New Layout - Updated 6/4/06
- Thread starter 91rioja
- Start date
Wickman
Not a problem. I just took the sheets and cut them down into 1 7/8" strips for the yard. No need for the bevelled stuff there.
Chris
Not a problem. I just took the sheets and cut them down into 1 7/8" strips for the yard. No need for the bevelled stuff there.
Chris
road bed and foam
Hey Chris,
, Good to hear construction going so well. AS far as your road bed being diffrent hieghts, we had this issue on an old layout we did some years ago to solve the problem we just glued it down an after the glue was set we took a sander to it and planned the edge to match the exsiting cork.(just an idea) might save you some time and money.
I'm to the point I think I'm going to start building just tired of not running trains, Just keep me informed of the foam work and how its going please.
And at this point I would like to thank our sponsers; ATLAS, BACHMANN, WOODLAND SENICS, PECO, DIGI TRAX, HOME DEPOT, LOWES 84 LUMBER, DAP, LIQUID NAILS ect
sign1 TONY
Hey Chris,
, Good to hear construction going so well. AS far as your road bed being diffrent hieghts, we had this issue on an old layout we did some years ago to solve the problem we just glued it down an after the glue was set we took a sander to it and planned the edge to match the exsiting cork.(just an idea) might save you some time and money.
I'm to the point I think I'm going to start building just tired of not running trains, Just keep me informed of the foam work and how its going please.
And at this point I would like to thank our sponsers; ATLAS, BACHMANN, WOODLAND SENICS, PECO, DIGI TRAX, HOME DEPOT, LOWES 84 LUMBER, DAP, LIQUID NAILS ect
sign1 TONY
Layout Update 07/16/2006
Well, this closes another weekend. I actually got some work done
. It's amazing the amount of time you put into this and the tangeble results that come out. For the two days I spent, not much came out. I got some roadbed laid, I got some track laid, but geez, I still have a LONG way to go.
I know that this would not be an overnight project, but . . . . I WANT IT NOW!!!!!!
Anyway, the weekend started out with me going to my LHS ( well, it's not really local since it is about an hour away ) to get a 3% grade kit, more turnouts, and more track bed. I got all of that and even came away with another locomotive. Why is it that when I go into the store with a plan that I always come out with more than I went thinking I would get . I almost bought a Digitrax Super Empire Builder, but stopped short; I still have a few more DCC questions/concerns. So I got home to start working on some risers for the second level. I got my 7 1/4" compound miter saw out to cut my risers, and guess what??? I hit the switch to make my first cut, and smoked the motor :curse: . Less than a year old and something put it into a bind enough to torch the motor. Boy am I glad I have a hand saw. . . . NOT! The risers were 8" and I needed them to be 7 3/4", so do you think I cut the 1/4" off of 13 risers by hand? Nope. They now hang down another 1/4" than they should. Oh well.
So today, I put down some more foam, roadbed, and track. You can see my pictures in the gallery under 91Rioja's Layout Progress.
Well, there is progress being made, and I guess that is all that counts.
By the way, I am tired of PUSHING my cars around on the track I just laid. I WANT TO RUN TRAINS!!!
Chris
Well, this closes another weekend. I actually got some work done
. It's amazing the amount of time you put into this and the tangeble results that come out. For the two days I spent, not much came out. I got some roadbed laid, I got some track laid, but geez, I still have a LONG way to go.I know that this would not be an overnight project, but . . . . I WANT IT NOW!!!!!!
Anyway, the weekend started out with me going to my LHS ( well, it's not really local since it is about an hour away ) to get a 3% grade kit, more turnouts, and more track bed. I got all of that and even came away with another locomotive. Why is it that when I go into the store with a plan that I always come out with more than I went thinking I would get
. I almost bought a Digitrax Super Empire Builder, but stopped short; I still have a few more DCC questions/concerns. So I got home to start working on some risers for the second level. I got my 7 1/4" compound miter saw out to cut my risers, and guess what??? I hit the switch to make my first cut, and smoked the motor :curse: . Less than a year old and something put it into a bind enough to torch the motor. Boy am I glad I have a hand saw. . . . NOT! The risers were 8" and I needed them to be 7 3/4", so do you think I cut the 1/4" off of 13 risers by hand? Nope. They now hang down another 1/4" than they should. Oh well.So today, I put down some more foam, roadbed, and track. You can see my pictures in the gallery under 91Rioja's Layout Progress.
Well, there is progress being made, and I guess that is all that counts.
By the way, I am tired of PUSHING my cars around on the track I just laid. I WANT TO RUN TRAINS!!!
Chris
I finally Ran a Train on the New Layout
The NRVRR saw its first action tonight. The first run was my N&W 4-8-4 and a single passenger car went back and forth through the yard. I hooked back up my DC pack just to see what I had accomplished over the weekend. So far, so good, and the trackwork isn't even completed yet. :thumb:
Chris
The NRVRR saw its first action tonight. The first run was my N&W 4-8-4 and a single passenger car went back and forth through the yard. I hooked back up my DC pack just to see what I had accomplished over the weekend. So far, so good, and the trackwork isn't even completed yet. :thumb:
Chris
Looking Good
Looks real good, glad to see you have some trains running. Better than me.
