I like your attention to detail and faithfulness to the prototype. I had done a few things like what you did to my layout (scenery-wise); build it, find out it looks all wrong, tear it out and start over... On a small layout, inaccuracies (specifically when modeling an exact prototype) cannot hide....
Thanks Hemi, guess that is why our mini pikes are never really "finished." Onward! In another thread, the question of soldering track came up and since I'm working on the largest siding on the layout, I thought "Why not show ya'll what I have been doing on soldering track and adding drops." So lets look at the stretch of track that will be the siding between Potter Place and Concord. Keep in mind I only solder my track connections on curves, not straights and not turn outs, (I want a bit for temp changes and expansion/contraction). Soldering on the curves accomplishes a few things, namely: Allows for good electrical conductivity Allows a nice curve without any kinks or miss-alignments that may cause derailments Good access point for drops wether doing DC in blocks or DCC Lets get started. Click here to view the original image of 1280x859px and 130KB. Pictured above are some of the most important tools of the trade: Soldering iron with a small tip (This is a Wahl cordless) Cutting mat Solder flux (To help solder flow easily) Solder Soldering tool (used for applying flux as well as other small tasks) Wire tool (used to hold wire while soldering) Track cutters Plastic or sprue cutters (Used here to carefully remove plastic ties) 2 Code 55 rail joiners 2 pieces of flex track (Code 55) (Not shown) Small file set It is also important to have a well lit area since we are working with small parts. Click here to view the original image of 1280x859px and 69KB. Step 1: Gather both pieces of flex track. One rail is loose, the other somewhat rigid. I like to connect the two rails that are loose and use them for the outside of my curve. Next, using the plastic sprue cutters, remove at least two ties from the flex. Because of the nature of flex, you should only need to make one cut. Keep the ties, we'll use those later. If you have previously cut the track, carefully file the end of the rails until they are nice and flat. If the track is new like the example here, simply move on to step two. Click here to view the original image of 1280x859px and 165KB. Step 2: It is important to have a smooth, solid surface in which to perform the following steps. I have a scrap piece of 1X4" pine I use. It keeps the track flat, allows me to solder without worry of marring a surface and keeps things straight. I have also employed the use of Midwest brand modeling pins, normally used for model airplane construction. Because this is pine and these pins are fine, I drilled a set of pilot holes that allowed the pins to go in and later be removed easily yet still allow pressure to hold the track in place. Again, these pins help with keeping the track rigid, in place and aligned. Now is a good time to check the fit of the joiners and track. If there are gaps or a rough fit, use the file to clean up the rail heads and check for fit again. Pin one peice of flex to the board, then add some flux to the joiners, slide on rails and add the other piece of track and pin down. Click here to view the original image of 1280x859px and 122KB. Step 3: I'm using a cordless Wahl 25W iron, but any good quality iron that is at least 20 watts and has a small or fine tip will work. The goal here is obvious: Get in, melt the solder and allow it to flow into the joiner and complete a solid connection before melting the ties. Allow the soldering iron time to reach its operating temp. Now, carefully place the tip of the iron on the inside of the rail joiner. The flux will melt and smoke a bit. At that time, place the solder to the joiner near but not on the tip of the iron on the joiner. It will not take long before the solder melts and gets soaked up into the joiner, this is why we use flux. As soon as you have a bit of solder in the joint, remove the solder and iron, allow to cool, then check and see if the joint holds. The above picture shows that the outer rail has just been soldered, while the rail closest to use has only flux. You want enough solder to complete a good electronic connection as well as a sort of "weld" for the two pieces of rail. Too much solder will require a fair amount of filing later. The above solder joint is good but I still filed a bit to keep the rail profile intact. Once painted and weathered, this joint will be almost impossiable to see. Not that ties are not affected.
