After a long layoff due to several end-of-year project deadlines at work, layout construction has (finally!) resumed on the N-scale CSX Dixie Line layout. Thanks to everyone for helping me get my daily dose of model railroading via the forums! After we opened presents on Christmas morning, I headed into the train room where I managed to get the final six lighting fixtures installed on the lower level. In this photo, the new lights are to the immediate left, and you can see the two sheets of 4x4' plywood that are scheduled to become the base of the helix in the next few days: Jamie
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Since the last update I have been spending a lot of time with a tray of drywall mud and a 6" finishing knife. Alas, all of the joints and screw heads have been covered and sanded and the backdrop--all 150 linear feet of it--is finally ready for primer and paint. And speaking of backdrops, previously I was thinking of doing a simple blue sky fading to a lighter blue at the horizon. However, since I recently read the new MR book on how to paint backdrops, I think I am going to take a stab at painting some things like clouds and land forms. At least I have lots of leftover Masonite scraps to practice on
Here are a couple of pics showing the backdrops with the joints and screws filled and sanded. If you look closely in the second pic you'll see where I (finally!) installed some padding on the underside of the benchwork across the doorway. No more head injuries!
Jamie
MPRR wrote: How many pieces of rolling stock could you get with the savings?
You make a convincing argument! Thanks for the layout comments as well. Jamie
Jaime, I'm jealous.. Three levels and all that linear footage all for n scale? I'm excited to see the progress as you go. I wish I could get the wife to let me expand my layout to half that size for my HO layout. Keep up the good work. Before you know it, it'll be cooler out and you'll be in there all the time.
You should still consider getting a new AC now while they are on sale. You already know you're gonna need one. How many pieces of rolling stock could you get with the savings?
Good luck,
Mike
Ugh...the air conditioner in the basement died! Oh well, I am going to wait until spring to get a new one (although I can get a good deal on the end of season closeouts now). Pretty warm down there--especially with the dehumidifier going full blast--but I wandered down today and installed all of the backdrops on the upper level (technically the middle level, but this is the upper scenicked level). Oh well...here's hoping for the cooler autumn weather to arrive soon! Jamie
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I also finished all of the the 120v outlets that you can see running around the bottom of the benchwork (the blue boxes). This will in turn allow me to finish installing the lower level layout lighting.
Since I got a little burned out on sanding backdrops and wiring electrical boxes, I decided this would be a good week to do some more revision work on the CSX Dixie Line track plan. The main change is that the track plan now represents the change of the helix from a circle to an oval, and the addition of the Emerson, GA scene to the lower level. I have a detailed description of the changes on my website.
Here are the revised track plans for the three levels:
I finished the first section of lighting on the lower level of the layout:
I noticed there were some dark spots along the top of the backdrop, so I rotated the light fixtures downward so the bulb would be a bit below the joists (which were blocking the light from reaching the top of the backdrop in a few locations):
View from the front of the layout showing how the lights "peek" below the benchwork to allow more even light distribution. The lights are visible here but will be obscured once the fascia boards are installed:
That's good news!
I'll most likely be going the same route, and I haven't done any amperage calculations yet. I was originally hoping to used LED lighting, but unless something drastic changes by next year, the color or expense will make this impossible. CFLs are cheap, efficient, provide lots of light, and look good.
I need to include a couple of high efficiency silicon-filled heaters in my train room wiring, but they should fall within the given capacity I hope.
I may not place as many receptacles, but I'll probably need just as many light fixtures.
Keep those updates coming!
kcole4001 wrote: Ahhh! We don't have the blue boxes in my area. It looks like a very versatile setup for electrical power as long as the circuit isn't overloaded.
Ahhh! We don't have the blue boxes in my area.
It looks like a very versatile setup for electrical power as long as the circuit isn't overloaded.
I am using low wattage CFLs and this room is on an independant 15A branch circuit, so I should be OK with regards to overloading. Should just be the CFLs and the DCC system. Jamie
kcole4001 wrote: BTW, what are the blue boxes? Junction boxes, or are they related to the layout wiring/DCC?
The blue boxes are just plain old electric boxes. I have run 1x3s around the bottom of the entire layout and nailed the boxes to them. I then wire them all together with dual recepticles so I will basically have one mega 120v "power strip" running around the entire layout. The whole thing just plugs into a regular wall outlet and the box closest to the doorway is fitted with a light switch so all of the layout power can be turned on/off from a single switch. I have a complete article describing how I did the lighting & elecrical on my website. The main reason I did my power distribution this way is because the light fixtures I am using are pre-wired to plug in to a regular wall outlet and I will have a lot (around 70!) of them. It gets a little tedious wiring all of those recepticles, but when complete I will have plenty of places to plug things in under the layout.
