The Nameless and Aimless

(Please note, this was going to be a single posting at first, however, due to image limits, I'm going to have to break it up into 3-5 segments... bear with me!)

At as young an age as 12 I dreamed of one day, owning a house. More specifically, a house with a huge, empty, beautiful basement. Oh the things I would do in that basement, and the trains I would run...

Fast forward a decade, and here I am-one very (still) dream happy and incredibly broke college student (I got a late start on the college front) living in a 600sqft condo, complete with one girlfriend, and no basement. Not even a spare room. Heck, not even a decent sized walk in closet. And so the dreams went on of that 'one day' moment when I could build my dreams.

Now, the GF has known of my love for trains and model railroading from the get go, and has always been supportive of my 'one day' hobby. One evening, back late 2010 I was describing to her an idea I'd once had (before her time) that nearly came to fruition, with a peninsula between the living and dining spaces, and shelves along the back edge of the living and dining areas.

Pretty much, a shelf layout, 25' long, with an 8' peninsula sticking out into the condo. I'd actually built some of the benchwork for it too, before realizing how imposing, naive and ridiculous the idea was.

However, as she pointed out, what was wrong with the peninsula part? The living area was already well defined and the dining area was overly spacious, with wasted space. So, she said, why not have yourself a small railroad, behind the loveseat, so long as it didn't take over too much space, or become overly imposing.

So off a-planning I went...

Between us, a size was settled on - 2'6" wide, 7'6" long, which suited me perfectly.

Then came the fun part. Knowing that there will be moves in my future, the number one priority for me was that the layout could be moved with the process of moving it from home to truck taking no more than half an hour.

That number one priority led to something I haven't seen before, but I won't take credit for inventing either: A two piece table/framework, with the table lifting straight off the framework



Here is the beginning of construction of the sub-frame. A rented mitre saw from Lowes and the space that the layout and I would occupy provided the workspace. Both the subframe and table top were completed in the space of an evening. The sub-frame is a 1"x3" top frame, with 2"x4" legs and 1"x2" leg braces. The table top itself is a simple 2"x4" rectangular frame with a 1/4" ply top, screwed to the frame roughly every 12"s

From the underside, you can see how the table top sits on the sub-frame:



So there was my benchwork done! (If only it was this easy for every layout I'm bound to build in my lifetime)

And so that was that. The table was complete and I could return to working on a track plan. Having been designing model railroad layouts since before I can remember I knew to avoid the whole spaghetti bowl, but wasn't quite sure how things were going to shape up. So off to the drawing board I went...

 

There were certain things I knew by this point as to what I wanted out of my railroad to be:

- Things were going to be based in the Appalachians, with Chessie being the primary mover.

- Being mountain country, there would be a coal mine/tipple.

- There would also be a small town, with small industries to complete any switching desires I might have.

- At least one, preferably two, mainline loops. I'm a mainline running kind of guy, so this was pretty high up on the list.

- Lastly, I needed a back story for it all. Not modeling to an overly prototypical level I'd need some fake history to make what I wanted to do plausible.

So, with those things in mind, This is what I came up with:



From there, I thought about things a bit, and made some modifications:



As you may notice, neither of these plans is 7'6" long, with the second one actually being under 6'6" So, after giving myself a good smack to the head (hoping to clear the cobwebs out) I decided to just start loose fitting some track (as I was going mostly sectional) and see how things turned out, based on my two plans.

So, out came the packs of Atlas Code 55 Sectional Track, and out came some rolling stock and fun ensued:



And here you can see how it fits in with the dining room:



And so for about a month I played around with track, figuring out what was going to go where etc. Then came the process of getting foam to put on the table...

 

Now living in Tampa Bay, FL, Owens Corning Pink Foam, or Dow Blue Foam is the stuff of fantasy. I searched high and low, left and right, etc etc. Nada, unless I wanted half inch board, in 4x8 sheets that weren't getting home in my Ford Fusion no matter how hard I wished it so.

And then came one magical afternoon about a week ago, wandering through Home Depot and I stumbled across the 'offcuts truck', and wouldn't you know it - 5 pieces of white bead board, each piece no smaller than 2'X4'. Huzzah!

That evening, down went the bead board (as I call it) and I even had time to start on laying some cork:




The roadbed was held in place with the white panel nails that you can see while liquid nails cured between the foam and cork. (Liquid nails were also used to secure the foam to the ply)

As soon as I had the foam down, things progressed quickly. Over the months before this, I had acquired all the ground throws (Caboose Industries), electrical components (20 gauge wire, SPDT switches, screw caps) and just about anything else I would need, so there was no waiting around.

Before too long, both mainlines were completed, and the cork for the town was starting to go down. At this point I was still debating the track layout in the town and the switch layout for the coal mine, hence the completion of the mains first:



I took a day to think about the remainder of the trackplan. The problem I faced was leaving enough space across the width of the table (2'6") to allow for a view block to be formed by mountains. I didn't want to put a true backdrop down the middle, but I didn't have enough space to do the sort of hills I had envisioned.

