Making an HO tunnel

[Ren]

I'm wanting to do this but I think I'm a bit confused on how to start, is it ok to use some of those pre-cast portals and foam for the walls? It will eventualy be a part of a hill or mountain.

 

[Selector]

Yes, and if you are determined and adventurous enough, you could even cut out and carve a credible portal using the foam. You don't really need to line the tunnel, just create nice portals on either end and cover it with a hill of some sort. What lies between the portals is only important if you intend to run a mini-cam taking video on a flat car or something.

I have one hand-carved natural stone portal, not a carved stone one that masons would have erected...just naturally blasted stone. I use three other Woodland Scenics plaster cast ones. One is the timber style and the other two are the plaster Keystone type of masonary.

-Crandell

 

[UP2CSX]

As Crandell said, tunnels, for most practical purposes, are just a portal and a hole. You can use a foot or so of carved foam, glued to the back of the portal to suggest a blasted rock tunnel or some styrene for a concrete lined tunnel. Except in some unusual circumstance, like a very short tunnel, an observer never sees more than 6 inches to a foot inside a tunnel. The portal itself and the approaches to the tunnel are much more important to a realistic look than the inside of the tunnel.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

I cut several portals for the D&J Railroad out of plywood then just spray painted them grey.

 

[MrTrain]

You may want to look at our portals at http://www.mrtrain.com/products.asp?cat=46&pg=2 These may work well for you..

 

[PNKFLOYD]

The inside of your tunnel can be whatever is handy, from foam sheet to a cardboard box. Painting it a dark color inside will avoid drawing attention to the inside construction.
Mikey

 

[lmackattack]

They way I make my tunnels is to use the pre made portals then sourround them with foam to make a solid surface for the plaster cloth to drape over. I make the foam rough cut so that it gives the sourrounding aera a nice natural look. My Tunnel is up against the wall so It was simply an entrance and exit about 4" from the wall. it adds a nice touch even tho it has little more than 2 square feet of hillside.

 

[MGWSY]

Here is an idea, LOL ; )

 

[lmackattack]

Wth!!!! Lol

 

[kbkchooch]

MGWSY,,,, thats funny!

But don't you think that tunnel should be better ventilated, I fear your engineer could be "toasted"!!!

 

[NYW&B]

I'm wanting to do this but I think I'm a bit confused on how to start, is it ok to use some of those pre-cast portals and foam for the walls? It will eventualy be a part of a hill or mountain.

Ren - There's quite a wide range of resin, foam and plaster tunnel portals available commercially and just about any of them will produce fine results.

On my layout (photo below), I've used examples by Woodland Scenics. The hill itself is basically carved insulation foam covered with a thin layer of Sculptamold. I believe in having a short section of tunnel liner (difficult to see in the photo) so that the viewer doesn't see just an empty hole/foam if he happens to look into the tunnel. I employed a section of preprinted brick paper (actually light card stock) which I curved in an inverted U shape to depict the first 6" of the tunnel's interior.

NYW&B

 

[Doc Holliday]

I cut most of my tunnels from foam using a home-made hot knife. I rough up the foam and paint it dark brown or black. I'm using mostly scratchbuilt timber portals that I glue to the foam. I've also seen guys use crumpled up foil painted black for tunnel interiors.
Doc