Reviving a thirty year old layout

[Jim 68cuda]

Today I cut 1" thick sheets of 4'x8' foam to size for the base of the 6' long and 4' long sections of the new benchwork. I layered additional 1" thick pieces on top of that to bring the new surface up to the track level of the original. The right side will need to slope up to the higher elevation, but none of that will happen till I have all the track laid out. Track! Oh yeah. Thats what I need next. I need to get some.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

So, I've started acquiring some track. The old part of the layout is all code 83 nickel silver with black plastic ties. But now, I'm finding that Atlas code 83 track has brown ties. Same with Walthers code 83. I didn't look into other code 83 brands.

So I decided to just go with code 100 for the new part of the layout, so that the black ties would match the old part of the layout. That choice will also get me some donated leftover track from a couple buddies. That will help reduce the cost. I picked up some transition 83-100 rail joiners, though I'm wondering if I should instead go with Walthers transition track pieces.

But as I started roughly laying out the few pieces of track I have so far, I started to notice, 4'x10' isn't near as big as I was thinking. I know my rough drawing wasn't to scale, but 4'x10' is just tiny for HO scale, even with the simple oval I have in mind. 5'x12' would be better suited for what I had in mind. I thought 4'x10' would be a huge additional extension for the existing layout. Now that I think about it, I think I went through this same thought process thirty years ago when I started on the original layout.

I still need a bunch of track, including four turnouts for four separate industries (heating oil dealer, farm feed supply, farm implement dealer, and a wood barrel manufacturer), and I'll need turnouts to cross over from the inner loop to the outer loop and back.

As I looked at what I had, and as I looked at all the structures I had planned to include, I thought, 'this is never gonna work". I pulled out the structures and placed them roughly in place. So far, I have left off two structures that I had planned to include, and any thoughts I had for a bridge on one side are out of the question now. But, there's now no room for much of what I had planned. My cow pasture behind the barn, gone!. My horse pasture in front of the farm's stable, gone! The apple orchard planned to be behind the equipment shed at the farm, gone! The forest to the right of the farm equipment dealer, now the size of a small suburban lot. The brick tudor style house I had intended to have hidden in the woods behind a long tree lined driveway, well, its just on a small lot up against the tracks now. Suddenly, the plan for a small rural mostly farming community, doesn't look quite so rural.

So now, I.m starting to think about what I'm willing to eliminate in order to get back some pastures and a corn field. But before I get to that point I need to obtain all the turnouts and track I need to work out the final placement for the track.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

I've received some of the Atlas turnouts I've ordered. But there are still more that I need to order for the new section of the layout. So today, I turned my attention to the hole in the old part of the layout where the track used to go through holes in the wall between two bedrooms at the old house. A fairly flat surface ended at the wall on one side of the wall, and a mountain was built up to the wall on the other side. On the mountain, there is a winding road that was right next to the track, coming down the mountain right at the front edge of the layout. On the flat side, there is a road running past the railroad station near the back of the layout (at an elevation about an inch higher than the station and track).

Today I took some foam sheets, and filled in the "hole". Then I took scrap foam and tried creating a hillside/cliff that could transition from one scene to the other. For this first attempt, I have allowed for space cut into the cliff to allow the road past the station to wind up the cliff side and connect to the mountain road in the foreground. I'm not totally happy with the steep slope, but with some sculpting, some rocks, and some vegetation, it may work.

I have been considering having the road past the station disappear into a tunnel (it will be prominantly seen when standing on that side of the layout). But, I didn't like the idea of a road tunnel directly next to a train tunnel. That part was against a back wall at the old house. The following three pictures were from the layout as it was at the old house with the fairly flat town built right up to the wall.

This is what it looks like from that side of the layout now.

I considered having the road in the foreground cross a bridge over the tracks, but I'm not sure I can easilly make that road realistically climb up to the minimum height for a bridge over the tracks, without significant alterations to the mountain. There is plenty of space to make a more gentle slope in the foreground to the right of the blue house. But, its the higher elevations where the room to work with is the tightest. The tunnel portal really can't be moved out any closer to the station.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

I now have finally got all the code 100 track laid out how I want it on the new section of the layout. I still need to cut some flex track for all the sidings. Once I have everything in place where I want it, everything will be marked on the foam and removed to contour and shape the foam.

