Meadow's Lumber - HO Refurbish & ReNewal

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Started this thread on another forum, but I'd like to share this work here, especially to tap the amazing minds here for suggestions and advice.

Back in May, a man contacted me through our shared Local Hobby Shop:  He had a 3'x16' HO layout that was half done.  He also had grandsons who are 7- and 8-years old and who really wanted to run trains with Grandpa.

The challenge was that, ever since being diagnosed with cancer a year ago, between the chemo and the medication he just didn't have the energy to continue work on the layout.  So he needed a strapping young man with the muscles and know-how to get the layout done and running well.

But he got me.

A life-long N scaler, and one who spend the past year immersed in the fantastic world of Free-moN, I present this thread as a both a record of my progress as well as a call for comments and criticism as I revise, redo, refurbish, expand and hopefully finish this HO layout set in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the 1920's / 1930's.

Here's the layout as I found it:



So follow along, if you will, and feel free to comment and suggest any technique or experience that will help out!
And hopefully some geared steam will be sounding through the mountain passes soon!

Well, after I cleaned everything up, this is what he'd gotten done up to now:



About 1/2 done. PECO C83 track, DC (the controller in the drawer that's open under the layout).

The layout is in a large garage / office building on the property, and shares the space with a 1925 Ford truck (one original owner) that's getting rebuilt.
Air conditioned and in California, so no humidity to deal with.

The client realizes that 3' is a very tight space for HO (and the one turnback curve doesn't accomodate some of the brass geared steam he wants to run) and so he wants to expand on both sides to create a point-to-point with a continuous-run option / drop in.

So Phase 1 (tentatively):



And Phase 2 (conceptually):



The large peninsula will be a larger town, like in the Sierra Nevada foothills, with a logging site high above it on the far left side.

Any / all industries are decided by the client: he had a modeler building craftsman kits that some of which are already present but some will show up down the line, so part of the challenge is to allow for enough room for future structures with vague dimensions.

Eventually, all this space will be fabulous geared steam layout:



(That table at the bottom is where the large "Phase Two" peninsula will be).

[cont.]

[mcfunkeymonkey]

The client had already finished half the 3'x16' layout, to a high degree of scenic detail:



Track ballasted & wired, landscaping, greenery, and trees installed, craftsman wood mill and trestle detailed and planted, etc.

And he wanted (understandably) to keep as much of the earlier work as possible.

The challenge is that much of the track was uneven, and then permanently set that way in a scenery goop of sand, white glue, and cement.

So rock solid that a 170 lbs. dude can stand on it:



[Yes, that's an SF Giant's shirt I'm wearing.  Love the Giants.  Love the A's, too.  Lived in both SF and Oakland.  Always rooting for the home teams Especially when they're both playing quality ball]

Which is good, considering that the track that needs replacing is back in the corner, and the only way to access it is standing on it:



Of course, given the wooden mill, log dump, road bridge and trestle, there's only one place where my size 9 1/2 Chuck Taylor can plant itself.

So chiseling out all that rockwork & track in the back becomes a sick and twisted game of John Henry Twister.

Here's the close-up of the back corner (a "before"):



All of that is rock, rock solid and tight, tight trackwork that had uneven warpage that needs to (and is being) replaced.

There is no saving any of this track: pounding away with a chisel destroys everything, including the spongy WS risers underneath.  So a new sub-roadbed will be needed to get slipped in as well.  So the trick is to chisel away, but not too much, and leave something hard to attach new roadbed / track in the future.  All while contorted over the delicate structures. 
Woot!

[no, can't soak it all out as that would disintegrate most of the other scenery (the stuff he wants to keep) and chipping away carefully actually keeps more control and leaves enough stuff to build upon later]

The tunnel will eventually be the route to the logging site of "Phase 2".

As far as the layout design goes, I'm actually (GASP!) winging it a bit.
Phase 1 will include a small mountain town, turntable and small yard for the mine, wood and quarry cars coming in and out.

Phase 2 will be a larger interchange with a mainline route (like some towns along the bottom of the foothills that dropped off cars to the SP, SF, WP or all of the above).

However, there will be a drop-in section that connection the two peninsulas for a basic continuous run for dummy-running / showing off during wine tastings / parties.

It took me awhile to get back in the groove, so I'm blogging about a month's worth of work right now.

So first I had to start CHISELING away the sand and cement and old track:



Which exposed some ragged and erratically shimmed WS risers.
(Notice I also cut away the existing truss bridge: need the space)

To even things out, I slipped some styrene between the WS risers and the cork roadbed and caulked it in place:



I cut the track all the way back to the first turnout, and I might have to exhume some of the other existing trackwork, but I'd like to see if trains run as is first.

Meanwhile, on the "new" end, I started laying out the Pink Foam: as the existing trackwork ended at 4" WS risers, it matched up pretty well with two layers of 2" Pink Foam.

The undersupports (no use using a whole sheet of foam under when not carving down):



This shot shows the two layers of foam in the original benchwork, as well as the Phase 1 expansion benchwork:



I used a 16"x48" L-girder framework that I had hanging around in my garage at home for the parallel peninsula and then built a box to connect the two. I used bolts because while this isn't a portable layout, at some point it will make it easier to take apart.

He used WS risers and plaster cloth for the first part, but I'm using Pink Foam and spackle for the new part, so we'll see how it meshes.

[cont.]

[mcfunkeymonkey]

So I chiseled out most of the track and rockwork along the back elevated shelf:



Also built a control panel for the left side of the original layout: a paper diagram between two sections of plexiglass with holes drilled through for the momentary toggles.
(That was version two: the first I ripped apart by using a normal bit to drill the toggle holes.  A special bit from TAP Plastics made all the difference, even without a drill press)

Haven't quite figured out how to mount it on the fascia: debating magnets or angled moulding or both to allow access behind for wiring. 

