Hello everyone! I'm brand new to the TrainBoard and want to say Hi to everyone. Right now I am involved in the design of the DCC electrical system for my new layout. The track plan is proceding quite nicely. Not many modifications will be needed to construct the layout unless someone here has a better idea! You can see for yourself just where I am in the design process. Just poke yer browser to the link below. That's all for now. I will Post more drawings as they are completed. GM
Gerald, Welcome to trainboard, am looking forward to seeing your layout. Who did the 3D benchwork design? It is purely amazing Can you tell us a little more about your design and what type of operations you envisage?
Gerald: Welcome to Trainboard. Your layout plan is fantastic as is the benchwork. Keep us informed with photo's of your progress. Stay cool and run steam......
Welcome Aboard!. Always good to see a extra dimention to things. The thought and effort you've already invested is amazing. I'm going back to read more!
Colonel, The bench work is my own creation. I can also make portions of the bench transparent so that you can look right through the pieces. If I can ever get the electrical plan finished, you will be able to see through the roadbed and view where every connection is supposed to go before construction starts. You can look at the first picture showing a plan view of the layout. I put some descriptions of the various routes and places along the tracks. The trains originate in the Catacombs of Los Angeles in the lower left hand corner of the track plan. Rising out of the tunnel on a right hand rule dual mainline, the trains arrive at the feature point of the layout, The San Bernardino yards. The Santa Fe Chief will take on passengers at the station near the front of the bench. Freight trains can cross the mainline and drop off cars of seek repairs at the engine facilities. The yard has its own arrival track, which can be used to makeup trains for either east or westbound destinations. In the upper right-hand corner of the layout you can see the beginning of the separated dual mainline tracks leading through the Cajon Pass to Barstow California. The outer grade is now scheduled to be graded at a rate of 2.5% on the eastbound leg. We plan on having a left-handed operation on this grade to ease the burden of the traction units. The inner of the two routes up the Cajon pass grade is designed to be built at a rate of 3.9%. For that reason it will be the westbound route from Barstow to San Bernardino yards. The country is mostly desert in appearance and there are very few structures in the pass. That portion of the layout will feature moving trains. Some will be going east up the grade while others are moving west down the grade. The only local switching will take place in what I call the LA Local switching district. The district is located in the lower left-hand corner of the track plan at an altitude of about 1" above the yards. The biggest shipper is the Purple Plush Mfg. Co, which processes the material from Mt. Bandini. The company receives raw materials from Riverside County and after processing ships the finished product all over the country. That's about all for now. I really do appreciate your interest. Thanks! GM [ February 03, 2006, 10:41 PM: Message edited by: GM ]
Your plan of attack for the design sounds very detailed....bravo. I think with very accurate planning, one can minimize needed rework later....not avoid but greatly minimize.
I't hard to break 50 year old habits! For better part of my life I have been involved in the construction of major public works projects. Mostly Roads, Bridges, Water Works, Sewers and some massive earthwork projects. Oh, and a lot of industrial rail sidings too! In the larger metropolitan areas of the country, the plan check process is very intensive. Often it comes down to crossing t's and dotting i's. On the other side of the street we have rural America. Little or no plan checking takes place here. If you want to build a road just borrow the neighbors dozer and have at it! The later method scares the heck out of me. More that once I have had to sooth the ruffled feathers of an irate landowner when it came time to adopt his homemade road as a portion of the public highway system. Yes, proper planning sure makes the job of construction easier. Although I will admit that sometimes better ideas do come along after it is too late to incorporate them into the works. Thanks for your kind words. I appreciate them. GM [ February 07, 2006, 11:06 AM: Message edited by: GM ]
Hutch, Slowly, I'm getting closer to the start of construction on The Santa Fe and Cajon Pass in N Scale. I still have to complete the Stairs leading from the garage into the Laundry room. That should be wrapped up week after next. Then I will begin finishing the basement so that it will look as good as the rest of the house. The Duct work in the basement needs to be enclosed before I put up the ceiling material. I also want to put a telephone in the train room. While the ceiling is still open, I can run another line to the DeMark. Then I need to install the finish floor throughout the basement. Once those tasks are completed I can get real serious about beginning the layout bench. In the meantime, I have been purchasing the structures, and the tools necessary to assemble them into finished models. Hopefully I can get most of the structures assembled by christmas. Then, If Micro Engineering will release their new DCC friendly turnouts, I will order the CNC work to be done and begin to build. Jerry
Hi Jerry, Have been watching this thread with great interest,without trying to pressure you,hows the layout/basement coming along?
Good morning Jason, It would seem that a lot of things need doing much more than the train room. :zip: I completed construction on our home two years ago last Christmass. Every since I have been working on the list of things my wife maintains. During construction, I stored building materials and set up a small shop in the garage. The building materials are all installed now. Last week I began building some cabinets to store all my tools in. I hope to have them hung by the end of this week. Then maybe I can get down to the bussiness of finishing the basement. In the meantime, I have been amassing a collection of structures. With the exception of the Phillips Oil Terminal and the Walthers Brick Santa Fe depot, all the major structures are sitting in a big cardboard box ready to be assembled. I hope to get at that work once the ground is covered with snow. I understand that Micro Engineering will have the DCC friendly turnouts ready for sale sometime early in 2007. When I have all the turnouts and track in hand you will see some real activity on the layout. Till then, I will have to be satisfied with purchasing the motive power for the layout. Thanks for your interest!
