Small Highway/Switching Layout

[Trucklover]

Okay so, im getting real sick of sitting here and waiting to start on my M&ET modules. Still also waiting to hear back from the 2 places i turned in resume's to for a new job...

So if i cant buy the things i need to start the M&ET modules and buy the things i need to finish the CAT Rental Moudle right now i will compromise and work on something that i can build and start building right now. Its killing me not being able to work on anything.

Anyways, so i dismantled most of my old shelf layout but i left a few sections up that i had planned on using for storage. But i had a change in plans cuz i hated seeing all the sweet buildings i had built up and just sitting there. After going to Palm Springs this past weekend for my Girlfriends Cheer Competition and seeing the UP mainline along side State Highway 10, I have decided that this would be a pretty cool scene to model. I plan to have model a section near the house that we stayed in for 2 nights in Palm Desert. I want to model Highway 10, Washington Street exit off the 10, and the double UP tracks that pass by the area. I also am adding in a small section for switching that is totally fictional lol.

This layout is 12'x4'x18" L-shaped shelf layout. HO scale of coarse and should make for some very nice picture spots. Im making my Highway 10 model 6 lanes wide (3 in each direction) which is what it is in real life. Im also adding in a 2-1/2" section that separates the 6 lanes. I noticed that it is sorta like a ditch, so i will make mine like that as well and adding in a little water here and there.

I also noticed that alot of the double UP tracks were lined with trees on both sides of the 2 tracks. the only reason i can think for this is a wind break because the run alot of double stack trains coming from the Port Of Long Beach inland.... But i thought this would be a neat thing to model so i will do that on the left side of the layout. The tracks will also be elevated a bit from the highway, as i noticed this was another thing along Highway 10, the tracks were up higher.

The overpass/ exit for Washington Street will be a bit of a challenge. In real like the exit for the street travels up and meets up to a high overpass that crosses the highway and tracks. I want to do this as well, should make for another cool detail.

Right now, the only thing i will need to get are overpass kits and some Central Valley Mainline Tie Strips, Couple Central Valley #8 turnout kits, and some Code 83 rail, which hopefully by the time im done working out all the kinks and layout of this layout ill have a job to buy the above things lol

The small switching section which is 4'x18" includes all the following Walhers Cornerstone Buildings and Backround Buildings:

2 Buds Trucking Backround Buildings bashed together to make a long building
1 Centennial Mills Backround Building
1 Armstrong Electric Motors Backround Building
1 Heritage Furniture Backround Building combined with a George Roberts Printing Building

Here is a few pics of the layout of the buildngs and the start of the right side of the Highway

More Progress to come soon!! Also finally have a reason to do a tutorial on how to do roads with Woodland Scenics Smooth-It, so i should also have that up tomorrow

 

[UP2CSX]

Seems like a great project. The only comment I have is that the K-rail in the center divider seems a little high but that may be because the the highway isn't in yet. The SP was the one that planted those Tamarisk trees probably 40 years ago now. They were planted as windbreaks since the winds really howl through Banning Pass at times. This wan't to protect the trains from the wind. It was done to prevent sand dunes from forming along the right of way and then blocking the tracks when the wind blew. Those double stacks can take a lot of wind - just think of a train doing 70 mph with a bunch of them in the consist.

 

[Trucklover]

Thanks Jim!!

Seems like a great project. The only comment I have is that the K-rail in the center divider seems a little high but that may be because the the highway isn't in yet.

You lost me lol, i dont have a K-rail in there yet . my plans for the center divider is to dig down a bit in sorta like a U shaped trench. This is what i noticed alot of the divider between the lanes of traffic when traveling down Highway 10. There was also small patches of water here and there, both in the center divider and off to the sides on the "right of ways"

Unfortunately, my highway is just to wide to have a "right of way" or "shoulder" which is something i had planned that i wanted to do but 18" just isnt wide enough for both a 6 lane highway and a double track next to it all well ill figure something out lol

The SP was the one that planted those Tamarisk trees probably 40 years ago now. They were planted as windbreaks since the winds really howl through Banning Pass at times. This wan't to protect the trains from the wind. It was done to prevent sand dunes from forming along the right of way and then blocking the tracks when the wind blew. Those double stacks can take a lot of wind - just think of a train doing 70 mph with a bunch of them in the consist.