But first, theres the code 83 track on the old part of the layout. I need to check some more boxes in the basement for more, because it seems a fair amount on that track is missing or has been destroyed in the move. I don't want to make anything permanent till I know how it will all fit together. Meanwhile, I'll likely need to buy more code 83 track now.

Its a slow process. And this time of year there are other priorities and expenses. Went out to the garage to change the oil on the car and discovered the front brake calipers were not releasing. A new master cylinder for the brakes for my particular application is $250. Less for a remanufactured one that may or may not work. That unexpected expense and the time it will take will delay forward progress on the layout for a while.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

So I went through boxes in the basement until I found one that had a bunch of track in it. So it turns out, the old part of the layout was code 100 after all (not code 83 as I had thought). There were just some Walthers sections (turn outs and a double cross over) that were Code 83. I apparently used transition track sections to make it work. So I now have all the track in place on the old original part of the layout as well. No wiring is done yet, and except for a few places on the original layout, the track is not secured to the base.

Today, as I looked over my efforts so far I tried to remember names I had for the towns on the layout.

Myrtle's Cove was the only town name I remembered. The little seaside village looks nothing like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. But, as my family spent many summer vacations at Myrtle Beach when I was growing up, I wanted that tie in for this part of the layout. In the photo, a couple structures are missing (including a passenger station). They are fragile wood construction structures that won't be placed until later.

The next town was based completely on a scenery section described in the ancient Atlas King Size Track Plan Book. The removable town is built over hidden tracks (can be removed in two parts). I don't remember the name I had chosen for this town thirty years ago. But, back then I recieved a water tower as a gift. The water tower has the name "Dodge" on it and was placed in the center of town. You guys already know from some of my pictures that I like Dodge cars, so this town will be Dodge, or Dodge City.

The next town on the layout, I have decided to name Colville, my family name. This town was originally built on a lift out section by necessity at the old house. It will be made a permanant part of the layout now.

The largest (and oldest) town on the layout has had several names over the years. Nothing ever felt quite right. Currently, I'm leaning towards the name Junction City, as I have fond memories of a short visit I made to Junction City, Kansas in my youth. But, we'll see if that name sticks.

Finally, the little village on the new section of layout, I think I'm gonna name Hooterville. I figure I can run a little train with an old steam engine around the inner loop on the new section while running two other trains on the rest of the layout. And thus, the old TV show Petticoat Junction came to mind, with the Hooterville Cannonball train. I might even find the old Tyco Hooterville Cannonball on E-bay if I'm lucky.

 

[logandsawman]

I now have finally got all the code 100 track laid out how I want it on the new section of the layout. I still need to cut some flex track for all the sidings. Once I have everything in place where I want it, everything will be marked on the foam and removed to contour and shape the foam.

But first, theres the code 83 track on the old part of the layout. I need to check some more boxes in the basement for more, because it seems a fair amount on that track is missing or has been destroyed in the move. I don't want to make anything permanent till I know how it will all fit together. Meanwhile, I'll likely need to buy more code 83 track now.

Its a slow process. And this time of year there are other priorities and expenses. Went out to the garage to change the oil on the car and discovered the front brake calipers were not releasing. A new master cylinder for the brakes for my particular application is $250. Less for a remanufactured one that may or may not work. That unexpected expense and the time it will take will delay forward progress on the layout for a while.

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I love your buildings! Time making them is never lost as they easily transfer one layout to the next...

By the way, the master cylinder went out in my Suburban about 5 years ago, the new remanufactured one the shop installed only lasted one year. The second one they put in is still good, Same experience with an electric window motor. I stopped going to that shop and endeavor to make all repairs myself.

part of the reason I don't change anything out unless it is either acting up or a filter...

