Real Water?

[Climber]

Has anyone ever put real water in their layout? I am in the process of doing it but looking for some more advice as what to do. It will start at a waterfall then flow through a creek to a mini fall then down into a lake/pond. And then get pumped back up to the falls to start over. I can get pictures of it tomorrow to show everyone what is and any input would be awesome.

Thanks Dan

[shaygetz]

Welcome to the forum...

Yes, water has been used in the past but it has weight and humidity problems that must be addressed. Add to that the fact that water does not look realistic in model usage and it's easy to see why it's not common outside of garden railways.

[alcoman]

I read something about this being done before but it's pretty rare.

Most model scenery is water soluble to one degree or another so you'll want to make very sure that your water track is sealed extra well. Look really hard at the area under where the water will run. Make sure there isn't anything that will be damaged if (when) a leak occurs. The water will also raise the local humidity and may affect benchwork and electrical contacts in unexpected ways.

[Boston&Maine]

Another one of our memebers actually used real water in his in-store layout: http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=2006

[tankist]

it is definitely possible and was done before. but as othesr mention you need to address all the stemming difficulties: possible leaks, cleaning, etc

[Climber]

Thanks yall... As far as leaks that wont be an issue everything that will have water in it will be coated in epoxy and all seems will be hot glued for easy take down. And as far as the humidity that wont be a problem because its just a christmas setup and the train very rarely runs, and I dont put that many lights in either. Next step is to finish the painting, then epoxy and then I can test it out.

Dan