TY'S MODEL RAILROAD

Mountain Tunnels - Part I

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 5/25/2011 08:34:00 PM

A completed expanded foam tunnel base structure with styrene tunnel portals at each end

Before I could start the mountain and tunnel, I had to finish the track. First was paint. I experimented for a few days to find a method that covered quickly and looked realistic. Since my layout is right beside my furnace and hot water tank and and lacks ventilation, spray paint and enamels were out of the question. That left me with hand brushing with water-based acrylics.

Three curved tracks with their ties painted with brown acrylic paint

To paint the track I used Burnt Umber acrylic. I mixed it with a bit of grey and thinned it with 25% water and 25% isopropyl alcohol. This mixture covered well and dried quite uniformly on the ties and in the webs of the rails. I had to use extreme caution when painting the turnouts, making sure I moved them frequently while the paint dried so they didn’t get stuck in place. Once the paint was dry, I cleaned any paint off the top of the rails using a fine grit sanding block.

Atlas turnouts with their ties painted with brown acrylic paint

A slightly curved track leading into a 60 degree rail crossing with brown painted railroad ties

I also temporarily placed my previously built tunnel portals at this point. This allowed me to determine the exact location of each portal and the overall size that my mountain and tunnels needed to be. Due to spacing limitations, I had to combine the small and large portal on the tunnel entrances on the right hand side of the mountain. I cut off 1" of the left base of the large portal and glued it to the top of the right side of the small portal. This now allows both portals to exist where they were both intended to be.

A single and double styrene tunnel portal placed on model railroad track to test fit

With the track and tunnel portals complete, I could finally start building the large mountain which the two tunnels will run through. Before I could build the mountain, I needed to build each tunnel structure which the mountain scenery will sit on. Each tunnel includes support walls and a common ceiling which acts as the base for the mountain.

Two single and two double styrene tunnel portals placed on model railroad track to test fit

The first task was to add an access point to the lower tunnel to rescue trains in the event of a derailment. The double wide tunnel is wide and short enough that I can access the inside from either end. The smaller, single tunnel which goes under the double tunnel is much longer and narrow and I cannot fit my hand through the portals. To solve this, I cut an opening in the benchwork right beside the track, allowing me access the track from underneath.

A triangular hole cut through the benchwork next to the model railroad track in the future tunnel

To keep the inside of the tunnels as dark as possible, I painted everything inside with black paint. Since there were sections of tunnel that didn’t have a complete wall to divide them, it was important that everything was blacked out so no light could leak through. I used cheap black acrylic paint from the dollar store, which worked great for this purpose.

Benchwork and foam painted black around track in the location of the future tunnel

I used Styrofoam to start building the walls. I used a combination of white glue and toothpicks to hold the foam together and keep it in place while the glue dried. Once dry, each wall section was painted black. I did visual checks on each end with my plastic tunnel portals in place to ensure that no wood or white Styrofoam was visible from any angle. If there was, I quickly covered it with black paint.

Expanded foam panels being installed beside ballasted train track to form tunnel walls

It was at this point that I realized that I almost forgot to ballast my track on the inside of the tunnels! This was an important step as the track will still be visible for a distance into each tunnel and would look very odd unfinished. Adding ballast after the tunnels were completed would also be very difficult.

A set of half ballasted model railroad tracks coming out of a styrene tunnel portal

I used Woodland Scenics Medium Buff ballast. This, like most everything else, was my first time ballasting track. Doing the tunnel sections first was a great place to start and practice as they will be a lot less noticeable once the tunnel is complete.

A ballasted model railroad track leading into a styrene tunnel portal

I used a ballasting method that I found to be most popular in my online research. This method is to lay the ballast on the track and shoulders, then use a brush to level it between the ties and make it uniform. Using alcohol and an eye-dropper (pipette), gently wet the ballast. This reduces the water tension when adding the glue, allowing it to wick better through the ballast. Once the alcohol soaks in, apply a liberal amount of white glue, thinned 50% with water and let this soak in as well. Be careful not to add too much glue at once or your ballast with start to flow away. Once the glue completely cures (about 24 hours) the ballast will be hard as concrete.

One thing I learned from this first ballast attempt is to not use too much ballast. You can always add more but using too much makes things messy, and it’s almost impossible to brush all of the granules off of the tops of the ties. Model Railroader Magazine has a really good article in their February 2011 edition about ballasting track. They explain a two-part application process of ballasting, where you first apply glue, then ballast, then re-apply ballast and glue again. This method looks really nice in the end. I just might try this when I complete the rest of my track.

