My portable Kato Layout is almost ready to run some trains.

SleeperN06 Feb 15, 2010

  1. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    As some of you already know from other posts I’ve made that I’ve been struggling with a design for a 3’x8’ lightweight portable layout. Now I know that 8ft long isn’t exactly portable but I can move it from down stairs to upstairs and be able to turn it on its side.

    I’ve been going crazy trying to figure track pieces because I’ve been using XtrkCad to lay it out and I don’t have a LHS to actually look at stuff. I’ve been buy a little at a time to see how they worked and its been dreadful waiting for stuff to arrive. The snow storms on the east coast haven’t helped either.

    Well I went to the WGH Train Show in Long Beach on Saturday and I was a very disappointed because there wasn’t any track to buy or anything that I could even look at. So, I stopped in Burbank on my way home to pickup what I needed and they had old had beat up Kato box with a new crossover in it for $44 and I bought it. My layout was going to be a combination Atlas/Kato track, but they didn’t have very many Atlas code 80 flex or roadbed left so I figured I wait for that part.

    Anyway my layout has completely changed with the addition of the extra crossover. I’m going to use it for my loops. That advantage is that I will have a third track to run an extra train. With the turnout set in the through position. I only need to provide right of way to the main line because a portion of mainline track will be shared by both loops. They also had a 10 pack of 20-132 curves that the box was damaged with something spilled on it. They gave me a good price on it so bought it too.

    As I was checking everything out at home, I realized that the 13-3/4” curves fit nicely inside my super elevated double track. I was going to use Atlas Flex track for me reverse loop, but this stuff looked like it was going to work. I jumped back on the computer to redesign everything for Kato track and found that by moving two turnouts closer to the crossover that it might work.

    XtrkCad could not make it work and I was getting frustrated. I finally decided to make the long drive back to Burbank and buy more pieces. This time I bought some of everything they had for Unitrack ($200 worth) and went home to put it all together. Now that I got it together, I hope they take some of this stuff back.

    I have it all together and XtrkCad still will not except it as Unitrack so I can’t show the track plane as it should be, but here is it is.
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    My next task is trying to figure out what to do with the wires.:pbaffled:
     
  2. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    :perr:Oh, I forgot to mention that I still need more track.
     
  3. JoeS

    JoeS TrainBoard Member

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    I guess that is why I like just playing with the track peices themselves to find a good combination. Sometimes the simple way is easiest.
    As far as your wires go, drill holes and put them on the bottom. I used a staple gun to keep them tight and to keep them from drooping. That means you'll have to cut a few to get them through the holes and them reconnect and tape because of the huge plastic connectors on the unitrack, but if the wires are not getting snagged or caught up, you won't have any problems.
     
  4. RussHart

    RussHart TrainBoard Member

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    Looking good cant wait to see more pics.
     
  5. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    Looks good. I like the plan.
     
  6. Jeepy84

    Jeepy84 TrainBoard Member

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    So you didn't give up on Kato after all! It looks good, I love how their radii are designed to fit inside one another with consistent spacing and the multitude of different radii they produce.
    I know you don't want to run wires underneath there because that defeats the whole portability requirement. I forsee wires getting ripped out of track pieces if you do that. I think some gentle rolling foam hills would bury the wires nicely. Make cutouts down through the hills where the wires run so you can get to them, and reattach the cut out pieces with velcro or something else removable in case you need to get at them later.
     
  7. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the comments! I just finished drilling holes and my wife helped me pull the wires through. I got to glue the track down as soon as my wife finds the hot glue gun so that I can flip it on its side and route them.

    I don’t want to cut the connectors off and the turnout wires in the back are a little short. I bought two 3 way extensions for the track connections just so that I can get it up and running, but I don’t really want to do it that way. I’m looking for the female connectors to make up my own connections.

    When I was in Burbank yesterday I bought 3 used turnout controllers so that I can see how the crossover and the reverse loops work, but I forgot about the reversing switches. I already isolated the loops from the main and have the 24-818 Unitrack Terminal Joiners installed. Plus I have an auto-reverse switch from my other layout and no way to connect it unless I cut the wires. I’ll have to check on something temporary until I can find the female connectors. Maybe I'll break down and buy a kato [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]24-832[/SIZE][/FONT] reverse switch.:pbiggrin:
     
  8. subwayaz

    subwayaz TrainBoard Member

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    Johnny just for an idea now that you have all the wires under your layout. I used I hooks for a device to keep the wiring neat, and wire ties if you have great distances to go.

    Also different color wire ties work well for designating the type of wires being held.

    Sorry I don't have a picture to show you never thoguth of taking pictures of the underside.

    Njoy it sure is built rite in.

    Glen
     
  9. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I found the hot glue gun and oh what a mess. I had it all over the track. My wife took it away from me and finished the job. The glue gun is her thing and the air nail gun is mine. She buys bags of a hundred glue sticks and different colors.

    Anyway I read of someone here on TB mentioning that he used the glue gun to fasten down the wires, so I tried it and I got to say that’s really neat. I like it and will probably use that method again.

    I still have more wiring to do, but it will have to wait until I get some plugs. Right now I'm going to run some trains and relax. Well after I paint the back cover blue.:pcool:


    [​IMG]
     
  10. inobu

    inobu Permanently dispatched

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    This is the tool to have. Pops the leads out and you can snap them back in no problem.

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  11. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I don't understand. What is that thing?
     
  12. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I need more sidings

    After running some trains, It occurred to me that I don’t have any place to store additional trains. I was thinking that I could put in a couple of #4 turnouts and if I used the 9 3/4" Radius curves I could put a couple of small trains.

    I purposely avoided anything under 11” radius and from all the talk about #4s I didn’t want any of those either.

    Do you think I’ll have any trouble with a curved 9 3/4 R closed siding?

    Please don’t look at the houses, just put them there to see if I can close the cover over them there. I just emptied the box I had.
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    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 16, 2010
  13. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    You could probably put a nice yard where your MRC power pack is. Maybe build some kind of portable tray that can hook on to the frame to hold the power pack instead?
     
  14. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I did have something there in my preliminary design, but dropped it when I found out that the power packs fit inside with the cover closed. I figured I could use Velcro to hold them in place and store the whole thing as one. I just needed to remove the trains.
     
  15. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    This is what I was thinking about earlier and I was having so much trouble getting Unitrack to work that I gave up. Plus I didn't think it would work right anyway.
    [​IMG]
     
  16. Jeepy84

    Jeepy84 TrainBoard Member

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    It looks like a homemade tool that you use to push the metal leads out the backside of Unitrack turnout connectors, so you don't have to cut/splice wires to drop them down through the layout to the underside. Neat tool! May have to fashion one myself somehow.

    If you're just storing trains on that yard it would work, but if you plan on working it as an actual yard, not so much imo.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 16, 2010
  17. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    Johnny, The frame design is awesome and I really like that it is built to run trains. The tool in the earlier post slides over the pins in the connectors. It pushes in a metal tab on the pin allowing the connector to be dissasembled. you can then run the wires through smaller holes and reassemble on the other side. For your purpose, I don't think it's neccesary. It looks like you drilled under the power track and ran the small end through.
    That one may be home made, but it is a common tool for use with those connectors.
     
  18. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I think your right. I've been playing around with it and i need that outside track on the right to put my UP passenger train when I want to run something else. Besides I looked up the price of #4s and I think I’m done.
     
  19. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Marty, I've never seen anything like that. I've to try it.
     
  20. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I was thinking about this tool and you say it is a common tool, but where can I find one?
     

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