Starting the new layout!


Track elevations in XtrkCAD

Hi Ron,

Was wondering how you delt with the elevations in XtrkCAD.. Its pretty tough to messure hundredths of an inch with a ruler... Did you stay with the elevations on the design software... Did you use inches or centimeters.. I am finding it next to impossible to convert each decimal to a fraction..:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
TrainJunkee said:
Hi Ron,

Was wondering how you delt with the elevations in XtrkCAD.. Its pretty tough to messure hundredths of an inch with a ruler... Did you stay with the elevations on the design software... Did you use inches or centimeters.. I am finding it next to impossible to convert each decimal to a fraction..:confused: :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...

TJ,

I think you are working too hard. You have to use a vertical easement to start and end the grade anyway, so all your calcs are out the window. Starting with the first and last riser, divide the area into an even number or risers between a foot and 18" apart.

IF say you are going up 3" in the 12 feet, In the first foot you only change 1/8", so the main incline goes from 1/8" to 2 7/8" in 10 feet or a net of 2 3/4".

So you if spread your risers at 18" you will need six. (At 12 " you would need 9) So divide 2 2/4 by seven (6 +1 span from last riser to end of grade) and you get the differences in height or .3932" That is hand grenade close to 13/32 (.4063) so you make your risers 13/32 different in height.

Now this may seem complicated, but your benchwork is going to be off in spots anyway so you will have raise and lower the risers to compensate anyway. The measurement just gets you in the ball park.
 
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Chip Summed it up pretty well... as usual.;)

The CAD plan is just a reference for when you actually build it. Yes. get the heights, grade, etc in the approximate place on the plan. But when you start to build the real layout it's bound to be tweaked here and there. From the very first post of this thread until now, I can't count how many "tweaks" my Dad and I have made to the original plan once the rail started hitting the plywood.
 
TrainJunkee is Jonesing for a fix

Hi Ron, I have been checking in often for a fix.... on the layout progress... I hope this aint one of those "how do you keep an idiot in suspence" postings:eek: ...Just kidding.. Seriously though... Have you made any recent progress.. I have gotten a lot from this posting and thanks for sharing... Don't forget your spectators:D
 
I always liked the Flash Gordon Cliff Hangers... dangle, dangle.:p ;)

No, actually like I've said many times... The layout is 2hrs away and I get down there as much as I can. In between work, family, distance, etc,etc...

If it were up to me I would be living in the room next to the layout and work on it everyday. Ahh... Utopia. If only it could be. While at my home I work on structures to add to the layout. But for some reason for the past 2 weeks I haven't been able to get myself into my little workshop and get anything done.

As soon as I get some material to post and update, all you guys will be the second to know. I do separate threads on some of the buildings I do.

Thanks for the appreciation of the hard work.

Thank all of you guys. I love all of your work as well, guys and gals.

Till the next posting...
 
Finally starting some real scenery.

This last trip has finally yielded some hints of terrain.

After doing some minor electrical work, I got down to the cardboard lattice work for one of the mountains. It's located behind the roundhouse, on the other side of the peninsula opposite the big city/yard.

Here's the area before I started the lattice. You can see 1 piece of cardboard. I put that in last week when me and the family visited. I never get much of anything done when the family is there. The mountain is mainly to hide the holes in the backdrop where the tracks pass through.
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Here's a video of the area, prior to mountain.

I also found a piece of scrap foam that almost fit in the river area exactly. I only had to cut out a tiny little half circle to sneak it past an upright support.
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Well, that's it for this "prior to the mountain build" post. More to come.
 
Ron, that's going to be quite a layout when it's done. Your benchwork and trackwork both look really nice, especially compared to what I would have done. :)
 
The first night I got there I worked on the portion of the mountain directly behind the roundhouse. Once it got to late to be stapling and hammering I had to stop. So I took up something a little quiter... electrical. I have no shots of the electrical work I did, it was to small... and boring.

