Was cleaning out the garage of pieces of old layouts and found this section of 23 ½” x 41 ¼” plywood / pink foam calling to me, pleading to me: “Don’t toss me out! Turn me into a layout!” And staring at it, I realized I could build a small layout that included all the “new” things I want to include on my “real” Portland & Pacific RR shelf layout, and that this would be a great opportunity to build some skillz, as I want that shelf layout to be super-duper-awesome. Plus, wife seeing me work out in garage on eensy-weensy layout is a non-threatening step to the bigger ones, like the 7’x8’ “U” that I’ll eventually get to (that’s one “leg” I’m disguising / using as a workbench. Shhhh! Muhahaha!) So I came up with this plan: Wanted to include the following: 3-way turnout Curved turnout Crossing Arched bridge made out of stone Lift out mountain (how do you disguise those lines? Hmm…) Pier Detailed tunnel interiors (one rock, one wood) Sharp rock canyon TALL mountains, like 3-4 layers of 2" foam, to act as scene block / dramatic rock canyon Engine service area Raised mainline to lower siding / spur transitions Wood corner supports for fascia embedded in foam DCC panel in foam, wiring hidden in channel in foam behind removable fascia All of which I’ve never built before. I’m going to handbuild the turnouts and the crossing, so the 3-way should be fun. All the structures on the layout are ones I can use on the “real” RR later. Even though there are some risers under the base plywood, I’, pretending that the base would sit flat, so all wiring / electronics needs to fit in the foam behind removable fascia. Using Atlas Code 55 flextrack, ME 55 rail & PC board ties for turnouts (maybe Caboose ground throws: still deciding). DCC NEC Powercab (perhaps layout more apt for DC with two trains max, but wanted to practice the DCC installing, plus my current engines are DCC). Cork roadbed for mainline. Chose Mt. Coffin & Kalama RR as name / location as close to where I want to model the shelf (Portland, OR & Columbia River area). Groovy structures around that area (no, not the Trojan Cooling Tower. Although…), though still debating whether to include Beaver Falls or not. I’ve started playing around fitting the track & turnouts: But I haven’t set the trackplan in stone yet, so any suggestions are welcome! Mainly want a fun little project to develop building & scenery skills, run some trains (with some ops) and take some photos while I work on “real” shelf layout. This one could easily go in son’s room without disturbing the balance of the universe. Any / all feedback appreciated! --M.C.
I look forward to seeing this continue. One quick note on bridges. In this part of the country we have virtually no stone arch bridges, especially not railroad ones, but then again you can find precedents for nearly anything. An interesting alternative might be to make a bridge with a center pivot section, like the ones further down the Columbia on the Oregon side, around the John Day River and in a couple other places. Adam
Any thought to making it compatible in some manner with your modules? Maybe crossing it at the right point so for now it would just be a unused track.
Although I don't play in N scale anymore, small layouts continue to intrigue me. I have the East Glasstop 2'X4' plan from Dec '70 MR and if anyone is interested, please PM me.
Thanks for the thoughts so far. Adam: I know there aren't any stone bridges up there now, but there was: That's over the Columbia River in 1859, I think. Sorry: I didn't specify time / era. I'm thinking 1910s-late 40s for the layout, though I'll use it to run whatever. I just wanted to try carving cut stone on a bridge, though to be more prototypical, I should go with something like: Which is over Lake Oswego or: Which would be a blast to model (working!), though a bit much for this little layout, or, the smaller version: Though that's single track, could make it double. Would like an "open top" bridge, to allow viewing into the frieght area. Still thinking, though! [The pivot bridge I've already designed into the 7'x9' "U" layout / "lower deck" which I'm still developing. Got some pretty groovy photos of the prototypes I'll share later). O, Grey One: I thought about making it compatable, but not a real priority. I might straighten the Industry siding, or run it to the edge of the layout, so I can connect it later if I want. Could, theoretically, do the same with the pier. The idea of portable self-contained world is kinda appealing, though. Thanks for the suggestion: will think on it! Also need to think about how to design the lift-out section for the Mt. Storage lift-out. Any suggestions? I'm using 2" pink foam for scenery.
