Merry Christmas!

We're having a great Christmas season so far, and we're so blessed that our daughters, sons-in-law and granddaughters live just minutes away.

The tracklaying is completed, except for the wharf, which will come later. All of the segments salvaged from my previous layout are connected. I'm now completing finishing touches on the turnouts...soldering in tie rods, connecting ground throws. Next is wiring, starting with installing jumper wires wherever there are rail joiners; I haven't had much problem with bad connections at rail joiners, but I want to build in some redundancy anyway. When that's completed, I'll install my control panel (also salvaged from my previous layout) and do the final wiring. The layout will be broken into 12 electrical sections. Three of those, actually, are roundhouse tracks.

Oh, and the turntable control wheel still has to be installed.

Once all of this is done, I'll lubricate my locomotives, clean wheels, etc., and test run them to check the trackwork. Then it will be time to unpack rolling stock and make sure every car is in good running order.

Beyond that, I'll begin adding scenery and structures, starting with the roundhouse.

Don't know if this blog has any readers or not, but if so, I'd love to hear from you!!

Merry Christmas and all the best in 2012!

Looking Ahead

I try to "work ahead" on my layout construction. That is, while I am working on one phase, such as tracklaying, I take some time to begin planning upcoming phases, such as wiring. Looking further ahead, I am beginning to consider scenery and structures.

For example, I have been studying a 1917 vintage book on wharf construction, even though that is still pretty far down the road. I originally thought I'd build an all-wood wharf, but now I think it will have be of the paved variety, though with a wood framework; the book I've been studying has several examples.

Another project in months to come is the depot. One of my favorite movies is the Hitchcock thriller Shadow Of A Doubt, which was filmed on location in Santa Rosa, California. One of the early scenes...and one of the last...was shot at the Santa Rosa depot (Southern Pacific, I'm sure). That type of station is perfect for my layout, and it still exists, so there are online photos available. While I don't intend to model that particular depot, I like the look and feel of it and plan to build something similar incorporating some of the features.

The same goes for the residential streets shown in the movie; while my layout only has room for depicting the edge of a residential area, I at least know the 1940s-era look I'm after.

Modeling the look of 1947 is made easier by the wealth of movies and other available material from that year, such as photos on the websites of historical societies, etc.

Tracklaying Continues

Tracklaying continues, with the end in sight as the sections salvaged from my previous layout are progressively connected, which has involved adding six new turnouts. Above are a couple of views of recent progress

Top Photo:

Looking east. The foreground track will lead to the wharf area. The turnout and the tracks crossing the wharf lead, which will lead to a couple of industry spurs, are laid directly on the roadbed, as this area will be in the middle of a street and no ties would be visible.

Bottom Photo:

The view west. A short runaround track is in the foreground. To the left are industry spurs. The "main", which has a couple of cars on it, leads to the stub-end depot tracks.

General:

Turnout laying is going well, though it has required some careful (and tedious!) alignment where switches closely branch off one another. My procedure is to thoroughly test turnouts during all construction stages by running a couple of my "fussiest" cars...a gondola and a hopper...through them at higher than normal speeds. Same goes for the double crossing...laying that was really tedious and very time consuming; it's done, except for easer rails.

I've also begun installing 6-inch hardboard fascia, which gives the layout a more finished look.

I've still got about a half-dozen switch points to make, and then I'll be able to add tie rods and ground throws.

It seems like it's taking a while to get the track done, but I've learned through experience that it's far better to take time at this stage and get things right.

So, I hope, tracklaying is on the home stretch...then comes wiring.

Turnout Frog Construction

I've made some slight modifications to my original plan, specifically eliminating three turnouts that are unnecessary. They branched into short...too short...storage sidings near the roundhouse. One turnout will do. So that leaves five additional turnouts I must build. I've started on the components, beginning with the frogs.

My turnouts use "hot" frogs; that is, they are continuously powered and their polarity is subject to the position of the turnout's point rails (more about that in a future post). I use a block of white pine, soft wood that will readily accept spikes, and lay out the frog angle. I only use #6 frogs, so the spread is one-sixth of any given distance from the point of the "vee" in the frog. In practice, I measure six fourths from the vee point and then a width of one fourth. I then spike down one rail along one axis and cut it at the same angle as the other axis, thus producing a perfect No. 6 angle in the vee point. Next, I file a second rail to fit along the second axis. Finally, I add the wing rails.

Now I'm ready to solder. I fill the frog assembly with solder and then file it out to flange depth. I find this makes for a very accurate frog and, though I of course use guard rails, cars seem to go through my frogs correctly even without them.

The photos will, I hope, make all this more clear. From top to bottom...

Photo #1, 2

A finished and installed frog. After soldering and filing, I trim the rails so that the frog assembly is a scale 15 feet long, about 3 inches in S Scale.

Photo #3

The frog assembly before soldering.

Photo #4,5

A frog assembly during the flangeway filing process.

