Height of building sites and roads beside EZ track

[Derek O]

Hi everyone - just starting my scenery and landscaping and am scratching my head on this. I've read that elevating your building sites and roads 3/8" is necessary to bring them into proper scale.

I can see the doors on the boxcars will lineup with the platform edge and it will be easier for my son to drive his vehicles over the railway crossings.  But, I didn't think railroad rails are always level with the ground.

Should I be elevating just the building or walkways around the buildings? Should all the roadway be elevated or just near the crossing? Is 3/8" correct?

Details.....yikes. 

I am planning to completely landscape the layout and am not worried about 100% prototypical. Just don't want to make stupid mistakes that have me backtracking ten steps.....

Thanks for your comments.

Derek

[Atlantic Central]

Derek,

The raised base of the EZ track represents the typical roadbed that raises most railroad trackage above the the surounding terain for drainage. You shoul elevate trackside buildings like factories, stations or freight houses by about 1/4" to 3/8" to get a proper alignment of freight doors and platforms.

Other buildings not near tracks should not be raised. Grade crossings of highways can and should simply go up a slight incline to get to railtop height, then go back down the other side. Not all, but many grade crossings in real life are like this.

Even when real tracks go through a cut in the landscape, there is a ditch or drainage trench on each side of the track, so if you walked down the hill to such a track, you would then have to walk back up the gravel hill represented by the raised gray roadbed on the EZ track to get on the ties and rail.

There are places where real tracks appear level or nearly level, but that is seldom main or important trackage.

Hope this helps.

Sheldon

[ebtbob]

Derek,

      For me,  nothing helps more than pictures.   Ones I take or ones from books and magazines.   Since I have a digital camera,  I have instant access to any and all pix I take and print them out at home.   I also use pictures to help me with the weathering of rolling stock,  engines,  and structures.

Bob

[SteamGene]

As Sheldon said, build up factories with rail shipping, stations, grade crossings, etc to rail level.  Everything else should be a different level - higher or lower.  To simulate a spur, bring the surronding elevation up to track level, as spurs are frequently laid directly on the ground and then have ballast spread on it.
Gene

[Derek O]

Thanks Guys for the info. Is amazing how modeling sharpens your observation of how the real world is constructed!

I picked up some 3/16" thick sheets of foamcore at Michaels (on sale at 75% off!) and started playing around.  Used coffee stir sticks and 1/4"x3/16" balsa strips to elevate where needed. Also tried making paved roads with foamcore and 1/16" craft foam covered with soupy wall compound mixed with grey acrylic paint. My son says it looks good and his vehicles run smoothly - that's all that matters!

Derek

[Woody Elmore]

You can also try styrofoam insulation, the blue or pink stuff they sell at lumber yards, not the white beady stuff. A sheet of it may be a lot cheaper than foamcore.

There are lots of books out there that deal with scenery and I believe there are also some good scenery DVDs on the market.

[Derek O]

You can also try styrofoam insulation, the blue or pink stuff they sell at lumber yards, not the white beady stuff.

Woody - thanks. I'm using pink foam for my benchwork and tried to use it for roads and under structures. But cutting 3" wide 1/4" thick pieces is tricky with a flexible knife blade (cuts fingers real easy - I use this type of knife as it leaves no mess). I guess a sawblade or hotwire could do the trick.

Derek