Dont get into to much of a rush take your time and let it go youll be happier in the long run.
Tony:thumb:
Looks real good, glad to see you have some trains running. Better than me.
Dont get into to much of a rush take your time and let it go youll be happier in the long run.
Tony:thumb:
DCCis the only way to go if you like operating your trains. I you want to watch them go round and round then DC is adequate.
Jim:
My last layout went round and round and round and round and round. It was an adequate test project. Now, I'm noving on to bigger and better things.
Tony:
Thanks! Measure twice and cut once is how I plan to work on this one. Took last night off, so not much progress from this weekend.
My last layout went round and round and round and round and round. It was an adequate test project. Now, I'm noving on to bigger and better things.
Tony:
Thanks! Measure twice and cut once is how I plan to work on this one. Took last night off, so not much progress from this weekend.
If at first you don't succeed. . . . .
Well I had the chance to take the last two days off from work. I have not had a vacation since the wife and I went to San Francisco at the end of April. So, I have had two days to work on the layout. Man oh man, I certainly learned a few things during this process.
I got the track all laid in my yard/staging area. I even got the three curves laid on one side of it. When I started building this layout, I worked on the easiest sections first (the straight track in the yard/staging). I laid the curves yesterday, and much to my dismay, they did not work as well as I thought they would. Note to self. . . DON'T START A CURVE USING FLEX TRACK AT THE END OF A STRAIGHT AWAY.wall1 I had to rip it all up today, re-cut track and lay it back down a different way. Trust me, the transition works much better from straight to curve when you have a continuous piece of flex to work with.
And let me tell you about my feeders for power. . . that would drive anyone crazy trying to solder those wires to the trackhamr . And I only have about a bazillion more to go!
OK, enough moaning. On the positive side, the layout is taking shape. I went to my LHS today and took the DCC plunge. I got a Digitrax Zephyr today and two decoders for my Geep 35's! I can't wait to run them just to see if it was worth it. What am I thinking, of course it was!bounce7
I'll post pictures soon of the new work done.
Well I had the chance to take the last two days off from work. I have not had a vacation since the wife and I went to San Francisco at the end of April. So, I have had two days to work on the layout. Man oh man, I certainly learned a few things during this process.
I got the track all laid in my yard/staging area. I even got the three curves laid on one side of it. When I started building this layout, I worked on the easiest sections first (the straight track in the yard/staging). I laid the curves yesterday, and much to my dismay, they did not work as well as I thought they would. Note to self. . . DON'T START A CURVE USING FLEX TRACK AT THE END OF A STRAIGHT AWAY.wall1 I had to rip it all up today, re-cut track and lay it back down a different way. Trust me, the transition works much better from straight to curve when you have a continuous piece of flex to work with.
And let me tell you about my feeders for power. . . that would drive anyone crazy trying to solder those wires to the trackhamr . And I only have about a bazillion more to go!
OK, enough moaning. On the positive side, the layout is taking shape. I went to my LHS today and took the DCC plunge. I got a Digitrax Zephyr today and two decoders for my Geep 35's! I can't wait to run them just to see if it was worth it. What am I thinking, of course it was!bounce7
I'll post pictures soon of the new work done.
Good Deal
Hey Chris,
Glad to hear everthing is working well, Dont worrie about ripping track up I cant tell you how many times I've laid track and torn it right back up. Let me know how the DCC thing works.
I do believe I'm about seconds from starting my track work myself cant be without my trains much longer..:cry:
KEEP US POSTED AND HAVE FUN.
TONY
Hey Chris,
Glad to hear everthing is working well, Dont worrie about ripping track up I cant tell you how many times I've laid track and torn it right back up. Let me know how the DCC thing works.
I do believe I'm about seconds from starting my track work myself cant be without my trains much longer..:cry:
KEEP US POSTED AND HAVE FUN.
TONY
Another weekend comes to a close
Well, the weekend is over, and all I have to account for is that I now have 692" of track laid down. That and a few ground throws put in. All in all, I'd say it was a good weekend. Pics to follow.
Well, the weekend is over, and all I have to account for is that I now have 692" of track laid down. That and a few ground throws put in. All in all, I'd say it was a good weekend. Pics to follow.
Update 07/27/2006
I tried my hand at installing some manual ground throws this weekend. A bit of .042 brass rod and some glue, and wow! I like it.
The staging area is about 75% done. In the pics, you can see my main line (to the far left), Yard A, Yard B, Loco Service A, Loco Service B, and the Programming and storage tracks.
I tacked down a few more feet of roadbed last night, and will be adding track to it tonight. I got my Digitrax system, and still have not hooked it up. I WANT TO RUN TRAINS!!!!!!
