2021-2022 Fourteenth Annual International Winter Layout Party

ppuinn Dec 9, 2021

  1. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    Glad you were able to spot that detail in the photo. After having the experience of points breaking loose from the throw bar I made a tool to make some custom throw bars from wider stock to give the point rails more material to attach to. While I was at it I made the end where the wire from the motor is wider and then add a small square ring cut from square brass stock. I have not had any problems with the 25 turnouts made so far using using these. Here is a link to a blog post that shows how I make these.

    https://palisadecanyonrr.blogspot.com/2016/01/custom-throw-bar-for-code-55-turnouts.html
     
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  2. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks. I like what you've done with the throwbar.

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    I think I'll try modifying the throwbar like that. What are you using for the square tubing?

    I've been really happy so far with ....

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    http://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/Trackwork/Trackwork-Index.html

    ... my gravity switch machines. A couple options ( HERE ) and ( HERE ). So far no breakage at the throwbar/switch machine wire point but I can't adjust the pressure like I can on my servo switch machines ( HERE ). It is set by the weight I use. The 3-4 ounce weight has been working great but not sure what pressure is present at the throwbar.

    Regardless of the option I think the upgrades you've done will be a good idea.

    Sumner
     
  3. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    I believe the one in that photo was cut 1/16" square brass tube. I have also used 1/8" square brass tube and #2 brass washers.
     
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  4. Tompm

    Tompm TrainBoard Supporter

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    Started working on extending the roadbed along the third track.

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    Going around the curve.

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    The other side of the curve and the Power Plant siding.

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    The third track and the switch to the Power Plant siding

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    The Power Plant tracks and the cannery tracks.

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    Another view of the curve and Power Plant tracks.

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    I plan on laying roadbed for the Inside track.
     
  5. Tompm

    Tompm TrainBoard Supporter

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    I had a very productive weekend on the layout.

    It started with putting down the roadbed for the inside track. At the Water Tower Diorama because there were switches near a portion on the outside track was done.

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    Going around the curve.

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    Next I decided to glue down some roadbed and track. I had to do both because flex track was involved and I needed the track to keep the roadbed aligned.

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    I also determined what I could put in this corner. It is the O. L. King Coal Dealer. I made cardboard cut outs of the buildings. I do need the kit to determine the height of the coal trestle and thus what grade will be required.

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    Here is a photo of the kit. I am waiting for the kit to arrive. It was supposed to be here on Friday but has been delayed.

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  6. Tompm

    Tompm TrainBoard Supporter

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    As I said I had a really good weekend.

    The next thing I decided to try for the first time is adding feeds to the track. I purchased some pre-soldered rail joiners to use. This is in anticipation of future DCC installation.

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    I finished the roadbed for the outside track and the siding to the Cement Company.

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    Along the Cement Company

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    Around the curve.

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    Connecting to the previous laid roadbed. I did not do the siding for the Coal Yard since I still need the kit in order to figure out a few things with the layout of the buildings and coal trestle.

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    Next is gluing down more roadbed and track. If the Coal Yard kit arrives I will start working on it.
     
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  7. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Wow. You use some serious weight for track glue work! :eek::eek::eek:
     
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  8. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    The control panel for Carlin is finished and installed. All of the turnouts are monitored with LED's. W4 and W5 will get their connection from an adjoining section so they are still dark.

    2021TBLP08.jpg


    The wires for the LEDs are all connected on these terminal strips under the bench work. A small 5 volt regulator board supplies power for the LED's. It will get it's voltage input from the 12 volt bus that runs around the layout. For testing purposes the 12 volts came from a bench power supply.

    2021TBLP09.jpg


    Each of the black push-pull knobs in the photo below controls a turnout with the status of the turnout being displayed on the panel. The labeling indicates East 1-5, Spur 1-5, and West 1-5. I am considering recessing the knobs by adding a thickness to the frame but am not sure I need to as I have not had any problems in the other location where I have similar knobs.

    2021TBLP07.jpg

    I am ready to turn this section back over and start work on some more scenery related aspects of this project.
     
  9. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    I used to do that kind of wiring for others on there layouts and then later on the job but, 440V AC on very large industrial engines. I don't know if I'ld care to do much more.
    It is some real nice work you've done.
     
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  10. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well, another week of lack luster work on the party plan has passed for me. All I can add is some more placement work on some fencing and gravel.

    20220120_205655.jpg 20220120_205650a.jpg
     
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  11. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    That is something.

    I have always liked the oil pumps and animating them. I had several on some Ntrak modules that I kept after re-building the modules. They are still in a box: Faller, Walthers, and 1 scratch built. Maybe someday I will re-use them on a future project but first I want to come up with a better mechanism for animation. It got really old playing around with Fallers O rings and I never could get the Walther's ones to work well with their geared motors.
     
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  12. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Very nice work. Are the LED's bi-color (green/red) on some of the turnouts? I see some turnouts have two LED's, for instance E1/E5. Some only have one LED, for instance S1/S2.

    I'll be looking forward to the scenery. I'll probably be coping some of it for my layout as close as possible. Here in Utah is isn't exactly the same as Nevada/Calif but some of it would be close with slightly different ground cover. How about a step by step tutorial as you work on a section? If you already have that on your web site maybe a link to it?

