Dick, I would also like to welcome you. Are you also building a layout based on the Virginian? We'd love to follow your progress in pictures.
My Layout Pics
I have now completed laying the track with the addition of the Roger's Yard and the Bigger Mine tracks. Here are some pics:
I am now in the process of filling in missing ties and will start soldering the 22 gauge feeder wires for a DCC layout. I have the suitcase connectors and the NCE Power Cab DCC Starter System on order. Once I have all the feeder wires in place, I will need to make the decision on whether to paint the tracks or leave them as is.
Dick,
Thanks, and welcome also! We'd like to see some photos as well of your progress....:)
Roger, looking good! Did you use the snap switches in the yard, and modify as MR did or?
Airborne, I used Atlas #4 turnouts unmodified for the yard. The only snap switches I used were the 2 22" radius turnouts at each end of the layout and the turnout at the entrance to the mine. My yard area consists of only 4 tracks instead of 6 and really doesn't hold very many cars. I think you mentioned at one point that you had 30 hoppers for this layout. Your going to have a fully loaded layout. Will you be adding the staging tracks?
Roger,
Yes, I now have 30 hoppers for the layout. I do plan to add on the staging yard, probably sooner than later. For now I will just rotate cars on and off the layout. I plan for 5 tracks in the yard, even with using the modified snap switches, as my model for the freight house will not clear 6 tracks. I am going to use the card system that was in one of the Virginian issues, the one based on the author's C&O layout. These are already done for about half my cars I plan to use, with of course Penn Central at the top as the originating road....
Will someone kindly advise how to pop out and reverse the #5 Peco left turnout switch rod leading into the yard. It doesn't seem to be as easy as the Atlas turnouts and I'm concerned about ruining the unit. Thanks. Dick
Yes, I am building the Virginian but I am going with a logging theme, since I'm up here in Vermont. I call it the Vermonter. I am building on three inches of foam rather than plywood and using foam also for the elevations. I just received the curved Peco turnouts in the mail today (waited three weeks) so I will be hopefully laying track this weekend.
Dick, Can't help you with the Peco turnouts. I used mostly Atlas turnouts and two Walthers/Shinohara curved turnouts. I had to reverse the switch rods on three of the Atlas turnouts which is pretty easy. The Walthers switchrods stick out in both directions and I had to cut one of them off. Hope someone replies to you so you can proceed with your track laying. Post some pics!!
I am currently waiting for my NCE Power Cab DCC system which is supposed to be delivered today. Looking forward to playing with that.
In the MR Virginian video they mention using the I.S.L.E. foam rock strips on the enbackments. However, even though they cite Walthers as the source, sales and tech folks there can't seem to help me identify the product number. Products with pics don't seem to match it either. I'm guessing that the product used is about 3-4 inches high and 12-15 inches long from the video. Has anybody found this product? Thanks. Dick
stirling34 In the MR Virginian video they mention using the I.S.L.E. foam rock strips on the enbackments.<snip>I'm guessing that the product used is about 3-4 inches high and 12-15 inches long from the video.
In the MR Virginian video they mention using the I.S.L.E. foam rock strips on the enbackments.<snip>I'm guessing that the product used is about 3-4 inches high and 12-15 inches long from the video.
Sounds a bit like this onehttp://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/473-820
See all the ISLE products carried at Walthers herehttp://www.walthers.com/exec/search?manu=473&split=30
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
What Cuyama stated is correct. These can be ordered direct from Walther's. They are about the measurements listed, and are part of the "Mountains in Minutes" line of products....
Work had been stopped on my project due to waiting on extra cork to arrive finally (there has been a shortage worldwide apparently), and for one switch to arrive that was back ordered. Also work was stopped due to train show commitments.
Work should resume in early June on my layout now that the cork, the switch, extra flex track, and all wire is now on hand. A few slight changes are in the works however. For one, the girder bridge will be replaced with a simple extended rock cut. Another change hopefully will be the addition of a siding on the back of the MR layout where they have the "bar", which on mine will be Walther's "Co-op shed", which will be the "Kanawha County Feed and Seed". One other change will add a yard office between the digital scale and the station on the "swing-up" section....
It's been several months since I last posted on my progress. Since then I have worked on several projects including a trestle to replace my temporary bridge, tunnel portals made from scratch using 3/4" inch foam, and a couple of mountains using the plaster cloth method. You can view all my pictures using the link in my signature.
