Hi all, Made some progress on the layout during the last few weeks. I managed to finish off roadbed (5mm cork), trackwork, tortoises, wiring, fascia and a lift-gate. I can now run trains but i still need to finish off the control panels for the tortoises so that i can do switching as well. The 30-31" radii curves with easements proved adequate for full length passenger cars and long consists. A few photos of the progress follow, many thanks for your time and replies Yannis Roadbed work Turnouts in place right before the turn to the depot area Finished trackwork in a part of the industrial area south of the depot, right after the turnouts Wiring along the front of the benchwork. Feeders every 3'. Lift gate locked into place as seen from under the gate itself. Some of the locking/alignment locks can be seen. Lift gate at its "rest" position. Kept into place with wooden supports that will evolve into buildings. The other side of the benchwork where the gate locks into place. Three spring loaded locks used in different angles for 3-axis alignment and two brass barrel locks used on each side that act as safety switches. Unless they are locked, no power is on the tracks, so no flying trains here. Lift-bridge locked in place, a Super Chief is about to pass through. Hinge detail
More updates on the layout's progress... I finished off the fascia, installed curtains for the skirting and more importantly (for me) finished off the work on the fascia control panels. These are made out of styrene. They are painted with hammered effect paint and acrylics. I hope you like them and thanks for stopping by! Primed panel Painted with the basic color Panel madness... Installed, pending labels Final result
Very nice work on the panels, Yannis. They're sharp looking and guarding the toggle switches is a great idea for several reasons. Haven't seen that done before.
Tom thank you very much for the kind words. The switches without a guard looked like they could pose a problem with jackets etc... catching on and causing damage. Better safe than sorry i guess. On top of that i really liked their contribution to the overall image of the panel (more industrial etc...).
Thank you Colonel! No issues so far with operations, i had derailments in other unexpected places rather than on the bridge itself which i feared the most. It all seems to lock in place as it should despite shifts and bumps. I went a step further and did not solder the two pieces of flex track that span the bridge. This way i can make micro-adjustments to the rails if needed at any time in order to alleviate any issues in the future (with excessive or too-small, track gaps).
Thank you very much Vince for the kind words! Hopefully i ll be able to post an update in the coming weeks.
Late to the party. Pretty fancy bench-work. Definitely more "exotic" with the furniture style pocket hole jig!
Thanks for the reply Jim. The pocket holes did make construction easier and sturdier in comparison to my previous benchwork. I ll definitely be using pocket hole construction on most of my future woodworking.
Thank you very much Tom for the very kind and motivating words! It is an honor to receive this kind of feedback from such great modelers.
Hi Yannis Really nice work. I am looking forward to seeing more pictures and the progress on your layout. Have a great day and best regards from Switzerland Thom
