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Paving
Streets - Part One by
George Huckaby & Charles Hepperle
December
15, 2003 1.
BACKGROUND
This
lesson is written in conjunction with lessons on prototype Street
Railway Track and the installation of HO scale ORR Street Railway Track.
The lesson will cover cobblestone/brick/Belgian
block paving and concrete in
streets where street railway tracks are located. In
Part One, we will concentrate on paving streets using plastic sections
readily available to the modeler such as Walthers Brick and Concrete
Street Systems, Smalltown USA Sidewalks, Plastruct and Evergreen Styrene
sheets and strips. In
Part Two, we will discuss the use of Durham's Water Putty for the
creation of sidewalks, asphalt and concrete roads. Note 1: Before
we get started, it is essential that you test all of your trackwork to
be sure that it operates perfectly. Once you have added the paving, it
is extremely difficult to make track repairs and corrections. 2.
PROTOTYPE PAVING
Before
paving a street, you should decide which era that you need to model.
Early street railway track was in the center of a dirt or mud road.
Sprinkler cars were used to keep the dust down in the heat of the
summer. At the turn of the century, Belgian block and cobblestones ruled
the paving scene. For a while, concrete was used and finally asphalt.
Now in the year 2003, the renewed track areas in cities such as
Philadelphia, San Francisco and Toronto are being paved with concrete.
The track area includes the area between the rails, about two to three
feet either side of the rails and in the case of double track areas, the
entire "devil strip" between the tracks. Study photos of your
favorite area before paving. You will notice things that you never
noticed before. 3.
PAVING MODEL STREETS - GENERAL The
most fundamental point is to keep whatever paving surface is used
slightly below the level of the rails. Track must be cleaned once in
awhile and a nice road can be ruined in seconds with a bright boy
cleaner. We will be using ORR Girder Rail, which has a web height of
.100" (Code 100). ORR turnouts and crossing have web heights
ranging from .100" (2.56 mm) to .108" (2.8mm) so any paving
should not be higher than .08 -. 09 inches from top of the ties. Using
another module of the Southern California Traction Club, we will be
doing a red brick street as existed on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia
prior to the abandonment of streetcar service in the mid-1950s.
We will be doing some concrete and some cobblestone. For brick,
cobblestone, Belgian block and concrete streets, we use generally use
plastic sheet, for asphalt and macadam roads, we use the Durham's Water
Putty, discussed in Part Two. 4 CITY SIDEWALK INSTALLATION
For city sidewalk modules, we recommend that sidewalks be
installed prior to the paving of the street. We will be using plastic
sidewalk stock for all sidewalks, using Smalltown USA #699-7000 City
Sidewalks along with some of the Walthers Sidewalks contained in their
Brick Streets and/or Concrete Streets Kits. After laying out the location of sidewalks, driveway
entrances and curbing, obtain some Evergreen Strip styrene #149
(.040" by .250") and #167 (.080 by 156").
In the photo of the brick street under construction, the
sidewalks contained in the Walthers Brick Street System Kits were used.
They were doubled on the left side of the photo for a more realistically
sized sidewalk where there were steps to the row homes that will be
located there. Using
Plastruct cement, fasten the #167 strips to the underside rear of the
sidewalks, flush with the rear edge and fasten the #149 strips to the
front of the sidewalk (the side adjacent to the street) in such a manner
that 1/2 of the strip, or .125" extends past the curb.
This will ensure that the minimum thickness of the paving
material will be .040". This
will also require all structures to be mounted on some type of base that
is at least .040" thick so that the front of the building matches
the height of the rear of the sidewalks. This will allow the structures
to be more firmly affixed to the module and prevent light leaks should
the bottom floors be illuminated later. These are some of the reasons
why we always have our structures and driveways selected early in the
module development process. After
installation, wet sand the surface with 240 grit wet-or-dry paper then
wipe off the residue with a damp rag. 5.
