desired height.
I have used the plastic Atlas piers as bridge abutments. With a razor saw, I cut off the base and the two little flanges on top. I glued pieces of scrap styrene under the holes where the flanges used to be, then filled the resulting dents with foam putty, which I sanded level with the top of the pier. Some dry brushed color and a black wash, and they make good bridge abutments!
If you want to use them as risers – and I don’t think they’d support your track as well as foam without some additional subroadbed – flatten the tops as noted above (you probably don’t need to fill the holes), then lay roadbed over the top and fill the area around the roadbed with your favorite scenery material (hardshell, plaster of paris, sculptamold) over screen / newspaper balls / cardboard strips, etc.
You could use the Great Stuff spray foam. You could also use plaster cloth to hide the risers. You could use old bed sheets dipper in plaster of paris same as the plaster cloth, You could use heavy paper bags and flour/water papier mache style to cover up the risers. You could also just leave tehm like the “el” elevated type of train pillar supports in some cities.
Even if you had used the WS risers, you would want someway to cover them up to most likely and any of the methods could work.
I used the WS risers and did not think they were that expensive on my tight budget…and I wasted money on 4% risers that were to steep and then again wasted money on 3% risers that were also to steep before I changed my layout design and went out and bought 1% & 2% WS riser grades. I have no idea what I will do with the wasted 3% &4% risers. Maybe someday I can invert one over the other and use them as pillars on which to carry track at a higher level on a future layout.
Thank you all for your suggestions. I will use some of them and see how it works out. This is my first layout so I am sure some mistakes will be made. But what the heck, that is part of the fun of model railroading.
Plastic piers are probably the worst way to achieve a stable and reasonable grade. Those things harken back to the dark ages of model railroading, when it was assumed that everyone was building on a 4x8 sheet of flat plywood.
My suggestion is to get a sheet of blue extruded foam insulation, and a serrated steak knife to carve it. keep the flat surface where the track is to go, so your track plan remains level, then carve away parts of it to slope the landscape down and away from the track, and add layers to build up terrain in other areas. If you want to include a grade, I recommend using the pre-fab foam risers offered by Woodland Scenics. This will make the transition much smoother, and provide a more solid base for the track as it climbs and descends.
At best, you can use your haul of free piers to create bridge abutments and piers.
Take it from me… there’s no need for you to make these kinds of mistakes. You should benefit from the experience us old heads have gained from making them ourselves!!
I was at Michaels Crafts and they have a something that was in an assorted rock pattern and they had a brick one you could cut and fit and the and some moss/ivy to it to cover up the last part. Just an idea