Click here to view the original image of 1280x859px and 122KB. Step 4: With the rail and joiners soldered, I next clean the joints with rubbing alcohol. Now turn over the track and carefully file the bottom of the joiners. All we want to do here is give the surface a slightly rough surface to increase the bond between the solder and joint. Click here to view the original image of 1280x859px and 129KB. Step 5: Next, ad the iron tip to the joiner and add a small amount of solder. I'm using the Atlas 16 guage stranded wire here. Before adding the wire, cut off a small amount of insulation, dip the end of the wire into some flux and tin the end. Simply heat the wire and flow in some solder to in the wire. I also bend the tip of the wire at a 45 degree angle to allow more surface area of the wire to contact the joiner. Now, heat up the joiner again until the solder melt. Work quickly here. Add the tinned wire and hold the wire to the joint until the solder on the wire and joiner are molten. Now remove the heat of the iron but continue to hold the wire. This is where the aluminum wire holder tool comes in handy as the wire will get hot. In the end the drop should look like the picture above. Click here to view the original image of 1280x859px and 52KB. Step 6: With our track soldered and wired, we want to fill in the gaps of ties. Place the ties you removed from the flex earlier on a flat, hard surface. Using a small square file, (I'm using one from a Testor's Model Master Set), carefully file between the "spikes" onto the plate where the rail was previously. You will want to file a channel that is just wide enough and just deep enough to accept the wider rail joiner. Now we go to the layout to finish this up. I'll post a follow up picture so you can see the results. I hope this helps you guys. I really enjoy soldering and it is not hard. Like anything it just takes the right tools and time to learn. Feel free to ask any questions. More to come...
Thanks, Jim, for an excellent pictorial lesson. Though I'd like to offer two suggestions that would not change anything you have done, but might improve follow-on tasks for you and others. First, "Rubbing Alcohol" is usually about 70% pure and contains aromatics which can interact with work, especially plastics. I prefer to use 93% alcohol which contains no aromatics, and its greater purity is better for soldering, removing decals and paint, and preparing models for painting. 93% is available at most chain drug stores and costs the same as 70%. Second, I'm assuming that the cost of Atlas wire would be higher because it's a name-brand product sold to the model market. I prefer using off-the-shelf hi-fi speaker wire which is dirt-cheap and available in rolls at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Speaker wire is 18 guage stranded. Also each wire is seperately identified two ways: 1) the insulation is clear showing different colored wires, one copper-toned, and the other silver-toned; and 2) the insulation on the side of one wire is ribbed and the other is smooth so each wire can be identified by touch.
Thanks Charlie! Thanks Hank. Actually I do use 93%, actually I think mine is 91% alcohol. I get a large bottle of it at Wally world. I mainly use it to strip paint from shells since finding undec locomotives went the way of the Studebaker. Regarding the wire, being the cheap New Englander that I am, I used what I had on hand, which may have been Atlas, not sure, but it was in my parts box. Living where I do, the closest electronics store is at least 25-30 miles away. The speaker wire however is a great suggestion and is exactly what we are using on our club modules. Very cheap and can be purchased for a song at one of the big box stores. Thanks for bringing it up Hank!
Step 7: Now the track is down and nice and flush. We have two problems here. 1. that nasty gap without ties and 2. we can see wires and holes. Now I get the ties out that I started in step 6. Step 8: Those ties I filed a small channel in, fit nice and snug under the rails and can be glued down. In this case, I'm using liquid cement since my base is styrene. If the track was on cork or foam roadbed, standard white or yellow glue would be used. Unfortunately, the way the drops are, I can't use a single piece tie to fill the gap. The drop is under the rail and would interfere with the tie. I simply cut the tie into three pieces by cutting out the track plates or the section that the rail slides into. Here the outer tie is getting glued into the approximate area. Since this is a siding, spacing is not demanding as those on a main. Step 9: Tweezers make life easier as I add the center section of the tie. Step 10: Here is the results. It may look a bit sloppy at first but wait until scenery is applied. I really want it to look sloppy. The B&M just used cinders on their spurs and sidings, no real roadbed like that found on mains. Even at this stage, this is a big improvement. Next will come the second siding and then finally scenery. More to Come...