Expanded foam and basswood panels being installed beside ballasted train track to form tunnel walls

The entrance to each portal is the most visible so it was important that there were complete walls on both sides of each portal. These needed extend far enough into the tunnel so you could not see that it ended. I places I didn't have room for Styrofoam walls, I used 1/16” basswood as a divider. This prevented light from entering either of the portal entrances, showing through to either the top or lower tunnels.

Once I ensured the tunnel portals fit correctly, I did a final visual inspection to make sure everything was pitch black inside. I then used a large template to cut a solid foam roof panel for the entire tunnel structure. I attached foam supports on the backdrop to support the back and left edge of the roof structure. I painted the roof and foam supports black then and glued it into place.

Any gaps were filled in with carefully cut pieces of foam. Upon my final inspection, there was not a single sliver of light visible inside the tunnels. Now I have a solid tunnel structure which my mountain can be built upon without any possibility of affecting the tunnels themselves.

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Tunnels

Tunnel Portals from Scratch

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 5/23/2011 03:46:00 PM

2 Comments

Signals

Trackside Signals

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 4/28/2011 09:25:00 PM

Dual trackside signal installed beside an Atlas turnout

My trackside signals are finally complete! When I purchased the little trackside signal face plates and matching LED lights off eBay last year, I thought I was being thrifty. However, I quickly realized that I was now faced with the responsibility of having to make the light standards to hold these signals. Wiring was not an issue as I had incorporated these into my main wiring system, but I now had to find a way to make them look at least somewhat realistic on my layout.

Trackside signal face with red, green, and yellow LEDs attached to power leads

As I mentioned, the signals themselves were purchased off eBay for about $8.00. This included 10 black signal face plates, 30 LED lights (red, green, and yellow), and 30 corresponding resistors. Once the LED lights were glued into the face plates, I used wire leads from stripped telephone wire that I soldered to the contact points on the LED lights. Telephone wire works great because it's cheap, the leads are very thing, and the leads are coloured red, yellow, green, and black. This makes matching them up with the lights very convenient.

Back side of a trackside signal with red, green, and yellow LEDs attached to power leads

To build the light standards, I went to my local hobby shop and visited the Evergreen Models styrene plastic display. Evergreen makes bulk styrene strips in almost every shape and size imaginable, which is great for these types of projects. I used 3/16” tubing for the mast, which is a little larger than most prototypical-sized masts. This was the smallest size tube that would allow me to run the 8 wires through for the dual signals. I then cut notches in the tops of each mast to allow the signals to fit into them.

Assorted styrene pieces from Evergreen Scale Models spread on a workbench

5 finished handmade trackside signals made from styrene tubing

I used slightly larger 5/16" tubing for the base that allowed the 3/16” tubing to fit snugly inside for the base support. The mast and support where then glued to a styrene base. I glued small rectangular pieces of thin styrene on the sides of each signal. This created a smooth transition from the signal to the mast. A second smaller piece of styrene was then glued to that, simulating a maintenance door. I used poly-filler to fill in any gaps and to smooth out any really rough edges.

Backside of a scratch built trackside signal showing an access ladder

The maintenance ladders were all hand made using .04" styrene strips. I carefully cut every rung to the exact size I needed and carefully glued them to one of the side supports. I did this on a flat surface to ensure the rungs were all aligned with the support and were all level and square. Once dry, I glued them to the back of the masts. I also added a thin styrene support bar in the middle between the ladder and mast.

Single trackside signal installed beside an Atlas turnout

I used steel coloured enamel paint for all of the metal parts, such as the ladder and mast. I used a flat grey to simulate concrete on the base. The signal units themselves were painted flat black on all sides. Once the paint dried, I drilled holes through my benchwork, allowing the wires to run through to the underside where I connected them to the rest of the wiring. I used temporary screws to hold them in place until I start my scenery.

The end result looked pretty good, considering I have never scratch built anything with styrene before. The cost was a lot less as well. Signals can run anywhere from $25 right up to $50 or $60 or higher for really nice ones. I spent in total about $30 for all 5 of mine. I know they aren’t exactly prototypical, but compared to some that I’ve seen in stores, I’m pretty satisfied with how they turned out.

