The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[Chris333]

I'm jealous that it is already spring and the tulips are coming up 

[davefoxx]

I'm jealous that it is already spring and the tulips are coming up 

Don’t you know it!  The weather report is predicting 5” of snow here on Friday.  At least I can now escape winter by heading off to the train room.

DFF

[davefoxx]

The track in the south end of the Aberdeen yard is painted and all turnouts touched up:



DFF

[davefoxx]

The former SAL station is not finished, but it's to a point where I decided to start working on the foundation.  Here's where I started from tonight:



But first, I needed to add a curb at the edge of the street.  I used 0.060" x 0.060" styrene and a spritz of Testor's Light Aircraft Gray to paint the curb and the gutter:



Then, I laid down some cork roadbed to bring the ground level up, because much of this area will get ballast:



I used lightweight spackling to fill the voids and save on the amount of ballast that will be needed:



I cut a piece of 0.060" black styrene that will form the foundation and sidewalks around the station:



A lot of cutting, filing, and sanding, and the sidewalks are formed.  The open areas will be flower beds around the station's foundation.  Once again, I used Light Aircraft Gray spray paint for the sidewalks.  I did, however, forget to scribe the concrete joints, but no biggie.  I'll cut those in once the paint is set and just give a light respray of paint to cover the joints and cracks that I scribe.  The four small blocks will be steps at the exterior doors of the station.  They also allow the station to key into the foundation, which will make it easy to keep the station in place without having to be permanently installed:



DFF

[davefoxx]

I'm an impatient man, so, despite the paint not yet being cured, I plopped the station into place:







DFF

[davefoxx]

I scribed the sidewalk joints and a few cracks this morning.  This will get another coat of Light Aircraft Gray, so the "grid" won't be so apparent.







DFF

[John]

I scribed the sidewalk joints and a few cracks this morning.  This will get another coat of Light Aircraft Gray, so the "grid" won't be so apparent.







DFF

Very nice work Dave .. it looks really good ..

[davefoxx]

Thanks, John!

I just painted the base soil color over the area inside the rest of the wye.  I realize this color always shows as white in photos, but it's actually a sandy color that matches much of the soil (prehistoric sand dunes) in the Sandhills.



DFF

[Hawghead]

Dave,

I have to say you don't suck at this model railroading thing    Looks great keep it up.

Scott

[davefoxx]

Dave,

I have to say you don't suck at this model railroading thing    Looks great keep it up.

Scott

Haha!  Thanks, Scott.

DFF

[John]

Thanks, John!

I just painted the base soil color over the area inside the rest of the wye.  I realize this color always shows as white in photos, but it's actually a sandy color that matches much of the soil (prehistoric sand dunes) in the Sandhills.

The vegetation will eventually amend the soil with darker elements ..

[davefoxx]

The vegetation will eventually amend the soil with darker elements ..

I'm sure you're correct, John, but the sandy soil also can get bleached by the sun when exposed.  So, it depends.  Here's a Google Maps shot of the area within the wye in Aberdeen, NC, which appears to be underexposed.  This is basically what I'm usually going for.  It may not be perfect, but 99% of it never shows anyway.



DFF

[John]

I'm sure you're correct, John, but the sandy soil also can get bleached by the sun when exposed.  So, it depends.  Here's a Google Maps shot of the area within the wye in Aberdeen, NC, which appears to be underexposed.  This is basically what I'm usually going for.  It may not be perfect, but 99% of it never shows anyway.



DFF

I don't disagree ---  that's pretty much most of the south .. I think you matched it well ..  there is some un-sanded grout about the same color at HD for some added texture

[packers#1]

Go team weird soil colors! (Upstate Carolinas are red clay)! That station looks fantastic and the foundation area is extremely well done, especially with the floor beds cut in. You’re really capturing the look and few of the region well!

[davefoxx]

I don't disagree ---  that's pretty much most of the south .. I think you matched it well ..  there is some un-sanded grout about the same color at HD for some added texture

Ha!  I forgot that I have a carton of unsanded grout for just that purpose.  That’s okay, because I don’t think any of it will show here.

DFF