With the siding down it was time to clean up the gaps on either end. As before, this was done with my small square file and a channel was cut into the area of the ties that was illustrated in step 6. I have the siding as its own electrical block however and as such, isolated connectors were used to seperate the track from the main. I simply filed a slightly larger channel, checked for fit and glued into place. Once this has had scenery such as earth, mud and cinders, it will blend right in. Now to give you all a broad look as to what I'm trying to do here: Here is Potter Place today. Take a look at the key and arrows I have made. If you look this up on Google Earth, you can see how I made my mistake earlier as to where the main was. To avoid confusion, I have added a blue line to show us where the main was. Take note, that the real main is still in place today, just about 14 feet from the south edge of Cilleyville Road and past the passenger station to the north, our left. Here we also see the road that was former Route 4 now named Depot Street. The freight depot still stands and next to it on the short siding is a Pullman Standard McGinnis era box car which was just recently restored! Thank you Andover Historical Society! Now back to 1/160th and 1975! In real world terms we would be standing on the south edge of the small parking lot next to the freight depot and looking north west. The local is spotting a 50 foot D&H flat car onto the large siding. This picture also illustrates my plan to put all my spurs and sidings "in the dirt" just like the prototype. Look at the difference in train parked on the main versus the cars going into the siding. The small siding that is where our full scale PS1 is today has not been installed yet but lead to it can be seen here. A better comparison is found here. The future Route 11/4 overpass will span this section and create a natural view block from Concord in the back ground. The Rock Island 50' box car is on the siding and is prototypically lower than the B&M 50' box car on the main. New information found while doing research tells me this siding was used well up until Guilford ripped up the main around 1993 or so. It would not be out of the question for me to run the rebuilt B&M Geeps wearing their last blue dress or a New England Southern GP18 here. So again, we really have some posts on the finer mechanics of prototype layout work. It is a bit more involved that just laying a stretch of track and calling it good. Each piece must be justified as to why it was there, what did it serve and how long was it? In my case, I ellected the large siding to strech all the way to Concord since the overpass is the scenic divider that seperates Potter Place and Concord. It was easier for operations to make this siding longer and when viewing the layout, the end of the siding would not be seen as the main and siding curve and disapear into the woods. The small siding however will be exact or close to exact scale length but will have other little operations gremlins placed in it on purpose for various reasons that we will get into soon. I promise soon, we will start to do some scenery and start enjoying some New Hampshire Birch, Maple as well as granite. There is a move coming for this layout that will also make working on the Concord side a bit easier. As always, if you have any questions, by all means ask, ayuh! More to Come...
Well here we are in the middle of the month of March with the last post and update on the layout taking place the 1st of January and to date, nothing has been done....nothing. Why you ask? I'm not an overtly religious man, but I am spiritual and Ecclesiastes reminds us that To everything there is a season. In my case, A time to tear down and a time to build up. I now firmly believe that my concept has had a few too many flaws for this layout to be truly enjoyable. The building of a main line through the heart of New Hampshire and having it squeezed into a 6X3 foot table means, it's big enough to be an all out pain in the EOT, in such a small room but too small to fully get a sense of prototype operations. I spent the better part of a month, every day, running a "local" on the layout and each day was not happy. I could not get around the roundy round for one. Then I saw the many other things that bothered me. Continued fussing with couplers, not having scale switch stands (yes this bothers me), erratic behavior of any number of locomotives, Track problems (mainly because I have had to rip up and re-lay it so many times). And finally, the fully detailed locomotives. I have spent hours on the locomotives that are on thee layout and honestly, unless I take them to a prototype meet, no one sees them. Those that do, do not appreciate the details or even see them for that matter. I remembered why I got into N scale in the first place. To run trains. Set up a few engines and 30 to 40 cars and run them, be it on my clubs N-Trak or my T-Trak modules. In reality, that is when my rolling stock really sees the most action and since my local club is quite active, running trains is never a problem. After spending a few days of thought and research, I came to the conclusion that I enjoy operations, mainly switching. I also love detailing and painting locomotives and just recently started DCC with sound entering into a not so distant goal. I then remembered the days of when my O scale "Westfield" layout ran. The locomotives all had sound and MTH's version of DCC. Small as thee layout was, I did more impromptu op sessions on the O scale layout than N. I loved turning on lights and ditch lights and hearing the Prime Mover sound run through it's notches. Spending an afternoon switching out grain cars and box cars was more appealing than watching a train go around and around. By now, if your still