Turtle Creek Central part Three

John Moore Oct 26, 2019

  1. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well after a bit of a struggle I solved my track laying issue and got new track around the brewery.
    But another issue has cropped it ugly head. Having issues throwing the Atlas turnout and having it fully seat. Took the turnout control apart and came upon some dried glue but that did not completely solve the issue. Luckily the track is just temp spiked down because I am going back to my track box and see if I have another old Atlas turnout and if not go with a new one.

    In a late edition and two Atlas number 6s hitting circular file 13, I finally got what I want and ran a loco over the track, the ultimate test.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2019
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  2. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    I have started work on the back track now getting ready for installation of the unitrack. Removed the entire engine facility except for the fuel storage tanks and removed cork roadbed.
    I put a lot of work into the little engine house that was there and looking at Kato engine house that are compatible with their track I find they are too long so staying with the original. I plan to install 20-026 rerailer tracks into both sides.
    I just have to widen the door opening by 1 mm on each side and cut some slots in the Masonite base.and they slip in. A little more difficult will be trying to mount the inspection pits inside into the rerailer sections..Much more fun wil be trying to fit the unitrack into the area hence why it was all cleared out.

    Wood grade crossings are due tomorrow and another order of untrack is due either tomorrow or Monday.
     
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  3. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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  4. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well I got surprised by the post lady with an early package delivery and my next order of Unitrack was in it. So far I have laid double track to in front of the village train station. Installed my 5th power feed section and so far I have not had to cut and shorten a single piece of track everything just seems to be going together smoothly. Now I just have to figure how and where my next crossover goes. I am about 60% done in the conversion to unitrack.
     
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  5. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well I made it across the bridge and ended up replacing my kit bashed double bridge with two single bridges. I have tore up most of the mainline with about 4 feet of dual track to go which will get replaced with single Unitrack. Also tore out the track to the stoneworks with Unitrack going there.
    Next up is to install turnouts to the mine and the stoneworks.

    I removed the Kato double track bridge at the rear of the layout in front of the water falls and did a little bashing of it turning it into a single lane road bridge and a single track.

    Will come to a standstill laying any new track while I wait for Untrack turnout orders from Japan. I made the mistake, which I will not do again, of ordering from Japan through Amazon and that was done last month. If I had gone direct to the Japanese vendor I frequent they would already be here two weeks ago.
     
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  6. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well I am close to having a gold spike ceremony marking the completion of the mainline unitrack installation. Managed to get the station turnout installed and the turnout to the engine service both number 6s. Just have to go back by the bridge and install a little shorter piece of track by about a half inch to get the hook-up complete. I cannot finish the engine service area until the unitrack order from Japan gets in for the short rad turnouts.

    Up at the other end I am waiting on track to complete the mine spur and where the double main used to be I am installing a short curved spur. Once again the mine spur is held up waiting for the short Rad turnouts.

    I reinstalled the bridge that has been converted to a combo road and track bridge.
     
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  7. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well the golden spike ceremony has just been held and the track gang is off to Wicked Wanda's for a night of carousing with all expenses paid by the railroad management. Even got the first track laid for the engine house spur.

    All was made possible by converting a 4 and 7/8 inch section to a flex section and then trimming it back to fit. The first time in this project that I have had to shorten a piece of unitrack, but thanks to a nice video by Mike Fifer it went smoothly.
     
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  8. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Congrats John !! (y)(y)(y)(y)

    You running trains now ??:whistle:
     
  9. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Just with a 9 volt to test. Still have to tack the track down and glue it in place. My next purchase is a Kato power pack and I need to find out which model for about 40 feet of track is the best and can power up to five locos at once.
     
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  10. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    I managed to complete all the installations of the wood grade crossings in the port area save one today. Then I went to work on restoring the scenic material and tacking down the unitrack in the village station area. Due to living in a maritime area I have high humidity and right now it is 75% and rising up into the low 90s tonight. So that makes the drying of the scenic glue mixture, diluted Elmer' white glue with water very slow. Usually I placed a fan on the layout and tonight I have a small heater/fan running there. I have expanded the train station parking lot in the process of restoration.

    You will probably like this. Running low on alcohol to mix with water for wetting the scenic material I decided I did not want to go out and do battle with the Christmas shopping crowd for a single bottle of alcohol. Instead went to my spirits cabinet and took a bottle of Tequila which has been there forever and I and the Missus don't drink. Poured some into the old alcohol bottle and now the layout is running on 80 proof. It works just fine.

    The mainline used to be dual tracked and now only the front is up to the stoneworks. Expanded the roadbed and made a spur track that wraps around the stoneworks. The last 6 inches of the track is a piece of Atlas and an Atlas bumper. The track to the mine is waiting on the next shipment of unitrack and the turnouts to arrive from Japan.
     
  11. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    I just had to John...lol
     
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  12. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well you have to admit it was a creative use for it.
     
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  13. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Today was another day in putting the layout back together from the track installation. Did a little roadbed work up at the lead to the mine spur then moved down and have been most of the day installing the M of W facilities on the opposite side of the track from the village train station and restoring some of the scenic materials back in the brewery area. Now have to let it all dry before I can install the tracks for the speeders and the piping bridge for the brewery.
     
  14. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Continuing to have to make compromises installing the unitrack. This time at the mine where I had dual loading tracks, now have one, and where the tracks faded into the mirror now just one track. Track was originally Atlas flex with Peco turnouts and now all unitrack. You can see where the original roadbed was in the photo.

    Still have the engine service area as a hold up waiting on turnouts.
     
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  15. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well nearly complete with the scenic work around the storeworks and the mine. Just needing a good vacuum and install some small pine trees.

    In the process of restoring the brewery and station area and almost complete in reinstalling the grade crossing.

    However the engine house are is still a mess waiting for the Kato short rad turnouts to get here which have been now about 30 days in shipping.
     
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  16. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Continuing to restore the scenery and finally added some trees to the mine area that were not there before.
    Also continued to add more trees to the stoneworks area and a few more hardwoods up on the cliff.

    And a shot through my forest of Aspen, Birch, Pine and fir trees toward the stoneworks. At this point I have somewhere over 600 trees and bushes on the layout.

    Currently I am restoring the pipework trestle over the brewery yard tracks that was removed to install the new track and hopefully be finish with that project this evening.
     
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  17. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Needing a break from the layout I was looking at the port and realized that the assigned tug to the container barge had no visibility forward. Out came the styrene and in about 2 hours I had constructed a raised pilot house on the tug. Been watching the ship cam up on the lakes and have been seeing these daily.
     
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  18. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Trees look great John and I like what you did with the tug there. (y)
     
  19. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks, The evergreens trees are commercial except the firs which and applied a fine green scenic material to the trees o make fir trees, For the pines I left alone. Most of my hardwoods up on the cliff are made from Sedum which grows in my garden and then is harvested in early winter.The Popular and Aspen trees are commercial while the birch are made from Woodland Scenics armature that I painted. The Willow trees along the stream are commercial. Clumps of coarse turf make the small bushes.

    The Tug Boats are by Tomytec and at 1/150 scale out just right for my port. I find that most of the tug boat offerings are really too large, more like small sized tugs in HO especially the Sylvan model which is consigned to the interior of my drydock. Elevated pilot houses are found on most tugs that are in barge service pushing barges because of improved visability forward.
     
  20. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Still working on restoring the layout from the unitrack installation and not done yet. I finally got the last pipe in place for the brewery back section and started installing a blacktop road where there used to be double track.

    And the blacktop road occupying the old roadbed of what used to be double track. Got it across the bridge where it will go in a tunnel. I may tie it into the road seen in the village or tie it in at the engine house above the ferry landing, or maybe both.

    Another of my orders through Amazon for turnouts bombed and I have had my money refunded for both. Amazon 3rd party vendors selling what they don't have and cannot supply.

    So this morning I went through a tried and true vendor and my turnouts will be here before the end of next week. I had previously waited for turnouts that were not delivered after over 40 days. And in this delivery will be my Kato power pack. so I can just plug everything into the power pack.I will end up with 5 track feeder sections on my 15 foot by 30 inch wide layout all using the plug and play feeders of Kato. A total of two three way connectors will end up being a single plug in to the power pack.

    So far my expense to convert to unitrack for about 96% of the layout is right around $500 with another $150 being spent today. My collection of unitrack packages.
    The cost would be even more had I not used the unitrack conversions pieces to use 6 feet of Atlas flex track and two peco short rad turnouts that I already had. The only place the Atlas track has been used is for the stockyard spur. the ore dock pier, the car float approaches and the two back sidings for the brewery.

    Still have the engine house service tracks to lay once the order for turnouts gets here then except for scenic restoration I am done.
     
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