New Indoor Layout - New Reckless Experimentation

[vsmith]

New Indoor Layout  - New Reckless Experimentation

I have been reluctant to post this, mostly as I’m still just experimenting with this more than anything, but I have been working on a small switching layout, using a portion of the old benchwork left over from the old layout: It’s based on an N gauge micro I came across a few years ago:

I have been feeling alot of regret after dismantling the large fixed layout, but I still know it was the right thing to do, it was just too large and ate up too much of the garage, but I found less satisfaction with just the pizza than I was hoping for, I was looking thru some old files and found this layout I had done for a friend who was retiring and looking for a small bedroom layout (look familiar Benny? ) . He didn’t use it as he found room outside for a small layout, but I became intrigued if it would fit in the garage, laid it out and it fit very very nicely into the back corner. I extended it a little but it worked out well. I already had all the lumber, plywood and hardware laying around so a little bit of carpentry and the benchwork was built in a couple evenings. The track also was what I already had in storage, so far aside from some electrical wiring stuff and some connectors I haven’t spent a dime on this. I still to make a hinge assembly and rail connectors with the lift-up bridge.

This will be a much more urban themed layout this time, going to keep it simple this time maybe even go as more akin to Dave Barrow’s Domino approach where the scenery is Spartan almost to the point of being barren, while the track and operations aspect takes precedent over scenery aspects. I want to have something fun to run trains on but want to avoid creating something so involved that if I have to remove it again it gets very destructive to do so I might experiment with just painted scenery and façade only buildings, we’ll see. Trackwork is complete, electrical testing is underway, so far so goode, I will shoot the track with a coat of flat black spray paint. Need to think about an Ops system. Keep it simple to start. There are buildings to build, and scenery to paint, I also have to take 2 small 0-27 layouts and mash them into 1 small 0-27 layout but don’t expect fast progress, this is a slower motion experiment.

Pics when I can.

[Greg Elmassian]

I think you will have a lot more fun with the operations potential.

Please keep us posted as you progress.

Greg

[vsmith]

Some construction pics: Fiddle Yard area

 

 

Peninsula:

 

 

These were taken back when I was doing the benchwork. Need to upload current pics tonight.

 

 

[vsmith]

Pics of the layout so far

Peninsula:

 

Fiddle Yard:

 

Lift bridge:

 

 

 

[dwbeckett]

This would be a neat artical as a  RAIL ROAD FOR SMALL SPACES. I think it has the potential for alot of fun. It also has room to grow.

Dave

[vsmith]

Updated track plan showing changes from original layout

[Rider]

That is going to be a fantastic layout.  I can see those 0-4-0's winding their way through a big city harbour scene with lots of bridges, tall buildings and run down tenements pushing up against the riverside industries.  Sorry.  Just my mind going wild. 

[ttrigg]

Any chance of "bridging" over from the fiddle yard to the pizza? Looks like you're gonna have a bunch of fun. I'm going through some major changes in the RbFSRWy. Just to hard to work at "ground leve +0.0 inches.

[dwbeckett]

Any more progress???

[vsmith]

dwbeckett

Any more progress???

Not really, a few things have been delaying progress, one being the summer heat. So I've been assessing stock, sketching building mockups as almost every building has to be scratched which is a pita if you dont have a ready source for doors and especially windows. I have a small stock of Precision Products windows & doors (2 sheets) but need to order some more. I got all my structures stuff from San Val in the past but with them gone its been tough finding local sources. But as I said I'm not in any hurry to finish it, I really dont want to rush it.

Also need to dismantle a small O-27 layout thats in the way, and I've been working on the 21" Personal Pan Pizza layout to try and finish it up even though it too will need some scratched buildings to fit its ultra-small footprint but its farthest along and I want to get it done first.

I did add one engine to the roster , a Piko 060 Saddletanker that was on giveaway sale at Gold Coast Station, I had one of these but sold it when I dismantled the last layout as it wouldnt run of the 31"d Pizza. I'm one of the very few people who actually liked the way it looked, it runs fine on the R1s and wont be taxed hard in operation so I went ahead and got it. I have a couple other engines on the roster that never really worked so I may sell them or rebuild them, we'll see.

[vsmith]

Some actual progress on the indoor layout, been making flats for the backdrop area:

Piko facade reworked:

 

Upland Trains resin building cut up into a facade flat, used the rest elsewhere.

 

and the rest of the building:

In place with the House of Balsa hotel and the reworked cheap dollhouse model:

heres the rest of the Piko building converted to flats:

and part of the Upland Trains resin building:

I found 2 ceramic facades made in Mexico as tourist souveniers, they are perfect for LS
Heres one:

Heres the other with the Piko flat and a flat from a company called Backshop

Lastley here is another older Piko flat and a test of where the rest of the Upland flats will go:

and the last of my old Piko flats from the previous layout, should have kept more but oh well:

Begun the first of the total scratchbuilt buildings remaining, they will be foamcore with various coverings.

More on that as it gets done

[vsmith]

Some updates, backdrop painted and building flats in place:

 

Starting from the staging yard:

 

 

 

The brewery, showing interior, for now it will keep the “Lucky Lager” sign, when I can make a custom sign it will be called “Mik’s Irish Ales”

 

 

 

Note to Mik: here’s where a lot of the “stuff” you sent me ended up

 

 

the other side of the brewery

 

 

looking into the corner

 

 

 

forced perspective insert, you’ll see a couple other background pics filling the gaps.

 

 

Looking at the other corner

 

 

Still have to build the mine building to fill this corner

 

 

 

Finally adding another storage shelf above, I really had to do this as once the backdrop was painted it was really overwhelming and very distracting, adding the shelf draws the eye back down to the layout level, and I really needed the extra storage space for trains.

