Homemade Rural crossings?

I hate my rerailers/crossings because they have those stupid, rediculously unrealistic looking wire terminals sticking out like a sore thumb...and the fact that I don't find them all that great at re-railing anything. What real railroad crossing in the world has giant electrical terminals sticking up out of the middle of the road? And what about dirt roads? I've never seen a paved crossing on a dirt road. There has to be a way to make a realistic looking crossing for vehicles across HO code 100 track, regardless of whether it be on a straight or in a curve. Would anyone care to elaborate? I've seen it on other layouts. I just don't know how they did it.
- Brandon

 

Blair Line and others make laser cut grade crossings for straight and curved sections. You can get those, rough them up with a brass brush, weather with 91% Alcohol/India Ink, and then stain, and you are golden. Or, if you are up to it, you can scratch build them. Just make sure you use wood that clears the rails and doesn't interfere with the coupler pins on the Kadee or like style couplers.

Too easy.

 

Thanks. I was thinking about thin wood in between the rails but I hadn't thought of using spackling compound for the road inclines on either side. This is just one example of why I love this site... because of people who are willing to take time to help people like me learn the tricks of the hobby. Thanks again. And by the way...the image in the photo is amazing!

 

Jim great looking plank crossing. Just as a side note. Frisco used to use about anything. Mainly Bridge Stringers or more properly named the Cord of the Bridge. Sometimes just asphalt used with a ball in piece of rail. "Ball in" just means a rail laid on its side, up against the web of the running rail. Farm crossings was also just dirt or gravel. The era that Jim, uses, there is not much telling. Next thing, he will lash a female to the rail.
Bill Jackson

 

So the weight of the train on its wheels kept a sufficient groove cut between the asphalt/dirt/gravel and the insides of the rails? Can you do that with spackle? ...Push down with a heavy metal wheeled car through wet spackle to create a gap for the wheels? Or, use a spacer like poster board or card stock until the spackle hardens? Sounds like modeling asphalt between rails to me. If that's not a good idea, someone needs to let me know. Just a few months ago, NS put asphalt in between their mainline rails in Bear Creek, AL on a rural street. It looked like they took a flat nosed shovel or something to pull the asphalt away from the inside of the rail. Just sayin'. - Brandon

 

The Frisco Standard Crossing Plans from 1914 and 1960 may be found in this thread.

http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?6514-Highway-Crossing-Standard-Plans-1914-and-1960

Since you are using Code 100 rail, 3/32" (0.094") scale wood should do nicely for your crossing timbers.

 

Brandon, thats about what was done. We put down hot asphalt, rolled it with a roller or generally a tractor tire and then if the train was close, the wheels cut the flange. When no train was available, then we would put a "U shaped" fence post down to form the flange. I would guess plaster or spakle would work good, lay a piece of strip metal or wood to form the flange. Generally, farm crossings get little use, tractor or hay truck, cattle moving across, so it was not in verry good condition. It does not have to be verry close to the top of rail, good, 50/50 glue and sprinkle a little dirt or gravel on top. Great crossing
William Jackson

 

I have a bag of little square sticks I bought at hobby lobby back in 2008 for lumber yard purposes. They are about the diameter of a kitchen match. With a little work, I think I just might have what I need for dirt road crossings. With a little spackle and paint, I just my have some asphalt street crossings too. The AT&N area (extreme W/SW Alabama) put the R in Rural. Being from Sulligent, AL (pop. 1,927), I have a very good understanding of rural. I've traveled from Sulligent all the way to Mobile on Hwy 17 along the old AT&N route. No offense but with the exception of York, those places make Sulligent look like Times Square.
Thanks for the help folks. - Brandon

 

Check this out...

Making Paved Roads for your layout

Manny

 

The dead rail or guard rail was punched(drilled) through the web, and 1/2" x 8" "spikes were driven into the tie.

 

Tom, your right, they blow a hole in the web of the rail, drive a lag screw or boat spike into the tie. Really that is only to hold the rail from moving with the vibration down the track and eventually coming out. The Asphalt holds the rail in place. They also had an item called a "Rail Chair." It welded to the rail then spiked down.
In about 1987, BNSF tested one of the first Concrete Crossings, designed for the newer concrete ties, with the depressed center, on my territory. It just sat there. No attachment! Well that did not last long, as I was called only a few nights later. The ends worked over to the rail. The wheels hit the metal frame and just busted the concrete all to pieces. 110 Car Coal train, in Wyoming, that's right. I had to close the road that night. we had to remove the center section and had nothing to fill it in. The idea was to remove the crossing, run the tampers or rail grinder through it and just set the crossing back in. But that didn't work. A quick fix was to lace wood ties in between, about every fourth, drill the concrete and lag it down.
In about 1992 or so, the first Concrete Crossings, came out with attached rubber flange ways. A end plate keeps it from moving down the track. And thats about it. It just sits there, held down by the weight of the crossing. With the end plate, it doesn't go much of anywhere. Disclaimer, not all railroads do it the same way.
William Jackson

 

When it comes to my layout, I'm always looking for a bargain and I'm fortunate in that some good friends have given me a lot of cool things over the years. I don't know how I got these little brown plastic "boards", but I think that they work well for crossing timbers. I also use them for bridges by laying them across the ends of the ties. I have some Blair Line crossings as well, as seen in Wesco on the branch line of my layout. Sorry about the poor lighting and the camera flash.

Pat Moreland,
Union Mo.