Need ideas for adding roads, highways to layout

If you just want a simple effective process for roads, cities and industries, coupled with a lot of practical how-to info, I'd recommend Dennis Brennan's "Realistic Modeling for Toy Trains, A Hi-Rail Guide." I am into simplicity and Dennis has an awful lot of layout work boiled down just right in that book, including his very effective cities, industries, roads and highways.  This book is published by CTT and it is a good investment IMHO. 

Don Merz 070317 posted:

If you just want a simple effective process for roads, cities and industries, coupled with a lot of practical how-to info, I'd recommend Dennis Brennan's "Realistic Modeling for Toy Trains, A Hi-Rail Guide." I am into simplicity and Dennis has an awful lot of layout work boiled down just right in that book, including his very effective cities, industries, roads and highways.  This book is published by CTT and it is a good investment IMHO. 

I second this!

I have been using Safety Non Skid Tape. You can get in different sizes and colors.   I used pinstripes for the lines.   I use the white for sidewalks.  

Black  https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sidewalks, white: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Since it's a tape it stays in place, but it not tough to remove.

I made use of left over black asphalt roofing shingles. Either side works as it depends on your preference. Stripe with paint as needed. A mat knife and straight edge cuts it easily. 

Jim...check out any one of your hardware type stores for roofing felt/paper.  Very inexpensive and it looks just like asphalt. 

Alan

rboatertoo posted:

I have been using Safety Non Skid Tape. You can get in different sizes and colors.   I used pinstripes for the lines.   I use the white for sidewalks.  

Black  https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sidewalks, white: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Since it's a tape it stays in place, but it not tough to remove.

 

I "second" rboatertoo's suggestion. I have been using stair tread tape (here is the label ) , which comes in a few varieties of texture and finish. Here are some pictures of it in use by me, to offer you practical examples of what it can be made to do...

FrankM

Oldcat posted:

I made use of left over black asphalt roofing shingles. Either side works as it depends on your preference. Stripe with paint as needed. A mat knife and straight edge cuts it easily. 

I've also used asphalt roofing shingles to make O scale roads that I found taking long athletic walks. They also make pretty good shims to eliminate derailments.

Moonson posted:

rboatertoo posted:

I have been using Safety Non Skid Tape. You can get in different sizes and colors.   I used pinstripes for the lines.   I use the white for sidewalks.  

Black  https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sidewalks, white: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Since it's a tape it stays in place, but it not tough to remove.

 

I "second" rboatertoo's suggestion. I have been using stair tread tape (here is the label ) , which comes in a few varieties of texture and finish. Here are some pictures of it in use by me, to offer you practical examples of what it can be made to do...

FrankM

Very nice

That tape looks great.  6" wide with a paper backing would be fantastic for laying it down and cutting it perfectly before adhering it to the surface.  How do you hide the seems if you need to make a turn in the road though?  Have to somehow blend it in.

This is one of the highways I added....and some local businesses 

The tape blends in even when it’s overlap.  

The guys at Summerfield hobbies by Milwaukee told me to us sandpaper on a roll which I tried but it was hard to keep down.  But then I found the stair tread tape. 

I’ll post some pictures tomorrow 

 Maybe you could copy some of this.  I have been planning to do something like this in 3r/2r O ................

Kirk R posted:

That tape looks great.  6" wide with a paper backing would be fantastic for laying it down and cutting it perfectly before adhering it to the surface.  How do you hide the seems if you need to make a turn in the road though?  Have to somehow blend it in.

The tape does have a paper backing, which, once removed, allows the tape to stay-put pretty firmly (which can be expected since its intended use is for stair treads.) Your instincts about keeping the backing on while you configure and cut exactly what you want where are insightful.

Regarding turns in a roadway, or intersections, for that matter, I use a fine "N" gauge or "HO" gauge dark-gray/black "ballast" type of product I bought from two sources: Scenic Express and Dennis Brennen. I spread it and work it around with a dry paint brush. If you examine the top 2nd and 3rd photos, above, you can see I have not worked the granules thoroughly around yet, though I sometimes leave them that way to suggest a well-worn road.

Here it is further worked-in in that same project...

The scene featuring a trailer park has had the fine granules worked-in more thoroughly... which includes the fact that the "roadway, goes down a slope, from the level of the trailers to where the transients are relaxing.This close-up shows you one seam obliterated (to the immediate right of the pedestrian) and one seam farther down that slight slope which had been not yet completed in my use of the granules.

