Hi,
As some of you know I've been busy building a train room. Due to my senile neighbour cutting the telephone wire twice in the last two weeks I've had a lot of time to build the bench work after finishing(97% finished) the house and putting in a carpet last Saturday.
So I've been busy trying out different ways of putting up the bench work. The peninsula is the most complicated part but I've been able to build somehing that seems to hold up. Tomorrow I will start installing the easy spline which I need to go further. I haven't been able to do so since they where out of spring clamps when I was going to buy them.
I've also made some trial trees, thanks Craig!
Without further adieu:
Magnus
loathar wrote:Looks big! How many levels are you doing?
I'm building three levels plus a staging yard under the peninsula. The room is 4*8 meters.
Lillen wrote:Without further adieu:Magnus
A freudian slip? "Without further goodbyes"? I with my wierd sense of humor thought it was pretty funny. Then I realized that it might be a minor language issue. I must therefore humbly apologize for my mirth and suggest the alternate word "ado".
BTW: LOOKING GREAT!
That's going to be a nice layout if you can keep the neighbor from the under table wiring LOL.
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
Lillen wrote:As some of you know I've been busy building a train room. Due to my senile neighbour cutting the telephone wire twice in the last two weeks I've had a lot of time to build the bench work after finishing(97% finished) the house and putting in a carpet last Saturday.
Just curious - how does your neighbour keep cutting the wire ? Does he just roam around with a pair of cutting pliers looking for "unneeded" wires, or what ?
Btw - your benchwork (and trees) looks very nice!
Smile, Stein
Lillen wrote:Hi, Due to my senile neighbour cutting the telephone wire twice in the last two weeks I've had a lot of time to build the bench work after finishing(97% finished) the house and putting in a carpet last Saturday.
Due to my senile neighbour cutting the telephone wire twice in the last two weeks I've had a lot of time to build the bench work after finishing(97% finished) the house and putting in a carpet last Saturday.
Perhaps a bit of steel conduit would help?
- Harry
steinjr wrote: Just curious - how does your neighbour keep cutting the wire ? Does he just roam around with a pair of cutting pliers looking for "unneeded" wires, or what ? Btw - your benchwork (and trees) looks very nice! Smile, Stein
He is very old, 89 years old and is out cutting down trees. So he is quite OK physically. Well, when he saw the wire he cut it of so that he wouldn't fall on it. Then after a week I got it repaired, he cut it again for the same reason. The reason it was on the ground was because the telephone company had put it there at his request so that he could take down the trees. He didn't know it went anywhere?! He is a nice guy, just days before he allowed me to take down some pines(tall high lumber quality ones worth many 1000's of dollars) and some other trees on his property, so he is a nice guy. I don't blame him for being old.
Thanks for the kind words. Here are some more pics:
I'm now starting on the Helix. A massive undertaking! 10 turns on a 2,15 meters diameter.
Here is another update. First tier on the Helix is done and the first level to level transition have been made.
Are you doing this in a garage? a shed? what? it seems like a nice room to get a layout in :)
great start!
Mike
sfrr wrote: Are you doing this in a garage? a shed? what? it seems like a nice room to get a layout in :) great start! Mike
I'm doing it in my old woodshed. I totally tore it out and left just the logs that holds the structure together(they can be seen in the photos). The rest is brand new. I still got some "cosmetic" things to do but it's almost done. Took me some 6 weeks to take the old crap down and out the new room up. I'm very happy with it and my wife seems to be content that I've taken my crap to a designated area instead of making trees in the living room!
It's almost impossible to believe it's the same room that I started with.
Wow, thats awesome, looks great! keep it up!
sfrr wrote: Wow, thats awesome, looks great! keep it up! Mike
Thank you very much.
Magnus: Looks great! How do you like the spline roadbed you're making and how does it have an advantage over just cutting sections out of plywood? I've always been curious about that -and it seems like a tedious process. I don't think I'de have the patience for it but just wondering. Also will you be modeling a European prototype or North American?
Keep up the great work and will be looking forward to more pics!
Matt
salt water cowboy wrote: Magnus: Looks great! How do you like the spline roadbed you're making and how does it have an advantage over just cutting sections out of plywood? I've always been curious about that -and it seems like a tedious process. I don't think I'de have the patience for it but just wondering. Also will you be modeling a European prototype or North American?Keep up the great work and will be looking forward to more pics!Matt
Thanks for the encouraging words. Great that someone seems to have an interest in what I do! So that I don't have to feel like no one is watching my hard labour!
About the spline. I think it's real easy. I make all five strips at once since my splines aren't perfectly cut. The small variations are more easily handled I feel when I do all at once. In comparison to cutting sheets to good pieces I think this method is superb. No waste what so ever almost. I'm doing the helix as well with spline and that works real great. One of the best things in my mind is the natural easements. Both vertical and on curves. Since it doesn't bend very easy when they are all put together they form very nice and smooth curves. It's thickness is also great since it doesn't sag when unsupported for quite a distance.
I use a wood rasp to even bumps out. I'm then planning to use a belt sander at the end and make the entire roadbed super smooth. It's neither hard or time consuming in my mind. I do the splines as I finish the benchwork. This gives me time to do a good work on the benchwork and still make a lot of progress. I've done two sections a day lately so that creates about 16 feet of roadbed a day. Not bad. I ordered my track yesterday and when that arrives in about two weeks I will be done with the roadbed.
I don't think it's as messy as some people have said neither. I use a drop cloth but so far their is just ONE drop of glue on it, nothing more. I highly recommend it. It's cheap to. The glue costs almost as much as the splines.
I'm modelling a US railroad. I'm still a bit undecided. I think I will end up with a weird mix that meets my goals. I love the B&O but I also love the UP and some of the nice name trains that you guys had. So the name trains will make visits on the layout and the B&O will be the mainstay operator. But a little UP presence never hurt either.
The landscape I'm modelling will be a more northwest then anything else. The reason is that I will modell where I live so that I can make it into a believable landscape. But to do that I need to see it. But where I live resembles the north west so I will use that as a base.
I do have some Swedish rolling stock but they won't be used regularly. They are modern while my American stuff is transition era.
I'll be posting some more pics later today.
Very neat and interesting ideas! I'm a fan of the NYC but always have had an affinity for the B&O as well...Here's 2 of the many pics taken at the B&O museum in Baltimore, MD. last year. The enclosed rounhouse is extremely impressive. Hope you like them and not taking over your thread!
salt water cowboy wrote: Matt
Thanks for the pics. I liked them. Is that a GP7 in that picture? Anyone knows where a B&O GP7 would be available in that paint scheme?
That roundhouse sure is a beauty. Sometime I will have to go there.
You are correct my friend. GP7 indeed. I believe P2K had or has a B&O GP7 but don't remember the paint scheme.
How low is that ceiling ? I dont think I could stand up straight in their.
Have fun with your trains
vsmith wrote:How low is that ceiling ? I dont think I could stand up straight in their.
Judging from this picture:
and assuming that the girl is probably about 6-12 years old and probably somewhere around 3 1/2 feet (100-120 centimeters) tall, I'd guestimate that ceiling height in Magnus' layout room is probably around 7 feet.
BTW, Magnus - excellent progress! I'm already looking forward to new pictures all summer!
Grin, Stein
vsmith wrote: How low is that ceiling ? I dont think I could stand up straight in their.
Oh my GOD, your a giant!!!!!!!
The room height is between 220-240 cm. Except at the back end where the Helix and workshop is. There it's much lower. But still begins a 2 meters and then drops down towards the walls. How tall are you!
I'm 186 cm so this height is pretty good for me.
The pictures so far have all been at the top deck(maybe I should have made that clear!). The top deck bottom is at 160 cm.
salt water cowboy wrote: You are correct my friend. GP7 indeed. I believe P2K had or has a B&O GP7 but don't remember the paint scheme.Matt
It's in the B&O/Chessie paint. I hope that any future runs will have the "real" B&O paint.
steinjr wrote: vsmith wrote: How low is that ceiling ? I dont think I could stand up straight in their. Judging from this picture: and assuming that the girl is probably about 6-12 years old and probably somewhere around 3 1/2 feet (100-120 centimeters) tall, I'd guestimate that ceiling height in Magnus' layout room is probably around 7 feet. BTW, Magnus - excellent progress! I'm already looking forward to new pictures all summer! Grin, Stein
A pretty good guess. My daughter is six years old and about 120 cm tall. But she is standing on a chair which makes her almost able to watch the top floor.
I will be keeping you guys updated. I'm glad that some people are interested.
Here are todays pictures. I spent alot of time today figuring out exactly where the roundhouse and turntable will be situated. I had a few ideas and I had to try them out with the real thing. Anyways, here are some more pics:
This is what it looks like when entering. Perhaps this gives a better idea of how the two levels that will be scenicked looks like:
This is at the lower of the two levels:
And this is of the one over that:
Lillen wrote: salt water cowboy wrote: Magnus: Looks great! How do you like the spline roadbed you're making and how does it have an advantage over just cutting sections out of plywood? I've always been curious about that -and it seems like a tedious process. I don't think I'de have the patience for it but just wondering. Also will you be modeling a European prototype or North American?Keep up the great work and will be looking forward to more pics!Matt Thanks for the encouraging words. Great that someone seems to have an interest in what I do! So that I don't have to feel like no one is watching my hard labour! About the spline. I think it's real easy. I make all five strips at once since my splines aren't perfectly cut. The small variations are more easily handled I feel when I do all at once. In comparison to cutting sheets to good pieces I think this method is superb. No waste what so ever almost. I'm doing the helix as well with spline and that works real great. One of the best things in my mind is the natural easements. Both vertical and on curves. Since it doesn't bend very easy when they are all put together they form very nice and smooth curves. It's thickness is also great since it doesn't sag when unsupported for quite a distance. I use a wood rasp to even bumps out. I'm then planning to use a belt sander at the end and make the entire roadbed super smooth. It's neither hard or time consuming in my mind. I do the splines as I finish the benchwork. This gives me time to do a good work on the benchwork and still make a lot of progress. I've done two sections a day lately so that creates about 16 feet of roadbed a day. Not bad. I ordered my track yesterday and when that arrives in about two weeks I will be done with the roadbed. I don't think it's as messy as some people have said neither. I use a drop cloth but so far their is just ONE drop of glue on it, nothing more. I highly recommend it. It's cheap to. The glue costs almost as much as the splines.
Having had a chance to work both Spline and Cookie Cutter methods, I'd say the benefits of spine far outweigh cookie cutter. With spline you don't have to spend extra time planning cuts to maximize the yield vs. waste of a sheet of plywood. Just set up the fence on a table saw to the thickness of your roadbed and cut the whole sheet. Little waste, especially with a helix. No more useless crescent shapes. Use the waste product (sawdust) for chip car loads or scenery material. It's easy to add extra width to your roadbed if you have an area that is too narrow. Just glue and clamp a few more strips on the side.
Lillen wrote: But a little UP presence never hurt either.
Hmmmm. I'm sure a few MP, WP, MKT, CNW, D&RGW, SSW and SP fans may have said that at one time too, only to deeply regret it later on. LOL
WE WILL DELIVERvour
GOOD WORK!
WP 3020 wrote: Having had a chance to work both Spline and Cookie Cutter methods, I'd say the benefits of spine far outweigh cookie cutter. With spline you don't have to spend extra time planning cuts to maximize the yield vs. waste of a sheet of plywood. Just set up the fence on a table saw to the thickness of your roadbed and cut the whole sheet. Little waste, especially with a helix. No more useless crescent shapes. Use the waste product (sawdust) for chip car loads or scenery material. It's easy to add extra width to your roadbed if you have an area that is too narrow. Just glue and clamp a few more strips on the side.
I agree whole heartily. Especially the Helix. You can't get many perfect size cuts out of a sheet of plywood when you are dealing with 215 cm diameter helix. The spline is so great!
I will never ever use any other method.
Thanks to Joe Fugate and his videos for showing me the method. I wouldn't have known about it otherwise.
Not much done today. But me and my daughter built this. First of four.
Well today I installed my 130' Walther turntable, what a beauty.
Been busy the last two days, painted a backdrop, my first ever. Installed some lights today, made the cardboard mountains and finished the track in the first part of the helix. So a pretty good two days work if you ask me.
Here are some pics.
This is a big layout and requires very hard work. Hours and hours of dedication but the satisfaction in the end of the work is a very best sensation that a railroader may feel.Votes of victory in the your journey in the railroad land.Good Luck!
Diego Murray