texasdon
September 11th, 2004, 12:59 AM
Hi everyone,
July and August became very busy times at work, so I have not had much of an opportunity to post on Trainboard. I notice that the S Scale world is very quiet.
I have indeed been working on my train layout. All of the benchwork has been completed and is in place in the bedroom. For the first time, I ventured into the world of backdrops and have painted and installed them along the walls. They are basically a sky blue, but they really add a lot to the appearance. As an editorial comment, I recommend backdrops for all model railroads now that I have seen how easy the simple ones are to provide. The current Model Railroader has an article on more artistic backdrops. I might attempt some hills and trees as well.
The rough form of the terrain is about 90% done. I have one section where I intend to put a barge and barge dock which needs to be finished. After that is complete, I can begin installing the fascia boards. I actually intend to make this layout look reasonably nice.
I have started to install roadbed and track. A little of the track is in place. I am laying the track on HO cork roadbed which I am gluing directly to the foam base. HO road bed is wide enough for my purposes and provides just a little bit of track elevation from the basic ground level. I have made more advanced progress on the cork installation. I am using Shinohara code 100 flex track and #6 turnouts. I find this track to be easy to work with for someone used to using Atlas code 83 and code 100 HO track.
I laid out the turnouts for the layout and found (to my pleasant surprise) that everything will work as I intended. The yard ladder took a little more distance than I hoped it might, but my three track yard will hold about 12-15 cars, which is adequate for switching the planned available industrial spots. Although this layout has a continuous loop for those lazy evenings and for entertaining guests, it will primarily be a switching layout between a small yard and several industries. I have spent 24 years in the chemical industry, and that is the side of railroading I have observed most frequently and most closely. I do have one corner of the layout where I intend to build a chemical plant.
I am also modifying an Atlas truss bridge kit for S scale to cross a small stream I have provided. The stream serves no other real purpose other than to provide an excuse for the only bridge on the layout. I am basically using the molded sides and creating the track support structure from plastic parts. My HO club, Northwest Crossing, has several kitbashed or scratch built bridges which served as a go-by for how to do things.
Progress will be slow and steady this fall. I am using the system advocated by an old model railroad friend in Philadelphia. If I have 15 or 30 minutes, I will do a little work on the layout. Fall is a busy season at our house. Our daughter is a senior in marching band. Between Friday night games and various band events, I do not have a lot of free time. I will also be on two week long business trips. in October and November as I become trained to become a Six Sigma Blackbelt. My goal is to have the trains operation by the holidays. I can then focus on scenery in the new year.
That is basically the news from Houston. Its been a little quiet in here lately and I thought I should liven up the discussions. I hope everyone is enjoying the early part of Autumn.
July and August became very busy times at work, so I have not had much of an opportunity to post on Trainboard. I notice that the S Scale world is very quiet.
I have indeed been working on my train layout. All of the benchwork has been completed and is in place in the bedroom. For the first time, I ventured into the world of backdrops and have painted and installed them along the walls. They are basically a sky blue, but they really add a lot to the appearance. As an editorial comment, I recommend backdrops for all model railroads now that I have seen how easy the simple ones are to provide. The current Model Railroader has an article on more artistic backdrops. I might attempt some hills and trees as well.
The rough form of the terrain is about 90% done. I have one section where I intend to put a barge and barge dock which needs to be finished. After that is complete, I can begin installing the fascia boards. I actually intend to make this layout look reasonably nice.
I have started to install roadbed and track. A little of the track is in place. I am laying the track on HO cork roadbed which I am gluing directly to the foam base. HO road bed is wide enough for my purposes and provides just a little bit of track elevation from the basic ground level. I have made more advanced progress on the cork installation. I am using Shinohara code 100 flex track and #6 turnouts. I find this track to be easy to work with for someone used to using Atlas code 83 and code 100 HO track.
I laid out the turnouts for the layout and found (to my pleasant surprise) that everything will work as I intended. The yard ladder took a little more distance than I hoped it might, but my three track yard will hold about 12-15 cars, which is adequate for switching the planned available industrial spots. Although this layout has a continuous loop for those lazy evenings and for entertaining guests, it will primarily be a switching layout between a small yard and several industries. I have spent 24 years in the chemical industry, and that is the side of railroading I have observed most frequently and most closely. I do have one corner of the layout where I intend to build a chemical plant.
I am also modifying an Atlas truss bridge kit for S scale to cross a small stream I have provided. The stream serves no other real purpose other than to provide an excuse for the only bridge on the layout. I am basically using the molded sides and creating the track support structure from plastic parts. My HO club, Northwest Crossing, has several kitbashed or scratch built bridges which served as a go-by for how to do things.
Progress will be slow and steady this fall. I am using the system advocated by an old model railroad friend in Philadelphia. If I have 15 or 30 minutes, I will do a little work on the layout. Fall is a busy season at our house. Our daughter is a senior in marching band. Between Friday night games and various band events, I do not have a lot of free time. I will also be on two week long business trips. in October and November as I become trained to become a Six Sigma Blackbelt. My goal is to have the trains operation by the holidays. I can then focus on scenery in the new year.
That is basically the news from Houston. Its been a little quiet in here lately and I thought I should liven up the discussions. I hope everyone is enjoying the early part of Autumn.