 

 

that’s all for now.

 

 

[dwbeckett]

So is the overhang in the last picture " Lover's Leap " or is it a public walkway from one side of town to the other ?

Dave

Looking good

[vsmith]

Added some paint to the backdrop to give some depth shadows, and added some building photos printed on heavy cardstock. Seams to make a difference.

I really like the effect, and I will add some more printed building flats to the rear backdrop

The only trouble is finding pictures that are large enough and flat enough to be usefull. I'm trying not to reuse the same buildings twice but its not easy to find the right pics.

[vsmith]

Powerplant underway, foamcore walls, Piko windows, Precision Products doorway, strathmore and wood trimmings.

 

The biggest problem with large scale is thats its... well, so dam large! Layouts getting crowded.
 
Adding corbeling:
 

 

 
Just strathmore museum board cut into rectangles, scored and bent and glued down, also added a cut up Marx tinplate bridge, I only paid $10 for it so its not rare, but dont tell any TTOS guys, I dont think they'd understand
 

 
Us indoor guys can get away with murrr-derrr compared to outdoor standards

[vsmith]

Some revisions and new additions:

Moved to powerplant, fits better here, cut off the third floor, it was just too much, this may be turned into a different business, still deciding that.

 

 

New building , this originally was a brewery, but since I already have the Lucky Lager business, this will be a bottling plant Coca Cola or something like that.

 

 

The Dog will go back to its original spot, where I thought of placing it where I considered it was only a matter of time before it got damaged.

 

Finally, I found another ceramic building, a western themed building this time, needs a few repairs but it fits nicely in this corner.

Only one building left to add, and its going to be the toughest because the corner, next to the newest ceramic building above, is the trickiest to fit something into.

 

[vsmith]

 

Possible Long Term plan, eventually extend across the remainder of the garage, add a river wharf and an engine facility. The layout will eventually be modeled after the first railroad in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles and San Pedro railroad, which went from the port (swamp) to the city (dusty pueblo). although my port will more likely be a navigable section of the lower Colorado river but I still might make it somewhere along the rugged California coastline.

[Stourbridge Lion]

Looks to me things are coming along nicely!!!!!!!

[westy1]

i also am doing a indoor layout i find your hindged bridge intresring. How do you pick power back up on unhindged side i have a 3 ft opening to bridge. thanks jim westerfield [e-mail]

[vsmith]

westy1

i also am doing a indoor layout i find your hindged bridge intresring. How do you pick power back up on unhindged side i have a 3 ft opening to bridge. thanks jim westerfield [e-mail]

The layout is powered just like traditional HO track powered layouts. Its broken into several segments or "blocks".Those blocks are controlled via Atlas controllers. Each controller essentially an on/off switch, allows the track power to be individually controlled. I simply use the rail gap like a setof insulated joiners, just minus the joiners. The track layout allows me to wire it just like a point to point layout, the loop just happens to occur along that pathway. The inside rail is continuously power. The only exception being the wye, which is also controlled with an Atlas wye controller. I use a Crest /Aristo Basic Train Engineer r/c control throttle which a time allows hands free track power.

[vsmith]

dbl post

[vsmith]

Feeling reckless again, big changes in the works, no major change to the layout, but a big change in geography

Here is the Master Plan, I am repurposing the layout as an full-on urban harbor terminal type line,

I have been fighting doing this for a long time, mostly just being pigheaded about keeping the desert theme, but I just could not make it work in my mind all the while the layout plan just screamed urban waterfront, I finally realized that most of my big stuff is not decaled for the Borracho line, just numbered. and that I had alot of stuff than would with very little effort, be convertable to the urban theme layout. what finally did it was reading this site one too many times:

http://www.trainweb.org/bedt/IndustrialLocos.html

One day my mind just clicked (or is that snapped) "yeah, I could do this without any major surgery" so there it is..

The boats will all be movable, just sitting on the surface, the aisleway water will be a fold down section that during ops will be kept down for layout access, and up for photo taking, the biggest single change will be switching from link/pins back to knuckle couplers, probably Bachmann's

Haven't decided on a name yet, but the era will likely be post-war 1950's just before these lines were beginning to disappear.

No name yet, not really worrying about that, some ideas:

Brooklyn South Rwy - keeps the BSR already on some engines

or maybe something a little more unique:

Gotham District Transfer
Gotham Harbor Transfer

As I said, I'm really not in a sweat over the name. So here we go

[dwbeckett]

And where is the airport going, A DC-3 would work or maybe a Plane that just landed in the river........

Have fun

Dave

 

[Grims]

you could have the best of both worlds up here in maine we have a DC-3 on floats.

moosehead lake to be exact.

Ed

[dwbeckett]

I would love a Picture of that DC-3. I worked on the Military vershion during The ( my ) war.

Dave

[Grims]

I will see what i can find it belongs to folsoms air service on moosehead lake in greenville maine.

I saw it in the water and it was impressive I saw it out of the water and its monsterous and im not unacostome to the dc-3 as thats what i got my multi eng. cert in.

[Grims]

Ok i went into my serch(which is bing) and typed in folsoms air service DC-3 and found still pics and even a you tube video

[GearDrivenSteam]

Vic, as usual your work is inspiring. I am loving it my friend.

 

Rob

[vsmith]

After some feedback from the smaller scale guys familiar with dockside type railroads, track plan has been revised a tad to include a holding spur next to the transfer barge and a run around at the gantry crane spur

I should consider calling this the Spaghetti Central

[dwbeckett]

Plenty of operating room. how's the track layout working and some new picthres??

Dave