Ahhhh thats what we were thinking when we were passing them I didnt know the SP had done that though, thanks for that info

 

[Trucklover]

Quick little update.

I let the freshly poured white pavement dry overnight hehe

Well i woke up this morning and it still isnt quite dry. Anyways i pulled up the paving tape guild lines and smoothed out any "bubbles" or lumps in the pavement. vacuumed the area and got up all the excess that had fallen off or been scrapped up after smoothing out the first coat and then proceeded to the next section of highway to be poured with its first coat.

I also made a quick mock-up of the on-ramp to the highway. I still need to do a quick cardboard structure for the off-ramp on the other side. The bridge that crosses the highway and tracks (Washington Street) will be 5-1/2" above the highway and tracks and that provides clearance for double stacks which was the main freight i saw traveling down the 10.

I also had to curve the highway to make room for this on-ramp/off-ramp set-up for Washington Street. This resulted in the 3 lanes traveling towards the left of the layout to be shrunk down form 3 to 1 lanes to keep the center divider in there....

Here are some brief pics

 

[Trucklover]

Looking back at this, it appears that the on-ramp is a bit steep, might have to re-do this lol

what do you think?

 

[Trucklover]

I have made a new ramp, just working on the other side of it now. ill post some pics when i get it done. In the meantime:

Layed the first coat of the next section of Highway 10. I also put a second coat on the first section of Highway 10 i layed last night. Next to come is section 3 first coat, section 2 second coat, and section 1 third top coat followed by a tutorial on the WS Smooth-It and how i use it

 

[Trucklover]

Okay so, Here is the ramp that has been built longer with less of a grade. Its still a bit steep but its better then it was before lol. It's 5' long lol and i will not have enough room to model the off-ramp on the otherside of Washington Street, only the on-ramp will be modeled, the off-ramp will be a partial and keep going as if there was no wall lol

Here are a few pics of the ramp and also some smoothing/filing of the newly layed section of the 10

 

[Rico]

Much better incline on that ramp, no need to gear down!
Lookin' good~!

 

[Trucklover]

Much better incline on that ramp, no need to gear down!
Lookin' good~!

LOL thanks Rico I to like the ramp much better, although it does take up a ton of space lol

Im about to post the last of the progress for the night and prolly for this weekend. Weekends are usually dedicated to my girlfriend hehe, and since she has Friday though Monday off from school, i suspect not much work on the layout will be done LOL

 

[Trucklover]

So i pulled the on-ramp up off the layout one last time, this time to add some support to the inside of the structure before i add the pavement to the top. Im glad i did it, it made it a lot more rigid and really helped it stand up straight and look better. I have not decided what im going to do with the sides of the on-ramp, but im thinking of gluing plastic or card stock "concrete" to it, that should look pretty cool I will also add k-rail barriers along both sides of it all the way down the ramp.

Here is a couple pics

Look up the on-ramp

These next 3 shots show the first coat of the pavement on the ramp. This is just to show that the first coat of the Smooth-It does not have to be perfect at all, its a first rough coat. Once this dries, you can scrap off any raised parts, open the air gaps, and fill in any holes or dips with the second, third and or fourth coat if need be. I am working on getting all the pictures i need for the tutorial on the Smooth-It right now, so bare with me, i still need pictures of the 2nd coat or semi-smooth coat, 3rd coat or smooth coat, and or the 4th coat or touch-up coat. i should have this tutorial up in a few days, like i mentioned in my last post, my weekend is most likely going to be busy with the girlfriend hehe

The picture above shows the smooth coat that was applied to parts of the 1 section of pavement that was layed. This particular area of the first coat still needs 1 more touch up coat after this dries. the rest of section 1 is complete and just needs a coat of paint

Here you can see most of the first section is now complete minus painting

 

[Trucklover]

I had another thought, and i know this cant be good LOL

On the left side of the layout, im going to curve the Highway into the wall so it disappears. Im not going to model the off-ramp for Washington Street like i had planned, Instead, for the Washington Overpass that crosses the freeway and 2 tracks, i will make a road coming off the overpass towards the wall side and make it wrap around sorta creating a view block for the 2 tracks going into the wall. The road that branches off the overpass will continue and come down on the shelf that is already in place. On this shelf will be the home of a Cement Company and Asphalt Plant.

