Dave, I thought about doing something using google images,, makes the scene deeper. There are two scenes that come to mind,, the I-35E underpass and the 695 underpass,, plus what ever else I can think of. Matt, I plan on install a 4 bulb 4' cfl fixture in the garage to provide light while at home,, at shows,, I will just rely on building lighting. Thanx for the comments guys!! See ya, Y-it
I have done some more work to keep this project moving along. This is the first step in securing the 2" foam to the 1/4" plywood. I used Loctite PowerGrab. I ran some beads and then just spread it out with a 6" tape knife. 20160521_142144_zps09ihsvng by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM Here is the overhang on both sides, I used a laminate trimmer/router to flush the foam to the wood frame. 20160521_142223_zpsmbzworzq by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM 20160521_142238_zpstutxwzdz by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:11 PM I let the sections cure for 24-48 hours,, I actually went with the longer time. 20160521_144508_zpswfc9eta7 by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM To be continued.. Wyatt
After trimming the foam and attaching the 3/4" birch,, here is what it looks like 20160526_134400_zpsab9xlvyj by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM 20160526_152658_zpsiwrjmxca by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM It keeps going Wyatt
For the legs I decided on 1/2" plywood for the construction. I had originally used regular old junk ply,,, naaaaa,, I like the Birch better. 20160607_114423_zpssxiunbgf by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:57 PM I ripped pieces to 1 1/2" and 2" wide, then glued and stapled them together. I then placed a 3" block of poplar to have somewhere for the foot to attach to. 20160607_152016_zpsf0elzkwa by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:55 PM I decided to use 1/4" x20NC bolts to secure the legs with. 20160526_151733_zpsaulbskrp by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:11 PM I went with the T-nut so the bolts would not be lost or misplaced. 20160526_151714_zpsrsitihcm by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:11 PM To make set-up and tear down quick and easy,, wingnuts with fender washers were the order of the day. 20160526_151807_zpsvntt6k2m by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 11:03 PM still more.... Wyatt
Leg continued.. Thanks to Allen Heimsoth for his help on these,, ordering the parts and his input on these. You see the reason for the poplar blocks now,, There are 4 screws per foot assembly. #6 x 7/8" countersunk. 20160607_114351_zpsoxclkot8 by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:57 PM After making the legs, I needed to cut a opening for the wiring to pass through. I used 1 1/2" forstner bit. Then trimmed the holes with a orbital jig saw,, and,,,, even used the dremel with a sanding drum to make all the edges nice and purty. 20160607_155333_zpsglfhjgee by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:55 PM 20160607_132458_zpsetf9ue2c by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:56 PM Here is the back side. The legs themselves sit against the framing to provide support. You can see the space in the above pics,, there is no material touching the 1/4" plywood sub roadbed. 20160607_132509_zpsphkycuxn by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:56 PM Pretty cool!!! 20160607_132704_zpszro6qrhg by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:55 PM 20160607_154920_zpsx7v45atk by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:54 PM Almost there,,,, Wyatt
I am using 3rd Plan-it model rr cad for the track plan. I printed out some parts of the trackplan ,, so I could sort of see what it will look like. This part represents Cardigan Jct on the SOO. Cardigan Jct by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 14, 2016 at 8:46 AM The picture is true north. The line to the left heads towards the twin cities. The lines to the north are the SOO main to Duluth/Superior. And the line to the south is main to points south, Chicago, Fond Du Lac, Milwaukee...etc. The Rock Island yard is to the south of here,, so this gives me the chance to run the Rocky SOO transfer as part of the ops plan. 20160527_104510_HDR_zpsaj9mdbek by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:58 PM 20160527_104919_zps8ne9tvrj by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:57 PM 20160527_104904_zpsyilkdrfc by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 8, 2016 at 10:58 PM Well there ya have it,, that is where I am at present day. See ya, Wyatt
Here are some more aerial views so maybe ya'll can put two and two together. This would be the first area I am trying to model, Cardigan Jct. Good news,, I contacted the Soo Line Historical society,, they have prints for sale of the Cardigan Jct depot..YAY!! Cardigan Jct by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 14, 2016 at 8:46 AM Here is the second area I going to model. Some call it Lexington Ave Industrial,, Some call it Arden Hills, MN Lexington Ave by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 14, 2016 at 12:40 PM And last, here is the 3rd area that I plan on doing. The New Brighton,Mn jct. The junction is between the Minnesota Transfer ( Minnesota Commercial) and the SOO. The SOO goes east west,, and the MTry goes north south. New Brighton by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 14, 2016 at 8:46 AM There are the three main parts I am going to model. See ya, Wyatt
