SoCal Cajon Pass Layout

steveparkinson Oct 28, 2018

  1. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
  2. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    New update video is up on the YouTube channel.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    badlandnp likes this.
  3. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Finally bridged the gap between the helix and the upper level. The helix subroadbed is behind me, I’ll still come back clean up the helix and add some removable fascia panels on the outside of it.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    A few more cleaned up a bit with roadbed going in....

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Testing some new track on main 2....

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  4. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Another video with the completed helix running trains on main 2.... three more tracks to connect.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    HemiAdda2d, badlandnp and BarstowRick like this.
  5. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

    9,511
    5,673
    147
    Nothing like having trains running. Fulfillment and satisfaction on overload/steroids. Don't pop to many buttons but do pat yourself on the back.

    Con-grads!
     
    steveparkinson likes this.
  6. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Thank you. Now I can finally start working on the lower level, yard and Main 3/ the UP line.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  7. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

    4,396
    3,025
    87
    Looks like you will have a lot of fun with the layout! A darn good start!
     
    BarstowRick and steveparkinson like this.
  8. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Thank you, it’s already been fun so it should only get better now!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  9. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Haven’t posted in a bit here, so here’s some progress shots and a video.

    Some shots of the BNSF mains going in at Devore.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And the crossovers and yard entrance going in at SBD yard. Yard will have the BNSF Main 1/2/3 through tracks, three BNSF arrival/departure tracks, six classification tracks and a very condensed section of UP’s Colton (two mains and three arrival departure tracks).

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Rough yard mock up

    [​IMG]

    Main 1/2 going in

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    First of two lower level access hatches...

    [​IMG]

    Second hatch...

    [​IMG]

    Couple units back from getting patched...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Few run shots[​IMG]

    [​IMG]




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  10. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Latest video showing some updates and progress.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  11. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

    9,892
    29,169
    148
    Nice progress. That concrete tie track looks good.
     
    steveparkinson likes this.
  12. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Thank you, it still needs weathering an ballasting but that’s still a ways down the road.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    BNSF FAN likes this.
  13. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Finally connected my trackwork on the lower level now so I can finally run trains continuously around the layout on Main 1 and 2. Still need to do Main 3, the UP line and the yard but those will be next.

    A few recent photos of the progress and a video shot not that long ago of some trains running on the layout.

    Sullivan’s Curve

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Blue Cut

    [​IMG]

    Cajon Jct

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Top of the Helix (Keenbrook)

    [​IMG]

    East of Sullivan’s Curve

    [​IMG]

    Couple lower level shots

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Short video of some trains.....




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  14. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Haven’t posted here in a while but here are a couple of videos since the last one...

    Layout cab ride:



    Layout update number 8:




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  15. BNSF FAN

    BNSF FAN TrainBoard Supporter

    9,892
    29,169
    148
    Some nice updates Steve. Cab ride was pretty cool. Despite the busy summer you described, looks like you did make some fair progress.

    I like that silver plaque you have with the Cajon Subdivision name on it. Where did you find that?
     
  16. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13

    Thanks for the feedback, any progress is better than no progress in my eyes. Guess when you see it everyday it doesn’t seem as much.

    The silver plaque is something I made in a 3D printing class. We had to come up with a couple items to design and print so I made it along with a caddy for my layout tools.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  17. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

    619
    264
    18
    At the risk of repeating myself, and at the risk of starting a long series of uninformed incorrect posts, let me share my actual real life experience with you. I'm scared s**tless at the location of your layout. Isn't Maryland subject to hot summers and cold winters? You may be in trouble.

    There is a common misconception that flex track expands and contracts a LOT with changes in temperature. That is false. I have read a detailed analysis of that subject by a advanced degreed metalurgist who indicates the shrinking sand swelling of NS track under dramatic temperature swings i son y a few thousands. The moving that many of us have seen is the movement of wooden structure related to both temperature and humidity. I found plywood ot be unusually troublesome. I did no prime my plywood before building upon it and regretted that decision every day. My layout was in a basement that was fully served by the house's heat and AC, and some times of the yearI found in the hidden running areas places where the track was humped over substrate over 2 inches. and remember, these things always happen where there is hidden running.

    Your location in a garage scares me a lot. If I were you I would frame in a false wall just inside the overhead door. Fill it with insulation, perhaps even big sheets of foam between the framing and door, and sheetrock the inside. Insulate the rest of the layout space and provide HVAC.

    Sorry if I'm making you lose sleep.

    Ok, here's a good suggestion that will save you time and effort. When laying cork and track, toss the map pins. Put down a line of yellow carpenter's glue, not white, and spread it thin with your finger. It doesn't take much, don't over do it. Press the cork onto the glue, or the track on to the cork, and hold down with weights. I used "pattern weights" from a fabric store. A thin layer will set completely in a half hour, no more overnight delays. and once down, it's there for keeps. I find this quicker, easier and more durable than the whole adhesive caulk business.
     
  18. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13

    Hi Bill,

    Thanks for the detailed post about the location of the layout and how to overcome temp change issues down the road.

    I am in Southern Maryland and since I’ve been here we do get a temperature swing. My first winter here last year, we had temps in the 20-30’s most of the time and even a few times a bit lower. This is my second summer here so far and the summers are mostly in the 80’s and sometimes the low 90’s..... add some humidity and it adds about 10 degrees. It hasn’t been as bad as the south though. I think our humidity here is usually around 50-60 percent in the summer and much drier in the winter.

    I moved from Southern California (Murrieta to be exact) and the old layout was in the garage too. Temps there in the summers were 90’s-100’s and winters were 50’s and maybe 10-20 degrees colder at night. We didn’t have the humidity really. I didn’t have any issues with the layout in the garage there.

    Are you saying it’s the metal that expands/contracts with temp changes or the wood due to temperature changes? Or is it the humidity?

    I do run a dehumidifier in the garage 24/7 and also have a portable A/C unit and heater in the garage. I’m also planning on insulating the remainder of the garage walls soon (maybe as early as this winter) and I’ve been painting the wood on the layout (supports, benchwork and benchtops) as I go forward. I’ve also been slowly painting the existing wood already on the layout.

    What part of the country did you live where you had the track popping up?

    Thanks
    Steve




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  19. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

    619
    264
    18


    • Are you saying it’s the metal that expands/contracts with temp changes or the wood due to temperature changes? Or is it the humidity?

    • The metal is only affected by temperature. a,d the changes in the metal, NS, can be measured in the thousandths of an inch. Wood is affected by a combination of both temp and humidity.

    What part of the country did you live where you had the track popping up? I live in Central Kansas. We get temps below freezing in the winter with little humidity (Don't know where this is going with climate change.) In the summer it is oppressively humid. with frequent temos in the upper nineties and low hundreds.I believe the track lifting was the result of humidity and poor preparation. To slay the humid monster, you must prime ALL sides of the wood. Top, bottom, sides and ends.

    Thanks
    Steve




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
     
  20. steveparkinson

    steveparkinson TrainBoard Member

    167
    272
    13
    Haven’t uploaded here in some time but here is a short video of some trains running on the layout….




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    gjslsffan, peteyPab, jhn_plsn and 8 others like this.

Share This Page