I guess, I'm not quite sure of why you need a lift out mountain on a layout this size?? Also, thanks for the pics of OR bridges. I'm from there an have seen most of them. Jim
Becuase its Mt. Coffin and every coffin needs a lid! Anyhow, back on topic, not sure if it is cool to link to another forum but a user on nscale.net has a topic covering various liftouts and access panels they have for their layout http://www.nscale.net/forums/content.php?53-Gettin-at-them-hard-to-reach-places
Got family in Seattle and (Fort) Vancouver across the Columbia River from Portland so have made the trip between San Francisco & Seattle many, many, many times, on every road possible, it seems (Though I don't think I've gone from Portland to Astoria along the river in a long, long time). Lots of fab bridges! I like this pivot bridge: But will save for center scene of a larger (future) layout! As for the mountain, I just want to be able to remove the top to get to the two-car storage / interchange / ??? I have under the mountain. It's about 10" of track: a little far for the chopsticks if a car derails in the back. Plus, want to practice lift-out sections for access, just to know my options for the future. I'm thinking having the top 2 layers of 2" foam be able to pull off the "base" 2" layer, which would have the tunnel cut out of it. I would have only the 6"-8" around Mt. Storage lift out (not whole scenic-blocking ridge) Could use polyfiber bushes to mask seams.
Installed 1”x2” corner and elsewhere supports for the fascia: Used woodglue for the short (1 ½”) ones just under the base layer of foam (they have a foam cap to conceal them), then gorillaglue for the two tall corners. Probably just should have kept with woodglue: seems a stronger bond. In this shot you can also see the alcove I built for the DCC panel: cut out the bottom of the plywood as well for easier access for wires & plugs. The bus wires will travel around the edges of the layout in an angled channel cut 1” down to the plywood base. Laid down the cork roadbed for the mainline (stuck on with caulk), then started building mountains: (Amazed foam-cutting assistant included for scale reference) Mainly 4 layers of 2” pink. The finished mountain/s won’t be as vertical or blockish, though I do want to have some imposing verticalness, especially through the pass / gorge. Doesn’t have to be a total view block, just give the impression of rock & tree mass and divide the layout into two scenes. The coal tipple / quarry feeder / ore tipple will straddle the spur on the left behind the main, the gorge is front right in this pict, with a tunnel / storage underneath the right mountain menaced by the monster. Townside (with gorge in back left): Cleaned up the water area, installed a foam block to act as the abutment for the bridge, then laid the cork over it. The mountain on the left (inner wall of the gorge) is the one sitting on top of the storage track / tunnel, and will be a lift out: As the Godzilla impersonator rips up the lift-out section, you can see the space for the storage track underneath. As all the foam is merely t-pinned in place, I’ll be able to widen the tunnel a wee bit before construction. Debating between rock or wood paneled interior. Some lights would be cool, too, but probably too much. For the liftout, I’m thinking of sinking some straws vertically in the first 2” layer (that will be glued to the base layer), and then having some 1/8” doweling sections still out from the bottom of the liftout, so that it’ll fit snug without wearing or beating the foam down.
Later tonight I’m scraping out some foam and then lay a short section of cork as a grade for the spurs to get down to the base layer. The tricky part will be the crossing (outlined in orange): but I think I’ll cheat a little by sanding the cork down a bit as it approaches the crossing area, so the grade won’t have to be as steep under the “x”. Unless anyone has any good suggestions? Or is any grade under a crossing a bad idea? (not much room for it past the crossing).
Mainline to spur transitions today. First, cut & sanded the grade into the pink foam: It pays to go slow, as it's very very easy to sand away too much (and then you're in deep stuff!) Here's a side view: You really don't have to sand that much, and, if the grade's a wee uneven, you can sand the top of the cork (when installed and set) a bit to even it all out. I use laytex caulk for all roadbed, track & pink foam gluing (though I just got some Greatstuff to try on the layers of mountain). Here's the cork, depressed and setting: A good sanding when all done will smooth everything out. The turnout directly behind this one I sanded a bit much, so I put a little more caulk in there, pushed the cork into it, and then pulled up on the pins a bit to raise it even: Should be fine when it sets (we'll see!) Then I went to do the crossing on the opposite side (see previous post), when I realized I was ONE strip of cork roadbed short. So that'll have to wait until after a trip to the LHS tomorrow. Then it'll be removing the mountains, sanding the roadbed, laying, wiring & painting track (if I get those darn curved turnouts built: been having a doozy of a time getting the frogs & wings right. But that's a different thread). For wiring, is 18 okie dokie for the bus, with 20 or 22 for feeders, or does the bus have to go bigger?
The expressive face of your daughter is priceless. Great to see kids getting involved with their parent's projects.
Between birthday parties at bowling allys and holiday get-togethers, not a whole lot getting done (don't these people realize I have a layout to build!), but some: Finished laying down all the cork, including the graded sections for the spurs. Also cut out a block of foam that will become the bridge across the river area (which I also widened): I'm going to carve the stones into the sides and carve out the arches so that it eventually will look like this: Which will be fun. Will probably carve the pier supports separately. The carving will be intense, but worth it (or I could plunk down the $14 for some rock paper sheets)(but where's the fun in that?) Started by practing on my test track diorama: No, I'm not modeling seepage: That's only the first coat of paint still wet (WS Concrete: will build up other washes!). And if I mess up on that block, I'll just sand off the oops and use some 1/4" black foam core board I found at Target that I'll try and just carve facades from and glue on the sides. And, after spending 8 hours on my first (ugly) curved turnout, I made a good one in three hours, and then tonight I spend three hours making my first fixture, a 12"/9" curved turnout diverging into a #4.5 straight turnout: Works groovy, and making it as one continuous piece makes the curves extra smooth (like buhtah), which is important on this tight curve. No throwbars yet: still waiting for an early present from the Postal Service soon!