You would think being recently unemployed I would find more time for model railroading,,NOT. Between looking for jobs ( finding none) and applying for benefits (paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork in triplicate), I really do not feel like doing anything hobby wise. My get up and go did not get and leave yesterday. I moved the two sections that consist of Cardigan Jct into the cool comforts of the living room,, the garage is way too hot right now. I proceeded to transfer the trackplan onto the section surface. 20160622_113736_zpsdeb2wiex by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 23, 2016 at 9:38 AM 20160622_113817_zpslcd1gdiu by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 23, 2016 at 9:38 AM I felt pretty pain free, so I decided to keep going and lay the cork down,, this is the first time I ever used cork,, I always just laid the track on the homasote or plywood. Thanks need to go Allen Heimsoth for the cork,,, without him,, there would be no roadbed. 20160622_144315_zpswjbr3sh1 by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 23, 2016 at 9:38 AM I decided to use individual pieces of cork for the yard, as I did not have sheet cork. After watching the Mike Confalone scenery videos,, I will fill in the gaps and surrounding areas with ground goop. 20160622_145218_zpscmohwxih by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 23, 2016 at 9:38 AM On the second section of Cardigan Jct I need to have the I-695 bridge put in. Here is a picture of a 2015 version of area I am modeling. I%20695%20bridge_zpsagn8zn5f by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 23, 2016 at 9:38 AM Here is the section that I have. 20160622_144733_zpsak42eekr by SOO MILW CNW posted Jun 23, 2016 at 9:38 AM I need to fit the bridge between the crossover and the junction switch. The bridge is about 330' long. I am thinking about using 4 80' sections of Micro Engineering bridge girders, which comes to 320' ,,,close enough. I also used the ruler function in Google Earth to find the dimensions of road width,, and surrounding terrian. So,, the plan is to lay track on the yard section, come up with a bulletproof way to throw the switches ( and not be ugly), and build the bridge for the other section. The best laid plans,,,,, often fall by the wayside,, so we will see what we will see. Well that is all for now,,, tomorrow is a new day. See ya, Y-it
Well it has been a awhile since I posted anything,, just been messing around with some projects. 1. Seeing that I am trying to be prototypical in this layout,, I contacted the Soo Line Historical and Technical Society to see if that had any drawings that might be of any use to me,, low and behold,, they did. So I had them send me the prints for the Cardigan Jct and New Brighton Jct depots. Cardigan prints has the elevations,, yay,, New Brighton does not..boo. But no worries I can always look at pics. Here you can see it gives the distance from the tracks, which well be great in placing the depot in just the right spot. Here is the Cardigan Jct print, I scaled it out to get the dimensions that would make it easier to construct. As you can see from the elevations,, it was originally built with 10" board and batten siding,, but in my era it was replaced by clapboard. 2. After getting the cork put down,,waiting a couple of days for the adhesive to fully cure,, next came the American Tie and Timber gapmasters. I used a Dedeco .009 Cut Off disk to cut for the section joint. 3. I did not want to use the large,, I mean huge caboose industries ground throws,, so reading other forums and other posters ideas, I decided to use slide switches. After reading M.C. Fujiwara's Alameda belt in box,, he tried the sparkfun 9609 and the adafruit 805. I had ordered some of both types. The sparkfuns are tiny!!!, so I decided to use the adafruits. But first I had to make something to hold the switch to the layout surface. I just some pieces of .040 styrene and took some measurements for the area of the slide switch. Here is the finished concept The idea is that I going to be able to adjust the height of the switch to be inline with the throw bar on the turnout. 4. You can see from the pics with the turnout,, they have been worked on just a wee little bit. Seeing what other modelers have done with improving the atlas track,,I said I can do that,, with my hands tied behind my back,, because I am handy like that. Two fold here,, to improve the looks and operation. By using the pc tie,, that eliminates the use for jumpers to the point rails. And by using the solid rail for the points that will improve tracking. Here you can see the point rails with the throw bar installed yet. In the past I was using larger width throw bars,, but with the slide switch throw I am going to use brass wire to attach to the throw bar. So smaller throw bar it is!! More to follow. See ya, Y-it
