logandsawman
Well-Known Member
Nice update, the prototype photo is a really nice addition to your thread!
The Union Pacific Soggy Bottoms Subdivision (HO scale)
- Thread starter flyboy2610
- Start date
flyboy2610
Loveably weird
Thank you. I just finished touching up the ties on the truss bridge. I should be able to Dullcote it tomorrow. Then I'll put the paint booth back under the workbench and bring the lift out section in and start trying to figure out how to do the river and install the bridges. I've never done anything like this before, so pray for me!
flyboy2610
Loveably weird
No, more so the thought of cutting up the lift out, carving the river, and trying to figure out the bridge abutments and pier for the middle. The truss bridge will just sit on the abutment and pier, but the deck bridges have their 'trusses' underneath, and they are inset into the abutment and pier. My plan is to have a river scene 18" wide, which is the total length of the bridgework. The deck bridges will be in front of the truss bridge, as the train is traveling forward. It will cross a deck bridge then the truss bridge. The river itself will be 9" wide, and it will be under the truss bridge. I want to have a 9" wide 'beach' scene with fishermen, maybe a campsite. A trail will lead back up the level of the tracks, where there will be a parking area with a couple of cars in it.
The rails across the bridges will be 4 18" pieces of flex track rail slid through the bridges, making a solid rail for each of the 4 rails needed. I'm wondering if I should assemble the entire bridgework, abutments pier and all, and the inset that assembly into the river scene. That may be easier than trying to carve everything in place.
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From my own experience with my liftout , I can tell you that the less areas that have to line up , the better you will like it . Is there a way that the whole scene could be the liftout? I found with mine , even though I used dry dry lumber , things still shrunk a little bit , which does allow for some movement . I cant remember , is your liftout the plywood and foam sandwich? Using the most stable materials you can will help . That sounds like when it is done it is going to be a great scene !! Look forward to watching it unfold.
flyboy2610
Loveably weird
Hi, Jim. Yes, the liftout, like the rest of the layout, is a 1x4 frame covered with 3/8" plywood, 2" of extruded foam, then 1/2" Homasote. The roadbed is 3/16" Woodland Scenic's foam, and then code 100 rail. So from the bottom of the track to the plywood will be 3-1/16 if my fuzzy math brain is working right. I'm at a standstill on the project right now as our sunny 50 degree day (as forecasted last Friday) has turned out to be rainy and 35 degrees, so no Dullcoting today! I want to get the bridges done before I hack up the liftout. The tracks across the liftout are straight tracks, so fitting this in shouldn't be a problem. I guess it's just the unknown that hesitates me!
And speaking of Dullcote, $5.95 for a small 3 oz. can does not strike me as very budget friendly! And I'm not too wild about the health risks of lacquer either. I'm wondering if flat or matte spray paint from Rustoleum would be an acceptable choice? I have seen a video on YouTube where the guy is sold on Krylon matte finish spray, but have seen too many reviews where people have had issues with it coming out looking more like frosted glass. Definitely NOT the finish I'm looking for!
So I'm considering using this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Specialty-11-oz-Clear-Matte-Spray-267028/203815318
If anyone has any experience with this, please let me know. Thanks.
And speaking of Dullcote, $5.95 for a small 3 oz. can does not strike me as very budget friendly! And I'm not too wild about the health risks of lacquer either. I'm wondering if flat or matte spray paint from Rustoleum would be an acceptable choice? I have seen a video on YouTube where the guy is sold on Krylon matte finish spray, but have seen too many reviews where people have had issues with it coming out looking more like frosted glass. Definitely NOT the finish I'm looking for!
So I'm considering using this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Specialty-11-oz-Clear-Matte-Spray-267028/203815318
If anyone has any experience with this, please let me know. Thanks.
flyboy2610
Loveably weird
When I bought that Dullcote I felt like I got scr*wed without even getting kissed first!
I have also used the Krylon colormaster clear flat and I have been pleased with the results I get . I know what you mean about the Testors , that's why I went looking for something else . Chet told me about the Krylon . It would be worth you buying a can and testing it on something to see if you like it . Worst case , your out 5 bucks . The hardware store wont kiss you either though, hope that is not a deal breaker 
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flyboy2610
Loveably weird
I started wiring the mainline and the turnouts on the main so I can have a train go roundy-round at least. I wired my program track auto switch according to the directions for the new version, as opposed to the old. The old version had 2 wires coming from the DCC panel into the back of the switch, then 2 coming out to the program track and 2 going out to the main. With that wiring you could not drive a loco onto the program track, cut power to the main, program the loco, and turn off the program track and drive it back onto the main. Either the program track was active or the main was, not both/and.