reading this, your wondering what the heck I'm going on about. a few of you might now as you too have been in similar circumstances. I believe this is the end, then end my friends. After seven years of false starts, re-designs and mistakes, it's time to stop chasing windmills. I don't have room for the layout and in it's present form, it is not as mobile as I would like. The design constraints coupled with the scale have led me to the decision to abort and dismantle the layout. Long story short, I would rather have an around the walls, point to point HO operations set up than a N scale table top. Wait, did I say H....O..? Yes I did. For operations I feel it is easier and better. I'm sure that can and will be debated but I have had better experience with operations and switching with HO than N. So are my days with N over? No, I still love N and will continue my work with T-Trak and custom painting. I have however decided that after this Rock Island GP40 and B&M GP38-2, I will probably concentrate on fully detailed HO models. The N scale details are just now becoming frustrating to me and 75% of the people do not see the hard work I put into them. Plus, I'm not going to lie, detailing N scale locomotives is a young mans game. My eyes have finally passed their prime (something that has been very hard for me to admit). Rather than look back on the old days and agonize over my eyesight, I chose to take on new challenges such as a fully detailed GP38 with DCC and sound. Most of my N scale will be sold. The Kato and Atlas locomotives that are modern and for lines such as Santa Fe, Burlington Northern and BNSF will get sold along with most of my rolling stock. I'll run my B&M custom painted stuff on the club modules as well as my T-Trak modules. The decals, details, decoders, shells etc will be sold. As for the layout? One of two things will happen. I could sell it as is to some enterprising and perhaps more motivated modeler for a agreed upon price. I would feel good about that, knowing that it would live on in some railroad way. The second is to use it as the starting point for the along the wall layout. I am a New Englander at heart and as such, I hate to waste time and money wrapped into this layout. I could simply cut the layout in half and begin on the 18"X5 - 18"X4 foot L shaped layout. At one point, I even thought of salvaging the Potter Place end and keeping with in the scale but the problems I discussed earlier came into my head. No, I would take up the track, carefully remove the turn outs to sell, remove the pink foam, go right down to the bare plywood and cut the table in half, then proceed to do a B&M switching layout in HO. Part of me however wonders if it would just be best to start fresh, clean slate. Perhaps. The jury is still out and I'm still thinking about this as I have regretted making quick decisions before. I will wait a while and perhaps glean some insight from some of you reading this, or go it alone. As I have said before, life comes at you fast. Too fast sometimes. Regardless of all of this, in my mind right now, it seams logical that at home, HO seams the best and N scale for public. Nothing rash yet so this post is ending with a red over yellow signal.
Jim, sad to hear, but probably a wise decision. After all, it is a HOBBY, not a contracted program with a paying customer and associated budget and schedule constraints. The following is added as a comparison, I'm on my 7th layout since 1947, none finished. This last is more than half-way to completion...when I become re-motivated.
I understand where you're coming from. I model in N as well, but I've been tempted to build an HO scale switching layout several times. I'd love to build something along the lines of the WP in the early 70s, with maybe a GP7 and a couple of switchers working a small Central Valley town. Like you, I love detailing locomotives and in N scale it can be a pain to do it, especially with Sunrise gone (they produced N scale versions of WPs famous barrel headlights). On the plus side, your thread has giving me some insperation to get off of my butt and continue working on my own HCD layout that I've started. It's become a desk and I can't use the excuse that I don't have time or money nowadays. It's just a bit of laziness on my part. Good luck with your future plans!
I'm disappointed to hear your are changing directions but can understand. Good luck and feel free to contact me if you want to sell me some of those details...
Whatever it takes to keep that young engineer inside you happy, Jim! You did bring up an interesting thing though that I never really considered as I build up my layout : others. Not being able to share the fruits of your labor does seem to take away from things. My last trip to an LHS in the Chicago area, I saw HO for "the first time" again. The detail is so fantastic, and HUGE! I honestly thought it was Lionel at first, I've been around N so long (a whole year almost ) However it goes, do what it take to keep the kid in you happy. -Noel