All suggestions appreciated.

The rock-blasting (which ripped off most of the skin on my hands) continued while the Pink Foam was being caulked and cured on the extension:



Notice the truss bridge is now a nice part of the branch line that disappears to the mine scene on the other side of the peninsula:



The mine will actually be an Inglenook and a worthwhile trip to "the other side"--plus it "expands" the layout exponentially (by having operators move around to another scene) without increasing the benchwork.

My client had built the truss about 20 years ago, and so I had to rip out the track & stringers and rebuild it:



Easy 30 minute build with C83 ME bridge track, stripwood, C55 guardrails, and Grandt Line NBW details (above is pre-painted) that allowed his original truss to remain but the rails to run smooth throughout.

[cont.]

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Thank goodness I didn't go to the gym the two mornings I shaped the foam: by the end of the day I was so soaked in sweat I could have been an extra in Gladiator.





Had the vacuum going the whole time as well.
Usually have the garage doors open to get a nice cross breeze through the space, but when forming foam the pink goes EVERYWHERE anyway so less wind the better.

After carving with knife and forming tool, and then sanding, I spread the spackle here and there to mask the 2" lines. 
(Given the size of the project, I went ahead and got a big bucket of the spackle stuff).

Gave a quick painting of tan latex on the foam, and then laid some new track on the upper back level:



Extended the passing siding, as that's the main managing point for the mine.
The turnout control wires had already been installed (and embedded in the concrete), so I just wired up the Peco snap controls to those (will be on the right-side control panel).

Also stained and installed (with caulk and Mr.T-Pins) the cribbing for the truss bridge:



I like to get the landforms shaped, plastered and painted before installing track (especially since you can't spray-bomb track on foam unless it's painted first or it'll melt).

[cont.]

[mcfunkeymonkey]

After laying down the foam, and forming it, and then after playing around with the Peco C83 turnouts and track, it became apparent that a wee bit more space was needed on the Phase 1 peninsula for the yard tracks, mainline curve, and town buildings (he's got a LOT of small "woodsy" structures that he wants to fit in, which will look really good, an almost N-scale scenery to track ratio) (and that's a complement )

So I built a 2'x2' box with legs and strut supports and bolted it on (on the right with the bucket o' metal bits and other weights pressing down to set the foam):



Soon there'll be 1/4" MDF fascia wrapping around it all and painted to blend in to everything else.

Got an order of PECO turnouts in a couple days ago, so I was able to start laying out the quarry and the approach to the town:



The ends of the turnouts are not symmetrically flush, so it was a little surprise and chore to file the ends and solder the turnout straight. 
The Peco turnout machines are awesome and easy to install: snap! 
Though a little noisy in operation.

For the quarry tracks I hacked out a bunch o' ties and gave it that "helter skelter" look:



Don't worry: it's all about layers.
Layers of spackle and dirt and sand and gravel and grout and it'll look like a decent quarry, with the right track the steam shovel and empties-in line and the left track the loading and loads-out line.

One of the cool things about HO is not having to worry so much about scaling down the dirt!

I do still worry about crap falling down into the switch machines, so I lined the holes with masking tape to help prevent stray stones sticking up the works:



I darkened the ground under the points with a black marker so I won't have to worry about laying down heavy ballast (which, here, will most likely be cinders and/or dirt). 
After laying all the track, then stuffing up the holes, then painting the track, I think it'll look okie dokie. 
But any suggestions are, of course, appreciated.

Alrighty. That's where I am at this point. (My daughter "graduated" from 5th grade so I didn't make it out to his layout today).

Have already built a shelf and installed the NCE DCC system (PowerCab and Smartbooster), so with more track getting laid down this next week and a PSX coming in for the reverse section, we should have trains running soon!

[cont.]

[mcfunkeymonkey]

I am enjoying learning about building a layout in Horrible Oversized scale

I find trackwork actually more difficult: while most N scale track stays flat and even over almost any kind of surface, HO track seems to cant a bit, even on flat foam surface. Guess it's exponential

Case in point:



This section of PECO C83 tucked in with some ME Bridge C83 would seem like a smooth section of track. (Especially when all joints are soldered and all sections feeder-dropped)
Yet the brass geared steam seem to take exception and start to stall in fits & starts up the grade.
I'll get to the running issues later.

Here's the new grade up from the existing layout to the new section:



Seems smooth enough, but... hmmm.

Got the backside mine branch laid down:



The mine tipple (which I'll probably build) will come out from the foam shelf over the near track and have a shute for the middle track. The outer track will be the team / supply track for the shed at the end of it (which is why it's short).

On the other side, the quarry tracks are in, as well as the tracks all the way around to the Company Town.
But here's the beginning of the trestle and freighthouse/team track scene:



(Remember that the structures are made by a dude in the MidWest [which I've heard exists somewhere East of Mt. Diablo ] and I'm just building the benchwork and installing the track & some scenery)

[cont.]

[mcfunkeymonkey]

For the large mess-o'-turnouts for the Company Town on the extension, I soldered them all together and then slapped on some feeders before planting:



Notice that I'm using Peco Insulfrog turnouts.
Given the finicky nature of the brass geared steam, I'm thinking we should have gone with Electrofrogs, but there it is.

Here's the whole fixture:



Channels in foam for some switch machine wires, holes poked in foam into channel near baseboard for others (turnout control panel will be immediately before it).
Painted foam with latex mistint brown first for when I spray-bomb track.
Black squares on surface are permanent marker under points to indicate where caulk doesn't go and to help out with less ballasting in that area.

Here's the overview of the area:



Originally I had another curved turnout between the two runaround turnouts, but it just worked out better to have the #6. 
HO is so large it really allows for more movement between couplers and locos and rolling stock, so that diverging route works fine (remember that the geared steam runs at about 5 mph ).

