Work on the layout continues, but without much visible to show for it. Mostly it’s been more of things I’ve already done: building the second set of supports for the other half of the elevated station, more roadbed painting, and preparing the fascia for the Riverside Station scene (complete with cut-out windows to view the subway). Read More...

Tags: Construction, Subway, Urban Station, Viaduct, Woodland Scenics

Roadbed is what holds up the track, and one of the most common materials for this is cork. Another is a soft foam material, such as Woodland Scenics Track-Bed. I’m using both, but mostly I’m using cork. And I’m not planning to add ballast initially, but just rest the track atop the cork. This means I need to do something about the color, as light brown cork doesn’t look like gravel. Since flexibility is one of the reasons to have roadbed in the first place--to absorb sound--painting the cork with a paint that would dry to a hard shell, like my usual latex primer, seemed like a bad idea. After reading that acrylic artist’s paint remained flexible after drying, I decided to try it out. Read More...

Tags: Construction, Scenery, Unitrack, Woodland Scenics

The latest addition is the fascia panels, sheets of painted hardboard that hide the edge of the table and foam. I’d previously done these for the River Crossing scene, but only clamped them in place. With the structure of the Urban Station scene largely settled, it was time to do them here too, and to make a permanent attachment. But with one change: instead of using a raised lip on the fascia to keep a runaway train from leaving the table and plummeting to the concrete floor, I wanted something that wouldn’t interfere with the view under the elevated station, at the Subway platforms and other elements (including a bus terminal) planned for underneath it. Sparked by a comment in a recent magazine I decided to use sheet plexiglass. Read More...

Tags: Benchwork

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, 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. My solution was a sparse set of columns, intended to look like the cylindrical concrete columns used in some large buildings. Read More...

Tags: Construction, Urban Station, Viaduct