Ill post some pics as soon as i start this part so you guys can better understand lol

 

[UP2CSX]

Whoops, for some reason, I was confused by the perspective of the space in the middle of the road and it looked like K-rail to me. I blame bad eyesight and old age.

It's kind of hard to picture what you're planning to do now but having things look good as they disappear into walls isn't easy. You might think about a strategically placed mirror.

Not meaning any criticism of your work but your road surfaces are exactly why I hated Smooth-It. The problem was it never came out smooth, plus it was sloppy and took a lot of work. Using sheet styrene for roads worked out much better.

 

[Trucklover]

Whoops, for some reason, I was confused by the perspective of the space in the middle of the road and it looked like K-rail to me. I blame bad eyesight and old age.

It's kind of hard to picture what you're planning to do now but having things look good as they disappear into walls isn't easy. You might think about a strategically placed mirror.

Not meaning any criticism of your work but your road surfaces are exactly why I hated Smooth-It. The problem was it never came out smooth, plus it was sloppy and took a lot of work. Using sheet styrene for roads worked out much better.

LOL no problem

For the roads and tracks disappearing i was planning on doing the highway going into the wall behind the on-ramp, this is a spot that is blind and you cant see it back there, at least in person, pictures is a different story, The idea of the other overpass going to the shelf on the left side is to attempt to hide the tracks disappearing into the wall somewhat... lol. I like the idea of using a mirror and i just might have to give that a shot

dont worry about criticism on my work, i think its a good thing when people suggest things to fix and improve Of coarse there is a level of criticism that is going to far but ive never had this problem from anyone on the forums that i belong to lol

I hear you about the Smooth-It and the fact that it never ever becomes completely smooth, but in real life, roads are never smooth, okay there smooth when there first paved, but after that, there never smooth again, until they grind off a layer and re-pave.... Smooth-It can be messy at time, but with the use of the paving tape, a spreader, and a couple of putty knifes, this can be easily accomplished by anyone and clean-up is just part of the game of laying the pavement. You have to be willing to clean up excess material that has spilled over the paving tape if you want to use Smooth-It. Its easy and not hard really, and in my personal opinion, Smooth-it works better then anything else and yields the best results when used correctly with a certain level of patients, again thats my personal opinion lol

Ill be sure to go into more details when i do this tutorial on Smooth-It coming up here soon...

 

[Trucklover]

Little Update on this project

I have since smoothed some more sections of the highway out and more of the highway has been nearly completed (with just a few spots needing touch up coat and the rest needing a coat of paint)

I also set up a brief layout of the cement plant. I layed plaster cloth down to form a small hill to help cover up the lowered shelf (due to my inaccurate shelf bracket mounting lol). I also pulled to small Model Power Sand Bunkers. I sanded them down, gave them a coat of paint, and next they will be weathered and filled with materials for the Cement Plant.

Shows how i apply the second, third and fourth coats if needed.

The results of the smoothing from the picture above

The before and after of a little work to connect the ramp and the highway. Some minor chipping might be needed when the lanes get layed out....

The new section of highway i layed this morning

The Cement Plant, Sand Bunkers, and small hill that is below the 2 mainline tracks


Im also almost done with the pictures i will need to do the WS Smooth-It Tutorial, so that will come very shortly

 

[UP2CSX]

Josh, you do a lot better job with Smooth-it than I ever did. I'll be looking forward to your tutorial. This is the one street I did with Smooth-it before I have up and went with styrene. I think it came out OK but it was several hours of work for a relatively small street.

