I’ve got to make room for my passenger shed, so I’m going to cut away the 2 inch foam shown by the red line…
You can see the passenger train on it’s siding below the yard. Even with cutting this area back I still only have about 6 inches between the nearest yard track A and the passenger track B, so I figger a shed is all my passengers will have to stand out of the sun in.
Looking at it from the other side you can see an area I’ve got to build up instead of cut away.
I’m wondering about how to model this ‘wall’ behind the passenger shed. I’ve thought about a rock facing, and a timber type wall like a retaining wall. It’ll probably run for about 18 inches to 2 feet long. There’s going to be a small parking lot at one end of the shed with a road that crosses the passenger siding and the mainline and on off the layout. That’s really all I have room for in this spot.
Any ideas for the wall appreciated!
Jarrell
I think a bit of deception might serve your purpose better. I think I would try to make a platform in the space between the current foam and the track. Raised or track level your choice as there appears to be adequate space. Then I would put a false wall on the front of the foam to represent the basement of the station with a couple of doors for patron access. On either side I would just make a wall of choice to fini***he scene. It appears that there is sufficient space to have the station on the upper level maybe even cantilevered over the lower tracks with the main entrance toward the viewing area. If it was toward the back of the picture it doesn;t appear it would interfer with acces to any of your yard track turnouts either.
That’s an idea! Hmmm… I’ll see if I can come up with something along that line.
Thanks,
Jarrell
I like ndbprr idea. For the wall area you should consider a stone wall as these are very common if you look at other layouts. The problem with rock castings is that they may protrude farther than you want where-as the stone wall is flat and (I think) more realsitic in this situation. Just an opinion.
Ron K.
Modern practice would probably go for a poured concrete wall. Over-the-track stations are common in commuter practice world-wide. If mail or baggage is to be handled, some kind of elevator from baggage room level to station level will be required, but very few commuter stations have them.
Station platforms don’t have to be very wide. Ten (scale) feet is plenty. Likewise, for a light-traffic station, the passenger shelter can be a shed, open to the front and sides, with a roof about 8’ by 20’ and a couple of benches against the (solid) back wall. Don’t forget the advertising signs in the shed and on that vertical concrete wall.
I thought this topic “Opinion on walls” was about graffiti and vandalism…
Besides retaining walls, you might thing about stairways going down from the top level to your platform, or maybe a pedestrian overpass. Bachmann/Plasticville makes a cheap on that serves my purposes well.
Look at Dave Frary’s web site http://www.mrscenery.com for some nice rock wall molds. I got “cut stone wall” which is about 3 inches high by 8 inches long. The mold is a really nice one with excellent detail, and I found that all I really had to do to paint it was spray with gray primer and then do some thin India Ink washes to highlight the details and darken to taste. With hydrocal, I was able to easily bend it around a form to get the curved walls I wanted, too.
I use foam for my layout, as well. To model a “rock” wall, I take a large hand held wire brush and make horizontal striations with it. Then a thin layer of plaster. To model random cut stone, make offset grooves in the foam. Staggering your vertical lines gives the impression of the way stone or brick is actually used. Then, cover it with a thin layer of plaster. Spray the hardened plaster with water and use 1 part India ink to 20 parts water or rubbing alcohol and spray to highlight the cracks. Wetting the plaster before washing will allow the color to disburse, rather than run down in streaks. Dry brush with some light grey acrylic latex paint. Then dry brush with offwhite acrylic latex to add highlights to the rock face.
Mr. B, I like that mold and a couple of the others too. Thanks for the link and for the ideas!
Jarrell
Marlon, you’ve given me some ideas of how to do another area also. What is meant by 'offset grooves"?
Thanks for the tips!
Jarrell
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. By offset grooves, I mean that instead of the vertical cuts running from top to bottom in one continuous line, you stagger them, like you would when building a brick wall.