Tetter's Layout Progress and Other Pics.

Hey Tetters, I just discovered this thread today and am very impressed with the work itself and mainly with your rate of progress. You've gotten more accomplished in a couple months than I've even thought about planning to think about possibly accomplishing!

The other thing that caught my eye was the Fast Tracks items, which I've been eyeing for a couple years. I see from this thread that you have one #6 curved fixture, and I'm gathering from context that all your straight turnouts are #5's?

Fluesheet.
 
Always a good feeling to get some lites working. The power pack should be fine, I have 37 tortoises bussed to a single power pack. basicly the only time you'll have several tortoises changinging position at the same time is if for one you have multiple operators and two if there setup as routes and that'll be the maximum draw.:wave:
 
Thanks for the responses folks.

David. I've been careful to inplug the power supply when working on the switches. Something about soldering with live electricity despite the low voltage makes me nervous. heh.

Flue. All of the straight turnouts are # 5's. I have the curved # 6 fixture which was a breeze to use. The only thing is that you should precurve all of your rail before soldering. In addition to this is the other functional trackwork I've been able to build freehand. Something which I am quite proud of. The FT stuff got me started handlaying and gave me the confidence to take that next step. I now feel like the possibilities of what I want to accomplish with the trackwork on my layout are almost limitless.

Lynn. Thanks for the info. It's always good to get a second opinion. I'm never quite sure on some of this stuff, so I ask a lot of questions.

I like the pretty lights. LOL. I wired up a couple more slo mo macheens last night, and I tell ya, once you done a couple of these the rest go in like a snap. My little board is starting to look like an x-mas tree. In a few weeks, I'll break down and pick up a couple more and fill the remaining two switches on this board.

The other plus is as I've been going along I've been cleaning up the wiring mess under the layout decking. Tiding up the wire runs, soldering feeders and connections which I never got around to the first time. So working under the layout as to being fixated topside for so long has given me a different focus/goal to work on.
 
Yeah, yeah...I know what I said a few days ago. How's the saying go? "You can't keep a good man down!" Well... I've been tooling around with the rolling stock I had and my engines yet felt the need to go somewhere else... So, I went to the open house at the local Scarborough Model Railroaders and felt energized again. Thus I got home today and this happened...this is all part of the original plan...just finally getting the gumption to get it done!

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Ok...so here are the interchange or whatever you want to call them tracks. Basically a train...(or a string of rolling stock will magically appear!) will arrive on one of the tracks and get broken up and sorted by one of the local switchers. Yeppers...that is the D x-over in the distance. There is enough room at the ends of both tracks to fit a loco and two 50ft box cars. So I plan to have the x-over fully operational at some point.

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The D x-over in place. I find it easier to glue the ties down and them trim them to length with a dremel once the glue is dry. Then I just shave the excess tie off with a razor.

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An industry siding. One track for empties...another for full cars. I have two more industry sidings to complete at this end of the layout. This will give my branchline three customers to service when all is said and done.

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I had a bit of help with this last one. Seems LBP John there with his hammer got tired of waiting for me to do something so he whipped up this wooden bumper to place at the end of the new stub for the caboose track. I told him he needs to pile some more gravel around it. He said that was Jerry's job cause he has the wheelbarrow.

Gee-whiz...damn Union guys...:rolleyes:

sign1

:mrgreen: :wave:
 
Progress....

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I'll explain what is going on here. The top two tracks are for Industry. One for tanks and the other for hoppers. The product for processing is delivered in hoppers and then shipped out in tanks.

The bottom two tracks are for the RR. The top track is the through track, while the bottom will one day become a passing siding if plans for an 8ft extension follow through.

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Another set of industry tracks. The Industry tracks I'm going to do darker different grade of ballast...maybe even make it look like dirt. I might spread a layer of ballast and then coat it with a "dirt" layer almost hiding the ties after I spike the rail down. I've been thinking about doing this for some places in the yard itself as well to show use and age.

