Let me know if I can answer any questions. Do you have a 3D printer? I'll try and get the print files up on my thingiverse.com account ( HERE ) by at least the first part of the coming week. Sumner
Some more progress this week... I glued the foam down on the …. …. south side of the layout and …. ….. clamped it down one day then the next day I pulled up all the plywood/screw clamps from the south side (above) and ... …... glued, clamped and then removed the clamps from the last north side section that needed to be glued down. That completes gluing the hard foam on the lower level. Finished the day by making a batch of PCB ties for more code 70 turnouts I need for the hidden staging area. The following day I started and ….. …............. finished putting up about 2/3's of the fascia. I wanted it up before laying any track since I'll have the 5 volt buss for LEDs, servos and maybe other items along with the DCC buss on the face of it at the bottom. I'm trying to avoid going under the layout now and in the future and liked how it worked out on my test track. With the buss in place I can power track and see how it seems to be, especially the hand-laid turnouts as I lay it. . Hopefully another day will see the fascia up and then I can stain and clear coat it. There are more pictures and info on my build thread on ( HERE ) and on my website ( HERE ). If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
No rush as I won't be ready for a while, but I will download them. Yes, I do have a resin printer. It looks like at least some of the parts may also lend themselves to machining. I'm looking forward to it being an interesting project.
Well, that's a fine state of affairs...NOT! The 1/8" (20 N-scale inch) pipe made with plastic sprues saved from kits looked fine for transporting oil or gas from the barge terminal to the tank farm in this pic taken a few years ago: E3 Whitehouse Crossing 1Photo Aug 10, 5 25 23 PM - Copy by ppuinn posted Dec 18, 2022 at 5:29 PM But when I set the 1/8" (20 N-scale inch) pipes made from wooden dowels on the layout next to the tanker trucks this morning, they looked too big for distribution pipes within the tank farm. As near as I can guess-timate by looking at tank farm images on line, the pipes within tank farms the size I am modeling range from 4 to 8 or 9 inches diameter with the majority--maybe--about 6 inches. Looking at materials on-hand that are close to 6 inches diameter, I only have enough 1/32" (5 N-scale inch) brass rods for pipes from the distribution shed to one tank, so I'm going to test out using 3/64" (7.5 N-scale inch) brass rods on 3 tanks and see how they look. If they look good, I've got enough 3/64" rod on hand to do the other six tanks.
No experience with resin yet but have heard the parts are more brittle than a filament printer. If so that might be a problem as there is some stress involved in using the parts. Please let me/us know your results. Interested in what parts and what possible machining? Sumner
The pulleys stand out as a possible machined part. Other parts (levers) could be bandsawed or milled from ABS and drilled with a 3D printed jig. Brackerts could be made from aluminum angle. Alternately, 3D printed parts could be made a bit beefier as required. It's been my experience that the best way to make anything depends on the equipment you have on hand. I just happen to have an insane collection of machine tools in the garage.
Hi Guys: I just saw the thread for this years layout party last night -- so Ive missed a bit, I'll try to bring everyone up to date and get all the necessary intro sutff in Im a little bit different because I dont have a physical Layout -- I am building my layout digitally using a game called Rolling Line which runs on the Steam Game engine -- it has 2 major advantages to me -- I dont need physical room, which I have very little of, and the purchase price for the game was USD 20.00$ and all the assets etc are free. that made it a no brainer for me -- I had had a physical layout which I had not touched in about 2 years. 