11-08-2020, 08:51 PM
A bit more progress this week. I added a deadbolt to the drop gate which holds it in place at the correct alignment. That was actually easier than I thought it was going to be. As usual, I was over thinking it. It works well but I may add a second deadbolt for extra security.
This afternoon I started to layout the turnouts for the mainline:
these are the two turnouts for the larger city's passing siding, and the branchline to the stamp mill.
And these are the turnouts for the smaller town's passing siding and the sawmill's sidings. I decided not to run the mainline as a straight line through this area. Instead I wanted it to mainly follow the layout edge and then 's' curve to meet the roadbed. I think this will add a bit of visual interest while running and gives me more space on one side of the mainline instead of cutting through the middle.
With the mainline figured out I needed to start to laydown the cork roadbed. I ordered some from the local hobby hop last week but when his shipment came in this Friday his supplier was sold out. He told me that it was going to take up to a month to get any new stock it.
Then a friend called and told me someone in the local classifieds listed a bunch of track and roadbed. Long story-short, I got a whole box (25 lengths) for half of what I would have paid at the store. I had already figured out that I would need between 18-19 lengths but it doesn't hurt to have extra.
The plan is to cork the mainline and sidings and lay the sidings and branchline directly on the plywood for contrast.
While I was at it, I decided to take stock of my flextrack. On the right is a pile of Atlas code 100 and the pile on the left is Peco Code 100. Turns out I have quite a bit more than I thought. I probably have enough to build 3 layouts of this size. Since I'm using all peco turnouts, I'm going to go with their flextrack as well. I'm also thinking of handlaying some of the sidings later.
This is how far I got with roadbed laying before it got too late and I didn't want to bother the neighbors too much. I'll continue to tack it down as the week progresses.
This afternoon I started to layout the turnouts for the mainline:
these are the two turnouts for the larger city's passing siding, and the branchline to the stamp mill.
And these are the turnouts for the smaller town's passing siding and the sawmill's sidings. I decided not to run the mainline as a straight line through this area. Instead I wanted it to mainly follow the layout edge and then 's' curve to meet the roadbed. I think this will add a bit of visual interest while running and gives me more space on one side of the mainline instead of cutting through the middle.
With the mainline figured out I needed to start to laydown the cork roadbed. I ordered some from the local hobby hop last week but when his shipment came in this Friday his supplier was sold out. He told me that it was going to take up to a month to get any new stock it.
Then a friend called and told me someone in the local classifieds listed a bunch of track and roadbed. Long story-short, I got a whole box (25 lengths) for half of what I would have paid at the store. I had already figured out that I would need between 18-19 lengths but it doesn't hurt to have extra.
The plan is to cork the mainline and sidings and lay the sidings and branchline directly on the plywood for contrast.
While I was at it, I decided to take stock of my flextrack. On the right is a pile of Atlas code 100 and the pile on the left is Peco Code 100. Turns out I have quite a bit more than I thought. I probably have enough to build 3 layouts of this size. Since I'm using all peco turnouts, I'm going to go with their flextrack as well. I'm also thinking of handlaying some of the sidings later.
This is how far I got with roadbed laying before it got too late and I didn't want to bother the neighbors too much. I'll continue to tack it down as the week progresses.