# Modeling the Washington DC Metro



## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Greetings from the City of Gravella. I noticed a post from a while back (original thread) discussing possibly modeling the Washington DC subway system. I'd like to share with you some of our progress in an HO scale subway that's heavily influenced by the DC Metro. I started my layout in 2008 and it was very basic. I just put down the tracks and a little bit of hobby wood for platforms and signage. But in May 2020 I got a 3D printer and have been able to design and print items to emulate the Metro stations. While Gravella isn't supposed any real location it does take inspiration from a number of real world buildings, transit systems and locations. And our subway isn't supposed to be WMATA's Metrorail, but it's a look I've wanted to model since I was a kid. Also many of the station names are a playful parody of real station names. And a few others get their name from an item near them.

Lately I've been taking on renovations of the old layout one station or section of tracks at a time. Got six done so far. The most recent station to be completed is River Bridge station. It is a bi-level station similar to Rosslyn on the DC Metro. Two lines merge then diverge very close to the station on both ends so I've decided to have flyovers instead of the tracks crossing each other. The station is on a removable section that spans the gap between the 6'x12' table (our downtown section) to a shelf on a wall.



























Thanks for checking it out. If you folks are interested I can upload photos of other stations.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Very interesting...am I seeing the '3rd' rail alongside the
tracks? Is it 'live'?

Are you aware that in the early days of model
railroading, the trains actually used the '3rd rail' for
power pickup...there was a '3rd rail' alongside
every track. Locos including the steamers had multiple power pickup pads
similar to what is used on today's subway cars. That enabled
them to stay powered thru intricate turnout situations.

Your pictures show fairly detailed subway stations, apparently
'underground'...do you have any surface running?

Don


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## Refugee (Oct 2, 2019)

As a former resident I can say you captured the look and feel.


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

DonR said:


> Very interesting...am I seeing the '3rd' rail alongside the
> tracks? Is it 'live'?
> 
> Are you aware that in the early days of model
> ...


- No. The third rail is purely cosmetic.

- Yes. Also modern day Marklin trains operate in a similar way with studs in the middle of the ties instead of an actual rail.

- I have some "above ground" stations. The next station that I will be upgrading is such one. I'll be starting work on that next week.


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Refugee said:


> As a former resident I can say you captured the look and feel.


Thank you. I've used my personal observations and photos on the internet to design the parts to be 3D printed. Also found some technical specs online and scaled the dimensions down.


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Recently completed the first "outdoor" station to be renovated since buying a 3D printer. Eastern Road is served by Gravella Rapid Transit's yellow line. Design of this station was inspired by WMATA's Prince George's Plaza station. 



























Many more photos posted on our Facebook page - Gravella Model Railroad's Eastern Road station


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Welcome to the site, nice work. 
Nice night scene.
All you need a is bunch of people here and there.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Just looked at this thread for the first time and I have to agree with Refugee. Excellent modeling of the Metro.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Your station area and particularly the platforms are very nicely done.


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

That's great work! Who is the manufacturer of the subway cars?


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## [email protected] (Dec 5, 2018)

Awesome work! As a local it’s instantly recognizable as the metro.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

I was going to say the same thing.


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Thank you all for the kind words.



Gramps said:


> That's great work! Who is the manufacturer of the subway cars?


They are the ones Walthers made. I bought three from them in the mid-90s and the others via ebay in the 00s. I installed DCC decoders and LEDs for headlights, taillights and route color where the destination would be on the prototype Metro cars.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Not to be critical at all but this is intended only in the most constructive way. The concrete portions are a little different color than white in real life. I have no idea what color to call it - "concrete-y off-white".

I asked Google. Well wouldn't you know every photo has a slightly different shade of that.... I picked this one that kinda meets my memory eye.

But maybe someone that rides the thing more often can chime in. I haven't been in a metro station in several years...











But let me add this. The night shot is utterly convincing of reality. In fact I showed it to someone out of context and they thought it was real.


