The steps I take are as follow, I tape down the track plan and then cut away half the track and remove it. I then glue half my track bed. Once dried I remove the other side of the track plan and glue the other side of the road bed, hope this makes sense.
I have a blog with photo's going here: http://hawkesholayout.blogspot.ca/
I'm new to this forum, I might start a thread here on my progress
Hey Hawkes, that makes perfect sense to me. You have quite a layout. Very nice!
I'm almost done with the trackbed. I have about an hour or so left. Then I can start the wiring. All the wires are hanging down under the table right now.
The trackbed was interesting. The more I did the easier it got and the nicer my trunouts came out. Soldering the track on the curves made it a lot easier to do the trackbed. I'm pretty sure I will solder all the track when I am done.
The more I look at this the more I want it to be reliable. I don't want to have to go looking for open circuits.
I built a really solid table and it paid off. I can walk on it and I have. It makes getting some initial stuff done easier. I'm going to add one more manhole to the layout when I'm finished with the track and the electrical.
Hopefully I'll have a picture or two to post in the not too distant future.
I finished laying all the track. The trackbed is all secure. Now I have to finish all the nailing. I did continuity tests with an ohm meter and all was fine. My insulated segments were all fine too.
More to come.
I am getting very proficient at soldering connectors on the end of turnout switch machines. I've got a regular routine going. Things continue to progress.
It's suprising how rapidly skills improve. I will never again solder all my rail. In fact I am a little bit nervous that some of my rail butts up tightly against the next piece of rail.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hey Henry - I resemble that remark. What I am finding as I go is that my skills are improving and the more they improve the more I enjoy using them. I'm guessing that could pass, but when I'm in the thick of it I want to continue. How this will all play out remains to be seen. I have completely accepted that I am crazy with all this. When I complete all the wiring I will pause and let it all sink in. Right now I'm obsessed. I hope to have a few pictures to post soon.
I drove through Texas when I was 18. I crossed the widest part. I thought it would never end. That's how I feel wiring my layout.
Brendan,
Brendan BuschiI thought it would never end. That's how I feel wiring my layout.
Just remember to take your time and test, test, test!
I remember someone on the forums recommending making up short circuit detector from a 9 volt battery, a buzzer, and two aligator clips with leads. Hook it up to the track you have already wired. As you add more connections the buzzer will sound if you have wired in a short.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Hey Dave, That's certainly good advice. I've tested every connection as I went along. I'm using red and black wires for my extrra power connections to the track and keeping the red wire on the outside rail.
I've tested all my switches too. I wired the Atlas Twin #210 yesterday for my reversing loops and tested that as well. I'm using one 210 to control the polarity on both of my loops.
I just ordered Atlas Snap Relays #200. I will use them to wire led indicators on my control panel.
There's a lot that goes into this. You have to make sure you have good connections and the correct polarity, but the logistics of how to run wire is equally important. I'm using DCS so I'm not running a simple bus for the power feeds and tapping off that. MTH recommends a star bus for the power feeds.
I'm using a mechanic's dolley to run around on my back under the table. That's been a great help. I also got myself a head visor with a magnifier and led light.
When I'm working on this I just get into it. I enjoy it. I'm wondering if there won't be a let down when I'm done with the structural and electrical part of the layout. Truth be told, I like making things.
Being a long time reader of MR magazine and of the model railroading culture, I belatedly noticed a glaring error in the title of this topic and suprised nobody caught it yet!
"Layout from start to finish"
A layout is never finished! Common guys, we are slacking!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Hey RioGrande, I'm new to all this but I totally understand and agree.
All the wiring for power to the tracks is done. All the switch wiring is done. Everything is fine. I have ordered Atlas Snap Relays for the switches and will be connecting leds to them to confirm switch position on my layout and my control panel.
Brendan Buschi When I'm working on this I just get into it. I enjoy it. I'm wondering if there won't be a let down when I'm done with the structural and electrical part of the layout. Truth be told, I like making things.
Hey Mel, I'm 70 now and doing pretty good. I get around under the table on a mechanics dolly. I wish I had younger eyes.
There is something to be said for taking a project to its completion and doing the best you can in the process.
I ran an older inexpensive Tyco locomotive on the track to test it and encountered a problem. A few times around the track and the Tyco fried. I had initially tested a single oval with the Tyco and had no problem. I am using Atlas Snap Track Code 83 track with Atlas turnouts.
When I had all the track in place including the turnouts I had the problem. I tested everything over and over with a multimeter and could not find a problem. Eventually I just tried running the new MTH diesel locomotive and it worked flawlessly.
I've tried figuring out what happened but I am new to all this and cannot be sure of anything. I believe from reading that the old Tyco had deeper wheel flanges and this may have been a problem when running over the turnouts. I'm not sure why, but that's the best I came up with.
Aging is definately not for wimps. It may not be for anyone. As far as I can tell everone eventually loses the battle.
I don't mind being mortal. I would have a big problem just vegetating though. Working on this is keeping me tuned up. I'm learning new things and taking on new challenges. It's also keeping me current with the grandchildren.
This is a nice hobby. It's both creative and constructive. It's also social. I like sharing information.
Brendan BuschiI don't mind being mortal. I would have a big problem just vegetating though. Working on this is keeping me tuned up. I'm learning new things and taking on new challenges.
