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.
Hold my beer... ya'll watch this!
Just checking withyou to see if your ok have not seen anything on your layout in a while.
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.
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
If there were no sign of crews in the engines in the rear part of the train they were likely remote controlled units.
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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.
Johnnny_reb Once a word is spoken it can not be unspoken!
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Johnnny_reb You could try some shims from "Lowes". They sell packs of em.
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.
Johnnny_reb Yes to gain full adjustability of the support legs you would need to modify all legs.
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!
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.
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?
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
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.
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:
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.
Bad, bad! No expansion yet! haha.. that west wall has to remain open for storage stuff, anyways. There might be some expansion off the northeast side in the future.
I installed bracing on a a number of the legs tonight.. that thing is SOLID with those braces attached:
Hopefully will have the last of the braces installed over the next few days, then to get everything levelled up tightly, seal it, and get the electrician out so things can progress!
Also, I did some testing today with some flex track and my turnouts verifying the yard "spread." Works just as planned!
Seal everything, all sides, even what will be covered with scenery. A stain is usually just that a stain not a sealer although some companies combine a stain and sealer into one product. I would suggest that you make a trip to home depot, or similar store and find a wood sealer that can be used on inside surfaces and seal everything, even the parts that will not be visible or covered with scenery. Furniture makers do that to limit expansion and contraction of their products. After the wood has been sealed the exposed surfaces can be finished in a manner that suits your taste as the sealer does not have to be the final treatment.
Your layout bench work looks even better on the other side of the room and it looks like you might have a chance to expand it a bit sooner than you thought. After all model railroaders and their space requirements are like farmers. They don't want all of the land just all of the land that adjoins their's.
hi,
i think a duck-under is an issue during the build, but also later when operating your layout. Both the yard and the industry in the NW corner hard are pretty hard to reach from the outside. What do you loose?
Since your dream is built in another room, it is hard not to use the space along the West wall.
Smile
Paul
So.... you guys are telling me I should move the gas cans? I can't tell. There are no vapors however because they are the new generation cans. There is not even a hint there is gas anywhere around except by visually seeing the containers. I'm finding a new place to store them....
Moving back on topic: The duckunder is no problem at all. I debated long and hard over a liftout section and determined that it wasnt necessary. The way the layout is designed there isn't a need to hop in and out of the center when in operation.
If you look closer at the picture, the passage way is already chicken wired off. The other room the dog's playpen area when we leave the house.
I'll echo what everyone else has said about those gas cans. They need to be outside and away from the water heater/furnace.You have been tempting fate the past 2 years. I'm also surprised the fumes haven't bothered anyone...
And remember a half or nearly empty gas container is much worse than a full one. The vapors are the most dangerous. Gasoline vapors are heavier than air and will pool near the floor, which is closer to that pilot light. Please move them outside. We don't want to hear about you on the 5 o'clock news after you've launched yourself into orbit and the house has burned down.
I'm also looking at your layout and really don't see how you're going to get in/out of the center pit. You may think you'll be able to duck in and out but I'm going to tell you that'll last perhaps a half dozen times before it gets old and you bang your head repeatedly. You will NOT like it......guaranteed.
Another nit, but it looks like you're blocking off a doorway along that framed wall. Is that passageway needed? You spent some money having the builder put it in. it seems a shame to not need it......
-G-
Ditto on the gas cans (and the lawnmower or other gasoline powered equipment too). I don't want to be too paranoid here but you are literally playing with fire, and explosions, and possibly no insurance coverage if the fire investigators find you to have been in violation of the codes! You say that the gas cans have been in the room for two years. That means that your family has been at risk of disaster for two years. Please don't kid yourself because nothing has happened so far. Enough said!!
On a more positive note your layout progress looks great! You have obviously done a lot of research and planning. I look forward to your progress reports. Well done so far!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
J.Rob 2, use a short piece of track between sections when building so you will have a couple of expansion joints between sections and if you have to move it or expand it it will make that easier and more pain free. When doing your scenery if all that needs to be cut is the top layer it will make it easier still.
2, use a short piece of track between sections when building so you will have a couple of expansion joints between sections and if you have to move it or expand it it will make that easier and more pain free. When doing your scenery if all that needs to be cut is the top layer it will make it easier still.
This is the method that is used for almost all traveling layouts that I have seen. However, I recently attended a GSMTS at Timonium, MD, where two large layouts (Sipping and Switching Societies of North Carolina and Ohio) did not use this method. The bench sections were accurately aligned by pipe "dowels" in their ends. Track rails were simply butted (small gap-no joiners). Electrical connections were via trailer plugs under the bench section joints. Track rails were held in place either by soldering rails to nails or by flat plates against each side of each rail. Nails were painted; plates were covered by ballast or scenery as appropriate.
The nail method looked better because it was less noticeable than the humps caused by the flat plates. Trains ran just fine!
Noted on the gas... I'll have to figure out what to do with the gas cans. They've been in the room the whole 2 years we've lived here... just you haven't seen them yet. ;)
I attached the legs on the final section tonight.. It's neat seeing the final shape after all these months:
Just for poops and giggles, I grabbed my AC4400 and quarry to represent the size:
FINISHED! .... oh wait... got a ways to go.
J.Rob I really like your layout and attention to detail. Just 3 suggestions. 1, move the layout legs in from the ends of the sections so that the layout has a cantilevered section at each end. this will cut down on warping of the longer sections as there will be shorter unsupported spans. It will also allow for connections to be made from one set of legs to another between sections which will stiffen the legs and can be used to keep the ends of the sections in alignment. Ex. an 8 foot long section would have the legs underneath at the 2 foot and 6 foot points. the longest span is now 4 feet instead of 8 feet. 2, use a short piece of track between sections when building so you will have a couple of expansion joints between sections and if you have to move it or expand it it will make that easier and more pain free. When doing your scenery if all that needs to be cut is the top layer it will make it easier still. 3, while everything is apart and can be separated paint all of the wood parts on all sides even if not exposed to view or covered with scenery later. By doing so you will seal allot the wood parts and dramatically reduce your seasonal expansion and contraction due to moisture and temperature variances. Have a great time it is looking very good.
I really like your layout and attention to detail. Just 3 suggestions. 1, move the layout legs in from the ends of the sections so that the layout has a cantilevered section at each end. this will cut down on warping of the longer sections as there will be shorter unsupported spans. It will also allow for connections to be made from one set of legs to another between sections which will stiffen the legs and can be used to keep the ends of the sections in alignment. Ex. an 8 foot long section would have the legs underneath at the 2 foot and 6 foot points. the longest span is now 4 feet instead of 8 feet.
3, while everything is apart and can be separated paint all of the wood parts on all sides even if not exposed to view or covered with scenery later. By doing so you will seal allot the wood parts and dramatically reduce your seasonal expansion and contraction due to moisture and temperature variances.
Have a great time it is looking very good.
Thanks for the compliments!
1- There actually is only 1 8-foot section, and that is the large one.. it will have legs at each end as well as at the mid point, thus giving appropriate support throughout the entire section. I actually tried to put the legs like you suggested on the shorter "large" sections (they are a tad over 6 feet)... it just didn't work as it brought the legs too close to the center point. I like your line of thought, and that's actually what i was shooting for. The bracing should make it very stable- it's going to be 2 or 3 braces attached to each leg at 90 degree points on the long pieces. I'm still desigining the method for the short sections.
2- Excellent idea!
3- Also great idea, and that one had not entered my thought process yet. Just a wood stain or what would you suggest? Also, foamular is going to be attached with liquid nails to the top. I am going to assume not to paint the top?
Thanks again, J. Rob!
-Denny