Building My First Layout


I was at a layout a couple of weeks ago where the builder ran the bus wiring along the front edge of the layout outside the L bracket. The track feeders and turnout wiring ran from the frontside towards the backdrop. The layout was fastened to L bracket about three inches from the from ledge. He attached the fascia to the edge of the plywood sub-roadbed. When/IF there was a wiring issue the fascia could be easily removed, and the wiring exposed without having to climb under the layout.

The layout was set in an industrial are with many warehouses. This led to another innovative idea, the tracks were not buried by scenery in the helix. The scenery consisted of photo images and building flats on the inside of the tracks. A dummy siding every so often would have a boxcar on a siding of the warehouse.
 
boatwrench said:
I was at a layout a couple of weeks ago where the builder ran the bus wiring along the front edge of the layout outside the L bracket. The track feeders and turnout wiring ran from the frontside towards the backdrop. The layout was fastened to L bracket about three inches from the from ledge. He attached the fascia to the edge of the plywood sub-roadbed. When/IF there was a wiring issue the fascia could be easily removed, and the wiring exposed without having to climb under the layout.

The layout was set in an industrial are with many warehouses. This led to another innovative idea, the tracks were not buried by scenery in the helix. The scenery consisted of photo images and building flats on the inside of the tracks. A dummy siding every so often would have a boxcar on a siding of the warehouse.
Click to expand...
So the helix was included in the scenery detail? Need to find me a pic of something like that, hate that I have to make the trains “disappear and reappear”…
 
boatwrench said:
I was at a layout a couple of weeks ago where the builder ran the bus wiring along the front edge of the layout outside the L bracket. The track feeders and turnout wiring ran from the frontside towards the backdrop. The layout was fastened to L bracket about three inches from the from ledge. He attached the fascia to the edge of the plywood sub-roadbed. When/IF there was a wiring issue the fascia could be easily removed, and the wiring exposed without having to climb under the layout.

The layout was set in an industrial are with many warehouses. This led to another innovative idea, the tracks were not buried by scenery in the helix. The scenery consisted of photo images and building flats on the inside of the tracks. A dummy siding every so often would have a boxcar on a siding of the warehouse.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a very cool layout, and some great ideas.
 
Found two photos of the helix from last year.
Helix 1.jpg


This photo has three levels, revolutions of the helix. The main is double tracked on the outside closest to the operator. The inside tracks holding the GN express and the NP reefer are dummy tracks for scenic setting only.



Helix 2.jpg


Again three levels or revolutions of the helix. The SP locomotive is not DCC equipped so used as a scenic element along the backdrop.


A really great idea especially for us older less nimble modelers. At 66 I am the youngest of the group and have a difficult time accessing some areas of the round robin group's various layouts. They all have helixes.
 
boatwrench said:
Found two photos of the helix from last year.View attachment 178759

This photo has three levels, revolutions of the helix. The main is double tracked on the outside closest to the operator. The inside tracks holding the GN express and the NP reefer are dummy tracks for scenic setting only.



View attachment 178760

Again three levels or revolutions of the helix. The SP locomotive is not DCC equipped so used as a scenic element along the backdrop.


A really great idea especially for us older less nimble modelers. At 66 I am the youngest of the group and have a difficult time accessing some areas of the round robin group's various layouts. They all have helixes.
Click to expand...

Very nice, thanks for sharing!
 
I attempted to service my old Santa Fe loco yesterday, and that's when I discovered it has the old-style pancake motors. It will be a static display loco on my layout if I can't find a working replacement motor for it. And from what I've researched online and through Bachmann, it will be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

This loco didn't run before I serviced it, so I would rather find a replacement pancake motor than take my chances repairing the motor in this loco. The lights worked, but that was all.

I plan on going to the Utica, NY model train show this Sunday. I'll try to find parts to fix this loco or maybe buy a "new" DC Santa Fe loco. Maybe the 20+ years in storage took it's toll on this motor. I'm glad I have plenty of other locos than run great. I'm in the process of servicing all of my locos and running them on a test track I made.

