First attempt driveways, curbs, & walkways

in2tech Nov 21, 2017

  1. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    More mockup, and who knew the church was a farm with open fence :) Either they are zero lot homes with concrete large patio's or I need to cut some off for a zero lot back yard with a tiny bit of grass. Since the lower pictures the animals were added to the church, cause I just found them, and the area was vacuumed too, as you can tell in the top picture!

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    curb2.jpg

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    Last edited: Nov 21, 2017
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  2. Ironhorseman

    Ironhorseman April, 2018 Staff Member In Memoriam

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    It's difficult for me to see what you are talking about. I think it's probably due to camera angle and light.
    I have yet to try to model driveways and curbs, so I really can't offer any advice that may or may not help your concern(s). Keep at it until you are satisfied with it. :)
     
  3. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Atleast you got started. And as far as the critters in the church yard, I've seen a lot of that in northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Mostly sheep and goats. ;)
     
  4. Rocket Jones

    Rocket Jones TrainBoard Member

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    I agree with Shortround, getting started is the key. I'd suggest going with thinner material, those curbs look to be a foot or more tall!
     
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  5. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    I'm soon going to start with roads and sidewalks. I'm going out into the street with a measuring tape, and dividing that by 87.:D

    I did that already with road width. I got some odd looks from passers-by.:ROFLMAO:
     
  6. dalebaker

    dalebaker TrainBoard Member

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    D415485D-24B7-46D9-B6E2-3D970285D465.jpeg Hey guys,

    A standard lane width for US Interstate construction is 12 feet, the construction joints are 15 feet apart if concrete. For a city street if you are planning a 12 lane the back of the curb to back of the curb measurement would be 25 and a half feet. A residential side walk would be 3 feet wide. If it is set back from the road it would have about 4 feet of grass in between.

    Hope this helps!

    The photo is of my POCR RR, depicting OK Highway 167, features 12 foot lanes, 15 foot joint spacing and 10 foot asphalt shoulders.
     
  7. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    I'd say just keep playing with it until it suits you. Then paint them and rub colored chalk all over them to make the colors more uneven.

    :)
     
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  8. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks everyone, yeah I know everything is not to scale like the 2mm foam I am using for the mockup streets and curbs, driveways, etc... but it is for me and the nieces and nephews and they don't have a clue and it's doesn't bother me either at this point. If it does in the future, I'll try to make it more realistic. But I doubt it. I have never gotten this far with scenery ( if you can call what I have scenery ), and I am just enjoying it and having fun :) Not only that, my layout tends to change often :) Thanks everyone and happy holidays!
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2017
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  9. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    What is important is that you and your family are enjoying it. I'm trying to do the same but no family to share with.
     
  10. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    If you really want to get crafty, drywall joint compound can be used for pavement too. I think it is easier and more realistic than styrene sheets, but then you can't change it once it's made.
     
  11. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    I've made some with Plaster of Paris over metal window screen and crumpled newspaper to support it. That was back in the '60s & '70s for Christmas and Easter, then Lionel trains. Long gone now. Then in the '90s it was patching plaster over cardboard and plastic screen. I'm not sure what I'll use next.
     
  12. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    Old thread I made ages ago. But just found this photo and wondering how they did the curbs and such. Especially the round ones, etc... I just finished my Walthers N Scale Modern gas Station and just put together the base plastic concrete base ( plastic of course ) and it has tiny curbs. I mean TINY? These are the pictures I found. Not sure if the building is an old kit or home made? I would like to try and do this at some point for my Modern gas Station.
     

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  13. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    I make my sidewalks out of Evergreen sheet styrene. I use a quarter or half dollar to round off the corners and score-cut with an Xacto. I'll use a .040 strip of styrene for the curbs and wrap it around the corners.
     
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  14. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    I also used sheet styrene for my sidewalks. Actually, sidewalk stock from Evergreen. Painted it grey and dullcoted it.

