RAILROAD HEXES

   Using "Z" scale (1:220) model railroad track, it is rather easy to add railroads to your terrain!  (Yes, I know... it is "overscale" -- 1:220 vs. the 1:285 of Micro Armour -- but in my book, it's close enough!!)

		View from above
		Side view
		"Towards the end" view
		Look at those rails shine -- there must have been a train through here recently!

   1.  Using a 1/2" hex as a base, mark the center of two opposite sides.

   2.  For the base of the roadbed (which the track sits on top of), I used a piece of 1" thick Styrofoam board, cut 1/4" thick.  (see Fig. 1, below)  Mark the center of the roadbed section at the end -- you'll use this to align the roadbed when you glue it to the base hex.  Then, I beveled the sides at an "eyeballed" 45° angle, leaving just a slight square edge at the bottom.  I used a very sharp #11 blade in my X-acto knife -- but there were some slight "irregularities" in my cut.  To me, this makes the finished product look better -- as if the roadbed were laid "by hand" by the railroad workers, instead of perfectly-graded line if it were done by a machine.  (See Fig. 2, below)

   3.  Using a generous amount of white glue, glue the roadbed to the base hex, aligning your center marks.  Let dry thoroughly.

   4.  To "smooth in" the base edges of the roadbed, make a mix of Durham's Water Putty and water -- you want a consistency of something like peanut butter (preferably creamy, not chunky!!).  "Blend in" the bottom edges of the roadbed into the hex.  Let dry thoroughly.  After the putty is dry, paint the entire hex -- roadbed and all -- in the color you use for your "ground".  Once again -- let dry...

   5.  Cut a piece of the "Z" scale track 4" long.  To make the track look more realistic, paint the rails -- especially the sides -- a "rusty" color; let dry.  (Don't worry if you "slop" some of the paint onto the ties...)  Next, paint the ties a dark brown color; let dry.  (Again, don't worry if you "slop" some of the paint onto the sides of the rail... it'll look fine in the end!)  And don't worry about "slopping" the paint on top of the rails -- we'll take care of that in the final step...

   6.  When the putty and the painted track are thoroughly dry, glue the track to the center of the top of the roadbed.  (See Fig. 3, below)  Again, I use white glue.  Use enough glue to cover the bottom of the track -- but you do not want glue "squishing up" between the ties.  Again, let dry thoroughly.

   7.  Now it's time to begin "scenicing" the hex.  The best place is to start with the roadbed.  I used Woodland Scenic's Ballast; the color is Buff, and the "size" is fine.  (I suppose fine sand would be "more to scale" -- but I had the ballast on hand... and am happy enough with the final results.  Do what looks best to you!)  Begin by spreading a thin layer on top of the track section, between the rails.  Use a dry paintbrush and lightly brush away most of the ballast sitting atop the ties.  You want the areas between the ties covered, and the tops of the ties relatively free of ballast -- but a few "rocks" here and there look okay.  Then, soak the ballast with a water / glue mix -- this will not only adhere the ballast to the roadbed, but it will help adhere the track to the roadbed.  Let dry...

   8.  "Paint" the sides of the roadbed, the top edge of the roadbed outside the ties, and if you can, the "gaps" between the ties, with white glue.  Sprinkle on more ballast; shake off the excess; then let dry.

   9.  Now, soak all of the ballast again with the water / glue mixture.  One more time... let dry thoroughly.

   10.  The next-to-last step is to scenic the rest of the hex as you see fit...  I won't go into details here.

   11.  When all of the scenery is finished -- go over the tops of the rails with an eraser, to remove any "slopped on" paint and polish the tops of the rails.  As I am also a model railroader, I have an eraser made just for cleaning track... but an ordinary pencil eraser will do just as good of a job with just a little more "scrubbing".  Make sure you "clean off" the "eraser scrubbings"!

   12.  All finished!  Sit back and admire your handiwork...  see, it wasn't that hard!

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