Progess Photos

Tracklaying Has Begun

Here's a summary of progress to date:

Benchwork
Benchwork's complete. The layout is divided into five sections, bolted together. Section sizes range in length from 18" to 4', with widths between 18" and 3'. The 18" segment will, with the addition of the "water" attachment, actually wind up being 2' wide. Building benchwork in sections allowed me to do all of the messy, sawdust-producing work in the garage and then perform final assembly in our hobby room (spare bedroom). The only section that would ever have to be removed is the one on the far left (see plan in previous post) of the layout that is in front of the room's single small window, should that window need replacement.

I also plan to add a 6" wide fascia to the front of the layout.

Backdrop
The backdrop is complete. It is blue sky, with a few clouds and light haze, painted on 16" wide hardboard. It curves around the upper right hand corner (again, see plan) of the layout. Space restrictions on the left end, however, require that the 2' long backdrop across that end had to be placed at a 90 degree angle to the main backdrop.

Trackwork
As explained previously, I am able to reuse the track I laid before our recent move. I've been using a handheld jigsaw to cut out sections, place them on the new layout in the required new configuations and fix them in place with carpenter's glue. I will have to lay very little new track, with the exception of the wharf area. Otherwise, the only new track required will be for short connections between the salvaged sections. However, I will need to construct eight new turnouts and two crossings, owing to the more complex track plan.

Progress photos will be posted soon!

Brief Progress Report

The framework for the five "pre-fab" layout sections is done. The sections will reside in the garage a little while longer, awaiting recarpeting of our house, which will happen within the next two weeks. (We're having 25-year carpeting installed, so I doubt we'll have to repeat the process...in 25 years, I'll be nearly 90!) In the meantime, I hope to have all the remaining lumber for the layout...legs, backdrop supports, baseboard...and the backdrop itself...cut out and ready. I'll do a trial partial assembly of the whole works in the garage, then move the sections to the train room for final, permanent assembly.

Because the Texas coastal area I'm depicting is very flat, I will use a solid baseboard, with any needed slight elevations built up with scrap wood and cardboard. The "downtown" area at the rear of the layout, for example, will be only an inch or two higher than the area at "water's edge." In S Scale, an inch represents about 5 feet. Because this layout is semi-modular, I prefer a solid baseboard. The actual water area will be on a special section to be bolted to the main layout frame. I envision the water's surface as being about 10 feet (2 inches) below the land. Tidal changes down here are slight compared to those in the north. If I were modeling my home town of Seattle, for example, I'd need much higher piers...not to mention much greater land elevation changes to represent the steep terrain.

The lighting is done, thanks to a purchase of four wall lamps, and I have to say I'm very pleased with the results.

Track Plan

At last, here's the track plan. The area is approximately 8' x 12'. Minimum radius is 36". As you can see, this is purely a switching layout, representing a coastal Texas town at the end of a branch line. Railroad operations in the town are handled by the Gulf Harbor Terminal Railway. The "mainline" road has yet to be named...probably something like Texas Coast Railroad, etc.

The benchwork is already partially done. It will be "modular" with sections ranging from 3' to 4' in length. The sections are being built in our garage and will be bolted together in the "train room." The layout will be 45" high. The backdrop will be 1/4" hardboard, painted to represent sky but with no other detail. In practice, the only section that must be removable is the one at the far left, about 3' long, because it will be in front of a window, which must be accessible in the event it needs replacement or repair.

All of the track laid on my previous layout will be used, to be cut out of the original baseboard by a handheld jigsaw. As in many if not most layouts...and certainly all I've built...there will no doubt be some modifications to the original plan as construction progresses.

All track is within a 24" reach. A stepstool will be needed for completion of the scenery at the very back (a 36" maximum reach) but, once in place, access to that will seldom be needed.

Prior to assembling the sections in the train room, additional lighting will be installed, using plug-in flexible wall lamps.

Construction Begins

I realize I haven't posted my new track plan yet...coming soon, as soon as I take a digital photo of it. In the meantime, I moved the layout sections from our daughter and son-in-law's garage, where they had been kindly storing them, to our new residence and now I'm getting to work. I'm able to use the 1" x 4" lumber from the previous layout in a new configuration, and today I started the first section.

Cleaning Out Files

Over the years I've accumulated quite a bit of railroad research material, which I've organized in files. It includes a lot of photocopied stuff from Model Railroader issues that I didn't own; when we lived in Oregon for 25 years I worked in downtown Portland and spent many lunch hours at the main library going through their extensive collection of MR, which went back into the 1930s. Any article that looked useful I photocopied and filed.

A lot of it was useful at the time. For example, articles on Northwest railroads, equipment, structures and scenery were helpful when we were in that part of the country, because I've always preferred to model the region where I live. Now, in Texas, planning a Gulf coast port switching pike which will very probably be my final layout (which I hope to operate into my 80s, health permitting), I no longer have any need for such material. So I spent this afternoon thinning out my files, purging them of items I know I'll never use, such as very large track plans, plans for large locomotives, etc. There were scenery articles with methods that are long outdated. Articles on handlaying track with techniques I've long ago learned. Plans for electric locomotives, of all things! Ideas for making signs, now obsolete because of the computer and the Internet. You get the idea.

