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EMD SD40 C&O 7557, a Kato model.
Building a layout takes some time, but the prime objective is always to be able to run trains. So once the track is laid down, it needs to be well tested by running trains for a change instead of just building and building on the layout. After about a year or longer of intensive testing on the plywood prairie, depending on the degree of procrastination one is prone to, the scenicking process can begin.
Yard tracks usually have the appearance of just bare tracks on the ground with hardly any ballasting visible. In order to try to recreate that effect, I used cretestone, which is a sand-coloured gypsum-type substance used to finish ceilings. (We're lucky here in the Cape, where cretestone is yellowish - up north it is lily-white like plaster of paris.) I also use it for rock moulds, and it can then be stained to achieve the required rock colours. Like with plaster of paris, it's messy to work with the wet stuff around trackwork and once it's hardened, it's a lot of hard work to get the set stuff out of places that it shouldn't have been. So I spread the dry powder around and shaped it with a paintbrush, also creating a road in the process. Once it was in place to my liking, I wet it by spraying a fine mist all over it. Once it set, it took very little work to finish it. All I had to do was to sand the road down smooth, and apply some black stain between the tracks to get the appearance of yard tracks that have seen fuel and coal spills over time.
Here is the final result. The foam foliage between the tracks is still a bit on the dense side, but it will be thinned out over time as the tracks are cleaned and vacuumed from time to time. The one remaining job here was to finally try out Ted Anderson's "Realroad" to change the road from a dirt road to tarmac. To do that, I first made a paper template that fits exactly on the existing gravel road.
This paper template is then used to trace the outlines of the road onto plastic, using a permanent marker. The Realroad paste is then spread onto the plastic like butter on bread, and smoothed with a credit card so that the edges go about 10 mm past the outside edges of the road's outlines on the plastic. It is then left like this overnight to dry.
Once it's dry, the Realroad looks a lot like the old Marley-tiles of years ago, and it can just be peeled off the plastic. The lines from the permanent marker will have transferred themselves to the back of the set realroad, and it's then easy to just cut out the road along the lines. It's a good idea to first check it on the layout before cutting it out, so allowance can be made for some shrinkage during the drying process.
Here is the made-to-fit road. Test fit it on the layout before proceeding with the road markings.
The road marking lines are done by applying tape to the road and then drawing the lines in between the tape strips with white and yellow markers. (The markers and the tape come as part of the Realroad kit.)
I even marked out some parking bays for 40 foot trailers here.
All that remains is to put the road in place. I used white wood glue to set it in place.
And here is the final result. Should you want to find out more about Realroad, go take a look at Ted Anderson's website.
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The following pages contain decoder installation guides for a few N scale diesel locomotives:
And the following pages contain guides to servicing or performance enhancement of some N Scale diesel locomotives:
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Created on 29 August 2003. Last updated on 2 October 2003.
