Roads & Stripes

Many of us model railroaders have layouts with roads. I'm no different. I made my roads out of asphalt roofing turned back side up. I made a paper pattern then traced it on the roofing and cut it out with a utulity knife.
The road was fastened down with contact cement much like putting a formica counter top down.
The road was then painted with a latex paint in the colour of weathered asphalt. When dry I used a rattle can of Glosskote to add the gloss finish for decals
The stripes on the road were next.
One Sunday morning I went out in front of our house and measured the stripes on the highway. The stripes are 4 inches wide and 10 feet long with a 15 foot skip between the ends of the stripes. Other traffic markings can also be added at the same time the stripes are done. I set the stripe decals with Solvaset. When dry the road was sprayed with Dullkote to get the flat finish.
I'm in HO so I used "N"Scale gravel for the sides of the road. IThe bonded ballast method was used to fasten the gravel
The road can now be weathered if you wish

 

Interesting, I hadn't thought of using decals. I used model airplane/car 1/32" pinstripe tape. Easy to install and looks good @ 2-3'. (1/32" = 5" in N-Scale.)

 

I use a white gel pen. The lines were white back in the Transition Era. I make my road surface with Durham's Water Putty.

 

I use white or yellow electrical tape put it down on a piece of glass and use a ruler and razor and cut the size I need.

 

There is a striping tool that is available. A tool similar to a ball point pen with a wheel that applies the paint. I have been told that craft stores such as Michaels carry them. I am to the point where I will be putting down a town and will be hunting for one in the near future. I believe that they also come in different colors. White or yellow would work for me.

 

I find artists' pastel PENCILS work fine and are as easy as pie. (Not as hard as "pi" 3.14159 etc forever.)

 

Either tape or decals is a great idea. I've been using Sharpie fine or extra fine point paint markers and I am definitely not happy with the results. I'm going to have to track down some white pin striping and give it a try.

 

I tried pinstriping decals... they worked pretty well for straight lines, but I had some trouble forming them around curves and getting them to stick. I've only done one section experimentally so far, and am considering reverting to pencils.

The section I experimented on was made by "painting" plaster with paint for color... I'm about to do another section experimentally using Woodland Scenics Top Coat...

 

I model the northeast and our rough weather makes our roads bad and it's hard for municipalities to keep up with the repairs so someone showed me how to model our roads and streets. I use the drywall stuff and I paint it with Woodland Scenic Slate Gray. I also use other blacks and grays to show repaired spots. Lines are easy because under the paint it's white. I just scrape the paint away and I have a white line.

 

I wish I was a more creative thinker. What a great idea!

 

Also a bit of white chalk dust rubbed into the road surface works wonders.

 

I did a test section with microscale strip decals.
turned out pretty good

 

If you want the stripes to look old and worn, you could create a stencil and then dab on some paint using a sponge. You should first remove most of the paint from the sponge by dabbing it on some cardboard, sort of like dry-brushing. This works best for straight lines.

Steve S

 

For concrete rods I've used Plastruct plastic sheet stock. Cut it to size and then score the seam lines. Spray glosscote and then do the decal stripes. After the decals are dry spray the road with dullcote. Contact cement can be used to stick the road to plyboard and cork roadbed.
DO NOT use contact cement on foam. The cement solvent will dissolve the foam.
Liquid Nails makes a latex contact cement for floor tile that works well on foam.

 

I am at the stage that I can start putting my streets down. I love Evergreen products and usually have a supply on hand, but not enough for this project. I went down to my local hardware store and got som thin plastic "For Sale" signs that will eventually become the main street. A bit cheaper. The will be sanded and scribed for a concrete main street. I also found a spray paint that is a good match for concrete.

For sidewalks I found a thicker sign that I have already scribed and cut for the sidewalk areas. It works out good as the thickness is great for a curb area. I also notices that a gray primer paint is a fairly close match for aged asphalt. The color will probably also be used for parking lots and driveways.





While in town, I stopped by a craft store and found a couple of different white paint/marking pens that will be used for the striping. It;s amazing what you can come up with when you don't have any hobby shops in your area.