PXL_20240117_215449913.jpg
 
Marlin338MX said:
I attempted to service my old Santa Fe loco yesterday, and that's when I discovered it has the old-style pancake motors. It will be a static display loco on my layout if I can't find a working replacement motor for it. And from what I've researched online and through Bachmann, it will be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

This loco didn't run before I serviced it, so I would rather find a replacement pancake motor than take my chances repairing the motor in this loco. The lights worked, but that was all.

I plan on going to the Utica, NY model train show this Sunday. I'll try to find parts to fix this loco or maybe buy a "new" DC Santa Fe loco. Maybe the 20+ years in storage took it's toll on this motor. I'm glad I have plenty of other locos than run great. I'm in the process of servicing all of my locos and running them on a test track I made.

View attachment 179766
Click to expand...
Spend $25-$50 at the show and buy an old Stewart, Kato, Atlas, or Athearn engine. Don't waste your money on the Bachmann unless you have serious sentimental attachment to it.
 
Marlin39 said:
Spend $25-$50 at the show and buy an old Stewart, Kato, Atlas, or Athearn engine. Don't waste your money on the Bachmann unless you have serious sentimental attachment to it.
Click to expand...

I agree. I'm sure I'll find other engines from my dad's collection that don't run, and aren't worth fixing. The non-working engines will be parked somewhere on the layout, out of the way of working engines.
 
Marlin338MX said:
I attempted to service my old Santa Fe loco yesterday, and that's when I discovered it has the old-style pancake motors. It will be a static display loco on my layout if I can't find a working replacement motor for it. And from what I've researched online and through Bachmann, it will be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

This loco didn't run before I serviced it, so I would rather find a replacement pancake motor than take my chances repairing the motor in this loco. The lights worked, but that was all.

I plan on going to the Utica, NY model train show this Sunday. I'll try to find parts to fix this loco or maybe buy a "new" DC Santa Fe loco. Maybe the 20+ years in storage took it's toll on this motor. I'm glad I have plenty of other locos than run great. I'm in the process of servicing all of my locos and running them on a test track I made.

View attachment 179766
Click to expand...
You can get adapter kits that replace the guts of the motor with a CD motor but use the original motor casing and gears, this is someone who does that here in the UK. I'm sure there's someone in the US that does the same.
www.strathpefferjunction.com

Lima Replacement Motor Kits - CD Motor Upgrade & Ringfield Conversion Made Easy

Plug & Play Lima replacement motor kits that make motor upgrade a breeze. Convert your old ringfield (pancake) motor to a brand new CD/DVD drive motor in minutes, without the need for any messing around with glue or fiddly shaft alignment.
www.strathpefferjunction.com www.strathpefferjunction.com
 
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Marlin338MX said:
I attempted to service my old Santa Fe loco yesterday, and that's when I discovered it has the old-style pancake motors. It will be a static display loco on my layout if I can't find a working replacement motor for it. And from what I've researched online and through Bachmann, it will be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

This loco didn't run before I serviced it, so I would rather find a replacement pancake motor than take my chances repairing the motor in this loco. The lights worked, but that was all.

I plan on going to the Utica, NY model train show this Sunday. I'll try to find parts to fix this loco or maybe buy a "new" DC Santa Fe loco. Maybe the 20+ years in storage took it's toll on this motor. I'm glad I have plenty of other locos than run great. I'm in the process of servicing all of my locos and running them on a test track I made.

View attachment 179766
Click to expand...

Most of the time I find it that you may just have a stuck gear do to hard grease in the axle. It really not hard to take apart and check it out. The engine look like it may never seen the track. And it about 40yrs old from what I can tell.
 
zzr1200guy said:
Most of the time I find it that you may just have a stuck gear do to hard grease in the axle. It really not hard to take apart and check it out. The engine look like it may never seen the track. And it about 40yrs old from what I can tell.
Click to expand...

Surprisingly the grease was still very soft. The lights on it are very bright, so there is good current going from the track to the engine electrical circuit. But there is no noise or hum from the motor itself. Unfortunately, I don't know the history of the engine. I'm pretty sure my dad bought it brand new, I'm guessing in the 1990's. Whether or not he ever had a chance to use the engine is a question that will never be answered. Like you said, it appears to be unused. That blue and yellow paint scheme was the most common color of Santa Fe engines I saw every day during my childhood.
 
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