I use Elmers white glue. I tape off things I don't want grass on. I put it in a drywall tin and slop it liberaly with a 2 1/2 inch paint brush. I then sprinkle grass over it sometimes 2 or 3 colors. If I see glue working its way to the top I sprinkle more grass. I've found it's easier to pull the tape before it's dry or it can tear the edges. The next day I take my shop vacume and keep it just above the grass to get rid of the extra. If there's any spots I miss I blot with a glue brush and resprinkle and vacume when dry. Here's a couple pictures and thanks for asking,

The photos  certainly assist  for I would never thought we must use so much of the glue as you have displayed.  

Taping is a great idea as well as removing the tape early prior to the drying.

Question- And so it’s a must to apply the grass to the surfaces by shaking and spreading the mixture of grasses.  When possible we must remove the structures off from the areas we are adding grass?

Question. Do we mix our different colors of grasses in a separate container or bowl to reach our colors we wish to achieve?

And do you have a favorite shaker bottle from which you apply the mix?   Or do you apply the grass with your fingers?

Question- this will be my first attempt to apply grasses .  Do you recommend to practice on like a separate flat surface, styrofoam or wooden board?

@Seth Thomas posted:

The photos  certainly assist  for I would never thought we must use so much of the glue as you have displayed.  

Taping is a great idea as well as removing the tape early prior to the drying.

Question- And so it’s a must to apply the grass to the surfaces by shaking and spreading the mixture of grasses.  When possible we must remove the structures off from the areas we are adding grass?

Question. Do we mix our different colors of grasses in a separate container or bowl to reach our colors we wish to achieve?

And do you have a favorite shaker bottle from which you apply the mix?   Or do you apply the grass with your fingers?

Question- this will be my first attempt to apply grasses .  Do you recommend to practice on like a separate flat surface, styrofoam or wooden board?

You don't have to remove the stuctures but it makes it muh easier.

I keep all my colors seperate but I do mix them I have some running low.

I use alot of glue because I like to do 1 to 3 square feet at a time and want it to stay wet.

In areas like along the tracks I put the light color or dead grass down first.

Then a little bit  of the chunky to simulate weede.

Then I work in different shades over lapping.

Let dry and vacume, try not to let the vacume touch keep a couple inches up.

Woodland Scenics shackers are very easy to use.

I don't think practice is necessary it's hard to mess up.

Appears we blend the colors on the surface rather than in a shaker…

You have instructed as well as inspired…

Thank you so much and a Great Wednesday!

John d.

@Seth Thomas posted:

The photos  certainly assist  for I would never thought we must use so much of the glue as you have displayed.  

Taping is a great idea as well as removing the tape early prior to the drying.

Question- And so it’s a must to apply the grass to the surfaces by shaking and spreading the mixture of grasses.  When possible we must remove the structures off from the areas we are adding grass?

Question. Do we mix our different colors of grasses in a separate container or bowl to reach our colors we wish to achieve?

And do you have a favorite shaker bottle from which you apply the mix?   Or do you apply the grass with your fingers?

Question- this will be my first attempt to apply grasses .  Do you recommend to practice on like a separate flat surface, styrofoam or wooden board?

Dave's methods are spot on. I do the same for large areas. I spread the glue first, sprinkle the grass, and then after it sets up a little, I spray the area with water with a couple drops of dish soap, and then go over the whole area with diluted glue, also with a few drops of soap added. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water and allows it to soak into the material easily.

For shakers I will use the WS products right out of the bottle for large areas. I also have a few empty spice jars with shaker tops for smaller areas. For ballast and gravels I have a bunch of measuring caps from laundry detergent.

Here are the tools of the trade.

farmerjohn,

Just gorgeous. Congratulations and a job well done.

Dave

I appreciate the scenery techniques discussed on the forum. There is some real artwork on display here.

I started the repaint of the Lionel 53 RioGrande snowplow into a yard switcher for the coal company. The window struts were replaced with plastic from a CD case (a little wider than the original) and the body and bumpers shot with gray primer. The plan is to paint the body "engine black" color with yellow decals. I think the side railings will end up safety yellow as well.

Added sidewalks for houses, Gravel drive ways for trailer park, a guard rail on the curve in the ally and about 2 feet of grass between the edge of the table and the tracks. I also removed the farm house it will be replaced with 2 more row houses.

Cody, Outstanding F-3s, what a great gift from your dad! Sorry you have to take it down to make room for other stuff!

Dave, Outstanding job on the grass, ally and sidewalks! I really like the placement of the houses and trailers! I really like your car collection! As for how you do it, that sure is alot of glue! But then again I do it the same way and thats why I buy it in gallon jugs!