Dave LASM

 

[Jim 68cuda]

I see an old Tyco Hooterville Cannonball train on E-bay. Back in the day, these were basic kid's toy train sets selling for about $20. This set shows wear, and is missing parts. And the price is $240 plus $20 shipping. The missing piece of the boiler can be obtained from other vendors on E-bay for an additional $10 and and additional $11 shipping. At a minimum, I'll also need to replace the paper sillouettes of passengers with some clear plastic windows.

This thing fits perfectly for my plans for both the new addition of the layout plus it captures a bit of nostalgia for the Tyco trains I had as a kid.

But the price! I've seen a nicer complete boxed set go for $100 more than this set. Is this really what I should expect to pay for a set like this? I would be just as happy with a similar set for Baltimore and Ohio, Western Maryland, or Pennsylvania Railroad (or anything that would be appropriate for the mid Atlantic area). But have not seen anything else that would work. As there are 18" curves where this train would run, I don't want longer passenger cars, nor do I want a larger steam locomotive.

Just wondering if I should pull the trigger on this one. There's another one that is cheaper, but the locomotive is missing more difficult to find parts and it has fewer passenger cars.

 

[2Tracks]

Nice little set.......
Tyco red box, is that when Mantua made the stuff for Tyco? I don't know the Mantua/Tyco story, just bits.....

 

[DeaconKC]

Love the Hooterville plan. There was an old open top water tower that would love to have the sisters in it!

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Well the Tyco Hooterville Cannonball on E-bay dropped in price by $10. That $10 kind of covers the cost of the missing boiler front piece that another vendor on E-bay had. So, I pulled the trigger. Still think I paid too much. It'll take a week or so to get here, so we'll see.

Meanwhile, I started shaping some foam sheets and pieces to give the new additional part of the layout a little depth even though the trackage is all level. I raised the village up onto a 1/2" thick sheet of foam. The other end, where the farm is, will take more work. On that section there will be a 2 1/2" change in elevation.

 

[DeaconKC]

Well the Tyco Hooterville Cannonball on E-bay dropped in price by $10. That $10 kind of covers the cost of the missing boiler front piece that another vendor on E-bay had. So, I pulled the trigger. Still think I paid too much. It'll take a week or so to get here, so we'll see.

Meanwhile, I started shaping some foam sheets and pieces to give the new additional part of the layout a little depth even though the trackage is all level. I raised the village up onto a 1/2" thick sheet of foam. The other end, where the farm is, will take more work. On that section there will be a 2 1/2" change in elevation.

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That elevation change is gonna look nice.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

So I worked a bit on shaping the foam at the other end of the new addition tonight. This is the section with the farm. First I cut out two inches of foam where the road will be. The roads will have an incline going up two inches in front of the blue farm house and again going past the white farm house. The area, where the blue farm house and stable are, is a half inch higher in elevation than the farm equipment dealer across the road. That allows a walk out basement on that farmhouse. The lot the white farmhouse occupies is a half inch lower than the land and track behind it.
The little brick building with green awnings (a veteranarian's office) is at a 2 1/2" lower elevation than the blue farmhouse.

For now the roads on this section are 2" deep ravines. I will be using the foam I cut out as a template for cutting road material out of styrene plastic "For Sale" signs. Once those roads are test fitted, I can then shape the terrain adjacent to the roadways.

I had planned to glue all the layers of foam together before I got to this stage. Now, I'm glad I didn't as its much easier to cut and roughly shape the pieces off the layout.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Just a small step tonight. I took the foam pieces I had cut out where the sloped country roads would be, and I shaped them a bit with a wire foam cutter. Then I put them back into the holes where they had been originally. The rise and fall of the country roads is taking shape. Now I can mark the surrounding foam adjacent to the roads so I know how much I need to trim/cut them down to form the hillsides along side the roads. But, it also made me realize the driveway entrances for both the blue farm house and the white farm house will be a little bit steeper than I had originally planned. But that's okay. There's room in both cases to extend the slope farther out so they aren't too steep.