 

[stlgevo51]

Looking great, can't wait to see it finished!

 

[Trucklover]

Thanks Jim and stigevo51 for the comments

Jim what i can see in the picture, the road looks pretty good

 

[Trucklover]

Spent the better part of the day working on the ramp and bridge for the shelf on the left of the layout

here are some pics, i made the entire thing out of cardboard. Now just needs a 4 lane divided highway paved on there and concrete panles installed on the walls (which will be cardstock, having them custom made)

A few shots of behind the sand bunkers. I added some paint and ground foam, next will be some bushes, rocks, trees.....

A few shots of the newly built bridge and ramp. Again this will be lined with concrete panels printed on cardstock. It will have a 4 lane highway running along it, 2 lanes in each directions with a k-rail divider running down the center and on either side of the bridge

This is where the last bridge part will be. This will be Washington Street and will run into the wall, connecting the bridge above, and the on-ramp to the highway. This bridge will run over across the sand bunkers and to the edge of the layout.... This will also be a 4 laned bridge, with 2 lanes in each direction and k-rail barriers down the center and on either side of the bridge

The highway under this bridge will curve into the wall. I made the mistake of layiing more highway today and i wasnt thinking of where i would have to make the highway curve into the wall, so now i have to dig up some of the new highway so i can curve it into the wall lol

 

[Trucklover]

Put the last coat on the second section of highway i layed a few days ago. Waited for the coat to dry then painted the highway with a gray paint i mixed up. I used WS Asphalt Top coat and white paint to come up with this gray mix.... Paint is still wet so that is why there is a bit of a shine on it lol, that and the light from the window. As you can see, the road is not completely smooth, but what road is? Completely smooth is not something you want to go for, its less prototypical, and i think, from what you see in the second picture with the coat of paint bringing out tiny cracks and ruts, it makes it look all the more better and realistic :mistht:

 

[Trucklover]

Here is the trackplan for the small layout. It consists of a small switching section on the right side, siding for open hopper cars for the cement plants bulk unloaded on the left side, a small one track siding for picking up a couple cars on the left side + a small one track siding on the right side for the same, and a couple run around tracks in the middle for a small engine to get around the cars after it picks them up from the small siding on the left and switch them into the buildings and sidings on the right side....

1. Blue Star Ready Mix Concrete Batch Plant
2. Blue Star Ready Mix's Bulk Materials Unloader Conveyor/Pit
3. Blue Star Ready Mix's Bulk Materials Bunkers
4. Blue Star Ready Mix Asphalt Batch Plant (not drawn in)
5. Ramp/Bridge from Washington Street Bridge
6. Washington Street Bridge
7. Highway On-Ramp from Washington Street to Highway 10
8. Highway 10 (not drawn in, 6 lane highway with center divider)
9. Centennial Mills (Rail and or Truck Loading Dock)
10. Armstrong Electric Motors (Truck Loading Dock Space)
11. Un-Known Company (Rail Access and 3 Truck Docks
12. Un-Known Company (4 Rail Access Doors, 2 Truck Docks)
13. Atlas Code 83 19 Degree Crossing
14. Walthers Code 83 #6-1/2 Curved Turnout

Red Tracks ~~ BNSF/UP Mainline
White Track ~~ Blue Star Ready Mix's Bulk Materials Track
Black Track ~~ Sidings and all other trackage for switching

~~ALL Switches are Central Valley Code 83 #8 Turnouts
~~All Track is Central Valley. Mainline are CV's Mainline Ties with Code 83 Rail. All Other tracks are CV's Branchline Tracks with Code 70 Rail
~~Minimum Radius is 18"
~~No 6-Axle locos will be used off the Mainline, only small 4-Axle's will be used to switch with
~~Power Source is the MRC Prodigy Wireless DCC System


What do you think? This will fit on the shelfs that i have right now, all that will need to be done is to add a few inches to the front of the layout right now for the run-around tracks. This should keep me busy till i get the M&ET modules started, all i need to buy is the track/rail and a few sheets of cardstock printed with concrete panels for the bridges/ramps