Here are a few more pics showing the "power strip":
Again, great work!
It is inspiring to see what someone else is doing and the methods they use.
BTW, what are the blue boxes? Junction boxes, or are they related to the layout wiring/DCC?
ClinchValleySD40 wrote:Fantastic. This is really a great thread, keep it going. The layout is looking great.
Thanks Larry! Hope to keep it going--right now I have a whole lotta wiring to do so I can get the rest of the lower level lighting in. It is unbelievable how much darker it is in that room with the unpainted (dark brown) backdrops in place. With the lights in, I should be able to patch/sand/prime/repeat the backbrops, then get the doorway bridge and helix going. Going to be a busy (and fun) rest of the year! Jamie
Larry
http://www.youtube.com/user/ClinchValleySD40
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52481330@N05/
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/ppuser/8745/sl/c
Nice work!
It's good to see a step by step pictorial with design rationale included. Very encouraging for those others about to take the plunge into a full scale layout build for the first time.
Hi gang, hope everyone is having another great weekend! I just wanted to post a quick update on my benchwork progress and again say thanks to the forum in general for providing guidance in getting me started off on the right foot. Jamie
Wall brackets completed:
There will be a drop-down gate on the lower level across the doorway:
Measuring for the peninsula:
Peninsula completed including front boards:
Autobus Prime wrote:Folks:If you guys have this continuous mindlink, why doesn't just one of you get the counseling so you can split the cost?(Wasn't that a Star Trek TNG episode?)
Or maybe we just need to put together a bowling team
mononguy63 wrote: Pasadena Sub wrote:This is VERY eerie...but I made almost the same comment to my wife...spooky!Great minds think alike! Though if you're thinking like me, you might consider counseling...
Pasadena Sub wrote:This is VERY eerie...but I made almost the same comment to my wife...spooky!
Great minds think alike!
Though if you're thinking like me, you might consider counseling...
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
Autobus Prime wrote:PS:You know, you could call the attached brackets an "art exhibit". Give it some sort of postmodern name. I suggest "Fabrication No. 1".
Haha! I need to get those front boards installed before I have to start calling them "The Slashers"! Jamie
mononguy63 wrote: You know, all of the advice that's been given thus far about good benchwork construction practices has been pretty sound. That having been said, in seeing your brackets with the short outstanding legs and tight spacing, you'll likely find that, should you decide not to build the layout, you could use those brackets for shelves to display your prized bowling ball collection!Nice work, and keep those progress picture coming! Jim
You know, all of the advice that's been given thus far about good benchwork construction practices has been pretty sound. That having been said, in seeing your brackets with the short outstanding legs and tight spacing, you'll likely find that, should you decide not to build the layout, you could use those brackets for shelves to display your prized bowling ball collection!
Nice work, and keep those progress picture coming!
Jim
Jim, This is VERY eerie...but I made almost the same comment to my wife when she looked at the completed brackets for the first time yesterday. I told her that if we sell the house and the new owners don't like trains we can pull up the tracks and market it as shelving for a bowling ball collection...spooky! Better to overbuild than underbuild, plus the benchwork will go to 18" deep along two of the walls. Still, it is incredibly solid; not even the slightest wiggle on any of the cantilevered joists (the same could not be said for the few pine brackets that I managed to install). Jamie
Update! I spent the last few days starting over with my benchwork using boards ripped from plywood instead of plain old pine lumber. Wow! The brackets are obviously sooooooooo much better in quality...I am really glad I switched to this method based upon the sound advice given by the members of this forum. I have posted a few pics below and have included a complete construction update on my CSX Dixie Line* blog. Thanks again everyone! Jamie
*Since my last update, I have switched prototypes from the CSX former Clinchfield route to the current CSX route between Atlanta and Nashville via Chattanooga. After much debate, I concluded that the former Clinchfield--while still one of my favorites--just did not afford the switching possibilities that I wanted to include in my operations. Fortunately, I can use the exact same track plan in the "new" layout that I had planned to use previously, so I did not lose any work that had been done prior to the change.
MisterBeasley wrote: The cross-members on my table benchwork are spaced at 16 inches. I probably could go with 2-foot spacing, but there are other considerations than just supporting the weight. When you've got a foam base, you can't easily fasten stuff below. So, I find it very convenient to have 16-inch supports to attach terminal blocks, or to fasten wires to.Also, the closer spacing gives you more solid places to attach risers.
The cross-members on my table benchwork are spaced at 16 inches. I probably could go with 2-foot spacing, but there are other considerations than just supporting the weight. When you've got a foam base, you can't easily fasten stuff below. So, I find it very convenient to have 16-inch supports to attach terminal blocks, or to fasten wires to.
Also, the closer spacing gives you more solid places to attach risers.
Agree completely. Well said
Jay
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