N scale layout

Cleggie Aug 20, 2007

  1. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Dirk, ok the rail shift is maybe an over statement. The rail may have been like that to begin with, or at least slightly banked and that coupled with pushing the plaster toward the railbed may have moved the foam roadbed ever so slightly, enough to upset my test loco (a kato AC4400 that is intolerant of uneven rail).


    No big deal in the end just a bit of fiddling around with a neddle file and some cardboard shim pushed under the low side of the track. I have a small spirit level that is a big help. The foam roadbed has a bit of give in it even though it is glued down. Maybe cork roadbed is a better choice?


    bigford, I too would like to fly to the states and help build your layout... But man that would be an expensive way to go, he, he, he. Nice thought though.

    Because I am so far away the layout is totally freelance. I just like the look of American locos and there are no models of NZ locos in N scale, I would have to do some serious kitbashing. Thanks for the kind worrds.
     
  2. fifer

    fifer TrainBoard Supporter Advertiser

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    Ken , That helix is really starting to look like it was always there.
    Looks Great!
    Mike
     
  3. Another ATSF Admirer

    Another ATSF Admirer TrainBoard Member

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    If your glue was water based (PVA / most wood working glues, not sure about Liquid Nails), then it's possible all the moisture weakened it enough to move. Otherwise I'd stick with the Track Gnomes theory - the little creatures that come out and move your track about after it's laid. Adding kinks and S-bends to your lovely trackwork. ;)

    Practically no NZ outline in N-scale (1:160) or N-gauge (9mm); although I had heard of one or two people considering it. It gets a bit awkward because our local power is narrow gauge (3'6").

    But then I'm a few hundred miles closer to the prototype compared with Christchurch.. :)

    Cleggie: looking good. Might be time to convince the better half I should spend some time at home working on the Duck River . . .
     
  4. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    Yeah, I reckon... Man I thought you had died or something. Still you do what you have to do to keep the little woman happy. I'm sure you will get back to working on the Duck River, it was starting to look really interesting. Anyway good luck with that.

    Here is a run around my layout with the scenery mostly done.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qqWt9usPiQ"]YouTube - Helix Two 008[/ame]
     
  5. jhn_plsn

    jhn_plsn TrainBoard Supporter

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    Nice video of your well done layout. I look forward to the lower level work.
     
  6. HarryII

    HarryII TrainBoard Member

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    super video Ken :thumbs_up::tb-wink:
     
  7. pachyderm217

    pachyderm217 TrainBoard Member

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    Great video, Ken. Looks much like the western foothills of the Rockies in Washington state, very convincing. Excellent work on the scenery!
     
  8. drawmada

    drawmada TrainBoard Member

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    Looking real good! Watching the video made drool a la Homer Simpson lolll :thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up:

    Cheers
    Adam
     
  9. toy4x4

    toy4x4 TrainBoard Member

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    Cleggie,

    Very nice work on everything. This is very inspiring!
     
  10. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks spidge, I did a bit of a cleanup on the lower level and will start work on this area soon.
    Glad you enjoyed it Harry.

    Thanks Toad, it's generic "somewhere out west" so yeah... Washington state works for me.

    Strangely enough I can picture that... "Trains... Gaahh" with glazed over Homer stare, LOL.

    Happy to share and pleased you approve.


    But now the serious bit. I cleaned the track and ran some trains (the vid). Then I noticed the front truck of one of the stack cars derailing on the curve coming off the bridge, not every time, just every so often. I examined the track and found no logical explaination, the track is nice and level, Hmmm...

    Watching very carefully I noticed that the truck was partly derailed prior to reaching this point and that it was the stringline effect pulling the truck off the rails. Run the train again and watch, I had my suspicions and they were confirmed as I watched the truck bump over the two Peco curved turnouts. I had noticed bumping and rolling through these turnouts before but nothing bad had happened so I left well enough alone.

    Now I had the smoking gun. This area has been a source of lots of trouble and now I am revisting it again to sort out yet another hassle. It took me a while running the train backwards a forward through the turnouts to work out what was happening and why. Ok, there is nothing wrong with the Peco turnouts themselves but rather my track laying is at fault. The first thing I noticed was the slight dip where the two turnouts join, not much but enough to allow a wheel to ride up and over the rail occasionally.

    Surgery required! To get rid of the dip I had to remove the ballast from the side of the track and shim the track. I used styrene strips inserted under the road bed and carefully leveled the whole area. Ran the train and it was worse, the locos derailed at the turnouts.... Ahhhhggg. Ok, a few deep breaths, think calmly, have a coffee

    [​IMG]

    I looked very carfully at the track, I rechecked the level, I ran just a single loco through the turnouts slowly backwards and forwards to find out why. Then I found the second fault, there was a slight kink in the join on one rail. I could feel it by running my finger lightly along the track. The two turnouts are soldered together and are also connected to the main power buss at this point. Ok the kink is right at the join so I placed a small block of wood on edge on top of the join and gave it a sharp rap with a hammer. Instantly better, no derailments and only a slight wobble though the turnouts.:tb-biggrin: Gleggie's problem solving skills get yet another workout. My head still hurts and I need more coffee!
     