Four months have passed since I said I would rip up the B&M layout in a similar style of Guilford Rail, yet the layout is still here and unchanged from the state it was in from my last post. As of this post, I'm 40 years old and in those years, I've learned to never make a rash decision in the heat of the moment. Making such drastic changes can sometimes lead to a lifetime of regret. That is something I know too much of. Soon after my post, my lovely girlfriend Angela came into the room and saw me starring at the layout. After asking me what was wrong, I gave here the same line of logic I had given here earlier. Now Angela is nothing like my ex-wife. She doesn't know much about trains nor does she really care other than they give me a large amount of joy. In her wisdom however she saw what I was about to do and put the brakes on it. Hurrah for Angela! There was a way to address all of my problems, fix them and stay on track. Granted, not all of those changes will be easy. Unbeknown to you all who have read this thread, I have been running the layout in a proto specific way, every day (with the exception of weekends) since March. I have used a variety of locomotives to do switching jobs, mainly Atlas 4 axle GP-9's, 38-2's and 40's. Along with Micro Train, Atlas, and Athearn cars. After three months of switching and using the layout as close to a real railroad, I have come up with a battle plan on what will stay and what will change. Benchwork: The original bench work that was built in 2006 is sound and with the exception of adding leveling wheels that will allow it to be moved easily, will remain largely unchanged. Track work: The Atlas code 55 track has been sound and very reliable. unfortunately, this is where the biggest change will occur. The pink foam that was used a sub roadbed has been inundated with dents, gouges and damage since it was first glued down in 2006. Not only is this unsightly, but it has caused some issues with the track causing dips, hills and alignment issues. To add to this, the foam roadbed I used has also created some issues. While the track plan, specifically on the Potter Place side of the layout is good (Proved well in operations), the track must be taken up in order to get rid of the damaged sub roadbed. To add to that, since Potter Place was a new concept instituted in 2011, the track has undergone countless cuts, additions and deletions to make Frankenstine jealous. Results: The most time consuming effort will be here. Fiberboard fascia will be removed. The track that is down now will be carefully removed. Fortunately I learned a while back to not solder or glue my turnouts down, so I should be able to salvage and re-use 95% if not all of the Atlas code 55 turnouts. All wiring will also be removed. Next the pink foam will be removed to reveal the 1/8" plywood table top. Two goals have been established in regard to track: 1. DCC control and wiring throughout using the Digitrax Zephyr system. Blocks will be used but to simply shut track power on and off. 2. All turnouts will have a Circutron Tortoise that will be a simple manual switch in the beginning but will eventually be controlled by decoders. The track plan will be largely unchanged and this time laid directly on the plywood using cork roadbed. Since the layout is to be somewhat portable, it is imperative that the track is laid on a solid surface. Track will be glued to the roadbed, all flex will be used. Feeders will be soldered on and all flex to flex joints will be soldered. Flex to turnouts will NOT be soldered. Scenery: The foam gave me the advantage of a three dimensional scenery and landscape. Further review of the topography of Potter Place showed that most of what I was modeling was flat. Man-made, but flat nonetheless. Once all the track work is down and all the dimensions for the town and industries are laid out, the old fashioned, tried and true method of open grid work will be employed. This will be done simply with my jig saw. The foam that will be salvaged from the previous base will serve as material for hills and ridges. You really didn't think this New Englander was really going to throw away all that foam did you? Once at this point, work can and will continue where I left off in January. I have taken three months to really research and think this through and believe this to be the best answer to a lot of the problems that caused me to think the way I did in March. That said, should any of you have some ideas, I'm always willing to entertain them. Just don't be offended if I do not incorporate them. So by now, if you are still reading this, your thinking: "Okay, on to the pictures! Lets see the major reconstruction!" Not just yet. I have successfully finished a myriad of projects since January and since Galesburg have decided to start the custom painting again (The being to blind to see the details was a pity party). I also go to my favorite state for vacation in two weeks. No not the state of confusion, New Hampshire. this will not only avail me to stock up on fresh mountain air, great biking and fresh seafood, but a chance to show Angela and Jared the town I am modeling. Nothing puts a shot in the arm like visiting the prototype so once back from New Hampshire, I'll certainly have the motivation to get re-started. I have the DCC Zephyr system, one B&M GP-9 successfully programmed, 6 Tortoise machines, all the turnouts and I believe the cork roadbed. I will need to order some more code 55 flex however. What I really need is TIME. I'm placing into the budget one SOLID weekend to the tare down and subsequent re-build. Ideally starting Friday night with the ripping up of track and foam (Hey maybe I should paint a Guilford Rail locomotive for this!) and start laying track on Saturday with the goal of having a mainline and a few spurs in running condition. It might be worth it to give Angela and Jared a few bucks to go out and stay away for the majority of the weekend to keep the interruptions to a minimum. I have slated the work weekend to be in July before August becomes busy with work related model airplane shows and fly-ins. So there you have it. B&M is still going to happen and I need to hurry yet be precise. I have a lot I have not told you that will be coming up in future months such as CB&Q switching proposal, more BNSF fantasy schemes and plenty of custom work. So if I still have your attention, get the coffee started, this is just the beginning! All clear to proceed at posted speed!
Ah, the beauty of the cool light of dawn and the wisdom of Significant Others. Anxiously awaiting progress reports and photos.
