Alright already. Time to get back to work on the road crossing:
For comparison, here is the golden BLMA "rubber" grade crossing. Some .010 X .030 styrene strip and some .020 X .040 styrene strip in the front. Note that I cut them to approximate road width.
I don't know if you can see (with my bad camera work) the "spike heads" on the Atlas flex-track. This is where I'm going to mount these strips. I just need to compare which one will work best for me in this situation. I highly suggest you test fit all parts first like this:
Here is a picture of the .010 styrene strip with the crossing simply laid on top of it for a height comparison. While this follows my strategy of wanting there to be some "error room" for cleaning the track, I felt that due to the low viewing angle of this scene the top of the rail was too high above the crossing's surface for me.
Here is the same situation with the .020 thick styrene strip. Please note where I am pushing down on the crossing surface with the tweezers yielding the desired height.
Although there is no room for "cleaning error" here, this was more pleasing due to the low viewing angle for my 6' 1" perch. Here is a wide angle view to show you what I mean:
And now (the larch), time to glue down my chosen .020 styrene strip to the top of the "spike heads". I am using Walthers Goo here. I use it as it has just the right amount of initial "tackiness" and relative set up time for this situation. Note that I pulled up on the strip here to display the adhesive underneath. You do not need much. Also note that the strip needs to be moved to the right a bit to line up with the street.
There, thats better...
Note to builders: When placing a few drops of Goo on a surface to drag your styrene strip through, do not place your arm in those drops.
In this example, I found that I needed to shim the "road side" of the location where the BLMA crossing was going to go. In this case, the .020 syrene strip was correct (sorry for the bad focus):
Again another poorly focused shot here but, if one looks carefully between my fingers, one can see a "dry run" or test fitting of this second shim. Looks about right for the effect I wanted. Your results may vary. Test fit things as you go - always checking heights.
Again, a dry test fit. Focus your view on the middle of the crossing:
Again, more bad focus. The idea here is that you should sand or file the burs off of your BLMA crossing because, well, it'll just look better.
BMLA makes their crossings in a generous width, probably allowing for sidewalks etc. on each side of the road. No sidewalks here, so I cut mine to more closely match the road's width. Save those leftover sections. They will come in handy for maintenence yards etc. later!
After cutting the extra panels off the crossing, straighten the crossing with a bit of compression.
Also you may want to "pre-bend" the crossing end down now before gluing. This is almost the right angle for code 55. The end is the metal part that actually touches, and gets glued to, the ballast. You might want to look at a protottype crossing to get the idea.
I apply Goo the bottom of the crossing, lightly. Be careful not to apply too much elst it will ooze out the sides.
Carefully apply. Be sure to wipe up any excess Goo. Remember, your time to make adjustments is limited.
Also during your limited Goo set up time, take time to make sure the "metal" end of the crossing (that is supposed to touch the ballast) gets some extra pressure applied to it. With Walters Goo, apply lighter pressure for about a minute or so.
Of course, a great way to check clearances is with a freight car. Even better, a locomotive truck - just don't cause a short by touching metal to both rails.
Time to add the other "metal end cap" to the crossing. This is the part that comes un attached to the rest of the crossing (so you can adjust its length - as I have). Cut it out of the sprue, file off burs etc.
Skillfully apply it to the other end of the crossing keeping the fact that it angles downward as seen here. This is a bit of a tricky move as you must let it touch the ballast at one end, likewise let it just barely touch the end of your flat "rubber" crossings at the other. For clarification, go study a nearby prototype. Also keep things more "in focus" when you do it; sorry.
So, here ya go. One side of the crossing done. Not a perfect job, but it will suffice. Check clearances one last time here as the Goo may not have set up 100%. Only 2 more sides to go!
Simply, repeat the above steps for the other "skinny" or "road" side of the crossing. Remember to check clearances before attaching things permanently.
I'm going to move on now to the middle.
Here, I am going to use .040 styrene strip to support the "between the rails" area of the crossing. In this photo, I have cut them to the apporximate road width and have started to glue them directly to the top of the ties. A bit of adhesive oozing out from under the strip is not of great concern as it will be covered up.
Here is the other side glued in place. Take note of the spacing. It is probably a good idea here to space these two strips a bit more towards the middle of the track for extra clearance from wheel flanges and the like. Note that my track is a bit curved here - hence they are very slightly askew. I would run a freight car over them here just to check the clearances.
Try laying the middle part of the crossing down here and check height clearances. You may want to hold the crossing down with your finger in places to help. My crossing is going to fall just a bit short here in exact prototype height for Atlas code 55 track. For me, that is ok. I wanted just a bit of error room. Also, you may want to paint any visible (I.E. the side) of the white styrene now, as they will be tricky to get a paintbrush to later...
Here is a low angle shot to illustrate the height:
Here is a shot with the middle, and all parts of BLMA's rubber road crossing installed. Again, check wheel clearances before the adhesive sets up 100%. As you can see, this is not a perfect installation. But scenery and the low viewing angle of this crossing will help its appearance as time goes on...
A little black paint. Yes, I will come back and make the "end caps" a more rusty color later.
And viola, a crossing is born. The paint is still wet here, but you get the idea. I will need to revisit the scene and paint the end caps rusty, (VERY carefully) clean the rails, and weather the crossing later. You can see that my crossing does not meet the top of the rails 100%. This is not good enough for some, maybe even me. But remember, I wanted a bit of error room for track cleaning. I think I could have raised my styrene strip supports for the middle of the crossing by another .010 of height. I will get to the background items later. The scene has a long way to go.
More to be added later...
