I had mentioned some of the treasures I found in Louisville. The hobby shop is called the Roundhouse. You have to see the place to believe it. Anyway...Some of the hoppers seem to be old Varney products. Things were so simple back then. The cars have the general appearance required to look like hoppers. Seperate brakewheels is the extent of the add-on details, much like Athearn and other manufacturers of that "era". One car has a "sort of" brakewheel cast in...
Cast On Brakewheel
The cars are also heavy. While it limits the length of the train a loco can handle this IS a good thing. They track very well through turnouts...
Cast Metal Frame
Most of the cars in general also have kadee couplers. METAL Kadee couplers from back in the day when cast alloy was the only way to go. The trucks are almost all sprung with those teeny springs that go flying at the first opportunity, never to be seen again. Fortunately this usually occurs at the workbench when you're trying to replace wheels...
Sprung Trucks
All in all they look pretty good, go together fast and perform very well. Works for me.
I'm currently working on a set of Roundhouse ore cars. Three cars come in the kit. Although they are supposed to wood chip cars I left off the wooden extensions and kept them as steel ore haulers. They are short with metal frames and seperate plastic castings for the brake system components. The frames are solid, not open like they might be today on such cars. They are rugged and simple to assemble...
Roundhouse "Three In One" Ore Cars
I've wanted a short train of these little guys ever since I saw them in Gorre & Daphetid photos when I was a lad. That's about five decades ago.
Another EBay purchase was a real surprise. I ordered some embossed brick and stone papers. They are exquisite..
Embossed Paper
They came from a fellow named Dimitris Tastsidis way over in Thessaloniki, Greece. He has a store on EBay. The detail is amazing...
Detail
I'm hoping to use them to build structures. Brick paper is rather old school but these embossed sheets are light years away from the old stuff. They equal or surpass their plastic rivals. One place I can use the stone is the viaduct at Quotidian where the branch passes over the mainline...
Quotidian Viaduct
The colored stone will make great foundations for several buildings in the town, including an enginehouse I'm contemplating.
A few things have happened since the last entry. Here's an update...
A second curved turnout was constructed for the other end of the siding. I did a much better job on this one. So good, in fact, that I'm going to build a replacement for the first turnout...
Right Hand Curved Turnout
I spent some time and care on the points and stock rails. I used the techniques I developed with the first turnout...
Points
Same with the frog. I think I can do better in this area. Had to do a lot of filing to make it right...
Frog
Although it worked well on the workbench the only way to know for sure is put it in place and run trains through it...
Future Location
Which brings us to the rolling stock and motive power. Found a hobby shop in Louisville that took me back a few decades. Athearn blue boxes were everywhere. Old school shake the box kits from Roundhouse, Varney and a bunch of others. Got a good deal on rolling stock...10 cars for $6 each. The roster tripled overnight. Most of the cars came with Kadee knuckle couplers. I've repainted them in preparation for adding my own decals (I hope)....
New Equipment
Also snagged another IHC locomotive, a 4-4-0. Like the Mogul before it, it came lettered for the L&N...
IHC 4-4-0
Just like the Mogul, it will get a new paint job. The 2-6-0 is now in plain black and decoder equipped. Same Digitrax mobile sound as the camelback...
2-6-0
The 2-6-0 came with an oil burning tender. I hacked up the bunker cover and made it a coal hauler. Also replaced the horn hook coupler with an EZ Mate knuckle.
Made progress on ttrack and ballast strip for the branch. At this point the layout looks like something is happening...
Layout: General View
Made a video of the two steamers to show how DCC works. Nothing spectacular, but you may get the idea...
The "mainline" loop is up and running (green on the plan below). I've been using it to test locomotives and freight cars. It also entertains our youngest grandchild. Seems the older ones have outgrown trains for now.
Track Plan
Before I can move on to the branch line (red on plan), I'm gonna need to obtain some turnouts. I've checked and this seems a pretty expensive undertaking, especially if you're using nickle silver code 83 track like I am. I can. They average about $20 each. The two curved turnouts I need cost about $10 or so more. I could settle for code 100 brass track and save a bundle, but I think I'll pass on that.
What I decided to do is create my own turnouts. I tried this before on the N scale layout, but wasn't too successful. Most of the issues I ran into were due to the small size and tolerances at 1:160. HO scale, being about twice as big (1:87) seems like it would be a hell of a lot easier. I gave it a shot and it was.
The first turnout I went for was the curved turrnoiut at the left end of the passing siding. I downloaded and printed a set of templates from the Fast Tracks site. Since this is such a small layout, I chose the tighter turnouts. The two curved turnout at either end of the passing siding are going to be #6. I picked these because the site lists the radii for each "leg" as 18" and 24". Made my life a lot easier than figuring out how a #6 turnout would fit in the track plan.
#6 Curved Turnout
It took a while. First I tried soldering the rails to PC board ties. This didn't go well. The copper kept pulling off of the tie. It doesn't happen right away, but after redoing the solder joint a few times the heat will eventually break whatever bond is securing the copper. I then went with plastic ties and Super Glue gel. Worked pretty well, but the points kept getting glued to the stock rails. I had also made the points in a way that just did not work...
Bad Point Rail
I sharpened the point (the drawing is out of proportion) as per usual practice for handmade turnouts. I also removed the lower flange to clear the toe of the stock rail. Two things went wrong here. One, that lower flange is where you need to solder or glue the points to the throwbar. Second, Since the point never gets razor sharp as shown in the drawing the stock rail needs to be modified to suit...
Stock Rail
The modification to the stock rail bothers me. Since you are actually changing the rail head, you are altering the surface the wheels run on. Some modelers perform this operation and their turnouts work fine. It seemed like there might be a better way.
On the third try I went back to soldering. I also created a new set of points and stock rails. I filed the point down on one side only, the side that rests against the stock rail. I left the toe on the point in place...
Revised Point
To make sure the points nested against the stock rail I simply removed the toe where the points would make contact...
Revised Stock Rail
It may not seem like it would work, but it does. At least in tests. The test car runs over the points with no issues. I still have to gap the copper on the ties. I'm looking into DCC wiring before I cut any gaps in the rails...
Switch Points
The real test will come when the switch is installed on the layout. If things go smoothly I'll start on the second curved turnout.
By the by...I've read somewhere that turnouts are easy. They are not "rocket science" and other such things. I don't think this is entirely correct. You need to develop some expertise with a soldering iron before attempting this at home.
In other news I'm slowly accumulating HO scale rolling stock and motive power. There's an AHM SW1 that's being modified to an SC1. The difference is welded versus cast frames. There are a few other details that also need to be changed. Alledgedly the AHM model is out of scale and runs wonky. It was cheap so I bought it. Right now it's serving duty on the track cleaning train...
Track Cleaning Train
The train had a logging caboose but coupler height needs adjustment. It's temporarily serving as a test car for turnout construction.
The track cleaner itself is made from an old gondola I found at the hobby shop. It cost me $1. It's wood and metal construction with sprung trucks. Not sure who made it but the weight is about 4 ounces, a perfect weight to hold the cleaning pad in place. I think the pad is from Athearn. It's kept in contact with the track by four springs. I modified the gondola frame to accept it...
Sprung Cleaning Pad
Since I'm using DCC I want to keep the track as clean as possible. This is a bunch better than running and abrasive pad over the rails with my hand. As you can see, it does the job...
Rail Grunge
You'll notice the bright metal wheels on the car. I'm equipping all my cars with them. They work and look better than the original plastic wheels. I used Intermountain wheels on my N scale cars. These are from Walthers.
Finally, a new iron horse has been introduced to the stable. It's an IHC / Mehano Mogul (2-6-0) just like the camelback. I paid $20 for it on EBay. Needed some cleanup and a shim to keep the gears engaged. Still have to remove the lettering and repaint it...
Mehano 2-6-0
Just for fun I ran the two steamers double headed on a train. Overkill, considering the train is only two empty hoppers and a caboose. Once the second engine gets a decoder it should be quite a show...
As I wrote earlier, the plan that John Allen created was modified by Rick Van Lear. I used Rick's plan as the basis for my layout and adapted it yet again...
Modified Track Plan
"Field Modification"
I tried to color the track so the modifications would show up better. The green lines are the outside loop. The red are the mining branch. I didn't change the full size drawing glued to the slab. Instead I'm building the changes into the spline...
You can see that I'm running the spline straight through rather than turning to the left.
Normally I build the spline first and then elevate it. I started out that way but ran into a problem. Unlike the N scale layout the curves here are tight. I couldn't let the spline follow it's natural curve..
Spline
It took a while to get the spline to line up with the track plan. I had to rebuild some sections Spent quite a bit of time waiting for glue to dry. After a few days I had about 99% of the roadbed in place.
Next came the cork ballast strip. I used a commercial product this time and fastened in place with tacky glue. Once the cork was down I took the flex track from the "test" layout and relaid it on the new layout. I then disassembled the test section and last vestige of the N scale layout went to recycling.
Only the "mainline", the oval is in place at this time. It's enough to get a train running for the time being...
Current Layout
One other thing I did on this layout was put the fascia on. At least part of it, anyway. I was going to do this on the N scale layout but never got around to it. Quite a few models fell to the concrete below and ended up in the repair line or scrap box. I didn't want a repeat of this, so I ran the fascia on the sides of the foam slab. It's held in place with industrial adhesive and counter sunk screws. In the images you can see it is quite high. Better safe than sorry.
The branch line to the mine will require several turnouts. I'm debating on whether I should buy ready made Atlas products or build my own. I had tried building some turnouts in N scale. While they weren't acceptable, they did provide some experience with the process. Since HO scale turnouts and their parts are larger it may be easier to create some. We'll see.
While running the first train it became obvious that the roadbed wasn't level. I compensated for this issue by placing long thin strips of artboard under the ties. I checked everything with a small level getting it as close as I could. Then I ran a train and watched its progress very carefully...
It took a while to sort out the intricacies of the PVC "stand". In the end, I probably spent more than I meant to. There was some trial and error and if it was wrong I would redo with new fittings. The final result, however, was a very sturdy and light structure...
PVC "Stand"
The PVC was tearing up the foam slab so I added a subtop of 5mm underlayment to make a flatter surface to mount the foam on...
5mm Underlayment
The support frame probably needs adjustment but that's just a matter of turning a leg up or down to level things out. The foam slab isn't fastened to the subtop yet, but will be if and when I find the Liquid Nails I bought. In the meantime I decided to lay the slab down and start gluing the track plan...
Track Plan Glued in Place
In the past I've used wall paper paste. I don't like what happens to the paper when it gets wet. This time I glued the plan to the foam using a spray adhesive. I bought the cheapest I found at Home Depot. I made sure to try it on some scrap foam first. Nothing like having your new layout dissolve into goo on the floor. I carefully laid out the two halfs of the plan and rolling up one end covered about 6" of the foam with adhesive. I placed the paper down and used a dust brush to smooth it out. I kept going like this a foot at a time until both sheets of paper were fastened to the foam.
I actually impressed myself with the results. I must be getting the hang of this.
I laid out some foam roadbed strips to get an idea how the next step would go. I made my own foam pins using piano wire. I cut a 4" length of wire and bent the last inch 90 degrees...
Foam Pin
I pinned down the on strip making sure it matched the center line on the track plan. This will form the center of the spline...
Foam Roadbed
At this point I modified the track plan by running the spline in a different direction. Rather than have the double loop shown in the track plan I decided for a single loop on the outside. The inner loop will form a branch that serves the mine at the top of the grade...
Modified Plan
I then laid out the adjacent strips, staggering the joints. At this point nothing was glued down yet so the joint looks bad. This is OK, this section of the spline isn't complete yet...
Staggered Joint
To glue all this foam together I use Aileen's tack glue. I accumulated quite a bit building the last layout. A lot of people insist it's not a permanent adhesive. They should try using it. I've had excellent results...
Tacky Glue
To build the spline I ran a bead of glue down the track center line of the plan. I placed the foam down and then slid it back and forth to spread the glue evenly. I pinned the foam down temporarily and stated on the outside strips...
Building the Spline
I ran a bead of glue along side the center strip and then anothe bead down the side of the strip. Again I slid the strip back and forthe and up and down to spread the glue. I did the same for the other strip. You can see that the loose joint shown earlier has now tightened quite well...
Three Strip Spline
In previous projects I used drywal screws as clamps to hold the strips together. I usually left the screws in. This time around I have a bunch of real clamps. I got out my clamp box and went to town...
Box O Clamps
As you can see, I made liberal use of them...
Spline Glued Up and Clamped.
The roadbed for the branch up to the mine will be laid after I put down some ballast strip and track. I want to run some trains!
Designing a model railroad to fit in 32 square feet is a bit of a brain buster. While I developed the plans for the previous layouts, it took a lot of trial and error to get a design I liked. Not sure I want to do that again. Instead I went through a few published track plans hoping one or a combination of several will get me where I want to go.
I mentioned last time that the layout is currently a section of the dismantled N scale one. It's a sheet of 1/2" flake board supported by a 2" x 4" frame and legs. It works but it still isn't very portable. I started thinking of alternatives. I' using 4' x 8' slab of 2" thick styrofoam. Cost about $30. The slab serves as a VERY light table top.
