I've a large area of flat Homaboard, the engine terminal, and I'd like to cover it thinly to simulate the graded area one finds in those areas. Was thinking of a thin coat of Hyrocal or something like that material. What do you use when you just want to cover an area like that to hide the Homaboard surface appearance?
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I would use thin carpet or felt, something like that. Depends on the final effect you want. A base paint with some kind of ground cover over it.
Usually the area around a roundhouse was covered in soot and cinders and weeds. I would paint the surface black for starters and then move on to ground cover. It just depends on what you want it to look like. Here are a couple pics to give you some food for thought.
Dirty dirt.... We used real dirt, mixed in a little bit of ballast of different colors and grades, and then added black paint powder to make it look grimy...... Put all the ingredients in a shaker to mix it all up, and then bam! Dirty dirt.
You have a large area to cover like we did, so it takes a lot of dirt.... or whatever you happen to use. I went to out a near by dirt road and scooped up 2, 5 gallon buckets full and brought home to sift.
Exactly what Laidoffsick said -- dirt, ballast, weeds and cinders.
The paved area is where the machine shop is now located. It was under construction when this phot was taken. The hole to the right of the turntable in the previous photo is where tha paved base is inserted to cover the access hatch.
If it were me, I'd use flat latex paint - several layers in slightly different dark/black shades, and darker ballast, as dirty gravel, etc., with a few "puddles" through in here and there.
Good hints; thanks!
Fort Pitt Highrailer modules. The TT/RH is done with
Brummy's Landscape Express rubber ballast. Different Woodlands Scenic and
Scenic Express products were added.
Application is with Elmer's white glue diluted 50/50 with water. Two to Three gallons Full strength glue was used during several applications and repairs.
We used a lot of Scenic Express Adirondack Blend 897B. There is also a Dark Adirondack Blend 898B.
I need to put in an access hatch somewhere near the turntable so I can re-rail when accidents happen. Visual alignment might be fun but not always accurate with older eyes. Waiting for the new upgraded indexing system from Ross Switch.
Access on my layout.
My hatch:
My hatch:
First, the photos you posted are great. This looks to be very well done. Extremely so in my opinion. Nice work, good looking scenery, very fine fit of hatch to cover.
Second, this looks to be like two of my hatches: rather uncomfortable to get under and to, and then very uncomfortable for me (admittedly, I carry a few extra meals around with me just in case) to fit through for access to the layout. This seems to be the norm, but I am tired of it and about to try to fix two such pain in the waist access areas on my layout in some revisions over the winter.
Again, nice work
Thank you, Lee!
Yes, one wouldn't exactly seek out this hatch as a place to relax and work in comfort.
It is really meant just for emergencies. On the plus side: As you can see, it was designed to provide access to the inside of the tunnel as well as the surrounding track. Works well for that purpose. Often I can just reach up from underneath, rather than poking my whole body up into the opening.
Lee, I'm just a big guy, what size do you think the hatches should be,
Ron
I had to dig for this picture, Micah is 13 and Olivia 10. The access hole is 20" X 20"
.....one wouldn't exactly seek out this hatch as a place to relax and work in comfort.
But, there are times in life when the solitude of a little hatch up in the plaster mountains is a good thing! 
Jim
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