    Sumner
     
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  13. ppuinn

    ppuinn Staff Member

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    Last week, the ballasting on the tracks to the south of the OHF was finished, but I still have to fill in the fascia holes where the buttons for Switches 5 thru 9 were located. I've removed the tortoise motors that moved the points for the switches in their old position, and am using ground throws for all the OHF turnouts in their new position. The Brick Shed still needs supports for the roof and I want to put a dock with a ramp in front for the forklift.
    This week, I've been working on upgrading the Open Hearth Furnace. The first version in 2003 was cardboard with just a basic footprint, openings for the tracks, and a roof profile. Eight to 10 years ago, I made the foam board version with a few more details, but still very plain. For the current upgrade, I'm using Model Builder by Evans Designs to print out a "skin" that I'll glue to foam board and plastic.
    This is a pic of the south end of the OHF, taken in 2005, over 20 years after the OHF had been shut down and all of the billets, rods, and coils were being produced by the EAF (which had been built in the late 1960s). I'm modeling the 1970s era Keystone plant when both the EAF and OHF were operating.
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    This is a Google Maps 3D view screenshot of the OHF South Wall that I printed out in 2020. The EAF is in the upper left corner and the remains of the continuous caster that was in use from the late 1960s to the late 1980s are located beside the EAF at the north end of the OHF. Google Maps images from 2021 show the continuous caster has been partially demolished.
    This is the current model of the south wall of the OHF (plain foam board). The 2 elevated tracks into the upper doorway to the Charging Floor have been removed, as was the bridge carrying the Charging tracks onto the Charging Floor that spanned the narrow driveway between the OHF and the Brick Shed.

    Version 1 of the Model Builder "skin" for the South Wall. I framed the lower and upper doorways with Evergreen Plastic angles, made sliding doors for both, and put together the Charging Floor Add-on beside the upper doorway.

    This pic shows a test fitting of the "skin". My measurements for the Charging Floor doorway were off, so I need to make a 2nd "skin" for the South Wall. Also, to get all the details in (windows, sliding doors), my "skin" version is about 1.75 inches taller than the current foam board structure, so, when skin is ready for all 4 walls, I'll be gluing it onto taller foam board walls, and I'll glue the roof siding "skin" to thinner plastic, instead of to 1/4 inch thick foam board.

    This pic shows some of the panels I've designed for the west wall of the OHF. The gray block and red brick buildings will be about 3/4" deep, will have a flat roof, and will follow the zig-zag of the OHF West wall. I'll use my mini-lathe to turn 5 inverted-cone-shaped smoke stacks that were located on the west side of the roof over the 5 furnaces in the OHF building. The two small sheds were present in the 1970s, but I just found out the shed that is painted green in Google Maps screenshots from 2020, was a mixture of unpainted tan, cream, brown, and red bricks in the 1970s. There will also be some water cooling towers squeezed into the 1.25 inch space between the track and the block and brick buildings.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2022
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  14. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Not much physical progress on my part. We are still away from home down in Phoenix helping Dottie's mom and husband move into assisted living. Will probably be here until the first of next week ( Jan 31).

    Can't believe what we've/they've been through. Tried to get 12 hour a day care for them. Tried that for a week but it was a dismal failure. Most of the caregivers weren't trained and we still had to be in the house when they were. Gave up on that and found a really nice group home that Dottie use to visit when she was a hospice chaplain and they had room.

    When I can, probably 30-35 hours, I've been plugging away with Fusion 360 and...

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    ... working on the coal mine. Like a real house the exterior walls went up fast but hollowing the building parts out and adding and moving windows around and adding vertical and horizontal trim has taken a lot of time. Also had to break the building apart to make prints shorter times as it is a pain for a 12 hour print to stop for some reason at 9 hours and you start all over again. The image above is 8 different prints and only represents about 1/2 of the facility. Who knows, by the time we actually get home I might be ready to print the whole thing over multiple days.

    Sumner
     
  15. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    The turnouts that are part of a route use a pair of green LED's to indicate point position. These are E1 to E5 and W1 to W5. The turnouts for the spur tracks (S1 - S5) use a bi-color (green/red) LED's with green indicating aligned points and red being diverging.

    The scenery related work that I will be doing is to finish painting the track then ballasting. Then I will be finalizing the layout of structures and roads and maybe start a structure to two.
     
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  16. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    This old one is trying to understand but it's been a while since I've done it and some has changed.
     
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  17. 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.
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    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.

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    A more exciting development will happen soon!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  18. nscalestation

    nscalestation TrainBoard Supporter

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    While I am waiting for some Arizona Rock & Mineral ballast to arrive I have started to work on the layout of roads and structures in Carlin. Have been going through a bunch of old stuff I have to see what I can use. Old US 40 which is Chestnut Street passes a few blocks north of the Southern Pacific yard. I am going to pretend that Main Street which is the street I am modeling was US 40 which will give me the opportunity to have some more interesting businesses. I do want to reasonably represent at least a couple of key structures but the rest will be more free lanced. This will be a "town the interstate bypassed" so things are going to look a bit run down.

    TBWMA31Jan21b.jpg


    And I started a kit that I have had purchased after reading that SP did maintain a dormitory here as this was the away station for Ogden and Sparks based crews. This is the American Model Builders railroad rooming house kit.

    TBWMA31Jan22a.jpg
     
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  19. Tompm

    Tompm TrainBoard Supporter

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    I had another productive week.

    I now decided to work on the coal yard.

    Here is the kit.

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    The parts pile

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    Assembling the coal trestle

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    Test the coal trestle out on the layout.

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  20. Tompm

    Tompm TrainBoard Supporter

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    Next is assembling the shed

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