Hi David,
FWIW, here is the latest track plan. The structures drawn in pink are potential additions to the layout. All the other structures I have already purchased:
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Looks good Dave !
I like the trolley.
Mike.
My You Tube
Thanks Mike,
I am much happier with the increased density despite the fact that I just committed myself to building more than a dozen additional structures. Most will be scratchbuilt so that will be fun.
Dave, you keep that up and you are not going to be able to see the trains for the structures.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrainDave, you keep that up and you are not going to be able to see the trains for the structures.
Hi Rich,
Actually, I think that the density of the structures will be a good thing for precisely that reason. If the structures in the center of the layout are tall enough to partially block the view of the trains on the opposite side of the layout, then I think the fact that the layout is a plain oval will be less obvious. I'm hoping that the structures will serve as sort of a view block so that the trains on the far side of the layout will disappear at least momentarily from the view of the observers on the foreground side of the layout. We shall see.
hon30critter richhotrain Dave, you keep that up and you are not going to be able to see the trains for the structures. Hi Rich, Actually, I think that the density of the structures will be a good thing for precisely that reason. If the structures in the center of the layout are tall enough to partially block the view of the trains on the opposite side of the layout, then I think the fact that the layout is a plain oval will be less obvious. I'm hoping that the structures will serve as sort of a view block so that the trains on the far side of the layout will disappear at least momentarily from the view of the observers on the foreground side of the layout. We shall see. Dave
richhotrain Dave, you keep that up and you are not going to be able to see the trains for the structures.
richhotrain hon30critter richhotrain Dave, you keep that up and you are not going to be able to see the trains for the structures. Hi Rich, Actually, I think that the density of the structures will be a good thing for precisely that reason. If the structures in the center of the layout are tall enough to partially block the view of the trains on the opposite side of the layout, then I think the fact that the layout is a plain oval will be less obvious. I'm hoping that the structures will serve as sort of a view block so that the trains on the far side of the layout will disappear at least momentarily from the view of the observers on the foreground side of the layout. We shall see. Dave Agreed. Rich
Agreed.
I agree with Dave also.
I like the scenery to bring life to a railroad and a reason for things to be where they are. How many times in real life one only gets fleeting glances of a train as it passes? Knowing a train is there, but cannot see it.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
NorthBrit I like the scenery to bring life to a railroad and a reason for things to be where they are. How many times in real life one only gets fleeting glances of a train as it passes? Knowing a train is there, but cannot see it.
Someone on a limited budget and/or limited space could build a layout, or more appropriately a diorama, with structures and landscaping dominating the scene without even including trains. You could add sound from recordings, perhaps a whiff of smoke, the reflection of a headlight, to simulate a passing train.
I am half joking but by definition I must be half serious. Something to consider in the right situation.
Yes, Rich. An interesting scenario. Then I thought about the roads on my layout. I move my vehicles around to give a little variety to a scene. The man selling ice cream is in the Industrial Park. Next week he will probably be selling his wares near the Timber Merchants. To get there he will drive along imaginary roads that are 'there' but not made (nor will ever be).
The beauty of modeling.
I saw my surgeon on Thursday regarding my ruptured Achilles tendon. He says that it is apparently healing on its own so I might not need surgery. However, it will be a few months before I can spend any time on my feet working on the layout in the garage.
Cheers!!
Dave... I hope you can get well soon.
I will be looking forward to more updates when you are able.
Take care of yourself.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190Dave... I hope you can get well soon. I will be looking forward to more updates when you are able.
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your well wishes.
Unfortunately the word 'soon' doesn't seem to apply in my situation. Even without surgery my Achilles tendon will likely take months to fully heal, and the same is true for the torn tendon in my left shoulder. Even after two months it still causes pain and my arm is weak. In fact, I'm pushing my luck by typing because after a couple of hours my shoulder is aching. I should learn to shut up but I enjoy the forums so much that the pain is worth it.
I need to reclaim my workbench! It is overflowing with rolling stock boxes and various other detritus. I have decided to order a few Rubbermaid totes so that I can pack a lot of it up and move it to the garage. Of course it's going to add more clutter to the garage, but at least I will have regained my workbench.
I'm afraid that there won't be much progress on the layout for a while. My broken Achilles tendon (it's healing slowly) still prevents me from working on the layout proper, and my torn left shoulder tendon (not sure if it is healing or not) is too painful to let me work at the workbench. I can still type as long as I keep my left elbow on the arm rest, but that is about all I can do.
Sorry. Your patience is appreciated.
I have started a condensed version of the thread for those who are more interested in understanding the basic concept. This thread is at almost 900 posts so expecting someone to read the whole thing in order to find out how I built the rotating benchwork is totally unreasonable. Thanks to IDRick for motivating me to do this.
I'm going to continue to use this thread as the primary location for posting developments as the layout progresses. By doing that, I can avoid diluting the condensed thread with all the enjoyable but not necessarily fully useful banter.
Here is the condensed thread:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/287007.aspx
In an attempt to reclaim my workbench I just bought four large tote boxes and 50 smaller cardboard boxes which are just a bit larger than the average Athearn BB. I have about a dozen projects sitting on my workbench in boxes without tops. Putting those into a storage container is a recipe for disaster if they spill so that's why I bought the new boxes. I also have a bunch of freight cars sitting one on top of another on the shelves above my workbench so I want to box a lot of them up too. I also have a large number of freight car kits on the workbench which I probably won't get to for several years so I want to get them out of the way as well.