I also have a lot of magazines...mostly Model Railroader, but also quite a few issues of Railroad Model Craftsman, S Gaugian, S Gauge Herald and some copies of Trains. Fortunately, we have an extra-large garage where I've placed four old bookshelves, and the magazines are arranged by type and date for easy reference, especially when using the on-line Model Train Magazine Index. There's still plenty of room on the shelves, but I can see the time coming when I'm going to have to prune my collection. If for no other reason, my wife and I don't want our children to have the burden of getting rid of a bunch of "stuff" on our behalf years from now. And, seriously, will I ever read or refer to it again? So I will try to take a little time each month to go through the magazines and clip out and file what I need...or realistically might possbily need, such as plans for cars or structures...and dump the rest.

It's hard for me to part with books and magazines, but I also dislike clutter and I enjoy being organized.

However, I do wonder why I didn't start this process before we moved!

Track Plan and Related Thoughts

I pulled out a copy of 101 Track Plans (Kalmbach 1956, 1976 reprinting) from my bookshelf this morning before church and flipped through it as sort of a double-check of my track planning ideas. And I realized something about myself. I started reading Model Railroader in the 1950s when I was in grade school and I think that's why I'm more comfortable with the track plans from that era than with more modern planning concepts. Take the example of hidden staging, which virtually didn't exist in 1950s plans.

In a comment regarding one of my posts in September 2009, a gentleman named Darrell quite correctly pointed out that my plan lacked any kind of "off layout" staging. My response was...and still is...essentially that it's not important to me, and I prefer the use of card-order switching and "inbound" and "outbound" yard tracks, which I happily employed in my Idaho switching layout, a very 1950s viewpoint. Darrell's intent was to be helpful and I appreciate that, but I just don't feel the need for hidden staging or any similar device. I think the staging schemes and concepts are great...just not for me.

Now, I might feel differently if I had a layout that featured a lot of mainline running, but I really liked my small switching layout in Idaho and I plan to do something similar now.

Moved!

Two weeks ago today we moved to our home in an over-55 development, about 15 miles from where we'd been living. And now, 90 percent of the moving boxes have been unpacked and it's time to do some serious, final layout planning. The dimensions for the layout will be 7' 9" x 11' 9", so the plan I sketched out for an 8' x '12' area will work just fine. When my pencil scrawls have been redrawn into something legible, I'll post the new plan here.

In a nutshell, there will be fairly high track density, all within a 24" reach, with another 12" behind for scenery and background structures. Scenery, since this will represent a small to medium sized Texas Gulf coast port, will be all urban, though a small corner of a residential area will be represented, allowing at least a few trees.

I expect to be able to use all of the track I laid before, though much of it will be configured differently. More will be needed, of course. Also, there will be space for my small turntable and roundhouse.

Plans

After considerable thought, I have decided to build a completely new layout in our new home. I originally thought I'd simply reassemble the sections of my dismantled layout (now stored in our daughter's garage) but I think I've come up with a better plan. Fortunately, I will be able to use the track I've already laid by cutting out the roadbed. Curvature standards, etc., will be the same on the new layout, so none of what I've already done will be wasted.

What I enjoy most about model railroading is creating scenes that depict a particular era and locale. I also enjoy switching, rather than mainline running. So I will build a switching layout that has ample room for structures, streets, etc. As with my recently dismantled layout, this will be the Gulf Harbor Terminal Railroad, set in a small, fictional Texas port in April 1947. I'm still refining the track plan, though I can say the layout will be an L-shaped shelf 8' x 12' and will be 3' deep to allow for ample background scenery; however, all track will be within a 2' reach. The layout will include a small roundhouse and yard, a small passenger depot, a pier and a "background" section of business and residential structures. The focal point will be the pier area, which I envision as a crowded industrial district with spurs that cross one another.

The town of Gulf Harbor will be at the end of a branch of a medium-sized fictional railroad serving the Texas coast, name to be determined.

We're moving a week from now. My intention is to start construction within the next month or so.

New Layout Space

Our offer has been accepted and, if all goes as planned, we will be moving in the second half of May. The new "train room" is 11' x 12', close to the old space, which was 11' x 13'. The completed portion of the layout, which is now dismantled into sections, is 8' x 8-1/2'. The original plan was to extend the 8-1/2' segment to 13', with a 9' section off of that, which would contain the waterfront area. The whole layout would have been a U-shaped shelf. That will change. My wife and I enjoy doing things together and she's going to have space in the train room for her sewing machine. So now the layout will be an L-shape, 8' x 12'. This will allow reassembly of the existing sections without modification. However, the width of the 12' segment will increase from 28" to 36" to allow for more structures and scenery. I will post a revised plan here very soon.

Looks Like We're Moving...Finally!

Looks as if we've sold our house (at last!) and will be moving in late May. Our new house, if our offer is accepted, has a spare bedroom that will make an excellent "train room." The dimensions are such that the sectional layout portions I've already built will work without modification. They represent about 60 percent of the original layout plan, but the remaining sections to be built will look considerably different from the original plan.