The wife's HO Atlas layout...


Tony,
You are absolutely correct! When I started I did everything you could do wrong five times over before I stopped, backed the Truck Up and realized what I wanted... Now that I have some what of a clue as what not to do I'm totally revising my layout to do what it was intended to do! Reduce the !@##$#%%&^^&U&I*((^%^&&^%^^^@!$#$#$@## Stress! WOW! I feel better! Now I'm going to have a Reese's (No endorsement intended!) and play with my trains!
 
:) Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. At least you now have the chance to do what you want, without the mistakes ... and that is one heck of a big plus.

Stupidly, I did my layout (err - the wife's) thinking it was going to be the same as the first little bachmann ez track layout. Stick everything together, plug in some wires and we're off and running. Then I compounded that screw up with wanting to make it high tech when I couldn't even get low tech working. Then, and this is the BIGGY, I made everything even worse by trying to fix it with "band aide solutions".

Now I know better, much better, and that is what I am hoping to have when this (hopefully) final build is done - something that works, is simple in terms of what the layout is intended to be - something that I can run 2 trains at a time on and nothing more - with more track and running interest.

Despite the scenery being what I enjoy doing the most, I am even putting all of that on the back burner until the track work is right. In other words, I'm doing it the right way this time. :D
 
Rebuild - Part 1

Hey Guys,

Here are a couple of shots of the "re-building" of the track work:

The first shot shows where the Wye Switch was and has now been removed -

Img_0786_zpsdxofqlmq.jpg


This shot shows the extended double line and new Wye Switch -

Img_0788_zpsz42ikc4p.jpg


This has been done for three reasons:

1. Primarily to remove the Insulated Rail Joiners that were giving me problems,
2. To lengthen the double track part of the layout and remove the problem with the Wye Switch being where it was, and
3. To give a slightly larger radius curve on the front of the layout.

The next step it to remove all of the "back section of track and switches" and replace that track work without using the insulated joiners. This will be done over the next few days.
 
A quick video of the new track:

https://vimeo.com/137205453

You'll notice there are "supports" along the track work; they are being used to ensure a "more" level track and "smoother" gradient, albeit it a slight one. The battery is being used as a weight to hold the track at the correct elevation for the grade in that area, as are the cars on the inner loop. You also may notice that none of the new track joins have been soldered, it is my intention to NOT solder them at this time but may once it is all firmly fixed in place. The inner loop will be the main freight line while the outer loop will be the main passenger line.

My next task is to "fill" beneath the track work to obtain the needed rigidity and solidity for it. Exactly how I am going to achieve that is still up in the air at the moment.

Once this front section is "fully" completed and operational, I will start replacing the track (or more to the point removing the insulated joins) on the rear of the layout.
 
As much of an integral part of a good layout as scenery is, it was not on the 'front' burner in any of my plans. Track down and trains running is my main focus. Trees and people later, much later. I do not expect to have any serious scenery for many moons. Oh, yes there will be 'places', industries and such, the trains got to have someplace to GO, but "getting there is half the fun!"
 
Looks really good Tony. No tight curves, the tracks just flow nicely. Waiting for your comments on how things run when you get it done.

By the way, I haven't seen any posts on the G scale layout. How is it moving along??
 
Making an effort to keep the two parts of the hobby separate by having a completely different area for scenery materials. Train/track stuff on one side of the stairs and scenery on the other. Don't want grass in the motors or oil in the glue!
 
Looks really good Tony. No tight curves, the tracks just flow nicely. Waiting for your comments on how things run when you get it done.

By the way, I haven't seen any posts on the G scale layout. How is it moving along??

Thanks Chet, Typically me, I got impatient sometime around 3:00 am and ran a couple of trains ... and they ran beautifully! Much MUCH smoother then the 18" curves even. The only small hick up I have (at the moment) is a small hesitation on the Wye, that is due to not having a feeder for almost 10' from it in one direction and about 8' in the other. When I took out the track, apart of that was a feeder.

My aim is to re wire everything anyway, so I'm not unduly worried about the above. Bottom line is the new section is vast improvement and the trains, cars and rolling stock glide across it :D

The G Gauge is moving, albeit slowly. I need to get another 5 or so yards of dirt for the middle area. Once I have that, I can then start "filling" the raised track work and get some landscaping done. I was hoping to get it finished to the point of it resembling something before the end of the season. At this stage, and with my focus being back on the HO, I don;t think that will happen. Even so, it runs and runs well - that's when you can see it through the weeds :D

Looks good 'Wombat'! S m o o t h looking line, kind of a 'sinewy curve' , I like!

Thanks new guy. The new curves are much smoother and seem to flow better so I am happy, as are the trains ;)
 
Sherrel.

Hmm, the video's are in MPEG4 format ... could that have anything to do with it do you think? In all honesty, your not missing anything - all it is is a video showing what the photo's show.
 
It works - at last!

Here is a short video of my F40 running the rails - without an issue!

https://vimeo.com/137450536

Granted, it isn't the best video in the world, the lighting is terrible; however, it does show that everything works on the "outer loop" anyway. Still having issues due to the insulated joiners on the inner loop and the spur line. That will be fixed in due course though.
 
Way to go! Looks like a fix.

NOW it's "on", I got the e-mail that the drywall jack will be on the porch tomorrow!

Downhill screamin! The last 'road block' will be removed and it's 'layout time'! Let 'The Chinese Fire Drill' BEGIN! May have to start it's own thread to keep the dust out of the way.
 
Genetk44,

Thank you. I'm not that great at most things model railway related but I think I do a reasonable job when it comes to ballasting and scenery, both of which I do enjoy doing which probably helps a lot.

I actually did that section a about. Laid the track work first then did the ballasting to help hold the track work in place. Then I did the plastering followed by the ground cover. I think it turned out better doing that way than the "conventional way", if there is any such thing in this hobby.
 
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The "REAL Final Plan" ...

Well, as you guys know I haven't exactly had a great deal of success with power consistency on this layout and that I put it down to, amongst other things, the Insulated Rail Joiners. You also know that I have replaced the front section of the track work in order of removing the Insulated Joiners there, a task that has proven to be very successful. As such, I have spent this evening taking up and replacing the rear section of track work that includes Insulated Rail Joiners.

When I got all of that track up, I sat back and took a good long, realistic hard look at what I had removed in terms of the track plan. I concluded that what I did have was too complex for my abilities; as such, I have (again) changed the track plan making it simpler and removing (I think) a potential future problem area.

In short, I have removed the two (2) turnouts that connected the Spur Line (down to the Lake) and the inner loop. The red box in the picture is where the two turnouts were and the two that I removed. What I now have is as follows:

The%20REAL%20Final%20Plan_zpslzn0b2pc.jpg


I honestly do think this will be the last "modification" to the track work at least I hope it will be. The only other thing I might do is replace the section of track that is apart of the main outer loop down the back straight. The only reason I may do that is to make it a smoother running section of track.

So what is shown above should be the last "new plan" and with any luck, it will all run as well as the front section does.
 



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