Just looking to get other ideas for roadway on a layout. since my layout is temporary. I use bass wood 3/32 thick by 3 1/2 wide.
I used cork, I buy the bulk roll from Lowe’s, it’s a sheet 24" X 5’ less than an 1/8 incch thick, cost about ten bucks and goes along way. It cuts really easy with sissors, you can cut curves, S curves, anything you want. Just glue it down, it accepts paint real well. When you want to remove it, just use a putty knife to get it off…One thing when you paint it, use a dark color, it doesn’t show the grain of the cork as much as a light color. Hope this helps…
I use" Fiber Craft" foamalthough the brand is not important. It comes in 12X18 inch sheets. I got them from Michael’s craft store for about 50 cents each on sale. It is also available from Walmart with self-adhesive backing. I buy the black and hot glue it down. I find that it is best to attach it to the wooden table top for smothness but if I am using it around accesories with raised bases, I put it over the green grass cloth that I use. It is also possible to cut thin strips and place them between the rails where the road crosses the track. I build an apron on either side of the crossing to build up the height of the roadbed. Not sure how to attach image but I can if someone tells me how. Larry B. 16trouble
I use ‘Black Diamond’ Sand blasting crystals.
Put it down where you want it then glue it down like ballast.
Looks just like black top when finished.
Others have used roofing felt with good results.
I paint the road flat white and mask off the stripes. Then I go over it with a gray wash. Draw in some cracks with a black pen. The end result is an aged asphalt street.
Jim
How about 30 # felt roofing paper??
error.
I use grey and black roofing shingles - easy to cut into curves with a box-cutter - and it looks nice and asphast-y. I’m thinking of experimenting with different colors for a dirt road and yard cinders.
I used foamcore board painted a dark grey. I DO NOT recommend this method however. The foamcore shrank as it dried, leaving large gaps between sheets. Woodland Scenics makes a product to build roads with. You mix some plaster like stuff with water and pour it into a foam made out of a thick tape. You then paint it when it dries.
George
George, thank you for this information. You have kept me from making a big blunder that would need to be ripped out in the future. [bow][bow]
If you got to see the latest “Workin on the Railroad” on DIY network, they did this using sheets of styrene. They cut the road wide enough to include the sidewalk, then glued a narrow strip down each side as the sidewalk. They then used a scribe to mark the expansion joints and a few cracks here and there. The last step was to take some weathering chalk and rub it over the scene. It looked pretty good and would work for some scenes where you could have concrete roads. I plan on using this and some dirt roadways.
Dennis
Can someone tell us for modelling the 1920’s through 40’s, what color the road lines should be, and if they are double or single? Someone told me that they used to just have a single solid white line going down the middle of the road to separate the two directions of traffic. I think there was a single white broken line where passing was allowed. Is that right, or was it always a double line down the center of the road, and if so, was it always white? When did they switch to yellow center lines? I think someone even said that the lines on the outer edge of the lanes, by the gravel and grass side of the road was yellow in the older days, instead of white like it is now. Any thoughts, ideas, corrections, etc welcomed.
I don’t recall the colors, but I do remember from my childhood that, where passing was disallowed in either direction, there would be three stripes, a solid stripe on either side and a dashed line down the middle, instead of the two solid stripes used today.
Boxcar
You mentioned it being a temporary layout - easiest and simplest thing would be construction paper. Thats what I use for my Christmas layout. Cut with sissors and glue it in place - I use a glue stick.
I did these roads and parking lots with ‘FlexStone’ spray paint
The lines are pin striping tape.