I tried my hand at installing some manual ground throws this weekend. A bit of .042 brass rod and some glue, and wow! I like it.
The staging area is about 75% done. In the pics, you can see my main line (to the far left), Yard A, Yard B, Loco Service A, Loco Service B, and the Programming and storage tracks.
I tacked down a few more feet of roadbed last night, and will be adding track to it tonight. I got my Digitrax system, and still have not hooked it up. I WANT TO RUN TRAINS!!!!!!
Attachments
Lynn:
I have the ones with "spring" in them. They keep a constant tension on the points to keep them from moving. So far, I love them; they're just kinda tedious to put in.
I have the ones with "spring" in them. They keep a constant tension on the points to keep them from moving. So far, I love them; they're just kinda tedious to put in.
ground throws and progress
Chris,
Looking good! Seeing construction pics at this stage is kinda like that new car smell...there's something nice about it, even though you wouldn't want to smell it forever (or well, most of us don't...)
I share your burning desire to run trains...I managed do dig out my Prodigy Express from the stuff stored in the garage as we unpack. Now I'm one step closer to running the new Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0 that arrived from Micro-mark last week. All the parts are gathered now - loco, decoder, control system, even a strip of flex track, except for some alligator clips and wire...hmmm...I wonder what box those are in!
And another thought on caboose throws. I love 'em, but I wish they'd make a basic scale sized throw, like kadee did with the 'scale' coupler.
Thanks again for sharing your progress.
Galen
Chris,
Looking good! Seeing construction pics at this stage is kinda like that new car smell...there's something nice about it, even though you wouldn't want to smell it forever (or well, most of us don't...)
I share your burning desire to run trains...I managed do dig out my Prodigy Express from the stuff stored in the garage as we unpack. Now I'm one step closer to running the new Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0 that arrived from Micro-mark last week. All the parts are gathered now - loco, decoder, control system, even a strip of flex track, except for some alligator clips and wire...hmmm...I wonder what box those are in!
And another thought on caboose throws. I love 'em, but I wish they'd make a basic scale sized throw, like kadee did with the 'scale' coupler.
Thanks again for sharing your progress.
Galen
Hi Chris, I'm glad I found my way over here! Great pics! I have the same ground throws (you'll love em!) However, from seeing your installation, I have one problem with it: IT LOOKS 3 TIMES AS GOOD AS MINE! In fact everything looks top notch:thumb: Do you have any pics of the bench construction? My advice is take pics of everything....I look back on my begining pictures and I can hardly remember my layout that way! I'm so glad I took them. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress, but please, don't make the rest of us look like a bunch of hacks!!!
Steve:
Check out my link to the Gallery. There are some pictures of the benchwork there. I agree with you on taking pictures of everything; I have about 40 so far and it is quite fun to look back on them. I did the same thing with the street I live on (we were the 3rd people there); I took pictures every month to watch the progress of the houses on the street. That was fun.
As for the ground throws, I've only put 3 down, and each one is done in a different manner. But, I like the way they have turned out.
Don't worry, from some of the stuff I've seen here at the Gauge, I'll never make anyone look like a hack.
You must be a big LOTR fan, huh Nazgul?
Check out my link to the Gallery. There are some pictures of the benchwork there. I agree with you on taking pictures of everything; I have about 40 so far and it is quite fun to look back on them. I did the same thing with the street I live on (we were the 3rd people there); I took pictures every month to watch the progress of the houses on the street. That was fun.
As for the ground throws, I've only put 3 down, and each one is done in a different manner. But, I like the way they have turned out.
Don't worry, from some of the stuff I've seen here at the Gauge, I'll never make anyone look like a hack.
You must be a big LOTR fan, huh Nazgul?
Update 07/29/2006
Well another Saturday has drawn to a close. I ran out of flex track on Thursday night, so I guess another visit to my LHS is in order . Too bad it is an hour away. Anywho, since I had no more track to place down, I spent today working on the duckunder part of the layout.
I torched my compound miter saw about 2 weeks ago, so before I could do anything today, a trip was needed to the local Home Depot to get me a new compound miter saw and the wood needed to finish. Boy am I glad my wife doesn't keep tabs on me and my trips to HD and LHS. . . .
The benchwork is complete and the extruded foam is on top drying as we speak. I'm going to visit my parents tomorrow, so no work scheduled. Here are some pics. Enjoy!
Well another Saturday has drawn to a close. I ran out of flex track on Thursday night, so I guess another visit to my LHS is in order
. Too bad it is an hour away. Anywho, since I had no more track to place down, I spent today working on the duckunder part of the layout.I torched my compound miter saw about 2 weeks ago, so before I could do anything today, a trip was needed to the local Home Depot to get me a new compound miter saw and the wood needed to finish. Boy am I glad my wife doesn't keep tabs on me and my trips to HD and LHS. . . .
The benchwork is complete and the extruded foam is on top drying as we speak. I'm going to visit my parents tomorrow, so no work scheduled. Here are some pics. Enjoy!
