1. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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  2. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    To avoid whacky orientation with cell phone pictures, I've heard take the picture landscape with the shutter button on the right.
     
  3. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks MK! It seems to have worked. I deleted my test photo.
    I'll have to try photos using my S pen and see how that works also.
     
  4. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    20200830_214200.jpg
    Making some progress. Working out final track configuration and building placement.
     
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  5. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    Much better! Now my neck doesn't hurt. :LOL:

    What's a S pen?
     
  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    It is a stylus you can use on touch screens.
     
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  7. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    20200831_080422.jpg
    I'm thinking about adding a run around track that will also extend the yard lead. I haven't decided if I should put it up tight to the switch to the siding or leave enough room for a car and loco. That way I could sort and temp store cars on the center track while I switch the yard/car float and still have another train chasing it's tail on the main.
    (I haven't made final decision on car float.)
     
  8. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    15988766878726927176031385215663.jpg
    I should be able to leave just enough space for switcher and 40ft car.
    I'm probably going to use a GE 44t or Climax for switching.
     
  9. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    If you fasten the back of the layout to a board that extends above the layout sufficiently (~8"), then mount the hinges a the top edge of that board, your layout can remain flush to the wall when down, and folds up to the wall without crushing anything.

    This keeps your scenery safe from being damaged. And if you put a shelf up so that the folded up layout is flush underneath it, with a latch, and fasten vertical end boards to the wall to form a "box", then your layout will remain dust-free while stored (or at least as dust free as it was when you folded it up).
     
  10. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks Jake,,
    Thats a good idea but I'm going to stick with KISS for now. Maybe look into your idea later .
    I would still lose use of most of the upper base shelf when folded.
    I'm thinking about a shelf above with valence in the future.
     
  11. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    20200902_170157.jpg 20200902_170214.jpg
    Sorry about the picture quality. I shot them with selfie mode on my phone.

    Spent some time today figuring out final track and building placement around what I'm calling the mill complex.


    I had the track roughed in pretty close for about a week but couldn't get the building placement to "feel" right.

    It took me a while to figure out where to put the Fanny Schwan's Confectionary and still have room for roads and parking around the buildings. This is something I feel is too often sacrificed to squeeze in more track.

    I believe I have it squared away now and I'm ready to solder up some track feeders and lay track. There is one building I might swap out for another one.

    Looking at the photos, going clockwise around the pond starting in the lower right the buildings are Republic Locomotive Works, Watt Morelands Wax Works. This might get swapped out for a Guts Gravel Glory, Batson Ice Plant. The wax works would be more visually appealing but the ice house would be better suited to my evolving town concept and switching plan. More on that in the future.

    The next building running adjacent to the long retaining wall is Republic Locomotive Works, Fanny Schwan's Conefctionary.

    Just to the left of Fanny Schwans is the Kibri Mill and boiler house the same as on the original Carolina Central.

    Back over to the mill pond will be a Railway Design Associates, Easton Mill and boiler house kit. I'm thinking this would have originally been a water turbine powered mill so it sits on top of the mill pond wall right at the dam.

    I layed everything out ludite style on vellum paper tacked to the foam base. I then used a pounce wheel to transfer track and building outlines to foam base. Then I slid the vellum paper out to save as a template for cutting foam core for roads and to raise ground level up to hide the molded on Kato roadbed.

    In the near future I'll explain my reasoning for how I laid out the buildings and the concept behind it.
     
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  12. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    While placing buildings around mill pond area of the layout I kept thinking about a town named Dushore in Sullivan County PA, located along the Bowmans Creek branch of the LVRR.
    Dushore still has the only traffic light in Sullivan County Pa.

    In Dushore the LV station, a small ice house and some late 1800's buildings still exist. The right of way is easy to follow through town. The trestle that bisected town is gone. Some where I have Sanborn Insurance maps of the town. The whole right of way through town could be modeled in N scale in about 20' with little selective compression.

    My structures and track arrangement look nothing like Dushore, but Dushore had several things I would like on my layout. In no particular order
    1. Small combination depot
    2. Fairly large (for it's day), brick dairy related industry.
    3. Ice house
    4. Pond for ice harvesting
    5. Water powered grist mill(s)
    6. Saw mill(s)
    7. 1800s false front building
    8. Simple track arrangement
    9. S&NY log trains passed through
    Back to building placement around the mill pond.
    Here's my thoughts on it's history and why the buildings choices make sense, at least to me.
    The pond was built just outside of town in the 1800's by building stone retaining walls and a dam a small creek. Its main purpose was to provide enough water volume and head for a turbine powered grist mill. This mill is represented by the Easton Mill kit.
    The mill was later converted to steam power. This is why there is a smal boiler house next to it.

    Late 1800s a small creamery and ice house were built at the other end of the pond along the base of the hill. This creamery has since been torn down.

    Early 1900s the confectionary was built. An addition was later added on the other side of the track servicing the confectionary.

    Around 1930 a large rail served, steam powered, ice cream plant was built. This will be represented by the Kibri mill kit.

    When the new creamery started operation the old creamery and ice house were torn down and a new ice manufacturing plant was built.

    In bound rail traffic for the above industries would be milk in bulk and cans, box car loads of sugar and fruit, cleaned empty box cars for loading of milk and candy, hopper loads of coal for boiler house, cleaned and empty refers to ice house then to icecream plant and possibly tank cars of oil or syrup.

    Out bound trafic would be empty refers needing cleaning, empty coal hoppers, full ash gondolas or hoppers, full refers of ice cream, full refers of processed milk products.

    So that's the purpose of the industries and rail spurs at this end of the railroad..
    That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
     
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  13. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    20200905_205954.jpg

    I finally paid some attention to the lumber & coal dealer at other end of the layout. For the yard office I was hoping to include the Jaks Industries (IIRC) Mel's Produce to the left of the lumber shed.

