How do you make your roads?

[arbomambo]

[PiperguyUMD]

Great feedback everyone, thanks for the ideas.  The next item to figure out is where there any cobblestone streets left in the Bronx in the early 1950's. 

Those of you who are laying your own timber crossings, what size lumber are you using?  I'm going to have to build a crossing right over a turnout, so commercially available crossings are out.

[JMaurer1]

Checked with the paving company...they use lightweight spackling for most of their roads as well (claiming a lack of availability of N scale asphalt)

[MVW]

arbomambo, those black-and-white images are gorgeous. No other word for it.

Jim

[randgust]

Basswood size depends on the rail height and track.   I can usually get 3 'tie widths' of my 1/16x1/16 stained ties in between the spikes on most track, that comes in under rail height on C80.   For C55 I'm just splitting it thinner on the bottom with an Xacto knife.   If you have good straight-grained basswood it's not hard at all.

[fotoflojoe]

arbomambo, those black-and-white images are gorgeous. No other word for it.

Jim

I second that!

[OldEastRR]

Anybody do crowned roads? Even one? And two crowned roads meeting at an intersection?

[wazzou]

Hard to see from this angle, but this road is shaped to have a crown in it.

[tehachapifan]

Anybody do crowned roads? Even one? And two crowned roads meeting at an intersection?

Although hard to see from these angles, this road from my earlier reply has an intentional crown in it. This was achieved by using styrene strips that were a tad lower than the top of the rail (actually, I used code 100 rail in the street to make the railhead a little higher). It's subtle, and the crown is not rounded as my screeding tool is straight, but the overall effect is pretty good...

[peteski]

This was achieved by using styrene strips that were a tad lower than the top of the rail (actually, I used code 100 rail in the street to make the railhead a little higher).

Code 100 rail in N scale?  I have never seen rail that tall used for any of the N-scale track (modular or flex). Was it hand-laid?