Eventually (If you can call a day an eventuality) I decided on doing away with the 3 track 'mini yard' in the town in favor of a single spur. Also, the addition of cliff like rock faces in appropriate places (most likely behind the coal tipple) will allow extra depth.

And with all that settled, the last of the roadbed and track went down:



Of course, with that all done, next came a somewhat of a less enjoyable task... Wiring (yuck). Now, just for those who don't know (which would be about all of you) I can't solder for the life of me. So I hate wiring.

However, before too long, the underside of the table looked like this:



That is the back side of the control panel. Should you wish to see the far from glamorous front, check out my album under my profile-it is a quick and cheap solution, which does the job brilliantly!

Nothing special, but does the job. And the good part about it is when I come to install a fascia with a proper control panel, the switches pop out of the temp. panel and into the permanent one

And so there is my progress so far. All track laid, all wiring done and operating correctly.

As for what's next... well, I'm not too sure. As I mentioned, I'm a poor college student so I'm sort of constrained by cash flow. I do plan to start laying out some mountains and vertical relief and seeing how all that comes together.

Everything else though... not so sure... The Nameless and Aimless could become the Nameless and Endless :/

But, as of now, good progress *satisfied sigh* Any thoughts, comments or criticisms are welcome!

Oh, also, I'm open to other name suggestions - I'm not sure if "The Nameless & Aimless" is something that will stick or not...

And lastly, a big thanks to anyone taking the time to read all of this!

 

GREAT START!!!, and well thought out.

Check out this thread for "mountain" ideas...........I LOVE the way he's going about it.
( Page " 7 " of the thread, although it's all worth a good look )

The Elmwood Subdivision - TrainBoard.com

"The Elmwood Subdivision"

By the way....KEEP the "GF" :tb-cute: There is NOTHING like a supportive help-mate in this hobby........priceless!!!

 

I like what you are doing. Only thing I can add is that if you are using the white styrofoam (as opposed to the pink stuff) keep a shop vacume handy if you start carving into it. You will have those little styrofoam balls...EVERYWHERE !

As far as the GF... marry her !
Supportive mates arent as easy to find as some may think...LOL. :tb-cool:

As a side note:

My spouse of 27 years ( T.H.E. Wife ) is my rock in everything...including my model railroading. She has even told me that if we buy this house we are renting...I can build a 12 x 16 room on the back...just for my train layout !

Yup...she is a keeper for sure !! :tb-smile:

.

 

I'll echo everyone else's sentiments. Kudos to the girlfriend for being supportive. Kudos to you for including her on the planning stages. Making her a part of it, made her feel like she had some controlling interest (and we know women like that).

Went through the same thing with my wife. I, however, got carried away on my first layout after being married, and it took over a second bedroom. She was not appy with me for a while......until I put cows on the layout.

 

Neat work really awes me.

Good job.

 

Amen to that! And she is most definitely a keeper, but let's keep the marriage talk to a hush for the time being Still young and still very broke!

On top of that, both the GF and I thank you for the wonderful compliments And should you end up buying that house, you be sure to keep us all updated on that new layout room of yours!

 

My Thanks and Response

Thanks for the tip! I'm having a great time exploring the forum and seemingly doubling my knowledge every day. All pointers to useful threads and ideas are always appreciated and welcomed

1. Thank you!

2. That is a heck of a lot of moving *blink* I hope neither my layout or I have to go through that much relocation!

3. Yeah, she's pretty awesome. But don't tell her I told you that

Thank you for all the kind compliments! As it was for you with the cows, I have promised her a selection of cats and dogs (which I believe is a set offered by WS) hopefully this will help keep her interested

Thank You!

Yes, I know I've said it a lot, but all the praise and compliments really mean the world to me. A lot of people have been doing this for longer than I've been on the planet, so to have the nice things said about what I'm doing gives me drive to keep at it

 

Update and "Plans"

So, it's been a couple days since I got all the track work finished. I've felt like I should have been doing further work in the meantime, however, I think I did the right thing in taking a break (and a step back) and, just ran some trains

We'll call it 'checking my track work and wiring'/'just having fun'

I'm happy to report that everything is running flawlessly, and I have managed not to screw the pooch so far...

Really the biggest thing going on has been cleaning up. As noted, I'm using the beadboard, which makes one hell of a mess-the vacuum has been working overtime lol

I have decided that the next step is to paint the track-and that should be started tomorrow depending on how the day pans out. I originally hadn't planned to paint the track, as it seemed a daunting task-with me having never done anything of the sort, let alone with a brush *yikes*.

That was until today, when I decided to test paint a couple pieces of left over track, and I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was, and how well it turned out. So that is the next big project...

And after that will come some ballasting...

More updates to come with time, and again, a thank you to all those taking the time to thumb through my thread

 

If only all hard work was this enjoyable! I'll hopefully have some further updates by the end of sunday (when I will hopefully have the track painted and cleaned)

I ran a short 'operating session' the other day just to feel things out, and it went really well. The runaround on the town side is very useful and switching out the town and mine provides plenty of activity. The challenge is using the runaround while another train runs the outer main Makes for a more interesting switching time!

 

Update: Just finished painting the track. Next time I'm doing this with an airbrush -_- But that's probably 5 years down the line (at least I hope)

Quite pleased with the results, even mixed my own paint so that made the good results even more surprising!