I´ll be turning just 60 in a couple of months, but with two major heart attacks and a series of smaller strokes, life has imposed a certain challenge on me. My dexterity is not what it used to be and working on my layout is sometimes a rather painful experience.
Nevertheless, this hobby is a lifesaver for me. It keeps me going up instead of giving in. I am now starting on my most difficult layout project - a Z scale layout. Just to give you an idea of what I am in for - my "big" steam loco, a 2-10-0 Decapod, is the size of my little finger!
Brendan BuschiThis is a nice hobby. It's both creative and constructive. It's also social. I like sharing information.
Indeed it is! I am a member of this forum since 2009, a regular to that virtual cafe and diner over at "Jeffrey´s Trackside Diner" where we talk about our day. It´s the only place to talk off-topic, but still within the policy of this forum. I have found some great people there, who have become close friends over the years. Come in and join us!
Thanks for the invite Ulrich. I'll check it out. I didn't know it existed.
Good for you. How big will your new layout be?
Brendan - the question is how small.
It´ll be 2 by 2 ft. and looks like this:
HO scale is about 2.5 times bigger. This layout would occupy an area of about 25 sq.ft vs. the 4 sq.ft it has in Z scale!
Building the layout is not that difficult - the two key challenges are building the lift bridge and embedding the tiny track into the road.
I´d like to see some photos of your layout. In the "General Discussion" section of this forum is a a thread telling you what you have to do to upload pictures here.
Very nice Ulrich. I will be posting some photos very soon.
Well I have all my power connectors wired and I have excellent current all along the tracks. I have all the switches wired and they are working perfectly. My reversing loops are also working flawlessly.
So why am I sitting here in Limbo? It appears the U.S. Postal Service has lost my last order which was for Atlas Snap Relays that I plan on using for turnout position indicator lights and control panel switch position indicator lights.
Has anyone tried calling the U.S.P.S. lately? They are not much help. My local post office is of even less help and I would have thought that impossible.
I'm not sure exactly what to do. I called the retailer I purchased from and they are looking into it. I can't imagine they will have better results than I did. This was shipped 2 day Priority Mail and the post office tells me that they won't consider it lost until 30 business days have gone by. It was supposed to be here yesterday.
I will not be using the U.S.P.S. for any future orders. I can handle things going awry, what I can't handle is the indifference on their part and the level of difficulty you experience when you try to speak to a human being.
I sent 2 packages from MD to CA on the same day, priority mail. One got there in 3 days the other took 12.
If it gets sent to the Mail Recovery Center (Dead Letter Office) no one can contact them. Your local postmaster can fill out a form, but they won't look at it. I'll bet they all take home some neat stuff.
Brendan Buschi Hey RioGrande, I'm new to all this but I totally understand and agree.
No worries. It was tongue in cheek so to speak. I remember reading over the many years that a layout is never finished. It's been drilled into our heads. In my case, I may never finish a layout, but I'm going to try to get one at least semi scenicked and try to enjoy it before I have to move and tear it down and start over!
I've heard if something is lost that has insurance, it's pretty hard to collect it if the parcel goes missing - at least it takes you down a rabbit hole. Have you ever heard the saying "you can't fight city hall"? From what I've heard, thats the US Post Office - abandon hope all ye who need help from them. As long as it works well, it's great, but in the odd circumstance something is lost, then it may be like you say.
Better late than never!
Yeah, thats a good one. USPS black hole. Hope to gosh nothing ever gets sucked into that "time vortex". I can see it if the address is whacked, what can they do, but if it's good, it should get sent and land at the address.
Maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket today. I just got word from the U.S.P.S. that they found my package and its once more on its way to me. What were the odds?
Now I just have to figure out how I will configure the leds. I know how to wire them, but there are infinite possibilities on how to set them up as turnout indicators. The switch indicators on the control panel should be straight forward.
I have been looking for a socket that I could plug the 2 leads from the led into. That would have made things easier, but I haven't had any luck. I also looked to see if anybody made any ho scale turnout indicators that I could use on the layout and had no luck with that either.
So does everybody just design and fabricate their own turnout indicators?
Any advice?
The Snap Relays are all wired in and working. Now I have to wire leds to them.
I definately know how the leds should be wired - trouble is I can't seem to solder the leads of the leds to wire. I spent over an hour trying to put one led in place and couldn't do it.
After that I found pre-wired leds on line and ordered them. They have red and black leads coming off them and they even have a resistor soldered on.
Go figure.
Apparently there is a special flux used to solder aluminum to copper. Who knew?
LED leads are aluminum? I did not know and I don't recall any mention of it, in what I have read about adding led's to locos.
BigDaddy LED leads are aluminum? I did not know and I don't recall any mention of it, in what I have read about adding led's to locos.
I agree that the leads are not aluminium. I've soldered a lot of wires to LED leads and mounted LEDs into circuit boards and I haven't had to use anything other than common resin core solder.
Joe
Hey Henry and Joe - I'm guessing the leads were aluminum because the solder wouldn't stick. The leads were silver in color. The solder would not stick and I would end up getting a big glob of solder on them and them soldering a tinned copper wire to them. Even with that, the connection was brittle and the wire would just fall off. They may not have been aluminum, but they were definately not copper. I believe the flux I read about would have done the job.