The Fixed Yard Thanks for the comments guys. After a bit of hand wringing, I decided to redo the yard with short pieces of track between the turnouts. I set up a little jig (a stop block and a mark). Basically I cut the spacers four ties long and then cut off a tie and centered the remaining three ties to make room for the joiners. -- Did you follow that? Anyway I made six spacers and went about ripping out the original yard. It was easy to tear out because it was put down with spikes straight into foam. I did it that way to save money on roadbed, and because I was basically making it up as I went along. I thought there would be a reasonable chance that I would have to redo it and I was right. The way I determined the original track spacing was arbitrary. It was easy and looked good. I used the HO side of my little-plastic-track-marking-and-cutting-thingy straddling two rails of two different pieces of track. This, as we know, was too tight. It was easy and I didn't want to cut a jig so I just adapted the method and used one side on the rail in the groove and one side on the end of the tool. Like this (original method first). So... I'm pretty happy with the results. I got a little sloppy this time, rushed a bit, but this is a storage yard "off stage". I think the new throat might just look better too. It's not as cramped, flows more. You can compare it to the original a few posts up. And finaly, I put some cars in it. Looks kind of cool. That's all I've got though so I'll have to get more to fill it. Do you think that excuse will work with the wife? So, the rebuild was a success. Everything I own has been run through the throat and it all clears. I need to get new trucks, couplers, and wheels for my little Con-Car passenger set, but that's another story. Micro-Trains wheels and couplers go through like a dream. The increased space between tracks is also good to fit fingers in. I think the old spacing would have been a pain in that respect. Now I need to wire the thing. Sorry I'm always so long winded. Thanks, Dan
Dan, looks great man! Hey, prototype yard tracks were seldom perfectly straight, so don't worry about a few wiggles here and there Mike
Yard Control Panel Wow it's been a month and a half since my last update. There's not much to show... a lot of under the benchwork stuff. I built a control panel, my first one ever. It took awhile to figure out how I wanted to build it. Then it took awhile to actually build it. Then it took awhile to wire it. All those awhiles took awhile because this is my busiest time of year at work. The result is that the yard is fully operational and all the wires for the yard are run permanently. The control panel turned out just OK from a woodworking perspective. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like and it comes close. Someday in the distant future I'll rebuild it. Electronically, it works like a charm. No need for a diagram or labels-- eight tracks and a lead/throat pretty simple. Here it is: One of the problems I had was drilling the holes for the switches in a straight line. I was doing it with my hand drill and never got it perfect. Close enough for me though. My wiring is not a neat as some that I see here, but you can't see it unless you crawl under the pike anyway and I can find stuff if it should fail. The switched rail: And the common rail: Next is a shelf for controllers/control panel for the rest of the layout. That shouldn't take me too long should it? Thanks for checking it out, Dan
Did some track laying the last few days. I've been running some trains around in circles without anywhere to go so I added a siding that services the left side of the layout. I deviated from my plan (see first post). I did not like that a big grain elevator was on a one ended spur. Most of the elevators around here are serviced by a two ended siding. So I tried to make that happen. I can fiddle around and change things as I go, because only the main is on cork, the sidings are laid strait to the foam. What you see here was after much fiddling and changing. A wide shot looking "West". Behind the elevators, you can see the beginning of a crude mock up of a small town courthouse square. It's a bit ambitious -- lots of buildings -- so it may end up an empty field instead. Another looking "West" a little tighter One more, the East turnout looking back "West" Next, I think I need to get some wiring done and build another control panel so that I can run a couple trains at a time. Thanks, Dan
Milestone on the Birkel Sub A Milestone was reached on the DC controlled Birkel Sub. Two trains running at once -- in different directions. The accomplishment is a bit fake though since the wiring is very temporary. But hey if Washington can tout false accomplishments, why cant I. Let me explain... I was doing some wiring, cleaning up the common rail feeders and running the switched rail feeders all the way to where the control panel will be. I realized that it would be a while until I get the control panel built and thought why not hook up two controllers... one to run the inside loop and the sidings and another for the outside. I did that and now I have trains going round and round in different directions. Since the panel is done for the yard, it's fully functional, but the mains are dedicated to a certain controller each. Of course I shot a quick vid (it's a bummer that you can't in-bed videos here). It's less than a minute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7BF0bdow7I What's next? Well, I think that I'll lay the track for the left side of the layout-- the City side. That will get all the track done and allow me to get a control pannel built. Then I can try my hand at my first ballasting and scenery work. Exciting. Thanks, Dan
Wow! that is fantastic, What are the dimensions of your layout? and what is the radius of your curves?
