Scenery, Bridges, & Hand Laid Track!

One of the biggest personal challenges of the Roaring Creek line is that it will almost be exclusively be built with hand laid track! And there are several reasons for why I chose to do this. First and foremost, scale realism. I am a HUGE detail fanatic and anything that could "ruin" the scale illusion is a massive eyesore to me.

Peco makes some nice looking HOn30/009 flex track, but there is one big problem with it... the rail is too big! It's somewhere around Code 80, which in HO scale is far more appropriate to HO standard gauge rail than narrow gauge. Code 55 is a much better option, though I had considered using Code 40, but was concerned with the tracking of trains. Craig Tice used Code 40 for his HOn3 Mojave & Panamint Railroad.

As you can see it was used to great effect! Code 40 would probably work for me and the RCNG, but just to increase my chances of reliability I've chosen Code 55. So as to be on the "Safe Side" if you will.

Anyway, to practice my technique on hand laying track I'm building a small diorama. I'm also going to use it to practice some scenery techniques also.

I found a small plaque to use as a base. The idea is to make a small station scene with a crossing, water tank, and a few rocks and trees. The ties were cut by a Northwest Shortline "Chopper" and then were weathered by scoring each side of the ties with a hobby saw to enhance the grain detail. The ties were then dipped into a solution of Vinegar and Steel Wool to give them the aged color you see here.

Although I don't have a place to put it at the moment, I've also started construction of one of the high bridges for the layout. I had originally bought a kit for an A-Frame bridge and trestle, but it was scaled more for road and wagon traffic rather than use as a railroad bridge. So I took the drawings and scaled them up so that it would be more appropriate for small narrow gauge use. Below is a photo of the bridge deck.

My only gripe is that I spaced the ties too far apart. I neglected to notice this as I followed the plans to build the bridge deck. It's a small oversight, but I can live with it. There's a total of 5 bridges that need to be built, however there is a possible 6th. I won't make the same oversight on them when I do get around to constructing them. Also you can see my 0-4-0 and Minitrains Combination car. A general consist will be what you see here, but with a flatcar, boxcar, gondola (all made from Marsh Creek Miniatures kits) and with the combine trailing at the end. I rather like the idea of using a combine instead of a caboose. I'm not sure if it's purely an aesthetic reason or just personal style. I know the EBT was known for doing that, as well as the Southern Pacific narrow gauge in the Owens Valley.

Next is a photo for one of many trees to be made. As I've said I'm a BIG fan of realism and most store bought trees don't do it for me, so I figured I'd try making my own! The technique follows one used in Malcolm Furlow's book on constructing the HOn3 San Juan Central model railroad. I highly recommend it myself as it has been FULL of awesome techniques for not just scenery, but for building a whole railroad! I refer to my copy often.

In the book he describes using lengths of 1/4" or 3/32" thick lengths of balsa wood, carved to form the trunk of the tree. Then he uses dried caspia to mimic the branches and foliage of the pine trees. The trunks are stained in a mix of alcohol and black ink to give it that dark grey look. I scored my trunks with a hobby saw to add extra detail.

In his method he drills small holes in the trunk and then inserts the branches into said holes with a small bit of white glue. I use Mode Podge, specifically the Matte kind which tries completely flat with no gloss or sheen to it, unlike some white glue. Furlow goes on to then spray paint his tree branches and then sprinkles fine ground foam onto them for added texture. I'm debating on whether I want to do this myself or just leave the trees as they are with the 'raw' dried caspia branches.

I have yet to finish a tree, but I'm happy with the results so far. I'll make another post on trees once I make some more progress. Until then I need to work on developing my ground cover techniques and the layout itself. Thanks for staying tuned! There's more to come!