The Lye, Stihl and Djheet Rwy. (Layout updates)

[Jhanecker2]

Good Morning All : Wounded Bear great looking benchwork , loved the purple wall with the hunter green trim.  We painted our enclosed porch the same color inside , we are still debating the type of flooring to install and will then decide what type of trim to install. The Atlas track with flex track allows for a more fluid layout  especially  in yard and terminal sections. John II

[WoundedBear]

Thanks for the compliments on the benchwork, guys. I am not overly handy with a hammer and nails, but with some guidance it all came together.

I think the 14 gauge bus and 18 gauge feeders will be more than adequate for the layout. The MRC Advance Squared only has a 3.5A rating. I run 20 and 30 amp circuits in race cars using 14 gauge wire.....12VDC is 12VDC....either on a layout or in a car, correct?

My biggest problem with my soldering, turned out to be that I was using too small of a gun. By the time the rail got hot enough to solder, the ties were melting. This time I have a 125 watt gun, and soldering is going much, much better.

I did use the Scotch-lok connectors for the bus/feeder connections. Normally, I steer clear of these type of connectors in a race car, but we have huge temperature and vibration issues to deal with. On the layout, I can't see these ever being a problem.

Thanks for the heads up on the Atlas TT, Ray. I was playing with it and a multi-meter yesterday, and do believe you are correct. With the way my approach tracks align, it seems an AR1 will not be required for the TT. I'll let you know how it goes once I get it wired in.

As for the rail joiner issue.....I already knew about that one. I solder most rail joiners, then connect a feeder to roughly a 5 foot section of soldered track.

Thanks for the tips and advice guys.

PS: For those of you that are curious, I have attached a pic of my latest "toy". The body is a 1923 Ford over top a chrome-moly funny car chassis. This thing was certified to 300 MPH in 2002. I shouldn't have much trouble running 150-160 in it.

Sid

[CNE Runner]

I'm glad I managed to supply some useful information.

To All: I am first in line to have Sid build the benchwork for my next layout. The rest of you will have to take a number.

Ray

[MC]

Ray, can I be in line behind you..

Now I see why Sid has to visit the speed shop along with the hobby shop. Must have a very understanding wife.

Great job on the layout. I wish mine was comming along that well.

[CNE Runner]

You sure can MC...in fact I'll bring a cup of coffee for you (I think it will be a long wait). My layout is finally in the 1:1 paper planning stage and nowhere near Sid's stage (unless you count my daydreams). My next task is to figure out how to make 3, side-by-side transfer tables work flawlessly.

Ray

[jbsmith]

looks like a fun layout!
It has got a bit o'everything.
Turntable,Switching yard,sidings,shunting ops, point a to point b ops,
or even continous running!,,small town part, possibly rual parts, it has it all!

What does the part that is shaded green in lower right? what is the
significance of the shading?

And those green lines on the left?

Nevermind,,after looking at the photos,,,different elevations.

[jonathan]

Sid,

Going through withdrawl.  Any updates on your layout?

Regards,

Jonathan

[WoundedBear]

I'll try to get some updated pictures soon. Lately, it seems, I can't get away from the race cars long enough to do any railroading.

Sid

[WoundedBear]

  As promised.......some fresh pics of the layout.

I tore out most of "Summit". The one grade running up the back just didn't look right. It seemed OK on paper, but once built, it was far too steep when compared to the rest of the payout, and it stuck out like a sore thumb.

The solution was to abandon the continuous running idea and change the layout to a loop-to-loop configuration. Doing that also opened up a nice scenic area for the 18" Atlas curved chord bridge.



Other than that, I have been picking away at a few projects. Finally got this old toolcar up and running. A paint job and some Kadee trucks made for a good looking unit.



I managed to complete the sawdust collection shed for the sawmill. This is an old Muir Models kit with NBW castings and corrugated metal roofing. The upper and lower walls are assembled as seperate pieces, then one sits atop the other's corner support beams....not an easy task.





I've made some more headway on the sawmill itself, too. This is a JV Models Lucas Sawmill kit that is NOT die/laser cut. This is true board for board construction. The interior details are a mix of Woodland Scenics and Scale Structures white metal casting kits. I am almost ready to start laying out the belt drive system. Here's a link to the kit at Walthers.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/345-2021







I have also been busy with a two stall engine house. This is a Kanamodel laser cut kit, ( link here http://kanamodel.com/Premium%20Kits.htm#CANADIAN%20PACIFIC%20ENGINE%20HOUSE ) with resin doors, hinges and windows. I use white glue to make all the "glass" in my structures. The front doors are hinged, with 16 seperate hinge straps, 16 holders, 16 pieces of wire and 16 .020" hand drilled holes. Again....not an easy task, but with enough patience, the doors work smoothly with no binding.