Hello all, Wow it's been since December 3rd since I've posted. I didn't think it was that long. I have a theory about why I haven't been keeping up with posts, it's a little psycho-babely, so hang in there with me. Up until the point in December where we last left off, I was doing stuff that I had done before. Building things-- I've been playing with hammer, wood and nail for all my life. Painting-- Hell, I've painted my living room 3 times in the six years we've lived here (ask the wife why). Wiring-- I didn't have much soldering experience, but my dad's a master and I've watched him solder hundreds of times. I've even had layouts that have made it all the way to track stage, so I've done track laying too. Now comes SCENERY and BALLASTING (cue ominous music). These disciplines are more creative, more subjective. I think that made me a little less willing to share my results with the world. Couple that with the fact that I wasn't really happy with my first ballasting attempts, and you can understand why I was less apt to post. I don't know if I'm explaining it well but up until this point in the thread, all the work has been utilitarian. From here on, it's creative, artistic. I think that this is also the reason that a lot of pikes stall after the track laying stage-- You've built the easel, now it's time to paint the painting. Also, you don't need scenery to run trains. I had never ballasted an inch of track before, and I hadn't ever sprinkled a gram of ground foam and landforms contouring was new to me too. Until, that is, I just DID IT. And now I have done all those things. And I have to say, what I've done turned out acceptable to very nice so far. I took some pics along the way and I'm going to get this thread up to date. For now I'll give you a preview pic of the first little patch of scenery that I've done. Ballasting continues (I've learned that I hate to ballast... so monotonous). I'm out of town this weekend. I'll be catching this thread up when I get back. In the mean time, I'd love to hear your opinions on my utilitarian/artistic theory. Have you had layouts stall after track-work? Do you feel more self conscience about certain disciplines of the hobby than others? Have you learned to hate ballasting as much as me? Thanks, Dan P.S. Thanks for the comments/question Jonny. The Pike is generally 3' by 11' with a 1 by 3 yard extension. The minimum radius is about 14" or so (I think).
So far so great! I've gotta say the layout is really looking great so far. Your attempts at ballasting and ground scenics are coming out quite nicely. I think my only "constructive criticism" comments are that I would have put in some crossovers in the yards (to allow for more yard activity) and maybe another yard feeder, from the other direction. This would give you a big wye to turn around trains/locos (saw a similar layout design in MR from January 1997 - Student Fare column). And maybe some space for some yard structures (engine house, tower, etc.). When I was designing my current future project (one of these days it will be the current current project!), I started with a yard much like yours. And now that I see yours, I may even go back and make a few more tweaks. Thankfully, XtrkCad allows you to "run" trains so you can get a good feel for how the actual layout will work (and it's fun to be able to play with the new layout, way before it's even started, much less done!). Keep up the good work! :tb-biggrin: Matt
Hey Dan, Don't hate ballasting too much-what you've done looks excellent! I know how you're feeling, ominous music 'n' all about having built the easel and now having to paint the painting-I'm at the same stage. I haven't done anything with ballast since I was 13 (and that of course, was a disaster) and today I'm actually going to paint some track! Not quite sure how that's going to go, but anyway. Seeing what you've done, having approached scenery for the first time is inspirational to say the least! Looking forward to your future posts, and keep up the great work!
