Hi Guys I've been moving ahead slowly with the new layout . Benchwork has been up for a while in the two rooms and trackplan, well trackplan is pretty firm as per mainline and roadbed has all been installed along with turnouts which are ran by tortoise switches controlled by ds64 stationary decoders. Mainline has been tested with all my steam engines smallest to largest as well as my f7 A&B units, all adjustments made. I would like to add more interior layout canals and rivers as well as there will be a 3foot lond curved trestle which I picked up the kit a few weeks back. Just the other day I got an idea to cut away some benchwork and add the old river bottom ( from old layout) back into the mix attached to the waterfall which a trestle will cross. The layout will also have a wharf scene and although I did the benchwork and designing in a specific area I'm starting to think I need more like one of the 4 foot legs to do it in a proper way. Ive uploaded perhaps too many pics of the layout from end to end to try to give as much detail as I could. I will be the first to admit, this has been a very large decision making struggle and its ongoing.
Lynn
Present Layout progress
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/p/290127/3372174.aspx#3372174
Now that I've posted where I'm at I would like to ask this question as it is one of my many struggles, I want to add slow moving deep rivers/canals not so much to the perimeters of the layout but more to the interior and build up the area around them with structures etc. To go abouts this should the river bottoms be sitting on the grid top as plywood or hardboard so to speak at the very lowest elevation of the entire layout? Should the track bed then be raised high enough on its risers higher than the level I now have them for the most part? Would the distance from the river bed then be 10-15 scale feet below the ground work or roadbed then everything else be build up above that? I would also like to add that seeing as I'm still not 100% sure where the rivers would go as structures still have not found there permanent home yet if the river bottom is to be placed at the lowest point being the grid top would I be further ahead simply filling in ontop of the grid where theres no track bed risers with some sort of base?
Thanks all suggestions welcome
Think about the rivers or streams that you have seen in your travels around different places. Think about how fishermen access them. 15 feet seems a little far down to me. I would go for 10 feet maybe at the most. Of course if you are in the maountains it would be farther down in a lot of cases.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
gandydancer19 Think about the rivers or streams that you have seen in your travels around different places. Think about how fishermen access them. 15 feet seems a little far down to me. I would go for 10 feet maybe at the most. Of course if you are in the maountains it would be farther down in a lot of cases.
I did raise the low end so it has a bit more room to play with for a water way. I kinda thought to myself after I posted the question, man what a dumb question, end of thought lol.
Thanks
What is the location of your layout? As suggested, if it is in the mountains, river bottoms can be far below the tracks. If you are running a shoreline railroad near a harbor, there might only be a few feet below the bridge. A pond or lake could be above the tracks, as ledge and natural terrain hold water in ponds in the mountains as well as the valley bottoms.
Good luck,
Richard
cowman What is the location of your layout? As suggested, if it is in the mountains, river bottoms can be far below the tracks. If you are running a shoreline railroad near a harbor, there might only be a few feet below the bridge. A pond or lake could be above the tracks, as ledge and natural terrain hold water in ponds in the mountains as well as the valley bottoms. Good luck, Richard
Yes it is a good variety if all that you described from end to end.
lynn
I built this canal to model an old mill complex.
It's not physically deep, but I used paint and tinted Envirotex to make it look that way. I wanted to get the look of a disused waterway. If I were to expand this scene, which I can't right now, I would add another section of the canal at a slightly different level and put in a lock where they meet.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley I built this canal to model an old mill complex. It's not physically deep, but I used paint and tinted Envirotex to make it look that way. I wanted to get the look of a disused waterway. If I were to expand this scene, which I can't right now, I would add another section of the canal at a slightly different level and put in a lock where they meet.
Thats exactley the effect im after, an interior canal. where can i see more of your layout?
thanks alot
Wickman asked: Thats exactley the effect im after, an interior canal. where can i see more of your layout?
My photos are at http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/8165
Thanks for looking.