COBBLESTONE, BELGIAN BLOCK AND BRICK STREETS The
method for paving these streets is to acquire some plastic brick sheets;
note the thickness, and acquire some styrene strips with the appropriate
thickness so that the combined thickness of the strips and the sheet
does not exceed .080". So if the brick sheet is .020", make
sure that the strips are no higher than .060". So far, we have used
the Walthers Brick Street System sheets, which are .060" thick,
Vollmer 6028 Brick Sheet, which are .050" thick and Plastruct
#91605 Rough Brick, which was only .020" thick. But for the
most part we use the Walthers Brick Street Systems, 933-9139 and
933-3156 (added straight sections only). We
prefer to use the Walthers Brick and Concrete Street Systems for two
reasons. First, the three tabs on the bottom of each section produce a
realistic street crown. Second,
at the right side of each concrete or brick section (shown below), the
top of the street surface will be .130" from the surface of the
module. Since Orr Girder
Rail is has a .100" web height and the Clover House ties are .06
thick, these sections will normally be .030" from the top of the
rails, allowing for track cleaning without disturbing any painted
surfaces. a. For
straight street and track sections, we used the brick street
sections (approximately 3.5" by 2.75") from the Walthers
#933-3139 Brick Street System as shown below:
Two
sections placed in mirror fashion will produce a street 38.5' to 40'
wide, depending on whether the gutter portion on the curbside are used.
We normally remove them since they were not prototypical in the areas
that we referenced for our modeling. The red arrows are pointing to edge
intended for the curbside. The bottom is tapered to allow for placement
next to the curb. Also note the tabs on the underside and the three
bars, which helps to ensure a crown on the street. When installing the
street section, we cut the sections leaving the curbside intact and then
we cut the portion for between the rails from the remnant. In some cases
we can get two sections of brick for between the rails from one section.
When
the sections are placed together, scraps of plastic are used under each
joint to give strength to the joint when plastic weld adhesive is used.
Below, six sections of this paving material have been used on this 25'
wide street so far. The portions cut away for the areas outside of the
track were used to fill the areas between the rails.
The light areas are the joints between sections. The joints are
to be hidden as much as practical. Plastic Weld cement has been used at
those joints and after the cement is dry, the joints have been sanded. b. For
curved track, there is another problem. The areas outside of the
rails are paved the same as straight street sections as the bricks,
blocks or cobblestones are normally placed perpendicular to the curbs.
However, any bricks, blocks or cobblestones between the rails, or devil
strips between the tracks on double track area are placed tangent to the
curve. For these areas we
use thin brick plastic sheet such as provided by Plastruct. Cut
a strip of the Plastruct brick sheet about six inches long and four
scale feet wide. Using an Xacto knife, slice each line of brick for
almost three of the four feet of width. You do not have to cut all the
way through. As you do this you will note that the brick will begin to
curve slightly. Since
this sheet is about .020"
thick, we will need to fill the area between the rails with styrene no
thicker than .060". Once this is done the brick can be fit into the
curve and fastened to the styrene base with Plastic Weld cement. c. For
peculiar shaped areas, we use the same Walthers Brick Street
sections and we have a proven method of installation. As an
illustration, we are going to pave the area indicated by the red arrow
in the photo below:
1)
First, we will take some 1/8" Styrofoam and cut to cover the entire
area to be paved;
2)
Using your fingers or another blunt object, press down gently but firmly
on the Styrofoam along the borders of the area to be paved until there
is an impression of the rails, curbs or other significant paving borders
in the bottom of the Styrofoam.
3)
Cut carefully along the impressions and test the pattern for fit. We cut
a little larger than the pattern and trim later to ensure that we do not
make an undersize cut.
4)
Once the Styrofoam filler fits in the area, use it as a pattern to cut
the paving material. Use the pattern to cut the Walthers brick sheet and
after a little final sanding, the piece literally "drops" into
place. Use a sanding stick for the final sanding of the edges to ensure
a precise fit. Once the fit is achieved, use some styrene to ensure the
correct level of the paving material relative to the top of the
railhead.
d.
Painting the
brick sheet Color is a
very subjective subject. Feel free to vary the choice of colors and the
amount applied to suit your situation. We have found that oil-base
Floquil paints adhere much better and are more durable than water-based
paints. While it might be possible to use spray cans, much more control
can be achieved by using an airbrush. When spraying, try to avoid having
the exact same shade over the entire area. By misting on various colors,
you can apply different amounts to different areas to keep it from
looking too uniform. Not shown is additional painting to simulate
crosswalks, dirt, oil drips, skid marks, cracks and repaired areas. Note 2:
Even if this street is to remain a brick street, the red will
have to be "toned down" a bit.
