The wife's HO Atlas layout...

[wombat457]

This is where the last two buildings will be going and how they will look ...

What do you guys think of the "cobble stone" pathway? Do you think it works? If it does, I am considering using these "cobbles stones" for the foot paths (side walks) for the entire town.

There is an "alleyway" that runs between the rear of the above buildings and rear of the buildings facing the main road. I have put in two lights along that alley which you (obviously) can't see but will when they are lit.

 

[Johne230]

Placement of buildings looks good.Thats a nice look with the cobble stones Tony, how did you do it?

 

[wombat457]

John,

Thank you. The "cobble stones" are made of Dental Stone using molds. I can't remember who I bought the molds from of the top of my head but if you are interested I will dig that info up for you.

The reason I use Dental Stone for all of my molds is for the strength. I have found that the casts tend to break fairly easily if you use anything else like, hydrocal or PoP etc. Mind you, if you leave those materials for 24 hours and take a lot of care getting the cast out of the mold, you might be okay but I found I was breaking 1 out 3 (in some way).

Should add that this company also makes molds for brick and stone as well. Essentially they specialize in HO Scale molds for scratch building buildings. I have been using the molds I have for around 3 years and they are still as good as the day I bought them.

The company is called Linka World:

http://www.linkaworld.com/catalog.htm

 

[Johne230]

Thanks Tony I need N scale though.I have given some thought to switching to HO scale before I start my next layout.

 

[wombat457]

No problem John. I believe quite a few people have asked them if they intend to expand to N Scale but, apparently, setting everything up to duplicate in N what they make in HO would be too costly at the moment.

 

[Lynnb]

I see you have been quite busy Tony. I like the changes.

 

[wombat457]

Hey Lynn,

How's things with you? Yeah, have been a little on the busy side, mainly making changes here and there BUT, I also think improving things as well.

 

[Lynnb]

Things are good, getting a bit on the cool side for riding so now the fun begins, well between work and home lists.

 

[Lynnb]

Tony I'm on the nite shift so found some time to really work your layout from where I recall last spring and I'm quite impressed with the expansions , I bet you like the wider radius much more. The water scene looks great. Your buildings look really good, don't forget your old friend A/I , works best if you lay the build on its back so the A/I settles in the crevices. Be careful with it though if you used chalks. Work good on the already good looking wall signs.

 

[wombat457]

Lynn,

I do like the wider radii a lot and (honestly) wish I had the room for even larger radii; however, going from 17/18" to 20/21" has made a big difference in all respects, not the least, appearance wise.

I took a couple of months away from the layout, which I think helped and gave e a chance to sit back and take a more serious look at what I had, the problems I had and what might be possible with the room I had. The biggest problem I had was with track power so that HAD to be fixed first, hence the removal of the "double" turnout and the replacement of the remaining electrofrogs with insulfrogs. Not saying the electrofrogs were the problem, more my understanding and wiring of them.

Replacing the electrofrogs meant taking up the track so it seemed logical to review how the track would be relayed, especially across the front of the layout. The position of the old Wye turnout (previously on the left front) meant that the radius coming into and departing that turnout was going to be (at best) 15" and with joins that were on a curve. What I needed to do was get that turnout in a place the would allow the track to mate up better. The only solution I could see for that was to move it across to the right front side, its current position. In order for that to work, I needed more room at the front to be able to run the double track around to it - hence the expansion. If I had to expand the front to accommodate the re-positioning of the turnout, I figured I may as well expand it so I could have a larger radius and (at least) a usable area.

Bottom line, it all began as a result of the electrofrog turn outs and their need for insulated joiners (the real issue for me). At the end of the day, I think I have a better layout, at least one that runs without any serious issues.

The weather is still pretty decent here, in the mid to high 60's so riding is still an option for me, not that I am getting all that much in of late. Did one trip down to Gettysburg and that was about it for me other than just getting out to ride up town and so forth. Never did get the work done to the bike I wanted to get done (the cam, carby, ignition and exhaust) - maybe next year.

 

[Hawkesburytrain]

Nice buildings Tony,
I'll need about 14 of those buildings
If you're done with your layout, you 're invited to come over and help...lol

Well done

 

[Lynnb]

Tony I went through the electrofrog/insulfrog debate decisions many years ago and the insulfrogs won, makes those happy clouds so much brighter. I had to laugh when I read about the Digitrax out on the front lawn.

