Metal isn’t a construction material usually associated with model railroad layouts. But for some applications, the strength it provides is worth the extra effort to work with it. For my elevated station in the Urban Station scene, I wanted a strong yet “prototypical” support structure, and couldn’t use the pre-made viaduct supports normally used, as I needed the station higher to clear the subway tracks (foreground above). My solution was a sparse set of columns, intended to look like the cylindrical concrete columns used in some large buildings. These hold up the actual support, which needed to be a long, thin, yet strong substance to distribute the load of the station to the columns and keep the individual viaduct plates from moving.

I used aluminum strip intended for carpet edging for the support structure, and 1/4” threaded steel rod and PEX water tubing for the columns holding it up (see above, with one of the three metal strips in place, and the viaduct that will rest on them tilted up at the rear of the photo). Preliminary testing indicates that this works as expected, although I’m still not quite done. You can read all the details on my Phase 2d construction page.

This is still very much a work in progress. I’m pretty much done with one of the two tables, except for waiting for some paint to dry and final sanding and bolting in place. But before I bolt everything down I’m going to paint the pink foam with gray primer (someday there will be a road and building foundations above it, but for now it’s going to serve as generic pavement).

And someday, those aluminum strips will provide a mounting point for LED lighting to illuminate the subway platform and bus terminal. But that’s a project for well in the future.

Tags: Construction, Urban Station, Viaduct