To simulate grassy bank/hillside, I used artificial turf over a wire support frame.
The turf was stapled to a frame made from a fence paling bent to follow the track curve and the track bed.
Between the upper and lower levels the gap was filled with fibre sheeting covered in acrylic render.
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| Wire netting frame work |
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| Wire netting close up |
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| Completed turf bank with render cliff |
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| Cutting wall made with render |
To make simulated cliffs /cutting walls, I use Acrylic House Render coloured with an Oxide which is applied over fibre cement sheeting, preferably over the rough side for better adhesion.
Method;
Optional; acrylic paint washes can be applied to dry render to give different shades and to break up the colour.
The render can also be applied over polystyrene.
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| Bag of Acrylic Render |
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| Bag of Colour Oxide |
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| Cutting wall made with render |
To cover a very long run, over 6 metres (20Ft) that runs across my back fence which looked a bit unsightly I constructed a backdrop from Fibre Cement Sheeting used to fill in under house eaves.
Because the upper level track overhangs the lower level passing siding track I had a plan to put a tunnel over the whole area but as
it over 6 metres long the problem of access raised its ugly head.
The solution I came up with was to cut out the sides a bit like a
cutaway drawing so the inside of the tunnel was visible. Part of the plan entailed my detailing the inside of the tunnel wall but at 6 metres long it was going to be a big job and the idea was shelved.
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| Sketch of Proposed Tunnel |
The next plan which I finally went with was;
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| Track Level Overhang |
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| Polystyrene Cut Right Hand End |
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| Polystyrene Cut Left Hand End |
Along the top of the styrene artificial turf strips were glued in an effort to blend the painted hills and the cut.
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| Artificial Turf strip |
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| Acrylic Render over polystyrene Cut |
Hills and Mountains were painted onto the backdrop, to give a sense of depth, using acrylic exterior house paint tinted with artist acrylic paints.
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| Hills with Mountains in background |
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| Looking along Backdrop R-L |
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| Looking along Backdrop L-R |
These were covered in acrylic house render which is coloured with oxides and then painted with washes made from tinted house paint.
There will be gravel along the base of the cut continuing out to where there will be track ballast track, to finish off I will lay artificial turf between the front and the ballast, similar to what I did on my Cane Layout.
At the end behind the high trestle I covered the fence with dark green shade cloth as used on shade houses in garden nurseries to hide it (it can just be seen in the picture "Looking along Backdrop R-L").
I kept looking at it and it just didn't seem right or natural to have a big vertical line between the backdrop and the shade cloth.
I got out the spray cans and did a little graffiti to solve the issue.
The three (3) tunnels will be constructed by laying small mesh over a wire former and overlaying it with artificial turf. They will be made to give the impression of the hills on the backdrop extending to the edge of the layout.
The tunnel mouth will be made from small mesh covered in tinted render
Where the Upper Level overhangs the Lower Level the space between the levels will be filled in with fibre cement sheet covered with tinted render.
Each tunnel will be between 1300mm and 1400mm long (arms length),
I have started ballasting and laying artificial turf on the side of the track on the Cane Line.
For ballast I used 7mm Blue Metal rock and Artificial Turf offcuts left over from turfing an area next to a swimming pool.
I made up a trial piece using a 50/50 Exterior PVA glue mixed with water with some drops some of diswashing liquid as a wetting agent to hold the loose ballast and left it out in the weather for over 6 months and it stood up really well.
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| Ballast Trial Piece |
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| Ballast and turf laid |
The construction of the sugar mill main buildings is now complete.
They consist of;
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| Mill and Tipper building |
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| Mill Oblique View |
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| Mill Side view |
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| Mill End View |
The track loop that forms the Farms end and the Mill Run to the mill precinct of the cane farm line has now been laid and tested.
The track is Code 250 while the points are LGB so transition pieces had to be made to connect the two track sizes together.
The sleepers have deteriorated in the sun and do not hold the gauge well on the top of the loop so wooden spacers cut to hold the gauge have been used, they can be seen in the second picture.
The points allow a train to push through them to set the direction.
The way it is set in the first picture allows a train to run clockwise around the loop, when it returns to the point it pushes through and the train runs down to the mill.
The next train that comes from the mill runs around the loop in an anticlockwise direction and pushes through on the way back to the mill.
The points are now left set for the next train to again run clockwise and so on.
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| Farms loop entry/exit points |
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| Loop looking towards points |
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| Frangipani inside loop |
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| Loop looking away from points |
The entry/exit points are Aristocraft that operate in the same way as the farm loop points.
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| Run to the mill looking from loop points |
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| Run to the farm looking from mill points |
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| Mill loop entry/exit points |
The line is a single out and back loop at one end with a 'Y' point that will move as the trains run through it.
The other end runs into the mill precinct that has a loop as well as sidings where shunting can take place.
The track is Code 250 held in place with cable ties, Code 250 is used to differentiate the line from the mainline which is Code 332.
The track is laid on 225mm wide electrical cable tray, with shade cloth underneath that is covered in 7mm blue metal gravel ballast, either side of the track has artificial turf to simulate the line going through grassed areas.
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Entry to mill area framework
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| Across the hedge |
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| Tray, track, turf trial |
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| Farm Loop posts |
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| The ballast |
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| Cable tray at Farm Loop end |
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| Cable Tray Run into Mill Precinct |