MisterBeasley Wickman asked: Thats exactley the effect im after, an interior canal. where can i see more of your layout? My photos are at http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/8165 Thanks for looking.
Made it through all 39 pages, you should be proud of your accomplishments. I didnt realize you could pour envirotex on foam I always though it ate it. I really enjoyed the way you took photos not only of the finished scenes but the while you were working on them scenes. great job
Hi,
You have done some beautiful work there, and a lot of it. Very, very nice!
May I offer a suggestion............ on my "fill the room layout" I put in triangles of plywood on all the inside corners. They range from 8x8 inches to 12x12 inches. This has done two things........it allows for a more sweeping curve (be it rail or road), and it softens up the harsh corner.
After figuring out the size of the triangle, I then put 1x4 fascia boards on the edges, and then fastened to the existing benchwork. The result is super strong, and IMO made a very nice difference.
Hope to see more pics as you progress!
Bill
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
mobilman44 Hi, You have done some beautiful work there, and a lot of it. Very, very nice! May I offer a suggestion............ on my "fill the room layout" I put in triangles of plywood on all the inside corners. They range from 8x8 inches to 12x12 inches. This has done two things........it allows for a more sweeping curve (be it rail or road), and it softens up the harsh corner. After figuring out the size of the triangle, I then put 1x4 fascia boards on the edges, and then fastened to the existing benchwork. The result is super strong, and IMO made a very nice difference. Hope to see more pics as you progress! Bill
Thanks for the suggestion Bill, the reason I post here is to get suggestions and hope to get many many more. Unfortunately I'm not exactly clear on what you mean.?
First thing you will notice I updated the trackplan to keep things in order.I fixed up the track so the track above the tunnel no longer has a portal below a bridge end, I did this by moving the upper rail back and the tunnel rail forward and also had to move the switches a bit.I've been making slow progress on the layout, I didnt like the way the two bridge were over the tunnel entrances so had to take apart what I had as you can see in the before pics and fix things up.
Before pics, you can see the bridge/tunnel issue.
The left hand bridge These are pics at the present state with track reworked and tunnel area not closed in yet , working to get the bridges some abutments made up. I also got the mountains moved upward to where there in a better position. Quite a bit of plaster cloth work completed as well. Added two new tracks to goto the two diorammas, the diorammas are raised and will be backfilled. Thanks for looking.
These are pics at the present state with track reworked and tunnel area not closed in yet , working to get the bridges some abutments made up. I also got the mountains moved upward to where there in a better position. Quite a bit of plaster cloth work completed as well. Added two new tracks to goto the two diorammas, the diorammas are raised and will be backfilled. Thanks for looking.
These are pics at the present state with track reworked and tunnel area not closed in yet , working to get the bridges some abutments made up.
I also got the mountains moved upward to where there in a better position. Quite a bit of plaster cloth work completed as well. Added two new tracks to goto the two diorammas, the diorammas are raised and will be backfilled. Thanks for looking.
I also got the mountains moved upward to where there in a better position. Quite a bit of plaster cloth work completed as well. Added two new tracks to goto the two diorammas, the diorammas are raised and will be backfilled.
Lynn:
I didn't see an answer to your question about Bill's use of triangles so I thought I would try to clarify what he meant.
In the first picture of your Sept. 11 post you can see where the benchwork makes a 90 degree turn to the left. There is a track running very close to the edge of the benchwork right at the 90 degree bend. I believe what Bill was suggesting was to put a triangular piece of plywood with fascia in that corner so that the fascia makes two 45 degree turns instead of the single 90 degree turn. That allows space for a little more foreground scenery and avoids the appearance that the track is coming perilously close to the edge of the layout. He suggested that the square sides of the triangle could be 8" to 12" long but you can use whatever size suits you.
