I built this single track freemon bridge module many years ago(2014?). I call it Piru Creek. I am no longer active in a group but hook up with a friend from time to time so I thought I might freshen it up a bit. Adding water sure would add interest. My goal is to create a pooling or very slow flow where a reflection could be caught in photos. Here is a shot of the creek before I began. The first brushed on thin layer. I'll leave the boxcar on the bridge so we can see how the reflation improves with layers and color. I am using Envirotex Lite with a few drops of acrylic black and burnt umber.
2nd layer in. I also added a bit more rocks here and there. I think the reflection will improve when I get the camera angle down further. I had to seal the front edge so this was as low as I could get.
Third layer added with a bit more product as it needs to cover a bit more ground. Same color combo as before. I am thinking I should go ahead and fill most of the creek to maximize the reflective pool effect. The need for a taller backdrop is more evident in this photo. The next layer will require a doubling of the previous poor and be about 1am. If that does not satisfy me I will add a fifth at 5 or 6 am and go from there. It's the weekend and I have alarms set. The middle of the night is better as the temperature is more ideal. It was 90 plus for the earlier poors and I had to fan in air from the house ac to get a more ideal temp(70's and low 80's, although I could only get it down to the high 80's). Fingers crossed I didn't create a sticky blob of goo for the kids to @#$% with. Model Railroading is fun when all your efforts create a great scene!
I think it looks great at the current water level! Natural creek channels are wider than the water flow the vast majority of the time, except during floods. The smooth water surface tells us this is not a flood, so the water level should not be filling the whole creek bed. But model railroads are a place where we get to selectively depict/suspend reality. Trust and choose your own version.
I think one or two more pours wouldn’t hurt but it looks fabulous right now. You are doing an excellent job on this scene.
Hi I used the poured resin, too. I put in small rocks here and there. After it set, I used a stiff brush and some white acrylic paint to hint at small rapids. Then, I got some Woodland Scenics Water Ripples, and stippled the river- great effects, the stuff stays in place. Then, I highlighted various spots with white again.
I intend to add one more pour some time today and go from there. I should have created the lower level sand channels toward the middle of the creek to be where most of the water stays. Many of our dry creeks here are a bit oversized to manage flooding and there is a sub channel so to speak. I can picture what you did and it does sound interesting, but I am going after a very slow flow with some standing water. I am after a reflective effect for photo interest. I could add some faster flowing water upstream where the channel is more narrow. We will see. Thanks for sharing the idea.
Especially in arid locations, with less vegetation to hold water in place in/on the soil, creek flow is highly variable. Quiet creeks turn into raging torrents with surprisingly little rainfall. Is it during these raging torrents that the creek bed is shaped, not during the quiet low-water-flow periods. The deepest part of the channel, and steepest bank, will be on the outside of the curve. This is where centrifugal force sends more water, which must flow faster. The inner bank of a bend in a creek/river will have slower flow and less erosion (and/or more deposition from slow water dropping its sediment load.) The bottom will be more sandy/silty on the inside of a bend. When the creek is barely flowing, the difference on the water surface will be unnoticeable, but the bottom (assuming the water is more or less transparent) will still tell the tale: shallow water and sand on the inside, bigger rocks, steep banks and deeper water on the outside (excluding man's intervention, such as a low-water crossing, etc.) At low water levels, the creek recedes into the deepest channel, towards the outside of the bend. Even if there was not an old wagon road the tracks followed, there would have been a temporary road (and embankment grades) cut to haul material/equipment across the creek to construct the bridge's far side abutment. Decades/centuries later, the tell-tale cuts in the bank could still be detectable, even if covered over in brush, etc. Migrant animals/herds may also take advantage of the abandoned creek ford, keeping a trail cleared.