Would still love to see any pictures from others that are basing their layout on MRR's Virginian Layout. Please feel free to add your pictures to this thread.
Your pics are terrific. I am moving along with my Vermonter modification of the Virginian. About half my layout is DCC wired at this point. My Shay and ALCO Rutland, Vermont switcher work well albeit with a few dead current spots that need fixing. Embankment rocks just came in this week, painting them today. Making trees. Find that Sweetwater is the best. Painting tracks and ballast will be next. Grandchildren love running two engines at the same time.
it probably would have helped if I actually added the photos.
virignian4.jpg
virginian3.jpg
virginian2.jpg
virginian1.jpg
Let me know if the photos don't work. The links should go to Picasa.
Cheers,
Steve
Steve - Welcome to trains.com!
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
Steve,
Wow, You are way ahead of me. That is looking very nice. You can look at my progress using the link in my signature.
Keep those pictures coming!
Roger
Looks like I lost the text for my photos.
This is my first layout since I was 15 (40 years ago). Since its basically my first build I followed the specs pretty closely until I got confident in making any changes. The learning curve was pretty steep for the track layout as I followed David's layout and track materials. In the end I am glad I did this as I learned a lot about differing track brands . As you can see I am now in the tree phase. The trees about the tunnel show my first attempt before I became somewhat competent..... The videos were invaluable, I replayed some sections for hours.
Photos of your progress look great! You're way ahead of me as well, as unfortunately, I when I started had most of the supplies to complete the project, but lacked any power tools, soldering tools, and small tools needed to do the track work and other work, so I'm having to rely on friends and their schedules.
A few questions on your layout. What type or brand of plaster did you use, and did you apply this directly over the plywood table top, or a screen, or did you apply it over a foam base?
I got a good start as Michigan winters last a long time. Its slowed down over the summer. I used Sculpatmold. I pretty much followed the method David used. That is : 3/4 inch insulation foam for the mountains with Sculptamold over it. I didn't file down the insulation as much as on the prototype, so in some place the sculptamold is a couple of inches thick. Where this happened it took about 3 days to dry. In other areas I just put the scupltamold directly on the plywood. When I was a kid I used plaster of paris over mesh and find scultamold much easier to work with. It dries with a fairly rough surface. If you want it smooth, you can use the "wet finger technique" after about 1/2 hour.
Each step was a learning experience. Mixing code 83 with code 100 was not easy. I chewed up a section of flex-track learning to cut track. Modifying the Peco turnouts was a nightmare of finicky soldering. I couldn't get the Peco #5 right to fit in the yard with the correct angle so replaced it with an Atlas snap switch. I haven't done the roads yet. I will be using smoothit over scupltamold, so will have to see how that goes. While I have marked out the buildings based on location and size, I haven't started building them yet. I've been using the layout to learn airbrushing techniques, as its pretty forgiving for screw-ups before I attempt the buildings.
Overall the process has been extremely rewarding. My wife comments, "so what are you going to do when its finished?". What I haven't told her is that I'm using this to learn how to build a layout and will probably build a new one.... :)
Thanks for the info Steve!
What I found while laying out the track with a friend was that some other track sizes and solutions worked better as well. Instead of using the two Peco code 100 switches that connect the main with the yard lead, the switch closest to the scale was replaced with a regular Peco turnout, while that code 100 turnout was used as the first switch coming off the other end of the yard ladder closest to the hillside, as it had more curvature in it to line the tracks up more parallel to the branch/hillside. Likewise, a regular Peco #5 wasn't used up on the branch coming off the bridge, instead, a Walther's curved 6 1/2 turnout was used, as it gave more length to the siding. Also, the bridge was not used, as I'm using a solid rock wall all the way around from the lower tunnel, with the mountain starting at track level on the curved branch track. In other words, no "valley" behind where the bridge would have went.
Other changes I made were: there are three tracks going into the mine now, as I wanted more room for hoppers, plus to make the mine more of the focal point. I also was not up to kitbashing the mine as MR did. Almost all of my buildings have been finished, including a lot of wood kits. Another change I will make is the extended part of the plywood on the curved part of the branch that was to support the mountain was cut further back to clear room for the mine building, and I will create a small "hollow" on the upper curve just east of where the bridge would be to place the "Cullen" depot there, instead of down on the main by the tunnel. That area I placed another switch down off the main that extends almost to the dirt road to accommodate a feed and seed store there, while the "moonshine bar" is now moved up across the road closer to the company houses. One of the company houses will be placed a bit up on the mountainside, as homes in West Virginia sometimes are.