FarmerJohn, your river scene is just Amazing! It can only be a preview of what the rest of your layout is going to be like!

Victor, That sure is going to be sharp when your done! I hope you will post photos of the finished product!

Well as for me I started the work on the retaining wall for my road coming down from the town to the park area. I cut 1/8" paneling to shape, wet it down and clamped it into place to let dry so hopefully it will hold it's shape!

After that I did some real exciting stuff like sifting my old ballast I took up with a homemade sifter as I didn't have one the right size.

What didn't go threw the new sifter was washed with soap and water, then rinsed 4-5 times. Then the fun part started, I took all my washed ballast out to the BBQ and commenced to cook till it was done to the right flavor and smell! LOL

With this wonderful project done I have all my used ballast ready to be placed back on the layout, the only problem now is I have to wait till I go to town to pick up some more Elmer's glue in the gallon jugs! LOL

I hope everyone is doing well and is having a good week sofar! I hope you all find time to have fun with your layout and trains!

@mike g. posted:

Cody, Outstanding F-3s, what a great gift from your dad! Sorry you have to take it down to make room for other stuff!

Dave, Outstanding job on the grass, ally and sidewalks! I really like the placement of the houses and trailers! I really like your car collection! As for how you do it, that sure is alot of glue! But then again I do it the same way and thats why I buy it in gallon jugs!

FarmerJohn, your river scene is just Amazing! It can only be a preview of what the rest of your layout is going to be like!

Victor, That sure is going to be sharp when your done! I hope you will post photos of the finished product!

Well as for me I started the work on the retaining wall for my road coming down from the town to the park area. I cut 1/8" paneling to shape, wet it down and clamped it into place to let dry so hopefully it will hold it's shape!

After that I did some real exciting stuff like sifting my old ballast I took up with a homemade sifter as I didn't have one the right size.

What didn't go threw the new sifter was washed with soap and water, then rinsed 4-5 times. Then the fun part started, I took all my washed ballast out to the BBQ and commenced to cook till it was done to the right flavor and smell! LOL

With this wonderful project done I have all my used ballast ready to be placed back on the layout, the only problem now is I have to wait till I go to town to pick up some more Elmer's glue in the gallon jugs! LOL

I hope everyone is doing well and is having a good week sofar! I hope you all find time to have fun with your layout and trains!

Nice work mike. I always wanted to try the wood bending. I also buy glue by the gallon. I work fast and sloppy but I wear a shop appron other wise I'd be covered in paint and scenery.  I have a 5 gallon bucket of used gray ballast + a bunch of new left from my last layout. If any one wants any used it's available free + priority mail shipping cost.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

Nice work mike. I always wanted to try the wood bending. I also buy glue by the gallon. I work fast and sloppy but I wear a shop appron other wise I'd be covered in paint and scenery.  I have a 5 gallon bucket of used gray ballast + a bunch of new left from my last layout. If any one wants any used it's available free + priority mail shipping cost.

Thanks Dave, I just keep alot of wet paper towels around to try and keep my hands clean, but do happen to wipe them on my pants. It really gets to the wife when she finds dried glue on my jeans! LOL

I weathered my track cleaning car.

Think it's ready for clearcoat but I will wait for the jury report.

Bob

Looks like a pretty well maintained piece of MOW equipment!! Nice job.

That really turned out nice Bob. Great detail and it’s nicely enhanced by the weathering. Congratulations, great job.

Thanks Guys.

RSJB18, Bob, wow, now that’s a uniquely cool track cleaning car, looks heavy, great color, neat piping. MOW, should do the job. Keep the pictures coming. Happy Railroading Everyone

@RSJB18 posted:

I

Really nice work, Bob. Don't forget to mildly rust up and weather the trucks to match the rest of the car.

@leapinlarry posted:

RSJB18, Bob, wow, now that’s a uniquely cool track cleaning car, looks heavy, great color, neat piping. MOW, should do the job. Keep the pictures coming. Happy Railroading Everyone

Thanks Larry- It's been a fun project. I achieved lot's of "firsts" on this one.

@Strap Hanger posted:

Really nice work, Bob. Don't forget to mildly rust up and weather the trucks to match the rest of the car.

I will. I wanted to get the car body done first. I will hit the wheels next.  Thanks

Bob

Well Bob, it all came together and it looks fantastic !  Job well done..     JP

I worked on the other end of my table today. I have a small back and fourt switching area but my turnaround was to short only allowing a switcher and 1 short car. I pulled everything off and flipped the design. To simulated access the far end by the background buildings will be against a mirror as well as the short run off the 90. I may make minor changes but it's close. I still have to run a seperate power feed and wire the switches.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

I worked on the other end of my table today. I have a small back and fourt switching area but my turnaround was to short only allowing a switcher and 1 short car. I pulled everything off and flipped the design. To simulated access the far end by the background buildings will be against a mirror as well as the short run off the 90. I may make minor changes but it's close. I still have to run a seperate power feed and wire the switches.