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Lastly, the two back tracks looking east towards to the double x-over. I got about half way up and ran out of fine grey ballast. I'll be popping up to George's Trains on Thursday night and will pick up another shaker. That should be more then enough to finish the job. Then I start laying the rail for the rest of the layout...getting there.

I also spent some time applying a asphaltum brown wash over the sculpted roadbed grade and the bare plywood of the layout. What a difference some colour makes...even if its only brown. The whole layout have come alive since I applied a simple coat of paint...

Until next time. :wave:
 
nkp174 said:
Not to nitpick...but in the first picture, it appears that you have a piece of ballast that's a bit too large... ;-)
Click to expand...

At first I was like, "What the eff is he talkin' about???" sign1

The stone was placed there by my youngest daughter. She said it would stop the trains from running off the end of the track there. I move it when I'm working in that particular area, but keep putting it back just because.

I'm actually trying to figure out a way to actually scenic it in place. It may just become a part of the landscape in that spot.
 
Not really progress...

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The CP Scarborough South Branchline "offically"* took delivery of its caboose roster this evening. A sign that things are starting to pick up for the small RR.

* One arrived two weeks ago, however due to inclement weather the arrival of the last two was delayed... ;-)

I also got some more ballasting done, as evidenced in the back ground and will finish what I started on that end tomorrow night.

Thats all folks!
 
Well Loren...I hate to disappoint my fans...all two or three of them it seems...:mrgreen:

So yeah...I'm experimenting with some weathering on the rails...This is a section I did on the yard lead. Beleive it or not I used a permanent marker to "paint" the rails black and then brushed on a light coat of rust coloured paint. Let me know what you think. I think it looks pretty good, however I also not convinced it's the way to go.

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The I got started on this monster section of trackwork by building the last...yes last... of my # 5 turnouts...I completed four more in the last couple of nights. Two an evening and banged them off like a freaking pro! So trackwork construction is officially done. Noe I just have to lay it all in place.

So tonight I focused on prepping the layout so that over the long weekend I can do this. Which started by pre-ballasting this mess. Think of it as a switching puzzle within a layout. What you will see here before the end of the weekend is 4 # 5 t.o.'s, a # 6 wye, and a 19 degree crossing. Talk about selective compression! All part of the plan too...well sort of...I decided that I wanted more trackwork for my industries. Test fitting of all the compenents shows that it is going to look awesome when its finally fitted and in place.

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So tomorrow night, I'll pre-drill the holes for the tortoise machines, prep the trackwork for spiking...then get to it. I hope to have engines and freight on most of it by the end of the long weekend.
 
You must be much more patient than I am! I used all sectional track on my layout, and not one piece of flex either. On the other hand, it was't very cheap, and the trackwork kinda depended on the track pieces. I'm still happy with it.

I like the progress you are making with this! Looks great!

Oh, and that piece of extra large ballast...well, its not the wrong size, you're just experimenting with combining different scales to make it unique ;) Cute story about your daughter with that though, almost sounds like something my son would do
 
Tetters

I really like the painted rail. It's among the best I've ever seen. The colors are very realistic.

But if you can stand it - the camera is a very harsh critic. It looks like the black didn't cover some of the rail base edge very well in a few spots. I'm assuming you did the weathering after laying the track, which would make it impossible to do better. Could I suggest weathering the turnout rails and double slip before installation?

Closer to scale size spikes are available from PROTO:87 STORES AND ACCURATE MODEL RAILROAD TRACK EMPORIUM. I am not suggesting you redo any part of your trackwork, just considerations for future. It already looks better than any track I have ever laid. And I'm sure I would never have seen these points had I seen it in person instead of a close-up photo. The camera picks up these details far better than the human eye.

Again, thanks so much for sharing the awesome pictures. You are inspiring me to get my butt out and find a job so I can get the new layout started.
 
Hey Fred.

