country dirt or gravel roads

[whm2255]

Does anyone have any helpful hints as to modeling country roads.  They would be dirt or gravel.  Not much wider than one lane.

Thanks,
whm2255

[lmackattack]

Depends really, it can be both.

Most Gravel roads are somewhat maintaind by a farm/ county or a yard. A county would grade the road about once a month or less? a road to a truck yard may see maintance once a year or less.

Gravel roads tend to not let grass grow as it compacts well. Dirt/clay will have grass where tires do not roll over the serface. It really depends how busy the road is tho..

I model my gravel roads with N scale ballast and then air brush them brownish tints to make them look used.  A fresh gravel road will be white/gray untill the first or 2nd rain storm. Then all the dust washes away and any dirt will show up

[CNE Runner]

Whm225 - I have modeled dirt roads using...well - dirt. I gather the stuff and sift it well with a fine baking sifter (don't tell my wife). Should you require a very fine texture, you can further run the dirt through an old pair of pantyhose (devoid of their previous owner). MOST IMPORTANT: Dirt from the 1:1 world is full of thingies (mold, pollen, seeds, spores, critters); so it is important to bake your dirt collection in a 350 degree F oven (for a half-hour or so) before spreading on the layout. Failure to do this will result in some magnificent fungus (and mold) blooms as well as a collection of fauna to populate your scene.

The weathering or detailing of your road surface is entirely dependent upon the use and era your road depicts. For example a 19th century road, that traverses horse traffic, will have a very different look than the same road couched in the 20th century handling automobile traffic. Secondly the environment will dictate the type and condition of the road surface and any invasive plantlife (ex. a desert would present a very different surface than a sub-tropical locale).

Ray