Operating accessories

You can always print out some appropriate siding and roofing material, cut it to fit, glue it to thin cardboard, and tape it to the accessory w/ double sided tape. It's cheap, looks realistic, and does no permanent damage to the accessory. Check Evans Design (a Forum sponser) and Cleaver Models as sources. The possibilities are endless.

Chris

LVHR

Ah, my favorite topic...

My layout is 100% postwar Super-0 and very accessory-intensive. When it is done, it will have every accessory in the 1957 Lionel catalog plus my favorites from other eras. Here is a tour around the layout showing my efforts at getting a classic High-Rail look with totally unmodified accessories:

David,

It's difficult to have it both ways. Why not weather and scenic just around the newer ones as you say you are willing to do in your original post.

For the ones you want to preserve, you could scenic around the area before installing the accessories. Then just place some loose lichen or Woodland Scenics foliage around the base of the accessory with no glue.

I wouldn't use any kind of tape - that's sure to leave marks.

You could also glue coal or other ground cover to pieces of cardboard.  When dry, just place these cardboard pieces up around the bases of the accessories to hide them - again no glue or paint near the bases. If you cut the cardboard to shape carefully, you could really make the accessory base look like it's hidden by scenery.

Jim

Yes, they are original postwar. I promise you that no accessory has been harmed in any way in building this layout.  The effect you see was done by carefully cutting out pieces of construction paper (similar to Jim's cardboard suggestion) so they fit tightly around the shapes of the accessory bases.  I then spray the paper with adhesive and apply the ground cover textures.  After they dry, I place the accessory onto pink foam (often carving the foam to lower the profile of the bases) and fit the "ground" paper around it.  Completely reversible. 

I don't have a good process picture of the coal ramp, but you can kind of see it here:

Here is a better picture of the process applied to a 165 crane. The square of paper inside the tower is finished. The brown paper outside is being fitted.  It will eventually match the texture of the square: