We have definitely made up our minds to put our house on the market mid-summer and move to a smaller, one-story home, preferably a "patio home" in an over-55 community. There are several possible neighborhoods in The Woodlands, a nearby town.
So, I will begin disassembling my layout in the next few days, and packing up my rolling stock. I will keep up my posts, detailing how the disassembly is going. As I've mentioned before, the layout is built in sections 28" wide and either 28" or 48" long. It's simply a matter of disconnecting wiring from my control panel, disconnecting a few rail joiners or, in some cases, using a razor saw to cut rail, and then unbolting the benchwork sections from one another. The legs will simply be unbolted. None of the benchwork or trackwork will be lost in the process, and reassembly after we move should be equally easy. The only thing in question is the unbuilt portion of my track plan, which likely will have to be modified to adapt to a new room.
This would be a bit messier if I'd already put in scenery and structures, but as I haven't yet, the process will be clean, and should be fairly quick.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Layout Setting and "History"
I spent of couple of hours recently painting the rails, using an old, very small brush to apply a mixture of rust and dark brown. Since my layout represents a coastal area, I mixed the paint to favor the rust over the brown; on my previous Idaho-themed layout, I'd let the brown predominate, as it would in that more arid setting. From my observations, there is a definite rail color variation between locales, the shade being affected by humidity and, near a coastline, by salt air. Most of the rail, much of which has been used and reused on four previous layouts (same for the spikes!) and is now laid on a fifth layout, already had been painted, but as I said, I need a little more rust.
I think I'm about to settle on a name for the fictional mainline railroad that will run into my freelanced 1947-era town of Gulf Harbor, Texas. The town and its port are served by the Gulf Harbor Terminal Railway. The mainline road will be called either the Texas Coast Railroad or the Texas Gulf Coast Railroad. Neither existed in reality, though there was a Texas & Gulf. I also thought about Houston & Gulf, which I haven't entirely ruled out. I'll figure it out soon, because I want to start lettering cars; I plan to used Woodland Scenics dry transfer lettering, which has worked well for me in the past, right down to the small "CAPY", etc. letters and numbers.
Whatever the mainline railroad is called, I picture it running from Port Arthur on the Louisiana border to Brownsville at the south end of the Texas coast, with a branch to San Antonio. Other cities served would include Houston, Corpus Christi and, of course, the fictional Gulf Harbor. Since there will actually be only a very short length of track representing the "offstage" mainline connection, I won't be modeling any of the mainline locomotives, but I will have a few freight cars, cabooses, and eventually, two or three passenger cars lettered for that road.
The Gulf Harbor Terminal Railway won't have much rolling stock of its own, aside from a tank car for loco fuel and a couple of MOW cars. For the latter I have a scratchbuilt model of an 1890's wood gondola (from a Model Railroader plan), and I plan to have a steam loco tender converted to a water/fuel MOW car, another item to be derived from my American Flyer carbody collection.
GHT motive power, as described in previous posts, consists of an 0-6-0 steam loco and an NW-2 diesel. The "history" is that the 0-6-0 is the sole survivor of a trio of aging steam engines, two of which were replaced by the single (and secondhand) NW-2 in 1946 when the crush of wartime traffic had subsided. The GHT operates on a tight budget and diesels are expensive, so the old 0-6-0 will remain in service for another half-dozen years or so. Right now, in 1947, it's kept plenty busy.
The GHT has its own three-stall roundhouse, an old brick structure, and a 60-foot turntable. The roundhouse and turntable come from my old Idaho layout. I rebuilt the deck of the table, which is of the old "armstrong" variety with a push pole that, given its very limited use, is good enough for the tightfisted GHT. I'm in the process of almost completely rebuilding the roundhouse, since the model suffered some damge being removed from my old layout.
As mentioned in earlier posts, I'm concentrating on completing the "left" side of the layout (please see previously posted plan), which features the yard and depot areas, as well as the town's business district. The complete layout will measure 11 x 13 feet; the left portion is about 8 x 10. The remainder will be a port and industrial area, with the edge (only a suggestion, really) of a residential area in the "upper right hand" corner. I visualize the port as having two "general cargo" piers and a few small industries, such as a fuel (oil and coal) dealer, lumber company, a maritime supply firm, wholesale grocery company, etc.
My plan is to completely finish the yard/depot section before moving on to the rest. We're still contemplating a possible move to a patio home (maybe a 55-and-over neighborhood) within the next year and I don't want construction to go too far in case I need to disassemble the layout and revise the port area portion of the plan to fit a different space. It's deliberately built in bolted-together sections, so moving it should be fairly easy, and the present sections should fit into any home's spare bedroom without problems. Section sizes range from 28 x 28 inches to 28 x 48 inches, easily transportable.
I will (I hope) soon install the much-delayed backdrop, and that will also be sectionalized to match the benchwork. I will use Masonite for the backdrop, with 1 x 1 inch supports, which will be screwed to the benchwork, again for quick disassembly/reassembly. The backdrop will be painted to simulate hazy blue sky.
When I started building my layout, I pictured it being further along at this point. However, I'm quite happy with what I've got so far. The completed track is solid, has been thoroughly tested and provides smooth running, so I guess slow and steady progress has its merits! I'm really enjoying working on it, and that's what counts. I'm very blessed to be retired and thus not have a schedule.
This is, after all, a hobby!
I think I'm about to settle on a name for the fictional mainline railroad that will run into my freelanced 1947-era town of Gulf Harbor, Texas. The town and its port are served by the Gulf Harbor Terminal Railway. The mainline road will be called either the Texas Coast Railroad or the Texas Gulf Coast Railroad. Neither existed in reality, though there was a Texas & Gulf. I also thought about Houston & Gulf, which I haven't entirely ruled out. I'll figure it out soon, because I want to start lettering cars; I plan to used Woodland Scenics dry transfer lettering, which has worked well for me in the past, right down to the small "CAPY", etc. letters and numbers.
Whatever the mainline railroad is called, I picture it running from Port Arthur on the Louisiana border to Brownsville at the south end of the Texas coast, with a branch to San Antonio. Other cities served would include Houston, Corpus Christi and, of course, the fictional Gulf Harbor. Since there will actually be only a very short length of track representing the "offstage" mainline connection, I won't be modeling any of the mainline locomotives, but I will have a few freight cars, cabooses, and eventually, two or three passenger cars lettered for that road.
The Gulf Harbor Terminal Railway won't have much rolling stock of its own, aside from a tank car for loco fuel and a couple of MOW cars. For the latter I have a scratchbuilt model of an 1890's wood gondola (from a Model Railroader plan), and I plan to have a steam loco tender converted to a water/fuel MOW car, another item to be derived from my American Flyer carbody collection.
GHT motive power, as described in previous posts, consists of an 0-6-0 steam loco and an NW-2 diesel. The "history" is that the 0-6-0 is the sole survivor of a trio of aging steam engines, two of which were replaced by the single (and secondhand) NW-2 in 1946 when the crush of wartime traffic had subsided. The GHT operates on a tight budget and diesels are expensive, so the old 0-6-0 will remain in service for another half-dozen years or so. Right now, in 1947, it's kept plenty busy.
The GHT has its own three-stall roundhouse, an old brick structure, and a 60-foot turntable. The roundhouse and turntable come from my old Idaho layout. I rebuilt the deck of the table, which is of the old "armstrong" variety with a push pole that, given its very limited use, is good enough for the tightfisted GHT. I'm in the process of almost completely rebuilding the roundhouse, since the model suffered some damge being removed from my old layout.
As mentioned in earlier posts, I'm concentrating on completing the "left" side of the layout (please see previously posted plan), which features the yard and depot areas, as well as the town's business district. The complete layout will measure 11 x 13 feet; the left portion is about 8 x 10. The remainder will be a port and industrial area, with the edge (only a suggestion, really) of a residential area in the "upper right hand" corner. I visualize the port as having two "general cargo" piers and a few small industries, such as a fuel (oil and coal) dealer, lumber company, a maritime supply firm, wholesale grocery company, etc.
My plan is to completely finish the yard/depot section before moving on to the rest. We're still contemplating a possible move to a patio home (maybe a 55-and-over neighborhood) within the next year and I don't want construction to go too far in case I need to disassemble the layout and revise the port area portion of the plan to fit a different space. It's deliberately built in bolted-together sections, so moving it should be fairly easy, and the present sections should fit into any home's spare bedroom without problems. Section sizes range from 28 x 28 inches to 28 x 48 inches, easily transportable.
I will (I hope) soon install the much-delayed backdrop, and that will also be sectionalized to match the benchwork. I will use Masonite for the backdrop, with 1 x 1 inch supports, which will be screwed to the benchwork, again for quick disassembly/reassembly. The backdrop will be painted to simulate hazy blue sky.
When I started building my layout, I pictured it being further along at this point. However, I'm quite happy with what I've got so far. The completed track is solid, has been thoroughly tested and provides smooth running, so I guess slow and steady progress has its merits! I'm really enjoying working on it, and that's what counts. I'm very blessed to be retired and thus not have a schedule.
This is, after all, a hobby!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Rolling Stock Repairs
Now that tracklaying is complete (on the "left" portion of my planned layout; see plan in earlier post), I've turned my attention to rolling stock. Most of it survived packing and moving from Idaho with little damage, having been carefully wrapped in layers of the Idaho Statesman newspaper. What damage there was amounted to dislodged features like air hoses and steps, etc. These damages are easily repaired.
I have also been checking out each car's trucks, coupler heights and weight to ensure uniformity. I'd previously put off properly weighting a couple of cars because they had performed well enough, but now I'm making sure they're right. I want to be able to back a long string of cars without problems. Of course, a "long string" on a switching layout like mine might be only five or six!
I also unearthed some additional American Flyer carbodies I'd acquired over 30 years ago when we lived in Seattle. Flyer bodies are well-scaled, and with the addition of scale trucks, couplers and other detail, should look great. I've got enough carbodies to double my rolling stock roster. That will have to wait, however. Right now, I need to do some repainting and relettering of my existing cars. More about that in a future post.
I have also been checking out each car's trucks, coupler heights and weight to ensure uniformity. I'd previously put off properly weighting a couple of cars because they had performed well enough, but now I'm making sure they're right. I want to be able to back a long string of cars without problems. Of course, a "long string" on a switching layout like mine might be only five or six!
I also unearthed some additional American Flyer carbodies I'd acquired over 30 years ago when we lived in Seattle. Flyer bodies are well-scaled, and with the addition of scale trucks, couplers and other detail, should look great. I've got enough carbodies to double my rolling stock roster. That will have to wait, however. Right now, I need to do some repainting and relettering of my existing cars. More about that in a future post.
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