Reviving a thirty year old layout

[Jim 68cuda]

Really hot here in Virginia the last few days. But, despite the heat, my buddy and I have been trying to get the old blue Dodge ready for a big car show next weekend. That didn't go so well. In trying to get it running right, we adjusted the carbureator and adjusted the timing. There was no happy medium between engine pinging and a massive fireball exploding out of the carburetor. So now I'm back inside in the cool of the basement, working on the layout.

A couple days ago I used latex caulk to attach the first three inches of foam on the layout expansion. Then I ran out of caulk before I could add the top half inch contoured layer (where applicable). I had to let that sit for 48 hours with piles of magazines weighing it down. In places where the foam had been shaped to form a slope and the edge of the foam was razor thin, it wouldn't always lay flat in place. I had some three inch deck screws lying around and screwed those through the foam to hold it down in those areas. It worked well, and when everything is smoothed over with a thin layer of light weight joint compound or hydocal, the screw heads will be permanantly hidden.

So, while that was drying, I used the section I had cut out for a sloped road as a template. I put the foam pieces on plastic "No Trespassing" signs, and marked the shape of the road (leaving some excess to be trimmed down later). I put the pieces back on the layout to verify it fit. It was only because the roadway sits below the surrounding land that I had to perform this step before making anything permanant. I needed those foam pieces under the road surface as a template before I attached that foam in place.

So now I have the top 1/2" layer of foam to caulk in place both where the town will sit and where the blue farm house will be. I will need to set the track back in place first so that I get the location perfect (I neglected to mark it before taking it all apart). Don't want that foam too close to the track.

Once those additional pieces of foam are in place, and dry, then I will use Woodland Scenics Hydrocal or a tub of lightweight joint compound to smooth everything over, and to hide any joints in the foam. Once that's done, paint to hide the foam and plaster surface, and then I'll be ready to permanantly attach the track and drill holes for wiring. After that, I'll have one little train to run around the one inside loop of the new expansion. At least something will be running while I turn my attention to the track and wiring on the rest of the big layout.

Now to go open a new tube of caulk...

 

[Jim 68cuda]

There's a local auction house on Main Street in my little town. In the ten years I have lived here, I had never been there (until now). They do on line auctions and local pickup only. I have on occasion, visited their website when there is an interesting old car parked out front. A couple weeks ago, it was a 39 Buick. This last weekend, I noticed a mid 90's Bentley Turbo R sitting out front. And though I have zero interest, I thought, "who in my little town has a Bentley?" And so, I looked at the auction on line. It was assumed to be a non-running car since there was no key (it ended up selling for $4000). But, while I typically don't look at the other items up for bid, this time I did. And, as it turns out, mixed in among the ugly jewelry, patio furniture, throw pillows and lawn implements, there was quite a bit of HO and O scale train stuff.

The auction always closes on Monday. There were a couple days left, so I decided to bid on a few items. The HO Bachmann Durango & Silverton train set still factory sealed in the box was a set I had seen on E-bay, but had not pursued since it was pretty much western themed. I did bid on it, but I was quickly out bid. It sold for $76. On E-bay, the boxed sets seem to be priced from $150 to $350. I bid on a couple Tech II controllers, but was out bid on those as well. I stopped bidding at around $35 and they both went for about a dollar more than I bid. I had already bid about what they seem to go for on E bay.

But, on a couple lots, I was more successful. My trains are mostly B&O. There was an Athearn "blue box" B&O locomotive that I got for $18. Its pretty basic (no lens for a light, no window glass), but it will be great to have as a backup if my other F unit dies. Then there was a Tyco/Mantua B&O 4-6-0 steam locomotive I wanted. When I was looking for a small B&O steam locomotive on E-bay a few weeks ago, I struck out. Thats why I ended up getting the Tyco Petticoat Junction train set. And I like that train, and don't regret the choice. But here was the exact same engine, but in B&O trim. I had to work to win that one. I won it with a bid of $48.44, and it came with four Walthers Great Northern Empire Builder passenger cars. My layout is pretty much mid-Atlantic region, so I don't have a use for those Walthers passenger cars, but, they do look nice. Perhaps I can use the interiors in my Athearn blue box B&O passenger cars.

