Very overgrown track advice please

[Cardiff Bluebird]

Hello !

 

Im in the early stages of planning my layout which I hope to start in the new year, but Im at a cross roads Id like to model a nuclear flask terminal at the end of a very overgrown branch line. My question is how do I lay track with very overground grass in the track and points?

Ive thought about laying the hanging basket liner first, paint the track, then lay it directly onto the liner?

 

Any other ideas?

 

Regards

 

Bluebird.

[R A Watson]

The attached picture shows the top of my incline and may be too overgrown for your requirements, but the method is as follows;

 

The track was ballasted, after laying, with nominally N scale granite dust held down with the usual diluted P V A then when dry (after several days) covered with Green Scenes "Yard Filth" textured paint which gives a good representation of Devonshire mud, this, in turn, was coated with green flock powder on yet more dilute P V A.

 

I then followed the modern trend and made myself an experimental grass electrifier and used it with the material from International Models (usual disclaimer, just a very satisfied customer). The grass went on rather thickly but after combing it through with a cocktail stick and running a small rechargeable vacumm cleaner over the top I was able to return a large quantity to the bag for future use.

 

The model is in 7mm scale but I am sure that with a bit of trial you can get the result you want.

 

H T H

 

Wally

[Cardiff Bluebird]

Thats great thanks for the information, its about the amount of overgrowth I was looking for !!!

 

Regards

 

Bluebird.

[Oldddudders]

I think that the nature of the traffic - radio-active stuff - means the prototype might be bit careful about the track it runs over, so I suggest not overdoing the weediness. Also, flasks generally either run regularly or not at all - i.e. there will be a train down the branch at least once a fortnight, so growth will suffer every time.

[Chris Nevard]

A disposable shaving razor followed with a vacuum cleaner can be used to slice off any fibres that might get in the way between rail top and wheel treads.

 

Prototype pic backing up Olddudders thoughts on this (Leiston terminal for Sizewell)...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=52.206103,1.59236&spn=0,0.008991&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=52.206103,1.59236&panoid=cFkDd0JW4lWRsEhdC7d-Eg&cbp=12,143.02,,0,5.27

 

 

Below: static grass applied with a proper powered applicator works well too..... weeds were still be be added at this stage (quarry).

 

And another shot a few weeks later with the adition of some weeds (Woodland Scenics and garden moss 'preserved' in hairspray) and structures ... the only enhancement with this shot is the smoke effect - all else 'as is'.

[Chris Nevard]

Here's some really overgrown stuff - when these snaps were taken a train had not run for 15 years or so...... more here http://nevardmedia.fotopic.net/c955850_1.html

 

Looking east near Little Horwood on the mothballed Bletchley to Claydon section of the Bletchley to Oxford line, Monday 1 May 2006.

[Gwiwer]

Chris has beautifully illustrated my best suggestion which is the use of static grass. It can be done with an applicator though I manage perfectly well without and simply place clumps of it with my fingers having first applied a little PVA to the "roots".

 

Beware, whatever you do, of the grass getting into your rolling stock. Unlike the real thing where 100+ tonnes of locomotive will usually flatten any upstanding weeds your little Bachmann / Heljan / Hornby / Dapol item is much more likely to get them caught in the wheels, gears and pickup wipers. In any of those places they can adversely affect the operation of the loco.

 

In short - keep it short! If you are going to actually run trains on weeded track the weeds need to stay not much higher than the rail heads. If you are creating a long-disused siding which will never be used again then be my guest and fit it with as much vegetation as you like. Buddleia can grow extremely tall for example!

[Captain Kernow]

I'd like to model a nuclear flask terminal at the end of a very overgrown branch line. My question is how do I lay track with very overground grass in the track and points?

Ive thought about laying the hanging basket liner first, paint the track, then lay it directly onto the liner?

Hi Bluebird,

 

Some others have mentioned what the real thing is likely to look like, and the fact that it is likely to be less grass-grown than you might have otherwise imagined.

 

Well, here are some photos of the real thing - Berkeley Transfer Siding on the Sharpness branch, a line that is currently used essentially for this traffic.

 

NR keep the track almost completely weed-free, as this is important in keeping it in good condition, especially given the nature of the traffic. Have a look at these photos taken about 18 months ago (I would stress that they were all taken with full track safety certification and safety processes in place).

 

The main running line through the old platforms of Berkeley station (the transfer siding is behind the station):

 

An close up of the main running line at Berkeley:

 

Another view, this time with the station in the distance on the right hand side, and the transfer siding on the left:

 

More views of Berkeley:

 

 

 

 

Finally, here is some genuinely grass-grown track at the Sharpness end of the branch, only trouble is, this bit is actually disused!

 

 

So, if you are wanting to model the trackwork on a contemporary branch that carries flasks etc., you could do a lot worse than to use the above photos as reference. Small clumps of grass, perhaps those sold by International Models, would replicate the small bits of weed/grass growth in some of these photos quite well, otherwise, remember that the weedkiller train has to run over lines like this!

[buffalo]

Interesting photos, CK. A quick question about the fifth one showing a turnout with '270' on a sleeper in the foreground. Is this acting as a catch/trap to protect the line to the left? If so, is there anything other than that bush to stop a runaway ending up on whatever lies beneath the bridge?

 

Nick

[Captain Kernow]

Yes, it is a trapping arrangement. As far as I can remember, there is a buffer stop in the bush somewhere....