Quality over quantity Limited production over the weekend, having only built one switch and fastened the Bulltown Branch staging tracks down. However, I put in around 10 hours of work over the last three mornings on building the railroad power house from the Walthers Champion Packing kit. And after all that time, I still haven’t started wall assembly. Maybe next weekend? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for the kind words earlier. Progress did feel slow working on the power house, but it will be worth it when it is done. I did happen to get a couple walls upright and glued in place last night. Perhaps it won’t take all of next weekend to get it together. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It took the whole weekend, but it is almost done. The railroad power house sets in its location on the layout at the south end of the yard. I still need to make a few adjustments, but I’m pretty happy with it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Power house looks great! I'll note having done a snow scene in N, my experience has been a roller coaster. I used Mike Danneman's method outlined in a N Scale Railroading mag years ago. Snow over the track as AZ R&M marble dust. Very tricky to apply the glue/water mix. The scenery was lightweight hydrocal sifted over a moistened space. The trees were done similarly, off-layout and planted when dry. Sparingly mist more wet-water over the area following sifting.
Let there be light! The lighting for the lower level was finally finished and turned on. Very pleased with how well everything is lit. I can actually see what I am doing now! Also worked on the switches for the north end of the classification yard. I still need a few more left hand switches to finish up the classification yard. I may need to order more stock rail, as I can’t seem to locate the tube I had, unless I used it all already. All of the fascia that was ready for paint was painted. I debated between two of Valspar’s offerings: Amazon Silt and Montana Moss. I ended up with Amazon Silt, which I really like, but wanted a more drab green than what I ended up with. Should have gotten the Montana Moss . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
After taking the last two weekends off, for the most part, I finally tackled some of the unpleasant stuff I’ve put off for months. The north end of the classification yard at Charleston is completed, but now it is time for wiring! I used the last three older Shinohara turnouts I had on hand and built a couple others to get this end done. I have a short somewhere on this end of the yard, so I’ll have that to trace before running trains again. While working in the same area I fixed some issues stemming from shortcuts taken in the lower staging yard. When I built staging more than a year ago, I failed to fasten 4 or 5 tracks down in a hard to reach area. This is being addressed now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I did manage to locate the short that has prevented further progress on the north end of the classification yard. There were three old Shinohara turnouts that have generally been considered as DCC unfriendly with the power routing points. I had previously isolated the frog on each, prior to installation, but I had not been able to pinpoint the problem. Once they were removed from the layout… no more short. So I tossed them and built a few more turnouts with the fast tracks jig and installed them. If I have a short again, at least I’ll know where to look and how to fix it! The body of the classification yard is completed. Time to start installing the fascia-mount ground throws and switch ties! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Happy Easter to all, I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend! I didn’t make a post last weekend because the progress that was made that, while significant, didn’t warrant a post being made about it. However, this weekend’s progress is more visible The south end of the classification yard is now complete and fully functional! Both switches for the caboose track are now in place, awaiting a shipment of flex track for the thoroughfare and caboose tracks to be completed. I also deviated from the plan design of the coal yard and installed three left-hand Peco #5 switches for the yard ladder. Hopefully the coal yard can start being laid in place next weekend. In the near future, I believe it will be time to transition to cutting plywood and laying out roadbed for the upper level….. when I’m not “playing” with cars in the yard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Two yards down This weekend’s progress was mostly aimed at laying down the coal yard. I didn’t plan on accomplishing that this weekend, but I mistakenly ordered Micro Engineering Code 100 flex track instead of Code 83, so burying that in the coal yard (and other places like staging) was a better option than returning 5 bundles of track. I can also declare the classification yard complete, but the north end switches need ground throws and the caboose track needs ties and spikes. I think I’ll paint more of the ground throughout the lower level and start planning for work on the upper level next week. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice work on the coal yard! Deeply-burying the ties under a lot of ballast (probably fouled and weedy) will disguise the exess rail size some. Yards aren't always maintained to high standards, so some distress will hide that code 100 a bit.
Thank you, it was a satisfying build, looking forward to more structure builds in the future. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Most of the layout work was limited to painting the surfaces around the coal yard with a coat of leftover mixed paints, which resulted in a decent ground cover green color. The coal yard will be mostly dirt, weeds and spilled coal, but any color is better than white. To combat cats crawling through the holes where the tracks cut through the corner from the hall, I started roughing in basic ground shapes from foam and painted those as well. Backdrop seams need attention before getting too far along with the scenery here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Didn’t accomplish a whole lot last weekend, it was spent mostly on wiring, moving cars off the first level back to staging and more scenery rough-in work. A scene developed briefly as an empty coal train exited a tunnel on its way back to staging. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I made a four day weekend and took last Thursday and Friday off since the annual Strawberry Festival was taking place in town and the kids had activities both days between Cub Scouts and my daughter’s twirling group. This gave me more morning hours at the workbench! Across the extended weekend, I extended the main line subroadbed south from Millstone back towards Spencer on the upper level and finished applying the base weathering color of the main track throughout the lower level. Individual tie weathering will come later. I also disassembled and painted a pair of Atlas SD35’s and an older Atlas RS3 with a Kato drive. I got close to finishing all three, but the sill stripes really slowed me down this morning. Another good weekend at the workbench, hopefully I’ll be able to show off the SD35’s next weekend. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
