You are doing an awesome job and should be prooud of your accomplishments to date. Keep up the good work.
Today, I laid the California Roadbed. Here is the shot of the road bed on the helix and some other neat shots: Yakima Valley and Ellensburg A good shot of the California Roadbed product...looking down on the helix Here you can see the East Portal on the way to Stampede Pass on the top level: Granted the rail labor has been slacking off getting the rail laid. There are rumors that they will be striking for higher wages soon... I am not terribly thrilled with the roadbed you see being used here. I am not going to trash the vendor, but after I use all of this stuff I am going to transition back to cork. I have too much money tied up in it not to use it, but I have had enough of it. It may be great for HO, but N scale IMHO is another story. Not to mention you have to print some money to buy it and then wait weeks for delivery.
Ahhh.... welcome to the club?!? If it's not one thing, it's another. We all ride on Mark's Leasons Learned Line Outstanding progress. Cruising right along. I love your backdrop and clouds. Way to stretch that artistic muscle
Making astounding progress. Looks fabulous! You have me curious- What sort of difficulties using this specific roadbed? Boxcab E50
Hutch, My Dad used this type of road bed for his Sn3 layout. You have to seal it with paint before laying track & ballast,when it gets wet (whetting agent & glue whilst laying ballast) & un-sealed it will swell up,go un-even etc,bit of a hassel to use. This is a fantastic thread & luv the blinding pace you work at. You really should have approached NSR about a "layout build" article,recoup some of those expences. Keep up the great work.
1. Maybe the biggest problem I have is some buyers remorse over the price I paid versus what I received 2. There are all types of products for N scale; siding kerfed, siding straight, mainline straight, mainline kerfed, transition pieces for mainline to siding, switch pads, etc. The product I thought worked well was the siding kerfed and straight. 3. The mainline kerfed product was advertised to bend to a 15" minimum radius. I have a 20" minimum so I wasn't epecting any problems with the mainline product on curves. It was breaking, problematic to bend, and the kerfs weren't functioning well in the mainline product. It was too thick for its width IMHO. 4. If I was forced to buy it again, all my money would be spent on the siding kerfed product and use it on curves, straights, etc. There aren't enough long straight runs to justify buying two different products in N. The siding kerfed product is the same thickness as cork, bends well, and lays straight well. 5. Because of all the different parts and pieces, you have to plan what you are going to use. It is so much simpler just to use cork roadbed. 6. In my fustration, I was planning my transition back to cork, I realized the cork was easier to bend, extraordinarily cheap, and simple. Just one product period. Just like the KISS principle. I should say that I waivered on using this product two or three times before I actually ordered it. My final decision was to purchase it and I have regretted it since due to the extreme price. Some types of track are cheaper. Just my opinion. What you see laid is about 75% of my order. My order total was over $425.00. Draw your own conclusions.
This morning I finished drawing the top level of the Northern Pacific Cascade. I guess I am going to go ahead and cut out the subroadbed today with this template. Here is a look:
Can't wait to see some track and trains on this layout. Do any of your plans have the scenery, towns, etc... drawn on them? Just a rough sketch please. I am having trouble figuring out what it will look like in the future. Of course that is kinda the fun of seeing your progress. Wondering what will come next. Excellent work !
Thanks for the comments. Sorry for not posting any photos for a while, I am working on the sub road bed for the top level and the reversing loop at the top of the helix. I have encountered a few problems that have taken some time to work out and the good news is that they are all fixed. I just have to make a couple of more joints and put the final risers in place to support a few more sections. I will have photos of the completed top level tomorrow evening I hope. After this it will be track laying time. I have avoided laying any track yet, because I have to have some switches in place first and I don't have any and can't really buy any. They are all going to have to be laid by hand. I am going to order the Lenz 100 system in the next day or so. I may start doing some bus wiring and some rope lighting for the main level as well this weekend. I am really ready to start playing with some terrain ideas. I am going to use the card board strip, plaster cloth, sculptamold technique. I guess I need to get some tunnel portals ordered as well. Things will start taking shape over the next few weeks. I am excited about running some trains maybe by mid March.
Hutch: You made a good decision about the Lenz 100 system. You won't be disappointed. I thought you wanted a radio controlled cab? Tony's has good support for all their DCC systems and supplies. Stay cool and run steam....
