Modular Shelf Layout Construction

Well the round table cloth might not be missed for a while, but the blue shower curtain......well now that's another matter.

 

Track!!



That white stuff that looks like snow in the cut is just adhesive that hasn't fully cured. I use clear siliconized acrylic caulk spread very thin to glue down track. The masking tape is pulled away under the end of the front track to expose the locating mark (a small groove cut in the masonite) added earlier. On my modules the front rail of the front track is aligned with the module center. The rear track is then offset 1 1/4" (rail-to-rail). That long aluminum ruler in the photo is very helpful for aligning straight track. I also started adding 1 5/8" strips of 1/32" balsa on top of the previous 2" wide balsa road base. These bring the road up to rail level and also provide a slight "step" along the sides for the gravel shoulder.

Not seen in the photo is some electrical progress. There are six pieces of track on the module, and I soldered feeders to each individual piece of rail (12 feeders total) and also soldered the eight rail joints. I like a lot of redundancy in electrical contact when dealing with 20 gauge wire soldered to the side of code 55 rail.

 

As discussed in a thread on the old Atlas forum (the "I may never paint track again" thread), I'm trying a different approach to rail coloring with this module. Here's a photo of the result:



The ties will probably be painted a darker brown or gray later, but this is how nickle silver rails look with a good coating of "Neo-lube". I've tested a small section of track like this on an existing operational module, and there have been no conductivity or slippage issues. Actually, I would expect conductivity to be enhanced.

For those unfamiliar with Neo-lube, it is a graphite/alcohol dry film lube that is brushed on. The alcohol evaporates, leaving a thin layer of conductive graphite (which is, of course, graphite colored). If this works well, I think this will be an ideal method to color the points/rails/frog on turnouts.

(10-9 edit: replaced photo with better shot)

[ 09. October 2004, 16:15: Message edited by: NorsemanJack ]

 

Here's a little progress on the East end of the module. The C&NW Sugar Grove line track has been added. I've also added the rest of the 1/32" balsa road base here. Adding a layer of 1/32" balsa to a 3/16" base brings the road up to the exact height of Atlas code 55 on top of Woodland Scenics roadbed. I used a brite-boy to smooth the area where the balsa butts up against the rail and verified that there is no interference by rolling that boxcar over the road crossing. Of course, that's not really needed on this track since nothing will ever run on it. I have several road crossings like this on another operational module and they have never caused any problems, so I would call it a proven approach.

 

This is the only place I know that it is available from:

Link to PBL

It seems to "adhere" well, although "deposit" might be a more correct term. Since it is in an alcohol medium, it whets very well.

It has no bonding properties, as it has lubricating properties. I first heard of it for blackening of MT coupler trip pins. It is easy to work with.

 

More track and electrical progress:

Here is how the tracks are terminated at the end of the module. I cut the rails between the fourth and fifth ties from each module end. The rail ends are then filed smooth and flat. This leaves approximately 1/2" without rail, which will necessitate a connecting track between modules of 1". As I'll show later, the exact distance doesn't matter at this point, as I cut and file each connecting rail (not track) to exact length with the aid of calipers. The "spikes" are removed from each of the four bare ties plus the first tie under the end of the rails. I use a flat X-acto blade for this:



Here's a shot showing the feeder wires terminating at the terminal block. You can see two sets coming through 1/2" holes from the module top. I use black/white solid 20 gauge wire from Radio Shack for this. As soon as all of the wires are present, I'll tighten and trim those tie-wraps to keep them in somewhat of a pseudo "harness".

 

Ballast and road crossings:

I finally got around to making some more progress. The following photo shows a sample of my ballast and road crossings. The ballast is that detestable, floating Woodland Scenics stuff. Since I don't spray glue, the light weight is a non-factor. I use a fine tip glue applicator to apply Aleen's tacky glue between and around each and every tie, followed by a liberal sprinkling of ballast. After glue cure and vacuuming this approach leaves a very thin layer of ballast. I perfer this approach for two reasons. First, the ballast lays below the tops of the ties, which preserves the three dimensional effect of ties on ballast. Second, since there is no glue on top of the ballast, the texture is not obscured (i.e. "smoothed") at all. I also like that the ballast is not dense and the glue is flexible. To my ear, this makes for a quieter track than more conventional real-rock-and-elmers approaches. I must hasten to add that ballasting approaches and preferences are one of the most varied aspects of our hobby and I've seen great looking results from numerous methods. This is just what works for me. The road crossings are just balsa wood painted roof brown. The road surface in this area is Detail 160 roadway. This should probably be weathered, but that will come later.

