Another Miami Layout

[Justinmiller171]

I think what I will do is keep the location and track-plan, but occasionally change back the the Seaboard Coast Line. CNW191 Seems to be doing the same thing with his layout and I figure It would give me the best of both worlds.

Anyway, sorry for the pause in construction, I will get back to building very soon!

[faraway]

... but occasionally change back the the Seaboard Coast Line....

You can easy go one step more forward if you don't glue down the buildings and have some brick buildings with the same footprint on the shelf. Don't forget a second set of automobiles.

[Justinmiller171]

Unfortunately I don't think "painting newspaper glued to plywood" technique worked out to great. Well judge for yourself



This is the beginning of my layout, I didn't do too bad here so I continued Painting...





I got to the corner and this is where thing went badly, the spray glue I used didn't hold very well and that caused the brush to fold up the newspaper....





I got to the middle of the layout and gave up, I looked ahead and saw folds the were about twice the size of an HO-scale man and decided to quit




Is there any way to fix the problem with the folds or should I try something else. I was thinking of only using newspaper to cover knots and gaps in the wood instead of covering the entire thing like I did here, that should get rid of the fold problem. Is there any other cheap way to cover the wood?

[Russ Bellinis]

You could fill the knots with spackle. Then just paint everything with an earth tone paint.

[Justinmiller171]

Alright, that sounds like a good idea.

What exactly is Spackle? I assume it is a type of putty or something, anyways I will look for it the next time I go the the hardware store.

The paint I use is a tan colored paint, but it looks more white in the photos, I will cover the entire thing in sand after I add the track and Buildings, so the color dosen't matter too much, thanks for the Help

[odave]

Spackle is the paste-like stuff you use to fill/patch holes in walls before painting. You'll most likely find it in the paint section of the store - usually comes in little and big tubs.

Spackle goes on moist and dries in an hour or so. After it dries, you normally sand it smooth before painting.

[Russ Bellinis]

The newest light weight spackle carried by the big box stores is purple in the tub, and then dries white. You put it on purple and wait for it to turn completely white to start sanding. Pretty much goof proof!

[Justinmiller171]

I have just painted over the whole layout with a tan-ish paint, and once It dries I will decide what to do with the gaps, I am trying a piece of plaster cloth to cover some gaps right now and it seems to be working pretty good, I will take some pics if all goes well.

[Brakie]

How in the world did I miss this topic?

Another great looking ISL in the making.

[doctorwayne]

Justin, you've already gone too far with the newspaper solution for the knotholes, so don't cause yourself even greater grief by trying to level the wrinkled paper using spackle or anything else. As was mentioned earlier, the knots will cause little trouble unless under the track, and even then, most track will pass over such irregularities without problem.
Get yourself some coarse sandpaper - #36 or #40, and if you have a sander, use it. Otherwise, wrap the sandpaper around a block of wood and sand all of the raised wrinkled areas until they've been completely removed. With no variations in elevation of the track, and most of the layout "urban", your scenery, wherever you decide to situate your layout, should be flat.
In the photo below, almost all of the area is directly atop plywood, with no roadbed under the track and no foam, plaster, or other material between the finished scenery and the plywood, most of which is 3/8" sheathing grade spruce (lots of knots and a rough surface).


The illusion of raised track work was done with various colours of ballast and ground cover, and was simple and economical to accomplish.


As for the issue of noise - it isn't. On a switching layout, train speeds are low, and you won't be generating enough noise to justify the expense of noise-mitigating measures. Besides that, any such consideration should then be applied to the entire layout, as most industrial areas don't have visibly raised trackwork.

One other thing: get that ceiling fixed before you go any farther with the layout. The small particles which can fall from fibreglass insulation are the same size and shape as those which occur in asbestos, and they have a similar effect on your lungs. As for the cats, well.....

Wayne

[faraway]

I have just painted over the whole layout with a tan-ish paint, and once It dries I will decide what to do with the gaps, I am trying a piece of plaster cloth to cover some gaps right now and it seems to be working pretty good, I will take some pics if all goes well.

I am afraid a layer of plaster will be another layer of problems. I would get a hand held electric rotary sander (similar to a car polisher but with a sand paper instead of a soft polisher, e.g. http://www.idealo.de/preisvergleich/List...ro125.html) and level all within 15 minutes. Ask a friend if you can borrow one for an afternoon.

[Justinmiller171]

Thanks for all of the advice, but I already finished painting the plywood late yesterday and it looks alot better that the newspaper I put down earlier did. I only used a few strips of plastercoth to cover the gaps between sections of my layout that were added, I started with a 2x8 and then added on to it, so there are some small gaps and elevation changes but nothing that noticeable.

Over the weekend I hope to lay down most of the track, I still need to get a few more pieces of flex-track and then I can start running trains!

After I lay track I will in order: add building mockups, add roads, add sand and ballast, add grass and trees, and then add small details.

[P5se Camelback]

Justin ...

You often mention spreading sand on your layout. I know that you want to portray Florida and Florida has sandy beaches. And yes, there is sand in South Florida but it does not all look like beach. I live about twenty-five or thirty miles inland from the Gulf (on the west coast of Florida) and to get to actual sand, you must dig down a foot or two. The surface is a sandy/loamy type of soil and we do have grass ...
A Green Pipe along the Bridge and Grass (well ... Weeds) on the Sides of the Canal ...

and Sandy/Loamy Soil shows on the Opposite Side of the Other Side of the Bridge ...

and a Rather Damp View of the Grass in My Back Yard ... It was just a quick Forty-Five minute, inch-and-a-half DUMP!


My point is ... Flat ... Yep! That's typical Southern Florida ... but lots of sand visible? Only at the beach! Take a look at what is being done on the "NW 58th St. - Miami" thread or the "WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build" thread and see what I mean about ground cover.

Please don't take offense ... I'm only trying to help. Oh, and I would seriously follow doctorwayne's advice about closing up that ceiling! You don't want to be breathing in that fiberglass, take it from someone who can't go anywhere without an oxygen cylinder!

Hey! Above all have fun ... Model Railroading IS fun!

[Justinmiller171]

I was planning on adding grass on top of the sand, similar to what CNW1961 is doing on his Miami East-Rail Layout. Thanks for those pictures, that will help alot when I am adding scenery :mrgreen:

I will be fixing the roof soon, My grandpa will bring up a sheet of drywall to repair the roof with.

[Justinmiller171]

Ahh... The smell of solder.

I just started soldering the track yesterday and it was alot easier than I had imagined. I had my share of melted ties, but in that area of Miami broken track is probably pretty common. I have all of the turnouts soldered and I just need to solder the flex track sections and the curves and then I will be able to run trains!