Ridgerunner, I wasn't too far behind you....if truth were to be known. So I say: well I blew that week, now what can I accomplish the coming week towards my goal....lol...and hope I don't blow next week as well.
Mark,if I may suggest Go ahead and put down some ground cover on those finished areas. It's a real energy/ego boost to see some finished landscape.
I must apologise for not posting earlier this is a fantastic topic that most of us had great pleasure with last time. I have had a 4 month break from the layout mainly due to winter being here and the layout room gets a little cool. I have one final section of the layout to finish before I go and design another extension Originally this area was to be an engine yard but I am having second thoughts especially if i am extending the layout in the future. The problem is the engine yard is next to a storage yard and to be able to come off the 4 roads I need to bring engines off trains and head along the mainline then change directions and through a switch heading under the brige to a dead end and then switching into the engine yard. i'm just considering whether I need to put a engine yard and service centre now or wait until I build the extension. If i dont proceed then what do I do with this area? Here are 2 pics of the are taken from opposite ends I'm open to any suggestions and I hope this stirs some discussion. [ 18. September 2002, 06:51: Message edited by: Colonel ]
Well I haven't done too much more this week either. I think I laid one strip of cork and that was it. The main reason is because a design change has started happening which has put everything on hold in case it gets changed. I should have the new design decided on soon though. I've been deciding where/how to do my control panels too. I may even start them tomorrow as their location shouldn't change.
Paul, In layout design circles, putting a yard next to a staging yard is considered a desirable thing. I keep forgetting the reason why. I can recall Tony Koester discussing this and praising some one's layout design (I think Eric Bauman's). If I understand you correct, your "storage yard" is staging? I will see if I can get an answer.
That is one thing I love about this hobby, you can work on it when you want and how long you want. This is very important. Before I got into model railroading I used to brew my own beer. It became too much like work, because certain things HAD to be done at just the right time. It became almost stressful and that is not what a hobby is for. In model railroading I can go down in my basement and putz around for 5 minutes or 5 hours and then leave it alone for a bit. If you want to make progress on your layout, my I suggest this. You should set aside a fixed amount of time at the same time every week to do something on your layout. This can be any time of your choosing. One hour on a Tuesday or Friday night or a Saturday afternoon. The important thing is to stick to this time schedule and do something with your railroad. This can be anything from sweeping and cleaning up around your layout or workbench to building a structure or freight car. The important thing is to do something. If you don't you may neglect your railroad too long and you will get discouraged by a lack of progress. Then all you will have is one giant dust collector.
Glad I read this! My layout is just getting underway and it's 2 1/2' X 5'. I was just going to stay with DC block but what you're saying here makes sense. Thanks Actually, Soundtraxx makes sound decoders for N. They are around $130.00 USD and from what others have said, they sound too tinny. The physics of such a small speaker nullifies it's ability to sound right. Rick, what do you think of MRC's Prodigy? I've looked into it but my knowledge of DCC is zip! If the Atlas Commander comes down in price, I may get it but would like your thoughts on the Prodigy. Thanks!
I know MRC Prodigy has some limitations, but for you it would be fine. I would bounce between Atlas and the MRC Prodigy. My understanding is that you can get the Prodigy at a bit of a deal now, as prices feel when Atlas came out with their stuff. I think for a small layout you don't need the high end stuff, the cheif advantage is no blocks, and ease of having a friend, son/daughter run with you.
Well I actually did something today. I laid a bit more cork and then actually started laying track. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some more laid too.
Nothing done on the layout this week,but I did get the rest of the drywall up in the trainroom.I also got one of the cabs built for my On30 fleet of Moguls and the lumber cut for the first On30 module.
I have actually finished tracklaying on the redesigned layout. But now I have to get the feeds wiring back in, then all the switch machines fitted and wired I hate working under the layout!
As Rick suggested two weeks ago I will try to plan my work for the next four weeks. During that time I have arranged buildings at two small villages, Cold Spring and Greenville. My intention is to finish road surfaces, place some light poles, and lay ground cover around the buildings, and maybe continue with the mountain background. No promises Some preliminary photos of Cold Spring Greenville You can see some more pics at Layout Pictures [ 23. September 2002, 09:19: Message edited by: HelgeK ]
Hard to describe, but I put up long strips of wood to take the masonite which is the backdrop support. I had to put the strips around the room, except for a small portion, to take prepare the second level for backdrop and the nolix area (which is not two levels but one). Thanks for the pics, its great to see pics of the layout construction in progress. That gives others a chance to see alternate methods to accomplish the same thing, such as building mountains and hills.
Well... I was designing a single level N scale 13x15 foot layout. Then the nolix bug hit me after reading about other layouts using them. Since I'm more "HO inclined", I was thinking, "why not make a double deck HO layout in that space?" Anyways, I'll use the nolix idea to go from the levels on the visible part of the layout. I'm still debating whether to use a regular hidden helix(in closet area) to go between levels at the "ends" of the layout(making it a staging yard also". or use hidden return loops at both levels. My goal is to get the benchwork done and track laid in 6 weeks..lol..think it's possible?
actual progress. I put up 2 x 2 pilasters on wall around room. It is appx. a 7' by 7' room, so I have two pilasters on each wall. Using chalk to draw bench work on floor, I set up a simple dogbone with my Kato unitrack. Boring. Back to the drawing board. Maintaining 24 inch aisle width I decided that I am going to have to make a two level track. Onward...
Second week, I'm going to re-do the benchwork... I'm going to just slide a thin stainless ruler under the existing scenery to "pop" the glue loose so I can just glue it onto the better benchwork. Then I'll not have an ugly joint (weak spot) in the middle of the layout, and I can make more serious progress.
Alas, not much progress in week 2, mostly due to my shift (4 - 12) and overtime. Got a bit more done on the creek bluffs, and am working up a couple test samples of the creek bed. Good news: Day off tomorrow and am now back on day shift, so week 3 should see an increase in productivity. Mark
Dave, Benchwork is probably one of the easiest and fastest facets of layout construction. It goes up amazingly fast (it usually can be done in one day - excluding nolix's and helix's). Once you settle on what you are doing, and get plans for the benchwork, and money isn't an issue. You should be able to come in on time. With your track plan, just settle on the mainline, nothing else, but of course, you will have some inklings of what (other track) will go where (you'll be amazed at how often these inklings change by the way). Hang in there friend.
OK, my layout is 2 1/2' X 5'. Not exactly record breaking in size but I have serious room and storage constraints. The bright side is that I'll be able to super detail it. So far I have cut the plywood top, mounted it to the frame, attached the "skyrafoam" and started drawing out the outlines for the roadbed. I need four turnouts that my LHS was suppose to have last week. He promises they will be in tomorrow. By the end of the weekend I want to have all the track laid and wired for both DC block control AND DCC ( which I plan on switching to this Christmas ). My stretch goal is to have the ballasting completed also. Right now I'm able to run trains (even without all the turnouts) and lay out some of the town buildings, auto's, people to see how I like it. I plan on scratch building all the industries. The era is 1965 California. I had to go this late to include the use of SD-45's but I'm still able to use a lot of Black Widow painted loco's in that era. My layout is primarily a switching district with a through line running to and from a hidden staging area (under the town). Trains come through from East and West (everything on the SP was east and west regardless of compass heading. West if going towards San Francisco, east if going away) and drop off and pick up cuts of cars. Two switchers work the district. [ 25. September 2002, 20:30: Message edited by: espeeman ]