I'm using PVC pipe to create a "stand" for the slab. PVC is rugged, easy to work and dirt cheap. The pipe and fittings came to about $69 in total. The pipe is $6.25 for 10 feet. It's much lighter than 2" x 4" studs and cheaper than the $100 or so for cabinet quality dimensioned lumber...
PVC Frame "Stand"
The drawing should give you the general idea. The diagonal braces and legs are removable.
General Layout Assembly
The track plan I'm using is from the Model Railroader supplement "Easy 4 X 8 Layouts You Can Build". The article, "Capturing a Slice of Appalachia in 4 x 8 Feet", is an overview of the Rosston, Joelburg & Holly Railroad built by Rick Van Lear...
Rosston, Joelburg & Holly Track Plan
Rick's plan is adapted from John Allen's first Gorre & Daphetid. John's little layout was incorporated into both of his larger model railroads. Rick's plan could also be expanded and become part of a larger layout...
Full Sixe Print of Track Plan
Before anything else can be done a full sized copy of the track plan has to glued to the slab with wall paper paste. To get the plan printed I scanned into Paint Shop Pro, rescaled it to full size and printed it to a PDF file. I took the file to a local FED X Office that has printers that create large prints. I found I had to split the full size 48" x 96" image into two 24" x 96". The printer cannot handle more than 32". At $0.75 a square foot, the thirty two square feet of print cost $24.
The roadbed will be the "styrospline" I used on the earlier layouts. It's light, easy to build and sturdy. I cut 2" strips from a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/2" thick extruded foam.
Styrospline Strips
The strips are then laminated together. I had originally thought the spline would need reinforcing strips as shown here...
Styrospline Construction
Turns out no reinforcment is necessary. The laminated spline can take quite a load if supported properly. A one foot span of single track (n scale) can support about 70 pounds.
For any track with an elevation of zero the spline is glued directly to the slab. Vertical elevations are supported on pillars created from stacks of foam.
Creating grades with the styrospline is rather unorthodox. I build the entire spline on the same level. I then build the pillars for the highest elevation and work from the top down to form a grade. Transitions between level sections and grade sections are inherent in the spline itself. The roadbed, for all intents and purposes, is one continuous piece...
The Average Eastern is no more. It has been completely dimantled and all the equipment stored in nice padded boxes. Better than me being stored in a padded cell.
Looking back on it I tried to do too much. Despite the fact that it was N scale the scope of the thing was probably beyond my skill level. Probably? That's and understatement. Both the Allegheny Eastern and the Average Eastern were just too big for my talent and resources. It was like restoring a 57 Chevy after watching one of those TV shows. Viewing Gas Monkey Garage does not a restorer make.
While I'm waiting to purchase a new home and move closer to the grandchildren I still read my Model Railroader and visit the hobby shop. This may or may not be a good thing. I've been looking at some of the larger scales. "Gee, I wonder what G scale is like?" or maybe "Should I try On30?". Half hearted attempts to maintain my interest, although the whole idea of radio controlled Bachmann's running through the backyard does seem kinda cool.
Then last week I visited the Dixie Flyer in Wartrace, Tennessee. As I usually do I wander through the store and end up buying nothing or a bag of rail joiners. This time, however I stumbled across a 2-6-0 camelback in HO scale. It was affordable (in my budget) and I love these odd locomotives. I thought about it for a day and went back to purchase it. I bought a few cars too.
I save a 4' x 8' part of the previous layout. I used this and laid some code 83 flex track in a simple oval and started running trains. I used my Atlas Commander DCC system for power and control. The loco has no decoder yet. I plan to install one, this time with sound. I threw a few vehicles in for scenic interest and Voila!!!
I'm trying to create a wood sheathed caboose from another center cupola caboose. Something more appropriate than the steel one shown here. The caboose on the siding is an old Model Engineering Works logging caboose. I bought on a whim.
I have no idea where this is going. I'm starting out simple. I have no name for the "railroad" yet. I will get the track off the tabletop and onto some roadbed. I'm thinking of using the same styrofoam spline developed for the N scale layout. The spline is created by laminating 1/2" thick styrofoam strips. It's about 2" high allowing me to have scenery below track level.
I have also thought of using a 4' x 8' chunk of 2" extruded foam rather than a wood table top. The relocation looms large and it sure would be nice to have a light, portable layout. I'll think on it a bit.
