The Building of the RK&M: The Cement Distributor

Now that the RK&M has for all intends and purposes moved on from the initial phase which was building the basic “groundwork” for the layout and I will be moving into specific areas of the layout I have decided to start a new topic. This topic will be concerned with adding scenery to the area around and including the cement distributor.

For those who want to see how I got to this point please take a look at the following: The Begining of the RK&M Part II

 

Here I have glued the track down for the cement distributor.





I have now carved out the area where the stream will go from under the cement distributor.




I plan on using an old Woodland Scenics’ tunnel portal to depict the pipe that will go under the distributor.

 

Tom:

It looks like your making great progress on the layout.

Where is this located in relationship to your other finished modules?

Stay cool and run steam......

 

Thanks Bob!

This area is right next to the Passenger Station Diorama. You can see it in the foreground of the last picture. The area that was dug out is an extension of the creek from the Passenger Station Diorama.

The Water Tower Diorama is around the bend on the other side of the layout.

 

It has been a while since I have a chance to work on the layout. Over the last few weeks I did a few things.

First problem I had to solve was how to end the stream before it went under the cement distributor. I found the answer in my own neighborhood. In many locations in this area we have bridges that go over streams. On one side the channel is open and on the other it is enclosed with buildings, parking lots, etc over it.

Next I need a bridge which became the second problem. Looking around I found some old Woodland Scenics tunnel portals from the old layout. These, however, were too tall. After thinking about it for a while I decided to cut them down. Now I had shorter tunnel portals but they were still taller than I wanted.

Finally after fiddling with them for several days I came across the idea of the abandoned road. Again this came from a real world situation I had recently encountered. The end of the stream is near the Passenger Station Diorama with its high roadway bridge. The thought came to me that there used to be an at-grade crossing. The railroad or highway department decided to eliminate the crossing and build the high bridge. In a cost saving measure or because the cement distributor was there they only removed the crossing in the area of the railroad. They left the old bridge in place.

Here are some photos of the progress:

Looking from the Passenger Station Diorama side


Looking down the old road. I am thinking of putting an drive to the cement distributor in.


And now looking from the Cement Distributor side

 

Tom:

Your layout is progressing nicely.

Stay cool and run steam....

 

Great progress!!

 

Thanks guys!

Got some more done on the layout this weekend.

Here is the wall extension so far:




Here is the foam base for the hillside to connect with the Passenger Station Diorama:

 

I have finally gotten back to the layout. I have been working with Sculptamold for the first time to create the stream wall and contour the ground.

Here is how the work has progressed so far. And no there has not been a sudden massive snow storm.

Views of the abandoned road from the trackside.




View of the building side of the bridge and where the stream has been filled in/piped under the building.

 

View down the abandoned road


View of the stream wall. I have started carving the mortar lines.

 

Tom:

Your latest photo's of the Cement Distributor look great. Keep posting the photo's so we can see the work in progress.

Stay cool and run steam.....

 

I have been playing with Sculpta-mold lately. Here are my newest creations.

First the Wing Wall

 

Next is the area that will be under the bridges from the Passenger Station Diorama




Here is where the new hillside ties-in with the Passenger Station Dioarma.

 

Next it was time for the plaster soaked paper towels and the hillside creation:

 

I painted the hillsides with plaster-of-Paris to smooth them out.

 

I added rock faces. I tried a new method this time. I mixed up some Sculpta-mold. I made it a little on the wet side like you would for pouring molds. I placed the Sculpta-mold where I wanted the rocks and shaped it into the general formation. I then took some aluminum foil that I “roughed up” and pressed it onto the face of the formation. I removed the foil. I went over a few spots a couple of times to get the look I wanted.

 

I carved the stones for the wing wall.

 

Tom - looks great. I'm gonna try something like what you've done on an HO module of the Cumberland Narrows. Never worked with Sculta-mold - any hints or recommendations?

 

Thanks Tim!

So far the Sculpta-mold has been working out fine. I have been following the instructions thus far. My only complaint is it seems to take forever to dry. On the stream wall it took over a week to become completely hard.

Next will be painting so I will see how that goes.

 

I like the effect of the crumpled foil. It gives incredibly natural texture to the rock face.:thumbs_up: I also have noticed Scupta mold takes a long time to dry especially when using in over strofoam. Similar to Elmers glue taking forever to dry between layers of foam. I'm not sure if it works but I crank up the dehumidifier to try to help. I've never used it on wood but I'm sure wood would absorb the moisture and could potentially warp, so slow drying time is a small price to pay I guess.
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