MOAVBILLY DANGER DANGER DANGER You need to move gas cans and any other flammable items from inside the house to a vented storage shed outside. Especially with a gas fired heating system and water heater. You also should consider securing the water heater to the wall. I agree with an earlier poster that the water heater stand seems very flimsy.
DANGER DANGER DANGER
You need to move gas cans and any other flammable items from inside the house to a vented storage shed outside. Especially with a gas fired heating system and water heater. You also should consider securing the water heater to the wall. I agree with an earlier poster that the water heater stand seems very flimsy.
It is dangerous to store ANY flammables in the same area with gas appliances. It may be 30 years before you have a problem but if you do you may not be around to fuss about it. Storing the flammables in a safety cabinet might just save someone you love.
Johnnny_reb Once a word is spoken it can not be unspoken!
My Train Page My Photobucket Page My YouTube Channel
I've acquired an Athearn UP AC4400, as well as a 2 5-unit maxi III well car sections and 2 husky stack cars. Still going to be a bit before I've got track on the layout, so I laid out some sections of the "concrete" code 83 as well as one section of the wood code 83 in the living/dining area of the house and let them "stretch out. :) This config will be a staple of the layout:
Hold my beer... ya'll watch this!
I have to admit I have been looking forward to more of your posts and progress on your layout. I find that I am now really looking forward to seeing some track on the bench work that is going together so well.
So lets not forget about all of us vicarious railroaders out here. I sure hope that everything is alright and that the lack of posts do not mean that some bad fortune has befallen you or your family.
Best wishes
J.Rob I have to admit I have been looking forward to more of your posts and progress on your layout. I find that I am now really looking forward to seeing some track on the bench work that is going together so well. So lets not forget about all of us vicarious railroaders out here. I sure hope that everything is alright and that the lack of posts do not mean that some bad fortune has befallen you or your family. Best wishes
Thanks J.Rob! We're all good here- hopefully. Big storms down here in the southeast tonight.
I finished up bracing the legs today. I've got to trim and shim some of the legs to get nice and level (no one seems to make a cost viable remedy for the 29 legs that i have on my layout). I came up with the idea of cutting very thin strips of left over plywood and using those to shim (gluing it on after the fit is verified).
After that, I'll be getting the electrician out to put lighting and wire the area.
Then I'll be making the final fit and carriage bolting the monstrosity together and begin verifying the final track plan on the layout.
What you need are "T-Nuts" Go to the hardware store and ask for T-nuts and a bolt to fit each one. I have used this setup to level my layout making the feet adjustable. On this page Module Construction - Legs it expains how the T-nuts are used. I feel that you can figure out the difference from the steel leg to the wood legs.
Johnnny_reb What you need are "T-Nuts" Go to the hardware store and ask for T-nuts and a bolt to fit each one. I have used this setup to level my layout making the feet adjustable. On this page Module Construction - Legs it expains how the T-nuts are used. I feel that you can figure out the difference from the steel leg to the wood legs.
You guys staying safe tonight? Lucked out here and the storm dissipated about 20 miles away from us.
I actually researched T-nuts, and actually only about 4-5 out of the 29 legs on the layout need some adjustment...thus my simplistic solution. I apologize and should have been more specific. Were I to mod the leg design to a T-nut design, that would change the base height of all the legs thus requiring me to mod all 29 legs instead of 4-5.
Is my understanding of the T-nut incorrect?
Yes to gain full adjustability of the support legs you would need to modify all legs.
Johnnny_reb Yes to gain full adjustability of the support legs you would need to modify all legs.
Always need further confirmation that I'm not reading things like a dummy.
I'm going to try the "trim and shim" technique that I've engineered in my head.... which will cost nothing since it's just glue that I already have and plywood scraps that are in storage (I've saved every scrap from the benchwork construction just in case).
If that doesn't work, I'll go for the t-nut method.
Thanks for the advice!
You could try some shims from "Lowes". They sell packs of em.
Johnnny_reb You could try some shims from "Lowes". They sell packs of em.
I actually looked at those... They are all angled, though.
So, I'll be attempting to jerry rig it.
Easy. You just use two shims pointing at each other. Move them in and out on each other to get the thickness you need. You guys need to watch more DIY howto shows.
