Was anyone else disapointed by the Rock-Ridge Central article in the Feb Model Railroader? I honestly expected better work from MR on constructing a "beginners" layout. The article was not a decent follow-up to the original posted last month, and the steps were confusing. In 4 pages they covered building an incline, a concealed bridge, track ballasting, rock formation and the construction of a tunnel liner cast (something I have never seen before). I don't think they did more than confuse beginners, myself included. Anyway, I wouldn't post this without asking at least one question so here it is. The plaster tunnel liner. For those who didn't read the article, they built a foam core for the tunnel (the section they wanted to remain clear for the trains to pass) and then wrapped this in crinkled aluminum foil). With this snuggly in place in the tunnel between the foam supports, and they poured on thick plaster over this. I assume they allow this to set and then remove the cast and liner, then remove the cast from the liner and return it to the tunnel. The tunnel doesn't have a top yet, only foam supports for the walls which the cast liner will butt against. Does plaster not stick to foam? How exactly are the going to remove the foam core so that the rails will be cleared off for the train to pass? Am I understanding this correctly? Pardon my ignorance, look forward to the answers.
You remember they wrapped aluminum foil over the foam "Mold core", then poured plaster over that? (They usually lay sections of screen wire over the core also to imbed in the plaster to help prevent the plaster from breaking and falling on the track later with age.) Anyway, when the plaster has hardened, the whole thing is lifted off, and the foam pulled up out of the tunnel. THEN the track is to be laid! Usually the aluminum foil will not stick to the plaster, so it acts to form a "rocky" looking surface inside the tunnel, and as a sort of mold release agent too. This inner tunnel wall thing, is sometimes done for photo work where you could see inside the tunnel, but I would not recommend making a lined tunnel longer than you could reach into and grab hold of a derailed car. Bugs, spiders, and mice will derail engines and cars in bridges and tunnels. Pipe loads, logs, and too high loads (Cranes) will derail whole trains. String-linning and buffing a string of cars traveling through curved tunnels also causes derails, just as they have done on real railroads. The only time I ever make a tunnel liner, is if a visitor can easily see into a tunnel, and only then the liner is never over 10" into the tunnel. I make removable side screens, so derailed equipment does not fall to the floor, and I can easily reach it to retrieve cars from under the mountain. MR's articles do not seem, in my opinion, to be written by experienced modelers today as much as they were a few years ago; or, some editor or journalist has "improved" the author's manuscript to where it leaves some practical details to be desired. If you already know how to do a job, you can tell rather quickly, when an author has made a quicky set-up in order to take photos and write the article, but has never used the idea in practice. I feel the author was 'asked' to write the article. I would guess he did not submit it. But as a published author, I feel he probably wrote a better article than finally got into print. Most journalists will agree that there is usually some small minded person up in a seat of authority that does not feel he is doing his job unless he cancells or alters something that comes across his desk. Thus is life.
The way I read the article: the foam core is two piece (rectangular block and curved roof), after the plaster has set and without removal of the plaster--pull the rectangular block out of the tunnel and drop the curved roof piece.
At least it has Howard Johnson's Ice Cream Shop and an Ethnically appropriate sheriff. I wonder how many Model Railroaders caught the Rock Ridge Movie Reference.
Yes, I did catch the movie reference (to "Blazing Saddles" and building a railroad). The movie was on cable TV again yesterday, one of my favorites.
My opinion is those guys at MR work too hard!! The article also says that they put a rock mold over the tunnel opening then chopped open the opening!! Geez talk about overkill I like to make things simple, I take a 20 oz soda or water bottle, (empty) and tape it down over the track using 2 inch wide masking tape then trowel the plaster around the opening, then just before it sets just break loose the bottle and start carving! As far as a tunnel liner I have used a crinkled peice of aluminum foil sprayed flat black and glued into the tunnel with construction adhesive or even Walthers GOO. I agree with Watash make the tunnel liner no longer than a few inches in case you have to retreve a derailed engine or car. Sometimes MR confuses innovation with simplicity, 2slim
I live in a 150 apt building and we have a mail room. I have to bend down a bit to open my box. Whenever someone comes in and gets close to me, I always say, " 'cuse me while I whip this out!" (Thank you the late great Cleavon Little!)