If you wire it according to https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203740965-Auto-SW-live-program-track-setup diagram, you can drive on and off the program track.
You can see the wires leading back to the programming track where the hole says 'prog track.'
My power bus is 14 gauge wire. The scheme I am using is red and white wires. When the locomotive is on the tracks and facing it's direction of travel the Red wire will feed the Right hand rail and the white wire will feed the left hand rail. I am using black to indicate a power wire from the turnout frog.
I had to use #18 wire to go from the DCC panel to the power bus, because anything larger would not fit the terminals on the power jack.
I am going to use terminal strips where possible in order to cut down on the number of splices into the power bus. On the top side of each terminal strip, I wound a bare #18 wire around all the screws, then cut the wire in the middle of the strip, effectively creating two side by side terminal strips. The feeder wires are #18 wire with a spade connector on the end, which is securely screwed to the terminal strip. Some of these are rail drops, while others are for turnouts. Each turnout will have two drops on each rail, one before the frog and one after it, plus the rails near the frog will be joined by jumper wires, like this: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches_atlas_roco.htm
The #18 wire is doorbell wire I bought at Menard's. It was around $7.00 for 50' of red/white twisted wire.
I am using Caboose industries ground throws with contacts to power the frog on the turnout. The part # is 220S. I will not be powering the frog on the Peco turnouts as the frog is so small I do not foresee any problem with loco's stalling on the frog.
In the photo above the black, red, and white wire lead up to the ground throw.
I also bought some small screw eyes I will be using to hold the wires to the bottom of the layout.
I can only do so much under there at a time before my back says "Hey, boy! Knock it off!"
If you wire it according to https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203740965-Auto-SW-live-program-track-setup diagram, you can drive on and off the program track.
You can see the wires leading back to the programming track where the hole says 'prog track.'
My power bus is 14 gauge wire. The scheme I am using is red and white wires. When the locomotive is on the tracks and facing it's direction of travel the Red wire will feed the Right hand rail and the white wire will feed the left hand rail. I am using black to indicate a power wire from the turnout frog.
I had to use #18 wire to go from the DCC panel to the power bus, because anything larger would not fit the terminals on the power jack.
I am going to use terminal strips where possible in order to cut down on the number of splices into the power bus. On the top side of each terminal strip, I wound a bare #18 wire around all the screws, then cut the wire in the middle of the strip, effectively creating two side by side terminal strips. The feeder wires are #18 wire with a spade connector on the end, which is securely screwed to the terminal strip. Some of these are rail drops, while others are for turnouts. Each turnout will have two drops on each rail, one before the frog and one after it, plus the rails near the frog will be joined by jumper wires, like this: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches_atlas_roco.htm
The #18 wire is doorbell wire I bought at Menard's. It was around $7.00 for 50' of red/white twisted wire.
I am using Caboose industries ground throws with contacts to power the frog on the turnout. The part # is 220S. I will not be powering the frog on the Peco turnouts as the frog is so small I do not foresee any problem with loco's stalling on the frog.
In the photo above the black, red, and white wire lead up to the ground throw.
I also bought some small screw eyes I will be using to hold the wires to the bottom of the layout.
I can only do so much under there at a time before my back says "Hey, boy! Knock it off!"
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flyboy2610
Loveably weird
As mentioned in the above post, I am using Caboose Industries 220S ground throws with contacts to power the frogs on the Atlas turnouts on the main, and also the yard and industrial sidings. The turnouts do not come assembled, and whoever wrote the assembly instructions (no pictures provided) should be sent back to remedial English.
The instructions on the Caboose Industries website (http://www.cabooseind.com/#!instructions/cjdg) are better than the abbreviated instructions included on the back of the package, but not by much.
So, I'se a'gonna learn ya how ta done it!
Step 1: Thoroughly sweep the floor in your workroom. You WILL be spending time on your hands and knees looking for small parts that have gone flying away, and a clean floor will make them much easier to spot. Also, get a good flashlight. I also recommend, if you do not already have one, that you go down to your local pharmacy and get a pair of locking hemostats. These look like a combination needle nosed pliers/tweezers, except they have opposing diagonally cut grooves in the handles. You can grip small parts and lock them in place. If you've ever had surgery, you have had hemostats used on you, as they are what surgeons use to clamp off blood vessels.
Let's just hope he remembered to remove them before he sewed you back up.