No more Evolution bikes for myself and the wife in the garage well except for my sons 97 Superglide I gifted to him for graduating. Now my wife has a 2002 Dyna Superglide 150tq 127 hp and I have 99 Classic 140tq 122 hp give or take. Have you ever witnessed a Harley wheelie and burnout through every gear? Its a RUSH. There both bought from my good friend Doug Coffey who owns Head Quarters here in Sombra. You want to do some interesting reading Google him up. And by the way he's a RR guy like us, weird huh?
Tony you can always do those Mods over winter yourself easy peasy. Winter is for RR and bike Mods.

 

[wombat457]

Lynn,

You may recall my posts regarding electrofrog versus insulfrog, at the time I thought electrofrogs were the only viable option and probably were for what I had in my mind. Since then, my aspirations of automation etc etc etc have completely dissolved and I am now thinking and looking at the layout in a more realistic light, at least in terms of my abilities. I have absolutely NO regrets about removing the electrofrogs and replacing them with the insulfrogs and am glad I did.

As for the bike, well - everything that I'd like to get done to it is just that, "a would like to get done" thing. The bike runs flawlessly as is so there is no real need to do anything to it. Now the season is coming, or has come, to an end I can wait until next season to get any work done to it. Who knows, I might even have a newer bike by then and one that is more aligned for touring than the Heritage.

 

[wombat457]

The town is starting to take shape:

You may notice the end of a "cobble stone" side walk, that is going to be continued all the way around the town which involves building up the town area as well as the road system. I don't want to put up any pictures of how it looks just yet though, not till I have it all in so the "real effect" is apparent.

 

[montanan]

That is really looking good Tony. Well done.

 

[Lynnb]

Looks good Tony. The cobble stone is a real art, really looks like you have a grasp on it.
I really need to learn and lite up some of my structures.

 

[Alan Curtis]

Looking very good Tony. The cobblestone sidewalks are very distinctive and should fit in well in your town. Looks like a lot of work ahead, though!

 

[wombat457]

Thanks guys, appreciate the comments and the reassurance that using the cobble stone"effect" works.

Lynn,

Lighting your structures is easy. The easiest way is to use the Model Power Self Adhesive (normal) lights. Alternatively, you can use LED's as I have in a few of my buildings. The LED's are okay so long as you get the resistance right and can figure out a way of fixing them to the building. At the end of the day, I use the Model Power Bulbs, that can be bought in packs of 10. No resistors needed and they operate nicely from a DC Power Source.

 

[Lynnb]

Thanks Tony it will just be another hurtle I will need to face very soon. Did you find you can add the liting at will or did it need to be done before you finished a building? I figure its just wood or plastic and can easily be drilled from anywhere and push an led up. I do have a couple dc controllers kicking around one I use for all the tortoise switch machines.

 

[wombat457]

Lynn,

I complete my buildings BUT do not attach the roofs until I place the light, especially if you intend using LED's. Leaving the roof unattached just makes it easier to get things where you want them.

So far as the wiring is concerned ... regardless of whether I use the Model Power things or LED's, I have been using Super Glue to attach the wires to the roof and down the "corner" of the building. So far, that way has worked okay for me, although is a bit of a pain in the butt to do and not get glue every where.

What I am going to try with the new buildings is using 1/8" tubular round styrene which will be painted black to blend in with the interior. The idea is two fold, well three fold really. Firstly, the wiring will be run through the tubing (obviously) so it will be neater, secondly, the tubing will be easier to glue to the insides of the buildings and (touch wood) won't look as obvious as just bare wires and; thirdly, when using LED's, the tubing will be what holds the LED in place as the "prongs" from the LED will be bent at 90 degree's and each prong inserted into the tubing.

I don't know if this is going to work or not, but theoretically it should. I will be trying it out over the week end so we will see.

One other option (if using LED's) could be to drill two holes through the roof, push the LED prongs through and the use the tubing (round or square) to run across the top of the roof. I'm just not sure if 1/8" tube will look a little odd in that configuration, scale wise.