The Little Rock Line

[mu26aeh]

I really like that. It's a nice way to spice up the area while still looking very natural.

The rubble under the bridge is a really nice touch.

What are the plans on the other end of the bridge?

The only problem is that there's no safe place for railfans to stand!

Just need to add a beaten down path in the weeds from the highway.  Who thinks about safety when railfanning ?  Have you seen some of the pics/videos people get ?

[Bendtracker1]

I really like that. It's a nice way to spice up the area while still looking very natural.

Thanks Ed!

The rubble under the bridge is a really nice touch.

Yeah I'm happy I went that route here, it keeps it from being too urban looking.  Although I do want to try using a concrete pad sometime.

What are the plans on the other end of the bridge?

Nothing set in stone at the moment.  I'm gonna wait till I get around to getting of the industrial area laid out first, which might be awhile?  My first thoughts are a vertical abutment with wings?  Then have the road run down a narrow man made fill to track level for a frontage road.  But that all could change later.

The only problem is that there's no safe place for railfans to stand!

Yeah this is a suicide bridge for railfans, lol.

[Bendtracker1]

It's been awhile since I've had any ambition to work on the layout.
I've had to deal with some personal setbacks earlier in this year well as dealing with all the stupid sh!t that's been going on in society since the start of 2020.
The other day while watching some videos and seeing Ken's video on the static grass I decided to renew my research I had started with my own static weed tufts.

After watching some other videos I picked up a few small non stick cookie sheets, applied the glue directly to them full strength and was satisfied with the results. They popped right off using a very small plastic cosmetic spatula after letting them dry overnight.

I've also tried to find a good way to get weeds between the ties and rail and after searching here on TRW I found the post I was looking for, one that @coosvalley posted a while back.  https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=44732.0

Instead of cutting premade ones into strips, I thought I'd try making my own with lines of glue, then cutting those to length.





I just laid them in place for now but it looks promising.



So I did continue to add fine ground foam between the tracks for a base to apply the static grass.  As I get more tufts made I'll them as well.

I started with this: Tracks, a thin application of ballast, followed by WS Earth ground foam mixed with a similar color of unsanded grout.



Then I followed that by applying a small amount of various colored ground foam and a tiny bit of coarser foam for texture.
This will give me a base for the static grass and hopefully it'll cut back on the overall amount of grass needed.





 
 

[davefoxx]

Me likey, Allen.  Me likey.

DFF

[Specter3]

Yeah, that definitely has a good look going.

[GaryHinshaw]

Very nice!  And with all that growth, it seems appropriate that the yard is empty too.   

[Philip H]

Me likey, Allen.  Me likey.

DFF

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Bendtracker1]

Me likey, Allen.  Me likey.

DFF

Yeah, that definitely has a good look going.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Very nice!  And with all that growth, it seems appropriate that the yard is empty too.   

Thanks guys!

And all the time I thought that an empty yard was a sign of healthy business?

[Bendtracker1]

I'm finally getting around to weeding the yard.
After getting a stretch down I was happy with the result but, I noticed that it looked too even, almost like a golf course, save for the ragged edges between the weeds and ballast.



So I grabbed the fine Earth ground foam that I had mixed with the Mocha colored grout and started applying it randomly over the foam base to make patches of bare dirt.  I sprayed it with water and then applied the 50/50 glue to secure it.



Once it was dry, I again applied the Mod Podge with foam brush on the foam base only, carefully avoiding the dirt patches and started applying the static grass again.



After the areas on each side of the yard were covered, I started working down between the tracks in the same manner, but I used a smaller 1/2" foam brush to apply the glue in smaller patches.  The areas to the left are just the ground foam and the areas on the right are after the static grass was applied.



I still have weed tufts to glue down in random places as well as between the ties.

[eja]

I'm finally getting around to weeding the yard.

Sigh ! To me that usually means pulling weeds out rather than putting them in!

[Bendtracker1]

Sigh ! To me that usually means pulling weeds out rather than putting them in!

LOL, ain't modeling great!

[Philip H]

Much goodness here Allen.  Hoping to duplicate your success for my own layout.

[basementcalling]

Can I interest you in a tank car of Round Up?

[Bendtracker1]

Can I interest you in a tank car of Round Up?

Sure! But I may need more than one?

[mu26aeh]

Pretty sure you're going to need something like this to tackle that problem