Here we go! Gotta start somewhere.
- Thread starter TrainNut
- Start date
The design is outstanding as well as the bench work:thumb:
Can't wait to see more photos as you proceed on the scenery, that canyon is outstandingjawdrop
Can't wait to see more photos as you proceed on the scenery, that canyon is outstandingjawdrop
It does not appear that much has been happening on the layout lately even though it has. I've been laying lots of cork and have even put down several sections of flex track. Just for kicks, tonight I hooked my tranformer up to about a 6' stretch and ran an engine back and forth across one of the bridges over the canyon. I did finally find some bridge options, decided on some and ordered them. For the front crossing, I wanted either a stone arch bridge or a California flavor cast concrete arched bridge. What I went with was from Faller and it has kind of a European flavor in that it is an arched stone bridge (picture 1). The second and third crossings back, I chose to go with something called a fishbellied bridge, also from Faller (2nd picture). Since the two lines are close but different in elevation by 1", I thought these two would look real neat together but offset a little (see plan on first page if this is unclear). 60103 made a good point that most railroads tried to put the bridges under the track unless there were clearance issues and I tried to adhere to this for the canyon. The rest of the bridges will be as they are in the pictures above. Rambling.... tired. Here's the bridge pictures.
LHS says my bridges should be in in a week and a half.
LHS says my bridges should be in in a week and a half.
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Progress,
You bet! All kinds of neat things going on! My supervisor has been keeping me on a pretty short leash and making sure I include him on everything. He even gives some of the new construction some levelness and durability testing (Pictures 1 & 2). We've been working on laying down more cork and some track. We've actually been running a test engine on 14' of track. I need some switches but the budget needs to wait till next month for those as this month (and it's only the 6th), I've already maxed it out. I've shaped some of the foam but I'm waiting on my bridges before I proceed anymore on the canyon. My LHS says they should be in this week... we'll see. I've been playing with WS plaster cloth a little and sceniced in a tunnel portal. I changed some things from the original track plan... we will be adding a reverse loop up behind the mine at the top of the hill (need some electronics for that). Down on the flats, I have decided to move the yard over next to the main lines giving me more room in behind for scenery and a town site. I've also been toying with doing away with the turn table and making that area more of an industrial area as I think it would be neat to have someplace for the coal to go after it is mined. Speaking of that, the thing on top of the hill I am calling a coal mine.... is it? ...or is it something else? & if it is a coal mine, what happens to the coal after that? Does it go to an industrial area for distribution elsewhere or what? What I was thinking was just having an area where the hoppers could bottom dump and then have a dozer push it out into big piles to be reloaded into dump trucks and shipped to places unknown. If that is not a coal mine, I'll need to rethink that one. Along the same lines, at the last swap meet here, I got a whole bunch of little coal cars for $3 each. Somewhere down the road I want to swap out the stock trucks to MicroTrains trucks and wayyyyyyyyyy down the road, I may give them a unique paint scheme and mine name (I've never done that kind of thing before). So now I've blabbed on for long enough.
You bet! All kinds of neat things going on! My supervisor has been keeping me on a pretty short leash and making sure I include him on everything. He even gives some of the new construction some levelness and durability testing (Pictures 1 & 2). We've been working on laying down more cork and some track. We've actually been running a test engine on 14' of track. I need some switches but the budget needs to wait till next month for those as this month (and it's only the 6th), I've already maxed it out. I've shaped some of the foam but I'm waiting on my bridges before I proceed anymore on the canyon. My LHS says they should be in this week... we'll see. I've been playing with WS plaster cloth a little and sceniced in a tunnel portal. I changed some things from the original track plan... we will be adding a reverse loop up behind the mine at the top of the hill (need some electronics for that). Down on the flats, I have decided to move the yard over next to the main lines giving me more room in behind for scenery and a town site. I've also been toying with doing away with the turn table and making that area more of an industrial area as I think it would be neat to have someplace for the coal to go after it is mined. Speaking of that, the thing on top of the hill I am calling a coal mine.... is it? ...or is it something else? & if it is a coal mine, what happens to the coal after that? Does it go to an industrial area for distribution elsewhere or what? What I was thinking was just having an area where the hoppers could bottom dump and then have a dozer push it out into big piles to be reloaded into dump trucks and shipped to places unknown. If that is not a coal mine, I'll need to rethink that one. Along the same lines, at the last swap meet here, I got a whole bunch of little coal cars for $3 each. Somewhere down the road I want to swap out the stock trucks to MicroTrains trucks and wayyyyyyyyyy down the road, I may give them a unique paint scheme and mine name (I've never done that kind of thing before). So now I've blabbed on for long enough.
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TN
I have a few quality control experts "advising" me as well
Boy, you are coming right along...great work with the plaster cloth:thumb: To answer your question...that IS a coal mine. You could pick up the coal at the mine...take it back to the yard....make up trains that would: 1. deliver it to industries on your layout (or even a coal yard)...2. deliver it off layout via an interchange.....or 3. both.
Believe me..others can and will, answer your questions better than I can.