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Severn said:


> Not to be critical at all but this is intended only in the most constructive way. The concrete portions are a little different color than white in real life. I have no idea what color to call it - "concrete-y off-white".


In the actual stations I believe its granite or supposed to be granite. Not to long ago WMATA started to paint them white to enhance the lighting. Some of the regular riders didn’t like it painted.

The filament I use to make the walls and other concrete features is a marble one. It’s slightly darker than white with black and gray specks in it.

*Correction. It’s concrete and they originally left it unpainted as it was the brutalist style. I mistakenly thought of granite as that’s on the edges of the platforms. Sorry about that.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Yeah it's definitely concrete. If they've painted it for some reason then that's occurred more recently since I've been in one. I'd actually just go and take some pics but unfortunate I'm no where near them exactly. Maybe with luck someone that rides them every day will chime in. I'm actually quite near the bwi Amtrak station. I bought of model of it recently to go on my expanding pile of non-started projects. It looks great there among all the others in their unopened boxes. I might add some unopened packages of LEDs and 3d print details too. Maybe a few cannisters of unused static grass, couple of bottles of glue, unused. It's amazing what one can't accomplished if one tries ...


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## Refugee (Oct 2, 2019)

DC Metro was unfinished concrete which got a little greyer over the years. Never known the tunnels to be painted. They might have been cleaned to restore a brighter appearance.


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Refugee said:


> DC Metro was unfinished concrete which got a little greyer over the years. Never known the tunnels to be painted. They might have been cleaned to restore a brighter appearance.


They started painting them five years ago. Mixed reactions to it.

Washington Post article - *Metro decision to paint Union Station vault rubs some the wrong way*


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## Refugee (Oct 2, 2019)

Interesting. Rode until the pandemic and don't recall any painted stations but of course I didn't see them all.


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Here’s another recently completed station, Triplebrook. It’s a combination rapid transit and commuter rail station. Here’s some photos from the subway side. It’s a terminal station for our red line, so a double crossover is before the platform. 3D printed the rail ties and guards for it and then slid the rail in place. Found a paint for the guards and plastic rails that somewhat matches the nickel silver rail. The design of the subway side was inspired by some of WMATA’s red line above ground stations, in particular the canopy from Grosvenor-Strathmore. Got more pictures on our Facebook page @CityOfGravella


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

Looks great! Glad to see the update.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

You even have the hot rail modeled!


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## Steve on Cattail Creek (11 mo ago)

Beautiful work, and I agree you've captured the spirit if not every last detail of the prototype D.C. system (_cough_ Rivet Counters _cough_)! 🙄 

I'm curious -- the photos capture the "enclosed space" vibe of virtually every subway system, but how did you model it in a way that allows for such effortless photography (and presumably viewing)? I suppose you could just do it _as_ an enclosed space diorama, and use some sort of endoscope camera to take pictures, but I'm assuming this is part of a real layout that can be viewed by real human-sized humans! Can you widen the frame a bit and let us see how you've embedded all this in an operating layout? Inquiring minds want to know . . .


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Steve on Cattail Creek said:


> I'm curious -- the photos capture the "enclosed space" vibe of virtually every subway system, but how did you model it in a way that allows for such effortless photography (and presumably viewing)? I suppose you could just do it _as_ an enclosed space diorama, and use some sort of endoscope camera to take pictures, but I'm assuming this is part of a real layout that can be viewed by real human-sized humans! Can you widen the frame a bit and let us see how you've embedded all this in an operating layout? Inquiring minds want to know . . .


The photos of the “underground” stations are usually taken with the end wall or a few side walls removed. Most of our underground stations are located at the edge of the downtown table, so part of the walls have been left off so that they can be viewed. I haven’t put the table top back on yet, will be done soon. I can take some photos of them then.

In the meantime, here’s a couple of shots with the end walls removed. These two stations are located in spots that normally would be in accessible so they are fully enclosed. First photo is River Bridge Station, the same one as the first station in this thread, which is actually part of a span between the downtown table and a ledge along a wall. Second photo is Stair Way Station which is located under a stair case. As of now the lines stop here. Possible expansion into the next room from here.