For a diagram of how I wired my signals, visit my Wiring Diagrams page.

HO scale model railroad layout with installed trackside signals at various locations

Dual trackside signal installed at the entrance to a future tunnel poral

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Benchwork

One Year Anniversary

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 4/03/2011 04:15:00 PM

1 Comments

Track

Track Adjustments

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 3/27/2011 06:49:00 PM

1 Comments

Track

Fixing the Grade

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 1/24/2011 08:08:00 PM

Before and after of a track grade from 10% to 6%

As this is my first layout, almost every aspect of the construction of model railroading is new to me. Most tasks are trial and error and the amount I’m learning is extraordinary. At the same time, I’m also seeing where I went wrong, and the biggest error so far is the grade leading off my trestle down to the 60 degree crossing. This has been a huge issue since I first designed the layout. Engines would get high centered at the top of the hill and the engine's cattle guards would catch on the grade crossings, always causing a derailment. This grade had to go, so back to the drawing board I went. With a little better planning, I managed to take the grade from almost 11%, down to just over 6%.

Before photo of an original section of benchwork leading up to a wooden train trestle

I removed the entire grade to start fresh. I took two things into account when redesigning the grade. The first was that I needed to try to make the distance from the 60 degree crossing to the end of the trestle longer. Second, I had to decrease the height of the trestle. These two items were essential in making a more successful grade.

After photo of a section of benchwork that was cut back in length

To do this, I removed about 4 1/2" of the track structure leading up to the trestle, thus allowing me to move the trestle further over to the right of my layout. Second, I had to lower one end of the trestle. The trestle had almost 3/4" clearance above passing trains, so with a few modifications I lowered the trestle about 1/2” on one end. The trestle now has a down grade of about 2%.

Foam risers from Woodland Scenics replacing custom foam risers leading down from wood train trestle

For the rest of the grade, I used a 4% foam starter grade from Woodland Scenics. This allowed me to easily transition from the crossing level up to the edge of the trestle. I then used custom cut foam shims to support the new grade and to make it as smooth as possible. I added foam roadbed and one continuous piece of flex track to ensure a continuously smooth track. The end result was flawless. No more derailments and no more high centered engines!

A reduced track grade leading down from a wooden train trestle

Calculating and Working With Grades

Most prototypical modelers will tell you to build nothing with a grade over 2%. For small layouts such as mine, this isn't always possible. This is especially true if you want a layout with lots of visual interests such as tunnels, bridges, mountains and curves. To calculate grade, use the following formula:

(rise / run) x 100 = slope %

For example, say your track needs to go from point A at 0.5" elevation to point B at 4.5" elevation, a height difference (rise) of 4", and you have a 200" distance (run) between point A and B. Take the rise and divide it by the run (4 / 200). Now take that number and multiply it by 100 to get your grade percentage, which is 2% for this example.

As you can see, you would need at least 200" (16.6 feet) to raise your track 4" in elevation at a maximum grade of 2%! Unless you have a massive layout, this just isn't possible without going above 2%. Most often, you should be able to get away with grades up to 6% without many issues, though these are no longer prototypical. Keep these points in mind when planning your layout and grades:

Plan first and know your limits. When designing your layout, try to give yourself as much room as possible. The more room you have to get from point A to point B, the lower the grade will be and the less headaches you will have. There are physical limits to how steep your train can travel, especially with rolling stock.
Keep your grade as consistent as possible with smooth, gradual transitions at each end. This is almost more important than the grade itself. Transitions into and out of your grade that are too immediate will create sharp humps and valleys, resulting in engines getting high centered at the top and bottoming out at the bottom. The longer the locomotive, the more of an issue this will be. Sharp transitions can also cause rolling stock to uncouple.
Grade crossings require level track leading up to them to prevent couplers and cattle guards from catching on them. If you have a road grade crossing on your track grade, make sure the grade is no more than 2% for at least 8” before the crossing.
Experiment and test often as you build. Play around with different grades with actual track and engines before you make anything permanent. Allow for adjustments, and if it doesn’t work the first time, find what’s causing the issue and retry.
Don’t let anyone ruin your fun. The 2% rule is the standard for prototypical models that mimic real life track grades, and even in real life there are exception to that rule. The Pennsylvania Railroad operated by Madison Railroad has a grade of 5.89%! Make a layout as you see fit, after all it’s your train and your imagination. Do what makes you happy and proud.