Only been in this hobby some 2 to 3 months.
However, I recommend all new hobbyists to set up the train FIRST on EXISTING table(s),
shelve(s) then LATER buy the additional track, switches, accessories. I did the reverse and still don't
have a table large enough to accomodate the extra purchases.
AND OF COURSE SHE SAID, "that table is a plenty big enough rat now..........SHE SAID "NO"! THAT'S FINAL!. GET THAT THING OUTSIDE IF YOU WANT TO PLAY!!!!!
Here's another. After you have carefully planned everything out as to proximity of tracks to each other, proximity to table edge, proximity to scenery, etc. . . and you know exactly how much clearance you need . . .
add an inch.
Learned that one the hard way.
Frank53 wrote: Here's another. After you have carefully planned everything out as to proximity of tracks to each other, proximity to table edge, proximity to scenery, etc. . . and you know exactly how much clearance you need . . . add an inch.Learned that one the hard way.
Frank, you are not alone, but with the foam it wasn't hard to fix.
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
Buckeye Riveter wrote: Frank, you are not alone, but with the foam it wasn't hard to fix.
one extra inch would have done me a world of good here:
Could you glue a small thin piece of veneer on top of the shelf, but wider than the existing shelf, so that the track can be scooted away from the retaining wall without raising the grade significantly? If the thin veneer overhangs the plywood(?) an inch or inch and one-half, you will not loose any significant strength. A quarter round might help you keep ballast from from falling off.
Wait until you see the problem I will be posting in the near future with a switch machine.
When taking photos of your layout, always remove photo equipment from layout before running trains to another location. A nice locomotive might run smack into a tripod and derail for instance. Doh! Then your kids can run upstairs and shout "Mom, Dad just crashed the train"!
I'm just saying it could happen.
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
jaabat wrote: When taking photos of your layout, always remove photo equipment from layout before running trains to another location. A nice locomotive might run smack into a tripod and derail for instance. Doh! Then your kids can run upstairs and shout "Mom, Dad just crashed the train"!I'm just saying it could happen. Jim
Hmmmm.......... I'm not a detective but I think I'm on to something here !!
Thanks, John
jaabat,LOL!!!!! That could NEVER happen! NEVER, not in a million years!Clop... Clop... Clop... Clop... bang! MOM!!!! Dad just crashed the trains!WHAT?!?
Do you think your could be a little more careful next time? You aren't buying any more trains if you ruin the ones you already have!Nope never happened to me either... I don't have kids!
Frank53 wrote: Buckeye Riveter wrote: Frank, you are not alone, but with the foam it wasn't hard to fix.one extra inch would have done me a world of good here:
How about adding a 1x1 or 1x2 to the existing edge.
Jim H
So, humbly I gathered it all up and set up on the patio.......didn't think about the heavy fog and mist..............walked through the wet yard around the patio........................something made the engine get off track...............................................................................................................
and not being an electrician...............wow..... what a jolt when I 'tried' to pick up that little fellow.............found him some 15 to 20 feet away buried up nose first in the mud.......................don't know if Santa will be me anything after what came out of my mouth........but yes, I agree honey, the table is big enough.........
Hun, you have anything for my burned finger tips and the pain in my wrist and elbow?
STAY INSIDE WHERE IT'S CLIMATE CONTROLLED.
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
jimhaleyscomet wrote: How about adding a 1x1 or 1x2 to the existing edge. Jim H
I thought about that Jim, but the deed is kinda sorta done. My main gripe is the size of the trains I can run up on this level as the overhang on certin trains does me in, as it scrapes the wall or buildings.
I was going to run a 681 up here, but the back end of the cab bangs the scenery. The clearance is ok however for small steamers - 224, 221, 2026 as well as F3's and even my New Haven 2350 will run up there thanks to the close proximity of the trucks to the ends of the train - very little overhang.
Frank, if your problem has to do with overhang on the curves, you might consider changing to the spiral curves that I have been touting most recently on the "I'm building a wall O gauge railway" topic.
(I originally addressed this to "Jim" by mistake, confused by the quotations in the previous postings most likely.)
