Woodlawn Industrial Park (was Northeastern HO scale switching layout)


kleiner said:
About ten years ago, at the company where I was working, some people were clearing out a laboratory near my office. I found this brand new set of calipers lying in the dumpster! I asked around and nobody wanted it so I rescued this along with a set of perfectly good hand tools. I find it very useful in modeling work.
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I'd love a set of dial calipers like that! I bought an inexpensive digital one from AMazon a few years ago for my jewelry work. Thing eats batteries, so I have to take the battery out after every use. Not the end of the world, but . . .
 
MilwRoader_Steve said:
I'd love a set of dial calipers like that! I bought an inexpensive digital one from AMazon a few years ago for my jewelry work. Thing eats batteries, so I have to take the battery out after every use. Not the end of the world, but . . .
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Sometimes simple is better :) Many of these batter powered gadgets do run through batteries quickly.
 
I got my dial calipers when the QA department at work switched to the digital ones. Works all of the time as opposed to the ones that they got which malfunctioned and burned batteries like crazy. Actually got two of them!
 
I am making progress installing some street lights on my layout. I have always felt that lighting really makes a layout look more attractive. I got these cheap on Amazon and they look great when let but they are not easy to install.

First challenge was to get a drill bit of the right diameter and length. The drill bit has to be long as the hole has to go through a couple of inches of foam and plywood. I was finally able to locate such a drill bit, again on Amazon.

Second challenge was to get the fine wires from the street light through the narrow hole. I solved this by taping the wires to a stiff rod and then pulling them through.

Third challenge was to figure out how to hook up the wires which are very fine - I measured them to be 32 AWG! The only solution was to solder extension wires which I did using a small piece of Vero board.

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One of my daughters gave me the same streetlights from Amazon this past Christmas. I haven't done any installation yet just because I am not ready. I had to look up Vero Board. Interesting stuff. I will have a slightly easier time since I'm only going through 1/2" plywood.
 
santafewillie said:
One of my daughters gave me the same streetlights from Amazon this past Christmas. I haven't done any installation yet just because I am not ready. I had to look up Vero Board. Interesting stuff. I will have a slightly easier time since I'm only going through 1/2" plywood.
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It will definitely be a lot easier if you only have plywood.

The circuit board I'm using is in the pic below. Its actually made by a company called Vector. You can cut it up into smaller pieces with a razor saw. I have used these boards to build a lot of electronics projects over the years. They work well as long as you don't send high frequencies or high current through them

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Kleiner, the drill bits you want are known as aircraft drill bits. Any hardware store or home center should have them. I know Menard's has a good selection.
 
flyboy2610 said:
Kleiner, the drill bits you want are known as aircraft drill bits. Any hardware store or home center should have them. I know Menard's has a good selection.
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That was indeed exactly what was printed on the box that the bits came in. I was a bit puzzled initially because I have not heard the term "aircraft" applied to drill bits before.
 
Finally finished working up the street lights - I hate soldering under the layout but, at least, I was able to get a technique worked out so I could minimize it. My wiring is not going to win any awards but it works!

I'm glad I built the layout high enough that I was able to roll an old computer table under the layout:

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My ugly under-table wiring:

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I was all set to begin with landscaping when a model railroad friend dropped by unexpectedly. Until now, he had only ever thought of layouts as being ovals. He had never operated on a proper switching layout and we had a great time switching cars for a few hours. I think I have a convert to this style of model railroading :)

I removed the masking tape and temporarily put back the buildings but it was well worth the effort as my friend really enjoyed operating this layout.

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Good news!
The layout turned out great, and you’ve really captured the feel of Inkster Park.
Looking forward to seeing it with scenery!

Oh, and I noticed that you stop pushing the caboose ground throws down when they hit the indent. Don’t know why but it’s a pet peeve of mine is seeing them pushed all the way to the ground! 😉
 
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Looking really good. Glad you have a introduce someone to beyond an oval. How good does the foam board absorb the gear noise of a locomotive? I have used homasote, cork and cork on homasote previously and have always been unhappy with gear noise.
 
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