1:87 Cobblestone Road – Gentle Curve (HO)

Cobblestones curved into a bend

A roadway of roughly dressed stone setts held the streets of Europe through the whole nineteenth century and in many places has survived to this day under a layer of asphalt. A curving run of such a road is a rewarding element on a layout: it breaks up the right angles of the blocks of houses and naturally leads the eye to a building, a crossing or the arch of a bridge.

HO gauge and 1:87 scale

The treatment is aimed at the most widespread railroad gauge. Once reduced, a single sett measures barely two tenths of a millimeter, so from a distance the stones merge into a fine grainy surface; only from close up can you tell that their rows follow the curve of the road and crowd together on the inside of the bend.

Joining to the neighboring surfaces

A bend is set between straight sections, so plan in advance where the road enters it and where it leaves. Lead the cut along a joint, never across the stones: a cut following a row of setts disappears in a finished surface, whereas severed setts give the join away at first glance. Then hide the edges under a curb, grass or a deposit of soil.

Finishing in color

A stone street is never uniform. Darker wet traces in the worn wheel tracks, a lighter strip worn along the axis and dirt heaped up at the shoulder turn a regular grid into a street that was really driven on. Do not forget the places by the curb, where the most dirt collects, and a thin strip of moss in the shadow of a house wall.

Accessories that bring a bend to life

A bend by itself only changes direction; it is what goes on around it that turns it into a scene. Put a lamp or a marker post on the inside of the curve, and on the outside leave a stretch of rutted shoulder. A siding cutting across the paving is one of the most rewarding motifs, because it shows how closely the stones hug the head of the rail.