The floor of the engine house is NOT included in the kit. I thought it would enhance the building's appearance, so away I went. It is all done board for board with Kappler Scale Lumber and a sharp pencil for the nail holes.

Tha's about it for now....enjoy the pics....more to come!

Sid

[jonathan]

Thank you, Sid!

You are a heckuva craftsman. 

Regards,

Jonathan

[pdlethbridge]

besides that, he's pretty good

[Terry Toenges]

Looks great Sid.

[WoundedBear]

Thanks for the kind words, Gents. Muchly appreciated.

Sid

[WoundedBear]

So.............been a little better than a year since anything new was posted to this thread......guess it's time for an update or two, or three or four...lol.

Where to begin? The track work is mostly finished, with working staging loops and a completed mainline. There are still some sidings/spurs to add, but those will come as my structures get built. To date I have installed 25 Micro-Mark "Switch-Tender" stall motors and 1 Tortoise stall machine. The Tortoise operates one #8 tunrout in the staging area, and due to it's built in double pole contacts, I was able to energize the frog with a shorter wiring run. The Micro_Mark machines use 3PDT switches, so all your frog wiring has to run back to the switch panel. Not a big deal, but like I said, using the Tortoise in that one location cut out 40 feet of wire. There are 4 switch panels around the layout for turnout control, and one panel for DCC blocks. I should be able to start on the fascia once the last of the frogs are energized. Thanks to Jim Banner for the wiring tips.

Been working on some structures as well. Got 4 of Woodland Scenics' white metal kits done. These can be a little finnicky to get right, but the end results warrant the effort, in my opinion. The little tanker truck is a Woodland Scenics white metal kit as well.









Next project that got done was a build of a dozen Tichy Train Group 22 foot ore cars. I have built a lot of kits in my day....all subjects, and all sorts of manufacturers. These Tichy kits are far and beyond what I used to think of as a "well engineered" kit. These things fit so precisely it's unreal. Each truck alone has to be assembled from 16 seperate pieces (times 2 trucks is 32 pieces) and the car itself consists of another 33 parts for a total of 65 pieces per car. I followed Tichy's directions to a T and after adding the JWD Products ore loads, these are some of the best tracking cars I have seen. I only built a dozen, but by varying the numbers you can represent a much larger fleet.







A Con-Cor Pierce-Arrow Galloping Goose was added to the roster. This is an exceptionally nice running unit with a Digitrax sound decoder factory installed by Con-Cor.



She'll do a fine job servicing the mines and mills in the area. This is a Grandt Line kit that is just getting it's base colors.



That's enough for one posting....more to follow.

Sid

[WoundedBear]

OK....those are out of the way....now...let's see what else there is.

This is an American Model Builders Laser-Kit (Kit #118). Built right outta the box with the adition of interior lighting, which I don't have pics of working yet, and some interior detail. I added nail holes and siding joints and a bit of weathering and the open doors draw you right inside.







Next up is a project that has been on the shelf for a long time. I finally came up with enough parts to do it. This is the venerable MDC Roundhouse Rotary Snow Plow kit. I had most of it, then stumbled across the missing roof panel at a flea market. I then struggled with what to use as a tender for this unit. A trip to our LHS turned up another old MDC kit, this time in the shape of a slope backed oil tender. Now was time to forge ahead. The roof had to be modified to fit the cupola into it. The side access doors were scratchbuilt along with hinge rods and straps. The rear of the roof had a small extension built and a snow deflector was fashioned for the outlet of the plow. Locating the pivot hole and centering the housing on the front of the car body is an interesting challenge as well.

I will use the Die cast MDC trucks under the plow and probably change out the plastic tender trucks for a set of Kadees. The V-shaped thing-a-ma-jig in the pics is the belly flanger blade. It is getting scratchbuilt from Evergreen stock and I am hand embossing the bolt heads for the wear edges with a .015" drill bit chucked blunt end out in a pin vise. The snow deflector is hinged and will pivot to either side. The tender didn't need much modification, other than removing the light mount and filling the hole. The light that should go there will now be mounted up on the cupola. I am having a blast with this build. The hole in the roof gets filled with a boiler and I have a small, white metal, single cylinder steam engine to go inside the plow.

















And as for trains....that's about it for this winter.....drag race season is calling. Our first race is supposed to be on April 30....hope the snow melts by then. Here's a link to our Youtube vids of the car's last passes in 2010. She ran fast enough to where I had to license in order to race. This year we have to get my son licensed and I think he'll be taking over pilot duties in the next year or two.

http://www.youtube.com/user/WoundedBear2k?feature=mhum

Have fun guys............I'm off to make some noise.