2: Determine where you will mount the ground throw. Install a pad if needed to bring the ground throw level with the bottom of the turnout. I used a piece of cork. Mark the perimeter of the ground throw and the middle of the contact slot.
Use a 3/8 or 7/16 drill and drill a hole centered on the mark you made for the middle of the slot.
3: Now it's off to the workbench! (You did sweep the floor, right?) The following parts are included in the ground throw kit:
Clockwise from the right:
The ground throw assembly itself.
A shim if needed to bring the ground throw up a bit. If you need to use this, slide it on before you put the spacer on the contact legs, as it it will not fit over the spacer.
The contact assembly. The metal piece at the bottom comes attached to the bottom of the legs, just bend it back and forth and it will snap off. It is not used in the ground throw, so it can be thrown away or go into your junk box. Your call.
The spacer. This will be slid over the contact legs to keep them separated so they do not short out.
The small black T-shaped piece of plastic is one of two parts that will probably go flying away. The longer leg of the T will face upwards during assembly. On the shorter legs, one will be smooth, and the other will have a bump on it. The smooth side must go towards the contacts.
Two phosphor bronze contact springs. It was nice of them to include two, because you may lose one. This is the other piece that likes to go Bye-Bye!
The black plastic sprue that the T pieces come on. Two T's are included, thank goodness. I hope to find the other one eventually.
A set of end fittings for various brands of turnouts.
5: Now we get to the good stuff. Slide the contact assembly through the slot on the ground throw. The legs are V-shaped. The high point of the V must go towards the back. The top of the contact assembly has a small tab on one side and a spring latch on the other. Slide the contacts into the ground throw until the tab is engaged and the latch hooks into the ground throw.
My faithful assistant Wally was kind enough to hold this for you so you could see it from the bottom.
6: Now take one of the phosphor bronze contacts and place it into the slot on top of the ground throw, split side towards the contact bar.
7: Now take the T-shaped piece and force it into the slot with the long leg of the T up and the smooth side towards the contacts. This can be an exercise in frustration, and you will discover why I advised you to sweep the floor. But keep at it, you'll get it. Once it's in, it should look like this:
Notice there's a wide blank space on the T piece. That should go towards the front.
8: At this point, I would advise using a couple of drops of liquid plastic cement to help hold the plastic T in place. I know that industrial plastic doesn't really glue very well, but it helps. After that has dried, I would take a tiny dab of epoxy and use it on the T piece as well. It is extremely annoying to be putting the ground throw into final position and have that T and contact spring come sproinging out of there.
Don't ask how I know this.
Continued next post.
The instructions on the Caboose Industries website (http://www.cabooseind.com/#!instructions/cjdg) are better than the abbreviated instructions included on the back of the package, but not by much.
So, I'se a'gonna learn ya how ta done it!
Step 1: Thoroughly sweep the floor in your workroom. You WILL be spending time on your hands and knees looking for small parts that have gone flying away, and a clean floor will make them much easier to spot. Also, get a good flashlight. I also recommend, if you do not already have one, that you go down to your local pharmacy and get a pair of locking hemostats. These look like a combination needle nosed pliers/tweezers, except they have opposing diagonally cut grooves in the handles. You can grip small parts and lock them in place. If you've ever had surgery, you have had hemostats used on you, as they are what surgeons use to clamp off blood vessels.
Let's just hope he remembered to remove them before he sewed you back up.
2: Determine where you will mount the ground throw. Install a pad if needed to bring the ground throw level with the bottom of the turnout. I used a piece of cork. Mark the perimeter of the ground throw and the middle of the contact slot.
Use a 3/8 or 7/16 drill and drill a hole centered on the mark you made for the middle of the slot.
3: Now it's off to the workbench! (You did sweep the floor, right?) The following parts are included in the ground throw kit:
Clockwise from the right:
The ground throw assembly itself.
A shim if needed to bring the ground throw up a bit. If you need to use this, slide it on before you put the spacer on the contact legs, as it it will not fit over the spacer.
The contact assembly. The metal piece at the bottom comes attached to the bottom of the legs, just bend it back and forth and it will snap off. It is not used in the ground throw, so it can be thrown away or go into your junk box. Your call.
The spacer. This will be slid over the contact legs to keep them separated so they do not short out.
The small black T-shaped piece of plastic is one of two parts that will probably go flying away. The longer leg of the T will face upwards during assembly. On the shorter legs, one will be smooth, and the other will have a bump on it. The smooth side must go towards the contacts.
