Installed three Peco turnouts today, 2 ST-6s and 1 ST-5 plus installed about 1 and 1/2 sections of Peco Code 55 Flex. So at the close of the day I have my first track across one of the trestles and part of the first structure installed. The upper level main is all Atlas Flex with a Atlas #6 turnout that connects to more Atlas flex up to the first Peco turnout.
John, Thank the Lord you didn't catch that knife! Ouch! So, since you laid more track, did the 9v and loco test run well then? Am enjoying seeing the scenery and track come together at the same time, unique and fun method.
Nothing has been tested yet. Spent the better part of this evening messing with a non working HVAC system. 2nd time this relatively new POS has gone out on me. Luckily this time and the last I caught it before the typical steam bath days of summer get here.
This AM I tested the upper level track using one of my Atlas Shays. Went through the turnouts like a breeze and negotiated the 8 inch radius curvature like it wasn't there. Handled the slight grade from the mine back up to the upper main without a hint of a hitch or wheel slip. So two days worth of taking my time to develop the roadbed and lay the track have paid off. Previously I have tested the hidden trackage in the tunnel area. Now I can go back and slip some ties under the track at the joint spots and begin to think about ballast for the area while I begin to lay the next level of track and install the last trestle. HVAC still dead in the water so there will be time out for the repair man at some point. Turtle Creek Central Shay #8 on the top trestle just off the 8 inch radius.
Having used both Atlas and Peco flex now I can say that I like the Peco because of it's ruggedness, also because once bent it tends to stay in that shape and not want to return to the previous alignment. Complaint is that it is a bear to curve just because of that ruggedness so tighter radiuses can be tough to achieve. Also on every piece I have used I have had to drill out the spike holes since a number barely were through the ties. The Atlas on the other hand lends itself well to tighter radiuses. However because of the ease of flexing one has to watch that the rails don't come out of gauge and again the track nail holes barely, or do not, come through which requires drilling out again which is a PIA for every section used. Peco gets the nod from me for the long sweeping curvatures and it's ruggedness. Plus once you bend a gentle curve it tends to stay without resorting to track spikes. Also their line of turnouts tend to use much less real estate allowing for more creative track work in tighter spaces. As far as my use for tighter radiuses like my 8 and 9 inch radius Atlas gets the nod and also for lower incurred costs.
Installed my ties under the gaps in the rail and then cut of some scenery to install the last trestle and right now tis an ugly scene. Also cut a few notches to fit the mine bldg. more snuggly. Still more plaster to pour after this sets then ready for some color and washes. And as I was saying in the previous post about the difference between Peco holding a curve and Atlas here is a shot. The Atlas on the top was bent to the same curvature of the Peco below. As you can see it sprung right back.
I agree the Atlas can be a bit obstinate. But I have always been able to get it laid as desired. Good luck on the HVAC! Sure glad it's not August weather.
To me the Atlas is far more flexible and therefore easier to conform which is why it will be the track I use the most of for the tight stuff. It is just that one needs four hands with it sometimes. Where is the Big Guy when I need him to sit on something? Still waiting for somebody to show up for the HVAC. Only a nice 47 deg. F outside right now and not much better tomorrow. Reminds me of the first house we stayed in after I had left the service and moved back up to Montana with my new bride of a couple of years. Only source of heat was an old floor furnace right square in the middle of the house. We stayed in that refrigerator for a year until we got our new house finished. I am too old for that crap now. The only time I will go back up there to visit will be in August.
Ooooooo .... Shays! They are soooo shiny! Now if I could only come up with an excuse to have one .... In the RR world, supervisors aren't allowed to touch real work unless there is a strrike going on, so I wouldn't hold your breath for the Big Guy! The first house I owned in Livingston had one of those in the floor furnaces, brrrrr! Layout is looking good, John.
You are in NP country and NP had three of them in Class V, two 2 truck and one 3 truck, and a Hiesler in Class V2.
Well today was the Silver Spike ceremony as the incline to the top was completed. Broke out Shays 8 and 9 to test the track. Since the Big Guy was in the middle of a serious nap and can be cranky when disturbed I had to weight test the trestle in another way. So I broke out the logging Mallet, a Black Satchel, and Shays 8 and 9 again to run them up the full grade as a consist. Single Shay is good for about 5 cars up the grade and double headed I get 9 up that grade. Haven't tested the Mallet yet. Remaining now is to complete the lower main line and install sidings, wire everything, and a lot of scenery work. And the first revenue run up the hill behind Turtle Creek Central #5 an old oil burning 2-6-0.
I suspect about 5 cars plus caboose but I really didn't test it. However it raced up the hill with that short consist and that is a 6% grade at one point just before the long trestle. Oh and the HVAC is fixed so finally after a few days I have a nice 74 deg. F. in the house.
Well with night temps in the 40s and not much higher than that during the day it was chilly in the workshop. Now we are heading toward 80 with thundershowers I might need the AC when the old bricks heat up. Been sitting and thinking about the old turnout off the lower main that leads to the incline up to the top. Not as reliable as I would like and probably older than some of our members. So probably tomorrow I am going to jerk that off the layout and install one of my newer turnouts in it's place. It might be another of those old Trix turnouts. But best to do it now when I don't have all the lower main in than later in the game when I have to tear up more than I want to. Also had an issue with my 4-4-0 pilots dragging their nose on the rails when I tested them so some work on them will be in order at some point. Weren't that way when I stored them away.
Gremlins playing in your boxes of toys? Now is certainly the time to iron the switch issues. Through all of the years, I have only had to replace a couple of (Electrofrog) Pecos. They've been ultra reliable.
I only checked the one and I am not sure how it got canted down since it was in a foam lined box specifically for locos. My mind is entertaining just chopping that danged pointy pilot off and grafting on a switcher style pilot. I have to see what is in my parts box and what is available that I can graft on. It could have been related to my grafting a coupler on the pilots, however they ran fine after the work with no issues. I am hoping that Atlas comes through with that next release of Shays since I am not exactly happy with some of my Black Satchels either. I am at a point in my life that if there is something doesn't work right I will tinker with it to a point, after that it is scrap.
Worked out the issues with the lower incline turnout. Circular file #13 solution. Pulled out some equipment again and tested once more. The little 2-6-0 handles 7 cars upgrade but developed a bit of wheel slip at the very top. So I doubled up the power and added another couple of cars. Finally added a Shay pusher and all the way with no slip. [rl=http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showphoto.php/photo/167405/title/hog-wallow/cat/910][/url] Of course no job is complete without unneeded supervision in this case Blackie, AKA Blackie the Punk, or the Dust Mop. If you move the track closer this way I can get a swipe at those mechanized meeces. The additional testing did reveal yet another issue at the top of the grade were the turnout controls the mine lead. So currently the track is all ripped out there while I study some alternatives. For whatever reason I think I got the curvature just a tad too sharp there resulting in everything but the Shays hanging up or derailing. So I am installing a completely new turnout configuration with easier curvature and a little further back than the previous. I can get most of my small power up the grade now until I get near that turnout. Tried the 4-4-0s again and my issue seems to be with the pilots on both. So at some point I will redo both. But if one piece of advice I can offer is to test new track work with several types of power and a variety of cars.