By the way, your changes to the bridge/tunnel setup look much better IMHO.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critter Lynn: I didn't see an answer to your question about Bill's use of triangles so I thought I would try to clarify what he meant. In the first picture of your Sept. 11 post you can see where the benchwork makes a 90 degree turn to the left. There is a track running very close to the edge of the benchwork right at the 90 degree bend. I believe what Bill was suggesting was to put a triangular piece of plywood with fascia in that corner so that the fascia makes two 45 degree turns instead of the single 90 degree turn. That allows space for a little more foreground scenery and avoids the appearance that the track is coming perilously close to the edge of the layout. He suggested that the square sides of the triangle could be 8" to 12" long but you can use whatever size suits you. By the way, your changes to the bridge/tunnel setup look much better IMHO. Dave
Thanks Dave I had figured out what he was talking about and actually added the corners to my trackplan and to the to do list.
Found some time to get the two bridges installed, took a bit to get the track to flow nicely. I decided to go with mounting the bridges off the roadbed and go the cosmetic route with abutments.
I got another bridge setup and now need to build two bridges for the lower tracks. Itching to run a train again.
I got a jig made up for the two bridges I need. The bridges will be 17 inches end to end and sides with be 2 inches high.
Very accurate work! It probably took longer to build the jig than it will to build the bridge using it. Don't take me wrong - I'm not critizing the use of the jig.
hon30critter Very accurate work! It probably took longer to build the jig than it will to build the bridge using it. Don't take me wrong - I'm not critizing the use of the jig. Dave
Your quite correct Dave, the second bottom went together in literally 15 minutes and the second side went together like nothing. I did enjoy making the jig though and using MEK with the styrene made things move along sooooo much faster.
Santa Fe all the way!Nice work, I'll be following your progress. Suggestion, Sky Blue craft foam board is pretty cheap and I think if you used it to cover the windows it would look nice. Also you can easily make them removable. Keep up the good work!!
Thats actually not a bad idea with the blue foam board and I just happen to have a few sheets kicking around. Will have to see,
I managed to get two bridges built and installed. Cleanup time and back to finishing wiring a couple more tortoise switches and onto track cleaning.
I also had to cookie cut a new incline to the dioramma base as the turnout just wasn't lining up nicely. As well the tunnel portals are in much better positioning.
Puttering along like a slow chicken with his head cut off I managed to get the jmri talking to the digitrax command station, finished off some feeder drops to the buss, and did some cleanup programming in the ds64's. jmri doesnt lie with what is not right so got some board addresses worked out. As well I finally got the ds64 board mounted off the benchwork out of the way, just have to shorten and reattach the wires to each ds64.
May I offer a suggestion............
I have a window similar to the one in the pics. I replaced the white mini blinds with light blue ones, and painted in the backdrop to blend into the window ledge, etc.
It proved to be a good thing to do, and you might want to consider it.
mobilman44 Hi, May I offer a suggestion............ I have a window similar to the one in the pics. I replaced the white mini blinds with light blue ones, and painted in the backdrop to blend into the window ledge, etc. It proved to be a good thing to do, and you might want to consider it.
Thnaks for the suggestion.
After getting the track reworked and tested again I started reworking the corner where there will be a small bit of structures. Please excuse the mess as its a on going work in progress. Random pics. I got an excellent clearance price for this plaster cloth from curry's. I picked up a number of cans. Pulled out the 5 gallon pail of paint I havent used for quite a few years for making my ground goop concoction.
I got an excellent clearance price for this plaster cloth from curry's. I picked up a number of cans. Pulled out the 5 gallon pail of paint I havent used for quite a few years for making my ground goop concoction.
Pulled out the 5 gallon pail of paint I havent used for quite a few years for making my ground goop concoction.
The bridges look really good!
Lots of progress on the layout too. Well done.
Thanks Dave winter is coming.
Four ingredients measured at 1 cup each of celluclay ( paper mache), vermiculite, paint and 1/2 cup white glue. I did mine in a much larger batch to fill the bucket. All ingredients in pail Mix to smooth consistency
All ingredients in pail Mix to smooth consistency
Mix to smooth consistency