I am working on a cheap freelance HO, point to point layout in the man cave/my designated store room. It is a North American branch that is owned by Southern Pacific. Only servicing a few industries in this section of track I plan to get a couple of spurs and a run around for some basic operation.
A shot from the door…
As you can there is still a long way to go. Timber and gasoline will dominate the layout but with the use of the modular products from Walthers cornerstone series i may get some low relief structures in later on in the build.
I think the pros refer to it as a cooky cutter style framework.
The layout sits on legs attached to the box sections.Just 1 1/2" square dressed pine. I had put them together for a pile of L-girder modules I built back in 1997. I ended up donating the modules to the local model railway club but forgot the legs. Turned out the legs have come in handy. I have drilled holes in the bottom of the legs to accommodate a timber nut and cup head bolt to adjust the layout for level on uneven ground. This is handy if you have tiles or a poor concrete finish on your shed or garage floor.
I have just sourced some track under lay which is a gem for removing that rumble under the models when operating on plywood. It is a product of Australia called “Trackrite”, a waterproof material that will not fall apart and is resistant to U.V. rays, acids, oils, solvents etc… For inside or outdoor use. Quite easy to apply with P.V.A. (white glue).I will post up a pic when I get one.
This underlay, sourced from my local model train outlet, is $20 for 5 meters but it sure gets rid of any sound amplification from running the trains and rolling stock over ply wood.
There will be another spur that goes straight into the corner for the timber furniture company. I also wish to set up a switchback on the spur that heads to the right and brings it back to house the local switcher. Still undecided on this. It may just become a team track for now.
After some thought and the acquisition of 2 more medium radius peco points, one left and one right, I have decided to install a spur to the left of the run around and a switchback to a team track/ RIP track off the already planned fuel spur. An engine shed is not on the cards yet not ruled out depending on how much bench work I add.
A mock up of the proposed plan…
I do believe I am already having to head out to the shed to whip up some additional bench work already.
I do wonder if any of us actually finish our planned layout before adding to it/changing the design. [:$]
I think its time to cut up some mock bases to represent the structures to see exactly how much space I have.
Back to work for 4 more weeks out in the dessert. These are the units I am more familiar with…
Train consists 200 to 204 cars, with a test rake that is 230 cars with two General Electric 9-44CW locos on the point, now this has been increased to 240 cars, with five trains a day running between the port and mine. I think they have bought some new power onto the scene. Above seems to be 2 SD 90 MAC diesels working out from Cloud break mine.
Banking out of Cloud Break mine is with a pair of engines work from Cloud Break to Hunter Siding, where they are cut off and either run back to the mine light engine, or are attached to the empty if it’s already at Hunter. The axle loading of the wagons is 40 tonnes.
This is the flood loader that fills 480 car a day with iron ore.
And this is where I work.We are building the foundation for the conveyer transfer stations and ore crusher. The project should be completed by October 2012.
We are living in a camp 15 km west of here for 4 week and home for a week of Rest a recouperation. I am going to test out my Android 3.0 from the camp so I may still be able to log on. [B]
Looks like my knee has given up after all these years on the tools. I suppose that is what happens to one when stuck with the difficult jobs all the time. Anyway after an MRI, I am being sent of to surgery and will be home for a bit. [%-)] but hay that just gives me time with the family and some train time in the back room. [:D]
I am thinking of adding this trestle bridge I scratch built a little while ago to create a valley/ gorge scene.
With a few extra turnouts and some spare ply, some extra model space may emerge on the practice pad.
So little time, so little progress. I have heard some say, “steady, steady catch the monkey.” [^o)]
Interesting product but for the Australian market only? Like the idea of multiple profiles. (The manufacturer website list product cost as $14 Australian).
I wonder how far the product would stretch its wings. The price I paid here was from the local hobby shop. I expect they load profit onto the price of the product and freight costs. I tried to bargain but this was more of a buy then try situation. The cork here is twice that price. [%-)] It is cheaper at the moment to buy from the U.S. and U.K. as most products in Perth (Australia) are marked up at least 150%.
It is cheaper to buy through “ebay” [:|] Goodbye to all our local shops. 65 feet of cork is able to be snapped up for just under $40 AU (includes postage in Australia) [oX)]
I am yet to see how well the product takes. I am using a white glue (cheap wood glue) which holds it and the track really well. I expect with some wetting agent and a watered down solution of the white glue the ballast should stick well. Geez, I am along way from that though.
It looks great! My only question is the distance between the two tracks closest to the walls. If your track is not permanently attached, I would move the whole assembly further from the wall so you could increase the radius of the track closest to the wall. Other than that, it looks like a great start to a layout.
Not so much to move the track as the radius on the outside is 34 inches. I can bring the layout block off the wall more so to get a little bit more scenery space (add a 6" x 67" ply block section) my shelves allow me another 6 inches of space. I may rearrange the shelve eventually and continue the layout around the wall at a later date but this is a good size to play around with for now.
That is a nice little layout. Sorry to read about the leg but glad you got the time to make some progress. I like the arrangement. I wish you speedy recovery… but I wouldn’t mean it. [;)] I hope you get some time to get some work down on the rail road.
Cheers John, Yes I do have the small problem of a damaged knee but hay, we all have our problems. It all about how we get through them that counts. [;)]
I will be doing my best to get some wiring and heights down. The structures need to be lifted up in some cases.
Go under the bench today and run some feeder wires. Branch and branch run around tracks are red and black while all the spurs are blue and white.
I will make up some switch panels with some masonite timber sheeting attached to the front of the layout.
I have found some switches to isolate the spurs and run through track sections. My running locos are DC at the moment so the wiring will be a little more complicated for now. If I choose to go across to DCC all I will have to do is leave all the track sections on. All the spurs and siding tracks are cut and isolated from each other creating power blocks via a the switches I have.
I have used an old transformer to power this block (15V ac out). My controller has a bridge rectifier on board to convert to DC.
I managed to get some new gear from the local electrical outlet yesterday. Along with an off cut of masonite from the back of some old cupboards and some salvaged telephone wire I completed the isolation control panel for the back room practice pad.
The red and white grouped wires are to light the LEDs (separate power 2V DC) The coiled wires are to feed the track sections. (14V DC). The short red wires are to connect with the speed and direction controls. The will be a wire bus to service as a ground for the track power under the layout.
All the points / turnouts and track siding / spur sections are isolated from each other. This layout can be easily converted to DCC just by replacing the power source and leaving all the sections switched on / active. The green LED lights will glow when sections are live. Separate power, same switch.
I will be using a 7 pin plugs to connect the control panel with the layout. This took me a while but it was fun thinking through it without a diagram. I will need to tag and label the feed wires so as not to mixed them up. [8-|]
I just picked this off eBay for $32.00. Roundhouse RS3, Undecorated.
Has anyone had any experience with these units from Roundhouse ? Is there anything I should look out? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
It has been decided that this will be the locally owned switcher servicing the industries around my backroom practice pad. A color scheme and lettering will be soon determined. I am considering it as a retired Southern Railroad loco purchased for private use.
I have also purchased some Pikestuff modular HO products to complement some of the structures. Not sure at the moment but I am feeling the urge to remove the shelf to the right of my module and continue the branch line sooner than planned. [<:o)]
My efforts will most likely have Southern Pacific, Portland traction company, Spokane Portland & Seattle , Oregon Pacific and Rio Grande locos rolling around on it. I’m sure there will be a visit from some B&N units but this will be rare on this branch line.