2 years back I had gotten the main line circuit installed and put a train on it for a test run. The train made its jerking way about 3/4 of the way around and then literally fell off the tracks and landed on its side -- it was still laying there when I tore the layout down a couple weeks back. So- - the digital layout: I am building a protolanced layout very loosely based on the San Luis and Rio Grande railroad in central Colorado, however, theres a somewhat different backstory in which the Southern Transcon links have been rendered unusable, and the SLRG has become a heavy traffic bridge line between gallup NM and Walsenburg Colorado. The digital room that the layout is built in is 210 feet by 100 feet so there is ALWAYS stuff to work on. I am going a little further than the typical Rolling Line player who lines up a train and runs it around their layout. I am actually integrating operations using JMRI OperationsPRO. While JMRI cant interface with the layout, I use it to generate switch lists etc. here is an overview shot of the layout (South east corner Looking north west) On the left is east staging - representing Dallas / Denver, the far right of the picture will be Gallup NM and the exit to "Los Angeles" (west staging) Directly in front of you is the loading loop for New Elk Mine #4 next to the denver / dallas staging is the city of walsenburg with its yard and industrial area. in terms of what I am hoping to accomplish, I want to continue to lay track, most of the benchwork is established, but I need to get track down on it -- at the same time I want to get businesses in place along the Walsenburg to Alamosa segment (East division) so that I can actually get operations off the ground and start running some trains -- right now businesses are just various boxes and shapes to represent the business for the most part (I have a few that I have modeled or downloaded) or in some cases just a sign. I also have a lot of learning and figuring to do getting JMRI to do what I want it to do. heres a few other pics from around the perimeter of the layout: First Thumbnail is South West corner to the distant left is Gallup and West Staging 2nd Thumbnail is North West Corner Directly above Montrose Colorado 3rd is North East Corner above Denver Staging with Walsenburg Yard in the center foreground this is a system map (Slightly outdated as the layout ends at gallup) Heres a link to the map on google my maps - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1B-iyrovZza4vc-GND5hV87onJpKHjew&usp=sharing you can browse around more see things in a bit more detail I think I have a copy of my backstory someplace, I'll see if I can scare it up and post the link as well
Heres my address for my blog, which contains the backstory for the layout as well as (hopefully other stuff eventually) - https://taholmes160.blogspot.com/ TIM
Welcome back for another Layout Party, Tim! Several years ago, someone started his own build thread about a virtual layout he was building and running, but, if my memory isn't letting me down, you are the first Layout Party goer I recall who has participated in Parties as both a physical modeler (a couple years ago) and, now, as a virtual modeler. I'm looking forward to seeing what you are designing on such a large canvas.
Got a lot of the little things done this week in prep for the big final assembly. Made myself a hot knife for cutting plexiglass out of a $20 Harbor Freight plastic welder, filled and finish sanded the structure and drilled holes for the wiring, made the interior floors out of a broken drop ceiling light cover, and made the bookshelves for the second floor out of balsa and painting 200 1mm x 1mm square glass beads then gluing them into place. Very time consuming, totally worth it. I had to order some new wiring bases because the ones I already had were too big - those should be here Tuesday. Once I can get the lights in place and start cutting all the windows, there won't be much left except to paint it and put it all together. Am by no means in a rush here, I have a lot of time and effort in this thing already so want to make sure to do it right, but at the same time am getting excited seeing it all come together.
Time for an update - Have been working on the Serial Staging idea. Got both sets of sensors mounted on stands and installed on the east end return loop and the wring connected to the Azatrax control board under the main staging yard. Also got the output relay connected from the Azatrax board up to the control board I am going to build. When the train passes the sensor it blocks the beam. At the board an LED lights and a relay closes. That relay is connected to the control circuit which will shut off a section of track so that a train behind will have to stop. The pair of stub end tracks offer more staging at this end of the layout and are long enough to hold any typical train I run on the layout. Now, on to building that control board.