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## Steve on Cattail Creek (11 mo ago)

CityOfGravella said:


> The photos of the “underground” stations are usually taken with the end wall or a few side walls removed. Most of our underground stations are located at the edge of the downtown table, so part of the walls have been left off so that they can be viewed. I haven’t put the table top back on yet, will be done soon. I can take some photos of them then.
> 
> In the meantime, here’s a couple of shots with the end walls removed. These two stations are located in spots that normally would be in accessible so they are fully enclosed. First photo is River Bridge Station, the same one as the first station in this thread, which is actually part of a span between the downtown table and a ledge along a wall. Second photo is Stair Way Station which is located under a stair case. As of now the lines stop here. Possible expansion into the next room from here.


Thanks for the explanation, COG. I'm still struggling with how your subway system is or will be operated (or _if_ it's operated), and how it will be viewed while in operation. Do you plan viewing ports for easy visibility (it occurs that some high-def "surveillance" cameras and a big-screen TV could provide a novel way to railfan it!)? I've seen a fair number of multi-room train systems in my time, but never one with an underground connection!


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

Steve on Cattail Creek said:


> Thanks for the explanation, COG. I'm still struggling with how your subway system is or will be operated (or _if_ it's operated), and how it will be viewed while in operation. Do you plan viewing ports for easy visibility (it occurs that some high-def "surveillance" cameras and a big-screen TV could provide a novel way to railfan it!)? I've seen a fair number of multi-room train systems in my time, but never one with an underground connection!


Four of the six underground stations have portals which are just area where wall panels have not placed. The other two are fully enclosed as their location is somewhat inaccessible. The subway trains will operate with JMRI. Magnetic reed switches are in place allowing trains to stop for a short time at each station.


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## LeopardArchModels (10 mo ago)

Really great work! I was in DC last year and road the metro and you have definitely captured the flavor and feel. Pretty cool to be modeling something not so common.


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## KWPhillips05 (5 mo ago)

CityOfGravella said:


> Greetings from the City of Gravella. I noticed a post from a while back (original thread) discussing possibly modeling the Washington DC subway system. I'd like to share with you some of our progress in an HO scale subway that's heavily influenced by the DC Metro. I started my layout in 2008 and it was very basic. I just put down the tracks and a little bit of hobby wood for platforms and signage. But in May 2020 I got a 3D printer and have been able to design and print items to emulate the Metro stations. While Gravella isn't supposed any real location it does take inspiration from a number of real world buildings, transit systems and locations. And our subway isn't supposed to be WMATA's Metrorail, but it's a look I've wanted to model since I was a kid. Also many of the station names are a playful parody of real station names. And a few others get their name from an item near them.
> 
> Lately I've been taking on renovations of the old layout one station or section of tracks at a time. Got six done so far. The most recent station to be completed is River Bridge station. It is a bi-level station similar to Rosslyn on the DC Metro. Two lines merge then diverge very close to the station on both ends so I've decided to have flyovers instead of the tracks crossing each other. The station is on a removable section that spans the gap between the 6'x12' table (our downtown section) to a shelf on a wall.
> 
> ...


Very nice! I was just researching this very concept and voila! There's your work. Now I am even more inspired. Did you consider N scale at all?


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## CityOfGravella (Dec 29, 2021)

KWPhillips05 said:


> Very nice! I was just researching this very concept and voila! There's your work. Now I am even more inspired. Did you consider N scale at all?


Thank you. We’ve got many additional photos on Instagram and Facebook if you’re interested. Search for @CityOfGravella on either platform.

No, I’ve always modeled in HO scale, since the first train set I got as a kid in the 80s. I know you can get the shells for 7K series WMATA cars in both HO and N scale now. But years ago I only knew of the HO ones Walthers sold.


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## KWPhillips05 (5 mo ago)

I've worked both scales. Appreciate the higher resolution of HO, but love the space efficiency of N. Checked out your fb page. Lots of great work on display. Thanks for sharing!


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