Progress on the BNSF Whitehead Sub

[Hoss]

My goal for the week was to get the Powder River Basin of my layout to grade and get the cork roadbed installed. I ALMOST accomplished that, but to my credit I accomplished two things that I had not anticipated doing.

First of all, I went ahead and got another sheet of plywood down on the layout and began drawing track centerlines down on it.

Second, I built two structures over the weekend, which, had I not done, I would have easily finished laying the cork in the Powder River Basin.

So....here's some pictures of my progress over the week.

This is the Powder River Basin. As you can see, I have the 2% grade in place and half of the cork down.

This is the area to the immediate south of the Powder River Basin. As you can see, I have some plywood down. Also, the track centerlines are drawn, but you cannot see them in the picture.

Below is a Micro Engineering kit that I purchased on Saturday. It was not in my plans to build any structures this week, but I did anyway (which kept me from accomplishing my goal). I was not entirely pleased with this kit so it may or may not make it to the layout.

Engine House:

Last, a car shop kit by Rix Products. This kit was a pleasure to put together and I thought it came out looking very nice.

The Shops:

My goal for the upcoming week.....finish drawing the tracks on what plywood I have down and put as much cork down as I can get down. I also want to raise the tracks to the appropriate grade where I can. I may also put a couple more kits together....a Coal Flood Loader and/or a Grain Elevator.

 

[Arlaghan]

Hoss, I think BOTH structures came out top notch. It would be a pity not to include that first one on your layout. I can't figure out what it is about it that you don't like.

Great work on your benchwork! I can tell this is going to be a top notch layout when you get to scenicking it. Awaiting more with anticipation!

 

[SD90]

Nice work Hoss! I'd put both bulidings on the layout too!

Mike.

 

[fifer]

Nice!

Everything I see looks Great , I wouldn't change a thing.
The grade in the loop looks very good.
Mike

:thumb:

 

[Agatheron]

Looking good Hoss! I'd make use of both structures if you figure you have the space. The nice thing about modelling is that if you don't like how something looks, you can always paint it!

For your interest as well, I dropped my brother off at the local train station this morning. Just before the Via train rolled into the station, a monster consist rolled through, with five locomotives in the lead. This wouldn't be such a big deal, except there aren't any grades around here that would warrant it, AND the two middle locomotives were BNSF. One was an Orange and black C44-9W, and the other was a blue and yellow Santa Fe SD-40-2 (I think, it was snowing pretty hard). Unusual guests on the local CN line, but power pools being what they are, I am less and less surprised. That now makes at least six different roads I've seen on this line alone.

I look forward to seeing this layout evolve... Keep us posted!

 

[Hoss]

Thanks to everyone for the compliments!!

I've decided to keep the engine house. I probably will make some "fixes" to it. There's a couple of things on it that the picture doesn't show that I'm not real happy with. Not a big deal though.

Agatheron, that's interesting that you would see the BNSF units up there.....although not really surprising I don't guess.

 

[Agatheron]

Well... in some respects I'm not surprised... I live 2 hours directly east of Detroit, and the fastest route between Detroit and Buffalo New York is north of Lake Erie... Just so happens to be on our side of the border

So far I've seen BNSF & SF, NS, UP, GT (duh), Via, Amtrak, and of course, CN on these lines.

Anyway, back to the layout. What are you going to be using as your sub-roadbed? I see you're doing cookie-cutter form for the rises that you have on the "south" part of the layout, what about the rest of it?

 

[Hoss]

Originally posted by Agatheron
Anyway, back to the layout. What are you going to be using as your sub-roadbed? I see you're doing cookie-cutter form for the rises that you have on the "south" part of the layout, what about the rest of it?

It will all be done cookie-cutter style, I just haven't finished drawing all of the track lines out so I can't cut the plywood yet. I will glue the cork roadbed directly to the plywood. I figured out that cookie cutter was MUCH cheaper than using WS subroadbed risers. Not only that, it's a lot more consistent and the transitions from slope to flat are better due to the natural tendency of the wood to resist bending.

 

[Hoss]

I completed drawing the track centerlines on all of the plywood I have down at the moment. I also managed to get quite a bit of cork down on those centerlines, including in the yard. I raised what I could to the correct grade, and the rest is still at zero elevation at the moment.

Below is the yard from the south end. Actually, it's only about half of the yard. It will eventually continue towards the camera and then curve around to the east. Looking at it in the picture below, if you start on the right and work left the tracks are as follows: Yard 1, Yard 2, Main Line, Yard 3, Yard 4 and to the far left is a track going to the engine house and the car shop. This track will also serve as a run around to the east.

Here is the yard again looking from the north. You can also see the base for the engine house.

This is a shot looking north towards the Powder River Basin. The far right track is a passing siding, the middle one is the main and the far left is the coal flood loading track. The flood loader will be located just to the south of the curve.

Here are a couple of overall shots of the Powder River Basin.

Here is a shot looking south from the Powder River Basin.

I started working on the Walther's Western Coal Flood Loader kit, but pretty much got nothing done on it.

I'm going to keep my primary goal for the upcoming week simple. I want to get the remaining plywood on the layout and get the backdrop installed on the south and east sides of the layout. This will allow me to permanently put the layout against the wall, giving it much more stability. If I get that accomplished I'll be happy.

As secondary goals, I'd like to install florescent lighting on the ceiling. Accomplishing this is a matter of money more than anything else. The installation part of it will only be about a 1-2 hour job at most.

If I find any spare time, I'd like to finish that flood loader, but it's low priority.

 

[TomPM]

Looks like things are off to great start, Hoss. Keep us up to date on your progress.

 

[Lighthorseman]

Beautiful handiwork!

Outstanding benchwork, Hoss. Boy, are your trains ever going to run smoothly.

Please post about your lighting, as I need to do the same.

 

[Hoss]

Re: Beautiful handiwork!

Originally posted by Lighthorseman
Outstanding benchwork, Hoss. Boy, are your trains ever going to run smoothly.

Please post about your lighting, as I need to do the same.

Smooth running is exactly what I'm hoping for.

After looking at several different options for lighting, I think the simplest (and probably most effective) method in my case is just going to me to put 3-4 four foot florescent fixtures on the ceiling above the layout. I'm hoping to run by Home Depot tomorrow and see what is available, but I'm still trying to sort it all out.

 

[Cinnibar]

Your Layout

Hoss,

Really excellent workmanship! I agree with all about the structures. The engine house is very similar to the U.P.'s shop here in El Paso. I'm looking forward to watching your progress. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Matthyro]

Both structures look good to me too Hoss.
That bench work looks study and is well made.
Will look forward to your progress

 

[LR&BRR]

wow that looks great so far to me :thumb:

am envious of all the space you have.

the buildings look very good too. if you dont need them i think i might be able to find a spot on mine kidding of course.

i look forward to the progress on yours .

hope you can teach me lots.

 

[Ralph]

That's looking real good Hoss. I share in the admiration of your carpentry!
Ralph