Slightly off the wall but here goes: Has anyone built a hill or other similar scenery as a view block for their power pack? I have designed and built buildings in order to block control items (Twins, selectors, etc.) but I have never built scenery for that purpose. I have also seen scenery done for hiding mirrors and such.
I am building a yard that will have its own power but there will not be a practical place on the framework to put the power pack. There will be corner where the track won't be where the pack can go but it still easily can be seen. (The control switches, however, can be attached on the framework.)
As usual, any help that can be provided would be most welcomed.
Are you running trains from the power pack, or do you have a walk-around throttle?
I use a walk-around throttle...
...and while the cord is long enough to reach pretty-well anywhere in the layout room, I have several fascia-mounted plug-in jacks, useful when I plan to be in a particular area for some time.The power pack, an MRC ControlMaster 20, is located under the layout, along with the circuit board which controls the walk-around throttle...
If you use the power pack to run trains, you'll want it somewhere where it's easy to use, so hiding it from view may not be the best idea.If you control the trains with a separate throttle, then you could hide it on the layout, but why not put it below, where it's out of normal sight, but still accessible. Use the spot on the layout which you were considering for the power pack to make an interesting scene not limited by the need to hide it, or, even better, how about another rail-served industry?
Wayne
The pack will be wired to the track through some Atlas electrical components. I am planning to put the pack in area of the bench work where there won't be track but the track still can be seen. Given I'm using my tablet, I can't post a diagram of the yard. (I cracked the screen on my laptop and it is a pain to work with it using my TV as an alternate monitor.)
Edit: Forgot to mention that the deck of the section is one of a pair of closet doors that I was "gifted" from Mom and Dad.
Helped a student with a project for school. Built a hollow mountain of stacked foam. When enough clearance to operate the controls, put a flat piece over the top and then finished shaping the mountain top on that.
You could run wires either in grooves in the foam or go down and under.
Good luck,
Richard
I managed to get stuff to cooperate enough to gety an image of the yard done. (The road is not in its final position. I just worked it in just for eyeballing purposes.)
Where I'm thinking of putting it is somewhere past the division between the pentagon section and the first rectangle but before the road. (Most likely the road will move and more closely follow the yard as it goes to the passenger track so there should be more room to play with.)
cowman Helped a student with a project for school. Built a hollow mountain of stacked foam. When enough clearance to operate the controls, put a flat piece over the top and then finished shaping the mountain top on that. You could run wires either in grooves in the foam or go down and under. Good luck, Richard
That's kind of the same idea that I was thinking along as well.