Painting
of the brick street will be accomplished in a series of steps with the
results appearing as in the above illustration as follows: 1)
Carefully mask the running rail of the track and the curbs/sidewalks. If
this were to be a cobblestone street, the red brick would also have to
be painted. Shown below left is a close
up photograph of a single cobblestone removed from the 4800-5200 blocks
of Girard Avenue (Philadelphia) during the 2002-2003 light rail
reconstruction project. Note how many different colors are actually
contained in a cobblestone. Construction
of cobblestone streets normally differ from brick streets in that the
cobblestones are many different lengths while maintaining similar widths
while bricks are usually uniform sizes. In HO scale, this is not readily
noticeable after painting is completed.
Painting
will be accomplished in a series of steps with the results appearing as
in the above right illustration as
follows: 1)
Carefully mask the running rail of the track. 2) Spray Floquil Foundation [110084] over the brick
until the red is almost invisible. 3)
Then lightly spray (mist) the following colors in order: a)
Floquil Roof Brown [110070] b)
Floquil Rust [110073] c)
Floquil ATSF Mineral Brown [110179] d)
Floquil Foundation [110084] 6. CONCRETE STREETS
For a concrete street, we normally use the same method used with
the Walthers Brick Street system can be used by employing the Walthers
#933-3138 or 933-3155 Concrete Streets Kits.
Using these Walthers sections is a lot less messy than using the
Durhams' Water Putty, which we now use exclusively for asphalt and
macadam roads. Similar sections, the same size as the brick sections,
can be installed in the same manner. One difference should be mentioned.
The cracks between the sections will not be eliminated when the sections
are joined. After air brushing with different grays and concrete colors,
these cracks will be filled with dark gray
glossy paint to simulate tar. The sections will be scored for additional
expansion joints and natural cracks. Note the sections in the photo
below. They have not yet been painted:
As
in the case of the brick (cobblestone) street in section 5, each section
produced not only the roadway from the curb to the track but also the
paving between the rails. After
installation, wet sand the surface with 240 grit wet-or-dry paper then
wipe off the residue with a damp rag.
a.
Painting the concrete street Painting
will be accomplished in a series of steps with the results appearing as
in the above illustration as follows: 1)
Carefully mask the running rail of the track and the curbs/sidewalks. 2) Spray Floquil Aged Concrete [110016]
over the styrene. 3)
Then, lightly spray (mist) the following colors: a)
Floquil Reefer White [110011] b)
Floquil Dust [110006] c)
Floquil Concrete [110082] d)
Floquil Reefer White [110011] e)
Floquil Dust {110006] Note 3: The
purpose of misting on several colors, then repeating, is to get a
multitude of tiny specks of colors to help simulate the texture of
concrete. Although at HO scale it actually would be very smooth, our
minds consider it to be rough and the specks help create that illusion
on our models. Note 4:
Concrete comes in many colors. Older concrete looks more tan, as shown
above. Newer concrete appears more gray, especially light gray. For this
you might want to start with your own custom mix of Reefer White
[110011] and a little Reefer Gray [110012]. With
a piece of cardstock as a mask, spray various sections with differing
amounts of color to simulate concrete that was poured at different
times. You can also add "splotches" by
using a rag dampened with a little Dio-Sol then dipped in a
little bit of Concrete color. Dab the rag so only a small amount of
paint is transferred to the surface. Use this technique with various
colors to make your streets and sidewalks look more realistic. 7. ASPHALT STREETS
As
of the date of this lesson, we are using Durhams Water Putty for
simulating asphalt-paved streets, although in the past, we have used
Durham's for simulating concrete streets. This will be discussed in more
detail in Part Two. 8.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you desire to model street railways, review other lessons in the Trolleyville Schoolhouse, especially Parts 2 and 3 of the ORR TRACK lessons or visit the EAST Penn Traction Club web site at www.eastpenn.org. You can email us at orrtrack@customtraxx.com with any questions. When asking questions about proposed track plans, please provide all data, especially a scale drawing of the proposed plan, so that we can answer your questions as accurately as possible. |