Painting Track-- The Hard Way? Thanks for the comments fellas. PW&NJ-- I hear what you're saying about a wye and crossovers. They were in the plan at one point, but I ditched them, for a couple reasons. 1) I didn't want the pike to be too complex. Reverse loop switches and that stuff? I'll figure that out on the next layout. 2) It's really tight in that area. It looks a lot bigger on paper. 3) The yard was always meant just as storage for all my little cars and locos, never meant to be prototypical . I have no problem picking a loco up, blowing the dust off of it, turning it around and putting it back on the track. That all being said, it is a spot I could see myself working on someday when other projects are done. The evolution of the trackplan is chronicled here-- Help With Trackplan? - TrainBoard.com It's a pretty interesting evolution, a decent read I guess if you're in the cubicle and the boss isn't paying attention. TrCO JUST DO IT. I'll send your kind words right back at ya. I think Trainboard is really great for support and inspiration. It's what got me back into the hobby. I would encourage you to start a thread. I think it makes you a little bit accountable to your project, if that makes sense. And you'll get great advice and encouragement. Progress pics to come later today. Dan
Did It! A couple days ago actually Painted track turned out pretty good. Ballasting on the other hand, could use a bit of practice. And you're right about starting a thread! In fact, I've already got (a short) one lol. Link down below Looking forward to your pics later today!
Building a slope Hey TrCO-- sorry I've been following your thread. Looking good. Having finished the trackwork for the country side, I turned my attention to the city side of the layout and its track. But before I could lay that track I needed to add some topography. I wanted the city side to slop up and away from the viewer so that the buildings in the back would look taller. I also liked the idea of looking up the hill of Main Street. And I wanted the mainline to leave the viewers site at some point on the layout. Since I model the Midwest, the whole mountain/tunnel thing was out. As it ended up, I'm essentially OK with it. It's not very prototypical, but I think it will work for my little world. The Pics: I started my track elevation change by making my own pink foam riser ramps (does that make sense). I cut with my jig saw a long wedge off the factory edge of a 2" sheet of foam. I end up with a wedge as long as I wanted the siding to be. I cut that wedge into little 2" squares and layed them out on the pike. Then glued them down. It worked pretty slick. Then I sort of built the slope to match the ramps. I wish I took some more pics, but I was too busy doing it. In the first, I outlined the ramps Here's a shot looking back the other way. So, as you can see, I just kind of held a piece of foam in place, drew a conture, cut it, and glued it down. Later I rasped it smooth and filled in the gaps with joint compound. this is how it looks today. The styrene sheet and the building are, of course, just roughed in. The cardboard represents roads. Another angle That's the uphill look I was talking about. When this pic is full of urban buildings, I think it's gonna look nice. I think it turned out OK. Next time I'll show you how I painted the track. Spoiler alert: the way I did it looks pretty good but took a long time. Dan
i'm enjoying your build. is the last 6" or so of tracks at the top of the hill flat? i wonder about unattended cars rolling down hill
kursplat: Yep. There's flat at the end of both spurs in the pic above. In fact there's nice leveled "pad sites" for the industries served by the spurs.
Painting Track-- The Hard Way? (really this time) So... after my adventures in terraforming, I had all the track down. It was time to paint said track. Plain old code 80 Atlas track. Man, the ties are shiny. I don't have an air brush, but I would imagine that that is the best way to paint track. With a layout the size of mine, I would guess it would take you one or two evenings. As it was, I picked up the Floquil track weathering paint marker set. It took me more than two evenings. The results are pretty nice. It takes forever though. The way I was doing it, I was touching every tie on my layout seven times with two different pens. The rails I was touching a minimum of four times each. Here's some comparison shots. The top track is weathered, the bottom one is not. The picture doesn't due justice to how much it helps just to get the shine knocked down. I've never scene a shiny tie in nature. Another comparison shot. Done on the right, not on the left. In this last pic you might be able to tell that I hit the spike heads with the rust pen. I think it looks pretty nice, makes the spike head really pop out. I looked around at prototypes, and they don't really look like that... shhhh don't tell anyone. Only the turnout on the left is not done on the front two tracks. The rust rail head painting was the most delicate so on some sidings and track in the back I didn't do it. Next a few pics of ballast and we are all caught up. Thanks, Dan
nice before / after comparisons. something i'll need to keep in mind when i get some track layed.....some day...
Thanks for the comments guys. (this is a bit of a re-post from What's on Your Workbench?) The ballasting has made no progress because I've been working on a couple little buildings. They both represent new modeling territory for me. The barn is my first laser cut wood building. The Quonset Hut's false facade is my first scratch build. Both still need some work, but I'm pretty happy with them.