Just checking to see how your layout is coming along,haven't seen anything in a while, but what I have seen has been very impressive.
Should be about time to see some foam on top of that plywood. I'd take a couple of days off and get the base down and some track laid before you get bored and stop building.
Springfield PA
mcddhawk and hamltnblue-
Things come in rapid progress followed by stalled out progress... I've been working a lot recently as well as doing a lot of music stuff lately as well. I actually haven't even gotten the shimming done.. but I do now have the shims ready to go. Perhaps this week.
Also, I test fit the foam on top of the layout- it works well.
The electrical work in the basement will have to come before i start laying track. It's so close now!
Keep us posted, there are a bunch of us really enjoying your layout construction. All of us understand how life and it's necessities can get in the way of our more enjoyable pursuits, it's just a shame we are not all part of the idle rich. and able to devote all the time we want to our hobbies.
J.Rob Keep us posted, there are a bunch of us really enjoying your layout construction. All of us understand how life and it's necessities can get in the way of our more enjoyable pursuits, it's just a shame we are not all part of the idle rich. and able to devote all the time we want to our hobbies.
I keep trying to join the idle rich, it's just not happening, haha!
Been working on shimming the legs... ended up getting some dry cedar shims. I've never need to use them before since I'm a new home owner. It's amazing what you learn from building model trains.
_________
On a side note, I stayed in Ontario, CA on my last trip just north of the airport. UP stack trains come flying by there just like what I'm going to be modelling, and on closer inspection the tracks are the new concrete like I plan on the mainline sections of my track:
It's great now that I have actual closeup pictures to prototype from on the ballasting... and it is truly amazing how thick those rails are too. The trains came by at 50-70 mph typically.
One thing that I haven't seen is how they will have 2-3 engines at the front of the mile or so long train and about half way through 1-2 more engines. Not sure if that's for transporting them or assistance. They were making a different noise- almost a sort of howling noise- than the lead engines, so perhaps they were on a zero drag setting or something. I'll have to post in one of the other forums to see if there is a functionality involved.
If there were no sign of crews in the engines in the rear part of the train they were likely remote controlled units.
80ktsClamp One thing that I haven't seen is how they will have 2-3 engines at the front of the mile or so long train and about half way through 1-2 more engines. Not sure if that's for transporting them or assistance. They were making a different noise- almost a sort of howling noise- than the lead engines, so perhaps they were on a zero drag setting or something. I'll have to post in one of the other forums to see if there is a functionality involved.
"Distributed power" for assistance, I believe.
Dante
Just checking withyou to see if your ok have not seen anything on your layout in a while.
It has been a few months- thanks to work, music, and just life in general, there has been limited progress. I'm working on getting the last of the bench work sealed and then will be attaching the foamular overlays.
From there wiring the room and attaching the sections will be next, then finally we will be ready to lay the track and get things up and running.
Hello 80ktsClamp good to hear from you looking forward to seeing the progress on your layout
80ktsClamp It has been a few months- thanks to work, music, and just life in general, there has been limited progress. I'm working on getting the last of the bench work sealed and then will be attaching the foamular overlays. From there wiring the room and attaching the sections will be next, then finally we will be ready to lay the track and get things up and running.
Great to see you back on the site. As I get older I find I am more concerned about the well being of others due to all of the rough things that life can throw at someone, be it illness, accident or economic disaster to just name a few. I am a ways from starting on my layout for various reasons so I am really enjoying your postings regarding yours. I guess that makes me a vicarious model railroader for now, other than some car kits I have been building. Glad everything is ok and that you will be dropping some more posts on line for us.
So it has been quite a while! I've figured out what I am going to do with the basement and have sealed all the wood sections of the layout.
I decided tonight to do a full test fit of the spacing of the main yard and town area... it went absolutely fantastic. The steel crane likely won't be part of the final layout, but it required a double track which is what I will be using for the "south" town spur.
You can also see the 3% grade that will be used for the climb through the mountains.
Behold the pictures:
The yard/town throat and spread:
The town exit up to the quarry and through the mountains.
Upcoming- installation of lighting, final base assembly and hopefully some trains running!
looking good. I have the same amount of space avaliable, actually 10x13, and I like your track plan alot. Your benchwork looks good. I like what you got going there.