After trying out some of the Client's geared steam, we found it started & stopped a lot, especially on turnouts.
Perhaps because the installer didn't put in a capacitor to glide it over slight soiled spots?
Or maybe a slight cant of the track throws off the brass trucks?

Hmm... Am learning.

But I did realize that Peco cuts some channels in their plastic ties so I installed a bunch o' feeders to ensure good conductivity rather than relying on the bump-&-grind of the points:



And doing that to the 20-something turnouts, and installing some more track, took most of the afternoon.
And here's a brief video of yesterday's first trial run:

FoLKqAXXAKQ

With all the starts and stops edited out

Just picked up about 5 more geared steam locos from the LHS that the client had custom tweaked with DCC & sound, so we'll see how they run on Monday.

The client thought that, to get the look of the wobbly mountainous lumber trackage he actually had to lay the track wobbly.

It's laid on WS white styrofoam risers (partially melted over time) with an eclectic assortment of cheap styrofoam shims and cork that was hot glued (thus melting the risers below it).  Many short bits of track soldered helter-skelter together with much cant here and there.



Really would like to take the HO equivalent of the N-scale Kato NW2 (which can run over any type of trackwork or even a scale cow) to see if any loco can make it over that track.  But it really might be a moot issue.

The brass geared steam is having such trouble over my smooth trackwork that I'm probably going to have to rip up and re-do all of his original trackwork.

And if the HO brass geared steam is that finicky, then I might have to rip up and relay everything flat and nice. Unless there's some way the installer can fit a capacitor in there somewhere (A "Keep Alive" is way too big for the brass locos)

I'm a bit confused, as installing a sound decoder in an N-scale steamer doesn't take up that much space and a capacitor is de rigueur (normal) to insure no starts & stops.  Even if there's no space inside the loco, you can't hide a capacitor on the side as a pump?

The main concern: what's the point in redoing the track to 98% Nice if the locos are going to stall over it unless it's 110% nice? I can keep ripping up track and relaying it, but if the locos are going to stall at each butterfly-wing-beat...? I'll talk to the dude who installed the decoders, replaced the motors and installed pickups, but this just seems a lot of issues for a big scale where the weight and length of wheelbase should insure proper pickup 24/7/365.

Or am I missing something?

Physics?

Taller the loco the more "sway"?
Or?

I tried his Bachmann Shay and it stuttered, too: had to place my finger on the aux tender to get movement.
The track is way clean and pretty smooth (way more smooth than most of our N scale stuff). This section is nary a bump when I run my fingers over it:



Do I need to tweak the SuperBooster to smooth out the signal?
(How?)
(the "Ohm" reader shows some "fuzz" then the busses are hooked up to the booster, while no fuzz when bus wires detached from booster)

Or is it just the Brass geared steam? 
And if the trackwork isn't flat and perfect then it won't work? (And if that's the case, I'm going to stop right now and redo the whole layout as a flat no-turnout design)
He needs super-reliability to run trains with grandkids. And the trains he has are brass DCC sound beauties.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Just to clear some things up:

--the brass geared steam had very little run time before getting shipped off to a master brass dcc installer

--most of the brass geared steam have had dcc / sound decoders installed, as well brass wire wipers on all the wheels to improve pickup

--all locos passed the installer's "test track" for performance

--all video & loco test have been on the track that I have installed over the last couple weeks (the client's original track is more "lumber company authentic" and will probably have to be re-laid for finicky locos)

--I've installed a NCE Powercab and SmartBooster system (I use NCE at home): using the Ohm reading on the multimeter, there is no shorting or "bleeding" on the track.  However, when the bus wires are plugged into the Smartbooster, there is a slight "bleed" (jump on the dial).  While I'm "electronically challenged", it seems to me as if there shouldn't be any electronic "seepage" even within a small box.  So, if this is an indication of something fuzzy within the SmartBooster and causing the twitchiness I can send it back.

--while this is my first time laying HO track since my dad and I built the first Christmas train table 28 years ago, I have tried to be as careful as possible, especially at joints.  Given some of the grades and less-than-firm original foundation, there is a slight "y- & z-axis" drift.
But as different locos seem to stall at different points and in different locations (and there's plenty more surface area than the N-scale locos I've gotten to run fine), it seems it might be within the brass locos themselves?

Anyway, so today I finished relaying the climb from lower to upper levels:



[much smoother and locos travel quite well up & down]

The upper section will be on a DCC Specialities OnGuard!-AR, as there's a turnback curve at the end of the current section.  Could have just AR'ed that center grade section, but thought I'd use the breaker feature for the whole top as well.

Got some more switch machines, so finished laying the engine service tracks:



Was originally going to use a #5 straight in between the curved and the last wye, but worked out 2 wyes fit better, and that widdle s-curve doesn't matter as it's only light locos that will be coming through.

So here's the Company Town area:



[with a view of the 1925 Ford Truck behind the layout]

And from the other side:



The long curved track is the main that will end at the end of the peninsula (and will have a drop in / lift out section to connect it for continuous running to the peninsula of Phase II).

The shorter two curved tracks are the freight yard (5-6 cars each). The two straight tracks will be the engine service into a shed (A Sierra West Scale Model's Logging Camp Loco and Service Shops: anyone know the track spacing between sheds?  Otherwise I'll email the dude who's building it for the client). The last track off the wye to the far corner will be a gallows turntable that I'll scratch sometime soon. It'll be 8", same as the one I scratched for my Effett Yard Free-moN module

Still be lots of space for buildings, trees, an industry on the inside, etc. No crowding, I hope. But after "living" in N scale for the past 3 years, scenic depth perception is a bit of a trip in HO. You really do have to leave a lot of space.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

All locos have wipers on all wheels for pickup (though a quick inspection between "playing" with the locos showed that maybe some of the wipers had already worked away from the wheels).

I believe all the decoders are Tsunami's, though I can check tomorrow at the worksite (the installer included all packaging of all parts used, and a thorough write-up of work performed and operating suggestions).

KeepAlives / Capacitors were not installed, as apparently there was no room for them. Seems like a capacitor could be included and slapped on the outside, though, and disguised as something: no matter really as the operating benefits would outweigh the aesthetics issues, which would be minimal

I suggested electrofrogs but the client wanted to stick with the insulfrogs he'd already used and already had a supply of.  The "dead frog" space is actually surprisingly small (about the same distance as an N scale Atlas dead frog) so I'm surprised the larger "Horribly Oversized" surface area (with pickups on all wheels) has problems going over them.

I will do as much as possible to help the client get his trains running in terms of trackwork, power, scenery, turnout control panels, etc. Brass Locos I have no / little experience with (am learning now!) and will not be messing with them beyond breaking in / minor wiper adjustments. Otherwise client can work that out with the BrassMaster

My initial (and uneducated) impression is that the issue is very very small little blips that interrupt contact, especially as the locos almost always start right back up (very annoying with the sound), so perhaps it is the sound decoders' all-or-nothing-ness and a capacitor would take care of 99% of the issues.

But that's an uneducated guess.

Which, I guess, is called a guess

A few quick notes on the brass locos:

--Definitely will clean the wheels first

--Yes, sometimes the metal wheels on some locos short directly above the frog on the insulfrog turnouts.  That's something easily fixed with nail polish (though that does lengthen the "dead frog" doesn't it).  And theoretically the dead frog shouldn't matter as the other truck(s) are getting pickup from the point rails (which I wired hot).

--There is much stuttering away from turnouts, too.  This is when the loco stops but immediately starts up all on it's own (with the sound locos having the sound recycle up from the start).  As so many locos are involved in different places, I'm guessing a combination of 1) pickup issues with the locos themselves 2) lack of capacitor to ensure smooth running over slight blips (the blips being issues with track, pickup or both) 3) the NSA tapping the DCC system and instigating a COINTELPRO campaign against this 1930's "labor-friendly" logging layout

--Please remember that all these locos are coming "new" from (whom I call) the "Brass Master": a man who did a heck of a job installing decoders, speakers, and new motors and wipers for pickup.  I would rather not mess with them too much, and after we eliminate track and wiring issues, any loco issues will be referred back to the Brass Master.

I'll play more with the locos later--recently I've been working to get the track and benchwork done before the client goes on vacation soon.

I installed (glued & screwed & bolted) a 3/4" birch ply endplate to the peninsula:



Eventually, there will be a bridge (swing out, lift up, ??) between this peninsula and the larger one "C"-ing around that will be the low-foothills town, so I wanted a solid base for whatever bridge method we decide later.

The 1/4" or 3/8" hardboard fascia will terminate at the ends of the plate.

To further prepare for the fascia, I installed 3 1/2" sections of 2"x2" (because that's what I had) cleats along the way to firmly secure the fascia:



Cut out some foam, woodglued the base, placed and then drove in a screw to keep the cleat in place while the woodglue cured.  Not much is more secure in this world than woodglue emulsifying a hard-hard bond.



Cut off the top of the removed foam section and caulked it back in place to hide the cleat.

Should all be set by Monday when I cut and install the fascia.

Also finished installing all the track in the Company Town area except for the turntable:





The boxcar is on the main that will stretch to the endplate.

On the inner side, a siding for the freight/feed & team (there will be a few other shacks and sheds around that area)

The two curved tracks are the storage yards.

The two straight tracks will lead to the Sierra West Scale Models Loco & Car Service shed (at 2 1/2" centers), and then you see the baseplate of the 8" Gallow's turntable I'll try building this weekend (using an audio jack as pivot & power).

So here's the whole thing as of today:

Have already started building the mine tipple for the upper right scene. After I get the turntable in, I'll probably start painting track and throwing down scenicking material (good thing the client will be gone for a couple weeks so I can really stink up the garage with alcohol--70% rubbing, thank you very much!--doing all the scenery.

Also got some control panels and a lot of wiring to do!

As always, any and all comments and suggestions appreciated.

Thanks for looking.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Worst-case scenario for the brass is to install capacitors outside and paint to disguise. (The KeepAlives look fairly large) Not pretty but better than a stall-o-rama.

I've been offered jobs to build layouts before but have never done it--I prefer to keep all my mistakes mine own    --but when I went out to meet him and survey the scene I found I couldn't say "no." Just to be clear: I am getting paid for the work, but it basically covers gas (which is good because it's about a 1/4 tank a day on the job  ) And the client seems to be beating his condition: the meds and chemo make him tired & woozy, but he's one tough dude. Heck, his dad is still puttering around the property at 94! So it's looking good that he'll be able to enjoy running trains with the grandkids for a number of years (as soon as I get the trains running).

For me, it's also a good chance to try building in Horribly Oversized scale, which in turn helps me become a more experienced layout designer of all scales.
So it's win-win.

Except like yesterday and today when it's 105 deg outside of my home, which means its 115-120 inside my garage or my client's garage, which means I'll be working on his control panel print-outs and other layout design projects inside my A/C'd house which watching the Brasil-Spain Confederation's Cup final today.

So between the end of American school, the two-week intensive of Japanese school, the heat, and the family celebrations--some loved ones were finally able to marry their loved ones this week here in California--not a whole lot of train stuff is happening.

Did built the backbone of the Gallow's turntable:





That's a metal tie strip Gorilla-Glued to some styrene stripes which hold the audio jack in place.

With the track GG'd on top of that, feeders soldered to track, and painted:



Will build up the wooden frame around it, place a single-rail track under the edge, and prop the ends with a wheel or solid support.

Though I might have made the mistake of using ME C83 bridge track as the base, as it might be too narrow and the wood support braces along the sides might pinch the gears of the geared steam. Will have to check clearances next week!

That's a big difference between doing your own work and working on a client's layout: I'm so used to having everything out in my garage to check between brainfarts and lapses, but now when everything's a good half-hour drive away it's not so easy to work on things piecemeal and requires a lot more forethought and planning.

Probably going to bunker down in the A/C office Sunday, but Monday or so will be back out to install the 1/4" MDF fascia and wire up the control panels.

Just wish my garage was A/C'ed so I could work out there.

Here's a pict of the 1920's Ford truck next to the layout:



The bed was rebuilt with new lumber, but otherwise everything else involves original (or original replacement) parts.

The Bachmann 3-Truck Climax runs pretty well now all over, though the Bmann 3-Truck Shay (w/sound & fresh outtathe box, just like the Climax) will have the sound ramp up with the throttle, though the loco itself doesn't move (can feel the motor "hum" though no mechanisms are being engaged). I've heard there've been issues with the Bmann Climax and might need a replacement drive mech from NWSL.

After I install the turntable I'll get going on the track painting, ballasting, and basic ground cover.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Heat wave died down a bit, so able to mosey ahead with the turntable.

Needed to widen the deck a bit, so glued some stained wood under and to the sides:



Also spray-glued some HO PC board ties to a circle template printed on cardstock to create the support rail. After bending and soldering the rail, I popped it off the paper and glued it onto the TT base:



The wood supports just clear the deck underside and will be "buried" in the ground, and no one will see the hole in the center when the deck is installed.

The base was our "practice" run for the TT I built for the Effett Yard Free-moN module: glad Scott decided to drill two!

Painted the base and then installed some small metal washers on wood:



Those will ride the rails and keep everything flat and non-wobbly:



Will disguise the supports & washers later, and no one will see the metal when the deck is installed.

Then faked the new cross-supports / ties:



And those will get covered by both the stringers and wooden decking:





(Next time I build an HO TT I'll be a wee bit more protypically accurate from the ground up  )

Funny: until I install the TT on the layout, I can't proceed with installing the fascia, control panels, painting fascia or track or getting to the landscaping, so good thing I've gotten this to the point where I can install the base! (Can finish the tower & support cables later)

So hope to be rocking & rolling on the layout itself later this week! (Probably right in time for another heat wave  )

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Me, I just wanna keep it KISS and easy, especially as I'm not going to be around to fidget with it.
Will see how it works out when I install it hopefully Friday perhaps.

Meanwhile, I've been building the other control panels in me garage.
Cutting plexiglass with the chop saw (not recommended for precision work), and then clamping  pieces between a "draft" print:



Drill corner holes for the machine screws to keep everything together, and then drill pilot holes for the momentary-contact SPDT toggles:



If drilling through plexiglass, you really need to use a plexiglass bit (got mine at TAP Plastics), as otherwise the plexiglass splits lickity-split.
You also need to keep as many covering layers on as possible.
As I was using stuff with brown paper covering, I had to take off a lot to see & drill:





If you take all the paper layers off, or you go to the regular drill bit too soon to widen the hole, then this happens:



[If it's on the back piece, though, like in the photo above, then you might be able to CA it back together and hide it behind the turnout diagram]

After drilling (which creates a bit mess between the plates), unscrew the corners, remove the draft-print template, and place the quality-print between the plates. 
(Good idea to wash the plates at this point, or at least wipe, to get rid of all the "fluff") 
Rescrew the corners, and then use a round file to re-puncture the toggle holes:



Slip the toggles in, screw the nuts in place:



...and then get ready to mount the control panels on the fascia.

[The fascia that I'll install as soon as I install the turntable  ]

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Client got back from vacation and I got back into the layout room.
Time to install the turntable!
Cut a hole out of the foam for the base, cut a hole for the wires, and cut leftover 2"x2" for risers, which I attached to the base ply with my patented "Wood glue in the center & CA at the edges" method:



Wired the audio jack up to the OG-AR circuit and to the main, and then used his longest loco to make sure 1) wiring worked & 2) train fit:



The geared steam is pretty wide, so even with the TT deck expanded there's not a whole lot of space left for the vertical posts of the cable frame:



But some careful construction should come up with something aesthetically pleasing 

Carved away some foam and installed some styrene shims so the wood cribbing would come up to proper railhead height:



CA'ed the stained stripwood in place, then Sculptamolded (tinted with tan paint) behind and around it:





Once everything's dry I can install the last section of Phase 1 track: the turntable approach track.
Once the approach track is in place and anchored to the top of the wood cribbing, I can trim the TT deck rails to fit flush against the lead rails.
This necessitates, of course, laying the approach rails a bit longer into the pit, and then carefully using a Dremel to cut / grind all six rails (two on approach, two on each end of TT deck) into allignment.
Same technique I used on the Effett Yard TT and it worked great.
Of course this TT is "easy" as there's only one track that I need to align 

[mcfunkeymonkey]

But today was more progress:

Installed the last bit o' track with the approach to the turntable:





Tomorrow, when all is cured and set, I'll take the Dremel to the rails and make them all nice and even.

[THEN, when EVERYTHING is functioning fab, I'll place a couple of overshoot rails on the far side of the TT so everything lines up]

Also started ripping and installing the 1/4" MDF fascia.
Started clamping a guide to my 20"x4' folding table / workbench and circular sawing the fascia, but then it turned out the client had a table saw 
And a radial-arm saw 
Which made cutting the MDF OMG easy:





The clamp lower left is holding a tie-strip of MDF that's glued behind the two sections.
(For some reason, you can't get 1/4" MDF in 4'x8' sheets around these parts, only 3/8" masonite that's smooth only on one side, but you can get 2'x4' 1/4" MDF 'Handy Panels')

Tomorrow I'll cut out the control panel access holes, the UTP panel for the mine section, finish installing the inner angled fascia, and then spackle the holes and seems--both on the fascia and between the foam and fascia--for sanding and painting later in the week.
Then, after installing the control panels, it's all scenicking scenery, all the time 

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Finishing installing the fascia:



And carved out some space in the previous uber-thick fascia for the control panels:





Might end up painting the wood fascia to match the MDF fascia, but will wait until everything's wired and installed.

For now, I've spackled, sanded, and primed all the fascia:





And also started spray-bombing sections of track with dark & light greys:



Cut and trimmed the turntable rails to align:



And, as the client recently informed me (after I layed the track down) that he'd like a creek under the bridge to the river, I started carving in a creek under the bridge to the river:



There'll be a short road bridge before the track, and then wood/stone abutments on either side of the culvert to the river.

While looking more layout-y, lots of work from now on with wires underneath and time-consuming scenicky details above, like track painting, ballasting, and lots of sand, dirt and grout before all the grass and bushes.

But it all mosey's apace.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Enjoying a slight break of the heat wave to get the last of the track installed and get some painting done:



Shimmed with some styrene under the PC board ties, and then installed with authority.
The pocket mirror is a trick that fellow Free-moNster Steve Williams taught me to ensure near-perpendicularity at butt joints.
(Yes, that's a funny phrase to say  )
There will be a drop-in bridge at the end to the large town of Phase II when we get to it, thus the uber-love of the PC board ties on top of birch ply.

Was not looking forward to a lot of paper towel & blue tape masking before track painting, but then invoked the "Effett" methodology of modeling and just started spray-bombing:





The dark-grey and medium-grey auto-primer I'm using to bomb the track has a fairly heavy thickness to it, noticibly more than the Floquil Grimy Black I used to use (though the primer is 1/3rd the price). 
So you need to allow it dry before scraping off the railtops, as otherwise the flaccid paint will peel off in splotches--down the rail--when tugged with a bright boy.

The track looks a bit "speckle banded" right now, but after ballasted will look nice and weathered and not-as-spray-bombed.

After spraybombing, I slapped the tan laytex back on:



Which is good for the new creek scene and river extension, as the latex will hopefull seal all the little holes for the Magic Water that the caulk and whatnot didn't.

dkaustin reminded me that old flat cars make good bridges, so I'll see if the Man has any to sacrifice (Otherwise, I'll just make one  )

The creek looks a bit steep now, but really, after rocks and rip-rap fill, it'll be a wee little wanderer, with a small pipe allowing the overflow to fall into the larger river.  Foam cutting always looks more dramatic than the final result 

Also relaid the TT approach track--was too high--so sanded things down and re-glued:



Then spray-bombed the track and latex-painted the layout to prep everything for the slaughterhouse of scenicking I'll be doing next week:



Will be working on some Free-moN 45-deg modules this weekend, but also will be finishing up the control panels for the HO layout so the grandkids can flip switches when they get here next week.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Got to the client's place this morning to an ominous omen:



HUGE branch of very very old (and heavy) oak had split and fallen, right where I normally park my car while working on the layout.
According to client's 94-yr-old father, it cracked and fell less than 20 minutes before I got there.

Thank goodness I spent time reading the MRR forums this morning! 

So I installed all the retaining walls at the mine tipple:



And for the creek slough-off:



The concrete conduit is a spray-paint cap cut off & painted.
Lots of dirt and gravel and riprap will make all magical.

Also finished installing the first control panel.
Very important to do as much as possible--especially with soldering wire--on top of workbench and before you have to "crawl under":



After a couple of hours of a Quasimodo impersonation, I looked around and found my new best friend for electrical work: Mr. Stool.



(Not to be confused with Mr. Hankey from South Park  )

Made the rest of the afternoon sit well with me, and had the control panel fully operational (except for the one turnout with a "coffin" machine that almost melted on me and will need replacing).

Now I just need a way to stuff the wires away:



Think I'll snuff 'em out with a pillow.

And leave you with an Act of God (according to insurance):

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Finished wiring up & installing the last control panel:



Given that most of the turnouts on this layout are within easy reach and are Peco's (with a spring to hold the points), I'd recommend not using switch machines and just use your finger to through the points. 
(Would save moocho time & money as well) But the client had already wired up some turnouts and wanted them all wired up. And toggles are fun to throw for kids young and old.

Also started scenicking with a basic ground cover of course brown dirt, various colored grouts, sifted gravel, talus, fine ground foams, and some sparse static grass:





Basically using the mine scene as a test bed: I'm exploring different textures and materials that, since I've spent the past three years scenicking N scale layouts, haven't seriously considered--like course dirt, sands, etc.--and how to blend them to look natural and layered in HO.

The second picture was taken right after applying the diluted white glue, so looks more shiny and light than how it'll turn out (I hope).

I've got longer (4-6mm) static grasses on the way in more golden and burnt green California colors, so will add those when they arrive.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Base layer of scenery turned out okie dokie when all dried:



Though will definitely need the various lengths of static grasses, some bushes and, of course, trees to make the scene.

The client made tons of trees--of the spray-bombed weed variety--so will look more closely tomorrow to see if some layers of ground foam are needed to turn the weeds into pines.

Finally patched up the last gaping gap in the scenery:



Which I had put off a long, long time ago because it's in a galaxy far, far away. (Have to have one leg on a ladder and the other on the scenery near the fragile woodmill to get to it)

Then started scenicking the rest of the layout.
Here's what could be called "Guano Quarry" if the diluted white glue dried as is:



But, alas, all the basic ground coverings made it into place.