 

Jack, great series...just caught up today....man you have a clean garage...how do you manage that?? Thats the mystery for me!

You have a really nice project...I really appreciate you sharing your work and knowledge with us fellow Nscalers...

 

There will be gates. I have some NJI black/white "A" frames on order.

I've prepared a few sample field "patches" trying to determine how to achieve the correct look. That will likely be the next step. I actually think fields are going to be easier than some of the other scenery challenges in that they are inherently uniform.

[ 12. February 2005, 19:37: Message edited by: NorsemanJack ]

 

Thanks Mike! The key to the clean garage is getting rid of as much stuff as possible as often as possible. This is strange, since I grew up in the rural midwest where you never got rid of anything. Old junk from grandparents' houses tended to be retained as some type of family heirloom after they met their demise - which resulted in discussions along the lines of "we CAN'T get rid of that old toaster, it was Grandma's!" It didn't seem to matter that the last time it was used it took 10 minutes to toast one side of a slice of bread. Can anyone else out there relate?? Maybe my minimalist tendancies are an adverse reaction to that environment.

 

Here are some updates on the scenery progress. I'm currently trying to get the rest of the details I need to finish this. The road is not yet complete (awaiting Detail 160 items). I'm also going to install telegraph poles, crossing gates (signals only on the C&NW spur), equipment cabinets and track signals at the crossing. My layout room has awful lighting and space restrictions. I'll be able to post better pictures when I can take it back outdoors for good Arizona lighting.





This picture is just to provide a perspective for how the 6' x 1' module captures the feel of a long, straight stretch of track. That section of US30 should provide a good display for some N scale vehicles.

 

Might nice work, there!!

I know of an HO scale layout in San Antonio that has the same feel of expanse. Not a very big layout, but it is one of my favorites.

 

Thanks for the encouragement guys. Looking back at my first posts, it looks like I've been working on this one for about five months. As soon as I am able to purchase the final details it should be done fairly quickly. I already have plans for a mating corner module that will continue this scene, also based on the same prototype location.

Just West of the University road crossing (the right end in my most recent photos) US30 diverges from the tracks before looping back over them on a bridge. The highway then loops back to now parallel the tracks on the South (opposite) side of the tracks - essentially forming an "S" curve with a bridge in the middle. There is a stand of some taller trees between the highway and tracks as well. I think this will provide a nice, simple area to model that will also add some interest to the layout.

Here's a link to an aerial photo of what I'm describing:

Terraserver Aerial Photograph of Next Scene

Here's another photo looking West from University road showing the highway bridge crossing. Upon looking at this photo again, I noticed that the highway bridge was configured so as to possibly allow for a double-tracking that never occured(?).

 

You've made tremendous progress since I last checked in with you. It's looking really, really nice - great job so far, excellent attention to detail!

 

This really is a great thread and I appreciate your excellent photos.

I was intrigued by your use of tacky glue for ballast versus the old eyedropper flood method. Your point on the reduction of noise as a by-product of this sparked my interest.

Is it hard to put the glue where you want it to keep it off the tops of the ties?

Thanks,

 

Bill - I haven't had any problem keeping the glue off the tops of the ties. I add one part of distilled water to eight parts of glue to help it flow a little better. The following photo shows the glue tip I use to apply the tacky glue. This is not an approach that I would recommend to someone ballasting 100' of track, but for a small module it works alright. It is a bit tedious, but I like the consistency and predictability of results. It is also a very neat process that can be done without any clean-up.

I don't ballast often enough to maintain good skills using other methods. I've used the spread/wet/glue methods before, but don't particularly enjoy that approach. As I mentioned earlier, ballasting seems to be one of those processes that has many good (and bad) approaches, and we all tend to develop our own prefered approaches.