Don't worry about it. I agree with you. :thumb:

I plan on going back over it to see if I can improve on it as I am not 100% happy with it. I'm testing out different techniques and won't be happy until I find the one that works best for me. I was thinking about weathering the remaining trackwork before installation...however I seem to be impatient with the idea that I want to see trains run and make sure it all works first. Then I'll start sweating about the "details". :mrgreen:

Actually...I was wondering if anyone could help me with paint. Right now I'm just using an acrylic craft paint. It doens't seem to be too durable and doesn't take well to touch ups. Is there a better suited type of paint that will adhere to the rail that I should be using instead? I think part of the problem is that the rail is so smooth making it difficult for paint stick.

Thanks for the tip about the spikes. I've checked out the Proto87 stuff several times...after I started and kinda wish I had come across the site sooner. For the sake of consistency though I think I'm just going to stick with the ME spikes to get the job done.

And thanks for the kudos everyone! It really helps to know people are taking an interest in what I'm doing. :wave:
 
Shane, I think that the marker technique for colouring the rails looks great. I've not used craft paints, so I can't comment on their durability. I used PollyScale paint, applied with a fairly stiff brush, (the stiff bristles allow you to work the paint around the spike heads) to colour my rails. The paint is odour-free and dries to the touch fairly quickly. I do 10' or 12' of track, not taking particular care to keep it just on the sides of the rail, then wipe the rail tops with a dry rag. Since the paint has not cured, it comes off easily. I wait 24 hours or so, to allow the paint to completely harden, before running trains, and it seems to stand up well, although there's not much going on (such as derailments or track cleaning) that would damage it.

Wayne
 
I like that marker technique too. I've always shied away from markers and paint pens think that 'if it's too easy it's not craftsmanship.' You've obviouly proven me wrong. Maybe I'll try it on my layout.
 
Well...

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CP # 8416 is seen here pushing a cut of hoppers across the crossing into an industry siding. I spent most of my evening yesterday and several hours today installing and spiking track work. Needless to say I got a TON of stuff done. That said, it is not all fully functional. If the loco goes any further past the point in the picture she loses power when she hits the frog and stalls. I will not wire this up until I get some Tortoise machines to install for the t.o.'s. I decided I'm not going to fool around with the ground throws. I've got four Tortoise machines installed on the west yard ladder so far...and I'm not looking back from there on in. Look-out e-bay... here I come!

(ahem!)

Some more pictures...

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CP # 8416 and van # 436632 on the crossing. Just for fun and kicks. The track gang in the background were working on that spot all day! I don't know what in the heck they were doing but they sure were not much help! :cry: :mrgreen:

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A couple of hoppers and three tanks stored on the "West" most set of industry trackwork. That is part of my hand trying to steal the scene on the left. I also decided I'm tired of looking at the ugly green wall in all my pics...time to start thinking about a back drop with a nice soft blue sky.

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Slightly to the "East" off of the crossing is a couple of refrigerated box cars and two hoppers on the second set of industry tracks.

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Finally the last set of industry tracks. This set is a spur of tracks directly off of the interchange tracks. Just to keep things interesting when switching out cars for it. The track gauge and magnet were placed there to hold the cars in place...it seems there is a bit of a slope there. I'll have to think of something creative to hold them in place when parked there.

The next stage is going to be monotonous...I have roughly six feet of straight track to spike into place before I reach the point where the x-over I built will be spiked in place...man I'm going to get bored with that one reeeeeeal quick! :sleeping: :mrgreen:

However, after switching out cars using the ol' 0-5-0 method, something curious happened...

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Hey! :eek: Where in the heck did all my rolling stock go!!! :confused:

Gosh dang it! Now I'll have to buy some more!!! What a shame...:cry:

:p :twisted: sign1
 
tetters said:
I've got four Tortoise machines installed on the west yard ladder so far...and I'm not looking back from there on in. Look-out e-bay... here I come!

Hey! :eek: Where in the heck did all my rolling stock go!!! :confused:

Gosh dang it! Now I'll have to buy some more!!! What a shame...:cry:

:p :twisted: sign1
Click to expand...

Looks like you'll be heading to Ebay for 2 reasonssign1 Looking good though:thumb:
 
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