Like that track configuration Dave. Quite an interesting look.  You'll have nice space for scenery and buildings.

What are the dimensions of the layout and what material do you have layed down as the base ?

I was wondering if you had rubber backing on the bottom of the track for noise suppression.       

@Ralph M posted:

"What did you do above your layout today? Lost several overhead fluorescent lights in the basement ceiling. Of course they're above the layout and they went up before the layout did. Somebody didn't think about how he would ever reach them if they needed servicing! Boy, do I regret it now. They all need their ballasts replaced so it's not as simple as switching tubes. The first one took me about an hour. Although accessible, it required a lot of stretching, bending, reaching to accomplish. I think I may have invented some new yoga positions along the way.

For the next one, I'll have get up onto the layout just to reach it. I built the layout strong enough to hold me but there's a lot of scenery and "stuff" that needs to move out of the way and then be put back hopefully, just like it was. I've already decided it will easier (and that's a relative term) to take the fixture down, service it and then put it back up.

If your just building your train room/layout, don't make this same mistake. It's quite painful.

-RM

Don't see how your layout is situated in you room Ralph .🤔

Possibly forgetting about the fluorescent lights and if you have room maybe some directional lighting with warm LED spots or floods just in front of the layout.

I only have overhead lighting mostly and I would rather have more light facing the engines and rolling stock so as to bring out more detail.

Don't do so much stretching, bending and reaching that you can't make it down to the layout room. 🤕

Bob, if you ask me I think it looks great! IMO it's ready for clearcoat!

Dave, Nice change up, but I am a little confused on how you get from the main loop to the storage sidings?

Ralph M, One whise man told me that everything you do on your layout is a learning experience! This one is one I would really not want to be confronted with! Sorry about you having to learn yoga and inventing more moves! You might think about replacing them with LED's!

Well today I went out and ballasted more track with my freshly cooked ballast. No photos as I know how exciting that is! LOL I also worked on the retaining wall for my road going down to the park. I was able to remove the clamps and everything stayed in place I put in a few small screws to make sure it stayed!

I hope everyone is having a great day!

@mike g. posted:

I hope everyone is having a great day!

The mult layered construction really is impressive Mike.  This is going to be something special with the scenery. 🤓

@Dallas Joseph posted:

The mult layered construction really is impressive Mike.  This is going to be something special with the scenery. 🤓

Thank you sir! Tomorrow I will do more ballasting, and today I am going to look on the internet for something I can print out for my retaining walls!

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Like that track configuration Dave. Quite an interesting look.  You'll have nice space for scenery and buildings.

What are the dimensions of the layout and what material do you have layed down as the base ?

I was wondering if you had rubber backing on the bottom of the track for noise suppression.       

Dallas, The layout is 5 feet 9 inches wide by 20 feet 2 inches long. The large oval is 054 with a 12 feet 6 inches of straight in between.  There was a loop with 042 but I removed it in favor of scenery. The bump out on the end is 27 by 28 with a 45 degree piece added. The bass is 2 x 4 foot ceiling tiles on top of 5/8 plywood. I went a little crazy worrying about continuity so every track has wire soldered under it with silicone holding it. This does deaden the noise but the track is not screwed down so it's actually quiet. I went with the MTH older solid rail because I hate ballasting and I had fast track in the past that rusted and lost continuity.

Mike, The switching portion of the layout is seperate from the loop on purpose. In past layouts I conected the sometimes with mutiple switches which were never used. I like a train running the loop despite others thinking it's boring. I also like switching so I can move cars navigating the crossing while the other train goes around. I also envy your ballest work I've done it twice and never again.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

Dallas, The layout is 5 feet 9 inches wide by 20 feet 2 inches long. The large oval is 054 with a 12 feet 6 inches of straight in between.  There was a loop with 042 but I removed it in favor of scenery. The bump out on the end is 27 by 28 with a 45 degree piece added. The bass is 2 x 4 foot ceiling tiles on top of 5/8 plywood. I went a little crazy worrying about continuity so every track has wire soldered under it with silicone holding it. This does deaden the noise but the track is not screwed down so it's actually quiet. I went with the MTH older solid rail because I hate ballasting and I had fast track in the past that rusted and lost continuity.

Mike, The switching portion of the layout is seperate from the loop on purpose. In past layouts I conected the sometimes with mutiple switches which were never used. I like a train running the loop despite others thinking it's boring. I also like switching so I can move cars navigating the crossing while the other train goes around. I also envy your ballest work I've done it twice and never again.

Dave, thanks for the explanation! I, agree with you about Ballasting I dont know if I will ever do it again when I am done with this one! LOL

Definitely a nice size Dave. You should have a good time with that size..

Was a wire soldered to each individual piece of track Dave ?   🤤    is the silicone glue holding the wire ammonia free ?     I'm not sure but does the ammonia in some glues cause oxidation ?? 🤔

I like the idea of the ceiling tiles to help with the sound deadening.            My layout is simply on carpet and the base is 30 inch × 8 foot tables made of some type of plastic .   The main run is 5×16 feet with a yard thats 30 inch×6 feet.  I don't have any issues with noise except a small amount in a small area were the big Imperial Railking Allegheny makes itself known.

Not every piece of my MTH track is solid but in 5 years I haven't seen any corrosion .   The only extensive wiring I've done is to have the two outside rails wired together on each piece of track.

  I haven't done any ballast to the track.   Actually if the manufacturing process made the plastic ' ballast ' partially cover the ties a little , it would look better.  Some of the scenery could mask the rest.      Not for the purist but but it would work for me.

The only thing I wanted to do so far is try to use some kind of material to use on the sides of the elevated sections.  I've seen what looks like iron sides on various layout but I don't know what is being used for the look.

Have fun....... be safe 😷

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Was a wire soldered to each individual piece of track Dave ?   🤤    is the silicone glue holding the wire ammonia free ?     I'm not sure but does the ammonia in some glues cause oxidation ?? 🤔

Dallas yes on the solde every piece is soldered  underneath.

And the silicone I use does not cause corrosion. I've used it for years as it holds great but can be removed with a little effort.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

Wow 😨 Dave ......every track piece gets juice......what dedication to the task at hand. 🙄

........and the silicone you have does not cause corrosion.....EXCELLENT  👍

I put a base under my gas station touched up the road and added a little grass.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Wow 😨 Dave ......every track piece gets juice......what dedication to the task at hand. 🙄

........and the silicone you have does not cause corrosion.....EXCELLENT  👍

Actually every peice has wire soldered from one to another with 4 feeds soldered to the bottom and 4 soldered to the top in case 1 of the bottoms have an issue. Overkill and redundancy.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

Actually every peice has wire soldered from one to another with 4 feeds soldered to the bottom and 4 soldered to the top in case 1 of the bottoms have an issue. Overkill and redundancy.

You are my kind of railroad guy  👍...........next time I put up another layout I'll have to refer back to your post. 

Dave, Outstanding looking gas station! With your road work and grass, it looks like maybe a new development might be going in!

I did some more ballasting and started work on some wood rails to go along my lower loop. here is what I have so far!

@mike g. posted:

Dave, Outstanding looking gas station! With your road work and grass, it looks like maybe a new development might be going in!

I did some more ballasting and started work on some wood rails to go along my lower loop. here is what I have so far!

Thank you! Very messy area to ballast. Did you use a drop cloth, shop vac or both? Looks great so far.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

Thank you! Very messy area to ballast. Did you use a drop cloth, shop vac or both? Looks great so far.

Hi Dave, Thank You! I use a dixie cup to sprinkle the ballast out, then a small paint brush to get it into place. Wet it down with a small mist of wetwater and then the small bottle of 50/50 water and glue. No shop vac, or drop cloths. I go back the next day and use a paint brush to sweep up all lose ballast to use later that day.

@Dave Ripp. posted:

I put a base under my gas station touched up the road and added a little grass.

Hi Dave, I recognize the concrete tiles as I had some on my layout. I'm guessing good old Lemax or Department 56. ;-) I used Lemax concrete tiles for my train station, but wanted something a little more rustic and replaced them with real wooden decks. Thanks for sharing another great scene for us OGR folks to enjoy, thanks!

Dave. You said you made a base for you're gas station. It looks really good. May I ask what you made it out of.  Farmerjohn

I decided to make stalls for my engine storage, this area of my layout is inside a storage closet..

@farmerjohn posted:

Dave. You said you made a base for you're gas station. It looks really good. May I ask what you made it out of.  Farmerjohn

Thanks John, I used Lemax sidewalks " 2003 Lemax Village 34982A 20 piece plazza system sidewalk paver sections. I bunch of these quite a long time ago and finally found a use for them. I also cut them in half with an exacto saw for sidewalks surounding my housing area. I could have cut them down 2 more squares if I was trying to be perfect. They cut on the lines very easy but the ones under the station are not cut. I removed the origanal base this was Menards gas station. The ramps are MTH Realtrax crossovers cut in half longways.