Tomorrow I will get some pictures uploaded of the painting happening so you can see a clear comparison of before and after. I'll also get around to cleaning up the rail tops and include a couple more pics with that

And with that, I am off to bed... I be plum tuckered *yawn*

Goodnight Train Board

 

Look! Trains!

Thought the 'Construction-Theme-Thread' could use a couple of trains in it:

Before I got down to painting (and everything that comes with that) I'd have myself another little operating session, this time, with my point and shoot in tow. So here you have it:



Here we have a mix freight rumbling through (as of now, yet to be named) town, heading west towards the (also, as of now, yet to be named) river. Waiting for the mixed freight is the local switcher, stuck on the east bound main. Once the west bound is clear, it will cross onto it and resume switching the town.



The mix continues rolling through town, with the tail end still exiting the mountain side tunnel. As soon as it arrived in the town, it will depart through the river side tunnel (a short stretch) before emerging next to the river.

And there you have it

I plan on putting together some better operating plans, making car-cards, business pockets etc, but that will be down the road-that is, when I know what the businesses actually are

 

Help!

*Sigh* So the only time I've ever ballasted before in my life, I was 13. 9 years later and it's not going well.

I'm not sure if it's impatience, or just a bad approach, but things are far from going according to plan.

I've been going to painstaking lengths to get the profile right when still dry, but then I spray with 70% isopropyl (sp?) and then that starts to screw the profile, and then I carefully drizzle my 50/50 white glue water mix and things go to hell -_-

Pretty much, as things stand, it's going to take the best part of 10-20hrs to fix everything, that is, when it's dry.

So, anybody have any tips, or pointers, or just ideas as to what/where I'm going wrong?

All help is greatly appreciated

 

The Quick Fix:
First brush the sides of the roadbed with white glue slightly diluted with water.
Then use a small spoon to LIGHTLY sprinkle some ballast along the sides.
When dry, this will give "teeth" to the next layer of ballast you sprinkle down.


Personally, I put in the thin sprinkling of ballast between the rails & ties first (no glue needed), using a dry brush to spread down the track. Once that's set, I brush the thick glue on the sides, and lightly sprinkle the ballast on the sides with a small spoon. Takes a little practice to get the motion down smooth, but not overcharging your spoon with ballast helps.

It's OK to NOT cover the roadbed 100% the first pass!

You can use the back of the spoon or a dry brush to shape any wayward lumps (do this NOW. Can't do it when it's wet!)

Then I mist the entire section of track / ballast with 70% alcohol. Start misting far off, and then slowly move in, to not disturb the shape of the ballast.

After that has a chance to soak, then start dripping the 50/50 glue, starting with the center of the track: some will wick down the sides, so you won't have to drench the side.

If, at any time, the ballast starts to bead & bunch: stop! You need to mist the ballast again with booze before continuing.

Let dry at least a day before touching up any areas you need to.

If you painted you track and roadbed a dark color, you won't need nearly as much ballast. I find that the more experience ballasting I have, the less ballast I use. A little really does go a long way!

Hope this helps!

 

then I spray with 70% isopropyl (sp?) and then that starts to screw the profile, and then I carefully drizzle my 50/50 white glue water mix and things go to hell -_-

Dont "spray"...use a spritzing bottle...the kind womens perfume comes in ;-)
'Spraying' will move the ballast ! If all you have is a spray bottle....hold it back about 18 inches when spraying. Use a light squeeze in the trigger. Excess alcohol on the surrounding areas will evaporate ok. BTW...the alcohol should also be mixed with water...not used full strength...JMO.

Like MC said...drip the 50/50 glue down the ties...it will 'wick' to the rest of the ballast. This will help stop the outside the rails ballast from moving.

If you see an area that is fubar...resist the urge to fix it till dry ! Playing with wet ballast will make you want to pull your hair out before its all over !

.

 

Thank You!

Thank you both MCF and MTM Your tips are greatly appreciated! I have indeed been laying the glue/water down the middle and it has indeed been spreading quite nicely. The biggest problem has been the areas that aren't properly (let's call it...) drunk and then, as MTM put it, the hair pulling begins.

I do not have a spritzer, so that would explain that problem. I've been attempting at spraying on an 'upward trajectory' so it sort of 'mists down' from a greater height with less forward velocity. Kinda works, kinda doesn't as the droplets are still large enough to cause disturbance.

So, note for next time, have a spritzer (or something to atomize the isopropyl)

My next step is to slow down. As the wonderfully supportive GF has pointed out, with the great (and quick) progress I've made, I have failed to slow down to a required 'patient' pace. So from now on, I'm going to do things in roughly 12" 'bites' till I get the hang of this and do it right.

Hopefully fixing what I've already done won't be too hard. Tonight was my second go of things, so I've been having a touch of hacking at what I did yesterday. A second light sprinkling here and there and things might pass for acceptable.

And lastly, we have a decent picture of what I've managed to produce so far.

My thanks again to you both.

 

Looking Good !

The GF is right...slow down...small steps...no hurry = Success !!!

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