It is taking me a lot longer to replace the 1/8" wooden dowel pipes with the 3/64" brass rod pipes in the AMOCO Tank Farm than I expected. Nine pipes run from the pump house to the 9 tanks. Each rod had to be bent and then repeatedly test fitted so I could group the 9 pipes into 3 groups of 3 pipes running along the leak mitigation berms parallel to each other, then turning and changing elevations down to the individual tanks. Each rod was only 14 inches long and the closest tank to the pump house required 7 inches of rod; the next 2 closest each required more than 14 inches and the farthest tank required 40 inches of rod. I formed the pipes and painted them; drilled holes in the tanks and pump house to receive the pipes; cut supports for the pipes from Evergreen strips and I-beams, and glued the supports in place; glued the pipes to the supports; and made ramps over the pipes so maintenance workers could access the tanks and could safely cross the pipes to bring carts with tools or materials as needed without damaging the pipes. I've finished the pipes from the Pump House to the tanks: AMOCO Tanks 2 by ppuinn posted Jan 4, 2023 at 7:32 PM AMOCO Tanks by ppuinn posted Jan 4, 2023 at 7:32 PM AMOCO Tanks and Pipes by ppuinn posted Jan 4, 2023 at 7:32 PM The pump house is a cardboard structure with an Evans Designs Model Builder "skin" of siding/roofing/windows/doors printed on cardstock and glued to the cardboard. Building trim was made with white Evergreen angles. I've cut gray 1/4" foam board for the AMOCO driveway, but still need to "plant" grass at the edges of the driveway and along the sides of the pump house. There is going to be small rail tank car unloading platform (of as yet undetermined design) between the pump house and the tracks, and there will be three or four 3/64" pipes from the platform to the side of the pump house. AMOCO Pump House by ppuinn posted Jan 4, 2023 at 8:26 PM Photo Jan 04 2023, 8 20 44 PM by ppuinn posted Jan 4, 2023 at 8:26 PM The ramps over the pipes are also Model Builder prints on cardstock. The ready-built tank truck loader in the picture has been located at AMOCO on the layout for ten years, at least, but I've always thought the 55 gallon drums and smaller containers were more appropriate for an enclosed truck repair shop rather than an outdoor loading platform for tank trucks, so I may try to strip off some of the details...but that's a low priority. AMOCO Pump House by ppuinn posted Jan 4, 2023 at 7:32 PM I've planted some trees by the closest driveway entrance (just below the bottom of this picture where the driveway goes to the fascia/aisle), but still needs grass across the back by the pipes, and the other entrance (just off the upper right edge of the picture) needs to be trimmed so that it meets the roadway smoothly/squarely, and then the narrow strip of grass between the two driveway entrances that separates the loading area from the road needs to be touched up. And then I'll work on the road between AMOCO and Creve Coeur Transfer.
Well, this might be a little long, its been a busy week / weekend working on the layout, but I got a huge amount done! First off is liveries -- most of the cars come from the steam workshop with liveries on them, but most dont have numbers, or the numbers are not unique, so in order to make operations work, I need a unique number on each car, so I have been working on updating the liveries for the cars sometimes the liveries are really easy to do, other times, I have to go in and modify the mapping of where stuff goes on the car to get it to work right -- thats a lot more work Ive been busy working on the East staging -- Denver and Dallas Ive also been working on the Walsenburg Yard, getting track for the engine service / ready track done -- its not quite finished, and theres no structures there yet I think I did these 3 industries last week, but its still a catch up In the front with the Stacks on it, is 3 wolves brewery, next to that is the REA Regional warehouse for the SLRG, and to the back of the scene on the left is the Walsenburg Container Yard Ive also been busy working on getting cars into JMRI and starting to get things organized for operations -- I still have a lot to do and am still researching and creating industries for the layout --- hopefully I'll be getting to passenger and tourist trains running as well -- the layout goes right past a couple ski resorts including telluride and purgatorie, so I'll be getting the Ski Train organized as well -- departing from both Gallup and from Walsenburg. theres LOTS to do -- Questions and comments are ALWAYS welcome and encouraged TIM
Well got half the 60 feet of fascia done in one day and thought I could finish up in a second day but.... …. after about 3 hours and only 3 pieces up stopped for the day. I wasn't sick but no energy. Worked on some other stuff and a couple days later went back to it and found my energy was up again and .... . ….. finished up the woodworking part of the fascia. So far I've been happy with the material selection and the construction side of this. For anyone looking at building a layout I would strongly recommend raising the the layout 3 inches above the main benchwork with risers as explained ( HERE ). They make changes to anything that needs to be done now or later very easy. For example putting a switch machine in and having part of the benchwork in the way is not going to be a problem now or ever. I've used MinWax stains and urethane's a lot on the two sailboats and for furniture and storage units around the house and have good luck with them so used them again for the fascia. Finally time to lay cork and track but also need to get wiring in so I can test the track as I lay it. If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