I will keep a few of the more interesting projects on the workbench, like the brass trolley car and maybe my Aerotrain projects which I just got the interiors for, but the rest is going away for a while so I can work on the many structure kits and scratchbuilding projects that I have lined up. I need open space to do those and that is exactly what I don't have right now.
hon30critter I also have a bunch of freight cars sitting one on top of another on the shelves above my workbench so I want to box a lot of them up too. I also have a large number of freight car kits on the workbench which I probably won't get to for several years so I want to get them out of the way as well.
That all sounds like a very good plan.
All my projects are packed away right now, and I was careful when packing them to make sure any losse would be minimal.
The thread just went over the 45000 views mark! I am amazed that so many people enjoy being bored to death!
Seriously, thank you all for your interest!
My shoulder is still messed up so I'm not able to do anything constructive. Even cleaning up the workbench has proven to be a problem.
Thanks again for your patience.
hon30critterThe thread just went over the 45000 views mark! I am amazed that so many people enjoy being bored to death!
The views on my "layout segment" and "cardboard layout" build threads keep going up and up, even though they have not been updated in years.
SeeYou190The views on my "layout segment" and "cardboard layout" build threads keep going up and up, even though they have not been updated in years.
I'll try to update my thread a little more often than that!
I did make some progress tonight sorting out my workbench and my storage drawer units. I can now say that I have all my LEDs in one ziplock bag, and all my other components like resistors and speakers in their proper places. I also started to clear space on the workbench but I didn't get very far. What I managed to do was dig out all of the projects that were occupying a major portion of the actual work area. There are eight in total. I now have them all lined up ready to be labelled and put into the stack of kits that are on the back of the benchwork. Before I can do that I have to sort through the stack of kits and put a large number of them that won't be worked on for a while into a tote so they can be moved to the garage. There will be a second tote containing RTR stuff that is currently stacked on the back of the workbench as well. And there will be a third tote with things like bridge and structure kits that will be worked on down the road.
Small progress perhaps, but progress none the less, and my shoulder isn't hurting!
I really thankful that you post your work process, it reminded mw to take one detain from my property in Greece here, where I have my work studio
I have an MRI scheduled on Friday morning so I will soon know if my Achilles tendon has healed enough to start putting some weight on it. If I get the go ahead I can get back out to the garage to resume work on the layout itself.
No results from the MRI yet, but it looks like it will be a while before I can resume work on the layout. On Wednesday my knees hurt so bad that I could hardly stand or walk. They have never been this painful. Heaven knows what is in store for me now!
At least on a positive note, Dianne and I got our first Covid-19 vaccinations yesterday. Neither of us felt the needle at all, and so far we haven't had any soreness or other side effects. Let's hope it stays that way.
hon30critterDianne and I got our first Covid-19 vaccinations yesterday. Neither of us felt the needle at all, and so far we haven't had any soreness or other side effects.
I am hoping for the best for you.
We had the Moderna shot on Monday, first dose. Also no soreness or side effects.
Hopefully, things will get back to normal once the tendon problems are gone. Our aging bodies don't adapt well when one of the components fails!
Simon
Hello everyone,
I apologise again for not posting new updates on the layout, but as I have already explained, my ability to climb stairs and to stand for more than a couple of minutes has been totally compromised by my Achilles tendon rupture and my bad knees. Unfortunately, work on the layout will have to be postponed for at least a few months.
In the interim, I am spending my time sorting and organizing all of my locomotives and rolling stock. Thanks to a larger than expected income tax return I have been able to order enough decoders to convert all of my DC locomotives to Loksound sound decoders.
Once I have the decoders installed I intend to start building some of the structures that will go on the layout. However, before I can do that I will have to build some storage units in the garage so that I can store them without being subject to damage or dust.
Patience is a virtue! Thank you for being patient!
I have made a decision about how to mark the track plan on the foam. I am going to use spray glue to glue full sized track diagrams directly to the foam. This method is being used by a professional layout builder who is currently building a huge layout for a customer. Go to about the three minute mark to get a view of the paper templates that he is using:
I was really concerned that the paper plan would cause problems when the ballast glue was being applied. In order to reduce that possibility I'm going to coat the paper with shellac after it is glued down. Hopefully that will reduce or eliminate any tendancy for the paper to swell and wrinkle.
Printing the full sized track plan is easy with 3rdPlanIt. It just takes a bunch of tape to stick the letter sized paper sheets together.
Dave,
Instead of shellac, would simply coating both sides of the full size track plan with white glue or Mad Podge Matte be good?
I personally think Mod Podge Matte would be the way to go, since decoupage is literally gluing paper.
SeeYou190Instead of shellac, would simply coating both sides of the full size track plan with white glue or Mad Podge Matte be good?
I have a few concerns about your suggestion.
First, if I'm not mistaken, white glue is soluable in water. Therefore, it will allow water to get to the paper track plan layer and the paper will then swell and wrinkle.
Second, modge podge is way, way more expensive than shellac.
I will use white glue when I get to the point of ballasting, but I'm going to make absolutely certain that the paper layer won't cause a problem when I get there.
Thanks for your input,
hon30critterFirst, if I'm not mistaken, white glue is soluable in water. Therefore, it will allow water to get to the paper track plan layer and the paper will then swell and wrinkle. Second, modge podge is way, way more expensive than shellac.
Good points.
I have never used shellac, what is it normally used for?