Outdoor 2 Rail

Very cool: I look forward to reading about and seeing your progress.

Mark in Oregon

Nice. I like the use of the tubing as a riser. What area you using as the ballast pile? Looks good.

Track sitting over a french drain.  Never thought I would say the three most important things in building a MODEL railroad are drainage, drainage, and drainage.     That said, good job sir, and I'm looking forward to following your progress. 

Regards,

Jerry

Wow, excellent!  Keep the progress video/pics coming...and welcome.  

Thank you everyone, look forward to hearing from all of you, I am working on a new blog post, will post it tonight or tomorrow, will be listing some techniques and what material I am using so far.

Mark check in often, if you have any ideas throw them at me and that goes for everyone. 

Matt I am using what they call gray crusher fines, think it is the same thing they use to go between pavers but it is a lot cheaper to buy from a quarry, about $30.00 a ton. The actual ballast that I am using for the track is roofing granules like the use on roofing tabs and that you clean out of your gutters each year, you can buy 50 pounds of it for under $50.00. 

Jerry I hope the French drain idea works, so far everything has stayed together and in place we have had some pretty wild temperature fluctuations, snow and rain. 

Robert from Kansas

Chris Thanks, the N&W is one of my favorite railroads,  I hope to own some N&W motive power in 2 rail someday.  Yes 611 is one of my favorites, I hope to see her someday 

Robert from Kansas

Looking forward to seeing your progress, Robert.

It all looks great so far.

I noted on your blog that you are going to use DCC.

What led you to that decision?

Going to enjoy this.

Ron H

Robert,

Looks good!

I do not know whether you plan any switches/turnouts. If not you could of course make a 3-rail/2-rail track outdoors like I did:

Regards

Fred

Isn't it great to see our models under "real" (natural) light; it sure makes a difference.

Looks to be mostly Atlas cars from the '70s, with perhaps an AHM and a Weaver or two...(?)

Nice video.

Mark in Oregon

Max nice to meet you and thank you.  I am going with DCC because I used it on my old HO scale outdoors layout and it worked great, also  I plan on adding an synchronized smoke unit, cab lighting, firebox flicker, and micro servos for a couple of other things and DCC seems works well for customization. The only problem is I have been waiting for a long time for TCS WOW Sound for large scale to come out,  I am beginning to wander if it's ever going to,  A new alternative to the WOW I have been checking on is the ESU Lok Sound here is the link    http://www.esu.eu/en/products/...lect-loksound-l-v40/ It can be set up with their smoke unit and looks to be nice little package.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Ron Thank You

Robert From Kansas

Robert,

Welcome to O gauge outdoors.  You have a very nice start for your layout and I am looking forward to seeing its progress.

I spent a few winters in the North East.  I never did like dealing with snow which is one of the reasons I live in the SF Bay Area.  It sure looks cold.

You might be interested in the G&O Story post on this forum if you haven't already seen it.  It tells about about building an O gauge 3-rail layout outdoors.  Here is a link:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t.../the-gandamp-o-story

NH Joe

Fred your outdoor layout is awesome your cab forward looks good, yes I am planning on turnouts, I was going to use Gargraves 2 rail turnouts but they stopped making them about 9 months ago, so the alternative is using 3 rail turnouts and taking all the 3 rail stuff off and modifying the frogs and guard rails for fine scale wheels or scratch building  the turnouts using supplies from Ross Custom Switches and make my own #8 #10 Switches. 

Are you by chance across the pond?  Your bench work was very similar to the bench work I had for my old HO outdoor layout. What brand of track or is it hand laid I notice the U.K. style sleepers.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Joe thanks for the link they have an excellent layout.  Yes it can be very cold here but it can change very fast.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Mark I have to agree with you, our trains do look great in the natural light.

Best Regards

Robert

Outdoor2Rail posted:

Max nice to meet you and thank you.  I am going with DCC because I used it on my old HO scale outdoors layout and it worked great, also  I plan on adding an synchronized smoke unit, cab lighting, firebox flicker, and micro servos for a couple of other things and DCC seems works well for customization. The only problem is I have been waiting for a long time for TCS WOW Sound for large scale to come out,  I am beginning to wander if it's ever going to,  A new alternative to the WOW I have been checking on is the ESU Lok Sound here is the link    http://www.esu.eu/en/products/...lect-loksound-l-v40/ It can be set up with their smoke unit and looks to be nice little package.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

 

 

Thanks, Robert.  I was beginning to think that I was the only one sticking with DCC in O scale.  I have used Loksound decoders for many years in HO before I ventured into O.  I have always been happy with them.  If you really want to have stunning results, you might consider getting a Lokprogrammer, as well.

Here is my first venture into O scale with a Weaver GP 38-2.  I tarted it up a bit and fitted a Loksound L series.

Early days on my layout, but it will give you an idea.  It was taken on my iPhone.

Cheers

Max that was awesome! very nice job on tarting her up.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Outdoor2Rail posted:

Fred your outdoor layout is awesome your cab forward looks good, yes I am planning on turnouts, I was going to use Gargraves 2 rail turnouts but they stopped making them about 9 months ago, so the alternative is using 3 rail turnouts and taking all the 3 rail stuff off and modifying the frogs and guard rails for fine scale wheels or scratch building  the turnouts using supplies from Ross Custom Switches and make my own #8 #10 Switches. 

Are you by chance across the pond?  Your bench work was very similar to the bench work I had for my old HO outdoor layout. What brand of track or is it hand laid I notice the U.K. style sleepers.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Robert,

Indeed I am across the pond (in the Netherlands). The track I use is from Tenmille http://www.tenmille.com/index.html in England; it is 1 gauge flexible track to which I added extra rail for 0 gauge 2- and 3-rail (and S gauge).

