Progress report #2

[ginzokid]

I locked the other thread. There is some good stuff in there that probably has been reposted in other threads. I'll check. In the meantime, here's another place to write. B-)

[ginzokid]

Finally got off my dead donkey and commenced ballasting the track on the basement empire. I do about 10 feet each day. Today I should finish the branch line. If so, I'll start on the mainline tomorrow. I have a few timber road crossings to install on the main line too. I don't have the street in yet, but I'll need to install the crossings while ballasting. I spray the ballast with 70% alcohol to wet it before applying the glue. Kim says that is why I seem to enjoy ballasting. She doesn't know I hate doing it but with all that alcohol in the air.....who cares!

[ginzokid]

Am I the only one working on the railroad?

Finished the branch line ballasting and started the main line.  I realized that I have to do more of the base scenery before ballasting so that is what I will start today.

What are the rest of you doing?

[dl85vette]

I'm not working on anything RR related at the moment unfort.  My layout is currenly used as a staging platform for my production line of model cars/bikes.

Once I finish those then I would like to work on my rail-served industrial park. (finishing a car and 2 bikes to enter in annual contest end of april, I will start on another car kit but one kit doesn't take up much room.)

Plus I have a bunch of freight cars in various stages of weathering or customizing/decalling that I stopped working on few years ago that are taking up room in storage trays. Even if they were completed and put back into their boxes, at least they'd be done and stored away from the open trays collecting dust.

I'm sure I committed every sin to model RRing, big layout, too many freight cars, bought too many cars too fast to keep up with weathering them,etc..

Still got 2 SW-9 locos stripped apart waiting to be painted and converted to DCC and re-assembled.

Got some other locos with plans on repainting and/or weather them.

Plus I was trying to get the track plan tweaked to final arrangement to where I like it before ballasting. Learned that in my layout Ver#2, ballasted sections and then wasn't happy with layout operation. (origianlly point to point) So this time I laid track, ran trains, re-arranged track, run trains, rebuilt industrial park to more realistic layout,  Only up to Ver 5.3 The effort was worth the trouble.

Another reason I put layout on hold, was I got cold feet over a section. I have 2nd thoughts about my cement plant location/arrangement., I would like to pull up the track and rebuild the domino in such a way that the mainline is on one domino and cement plant is on separate domino that bolts to the backside of mainline domino. That way, If I moved or downsized to a condo/downsize layout, I could keep the cement plant domino only.  Plus I could replace the Atlas turnouts with Pecos as they look better than the remote turnouts that I have in place.

too many ideas, not enough time. If I was retired, problem solved.

[dl85vette]

[dl85vette]

[dl85vette]

[dl85vette]

Although not RR stuff, it is RR related as it is what's keeping me busy from working on my layout.   🙂

[ginzokid]

In my opinion you should stick to the model building and give up on the trains. Your heart is not in them as the modeling you do. Your bikes and cars are magnificent. This seems to be where you get the most enjoyment. I say go for it and sell the train stuff.

[dl85vette]

Na. I won't be doing that.  The interest is still there. I still buy the odd Model RR if there's articles of interest. Still love railfanning. Just gotta take on less model projects and free up couple evenings a week to tinker on RR.   Part of it is I will be on a hot streak, then run into a glitch and I derail literally, and fall out of the groove. Once I get started again, then things start flowing again. I had 3 stumbling blocks; 1) I was still too cheap with real estate for a curve and found out even at 27" wide section wasn't enough for double track curve.  2) Started thinking on how to incorporate block signalling into the wiring of swiches I use to move turnouts.

3) thought of redesigning separate dominos for the foreground mainline and background cement, which involves pulling up track again, and relay new cork.... again.

 Also with some of these issues, they aren't the easiest to fix in middle of winter here as I don't keep heat on in the garage.

It would be worth the effort in re-designing some elements that way if  I had to downsize in the future, then I could still keep the section with cement plant, etc...

Reluctant in ballasting for that same reason. Without ballast, easier to pull up felx track to recycle and if I can't give away dominoes for free, chop it up for the garbage truck.

Each revision I made got me closer to my ideal setup. Hard way to learn or hard way to achieve the goal, but sometimes the best blueprint doesn't cut he mustard like physical track and trial running trains. I am very close to being happy with track arrangement.  And it is very relaxing laying cork and track. Never completed scenery yet but like building.

[ginzokid]

I do not like to ballast either, but the track does look better once it is done. As for removing ballasted track, I have done it several times already and have developed an easy way to get it up. First I spray the section I want to rip up with 70% alcohol, then I spray it with warm water. Next step is to use a putty knife to pry it up. Watch out for those track nails! Once up I take the track to the laundry tray in the utility room and just wash off the ballast with warm water. This method works if you have used scenic cement or diluted white glue in the first place. If you have glued down the track with anything other than track nails and white glue.....like PL2000 or some other project adhesive.....good luck! 

[dl85vette]

One trick I developed that I wish I did to the whole layout is to  lay down thin layer of ballast first over cork. then the track. Even if you never complete the ballast work you do have some to make it look better than bare cork.

  I do that for the turnouts. That way I don't have to worry about putting ballast around the ties (like prototype) and jam up the switch.

[taz-of-boyds]

I am still working on my C&P snow plow drawing.  One interesting thing about the snow plow car, the two cars next to it in the photo look like they also use the home-made flatcar design.  So I can get a couple other cars done by making use of a lot of the design work for the snow plow.

Pete, as you point out G Scale (or as I like to say, G Gauge...) encompases a bunch of scales all using the same track gauge (45 mm or 1 3/4").  I suppose the official standard gauge scale is 1/32 for this track.  Assorted other scales all use the track for some kind of narrow gauge standard as you indicated.  Somehow I have ended up with a mish-mash scale and gauge.  The scale of 1/29 a few manufacturers build treats the track like standard gauge, though it works out to 51.4" instead of the real standard gauge of 56.5".  The trains are a little bigger than 1/32 scale, which is nice from my perspective, though not that big a difference, but somehow 1/29 is what I have ended up with.

Interesting enough, a company makes dual gauge track at G Gauge and O Gauge (32  mm, 1.25").  Nicely enough for me, the O Gauge works out to 36.5" in G:29 (as I call it), so I can use it for the C&P dual gauge track used in their shops in Mt Savage and up one of their lines toward Frostburg.  This was for testing and demonstrating the 36" narrow gauge locomotives they built a few of in the late 1880's (and early 1900's?).

Still my first chunk of track to be built will be my Narrows Park module like thing.  Or should I call it a domino like Dave.  It seems a better description I suppose, because modules do seem to imply one of the standards with fixed track arrangements at the ends of the module.  Like Dave, I have decided my layout should be in chunks like that for portability, and to allow smaller parts of the thing to be built, working towards the grand railroad empire.  Instead of trying for the big thing all at once (never get that done for sure that way....).

All the best,

Charles

[taz-of-boyds]

Been working on an addition concept for our house in Midlothian, as well as the C&P snow plow:

All the best,

Charles

[ginzokid]

Where is the hobby room?

[taz-of-boyds]

Pete,

Good question, I will need to figure that one out too.  I feel a little dumb right now....  My only defence is it at least the design is not done.  Though in the old part of the house, where we are in the middle of building a partition wall for the coal boiler room, I was planning a workbench section for close work including hobby work.  And painting allowance, like ventilation and a spray booth whatever.

Thanks,

Charles