Shady Creek Model Railroad

The 4' x 2'6" module frame was built to NTrak standards. It is made out of a wood frame with plywood fastened to the top. A layer of blue construction foam was glued to the top of the plywood. In a couple small areas, a second layer of foam was added to increase the elevation. The foam was later carved to form hills and a creek.

The track diagram was drawn on top of the foam. The foam was carved in some areas to create different track elevations. Cork roadbed was used to provide the foundation for the track. Peco code 55 track was glued to the top of the roadbed. Code 55 track was the club standard for the main lines. This type of track has a lower profile rail than what is normally used. The track was wired to NTrak specifications. Tortoise slow motion switch machines were attached under the module to control the turnouts. They were wired to a small removable control panel.

The next step was scenery. Cardboard was used to build up flat areas for roads, parking lots, and building foundations. Black construction paper was glued to the cardboard forming the roads and some parking lots. A white paint wash was used to give the roads their asphalt appearance. The cardboard forming the building foundations and some parking lots was covered with white paper and painted with concrete colored paint. Colored pencils were used to draw the markings on the roads and parking lots.

Sculptamold was next used to build up all areas not already covered with roads, foundations, or tracks. Sculptamold is a dry power that mixes with water just like plaster. It dries slower than plaster allowing more time to work with it. When the ground was dry, it was painted with an earth tone wash using acrylics. Various colors and types of ground foam were then applied to the ground using watered down glue.

The creek trench was formed earlier when the foam was being carved. The foam was carved all the way down to the surface of the plywood. The exposed plywood was painted with dark earth tones to simulate the bottom of the creek. Many coats of gloss medium were painted on top to create the water. I could not use resin to make the water because it would have eaten through the foam. I also did not want the surface of the creek to be any higher. I formed the cement retaining walls and culverts out of painted styrene. I had to create two bridges to cross the creek. The road bridge was constructed from scratch out of sheet styrene. The wood trestle was built under the existing track out of painted balsa wood.

The roads on the module cross tracks eight times. Some of the tracks were at odd angles. These meant I had to come up with a way to custom make my grade crossings. I cut balsa wood to fit in each section. I glued the pieces in place on the track. The balsa would was painted with a black wash to age it.

Trees were then added to the module. The trees were purchased in the form of a kit. Various colors of ground foam were glued to plastic branches to form the trees. There are just over one hundred hand made trees on this module.