Two phosphor bronze contact springs. It was nice of them to include two, because you may lose one. This is the other piece that likes to go Bye-Bye!
The black plastic sprue that the T pieces come on. Two T's are included, thank goodness. I hope to find the other one eventually.
A set of end fittings for various brands of turnouts.
5: Now we get to the good stuff. Slide the contact assembly through the slot on the ground throw. The legs are V-shaped. The high point of the V must go towards the back. The top of the contact assembly has a small tab on one side and a spring latch on the other. Slide the contacts into the ground throw until the tab is engaged and the latch hooks into the ground throw.
My faithful assistant Wally was kind enough to hold this for you so you could see it from the bottom.
6: Now take one of the phosphor bronze contacts and place it into the slot on top of the ground throw, split side towards the contact bar.
7: Now take the T-shaped piece and force it into the slot with the long leg of the T up and the smooth side towards the contacts. This can be an exercise in frustration, and you will discover why I advised you to sweep the floor. But keep at it, you'll get it. Once it's in, it should look like this:
Notice there's a wide blank space on the T piece. That should go towards the front.
8: At this point, I would advise using a couple of drops of liquid plastic cement to help hold the plastic T in place. I know that industrial plastic doesn't really glue very well, but it helps. After that has dried, I would take a tiny dab of epoxy and use it on the T piece as well. It is extremely annoying to be putting the ground throw into final position and have that T and contact spring come sproinging out of there.
Don't ask how I know this.
Continued next post.
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flyboy2610
Loveably weird
9: Now run the wires from the frog to the ground throw, following your wiring scheme. I am using red for the right hand rail (engineers side), white for the left, and black as the power wire to the frog.
10: The frog. The red wire is to the left, the white is up near the rail joiner, and the power wire is in the center right of the pic.
11: Detail of the shim under the ground throw, and the spacer on the contact legs. The wires have been soldered into place. It was at this point I realized I had forgotten to put heat shrink tubing over the wire before soldering them.
12: So I put a couple of wraps of electrical tape over the red and white wires. I also put a couple wraps around the entire soldered area/spacer.
13: The ground throw installed. I'm not sure how I got off center on the hole. I stuffed some paper towel down in there. I'll worry about it later. To install the ground throw, move the handle to vertical and center the point rails. Drill the holes in the base and spike it down. The Homasote under the cork pad will hold spikes very securely. Use a multimeter and check for continuity with the contacts thrown both ways. That's it. 1 down, 23 more to go! (Only two more on the main, though.)
I hope this helps someone.
10: The frog. The red wire is to the left, the white is up near the rail joiner, and the power wire is in the center right of the pic.
11: Detail of the shim under the ground throw, and the spacer on the contact legs. The wires have been soldered into place. It was at this point I realized I had forgotten to put heat shrink tubing over the wire before soldering them.
12: So I put a couple of wraps of electrical tape over the red and white wires. I also put a couple wraps around the entire soldered area/spacer.
13: The ground throw installed. I'm not sure how I got off center on the hole. I stuffed some paper towel down in there. I'll worry about it later. To install the ground throw, move the handle to vertical and center the point rails. Drill the holes in the base and spike it down. The Homasote under the cork pad will hold spikes very securely. Use a multimeter and check for continuity with the contacts thrown both ways. That's it. 1 down, 23 more to go! (Only two more on the main, though.)
I hope this helps someone.
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flyboy2610
Loveably weird
Thanks, Lynn! This is the one part of model railroading I enjoy the least, but it has to be done.
flyboy2610
Loveably weird
It... is... alive.
From the point on the mainline where the passenger terminal siding joins the main (halfway down on the right side of the track plan) to the point where the insulated joiners are in the track about 1 foot from the liftout section the mainline and turnouts all have power.
I put my Bachmann 4-8-4 #806 in which I installed a Tsunami, and it ran OK. The 4 pin connector between loco and tender does seem to be wanting to lift up the front of the tender a bit, causing some sporadic operation, but that's not a fault of the track. I will add some weight to the tender.
Next up was my BLI 4-12-2 #9083. Speed step 1 through the turnouts revealed one spot where the track is just a touch wide. I will spike that back into gauge. Other than that: flawless!
I had it pulling 3 freight cars the whole time. Next I will hook up feeders on the main and passenger terminal siding, then I'll deal with powering the liftout section.
I also got my bridges dull coated. I did an experiment where I painted a 12x3" piece of .060 styrene gloss yellow. I then divided that into 3 sections and sprayed one with Testors Dullcote, one with Rust-Oleum matte finish in a green spray can, and the last with Rust-Oleum matte finish from a white spray can with a red band. The Rust-Oleum from the white can dulled it up the best, so that's what went on the bridges.
