Oops! :tb-embarrassed: Oh no, I agree that’s a bad idea. If something accidentally knocks that out, it could be real bad
Years ago I was helping a friend wire his new home and one of the Carpenters turned on a circuit breaker to an outlet that I was working on and a couple of wires hanging out of the box caught my paints on fire. It happened so fast that I couldn't believe it. Lucky my friend was standing there with a cup of coffee and dosed my pants leg to put out the fire. I don’t know what hurt worse the fire or the hot coffee.
Wisdom from others This is the beauty of an environment like this, Whats seemed like a "good idea at the time" can be quickly shown to be bad and allowed for new plans and thoughts. CraigN and SleeperN06 you are correct, initially I was looking for a clean way to wire it without leaving holes in the side of the table or going under. But a quickly dismantled old wall switch provided a base to mount a matching wall plate and allowed for the hard wire connection as suggested. It is always a good idea to listen to the advice of others who have been there before you. Thank you. Dale
Jonny B. Very nice tree train. Like the combination of the HO trolley & the Lionel. Looking forward to seeing the new layout. Dale
One other thing you want to do is to protect the wires from the sharp edges of that switch plate. If you can find a rubber grommet to cover the wires that would be ideal. An alternative would be to caulk the opening with some silicone. The most important thing is to keep the wires from rubbing against the sharp edges otherwise the insulation on the wires will get cut open and then you will have a serious problem. Craig
Grommet Hi Craig, Went back to the switch that provided the mount for the wall plate and used the center without the actual switch lever as a grommet. The wires now pass through this instaed of just the wall plate
Shops Walt's has a good selection of N Scale accessories and detail items, I also frequent Lombard hobbies as they stock N Scale Magizine and N Scale Railroading. Also I try to get to the Dupage county fairgrounds each month as there are a couple of shop I buy from there including Grayland Station. Their actual shop is one that is up on the north side of Chicago so the train show is a good way to see them. He always has a good selection of N scale at the show. Dale
First level of foam Here is the first level of foam that will be used for the cookie cutter base for the rail.
Riser test fit First layer is cut and the risers look to fit well. As soon as I get the Armstrong levers from Hump Yard Purveyance and determine the cut for their mounting I will get the first layer of foam and the risers mounted permanently. Currently working on the basic terrain.
Progress Being Made Been a couple of busy weeks, but now back to work on the table. The sides have been covered in a christmas fabric and edge molding has been applied to give it a more finished look.
Rough Terrain Also started cutting some of the basic terrain from the foam. My next step will be to get the risers permanently in place this week and glue down the base layer of foam as well. P.S. Also in the background are 2 of my 3 "helpers" making sure I build it right. Top Left and Right. These girls and boys are the reason for my next question? Has anyone built a layout under glass or in this case lexan? I am thinking of using 1/8 inch lexan on the sides and 1/4 inch on the top. using 1x1 wood stained to match the corner molding with furniture hardware to attach and build a self supporting structure the would be somewhat cat proof.
Found the idea here! Hi Mark, I actually found the basis for the idea here on trainboard. Ed M in his "My Layout" album gave me the idea of using the woodland scenic risers under the foam. Ed's layout looks like he cut the risers from the blue foam used to build his terrain. Dale
Also did. During the busy time I did find some time to work on small items, Built the first of two christmas trees for the town that will reside on the front left corner (Little glass beads for jewelery, held with the toothpick, dipped in Gorilla Glue on a small plate and placed in the already snow covered evergreen), Painted the 4 tunnel portals and worked on the mounts for the armstrong levers for the 2 switches on the layout. These are very cool looking and it's a shame i need them mounted under the tabel so they are safe while it is moved. On the bigger layout I would like to only mount them partially below the dech so the detail can be seen. Also thinking of using threaded rod to group multiples together.
Layout Under Glass I have found what I was looking for to get the layout Enclosed to keep out the furry demolition crew. In the wrought iron section of the store were these mounts that fit the 1 x 1 lumber I was hoping to use for the supports. And in the cabinet aisle were blind nuts that thread into the wood to be used for mounts. Now all I need to do is get the measurements and find a dealer to get the Lexan.
Moving Forward Did some more fine tuning on the initial foam cutting and now all risers and the base foam have been attached to the bench work. Bridge openings have been cut out and cleaned up. Also the roadbed has been layed down. Thought this would be one of the more dificult parts but it turned out to be more straight forward than I thought it would be. Marked out the track location using Kato Unitrack which was the basis for this design and then layed Woodlands Scenic foam roadbed from the roll. It lays out very nice at 12 1/2 inch radius on the inside passing track in the back and 13 1/2 on all other curves, no seams except where the switches meet the main track. Currently working on some of the filler pieces and the tunnel openings.