So, except for some track ballasting and ground cover for the company town, we're getting close to Phase I done.
Need to find out what color the client wants the fascia, but haven't seen him for a couple of weeks (I'm working in a garage away from the house, but he usually spends his days in the office next to the layout), so I hope all's well.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Finished all the basic ground cover and ballasting, and started adding various static grasses and textures here & there:





Also started placing buildings around to get a feel of the scene.

The client already had the buildings made, and several more are on the way (like the 2-stall engine house that'll go next to the turntable), so he'll decide where things go.

Was hoping to use some of the "Golden Hills" 6mm static grass SE offers, but it was the only one that didn't show up in the shipment.
And the mixed-length "Savannah" blend came out much, much greener (neon!) than my image of a savannah:



Fortunately was able to tone down with some "late summer" burnt greens, which I used elsewhere on the layout.

Got some nice textures using grouts and granules in the TT pit:



Not wild about the grainier grey chunks, but turned out okie dokie.

Most important: started trying to blend the new and old sections of the layout together.



Still a ways to go, but many layers and textures will help the transition.

About time for some trees.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Not quite sure where the last couple weeks went.

Part involved client back in the hospital for some more chemo, but now he's out and doing better.
While building the mine tipple, I've been waiting for some static grass and other supplies to arrive in the mail, including a Bachmann 45-tonner with which to test the track.
[And I'll probably build a small HO industrial switching layout at some point anyway  ]
The Bmann 45-tonner rolls well over all the track I've installed, reinforcing the idea that the brass locos really need a capacitor / stayalive to mosey over the rails.  Hope to work that out soon.

Most work sessions involve running various trains over and over sections of track to tweek / clear ballast / scrape glue / etc. to ensure consistant running. But also slowly adding various ground texture layers.









And here's a short video of trains moving:

fwKfu6LCx1s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwKfu6LCx1sStill working on the mine tipple, the trees and bushes, and finishing the fascia.

Client's grandkids were coming over this weekend for the first time since the layout got remodeled (earlier visits got interrupted by chemo), so I really wanted the track clean and the trains running. Cleaned the wheels on both Climax and 45tonner, set up his PowerCab and lent mine (two grandkids needs two throttles for two trains  ) and conveyed easy instructions.
His 7-year-old grandson kept chastising him: "Papa, all you have to do is work a little bit every day and it'll get done!" So he's looking forward to seeing the look on grandkid's face when he sees this version of the layout  Remember, the last time the grandkid saw the layout it looked like this:



I suggested saying that Papa started working on it yesterday  (After all, Papas are magical!)
Hoping they had a groovy time together!

I'm using the weekend to cleanup my own garage so I can get going on my own projects as well 

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more.
Or close the wall up with our Horribly Oversized dead. 

Now that my own Free-moN show is over, I'm back in the sack with the HO.
Immediate goals: water, trees and more bush layers, and installing the two-stall engine house that showed up in the mail last week.

To thicken up the forest along the backdrop I sprayed some polyfiber dark grey and then glued it onto the back ridge:



Yes, looks like Mordor has come to California, or like one of our annual "Golden-Brown State" wildfires (one just roasted our local Mt. Diablo last week), but it's just the Joanne's polyfiber lying like a rug:



(Good to spray on wax paper to avoid any sticky situations after the paint dries)

Tried a couple of different techniques to blend the mess (remember this will be BEHIND the layers of trees):



Brushed white glue underneath, but then on the left is the diluted-glue drip over the ground foams, and on the right (under the cabinet) is the hairspray soak.

When I go back on Monday I'll see which works better.
(Hairspray much easier under the cabinet!)

Here's a drier shot of the background filler:



Looks kinda crappy now, but it's all about the layers.
And you gotta crack some eggs to make an omelette.

Speaking of cracking, turns out I should have waited before installing the engine shed tracks, as the Sierra West Scale Models two-stall engine house (http://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/) came assembed by another dude with rails already installed. And C100 rails at that.   And slightly wider than the 2 1/2" track centers I was told.  

I decided to pop the C100 rails off the kit and slip the engine house under some de-tied track, so it was time to lift some already caulked and ballasted track.
I soaked the two tracks with water and 70% iso alcohol for about 1/2 hour:



Scraped the dirt and grout off of the pink foam from around the tracks, and then carefully shuffled the putty knife under the ties:



Cut out and pulled off the ties necessary, and then left everything to dry:



(not going to install a wood kit on damp ground!)

The kit is very well designed and made, and whomever my client got to build it for him (I think the dude's out in Kentucky) did a fab job.
Just wondering how to clean the track!
(The roof comes off, but all the fragile wood beams & details!)
Perhaps a good candidate for No-Ox.

Also poured another thin layer of tinted Magic Water.
Since I wasn't able to seal the entire waterbed (part of it is "as found") I'd rather do small pours and have the wicking action seal the holes rather than a large pour ending up a puddle of ectoplasm on the floor.

So here's the water and the background brush:



All drying to be ready for more bushes and trees and waters when I return on Monday.

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Life happens.
Back at it.

Installed the 2-stall engine house.
Popped off the C100 rails that the builder installed and slipped the C83 rails through the structure. Spread caulk under the ties and building, and CA under the rails inside the house, and Mr. T-Pinned everything in place:



Used 3-point gauges to hold the rails in place while the CA cured.

The roof is removable to see all the fab detail inside, so put together and to show the relationship with the rest of the scene:



As you can see I've also started planting trees.
Client had already spray painted a bunch o' tree-like weeds.
I applied hairspray and ground foam to even them out and add some textures:



Spray-painted only on top left, ground foamed bottom right.
Will do some other batches with various groundfoams to mix things up.

Funny, with N scale trees coarse foam is better, more realistic texture, but with HO trees the fine ground foam works better on the existing structures.

