Back at it with a new 116"x20" HO shelf

[tdipaul]

My new home has a spare room off of the bedroom and this is the perfect spot for a small shelfie



My friend Yaz at Lowes giving some assistance



Had good luck in the past using these boards



Getting the dimensions down in the garage

 

[Patrick]

Nice start. Doing a switching layout?

 

[tdipaul]

Yes.

Its not set in stone but this is the track plan below. This is my favorite part of the process - dreaming the plan!

Ive already got (4) #4's and (2) #6 turnouts already purchased. Suggestions are welcomed.





For lights I'm trying these battery powered LED pods. All wireless, adjustable for brightness and easy to mount.

 

[MHinLA]

Only suggestion I have is that your lighting is too high above the action.. I'd make a valance about 2' above the tracks and put them under that. And you wouldn't need as many, either. You could also instead install neon lighting under the valance.. I believe neon affords a more realistic daytime effect than what looks there to be halogen. One huge club in Los Angeles (Pasadena MRRC) uses red, yellow, blue incandescent bulbs over the layout. I think it's because technically white is made of all colors and black is the absence of color. And unless they have the night time effect happening, their daytime does look great.
I think you didn't need the lip above the edge of the bench since your tracks are so far away from it..If this does interest you, you can easily saw it away or maybe raise the (is it ?) foam up level to it, or the wood down to it.
I like your layout. It takes real fortitude to be content with such simplicity...M

 

[tdipaul]

Altering the lights makes sense.

Trying the "less is more" approach here. Moving a few cars on one day and just letting the engine idle on another is what this layout is about.

 

[MHinLA]

If I may, one more:
If you were to saw the lip down you could still leave some of it to create a few low hills along the front..Also you could cut midway down below the lip into the foam enough to dig some foam out and create a shallow stream giving an excuse for a very short low trestle over it. Maybe a dry riverbed with the obligatory stones and dead tree stuff.. Good location may be splitting the pavement with concrete embankments in front and running behind 'transload' under curve track, disappearing behind the hillside to the back. I guess that'd be a paved aqueduct. Dats it.. I get your less is more thing... running a few cars or simply hearing em idling while you're dealing with structures or the crossword puzzle.....

 

[PrairieKnight]

Nice pictures and great start to a layout that looks like it will be alot of fun. By the way... Keep on good terms with Yaz. When I bought my 4 X 8 piece of 3/4" green foam insulation at my local Lowes, I was told they could not cut it down so that I could fit into my Honda to get it home. So I bought a cheap drywall hand saw and cut it myself in the parking lot.

 

[ShermanHill]

So I bought a cheap drywall hand saw and cut it myself in the parking lot.

Utility knife & straight edge... no kerf loss.. just saying

 

[tdipaul]

I bought Yaz a Gatorade and he was very happy to cut the sheet

 

[tdipaul]

Going to skip the cork road bed on this one.

 

[tdipaul]

Saved all the trees from the last layout so put some down in the corner...



leftover foam was shaped somewhat with a pruning saw.







The transition area in between the tracks and the "rock" will be filled-in with more trees and stuff after the rails are painted and secured.

 

[tdipaul]

Also wired everything up. There are 7 feeders at various points.



While travelling for work I stopped at Trains and Lanes in PA and picked up one of my favorite locos of all time; an Atlas Alco C424 in the M&E paint scheme with Loksound. If you've never been to this place its worth the trip they have just about everything! I also like English's in Montoursville, PA, especially if you like Bowsers.

 

[Patrick]

You've done more work on this in a few weeks than I have in several years on mine......Looking good!

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Holy Smoke! Awesome progress .... The hill came out really great. Too bad that you did not paint the rails before laying the track - would have been much easier?

 

[tdipaul]

Thanks guys!

Rails are just loosely tacked down. I wanted to make sure I liked the plan and that there were no dead spots BEFORE painting the track.

The feeders are the wired joiner types and come apart easily.

Rails are coming off for painting soon.

Also have to paint the "bed" under the rails too. Since there will be no cork or ballast, what color should be painted underneath the rails?

 

[migalyto]

Looking good! As for the roadbed paint, I got the cheapest latex paint that was a close match to the ground of the area I was modeling.

 

[Sir Robbins]

full speed ahead. Much progress in a short time frame. Of course, now is the time. I need to get full speed ahead on mine. Layout looks great. Nice design and hillside there

 

[tdipaul]

"Now is the time" - most definitely.

I took a break waiting for it to warm up a bit before taking the tracks outside for paint.

Haven't posted since Mar 3, and wow, how quickly our world has changed.

 

[Alcomotive]

Alco go figure

Very nice progress! Looking really good.

 

[Burlington Bob]

Layout is looking good! I bought those same lights at Costco; they work OK, but eat batteries!