"Growing up with trains, it was only natural for me to daydream about having certain features on my layout one day. Above, you will see me running my Marx switcher in the midst of just such thoughts! Tunnels, bridges, and operating signals were always towards the top of my list. But there was one thing I always wanted, and that was a railroad crossing! As a kid, it was the flashing lights and the movement of the guard arm that fascinated me ... after all, more often than not, it was at a crossing that I got to witness the passing of a train. So naturally, I associated the flashing and bells with the 'opening act' of a great show."
--- Thursday, 2008
Hard to believe that it’s been over a decade since that
first build here on the Token3Railer. As
I said ten years ago in my original post,
life circumstances tend to creep up and interfere in the ebb and flow of
things and so it was with blogs, trains, and scratch building. Balsa wood, exacto blades, and three rail
track got packed away. Fiances hit the road, jobs changed, and moves were made. Scratch building, the joy that came with
creating, and the friends I made on these scenic adventures took a back seat to
life’s trials and tribulations.
So I only thought it fitting that my first Token write up should be another attempt at a crossing, this time adding a few of the associated flashing bells that would go with the opening act of a great show ... naturally.
I continue to adapt the shelf layout approach with sectional track as a Token Three Railer I did a decade ago to meet my needs as a scenic minded, scratch building modeler. I've tweaked it slightly but the philosophy remains the same. As a perpetual bachelor in the teaching profession who rents, its the best I can hope for.
Ten years ago for the original build I utilized MTH Realtrax which worked great: sturdy product with solid and blackened center rails. Only real issue I had was with the tie spacing. Blue insulation foam which I carved to shape was placed underneath with plaster and cardboard to cover the spacing between the rails. I believe 3/4 inch plywood was the base. Solid as a rock.
Within the last few years I have been gifted a few Lionel Starter Sets and come into the possession of some FastTrak. After super detailing it have grown to like it. More cheaply manufactured, it does have its drawbacks: loud and prone to damage because the rails are hollow and the center rail is not blackened. However the tie spacing is much more prototypical and the rail height not as pronounced, making it more pleasing to look it. Painting the center rail a flat oily black, rusting up the outer rails, weathering the ties, along with adding and weathering ballast makes this relatively "cheap-o" track look very realistic.
In the interest of saving weight and space, I went with a thin layer of homasote topped with one layer of foam board. Small elevation changes and the grade of the crossing were made using SculptaMold.
Using styrene I scratch built a storage housing for the signal units to hide the electronics that control the flashing lights. Of course its out of scale being too large but I based the dimensions on a Lionel IR device so ... does the trick and I enjoyed weathering it. Threw some gravel down and washed it with some brown and black inks. Tricky part came in with how to line it off with the gravel and still give it a distinctive edge. Would be too difficult to get a marker or paint brush into the nooks and crannies. So pulled apart some TP down to single ply (making sure it was the kind of toilet paper without fluffy designs and shit) and carefully cut it into strips the same width of line I desired. In a shallow sandwich tupperware bin I mixed up the standard white glue, hot water, drop of dish soap mix and gently with tweezers ran the strips through the mix. Delicate procedure mind you ... requires a cool hand and a glass of bourbon after but I'll be damned! With some patience, a wet brush to coax it into the depressions, and a few qtips to soak up the extra ... well you be the judge.
Brown paint on the homasote and foam board, some extra Sculpta-Mold around the edges of the track and grade crossing to ease the eye and mate the edges, and some Static-Grass. Maybe a bit too much with the grass. As with everything in this hobby its a learning curve and always something new to learn and someone new to learn from.
Despite all the twists and turns life throws, its nice to know that these three rails always keep me on track. As I said in the beginning of this post its been over a decade since that original build of the rural crossing and as you can clearly see some things never change.
Its been wonderful to reconnect with the hobby and with my old friend, fellow Token Builder and original member of the Token3Rail Blog, Vulcan. I hope that with his help and connecting with other members we can once again start showcasing the talent and knowledge that was housed here. Be on the lookout for a February Token Build and look forward to those of you who are still allowed over on the OGRR forum to weigh in on the "Community Build" post.
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