Finishing the station scene - Part 1

With the station, the foot bridge, and the platforms all completed, it was time to bring it all together and finish the scene around the station.  They would all need to be properly mounted to the module.

As there is wood under the station, I mounted it with a pair of small flat head wood screws counter sunk into the base of the station.  I may cover this screw with the kiosk structure shown here or some other detail.

The platform on the station side of the track was attached to the module with the clear E6000 adhesive.

Before mounting the station, the tracks were painted and ballasted. Also a bumper made from scraps of rail and brass strip was installed at the end of the stub track.

It is important for the two platforms to be equal in height and their tops parallel to each other for the foot bridge to sit correctly.  I used a straight scrap of wood to align them.  The terrain in the foreground had to be built up a bit to support the 2nd platform..

Here the foot bridge is temporarily set in place on the platforms and a pair of rail cars set on the tracks to double check alignment of the platforms.

While there is still more to do to fully finish this scene, it is great to see it coming together after so much work.

Scratch built platforms - Part 3

To simulate the yellow warning stripes along the inside edges of the platforms, I decided to try something new.  I used some HO scale stickers designed to be used as highway stripes.  After applying the stripes, I sprayed the platforms with a flat finish to seal them on the platform.

Any additional details such as light posts, benches, light or wire poles, and of course people can be added after these platforms are installed.

Covering the last bit of terrain

Almost all of the built up land forms or terrain on the Hot Springs Junction module were done with insulation board.  My techniques for doing this were covered in several previous posts.  This works great and is very light weight but sometimes you need hallow spaces inside the terrain for turnout motors.  There is a small area at the rear of the module where the Tortise turnout motors are mounted that has been left opened.   I am now ready to cover this area with built up terrain and am going to use the

Woodland Scenics plaster cloth supported by cardboard strips is a common method of building model railroad terrain but one that I had never worked with myself before.  I attached the cardboard strips to the surrounding insulation board and back profile board with hot glue.  Further temporary support was provided by crumbled newspaper.  The crumpled newspaper also served to protect the Tortise machines and wiring from any possible dripping plaster.

The cardboard strip webbing and the Tortise turnout motors are visible through the opening in back of module.  This opening will be covered by the sky board when the module is used in an Ntrak layout or by a removable fascia board when no sky board is desired.

I used 3 layers of plaster cloth to get the strength I wanted then also added some joint compound to blend things in with the rest of the hills.  I'm glad I finally got to try this method of building land forms.