My swing up section will actually be built at a later date as a "plug-in" section as a module would be, and I'll place a station, yard office, and the digital scale there. The equipment shed in the triangle between the industry siding and the road across to the freight house will probably either be Woodland Scenics "Rocky's Bar", or a tower to simulate DB tower on the old NYC near Dickinson yard.
My experience with this project, as I have not built a layout since I was 14, which was also over 40 years ago, is that I would have used all the same switches from the same manufacturer, and made them fit, as opposed to using snap switches, Peco's and Walther's, as the Peco switches are a pain to modify. I did use the snap switches in the yard and mine area, cut down in the yard to fit as MR did. However, I did NOT use any snap track on the curves. I used Atlas super flex track, and ME flex track, and again, I learned a lesson in NOT using Micro Engineering flex track on curves, as it's also a royal pain to bend. The Atlas super flex is much easier to work with. I am using the weathered ME track in the yard and for the straight track however.
Again, my progress is WAY behind however. I do not have all the track down as yet, nor of course do I have it wired. I did follow what MR did though and buy the NCE system, as I'm familiar with using it. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything down and wired sooner than later, and report more progress...
Stourbridge,
I'm right down the road from you in Parker......:)
Series of updated progress. Four of these show structures for the layout.....
Airborne,
The rust treatment on the roof is great! How did you do it. I'm still collecting track to build this layout and will start in the fall. All this extra info is nice.
Thanks
Gizzle,
Thanks! But I can't take credit for the rust work on the roof of the one kit. It's the Blair Line kit "Sam's Roadhouse" which will be used by the mine as a small restaurant/cafe, and it comes with corrugated rusted iron peel and stick roofing. Does look very realistic, one reason I like Blair Line kits, for their ease of assembly, and detail parts. All of my wood kits are Blair Line kits, including the general store shown here, the truck dumps (2), and the new Greene's feed and seed store...
Since these photos were taken I've now added a few more signs to the general store, as well as non operating lights to the outside of the store and roadhouse. BTW, the detail parts I'm using are all JL Innovative parts. I like these also due to their detail and the fact they are pre-painted. The front of the general store will also have some produce from one Woodland Scenics kit, plus a handmade ice machine, as well as an electric meter box from Micro Engineering, finally, a propane tank from JL...
I just want to let everyone who is posting their progress and more importantly explaining what and how they are doing it know it is really appreciated.
This is not only interesting but really helpful to we novices. It's a real learning experience.
Thanks,
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
On my project I'm undecided whether to use the foam for a scenery base, or use plaster cloth over cardboard strips. With asthma, I'm concerned with having to cut and file/sand the foam board, and it's associated particles in the air. I do have plaster cloth already, I also have a supply of foam as well to use, plus of course I plan to use Sculptamold and Smooth-it, which I also have on hand.
Did you notice a problem with filing or sanding the foam insulation? I know that foam would be a lot lighter to work with than plaster, but my layout really won't be going anywhere other than where it's at in my garage, so weight I'm not worried about too much...
Several more structures for the layout:
Grandt Line "corrugated iron warehouse" for farm and feed supply at end of branch, and Walther's scale house for use in the yard in connection with digital scale. Both painted Polly Scale PC green. The warehouse will also have JL Innovative detail parts including feed and seed sacks, fertilizer drums and propane tank. Other details will include a handmade Coke machine and signage....
Replying to your question for the other Steve about foam vs. plaster cloth. I plan on using both methods. For the scenery I have created so far I have used foam to create a framework and cardboard strips to create the shape before covering with plaster cloth. I originally planned and started cutting layers of 3/4" foam to build the central mountain behind the coal tipple but didn't like the shape and realized it was going to take a lot of shaving and filling with plaster. I then switched to the method I used in the following picture:
I still plan on using just the foam for the ridge that runs between Roger's yard and the line going up to Green Hill.
Here is a picture of the covered mountain:
I am currently casting some rocks using crinkled aluminum foil and some leftover drywall mud. These take three or four days to harden completely. I am soon going to purchase an airbrush and start to learn how to paint my rocks and weather my rolling stock.
You can see all of my pictures using the link below.