    For roads, at the time I was building my layout, I was considering several ideas for making a decent looking surface. I tried printing out textures I found on the internet, they looked nice but there always was that "laser printer gloss". That can be dulled down with some dullcote but one needs to be careful or the paper will get soaked and ruined.

    At the magazine rack, I eventually found an issue of Model Railroader with an article on making roadways... out of sandpaper! 400 or 600 black grit, I read. My brain went into overdrive working out the engineering details of this. This is the kind of thing where my mind, once it has chomped down on something, won't let go until it's figured out.

    As is, black sandpaper is really black, way too black. I misted the 400 grit sandpaper with gray auto primer - not a coat, just a mist that lightened up the texture. For lanes, stop lines and other road markings, I used one of those white paint pens sold for gussying up tire lettering. I simulate oil stains and the like by using a dab of diluted black craft paint (water soluble) and smoosh it around with my finger.

    The effect is very good at shallow camera angles, like when I set my camera down on the layout. I've shown some of my photos around at work, and most said that my roads looked very realistic - especially the dips, cracks and other irregularities (if you've been on streets in any town in Quebec, you'd understand... :eek: ).
     
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  15. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    So I found a PDF explaining how one person did the curbs, etc... with styrene, after I had asked. I am going to post the PDF and hope that it does not break the advertising thingy cause it is from Summit I think. If so a mod can delete. Also have the Woodland Scenics Roads Learning System on the way to try out. Figure I'll test it on a diorama maybe? And not on the actual layout yet. Curious to see how this works out. What is a normal size of a 2 lane road in the USA in N Scale? Like a neighborhood normal two lane road?

    Thanks for your help in this!
     

    Attached Files:

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  16. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    That's a good document!

    I'd say that USA and Canada is pretty much the same lane width wise. The city of Toronto has its lane width standards published on the internet:

    https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/u...Lane_Widths_Guideline_Version_2.0_Jun2017.pdf

    There's also NACTO:

    https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/street-design-elements/lane-width/

    And the US Department of Transportation:

    http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/rdw/design_characteristics.htm

    Take any 1:1 measurements you see and divide by 160 and you've got N scale width. If you have a handy N scale graduated ruler, it's even easier.

    Personally, I took a 10-yard tape measure and went out into the street *early on a Sunday morning* and measured the street and sidewalks.

    Hope this helps!
     
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  17. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Also remember the right of way itself will be wider than the street and sidewalks. Common these days in the USA is sixty feet, for a two lane street, sidewalks and utilities such as power and gas. A sidewalk may not be directly adjacent to the pavement, but may be set away to allow for those utilities.
     
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  18. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    So divide 60/160 and it's 3.75" inches? Or am I wrong?
     
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  19. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    Actually, it's 0.375 feet, which is 4-1/2 inches for a full-width road, with shoulders, sidewalks and that little extra space where you shouldn't shovel your snow onto...

    In modeling, there's always some leeway - artistic licence, as it were. Shoulders can be cut back a tad, enough to show they're there. The extra space used by the road's right of way on abutting properties is not really visible (where I live, it's about 5 feet back from the sidewalk onto the front yard). That's where things like fire hydrants, guard rails, road signage, bus shelters and lamp posts are put up. My three-lane (one in and two out) HO scale main street through town, with sidewalks and street running is about 6-1/2 inches wide without the invisible "right of way". You could most likely reproduce this in 3-1/4 inches or so in N scale and it still would look great.

    You should see some of the narrow streets through my home town - they definitely don't fit the strict definition!:ROFLMAO:
     
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  20. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    I wonder if room to move the snow is necessary on a layout. And you should see how the sidewalks are in my suburb. All the heavy utilities were put in before the sidewalks/bicycle paths. Zigzagging around them is fun at 10mph with a loaded trailer. Not to mention the passion for "roundy rounds". :whistle::LOL:
     
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