I just want to encourage you to keep up the excellent work! I see a great layout in your future...no doubt about it!:thumb:
I have a few quality control experts "advising" me as well
Boy, you are coming right along...great work with the plaster cloth:thumb: To answer your question...that IS a coal mine. You could pick up the coal at the mine...take it back to the yard....make up trains that would: 1. deliver it to industries on your layout (or even a coal yard)...2. deliver it off layout via an interchange.....or 3. both.
Believe me..others can and will, answer your questions better than I can.
I just want to encourage you to keep up the excellent work! I see a great layout in your future...no doubt about it!:thumb:
Wow things are looking good! Say, is that little fella going to miss using the roadbed as streets for the cars once trains are running? 
Ralph
Ralph
Cute pics with the little dude! I know my son wants to watch my trains, but there is nothing there, just plain plywood. I'm sure he'd want to climb around on it too though
sign1 sign1 Nice pics and I liked the one's with your son in them too. Was there any major crators in the foam after he got off the table?? lol
Ralph,
Yep, he took to using that cork roadbed as hotwheels roads FAST! It seems like every 10 minutes now he is asking me if he can sit up there and drive on "the roads."
My bridges came today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now all I have to do is figure out when to put them together.
Yep, he took to using that cork roadbed as hotwheels roads FAST! It seems like every 10 minutes now he is asking me if he can sit up there and drive on "the roads."
You know, I kept a real close eye on that, 'specially since I only used one inch of foam on that main level. While he was up there, it bowed a little but there was no permanent deformation. That stuff is pretty strong.... & I have bracing on 12" centers underneath also.TruckLover said:
My bridges came today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now all I have to do is figure out when to put them together.
Well, the entire housing district got moved from the east end of the yard to up on the hillside over looking the depot. The heavy equipment has finally taken a break giving me the opportunity to shoot some quick pictures of the geological development. The miners inside the old coal mine at the top of the hill accidentally hit an underground river resulting in a temporary torrent of drainage eroding a new canyon on the western end that had to be bridged in a couple places rather quickly. The track crew had some spare track laying around and put it in the yard area just to see what it would look like with all five lines running through there. Down towards the end of the yard, with the creation of the new automobile road up on the hillside, a much needed temporary overpass has hastily been erected. On the other side of the tracks (where the housing district used to be), a small town instead will probably spring up in the future. The outer layer of track has been completed all all the way around with the exception of the last 2'. Now that the spring rains have diminshed, the masonry crew can get back to work and construct another of the much needed bridges over the larger canyon.
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Looks great but I do have just one tiny suggestion.
In the top photo of your last post.
The tracks look very close side by side.
WHile it is all well and good to be prototypical etc in the spacing. I have found it better to make enough space for the cars AND my fingers. It may be that there is enough space, but from the angle of the picture it does not look it.
Removing even one track and spacing it a bit better would inprove your chances I think.
Anyhow, thought you may want a heads up on that.
In the top photo of your last post.
The tracks look very close side by side.
WHile it is all well and good to be prototypical etc in the spacing. I have found it better to make enough space for the cars AND my fingers. It may be that there is enough space, but from the angle of the picture it does not look it.
Removing even one track and spacing it a bit better would inprove your chances I think.
Anyhow, thought you may want a heads up on that.
Well, you know, I agree with you, HOWEVER, I had my track plan all figured out with the specs from Atlas switches. Then, when I actually started laying the track, I used Peco switches instead thinking that all switches were the same. Silly me to think that everybody would use one standard. I went into great detail about this problem in this thread...fsm1000 said:Looks great but I do have just one tiny suggestion.
In the top photo of your last post.
The tracks look very close side by side.
WHile it is all well and good to be prototypical etc in the spacing. I have found it better to make enough space for the cars AND my fingers. It may be that there is enough space, but from the angle of the picture it does not look it.
Removing even one track and spacing it a bit better would inprove your chances I think.
Anyhow, thought you may want a heads up on that.
http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=22973 .
The final decision was to keep the Peco switches and not use a spacer to maintain the wider centerline spacing. I'm still somewhat young and have very good digital dexterity. I kind of actually like the closer spacing both for looks and because it gave me just a little bit more much needed room on the back side for scenery. Thanks for the comment.
Cool, with my mitts I think of these things but hey, if you can do it go for it. And no even though standards exist, they are not all the same :S Oh well.
Have fun
Have fun
As I mentioned above, MY BRIDGES CAME IN!!!! errrr, actually, when I went to pick them up, 2 of the 3 came in. It seems they lost one somewhere. Anyways, the construction crew got right on top of things and have constructed and placed them up quickly. They still have to be painted and weathered and all that good stuff but at least you can get a quick looky see as to how it is progressing. The one that did not come in is another fish bellied bridge that will go directly behind the one in the photo except 2" higher. Several engines had to come out of hiding and "posed" on the new bridges for pictures. Man, it looks way more cluttered in the pictures than it really is. I found it really hard to get a good angle and of course my lighting is horrible at night without the window shades open. What'cha think?
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I'll tell you what I think...........The multiple bridges across the canyon are (and will be when finished) SPECTACULAR!!!!:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
But why should I stop there? Everything and I mean everything...looks great and has purpose. This layout keeps lookin' better and better!!!
Keep it up and keep posting:thumb: :thumb:
