Building the KY&N: Planning, Prep & Benchwork

GP30 Mar 27, 2020

  1. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I had forgotten how time consuming planting trees can be. [​IMG]


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  2. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Yup tree arborists does take some time lol
    Looks good
     
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  3. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I took the last two weeks off from work over the holidays and spent it at home with the wife and kids. Very glad to have done that and I’m feeling refreshed for the new year. I was also able to make a good amount of progress on the layout and I can see some benchmark accomplishments now in reach.

    The latest progress includes planting more trees in the deep corner, painting the backdrop and installing more switches at the south end of the classification yard.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]



    Should be installing the last few pieces of upper level benchwork and installing lower level lighting this month.

    [​IMG]


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  4. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Another good weekend of progress.

    I made significant progress getting the classification yard tracks laid down, probably 2/3rd done with the yard tracks.
    [​IMG]


    I’m finished with tree planting against the backdrop for now. The benchwork narrows from 42” to an 18” depth working to the left, so I’m not as worried about clearance while doing scenery work later on.
    [​IMG]



    Finally, some trains ran! I broke in a new GP30 and started to restage trains below, now with power. Once the classification yard is done, I’ll be able to clear out staging and get both yards wired up at once.[​IMG]


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  5. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Very nice! Is this going to be a winter scene, with bare trees?
     
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  6. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, dead winter season…. November-April


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  7. gjslsffan

    gjslsffan Staff Member

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    That yard your putting together has a really nice flow to it.
     
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  8. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    This all looks great man hope I can even do half as good as you once I get my layout rebuilt

    Keep up the great work and I'm following along

    Nice GP30
     
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  9. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Thank you, I had plenty of help with the yard design. It ended up being mostly a mirror image from a yard on a friend’s layout that operates about as smoothly as I’ve ever seen. I’m looking forward to getting all of the switches operable and drilling cars into the yard!


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  10. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, Vince.


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  11. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    The GP30 looks a lot like an older MKT paint scheme?
     
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  12. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    KCS I do believe
     
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  13. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    It is KCS #100. I found it for a fair price with a decoder already in it. I may repaint it eventually, or I might not.


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  14. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    This past weekend was spent on scenery along the deep section of the layout behind the roundhouse. I needed to develop this area a little further so I can get the upper level benchwork in place and finally have the lower level lighting complete.

    Bill came over and we worked on some fascia and talked about some of the next few big items that need done on the layout. We came up with an idea to use vinyl drywall spackling to give texture to the foam base that had previously been glued vertically. It seems to have worked pretty well, but I do need to add color for the rock layers.
    [​IMG]


    We also ran a few trains. Here is Bill getting started out of staging.
    [​IMG]

    On Monday morning, I emptied the staging yard so I could attach feeders from the lower level to the buss. I found several small issues in staging, but they will be simple to fix


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  15. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Looking good! Not many folks model the dead of winter. Living in a place where the dead of winter is really dead, having a ton of snow covering the brown grass makes a world of difference.
    Is that your plan?
     
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  16. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I may have a little bit of snow in places. My concern is the snow losing its color (or gaining an unwanted color) over time. I need to go back and see how others have pulled it off.

    The advantage to living in the same region as I model is I can easily go outside and look at what the landscape should look like 4-5 months of the year.

    My favorite season is early spring (Mid March) with blooming forsythias, sprouting daffodils and warm breezes blowing life through the dead winter scenery. And dark clouds looming before an early spring thunderstorm. You can almost smell the storm coming.


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  17. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    GP30, I like how you put it.
     
  18. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Nearing a milestone

    I finally reached the point of enough scenery to put the second level benchwork in place. The town of Spencer will be located here and will include a trace of the old B&O right of way as well as a branch off to the interchange with multiple other railroads.
    [​IMG]


    Now that the second level benchwork is closer to completion, lighting for the lower level can be installed and hopefully useable in the next week or two.
    [​IMG]


    Finally, feeders for the track laid in the classification yard needed to be connected to the buss lines, so the lower staging had to be emptied for access. This was also a good time to re-sort and adjust the waybills.
    [​IMG]


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  19. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Not exciting, but progress nonetheless

    Benchwork for the upper level was completed except for one piece over the workbench. The excessive depth (42”) In this one area required an extra support for strength. I believe I can hide this with a smoke stack from Walthers Champion Packing kit converted to a power house for the railroad facilities.
    [​IMG]


    I also started on subroadbed on the back of the peninsula. This is the most complex area of benchwork and subroadbed as the Bulltown Branch (Innermost curve) splits off here east through to Glenville, Burnsville and terminates at the headwaters of the Little Kanawha at Holly Grove, WV. The main track climbs the 2.2% grade to the north and the Little Kanawha Sub (and Buckeye Sub to Columbus, OH) splits off and goes west. So two staging yards area stacked on top of each other and Grantsville sets on top of those… not a lot of room for error so the grades have already been checked and adjusted a dozen times. So far, so good.
    [​IMG]


    A more exciting development will happen soon!


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  20. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    Staging Sandwich

    I started working on the subroadbed on the upper level at the peninsula in the general area of Grantsville. The two-track staging yard for the Bulltown Branch was put in place and checked to verify clearance and car capacity. This branch splits from the main south of Grantsville near Millstone and runs east along the Little Kanawha River through Glenville, Burnsville and Bulltown, terminating at Holly Grove. Two trains consisting of 2 locomotives, 18 cars and a caboose can be staged here. Staging for the Little Kanawha Sub and Buckeye Sub will be directly overhead, then the town of Grantsville will be overtop of that….. a hidden staging sandwich.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Next, the subroadbed for the main south of Grantsville was get in place with a 2% climb from Millstone to the peninsula to clear the Bulltown Branch staging lead. At the top of this climb will be a carbon black plant, then a 33” radius, 180 degree curve to reach Grantsville.
    [​IMG]


    Then I put up the risers and subroadbed for the main track north of Grantsville. This is the highest point of the main track on the layout at 66 inches, where it levels off and runs along the backdrop around the perimeter of the layout to the upper staging.

    Finally, I managed to glue a substantial amount of cork roadbed down.
    [​IMG]


    I’m finally running out of materials recycled from the previous layout. At some point I’m going to start building switches again so I can back up and get the rest of the classification yard at Charleston done. We’ll see what next weekend brings.


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