ODave's Saginaw Valley & Western

[odave]

Well it's been about a month and I have some more progress to report. The main effort has been towards getting Lakefield's track down and power to the layout.

First off, I painted the cork a ballasty color to help disguise any thin spots when I get to that step, especially around the turnouts. I painted the lumber yard/fuel dealer siding dark brown since i'll be using dark ballast & dirt there. I mixed a little more black paint in on the fuel dealer side to suggest some oil spillage in the past.



I'm using Peco code 83 track and Peco code 83 insulfrog turnouts. I used a Xuron rail cutter to make my cuts, a razor saw for removing ties near track joints, and a needle file to smooth out the cuts.



I put the track down with the same brand of cheap caulk, clear this time. I did the turnouts first, and only caulked the ends of the them to avoid damage should I need to pull them up or salvage them for some future layout.



To make sure I had my turnouts positioned correctly, I stuck a length of music wire through the center hole in the thow bar and let it hang down through the benchwork. Then I put my "snake" desk lamp below the benchwork and lit the hole. From the top, I could clearly see the illuminated hole and confirmed the turnout's proper alignment over it.



Once the turnouts were in the right spot, I moved on to the other track. I laid a solid thin coat of caulk and spread out with my scraper blade.



I used a metal ruler to make sure the track through town was straight.



For the lumber yard/fuel dealer siding, I wanted the track to have a rougher appearance. I know people use smaller code track for this but I didn't want to have to mess with the transitions at this point in my career. I read somewhere that you can get this look by removing some ties and spreading out the remaning ones, placing some at odd angles and with uneven spacing. It was a bit tedious to do this but I think it will be worth it. Here's the result:



On to wiring. My track bus is 14 AWG stranded, Red = Rear Rail, white = front rail (when viewed from the pit). I am using DC for now because I already have a DC power pack, but will convert to DCC later. Since DC is only a short term solution I am not bothering with cab control wiring. There will be two power districts - one for Lakefield one for Carson City. In theory I shouldn't have any wiring changes for the switchover, whenever that happens.



Feeders are 20 AWG solid. I'm soldering feeders to every stick of track and the point end of the turnouts. I tin the wires before soldering and use two wet cotton balls as heat sinks.





So far I've only melted one tie, and that was when my iron accidentally slipped off the rail. I was getting tired and should have stopped - but you can't really see it unless you're looking for it.

The feeders are connected to the track bus with suitcase connectors. Power to the track!



And finally, four years after I first started drawing circles and lines on paper, my first local worked Lakefield. You'll have to use your imagination for the scenery - I did!

B&O GP-30 #6921 leads local CS32 into Lakefield. Not much work to do today, just pick up an MTY bulkhead flat from Hayes Lumber & Supply



Crossing gates are down, traffic stopped, OK to come back



Seems like I always get stuck here waiting for a train!



Air test done, ready to head east - or we would, once the bridge gets installed!



Next up is running the switch machine/accessory bus and getting the main line Tortoises installed.