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Video: Building the 3 x 7 Red Oak model railroad episode 2
I already love this layout!
It’s coming along great. Very interested in this project. Looks very clean.
I’m curious as to how you sliced the foam for the styrene backdrop. Will we find out in the Feb. issue?
Please tell me how you fasten the door to the benchwork?
Where did you buy that large of a 0.060" thick styrene sheet?
Hi! I will be attempting to build this fascinating layout, thank you. A question: I read the interesting article “Small town railroading in the 1950s” about Corning, Iowa. At that time 16 passenger trains would blow through town at 80mph every day. Since Red Oak is just down the road from Corning, the same trains would pass there. But what about the 1960s? Do you know how many pax trains passed through Red Oak at the time that is being modeled here, and did any of them stop?
Neil and David have presented some good ideas that are applicable to any scale. Nice going, guys.
What a great idea to run the wiring bus around the edge of the layout. I have a section of my layout that runs over bookshelves. The edge wiring bus is a great solution for an area that has been stalemated while I tried to figure out how to snake in the wiring through Woodland Scenics styrofoam sheets.
Very neat layout with great well thought through ideas, keep it up!
Also, I really like how you make the videos feel like we are part of a group of friends discussing model railroads. It gives a nice feel on a dreary winter day!
I know it is early in the series but I hope you show a list of the track plan with track part numbers. I want to start buying turnouts and such.
I still don’t really understand much about how to transfer track plans to the layout. I understand how to do curves but I felt it kinda left you hanging on the rest. Hope am not the only one you feels so. I would of been nice to see the whole thing done at one time. Maybe an idea for a how to at a later time? I know it’s hand holding but I see lots of track plans and always wondered how you transfer them to the layout.
Also how did you attach the door to the bench work? Did you just secure the door to the bench work via the other edges of the door since that part isn’t hollow
@ 6:30 Hi Steve. Lol
You should add the facia after you fix any electrical problems. I agree with the others about this layout. I might try building this after I complete my current layout.
I designed my track plan using Railmodeller. To transfer the plan to the layout, I printed out a full-size version (1:1) and placed this full-size version on top of the benchwork. (Actually, the full-size version is a bunch of 8-and-1/2" by 11" sheets carefully placed and taped together.) Then I laid the track (Kato) directly on top of the full-size version. By the way, I love the Red Oak Model RR and N-scale in general.
As an N-scale modeler I’m enjoying this project more than some others. As a result some questions and comments.
- I had good luck laying track based on a track plan from a simple CAD program, in my case AnyRail. Once I’d decided on the plan I printed it out full size, taped it together using the alignment marks, then laid it out on my foam. The next step was to use that awl to punch a series of marks through the center line. Worked great.
- A question for David about the track center distances he choose. At one point he mentioned 7/8" and that he’d opened that up to 1 1/8". That seems close to me. NMRA Standard S-7, Track Centers, http://nmra.org/sites/default/files/standards/sandrp/pdf/s-8.pdf, says that the 1 1/8" is ok on a tangent, but it’s really close to the minimum. Comments?
David
Being handicapped, I’m really looking forward to seeing the wiring installed in the foam and around the perimeter - great idea, David! This looks very doable for me. Thanks for the inspiration!
One can also use the RTS program, formerly available from Atlas, to print out full-size track templates.
The idea of a slot around the parameter of the layout for the wire was excellent. I think will redo my layout sitting on a plastic chest of drawers like this. It will be so much easier to convert the “Man Cave” back into a bed room.
Isn’t your first Radius curve 13 1/2" since your awl started at the 1/2" mark ? and the pencil is at the 14" mark?
Not doing spiral easements?