Trains are RUNNING!

[rrinker]

Finally closed the loop tonight, got that last switch we were missing and laid the final curve (for the eastbound main, anyway) and now the trains are rolling. First train over the line was the CNJ/Reading Crossline passenger train (mostly baggae and express cars, with a coach and combine stuffed in there) pulled by a CNJ Trainmaster (Atlas, with sound, of course!). Several Reasing books show this train at various locations, mostly at Outer Station. My father-in-law detailed various kit passenger cars to match this train, and recently aquired the Atlas Trainmaster to pull it.
Next step, start work on the Westbound main. Need some more Tortoises though.

Also got a very good deal at the LHS. Most items are priced on the shelf at list or at most 5% off. Atlas track was a few cents OVER list! I needed that one switch to fini***he loop, so I was going to get it regardless, but then ended up getting a full 20% knocked off all the stuff I bought - so I bought the other switches I need to complete the second main as well. Would have gotten all the Tortoises, but I needed 7 and they only had 5 in stock. Also checked my stock and I probably don;t have enough Woodland Scenics Track-Bed for the second main, either, but they were out of the HO stuff too, both the strips AND the 24 foot rolls. [:(!] Oh well, at these prices I WILL go back. At the 'regular' prices - no way.

--Randy

[NZRMac]

Well done Randy, it's great feeling when you get them trains roll'n. Keep up the great work.
I'm just about to cut my layout in half and put an 8' extension in the middle!! More yard space.

Ken.

[rrinker]

I have this feeling that work will start on the next phase before all the track gets laid on this part.. just a feeling. Guess I better work out the track plan soon - although I have enough to run down the next wall already drawn out.

[TurboOne]

Congratulations Randy, running is what gets me excited. Yes I can watch a train go in circles for a few hours.

How do you like the WS track bed. Is it easy, works on curves and switches ok, and what do you use to put it down with, and what are you putting it down on ???

WAY to go Randy...

Tim

[rrinker]

I think the WS track-bed stuff is GREAT! Really easy to work with, and for long runs like around the curves, the 24' rolls are hard to beat - no joints! Around switches, it works the same as cork, ie, I overlay the angle and straight pieces and slice through both with a knife, and it results in a nice fitting joint.
I fasten everything with some cheap latex adhesive caulk. The kinds I have comes out of the tube white but dries clear. I think it says "pro sealer" or somethign on it, it was the cheap kind at Home Depot, but hard to find amidst the shelves of DAP. DAP brand will work too, just a bit more expensive. But all that I have down so far, I did with less than half a tube - roadbed AND track. A little goes a long way. SO $2.50 a tube or $1.99 a tube isn't going to make a difference either way, really
What I have been doing is spreading a thin bead between the lines marking the side of the roadbed (REALLY thin, I didn't measure where I cut the tip open, but it's MAYBE 1/8"), which I spread out with a putty knife. The roadbed sticks instantly, but you can still slide it to adjust it. At the edges I will stick some pushpins in it to keep it down, the rolls especially have a tendency to curl back up at the ends, but on the curves the caulk is tacky enough to hold it in place. On sharper curves you might need to stick a few pins in here and there until it dries. It's ready for the next step in about 2-3 hours. After I have the track length sorted out, I put another bead of caulk on top of the roadbed, smooth it out with the putty knife, and start sticking the track in place. Once again, it's tacky enough to hold the curves and everything, without nails, but you have a good 20-30 minutes or more to slide it around to adjust things. For critical areas like making sure the curve starts where it's supposed to I'll stick a few pins in to hold the track in position. For long straights I use a straightedge to make sure it's really straight. Here you can really tell when it's dry, as the white will gradually disappear and turn clear.
And if you screw up - carefully take a putty knife and you can scrape up anything - track from the roadbed, roadbed from the foam. So far I haven't had to do that, but I definitely will when it comes time to start on Phase 2 which will require a couple of new switches off the current section.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

HMM, just a thought. I just read the article in this months planner that shows a HO layout using N sized roadbed. The author stated using N size so as not to raise the track too high in the case of some smaller branch lines. I guess some lines did not have the amount of ballast that others did. The effect is a lower sitting train. Kinda cool. Don't know if that can help with the road bed issue? Just my 2cents. Good luck.

[rrinker]

Yeah I'm doing just that - the sidings will have N scale roadbed under them. Sidings generally did not have as high a ballast as the main lines, some industrial sidings are little more than track and ties on mud. The effect with N scale roadbed is great, the sidings end up being about a rail height lower - the tops of the siding rails are about even with the bottom of the mainline rails. Enough to see a difference, not so great a difference as to make a smooth transition from one height to the other a tough job. You can't just drop off, the transistion must be smoothed out a bit to make a shallow ramp. You can sort of see it in the pictures of the test module I did, the siding is on N scale cork, the main portion is on HO scale WS Track-Bed. I guess I should set some cars on both tracks and take a picture of that. Looks even better now that I tried a little ballasting on the test module as well. I'm trying EVERYTHING on the test module first, I never was a scenery guy, I always did all the electrical work, and I'm pretty good at trackwork, but scenery..blech! [:D]

--Randy