Red Rosin Paper

I had heard about using red rosin paper to rough in the scenery.  My understanding was that Howard Zane was the first to use it, at least he had it published first in the Railroad Model Craftsman in January 2007.   I have a space between the track and the fascia and between the track and the backdrop/wall and thought this might be a way to fill the gap, at least temporarily.  I also saw it being used on John Parker's BNSF Fall River Division - http://home.comcast.net/~jkparker/journal.html  Scroll down to the July 2008 Update.  If you ever get a chance to see or operate on John's railroad, do so.  It is an amazing layout and fun to operate on.

Red Rosin Paper is readily available at hardware and big box building supply stores.  It is inexpensive at about $14 for a roll 3 feet wide and 140 feet long.  The paper is painted with white glue and when it sets is stiff and will take plaster or ground cover.  The hardest part of the process is supporting the paper while it is painted.  I tried doing that using masking tape.  It does not work well as the moisture in the glue counteracts the adheasive on the tape and the paper falls.  I ended up using wadded newspapers and more tape to hold in in place, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I decided this would be a great project for the local club to help me with.  I did a couple small sections to show them what we were doing and then let them at the paper and tape.  All we did was put the paper in place and I would paint the glue on later.  Here are some photos of the fun.


Bob applying tape



Art adding tape to a tight spot




David taping



John taping



Gary triming paper to fit



The entire crew - l to r Art, Bruce, David, John, Joe and Gary





Tape and paper at the end of double track




Paper in place west of Carpinteria

 The next day I slathered on the glue, full strength, using a cheap disposable paint brush.  I had purchased a full gallon of the white glue pouring it out into another container for ease of application.  I also later applied some plaster to the area just west of Carpinteria.


This is the same area as the above photo but now the red rosin paper has had glue applied
and an additional layer of plaster has been applied over the stiff red rosin paper.





Finished red rosin paper at double track. 
This is the same area John was taping and photographed with both tape and some paper in place.



Finished red rosin at Goleta with Coast Starlight