How is that water heater holding up??? Being in earthquake country, that would not pass muster around here...you would be better off stacking some wood blocking under it than using that 'stand'
NorthCoast RR looking good. I have the same amount of space avaliable, actually 10x13, and I like your track plan alot. Your benchwork looks good. I like what you got going there. How is that water heater holding up??? Being in earthquake country, that would not pass muster around here...you would be better off stacking some wood blocking under it than using that 'stand'
Thanks! It really lit a fire under me finally seeing some structures and trains placed on the layout. It wasn't particularly inspiring walking downstairs and seeing a big pink irregular donut with nothing else on it. :)
While the water heater stand looks very flimsy, you'd be amazed how solid it is! I checked it in a lot of detail after that was brought up on here and I was quite impressed.
Speaking of earthquakes, I actually felt the east coast earthquake a few months back. I happened to be sitting on the couch when it hit- it sounded like a wind gust hit the house, but I looked outside and it was calm. Then I felt a very slight wiggling for about 30 seconds.
I thought to myself "I'll be danged if that wasn't an earthquake... well if it was one I'll see it on the news shortly." Turned on the news and low and behold 10 minutes later it popped up.
Well, I finally installed the lighting in the utility room and a couple outlets, so I could continue on with the layout! See lighting below during the final joinup of the sections today:
I'll likely add in some more later now that I've learned that it's not all that a difficult task.
While I had the test fit up, I made sure to mark key placement on the main yard area foam board to make sure I could replicate the spacing that I liked so much:
The top picture was taken today while I was doing the final bolting of the layout together, which went very well. Below is one of the main section joints which had a 3rd bolt added right after this. It is incredible how rock solid everything is now! You can see my nice sealing done on the wood as well.
I'll be using foam board sealant to attach the foam boards to the layout after a thorough cleaning and will be able to finish marking the track and then start laying it!
I was thinking it has been a while since I saw one of your posts and low and behold more progress followed with great photography. From the looks of the job you did sealing the wood on your bench work you may be tempted to include a crawl under the layout as part of any layout tours you do for guests.
Now not to add extra work to your project but some type of ceiling to keep dirt and dust as well as insulation particles from falling on your layout is probably a good idea. after bolting all of that together is it possible to slide it on that nicely finished floor? That way if you were really in the mood to get some trains rolling you could scoot it around a bit and then finish your ceiling.
Great job on your part so far I am wishing it was me.
Thanks for the complement, and the suggestions. The room will have a suspended ceiling in place in the not too distant future, long before I even finish laying rail. Just waiting for an investment to come due
The layout is actually fastened directly to the wall studs so nothing is going to move short of an earthquake. Stay tuned, I seem to be on a roll of late mostly because spring is still a ways away here in Alberta, Canada
CDN Dennis
Modeling the HO scale something or other RR in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies Alberta, Canada
J.Rob I was thinking it has been a while since I saw one of your posts and low and behold more progress followed with great photography. From the looks of the job you did sealing the wood on your bench work you may be tempted to include a crawl under the layout as part of any layout tours you do for guests. Now not to add extra work to your project but some type of ceiling to keep dirt and dust as well as insulation particles from falling on your layout is probably a good idea. after bolting all of that together is it possible to slide it on that nicely finished floor? That way if you were really in the mood to get some trains rolling you could scoot it around a bit and then finish your ceiling. Great job on your part so far I am wishing it was me.
Thanks, J.Rob! I haven't engineered any method for sliding the whole layout in once piece. All that over engineered woodwork and fastening is pretty heavy. I explored the option of ceiling stuff, and decided against it. I actually left the test layout up for over a month to check accumulation of dust/debris, and there wasn't even a trace. Go figure, eh? I guess with it being a relatively new house and only my wife and I in the house there isn't a much to shake down.
I'm super super looking forward to the next step of drawing the rest layout on the foam board and getting to laying the track... in fact that is the portion I'm probably the most excited about other than getting trains moving.
Newly decided is on the southwest area of the layout there will be a serious gorge and some sort of a trestle bridge...
Great to see some progress on your layout. I remember this thread from a long time ago.
Have you thought about painting the pink foam before laying track?
That's what I did with my extension room layout. I painted the surface with dirt colored latex paint. It's easier to do it now before you have the track down.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989