    Mel's is a small two story building designed to fit on a steep embankment with a front porch style truck dock on the upper level. The rear of the lower level has a RR frieght dock.

    It would have fit but it would have partially blocked the line of sight to the row of store fronts on the upper level, as marked out, upper left hand corner of picture. For photogenic purposes I'm trying to keep some visual separation between groups of buildings ie; mill pond area, station grounds, main street storefronts and lumber yard.

    This is a challenge on a layout this size. I won't meet this goal 100% but I'll do the best I can with out doing anything complicated.

    I played around with track and building placement while I drank my morning coffee. Keeping with the KISS principle. Office and scale house will have a different footprint than what is shown. I'm going to use a kit bashed Muir, Montana Brewery. The false front will look appropriate for early 20th century North Central Pennsylvania.

    Another benefit of not using the Mel's Produce is main streets elevation wont be dictated by the front porch of Mels. Now the limiting factor for Main Streets elevation will be how step I want to make the roadway hill down do the RR crossing at the other end of Main Street.

    A third benefit is I can now have a switchback access rd from near the top of Main St down to the coal yard without crossing the main line at grade.
     
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  14. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    I decided not to extend the interchange lead by means of a run around. I removed the opposing switch at the yard lead and used it in the coal yard. I'm going to leave the yard lead so the switch can easily be installed in the future. For now I feel it adds to much track density to the station area.
    The switch not used on the main will now be used for the spur servicing Fanny Schwan's.
     
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  15. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    As I've mentioned before this track plan was based on MRs Carolina Central track plan.

    I don't use track planning software and I'm trying to keep computers and model railroading apart. Nothing against anyone who uses computers to enhance their modeling experience. My one exception is using my phone for internet access for research, how to's and TrainBoard. Oh, and the calculator.

    I saved the origional article from the December 1996 MR mag and the 2005 Model Railroad Planing article about adding a staging yard.

    I glued 1/2" foam to the hollow core door. Then with thumb tacks I tacked down white kitchen paper, (unwaxed), the kind that comes on a roll. I taped the seam together to make one large sheet.
    I roughed in the track plan and hill on the paper. When I got that how I liked it I made the track fit the plan pinning it in place with straight pins.
    When everything is how I want it I out line the track with a pencil or marker then go back over it with a pounce wheel.

    When that is done I slide the paper out and have a drawing of the track plan and an accurate pattern for cutting the hills base layer of foam.
    The actual track outline is imprinted into foam base board for accurate track laying.

    I'm using a simular technique with vellum to make patterns for foamcore to raise the ground level closer to railheight were needed.
     
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  16. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    I never had a written track plan...just what was in my head.

    Thanks heavens for Unitrack..(n)(n)

    In the end...it all worked out just fine. :D:D:whistle:

    <click the link in my signature below and enjoy the read, :cool:
     
  17. logging loco

    logging loco TrainBoard Supporter

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    I used the plan more as a guide or inspiration. I didn't try to match up the track by the Kato part numbers or get each turnout in the exact location as the plan.
    I liked the viewing angles the plan provided. If viewing angles is the correct term. I really liked the layout of the town buildings.

    That's a scary thing in my situation! I get mentally pulled in too many directions because I like so many different aspects of early 1900s North Central Pa railroading.
    The more time I spend working on this layout the more I see how I can incorporate parts of these industries into it without trying to cram "5lbs of it into a 2lb bag".
     
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  18. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    It was a pretty busy weekend and I didn't get much opportunity to work on the layout. But, I did rethink my spurs a smidge and have come up with what I think will be a workable solution to the problem I had created; in that any industry I put along the spur would be facing the back of the layout, putting the back side of the industry facing front. A small tweak to the spurs has created a little space in order to set whatever industry I wind up putting there in a more front facing orientation.

    I also started drilling holes to run my wiring under the layout, but until I get the industry matter settled I don't dare make too big a committment to where things are going to permanently reside. So... I have a Walther's Vulcan Mfg. model that I'm going to start putting together, and a small freight office that I've already assembled. I've roughed out the space for these, but I wan't to have them in place before I start dressing the the space for terrain and scenery, so I can ensure that I have enough room to establish reasonable property boundaries, fenced areas for material storage, and parking lots.

    IMG_4926.JPG

    IMG_4978.JPG
     
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  19. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    George, the curve immediately after the diverging route off the mainline (leading to your reworked spur), creates an S-curve that could be pretty severe (assuming that curve is a 12.375" radius, it would be a transition as severe as one from straight to an ~8.6" radius curve).

    Make sure you run the longest equipment (engines and cars) you plan to use over that before you finalize that section.

    I use the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the radii to estimate an S-curve's equivalent transition from straight to curve. For example an S-curve consisting of adjacent, opposite 28" and 12.375" radius curves would be: 1/(1/28 + 1/12.375) = 8.6" It's not perfect, but it's reasonable and easy to calculate for a figure of merit.

    This is useful for calculating the effect of a larger radius segment as "easements" into sharper curves. When adjacent radii are in opposite directions, add the reciprocals; when they are in the same direction, subtract the reciprocals.

    An alternative arrangement to avoid the sharp S would be to move the mainline switch closer to the bridge, eliminate the reverse curve attached to it, and remove one 15 degree curve segment from each spur track.
     
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  20. PapaG

    PapaG TrainBoard Member

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    Are you talking about this section Andy?


    InkedIMG_4978 - Copy_LI.jpg

    And then, if I'm undersdanding you... reconstruct that section more like this?

    InkedIMG_4978 - Copy_LI 1.jpg
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020

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