Part two. 1A. The bridge at Cardigan Jct. When Karl drew the plan he mentioned that the bridge crossing over I-35 coiuld be a great scenic element,, I agree. So,, off to google earth,, Just how long is this bridge????. Oh about 346',,wow that's long... hmm. So I came up with a plan to use 4 sections of the Micro Engineering 80' bridge girder section. 4 x 80' = 320' ,,,ehhh close enough. Now mind you I really never kit bashed or scratchbuilt anything in a scale model. In real life 1:1,, yup,, been then there and have the tool belt, spud wrenches, bolt bags to prove it. So after looking at the bridge in google earth I came up with this for one girder section. I used my dupli-cutter as a jig to make sure my gussets were flush with the end of the bridge beam,, flushness is next to godliness. I used .040 styrene for the gussets. Since I did not have any 5/16" ,, I had to make some,, no biggie. After time with the NWSL chopper I was able to get going. Here are two sections (160') glued on to a 3" bridge deck base out of .040 styrene. Well here is a picture of the work so far. I know no railings,, after searching beyond the ends of the earth I could not find what I wanted. This is what I need. I did contact a designer on shapeways and he drew up the handrail that I need,, can't wait to get it installed,, this bridge is going to rock!! Well that be it for now,, getting closer,, slowly but surely,, I know,, I know,, quit calling me shirley!!! See ya, Y-it
Well I am back. For awhile I did not feel like doing anything train related,, I am pretty sure we all know how that feels. While I was in the garage staring at the bare sections,, I decided to work on the bridge area and remove the foam for I-694 and Soo Street. While doing that and messing around I decided to place some rolling stock on the bridge and take some pics for the coolness factor. I must say,,, this is going to be one way cool scene. So gaining some motivation back,, I began to use google earth to research the way the terrain is formed around the bridge area and also around Cardigan Junction proper. This view would be looking southeast at Cardigan Jct. Here is the I-694 and Soo Street bridge looking south. This is view looking east. The line curving towards the right is the Rock Island and the straight track at the top is the SOO main from Milwaukee to Duluth/Superior. Looking west/ southwest from the junction. There are two roads in the prototype world here. On the left would be Cardigan Road and the right, Soo Street. I would like to stay with the prototype fidelity here,, do I squeeze the roads in,, or do I leave them out??? Here is a view of the rough layout of the roads. Two lanes I-694 south, two lanes I-694 north and Soo street ( barely visible ) to the right in the picture. To all the civil engineers out there,, I know, I know,,bridge pilings. Those are the next project. For the road width and where to place the medians at, I scaled dimensions off of google earth.. I hope they are close. I plan on using either styrene or masonite for the roads to have a little elevation to allow for drainage ditches and other scenic stuff. Like I said in the beginning,, scenery is not my bag. Till next time,, cya Y-it
Some more news and pictures,,yay!!! I have the railings that I need to soak in bestine so I can put those on. I plan on making the bridge pilings out of basswood. Here are some sample/test shots. I know these are not the best. Matter of fact down right fugly,,ewww, just something I threw together, and then will make it's way to the trash can..lol. I used 3/16" and 1/4" square basswood. I need to noodle on a way to make them square, straight and plumb. Some of the pilings also have a bottom piece that spans the gap from column to column. After seeing the mock ups,, with the proto pic,,, looks like mine are a wee bit small. Cya, Y-it
And we continue on with the thing called progress. I was able to get all the track laid for the Cardigan Jct section, sure does look purdy!! After making sure I had all the blank tie spaces filled in, I was able to move on with the wiring,, complete!! Well sort of,, no loconet cabling yet or the accessory buss. But I will get that done. I wired up the slide switches also, plus the heat shrink tubing. Here is a shot of the ground throw. I am thinking about using the upright wire to make targets. I was able to run a short train to test the wiring. Well there ya have it,, progress. The bridge scene will be next,,maybe,lol C-ya, Y-it
We have a little update,, installed the railings on the bridge,, which is also painted with Rust-Oleum primer for rusty metal. That is all, you may return to your regular scheduled programming. Thanks for looking,, have a good one. C-ya, Y-it
After careful thought and reflection...yup..that last pic is way back lit. Causing it to be dark... Let us try this one... Yup, that does seem to be better. As you can tell...there seems to be a sag..working on that. Laters, Y-it
