White lines

You could use Tamiya masking tape from your model dealer.

Peter Prewett said the following on 27/02/2006 04:19:

Are you sure you need to paint white lines? Have a look at a real road, and see how many lines are actually white. At 4mm scale, layouts that use a sort of grey for "white" lines look more realistic. Just a thought! Maybe using a thin white will work, so the road colour shows through.

Not a problem I have, because white lines weren't around in the periods I model!

My roads are all freshly made and are pristine black bitumen:-)

Not even cats eyes.

Peter

Is there anybody interested in an unused resin casting set-up? Cost about £2000, open to offers. Powerful enough to cast several 00 gauge coaches in one go. Ollie

Cut a mask in card and spray them.

I keep wondering about using one of those Tippex correction roller "mouse" things - probably not available narrow enough for 4 mm though

I used automotive pinstriping for my road lines.

-- Cheers

Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

For what it is worth . . .

Tarred roads were marked down the centre with dashed white lines after about 1925 but even in the late 1990's there are some country roads in the wilds of Cheshire with no white line down the middle. The double white lines indicating you are not allowed to cross even when overtaking were introduced in 1957, originally in the London area. Cats eyes were first introduced in 1936, on a British N model these can be represented using 0.5mm lengths cut from a strip of 10x20 thou plastic strip. The yellow cross hatch markings at junctions first appeared in London in 1964.

Mike

I did it once, using a mapping pen and white ink toned down with just a drop of black - 'Twas worth it as I had just seen a pic of a street painter standing looking at where he was up to - KEEP KLE

Splendid

Mike

There are lots of unmarked roads all around the country.

Some places are (or have been) experimenting with removing existing white lines. The lack of lane definition makes drivers more cautious and they slow down.

MBQ

Now *there's* a challenge for something to model! Though I suppose if 'brilliants' are available for 2mm scale head & tail lamps, they might do the job quite nicely in 4mm....

David Belcher

The message from snipped-for-privacy@notigg.not.no contains these words:

That's because putting the lines in would give "lanes" just about wide enough for a push-bike.

The message from " snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com" contains these words:

You *clearly* don't live in the wilds of Cheshire... It doesn't even work on the tractor drivers! Or WVM.

In message , David Jackson writes

That could be interesting when tractor driver going in one direction meets WVM going in the other.

The message from Jane Sullivan contains these words:

Happens regularly. And, yes, it's always interesting. It's even more interesting when WVM meets Combine heading to another field...

On a rural road in Ireland, I came up behind a tractor that seemed to be having difficulty squeezing by a large truck coming in the opposite direction. After several minutes, the vehicles moved on, which was when I realised the drivers had just stopped for a chat!

Hello.

However you do your lines, getting the sizes right will help the appearance of your model.

Current sizes in: Traffic Signs Manual, Chapter 5, or Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) 2002.

Link to the first one, which also explains where different types are used:

As to how to do them, I think you can get transfers for some types, eg Give Way" triangles. Or maybe they are continental?

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

John Howell

Don't forget:

Dumfries Model Railway Exhibition