Finally finished building all the turnouts (except for the #6 3-way: saving the beast for last!) and so cleared the layout of mountains to prep it for tracklaying: Fitted and soldered all three fixtures: tried to get as smooth of connections and curves as I could, but there seems to be slight straight sections, especially where the railjoiners are. Not sure how to fix that. Shorter railjoiners? Next time I'll build the fixtures as one unit: that seems the smoothest. Also added some styrene bases for the caboose handthrows, which will get gorillaglued to the foam to form rock-solid support for the throwing action. Then I painted the cork under each turnout and test fitted each fixture: Not the prettiest, but seems to work well so far. Next step: while the fixtures can still be worked on at the workbench, solder on 22 gauge feeder and jumper wires. Carve out some channels for the wires, and then it's time to lay some track! (the bus wires already in a perimeter channel under the base foam) That and the #6 3-way that's staring at me from my workbench, daring me to build it...
Thanks, Adam and Craig, for the compliments. The turnouts are turning out rather well (at least much better than my previous attempts), though I'm still struggling with maintain a smooth curve through connecting the turnouts together. It seems that the railjoiners straighten the track a wee bit at the connections: While visually almost impercepable, rolling a truck / car through there reveals a small straight section. Not really irritating (right now), especially for a poorer backwoods branch line (as I rationalize my mistakes), but it would be nice to know how to create smooth connections in the future, other than build the fixtures as all one piece. Which I have more confidence doing now, but still. Perhaps cutting the railjoiners in half? Soldering without them, just rail to rail? (using a jig or clamps to hold them in place?) Anyone have any suggestions? Also, I was totally inspired / awestruck by Jean-Louis Simonet's Possum Valley small layout, I almost turned the waterfront into a log pond and made the bridge siding into a log dump. But then I took a breath and realized it would be too much: where are the logs coming from? two cars in the tunnel? bleh. So I decided to go with a cannery complex off the inlet, as serviced by the left diverging rails of the #6 3-way that I haven't built yet. Researched some pictures: Some cannery operations along the Columbia River (there were some HUGE canneries in Astoria, but those are way too big for this little layout!) This way most cars will be coal/ore from the mine (haven't decided yet) and boxers and reefers for the cannery and frieght house that'll be bottom left. I was just going to attempt scratchbuilding the cannery, but if anyone has any kitbashing ideas or other photos for reference, I'd be much obliged!
A couple more Columbia River cannery shots for ideas: It's going to be fun having piles of fish flopping around!
go trains go Major track laid, trains running! Got all fixtures soldered, wired, and installed, as well as connecting sections of flextrack: The only sections not caulked down are the ones over the temp bridge (right now small sections of double sided tape are tacking them down). All the wiring will be hidden behind the fascia: Love those suitcase connectors! The speaker wire is the bus, and a long length of red/black goes to both sides for the future 12v lighting connections. The single spur (tunnel / storage) and the nearer of the double (coal/ore mine) are isolated and have a separate toggle so that they’re either not “hot” during DCC or separate blocks for engine storage if DC (the long inner siding on the bridge will also be a separate block for possible DC ops). Everything runs pretty well, EXCEPT for ONE curved turnout frog, which my engines occasionally short on, and definitely bump on. Here’s the culprit: I had chopped the track with my dremel one track tie too close to the top of the frog, so I had to really cut down with xacto to separate the rails. Actually had to shove a small piece of styrene down there to make sure they didn’t touch. But the frog is wonky and need to adjust a little with the solder iron and tweezers. Will work okie dokie after that (crosses fingers & toes). Other change is that I turned the single track dock into a double-tracked ore/coal unloader: The left track will be storage, while the right will dump down to the barge (or maybe vice-versa: haven’t decided yet). I made it into a double track because 1. will help operations (won’t have to leave ore cars out on the bridge or in the cannery area and 2. I found a #5 wye already set up with handthrow. The finished dock will be a bit wider on the storage side: the 1/8” masonite is just there for placement so far. Enough blab, here’s a video of the first trains going roundy round! [it ends with the 70tonner shorting everything out on that booby of a frog, the one the NW2 passed over fine & dandy moments before] Next: finish the #6 3-way and finish the track laying at the engine facility & cannery inside, then put the mountains back for some scenery building! Happy New Year, all!