Got the serial staging control board finished. Nothing fancy or high tech here, just a few relays. I used the bigger Radio Shack PC board for this so plenty of room for good clear labeling. It tested out fully on the bench so it's ready to install. While I was working on this the past couple days I was testing the heck out of the new sensors on the East Loop by running trains around and the sensors worked without fail. And the drawing
This morning I finished up the AMOCO driveway and two entrances. AMOCO Driveway at 9:05AM: AMOCO driveway before upgrade by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 8:10 PM AMOCO Driveway at lunchtime: AMOCO driveway after upgrade by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 8:10 PM AMOCO tank truck loader after Upgrade 2 by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 8:10 PM Agrico before upgrade: Agrico Before upgrade by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 8:10 PM Agrico after upgrade this afternoon: Agrico spur upgraded, new tanks,shrubs, temporary fence and temporary tank unloading platform by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 7:57 PM The fence around the tanks needs to be mounted and the unloading platform is just a temporary placeholder until I figure out what I'd like instead Agrico Tanks painted, Temporary Fence and Temporary platform by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 7:57 PM . I put in the road to Tuloma between AMOCO and Creve Coeur Transfer, but instead of planting trees next to the AMOCO berms, I just put in bushes, because the trees were too wide. Upgraded Road to Tuloma by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 8:31 PM I added the Creve Coeur Transfer grade crossing to the Tuloma Road, and a RR access road behind AMOCO to get to the switches and the propane tank for the Hilliard siding and Tuloma Switch switch heaters. Creve Coeur Grade crossing installed, RR access to Hilliards Switches and Propane tank by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 7:57 PM A second grade crossing was added over the main lines. To have adequate space for the crossing, I moved the propane tank for the Grove Crossovers. Tuloma road from the crossing back to Tuloma Anhydrous Ammonia was painted. Trees were upgraded between the main lines and the spur to Creve Coeur Transfer. Tuloma Grade Crossing installed, Road to Tuloma painted by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 7:57 PM Next Party goals: 1. paint the driveway in front and beside Creve Coeur Transfer and reposition the tractors, combines, and grain bin around the business where they were before the gas line repairs were made; Creve Coeur driveway to upgrade by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 7:57 PM 2. refurbish the trees behind the main line grade crossing; Trees behind track to refurbish by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 7:57 PM 3. refurbish the trees behind Creve Coeur Transfer where the GM&O abandoned track came through the woods to connect with the Peoria and Pekin Union RR near the Grove Crossovers. Trees by Abandoned GM&O to refurbish by ppuinn posted Jan 5, 2023 at 7:57 PM
Another update I got the Serial Staging control board installed and all of the connections made except for the helix down occupancy which I don't have a detector for yet. When trains are within the IR detectors on the east end loop, the yellow occupancy LED's now light up. However, the occupancy LED for one of the stub end staging tracks also lights up even though it's not connected to anything. So there's something to troubleshoot there. Likely in the control panel itself. Here is another view of the east end return loop with two trains on it. The train in the foreground was stopped there on purpose. When the train in the background arrived at the section of track that was dead because of the occupancy detector activated by the train in the foreground, it stopped. Once the helix down occupancy it connected then the train in the foreground will be controlled by that. So this was a successful test. The whole idea here is to allow for some staging in an area where there was no room for an actual staging yard. With the pair of stub end staging spurs and the two trains serial staged, an operating session can start with 4 trains set up on the east end. In an actual operating session, the automatic part is not really needed but I can use that when it's just me which is most of the time. At the end of the day today, I noticed that some of the controls for the main staging yards on the lower lever were not working. So next I need to troubleshoot that.
Got the CAD work done tonight. This layout should fall together fairly quickly given the use of an existing module. Two removable sections ensure easy access. The small removable section at lower right (actually 3 interchangeable sections) covers more than 100 years of a scrolling era. One section will contain a two story machine shop dating to the 1870's, one represents the structure after its destruction by boiler explosion and ensuing fire. The third will feature a new shop building and different company. The other removable section features a farm scene. A double sided bacdrop will separate the round portion of the layout and a removable elevated highway will wrap around the backdrop in the modern era. The cutting pattern for the round potion of the layout is shown at right. The other two pieces will also be used. I'm not sure about the timetable for actual construction yet.
Back when I worked on a club layout I did much of the wiring and made several of those boards. But, I was much younger. Yours are also much more professional looking, and probably are. Thanks for sharing.
