Building the Pinnacle Creek Mining & Timber Co. RR

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Back from vacation. Hope you Americans had a nice Thanksgiving. Back to work on the layout. More building of bridges and culverts. Jim:) PS That stick on the culvert pic is not really there! Also the cross bar on the bridge photo has been straightened. J

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It is all well and good to have some skill in model photography, but I thought I would share and outdoor pic so you wouldn't think I was a one trick pony. No photoshop. This is across the street from where I live. Mission Trails Park. Jim:o

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Thanks guys. Bushel, your words are worth more than a 'like' button. This morning I've spent an hour, well spent, getting track on my rebuilt bridge in correct gauge. My pilot wheels on my Mogul, 2-6-0, always derailed in one direction. Fixed now! The loco has been derailing since I built the bridge and this morning I 'bit the bullet' and didn't quit until it was fixed. Some issues are like that. Jim:rolleyes:
 
HOexplorer said:
Thanks guys. Bushel, your words are worth more than a 'like' button. This morning I've spent an hour, well spent, getting track on my rebuilt bridge in correct gauge. My pilot wheels on my Mogul, 2-6-0, always derailed in one direction. Fixed now! The loco has been derailing since I built the bridge and this morning I 'bit the bullet' and didn't quit until it was fixed. Some issues are like that. Jim:rolleyes:
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was it where the rail joiner is in the photo? Looks like a slight misalignment there?
 
Sherrel, Yes is was. It was the joiner on the near side of the photo not the obvious one in the back. I Dremeled the solder and that didn't do it. So I added a shim in the decking and that took care of the issue. Jim :)
 
Final section of track, leading to the turntable is now glued. I will wait until late today or tomorrow morning to take the weights off. Planting little shrubs continues. Almost finished there as well. Ballasting and adding the red sand from Micheal's is last. I will probably add a pond or two to the stream bed pretending the wet season. Then I'm done! Jim:)

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Outstanding rock, it ROCKS! LOL!

Srysly good stuff! I like the scientific method of track weights you have got there!
 
New guy, The basic idea of this whole thread is: cheap; readily available items; simple techniques everyone should be able to do etc. Using what is laying around for weights meets all those criteria. Cool! Jim:cool:
 
Getting down to the end. Yesterday it was weights and today ballast treatments to the turntable track. I used earth blend from WS and some powders and a bit of mainline ballast and applied glue, no wet water. I generally skip that step with no issues. This section of track will need more work to blend it in properly.

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As for the rest of the track I spoon my three part mix of ballast on the mainline. My back hurts now!

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Last the mainline ballast. I mixed it up a month ago without knowing how much I would need. How's this? Jim:)

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Jim,
Are your switches manual throw or do you use motors and all that? I've been trying to figure out what to do and haven't found economical solutions to switching machines.
 
RR, My switches are all manual throw. Nothing simpler or cheaper than one's index finger. If I had good directions I could have wired them and done all that. Electrics, of course, is not my thing. However, to do it 'my' way I use HO Peco switches. Index finger is all you need; a spring locks them in place. I did order yesterday a switch throw just for realism's sake this time. Whether I actually hook it up is yet to be determined.

As for motors: Not being electrically minded it only made sense to me that because a layout in my house only lasts about 13 months, economically motors, and circuit boards are not cost affective in money or time. If I could keep a layout around for years I would probably go electric, but I have small layouts with only a few switches and it is nothing to simply give them the 'finger.' Jim:)
 
Makes sense. My "long-term, temporary" layout has no switch motors on it, nor does it have springs. I suspect this is the leading cause of derailments. How did you spring them?
 
Railrunner130 said:
Makes sense. My "long-term, temporary" layout has no switch motors on it, nor does it have springs. I suspect this is the leading cause of derailments. How did you spring them?
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Peco turnouts have a spring against the throw bar that holds the rails in place, you may have Shinohara's that don't. Not sure about Atlas or other brands. If you fit say Tortoise motors to Peco, you remove the spring. If you want, you can fit groundthrow (Caboose Hobbies) manual controls as an alternative to your's.
 


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