As Droopy, the cartoon basset hound from our childhood days would say in his drab monotone: "Ya know what? I'm happy."
From the point on the mainline where the passenger terminal siding joins the main (halfway down on the right side of the track plan) to the point where the insulated joiners are in the track about 1 foot from the liftout section the mainline and turnouts all have power.
I put my Bachmann 4-8-4 #806 in which I installed a Tsunami, and it ran OK. The 4 pin connector between loco and tender does seem to be wanting to lift up the front of the tender a bit, causing some sporadic operation, but that's not a fault of the track. I will add some weight to the tender.
Next up was my BLI 4-12-2 #9083. Speed step 1 through the turnouts revealed one spot where the track is just a touch wide. I will spike that back into gauge. Other than that: flawless!
I had it pulling 3 freight cars the whole time. Next I will hook up feeders on the main and passenger terminal siding, then I'll deal with powering the liftout section.
I also got my bridges dull coated. I did an experiment where I painted a 12x3" piece of .060 styrene gloss yellow. I then divided that into 3 sections and sprayed one with Testors Dullcote, one with Rust-Oleum matte finish in a green spray can, and the last with Rust-Oleum matte finish from a white spray can with a red band. The Rust-Oleum from the white can dulled it up the best, so that's what went on the bridges.
As Droopy, the cartoon basset hound from our childhood days would say in his drab monotone: "Ya know what? I'm happy."
bsmart
Member
Flyboy - I am getting ready to start a 'modular' layout using benchwork similar to what you are using. I have a couple questions. You have 2" of foam on your plywood. How did you mount the foam on the plywood? I assume it is glued in place. What glue do you recommend? Several people at my LHS say there is no reason to put Homasote on top of the foam. They say the main purpose of the Homasote is to provide a sound barrier and to allow some sculpting of terrain. They suggest that those functions are performed by the foam and that the Homasote is an older method. They suggest that Homasote has major issues with dust and debris when it is cut. I would be interested in your (or anyone else's) views on these issues.
Edit - I just went back and reread some of your first posts and saw that you used 'Liquid Nails for Projects' to glue the foam down. Are you happy with the results?
Edit - I just went back and reread some of your first posts and saw that you used 'Liquid Nails for Projects' to glue the foam down. Are you happy with the results?
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flyboy2610
Loveably weird
Yes, I've been very happy with the results. It does take several days for the adhesive to fully set, though.
I used Homasote over the foam because the original plan was to use track nails instead of adhesive to fasten down the track, and Homasote holds tracks nails quite well.
Cutting Homasote with power tools will definitely create a lot of dust. Using a sharp snap-off blade type of knife with repeated passes will cut it very cleanly and with little mess, however.
I used Homasote over the foam because the original plan was to use track nails instead of adhesive to fasten down the track, and Homasote holds tracks nails quite well.
Cutting Homasote with power tools will definitely create a lot of dust. Using a sharp snap-off blade type of knife with repeated passes will cut it very cleanly and with little mess, however.
bsmart
Member
Any idea how well the insulation board will hold paint/primer? Youy said you originally planned on nailing the track thru the roadbed into the Homasote. Did you end up using that idea or did you end up gluing the track to the roadbed?
Also how far apart are the legs on your benchwork?
Also how far apart are the legs on your benchwork?
flyboy2610
Loveably weird
I am using DAP Alex Plus latex/silicon caulk to glue the track to the roadbed. To glue the roadbed to the Homasote I just used the cheapest latex caulk I could find. I've been very pleased with the results of both. The first few sections of track I used straight latex caulk on, and while it holds the track fine, it dries white. The Alex Plus goes on white, but dries clear. It holds the track firmly, but when the track has to be taken up for some reason, it comes up without a problem. I recommend it. Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, Ace Hardware, etc. should all have it. I still use an occasional track nail on a stubborn piece of track, or on a turnout since I don't want to glue those down.
I haven't tried painting the foam yet, but I've heard that latex paint works OK on it. When you put the foam down, put the printed side on the bottom. The lettering is embossed into the foam, not just screen printed on top of it.
The legs on my benchwork are about 33" in from either end of the table.
I haven't tried painting the foam yet, but I've heard that latex paint works OK on it. When you put the foam down, put the printed side on the bottom. The lettering is embossed into the foam, not just screen printed on top of it.
The legs on my benchwork are about 33" in from either end of the table.