 

[DeaconKC]

Great score! I love the Tenwheeler, and you could make some GN or UP modeler very happy too.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Great score! I love the Tenwheeler, and you could make some GN or UP modeler very happy too.

The yellow observation car is actually Chessie System. Even so, I probably won't use it. It's a bit long to look right on 22" curves.


Meanwhile, It seems that every time I venture into the basement, I pick up the hot wire foam cutter and start shaving something off the new part of the layout. Looking at the stacked foam forming the layers of the layout surface, I figured the thickest area just looked too flat and square. Today, I shaved a bit of a slope near the corners of the layout where the track turned away from the edge.

But, as I was carving this slope at the edge, I was noticing how close to the edges a 22" radius curve brings the track on a 4' wide part of the layout. At the old house, when the layout was operational, I did have a clear plexiglas guard rail on one section where the track was dangerously close to the edge. With the layout now in the basement, a derailment wouldn't be to a carpeted floor. It would be a more than 4' drop to the concrete floor.

So, I've been thinking about making plexiglass guard rails again. But then, I was wondering if there might be a cheaper, easier alternative, that wouldn't interfere with the view. Since I've been gluing foam sheets together in layers, I now think I have a better plan than the plexiglass. I'll get some more 1" thick foam sheets. Then cut it into strips and glue the strips , 1" thick side up, to the side of the existing foam. That would add an inch of width between the track and the edge of the layout and continue the scenery a bit farther out. I could also shape the edge of those foam strips so that if the train derails, it would be an up hill climb to the edge of the layout. Anyone have any better ideas?

The down side is that it will add width to an already tall layout that is difficult to reach the middle. Also, while a foam edge could handle the weight of an HO train, I could never lean on the edge to reach the middle. It won't have the wood framework under it . On the other hand, if I do break off a foam strip along the edge, it would be easy to fix with a new strip of foam. It's not like I can lean on the edge of a plexiglass guard rail either. But a Plexiglax guard rail could be made to be easilly removed.

And this is where I had a clear plexiglass guard rail before. I'll probably still do the plexiglas guard rail here.

 

[DeaconKC]

Well, you already know how the plexiglass would work, so it's a proven solution. The foam board would give the scenery feel. Could you not glue, but use some screws and fender washers to hold the foam in place, that way you could remove it if needed?

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Well, you already know how the plexiglass would work, so it's a proven solution. The foam board would give the scenery feel. Could you not glue, but use some screws and fender washers to hold the foam in place, that way you could remove it if needed?

That's something to consider. I hadn't thought about making the foam removable.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Next week, I'll start smoothing out the carved foam and filling in cracks on the new section of the layout.


Meanwhile, a slight diversion as I go off on a tangent. For those that were paying attention earlier in this thread, the layout was originally in an attic storage room. Then it was moved to a spare bedroom, holes were put in the wall, and it was then extended into a second spare bedroom. That was all before I moved ten years ago. And the layout is now in the basement of my current home.

This one part (on the far side of the bridge in the first pic) was originally stuck in a corner. There were mirrors on both walls of the corner, as can be seen in this photo. That was in the attic storage room. The mirror was halfway across an intersection, so the town houses that faced the mirror on one side of the intersection, were duplicated across the street (which also doubled in width in the mirror. )

Then, when the layout moved to a bedroom, that part was no longer back in a corner. But, it was against a wall on one side, so the mirror was installed on the wall as seen here. The town house with the dark red shutters is reflected in the mirror.

But now, the layout is in the basement and it can just about be walked around completely. This same little section, (that only ever existed to carry on the scenery into a corner) now sits out in the middle and can be walked around on three sides. No more mirrors. But, to make it work, I added a bit of wood framework and narrow strips of foam on top of that on two sides. I glued the foam strips in place yesterday. They will need to be paved over, but the structural work on this section is now complete.

Since its no longer pushed back in the corner, there will be a bit of redevelopment going on as I've changed out most of the structures. But, the row of town houses and the corner drug store building ( with the fire escape) remain. Some of the structures that were originally on this little corner of the layout, have been moved to the village on the new expansion part of the layout.