  11. CSXDixieLine

    CSXDixieLine Passed Away January 27, 2013 In Memoriam

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    Cleggie, You are having much better luck than my wife--she has been trying to get rid of the dip for 15 years, but so far I am still hanging around :) Seriously though, glad to hear that you reconciled the problem without too much of an intrusive repair. Also looks like you had good fortune in that the problem was in a readily accessible area. I am looking forward to having great running trains like yours in the (near) future. Jamie
     
  12. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    I have been running trains and having lots of fun with very little progress, but I did manage to get some repair work done.

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    And plant a few trees
     
  13. CSXDixieLine

    CSXDixieLine Passed Away January 27, 2013 In Memoriam

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    Very nice detail work with the different grasses and textures. Also glad to hear your track issues were not as widespread as you feared. Jamie
     
  14. jhn_plsn

    jhn_plsn TrainBoard Supporter

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    Hey Ken, glad to hear I am not the only one that uses a hammer for problem solving. I see you have curved Peco turnouts, me too. I guess its hit or miss with them also. A few of mine are smooth yet I have three that are very rough. No derailments but it sure sounds like it when a train goes through them. What size block of wood should I use?:tb-tongue: I'll get around to smoothing things out soon.
    Your finished scenery sure is looking good. I would compliment the loco but I am still bitter from the take over. I will admit the UP and the BNSF sure take exceptional care of thier right of way. I see work groups in the Inland Empire constantly.
     
  15. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    It's been a while but I'm back. I had some computer issues due to a lightning stike and had to do with out it for a couple of weeks while it was in the shop being repaired. The storm also zapped my Powercab so I can't run trains at the moment.

    However I did some more tree planting:

    [​IMG]

    I still need to add some grases and small shrubs. The cliff face needs some loose rock, some soil and maybe some exposed roots.
    [​IMG]

    A longer shot of the recent plantings.
     
  16. bigford

    bigford TrainBoard Member

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    hey ken

    WOW!!!! how long will it take to do a complete loop
    from top to bottom and back up topside? nothing like nice long runtimes:thumbs_up:
     
  17. CaptainCarbon

    CaptainCarbon New Member

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    Well Ken, your layout is looking superb as usual. You manage to get your scenery up so fast, that I suspect you must have a kind of tree planting machine gun! Bugger about the lightning strike, did it completely nuke your NCE system or just the power supply? I must make some time to visit again and tour the layout.

    Douglas
     
  18. Cleggie

    Cleggie TrainBoard Member

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    bigford:

    yeah, I like trains that have somewhere to go and take a (scale) while to get there.
    I'm not exactly sure how long a train traveling at track speed would take to do a complete curcuit from the yard up the helix, around the upper level and back down the helix to the yard. I must do this when I get my trains rolling again.

    Hi Doug, and welcome to trainboard. An interesting thing happened the other week, I recieved a PM from another trainboard member here in Chistchurch. His name is Charles Lake (chas) and is an electrical engineer who read about my problems and offered to help. I got in contact with him and he came around. We checked the track and the powercab and his opinon was two semiconductors have been fried. The one thing we never checked is the wallwart. I think it is ok as I checked it myself with a multimeter and the output is 15VDC the same as the rating written on the power supply.

    The up shot of all this is I will send the powercab back to NCE. I do have a Bachmann Ez-DCC controller that I can hook up to the layout but it is limited to two digit addresses whereas all my locos have four digit addresses and it can't run them without first restoring the addresses back to factory default.

    I would like to do this but need help from someone with a DCC system that can restore the decoder to factory default. Do you have one Doug? If not I know chas has a digitrac system that can do the job so will give him a call.

    You are welcome to come around any time, I am at home most nights and don't go out much on the weekends either. I have done some detail work on the hill at helix two. The track and rails still need weathering and more trees added to the back of the scene. And... yeah... I'm not crazy about the color of the tree trunks and branches, I will likely touch these up with a little darker brown paint.


    [​IMG]
     
  19. CaptainCarbon

    CaptainCarbon New Member

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    Sorry Ken, I can't help you with a spare dcc system. Some fool keeps spending his money on frivolous things like renovating the bathroom and adding a deck to the house, instead of buying necessary things like railway equipment.

    Frankly, your trees look pretty good from here.

    Douglas
     
  20. Another ATSF Admirer

    Another ATSF Admirer TrainBoard Member

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    I know the feeling. My "disposable" income just went into making the garage roof waterproof (home to power tools and timber), fixing the toilet and then fixing the back door. Hence no trains for a while now :(

    Cleggie: sorry to hear about the control station letting out the magic smoke. I'd loan you mine while I'm not using it, but it's a bit of a drive to get it to you ;)
     

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