One material that you may want to consider is poured concrete. This could be simulated with ye olde plaster of paris.

Andy

I'm inclined to go the concrete route myself as I think it fits the era better, can be poured realistically with curves and the natural seams between pours and expansion joints will work to your advantage.

Peter

BCT

Andy,

I would have to third that opinion. I would use poured concrete or a concrete block wall

I will 'fourth' that opinion as well, however, you really don't need to 'pour' your wall. Locally, many, including Harsco, have used what I believe is called 'matt board', or something like that, with excellent results! He and Dutchman I believe have also expermented with a 'textured' spray made by Krylon that gives an excellent aged concrete look. Hopefully Rick will see this thread and elaborate.

Great thoughts guys. I think you've all sold me on a concrete wall. If I could get away from actually pouring one, I think it would be much easier for me since I have the open areas below and behind that have to be sealed first. I could do it but it would be a lot more work.

I'll be very interested in following up on the matt-board and textured spray. I remember that Rick showed pics of that. I'll have to go and look them up!![^] Thanks again!!

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I just added this: I went back and looked at Rick's pics and info on the mat board and stucco paint finish. I wonder if a reinforced concrete wall would have a stucco finish of any type? I'm thinking it would look more like just concrete with it's imperfections when it is poured. Any thoughts??

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I knew you guys would have the answer!

I tend to agree Andy. Rick's building looks fantastic, and the texture adds a lot, but a concrete 'scaled down' would most likely resemble a simple flat finish. For what it's worth, for the cost of a spray can, you can experiment. It might be worth it.

Andy, I simulated a concrete retaining wall by using sheet styrene, and strip styrene, spaced more or less evenly, vertically, and capped it off with some strip styrene on top, then painted it concrete. It's a little hard to see in this, my only photo of the wall, but it is in the center, left (to the right of Valdez Meats):

A great trick to get styrene to look like concrete (or stone) is to prime it with Artist's Gesso. This has a bit of a 'tooth' to it and you can then apply a concrete colored paint on top.

dave

(p.s. I learned this from Mike Tylik)

Andy,

Styrene and primed paint.

You see a pattern developing here?

Pete

in Michigan

Andy...I'm partial to illustration board; aside from being inexpensive, it cuts and cements easily as well as can be bought in fairly large sheets which will minimize the number of joints you have to make. I used just a plain old light tan spray paint to simulate the poured concrete walls at Maclay Street (no texture at all) and the "Sandstone" variety on Krouse Brothers (very light texture).

The trick is in figuring out realistic dimensions; as John R told me, the pilasters are usually 12 to 24 inches wide and spaced 15 to 24 feet apart, depending on how much load the wall is holding back; in essence, the higher the wall, the more weight being restrained, the thicker the pilasters and the closer they're spaced.

Here's a shot of the retaining wall I made at Maclay:



I have a similar problem on my Commonwealth Branch behind Lucknow: a long (10 ft), 2% rising grade that needs some sort of retaining wall; the thought of casting a lot of plaster sections and then trying to blend them together isn't very appealing; I did that for my mineral ramp at Herr Street and it can be a bear to pull off. At the moment I'm leaning towards making a concrete version for the branch....

One last thought: if trying to decide whether to model reinforced concrete or not, consider the time period you are modeling and the age of the rail infrastructure. While the PRR is well known for it's huge cut stock block structures, that old method of construction was later superceded by the less expensive use of reinforced concrete....if the area you're modeling is fairly "new:, then concrete is a viable choice.

Thanks again guys, I think I have what I need now to proceed!!

Al, the wall looks like just what I need and the height is about the same. Your's looks really good.[^]

David, thanks for the tip. I'll be looking for Artist's Gesso. I've followed Mike Tylik for years and love his work![^]

Thanks Rick, your pics and thoughts have been really helpful![^]

I'll be working on this over the next week or so. I'll let you know how it goes and post some pics! Thanks again to all!

Another idea to consider. If you want a rough look, you could also consider a rock cut made with celluclay. Use a putty knife to shape it like a vertical rock face. When dry you can paint it and weather with bragdons and scenic material.

Hey Pete, I'm goin to make you proud!! [^]

Well thanks to Dave, I bought a large jar of artist's Gesso ($10) at Hobby Lobby and used my 40% off coupon ($6)!!

Thanks Dave, I'll let you all know how it goes and will post pics when I have something to show![^]