I still think I will end up using styrene plastic "For Sale" signs from Home Depot for the road surface on the new section of layout. I'll pull these pieces I trimmed down tonight back off the layout and use them as a template to cut the plastic.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

While eating dinner I thought. "perhaps I can use the wire foam cutter without actually removing the foam pieces to be trimmmed and shaped". After dinner I went ahead and gave it a try. It doesn't look like much now, but I think I adequately shaped the foam boardering the roads. Again, the foam isn't glued down yet, so gaps are visible between the layers. When its time to do the scenery a light layer of plaster, hydrocal, or lightweight joint compound, will fill in the gaps and smooth out the terrain. I just hope I won't need to sand down the foam first. That could get messy.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Shaved the 2 1/2" hillside next to the blue farmhouse way down. You can't hardly tell from the photo. But all the shavings created quite a pile of debris that filled up a small trash can. It creates a much gentler, more realistic slope. The plan is to have a corn field along that slope, but it was way too steep before. I think it will work as planned now.

The barn behind the blue farm house is at the same elevation as the basement level of the house and the same elevation as the stone equipment shed. That means its a half inch lower in elevation from the stable, detached garage, and the main floor of the house. I am now considering dropping the barn down a half inch. Just concerned that would create too steep a slope to get to the barn, and it might make the hill top the blue house is on look less than natural. Also, sine the hill side I just shaved down extends to the back end of the barn, its possible the change in elevation there will make the topography a problem for the corn field again. Its the one thing I will rethink before taking the entire new section completely apart so that I can start glueing all the foam pieces together in place.

Now to try to remember what product I used all those years ago to glue the foam layers together. What ever I used, it worked great. Might have been latex caulk, or foam adhesive. I do remember regretting that I used Liquid Nails in places.

 

[DeaconKC]

I used latex caulk on mine and it worked very well.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

The Tyco Hooterville Cannonball train, that I found on E-bay, arrived on Saturday. The separate e-bay purchase of the boiler front (missing on the used locomotive) arrived today. With a little trimming of the plastic molding sprue, it snapped into place. I still want to add clear plastic to all the windows. I still think I paid way too much. But it was the only small old time steam passenger train I could find that wasn't western themed. And since my layout is loosely based in the 1960's, the whole "Petticoat Junction" theme of this train kind of worked well for my plans.

Once the foam on the new addition is all glued in place, and at least a base coat of paint where the track will be, I will attach the inner loop of track on the new section, and wire that part, so that at least this one little train can run around the small loop while I am working on track and wiring on the rest of the layout.

 

[DeaconKC]

That little 10 wheeler is gonna look great!

 

[Jim 68cuda]

So kind of a big day today. I busted a hand rail mount on the little Cannonball locomotive. Tried to avoid touching the fragile hand rails by lifting it by the red cab. I thought it was permanantly attached. It's not. A magnifying glass and a touch of super glue will fix the hand rail mount.

But the important thing is, I wanted to test it and make sure it works. Also wanted to verify that the used power supply I picked up works too. So, temporarily I hooked up the power supply to the inner loop of the new section of the layout. The little engine was reluctant at first. Wondered if it wasn't getting any power at all. But after pushing it a ways, it started inching along under it's own power. After a while it started making it all the way around the loop on its own. Then I added the passenger cars. And it still made it around the loop on its own. The locomotive derailed once in about fifteen loops, and one of the passenger cars derailed once, but then corrected itself. Only issue I see is that it needs to move fairly fast or it will lose power and stall when passing over a turnout.

While the loop was powered, I figured I should check my other locomotives. So I went to the box that I knew they had been in since the move ten years ago. The freight cars were in the box. The B&O passenger cars were in the box. An unpowered B unit was in the box. But no locomotives. That sent me on a mad search of the basement for any other boxes they might be in. Only took 20 minutes before I found the small box, just large enough for the locomotives. It was under some new reproduction chrome for a 68 Dart GTS convertible project that sits out in the barn. I guess I put the box where it would be easy to find and where it would be safe. Then when I bought the chrome for the hood of the car, it was just convenient to put it on top of the box. The bubble wrap around the chrome pieces completely hid the box I was looking for.

Once found, I tried each of the locomotives on the track. They all worked perfect after their first "assisted" lap. So today was the first time a train has run in my house in the ten years I've been here.

 

[DeaconKC]

Alright! Another Chessie fan!