Construction Begins Pics Inside

[SMassey]

OK guys construction started yesterday.  I have over half of the benchwork done now leaving mainly only the west yard left to construct.  Check out the pics and enjoy.  Here is the track plan I decided on going with:

 

Here i set up my cutting bench.


Here is the pile of scrap that is going to become the new layout.  This used to be parts of a 5x9 semi portable layout I built back in VA.


South end of the layout. 


North end.


West end. 




Here is the removable bridge.


Now many of you have been wondering how I was going to design the mounting and alignment system for the lift out section.  Well here ya go.
South mounting location




North mounting location




And last but not least I wired in the power for the layout.


I hope you all like it.  Stay tuned for updates later today.  My goal is to build the east yard and have the OSB on the top of the benchwork by the end of the day.

Massey

[BroadwayLion]

Nice bench work. LION has always used scrap lumber for his layout, but then LIONS are cheap. LION suggests you put the wires in before you put the top on. The LION used a 25 pair telephone cable with connection panels all around the layout. As the layout is built a control switch might be connected to say wire 7, and the corresponding turnout motor to the same pin on whatever panel is closest. LIONS do not like crawling under train tables! Of course track power requires 12 or 14 ga wire. Put that in ahead of time too!

Space under tables is used to store JUNK: It is not an OSHA approved work place.

[ClinchValleySD40]

Congratulations.   That is really exciting, to begin a layout.    Be sure to keep us updated (with pics please) on your progress.

[SMassey]

Well the pics will have to wait for the morning.  Camera batteries died and I was not able to get to a store to get more.  I didn't get as much done as I wanted but I did get good stuff done.  East side yard is framed.  and about 5 inches higher than the rest of the layout.  I also got a good start on building the equipment cabinet for all the DCC gear, a power manager, fan for the command station and there will be a light for easy viewing once I get the cabinet finished.  The cabinet will hang under the northern most part of the layout near the edge.  The power strip is where I am going to pull power for the cabinet at. (see pic above) 

 

Pics tomorrow I promise.

 

Massey

[richhotrain]

Great start.

Very nice bench work and the track plan seems totally workable.  What are the approximate dimensions of the layout surface?

Is that going to be a duckunder in the middle of the layout?

I love you setup with the saw.  I have a compound miter saw but it sits on the floor.  I need to equip it with a table as you have done.

Incidentally, these photos are perfect content for your new web site.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Rich

[SMassey]

Yes this is going to be website content prolly added this week depending on how things go with the new tab scripts I have to add to the mix.

 

Thanks for the comments and stay tuned for more additions.  I am leaving here in a few minutes to get my new batteries.

Massey

[SMassey]

Ok got the batteries and snapped a couple of pics of the new additions.  I just about finished the electronics cabinet but I will wait on new photos of that until it is finished.  Enjoy and hopefully tomorrow I can get  some real progress done before I go to work!

 

 

A view of the shelf that is going to store the lift out section when not in use.

Here is the layout of the gear for the control cabinet.  It is a Digitrax DB100, a fan to keep it cool (I have had overheating problems before and this little fan solves the problems easy.  A power strip for the equipment, a PM42 set up with 3 power districts and one reversing section, a terminal strip for the output to the rails. and the power supply for the DB100.  This will have a top to it that will also have a small light to assist me in any maintenance I may need to do.

 

I hope you all like and enjoy.

Massey

[Colorado_Mac]

Coming along nicely.  Very smart to think about all the electronics before-hand. 

[SMassey]

OK after I got off work I pulled out the saw and cut up some more wood to almost finish up the bench work.  Just a couple more little things until the bench work is done.  Here are a couple of pics I took just as I finished up tonight's work.  I hope you enjoy.















Massey

[Doughless]

Coming along nicely!  Neat benchwork and electricals says quality.

I can see why you wanted the larger removal section, with the desk and chair and needing access to other items.   It looks like you even have room to add small triangles in the corners if you want  them.  BTW, review your trackplan to see if you can remove some of the S curves in the NW area.  Doing so shouldn't change any overall dimension.

[Aikidomaster]

Congratulations, the benchwork looks great!!

[SMassey]

Well I didnt get as much as I wanted done but I did get some track laid and so far so good.  I found that I need more right hand #4 turnouts that I own so it will be off to the hobby store for me soon.  I have enough left hands but not rights.  I also made a slight modification to the west end of the tracks to prevent the mainline from going through the switch, now to get to the station you go through the switch and also the spur to the station was removed due to lack of space.  I think this flows much better now.  You can see the change in the pics.  Well enjoy the pics and I will work on posting more tomorrow.





Massey

[SMassey]

Well I got the mainline laid down and my test cars run the loop with no issues and I can push them through the switches and corners at high speed with no derailments.  :)  I ran out of cork roadbed so it is off to the train store tomorrow to buy some more so I can finish up.  As you can also see I got the ramp for the yard mounted and it turned out to be about a 2.5% grade.  That should not be any problem for any of my engines to climb with 5 or 6 cars.  Most of the grade is going to be hidden in a tunnel and the bridge is going to prolly be a concrete arch bridge similar to what I made before.  Well Enjoy the pics and as always comments and questions are welcome.

In the last pic you can really see the changes I made to the track plan.  Looks like it is all for the better.

Massey

[SMassey]

Big day for my layout.  I finished wiring the mainline and I was able to run a train under its own power.  Right now I have the main line on one district, the removable section on another and when the removable section is not plugged into the layout the train will stop well before the drop off.  I will try to post some video tomorrow.







Massey

[SMassey]

OK I got all the track laid now and for the most part everything is great... almost.

I miscalculated one little part of the layout and now I need to revisit it to fix a too sharp curve. I had to go to bed before I could make the changes but I think that the changes I am going to make will allow for an 18" curve and all will be happy in South Massey. For the bridge I kitbashed an Altlas steel bridge kit and it fits great, I am happy with the outcome. and I also dug up my structures kits and stuff from storage. I forgot all the cool stuff I have and I have been working on getting an idea of were everything is going to be placed. The large station building is going back in storage and I am going to use a smaller station that I think fits the area better, I made changes to the corner between the station area and the town area and now they are more like one scene rather than seperate scenes. I do have pics of all this I promise I just didnt have time to process them and post them yesterday.

I tested a GP38-2 on the incline with 7 cars in tow and it made the almost 5% climb with no slippage and only a little stress. I will not be making the climb with more than 4 or 5 cars at a time when operations start so this should be just fine. The GP can make the 13" radii at the end of the bridge and most of the cars can also handle the curve but I have a flat that cant, and I know the 6 axle engines will be having problems too. This is another reason for the radii change.

When I get around to painting them I am going to have a couple of engines for the SMRY. A SD45, 2 GP35s and a NW2 are all planned for the railroad. That will be on top of the couple of engines that will be leased from BNSF, CSX and of course NS. I am hoping to add a KCS SD70ACe to my collection here soon too.

Well enough of an update I will post some pics when I get off work today and you can see what I am talking about in this post.

Massey

[SMassey]

I finally finished the track work of my layout today. I laid the golden spike today after work at about 3:15 and I finished wiring the feeders at about 3:25. I have some more minor wiring to do but everything works great, I trip the breaker anywhere on the layout and all is well. I didnt get around to getting any pics but dont worry they are on the way. I had modify the bridge again and the 2 pieces I kitbashed had to come off. maybe next time I can use them. I will soon start on the scenery and finish up with installing the UP5 panels and the switch for the programing track.

Massey

[SMassey]

OK got the pics off the camera.  Now you can see my progress rather than just reading about it.

Here is my To-Do list and I hope soon is becomes a to-done list.



Here is the yard









Here is a couple of the engines in my fleet.






Now the bridge that I kitbashed only to remove the parts that I kitbashed.  I had to change it back in order to make it all work in the yard.


And the shorter version


Now for some of the buildings and stuff on the layout.  I am not sure of the exact layout of each building yet but this is the general idea.  I also have Merchant's row 2 to throw in the mix.




Here is my barrel factory




Here is the lumber yard that is gonna supply the wood for the barrels and other places.  The area behind the building will be thick woods and the tracks will be hidden in a tunnel.



And now the rest, a little of the yard with trains in it and a couple of the engine terminal.




The near track of the engine terminal is also my programming track.




Massey

[fondo]

great job! keep posting your updates

[SMassey]

OK guys sorry I have not posted an update in a while  I have been busy.  There has been quite a few changes to the layout since last I posted so I will give the quick review

I changed the trackwork around the city area to give me 2 more industries and a little bit of a switching challenge.

Here is one of the industries going in the new area. (roof is not glued on yet so I can detail the interior)

I finished a few kits.

Lumber yard

Merchant's Row II

 

And the biggest change I have made is I built a staging yard under my yard.  I used the old yard as the base and lowered it down to the level of the wye.  I tied the leg of the wye into the staging and now I can turn entire trains, not just engines.

 

And last but not least I now have a desk for my dispatcher/yardmaster

 

I hope you all enjoy.

Massey

[jjbmish]

Very nice.  Always fun to watch a new layout take shape.