Here is another roadway made of the 3M stairway tape. A seam is still visible in one spot, before the granules and more groundcovers were more thoroughly applied...

This photo shows a project where the working-in of the fine  ballast to obliterate seams (and there were several of them) got completed to my satisfaction..

FrankM

Take a look at the road and lighter colored sidewalk in front of the red dance hall:

That does not look good to me. My Rube Goldberg solution is simply to put lichen in front of the light colored sidewalk to hide the problem. Another possibility is to paint the road or sidewalk to make the colors match. Any other ideas?

Frank, I would love to know what you would do to eliminate the seam, and make the road and sidewalk blend together better.

Arnold

Masonite or foam. 

David Minarik posted:

Masonite or foam. 

Fabulous roads, David.

Hi Everyone. Thanks so much for all of the great ideas. I'm going to have experiment w most every one of these as they all look great. I do have shingles and roofing felt paper stored in my shed, however the front doors are covers w a foot of hardened snow right now. In the mean time i will order a couple sizes and colors of the non skid tape. I never even thought of asking Dennis Brennan, he and i have booths adjacent to each other at the York TCA meets.

thanks again, hope to show some results once completed.

jim r

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Take a look at the road and liggter colored sidewalk in front of the red dance hall:

That does not look good to me. My Rube Goldberg solution is simply to put lichen in front of the light colored sidewalk to hide the problem. Another possibility is to paint the road or sidewalk to make the colors match. Any other ideas?

Frank, I would love to know what you would do to eliminate the seam, and make the road and sidewalk blend together better.

Arnold

A more careful reading of Frank's above reply gives one answer to my question. That answer is to use find ballast or granules of the correct color abd size to eliminate seams. I shall try that. It might greatly improve my sceenery. The key will be to get just the right granules.

Arnold

Masonite and foam. Smooth-it and Durham’s Water Putty with Asphalt Top-Coat. And the paint truck had a bad tie rod end. 

I have use water and ice shield.  It comes in rolls about 3 feet wide and has a sticky backing.   You can get it at building supply stores.  Ask for damaged or partial rolls sometimes roofers may also have partial rolls.  You can draw lines with felt markers.

I am working on adding a road in an industrial area. This is thin cork painted gray and weathered with chalks to represent a macadam road.

Semi truck mud flap material. The thinner stuff (some is VERY thick, like 3/8") Goes nowhere, no glue.

Semi tire tube, thinner stays put pretty well no glue. Any "roll" usually works its way out via gravity & time in some warmth.

 BONUS;  Any rubber used also adds a sound deadening property, even if it sits on top & loose, reflective sound is dampened. (Some of the softer materials mentioned by others would do this as well.)

Sandpaper sheets ; browns, or wet/dry blacks. The varying grits allow flex in consistency. Non wet dry, grits can be taken off in areas with water; and they normally take paint well. Especially old roads, they wouldn't have the seamless look of today's asphalt roads achieved by modern equipment either; sheets of varying grit give seams and variety. Any brown, torn edges, etc. blend in as a sandy base to my eyes. In an old time city, there would still be plenty of gravel/dirt roads, and alleys. The mains and privately paved areas would hold the bulk of pavement.

"Stone paint" a textured paint, comes in a spray "kit" makes for a good rough concrete.

I have been using HO cork switch pads for asphalt roads. It is the right width for a two lane road plus it has beveled sides. It is also about the same thickness as the K-Line / Williams streetcar track.

I paint it with a thin coat of the WS asphalt paint so you can see the colors of the cork come thru to make it look like a unique mix of gravel in the asphalt. In Texas you know that you have changed county's when the color and texture of the highway changes.

This photo shows  kitty litter hiding the seams, and used to make a parking lot made of gravel:

More photos showing kitty litter hiding seams:

I think the kitty litter, while not the best modeling material money can buy, improves my scenery at a nominal cost ($2.29 for a 10 pound bag of odorless, dust free and non-clumping kitty litter). 

What do you think?

Below are photos showing the scenes before using kitty litter:

Arnold

I consider myself a relative novice at scenery, and very interested in learning more techniques to improve it.

Arnold

Good topic, thanks to all who posted photos and provided some detailed explanations.   SIRT, thanks for the photos of the stub sidings in the industrial area...  I have an industrial area where I am running out of "room" for roads and warehouses and your photos provide a pretty neat solution having the sidings and street share the same real estate..