Great Plains switching layout build.


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Itsed65

Active Member
I haven't quite nailed down the location for my shelf switcher just yet, but It will be an end of branch type of thing during the first year of the BN merger. Construction finally began this week. The layout will be 18 inches wide by 9 feet long, taking up most of one of the walls of my home office. It is being built in two modules 4 and 5 feet long so they can be moved if necessary.

I started earlier in the week by purchasing a 5x5 sheet of 3/4 inch baltic birch, and using a track saw, ripped into 3 inch strips, to make dimensional lumber for the frames for the modules (One each 18" X 4' and 18" X 5'). Yesterday I drilled 1" holes through the crossmembers for the DCC bus, and then did the pocket holes to connect the cords members to the side rails.
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Today the modules came together after much drilling and screwing.
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They are not quite done. There are more crossmembers to be installed by I want to make sure of switch machine locations before decide their final location. There is also still some sanding and such to do, but I did get one up to the office to see how it would work on the shelf standards I picked. It seems nice and sturdy, but this is the second set of shelving I tried. I did not like the system from Lowe's and went with a much more heavy duty setup that I think will work out really well. More to come!

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So today my task was getting the modules to align. I saw these dowels on Larry Puckett's You Tube channel (The DCC Guy), and decided to give them a whirl.
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They do ensure correct alignment, but you still need to clamp the two sides together.


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Anyhow the glue on the dowels is drying, so it's beer time today. So there it is, my 9' X 18" benchwork completed. The next major step will be gluing down 1/4" sheet cork to the plywood (and please excuse my messy office!).
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So what does everybody use for gluing down sheet cork to plywood these days? Ordinary wood glue, so some kind of caulk. I am going to let the cork sit for a couple of days to climatize to the humidity level of the room.
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I used yellow wood glue, but white would work well too as Rico pointed out.

Tip: Place a ratchet type clamp around the bottle, so you don't have to hand squeeze. A big area like that your fore-arms will look like Popeye's if you try to do all that area by hand squeezing! :D
 
I went with wood glue as that I what I had on hand...I started with a small section and will see how it goes. I also got the upper shelf installed that will hold the LED lighting for the layout.
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(I did spread the glue around to cover the entire area)

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Weighted down for tonight.

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The shelf will have a valance installed to hid all the brackets, etc...
 
Itsed65 said:
I went with wood glue as that I what I had on hand...I started with a small section and will see how it goes. I also got the upper shelf installed that will hold the LED lighting for the layout.
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(I did spread the glue around to cover the entire area)

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Weighted down for tonight.

View attachment 202513The shelf will have a valance installed to hid all the brackets, etc...
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Looks great! So far I have found that working with a cork top is better than using pink foam.
 
I used foam on my N scale layout, but as this one has flat scenery and I'm using under layout switch machines, I wanted to make it easier.
 
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migalyto said:
I used yellow wood glue, but white would work well too as Rico pointed out.

Tip: Place a ratchet type clamp around the bottle, so you don't have to hand squeeze. A big area like that your fore-arms will look like Popeye's if you try to do all that area by hand squeezing! :D
Click to expand...

I solved that potential problem with this little gizmo. I actually ended up not using the little glue pan, but just taking the lid off the glue bottle and pouring directly onto the plywood, then using the roller, which did a great job of evenly spreading it out on the section I was working on. The beauty of it is, you just let the glue dry and it peels right off the silicone and you are ready for the next glue job.
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Itsed65 said:
I solved that potential problem with this little gizmo. I actually ended up not using the little glue pan, but just taking the lid off the glue bottle and pouring directly onto the plywood, then using the roller, which did a great job of evenly spreading it out on the section I was working on. The beauty of it is, you just let the glue dry and it peels right off the silicone and you are ready for the next glue job.
Click to expand...
This looks like it works equally as well!

Great job!
 
Well I got the cork all done, and the upper valance and some lighting installed. I'm waiting on a variable color LED strip to come in for the actual layout lighting. It won't be long before track starts getting put down!
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(The layout and shelf are level with each other, it is just wide angle lens distortion making it look wonky. I didn't feel like taking an hour doing corrections in Lightroom!)
 
So today I got the layout lighting installed...
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I used the Phillips Hue lights as I can control the color for different scenes and for photography. I also finished painting for now. Eventually there will be a backdrop hiding all the shelf gear and a larger front facia with a small control panel for my turnout controls and NCE cab sockets.
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Speaking of turnouts, that is what I am now waiting on. I originally did the plan with mainly #4s but have decided on #5 with a couple of #6s that I already have, all Walthers Code 83. So I have an order in with Yankee Dabbler and am just awaiting delivery. Also my MP5 turnout motors should be arriving shortly as well. Hopefully I can begin laying track in earnest next week. In the meantime I am heading out to a Halloween gathering to share some adult beverages. Happy Halloween everyone!

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My Walthers switches arrived so I could finally start laying down some track! Anyrail is great, but I like to see how it fits in the "real world".
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I also got a nice box full of MP4 switch motors from Model Railroad Control Systems and have been doing some experimenting in their wiring including frog power and LED control panel indicators. These are really neat little devices!
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We are having really warm weather right now in Maine, so I may not really get into this until next week, but who knows. Fun Times!
 
After putting the first pieces of track down last night, I decided I didn't want to have the "bulletin board" look through the contruction, so I took everything off and gave it a coat of paint this morning.
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So while that dries I thought I would do a quick post on the switch machines I am using for anyone not familiar with MTB slow motion switch machines. I have both the MP1 and MP4 models, but will most likely be using the MP4s on my layout. These are made in the Czech Republic and are manufactured specifically for Model Railroad use. They are nice and small showing their background for use in TT scale. The maine difference between the two is the MP4 is more powerful and also has an extra set of auxiliary tabs so you can use them both for frog power and signaling or control panel use. In the shot b slow you can see I have the control rod all the way up and the machine is on the left end of travel (the control rod can be slid up and down in the mounting, so you don't have to cut the wire, jut slide it down to the top of your turnout). These are not stall motors like a tortoise. They only take power while moving.

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Throw the toggle and it travels to the right.
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The amount of travel, which is completely lateral, is adjustable depending on your use, and it works in straight AC/DC mode using an SPST toggle, or with DCC accessory decoders. The MP4 also has the removable screw terminals making wiring a much easier prospect than the MP1, although the MP1 can fit in very tight spaces. A better shot of the available terminals on the MP4.
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Anyway, if you want to learn more about these, there are some good you tube videos that go into more detail. Track laying will continue once the paint on the cork dries.
 
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