Bob Nelson
From experiance after testing a locomotive make sure that the power to the track is turned off before supplying power to the main transformer! I forget to do this and had a Williams GP-9 go half way across the layout before taking out a few trees and a house. The GP-9 still runs great, only a scratch or two to the paint.
Lee F.
Hey jaabat it still runs! I put two GP-9's together and can pull a very long or heavy train. Better yet I put two Williams SD-45's together and can pull almost half of all my rolling stock, about 45 frieght cars.
Philly,That's nuthin. I can stand on my Williams F3s and "surf" on them while they run around the layout. Except the ride always ends abruptly at the tunnel.
JimHangin' 10 on the Jumijo!
jaabat wrote: Philly,That's nuthin. I can stand on my Williams F3s and "surf" on them while they run around the layout. Except the ride always ends abruptly at the tunnel. JimHangin' 10 on the Jumijo!
jaabat,
You need to make the tunnel opening larger!!
My biggest mistake..... selling off all my conventional locomotives as soon as I purchased TMCC command base. Later I realized I still enjoy conventional locomotives, especially after I added a new ZW for remote operation and a sound car for great sounds.
I have the RR-Tracks program and it helped quite a bit. If you have excess track, etc, why not go up? Make multiple levels and you can have a very nice layout in a small space. Good luck.
dennis
TCA#09-63805
I don't have the RR-Tracks program or templates. I just lay the track and see how it fits together, I cut to fit where needed, use both GarGraves and Lionel tubular O and 027.
I have a second level, cut four 2 X 4's about 18 inches long, drilled holes in the tops and bottoms of the 2 X 4's, drilled holes in the plywood and mounted the upper level plywood to the 2 X 4's with # 6 wood screws about one & a half inches long. Covered the 2 X 4's with green mat paper like the rest of my layout, 2 X 4's not as noticeable, run wires up the 2 X 4's for the upper level wiring.
Can you get that on video for us with your new CVS disposable video camera ? !! That would be great !!
phillyreading wrote: From experiance after testing a locomotive make sure that the power to the track is turned off before supplying power to the main transformer! I forget to do this and had a Williams GP-9 go half way across the layout before taking out a few trees and a house. The GP-9 still runs great, only a scratch or two to the paint.Lee F.
Not that I ever did anything like that, but a "friend" forgot that he had a Williams RF-16 Shark sitting on a hidden holding track when he switched from conventional mode to TMCC and put 18 volts on track... you can imagine the rest. The RF-16 catapulted from the tunnel, was badly gashed and its nose cracked and there wasn't too much left of the scenery (including a freight house) sitting on the outside of the 042 curve from the tunnel. A quick body swap with the undamaged dummy (engine, not operator) solved the problem.
Glad it didn't happen to "me".
I'm not going to give details, but...
My track is now several inches away from all table edges. And I no longer have raised track sections because I was finding the need to add guard rails...
Say hello to the "Flat Earth Piedmont Rail Road".
FROM EXPERIENCE: I have to agree with Frank53. Check the clearance between the outside rail and the benchwork table side AND the clearance between the individual track lines especially on the curves. Just to be sure you have allowed enough room, run the trains on the individual lines at the same time so that you can see just how close they actually come to each other. (You will be glad you did. Trust me)
I have to agree with traindaddy1 about clearances and want to mention that you may need more clearance than what is stated in some track layout manuals as these are general clearances, sometimes a quarter inch more is needed especially when running large steam or diesel engines. Check the overhang around curved sections as that is where most problems occur, example park a 70 foot Madison on a curve and try to pass by on the other track with an SD-70, sometimes it is the front end of a diesel or steam engine that is a problem.
Here's a good one or should I say a bad one . Do not lay your wrist down on the track while wearing a wristwatch, with spiedel metal band, with 20 vollts of TMCC juice going through it . You may get a little burn.
phillyreading wrote: I have to agree with traindaddy1 about clearances and want to mention that you may need more clearance than what is stated in some track layout manuals as these are general clearances, sometimes a quarter inch more is needed especially when running large steam or diesel engines. Check the overhang around curved sections as that is where most problems occur, example park a 70 foot Madison on a curve and try to pass by on the other track with an SD-70, sometimes it is the front end of a diesel or steam engine that is a problem.Lee F.
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