So started planting, with some Grand Central Gems pines thrown in for variation:



Will fill in with ground textures and bushes and smaller trees later, but want to establish "line-of-sight" channels to monitor the other side of the layout.

One challenge with the layout as exists: there's a bank of cabinets along the back right corner.



So any scenery needs to accomodate the outswing of the hinged panel:



But will work once the tipple is in place and bushy bushes all around.

Many trees and details to go, but those definitely help add to the vertical-ness of the scene:



Next up, populating the whole backdrop with layers of various-ground-foamed trees:



Also been designing the "Phase II" section to the left of the layout (logging camp) and the lower interchange town that will connect by lift-out for continuous running to the finished sections.

Onwards and upwards!

Any and all feedback / comments appreciated!

[mcfunkeymonkey]

I realize I've dropped a bit at once, but any suggestions and all feedback very much appreciated.

Thanks again for all your imput.

["JaBear"]

Gidday MC, so much for my quick flick thru the forum to see what's on.

Once again an informative yet humourous thread.

I would have gone for Electro frog points and as you mentioned they were mostly in reach, no point motors. However as the saying goes "the customer is always right.". Actually that isn't true but you tell them that they're wrong at your peril!!!  Seems a pity about his brass locos, have never owned any,but it reinforces what I've heard that they can be tricky cusses and need about as much maintenance as real thing.

Hope your customer comes right and has many happy years running the layout with his grandsons.

Cheers, the Bear.

[DGX GP 38]

M.C.

Great thread...thanks for posting and sharing! I always enjoy your work...love the attention to detail. 

I really liked the section on turnouts, wiring and controls. Will be most helpful as I begin laying out a yard and couple of passing sidings.

Every now and then, the "Effett" method seems to work well for me...glad to know that even the pros go with it too  :-)

[mlehman]

M.C.,

Fantastic work and a great read. The turntable build couldn't be better timed. I've either gotta build one or hack a Peco 6" N scale one to HOn3. I love my Grand Central Gems pines, too, just need to get more.

[hon30critter]

M.C.:

Thank you for a very detailed, informative and entertaining thread!

Too bad about the brass engines being so finicky - very disappointing for both you and your client I'm sure.

I'm looking forward to following your continued work.

Dave

[mcfunkeymonkey]

Thanks for the feedback, fellows!
Will definitely be using the Electrofrog turnouts on the "Phase II" section that I'm starting soon.
As an N Scaler, I'm always amazed that HO locos, with their exponentially-larger wheelbase, have just as many (or more?) stalling and shorting problems over frogs than me wee little N-scale bairns :)

As for the turntable: it's very easy to scratch-build one for a single-track in-out with no engine house on the opposite side.
It takes a LOT of skill and precision to scratch one with multiple tracks all around the TT.

Unless you're a die-hard scratcher, it's probably worth it, time vs money-wise, to just get a nice indexed one.

Or build on top of an Atlas TT.

Just food for thought.

 

As for the last week:

Very early grape harvest this year (client grows wine grapes), so client's workers will be moving the shelves and cleaning out the space for the "Phase Two" section of the layout:



Layout will wrap around the left, occupy the table space and then connect to the wing I've just finished on the right via swing bridge.
Something like this:



But just in benchwork shape, not track arrangement (client wants a wye, but not as a lift-up section to the opposite wall, and the mainline will come through the runaround in the center of the original section (next to the woodmill) instead of the bottom track / reverse loop)

While waiting for the space to expand, I've been making & installing more trees, pouring more Magic Water, and starting on refurbishing the original track.

What I thought was cement-&-sand was actually whiteglue-&-sand, so I tried soaking areas around track with iso alcohol and POOF! they lifted right off!
[Here's a warped and damaged turnout that needs replacing: just soaked and lifted!  D'oh!]



Wish I had thought of that at the beginning so I didn't spend so much time chiseling track out of sharp rock with scraped knuckles!

Was able to easily remove a good section of warped track that will become the main branchline from the Phase II main town:



And as soon as the shelves are moved behind it, I can swing the backboard back against the wall (will become the backboard for the extension of Phase II) and prep the place to have this track wrap around a center aisle.

While at first I thought I'd have to rip out and relay most of the original track, with this "wet reset" method I've also been able to soak, scrape and reattach other track in the original section to help even out the rails and ensure smooth running.
[Was about to take picts yesterday when I got a call to pick up me dad at the airport an hour away, so next week!]

With the trees, been slowly spay-painting (dark brown/grey), hair-spraying, and groundfoaming the weeks the client's already collected.
Been installing in front of the polyfiber background-fill in fits and spurts between other projects:







You can see the flat-car bridge installed over the creek, and some of the "dead tree" weeds client provided for variety.

For the water features I've been layering thin pours of Magic Water: given that I don't know the integrity of the creek bed, I wanted to slowly layer the Magic Water in and let it's natural seepage to seek out and fill any holes.
After 2-3 thin pours (tinted with Floquil dark green and grimy), it's here:



And seems very well sealed, with a few small pools.
Just before leaving to pick up me dad yesterday I poured a bit thicker layer, so we'll see how it looks on Monday.
Now I'm wondering if I just should have sprayed a layer of "Flex Seal" http://www.getflexseal.com/ first and that would have saved a couple of Magic Water pours that just seeped into the sand (though the tinting did help set up the dark base).

Anybody try using "Flex Seal" yet to secure their water features before a pour?
Just curious.

Also thinking about "No-Ox" to help insure better running (layout is out in big garage-type room, though relatively climate-controlled, and in California).
Guess I'm thinking get all the construction done first, clean everything up, then work on steps to ensure smooth running (chemical / cleaning-wise).

Any/all thoughts appreciated.

Thanks for looking.
And happy weekend!

[mlehman]

MC,

Great update.

Well, I did take that turntable inspiration and do something with it...