Build First Layout - Comments? Suggestions? Ideas?

rye Dec 28, 2022

  1. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks! It's very simple, a dogbone with siding on 3x7' hollow core door.
    [​IMG]
     
  2. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Testing clearances:

     
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  3. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    I've noticed a few things about most 1:1 rail tunnel entrances:

    Native terrain does not usually allow running the track straight up to the base of a cliff before entering the tunnel, but requires excavating a deepening trench into the rising terrain until it is deep enough to support a sound roof (natural or artificial) over the tracks at the entrance to the tunnel. Depending on the angle of approach to the slope, the two sidewalls of the trench before the entrance are often not equal in length/height either.

    Sometimes it helps to visualize, if not construct, the terrain as it might have existed before the rail line was there.
     
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  4. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Oh I agree 100%, I'm just not worrying about replicating reality exactly. I will be filling in the back sides to that effect a bit when I do some more sculpting, so we'll see how it looks. Where I live it's a lot of limestone shale and the edges of the escarpment do look straight like this, however I don't recall seeing any train tunnels around here at all, so I'm just using my imagination. I've done some landscape painting so I'm just having fun making this my own little world! Appreciate the comments and suggestions from everyone though, this is a great place to share ideas!
     
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  5. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Building the bridge, made a couple temporary forms and used some clamps I had. Hopefully the glue holds this together!

    20230108_163503.jpg 20230108_163507.jpg
     
  6. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Glued down the foam track bed, next will be installing the bridge, and then getting the track laid around the bend where the tunnel will be so I can install the mountain and start blending that into the terrain, before I start on painting and detailing everything!

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  7. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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  8. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Accurate! I am a tunnel junkie, and having photographed dozens of tunnels, this is very common.

    Running a track directly into a hill without excavation is uncommon, but can be seen.
    Tunnel 3 on the Moffat Tunnel route was bored right thru a flatiron finger without additional excavation:

    [​IMG]

    Largely, though, excavation is most common. Tunnel 18 on the Moffat:

    [​IMG]

    Tunnel 13 on the Moffat:

    [​IMG]

    Tunnel 3.8 on Marias Pass in MT:

    [​IMG]

    Pipestone Pass Tunnel 11 on the old Milwaukee Road:

    [​IMG]

    Iron Ridge Tunnel on the ex-NP Mullan Pass route:

    [​IMG]

    Garrison, MT, both MRL (NP) and MILW tunnels are excavated into the hill:

    [​IMG]
     
  9. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Good reference photos! I think mine will resemble 3.8 a bit when it's done, at least in my head... so it probably won't turn out anything like I imagine. lol

    Made a little more progress today, going to add a few more levels of terrain before I paint and lay the track, test fit the bridge and only have about 3 mm of clearance, so I'm going to either dig out a little incline under the bridge or remove the trackbed from that area just to be safe.

    bridge1.jpg
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  10. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    The vertical rock face to the left side of the track at Tunnel 3 sure looks excavated to me. The coloration is less weathered than surrounding rock. The falling rock detection fence is also telling. Excavated rock faces are often more likely to loosen and shed debris than a natural face that's weathered for millennia.

    But it looks like they took advantage of the existing terrain at the tunnel entrance, with erosion having apparently already cut a natural ravine for the face of the portal. There was even a natural overhang to take advantage of. Note there is no falling rock detection fence above the portal for the natural rock face. Note that erosion did not shape the portal face, just exposed it.

    Often, one side or the other of an excavated approach ditch to a tunnel is removed just to more easily clear the excavated earth and rock away from the roadbed. Also, if snow is a possibility, then keeping one side of the portal approach open is beneficial, so the plow has some place to push the snow, all the way up to the tunnel entrance.

    Thanks for sharing the excellent collection of portal photographs!

     
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  11. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    I've made quite a bit of progress in the past couple days. Got the track mostly laid down with silicone and nails, bridge is complete and installed, trains have clearance under the bridge (this was my biggest worry), track continuity is fantastic considering I powered this test with just a plugin rail attached to the turnout. I also added some extra hills and a lake in the middle, and started laying down plaster! Really enjoying this hobby, it's very satisfying when things start coming together.

    Here's a quick video testing the track so far.

     
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  12. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Just keeping "track" of progress in this thread now. The track is laid, added some more celluclay to the hills so that the ballast had somewhere to hold it in and they look more like hills than just stacked foam, and started painting the whole thing. I picked up a mis-tinted gallon of perfectly matched for me light brown paint for $15(CAD), so that will do a base coat over everything before I start on any other paint and scenery. Here's a video update from yesterday:

     
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  13. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Mountain is installed permanently on top of the ballasted portion of the track! All the terrain is laid out now and I'm happy with the form. I'll be sculpting the mountain into the layout a little better and then start the painting process.

    20230117_231220_HDR.jpg
     
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  14. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Last layers of sculpting are done, track is painted and weathered, and I will paint the entire layout a light brown once the sculpting media is dry!

    Then dirt, ballast, grass, trees, waterfall, lake, and just have fun as everything comes together!

    track4.jpg
     
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  15. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Track painting:

    track1.jpg
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  16. ppuinn

    ppuinn Staff Member

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    This is a picture of one of the tunnels on the Denver and Salt Lake Ry, Moffat Road which inspired Hemi's beautiful model in Posts 17 and 21 above.
    [​IMG]
    This tunnel on the CM&StL Ry, Trail of the Olympian, has a similar entrance into a vertical face after going through a short excavated area. [​IMG]

    These pictures are from photo tour picture books, which my maternal grandparents bought on a train trip through the Rocky Mountains in the early 1900s. Click on each RailImages album link below to see more pictures from these booklets.
    Trail of the Olympians, 1912, CM&StL Rwy 41 pictures
    Over the Loop to Mount McClellan Colorado and Southern Rwy and Argentine Central Rwy 27 pictures
    Denver and Salt Lake RR, Moffat Road 62 pictures
     
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  17. ppuinn

    ppuinn Staff Member

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    HemiAdda2d, TrainBoard's Resident Tunnel Expert, has added informative comments to some of the pics in my RailImages albums of my grandparents' photo tour picture books.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2023
  18. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Added the first couple layers of black and brown wash to the rocky mountain face. Will do a couple more of red and orange hues, then it's time to start laying the dirt and grass down!

    20230122_230841_HDR.jpg

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    Last edited: Jan 23, 2023
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  19. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Rock painting is complete!

     
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  20. rye

    rye TrainBoard Member

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    Made some dirt for the layout by mixing ....... DIRT, and some sand coloured grout. Made for a nice little mix I think. Laid some mod podge down diluted with water so this sticks, then I'll hit it with a mist of the same to hold it all in place before I figure out where trees, grass, and buildings are going to be placed.

    Every time... this site turns my pictures 90 degrees. I'm a web guy by trade, this is annoying. LOL

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