But I did get some shots of the beginnings of the mountain.
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I used 2 different staple guns, an Arrow T-50 gun and a P-22 plier style. For the T-50 I prefer 3/8" and the P-22 I use 5/16". The T-50 is for going into the bench work and the P-22 is for stapling the areas where the cardboard crosses. This VIDEO tells you how I did this. Around 3:10min I start to explain this technique.

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The next post I'll show you the completed lattice mountain.
 
OK, finally... The complete mountain lattice.

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I like how the 2 levels of track are ducking into the tunnels in these shots. The one on the left is graded up, eventually crossing over the two tracks on the right that grade down.
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I also got the river base in. The tracks on the right of the river will duck into a tunnel, about a foot or so past the bridge underpass.
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This is where some of the highest and lowest track on the layout meet. It does look like an area west of Philly, along the Schuylkill highway, where there is a long stretch of track next to a rock cut. The piece of cardboard that is hanging down from the upper level and going under the bridge will be a road. It will eventual lead across a bridge over the river and disappear behind some trees. The white foam will be a retaining wall. In that spot the 2 levels are to close for a rock cut.
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Here's a VIDEO of the completed mountain area. You can also see a display cabinet my Dad has been working on for his wife. Personally I think a shelf for PRR steam... one for deisels... one for MOW equiptment... one for cabooses. What do you think. Maybe I should start a poll!?

Here's 1 more VIDEO.

Well that's it for this past trip.

Till next time...
 
WOW! yeah i'm in the process to of build a small lay out i belive it will be on a 3*8 peice of plywood isnce im limted on space. but anyways that layout looks AWESOME! great job and i hope it goes well for you!:cool: :D
 
Nice Job Ron!!!!

I am really excited to see you are making progress... Maybe you can talk the wife into moving back in with your parents so we can see even more progress!!!!:D
 
I've been following the progress your making on your layout here and on youtube, and all I can say is WOW!:eek: . I really can't wait until you start scenery on the engine terminal area. In fact after seeing your roundhouse, is when I decided to make my 3 stall house into a 6 stall like yours. Once again great job, and I look forward to future updates on your progress. :)
 
Back from a long vacation. I got a lot accomplished.

quick run down.
-finished building, painted and weathered the large warehouse in the yard area.
-built, painted, weathered and installed a Walther's double track warren truss bridge.
-built the Micro Engineering double track city viaduct and started to install
-made mountain terrain from foam and cardboard.
-installed 1/3 of the fascia to the front of the layout (needed for above)
-installed some wiring
-RAN some trains:)

I'll post the project individually because of the time factor. So look for them over then next day or two.
 
"KLAISS PIANOS" DPM warehouse

This is a warehouse that I've been working on and finally had a chance to install it on the layout. The name is from a family relative that had a piano company in Philadelphia in the early 1900's. I'm not sure if the company ever grew this big, but it makes a nice relationship connection for some business on the layout. I plan on coming up with some more name for future buildings with "Family Ties".;)

Here's some pre-painting and weather pix.
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A little bit further along in the process...
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Here is the completed building. For the b/w sign I first painted the area with Polyscale Aged White. Then I used stick on letters to mask off the name. I also masked the boarder of the sign with blue painters tape. The I tapped on and dry brushed Grimy Black over the whole area. After pulling the letter and tape off i had a completed sign. With just a very light dry brushing of the aged white under each letter, to represent running and fading, the sign was done. I add on a bendy drink straw for the vent pipe. My daughter wanted me to use her straw for something, I can't pass up her cute face and say no. The grey conduit was made from some bent styrene and CA glued in place. At the ground level of the conduit I made a simple meter box from scrap styrene and painted it grey.
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This is the area it is installed against the backdrop.
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And TA-DA!
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I still have a roof to put on it. It will have the regular vents, pipes, elevator housing, etc. But that shouldn't take long. I can build it at home and just plunk it into place. And add a false back to hide the hole in the backdrop completely.
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That's one project accomplished on this last trip. Still more to come
 
Really nice job on the sign on that building, Ron. I'm still waiting to see you tackle that cardboard lattice work with some plaster. :)
 
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