Regards

Fred

Fred adding the extra rail for other scale's is way cool.  My wife would scalp me alive if I did that, I have had a bad habit of skipping around in different scales. Had to make a choice so I chose O scale. 

Robert from Kansas 

Hello everyone, I made a few changes to the blog and added some new content as well, hope you will like it. still a big learning curve for me. https://oscaleoutdoors.blogspot.com/ 

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Hi Robert, good to see your progress with your outdoor layout.

Mine has only been in existence since 2012 so it is a relative newcomer. Hundreds of outdoor O gauge layouts have been around for decades all over the world.

Like most over my way into O scale Australian I run DCC. Been using it for years in other scales. Only issue is the very light locos I made from styrene do not pick up well on wet or snow covered track. No problem with  big heavy engines however !

Here is a photo showing a couple of tiny locos pulling their train. If they can run reliably outdoors anything can :>.     Need two because of the steep access ramp up from the garage storage area.

Cheers Bob

Bob nice to meet you,  Love your picture like to see more, I am hoping more people here in the states will start taking their trains into the great outdoors, I ran HO scale for a couple of years and loved it.  But like a lot of people I became smitten by the size of O scale.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas 

Outdoor2Rail posted:

Hello everyone, I made a few changes to the blog and added some new content as well, hope you will like it. still a big learning curve for me. https://oscaleoutdoors.blogspot.com/ 

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Like how you're doing this. What kind of track are you using?

Matt hi, I am using Gargraves 2 Rail Stainless at the moment, but I am experimenting with gargraves tinplate as well, in my next blog post, I will be listing what track I feel is best for an outdoor layout, what track is a waste of time and what I do to make the track last in an outdoor environment, I feel the number one enemy of outdoor railroads is UV from the sun.   

In the meantime everyone I hope its okay to list a couple of links to my old HO scale outdoor layout for entertainment value,  Please forgive the quality. 

Apparently, the ATLAS 2 Rail track is UV resistant and can withstand various weathers.

Yves

Hi Robert, to view some more pictures of my railway perhaps it is easiest to have a look at my threads on the Freerails site. It would take some time to repost here.

http://www.freerails.com/view_forum.php?id=64

cheers

 BobC

Yves you are absolutely correct Atlas 2 rail track is UV resistant and it is one of my top choices except for the high cost.  I might also add the UV resistances only applies as far as I know to the newer stuff,  you would have to use a UV protectant on the ties of the older stuff to use outdoors.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas 

Bobc thanks for the link I will be checking it out.

Best Regards

Robert from Kansas

Outdoor2Rail posted:

Matt hi, I am using Gargraves 2 Rail Stainless at the moment, but I am experimenting with gargraves tinplate as well, in my next blog post, I will be listing what track I feel is best for an outdoor layout, what track is a waste of time and what I do to make the track last in an outdoor environment, I feel the number one enemy of outdoor railroads is UV from the sun.   

In the meantime everyone I hope its okay to list a couple of links to my old HO scale outdoor layout for entertainment value,  Please forgive the quality. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIbFHLt8qBs#action=share 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sLSXCvYW7w&feature=youtu.be

Until Next Time

Robert from Kansas 

 

We have a lot of tinplate Gargraves on the club layout. It's an indoor layout but we're right by the ocean with its salt air. We do get some rust if the windows are left open or a track section is unused for an extended period (the wheels burnish the rail heads). Newer alignments/re-alignments are done with Atlas 3-rail track, though we continue to use Ross turnouts (wish he'd consider using Atlas rail).

Like your use of PVC for the outdoor H.O. layout. When I was considering outdoors, I went back and forth about on the ground, slightly elevated, or full height like your layout. Full height is a lot easier on the knees, but the higher you go the more hoops you have to jump through regarding scenery and integration into the yard.

Hello all I just posted on my blog  https://oscaleoutdoors.blogspot.com/ about using different brands of track in an outdoor environment and why I am using Gargraves.

Best Regards

Robert 

Very interesting, Robert.  

Max hi, so is it  Interesting cool or Interesting I am Completely off my Rocker.

Best Regards

Robert 

100 feet of track for just over $50.00 is very interesting in my book, Robert.

Max I doubt I will ever get that lucky again. it was an ebay auction 

You won this auction. 

Hello everyone, I have been out of commission with the crud, but finally back on my feet. The other night I could not sleep so I got up and decided to take out the motor on my KTM 2-10-4 and installed the can motor I had bought for it a little while back off of evilbay. Unfortunately I got so involved working on it I did not take any photos. All I can say is man what a difference it made!

Sometime tomorrow I will post on my blog pictures of the install and the parts I used to do it. The install was nothing fancy, in fact I would say the install was a quick and dirty way of getting the job done, I have seen other people do the same thing with great success.

I am also trying to decide what decoder to go with, either the new TCS WOW https://www.tcsdcc.com/ for large scale or the

LokSound L Select   http://www.esu.eu/en/products/...lect-loksound-l-v40/ 

I am waiting for TCS to come out with the full documentation on their new decoder before I decide,  the documentation that comes with the decoders they are shipping out now is sketchy at best, at least that’s what I am hearing from other sites.

What is everyone else’s opinion on these 2 decoders?

Best Regards

Robert

https://oscaleoutdoors.blogspot.com/

Hello everyone I just put a new post out on my blog installing a new can motor on my KTM 2-10-4

I will be posting on my blog in a few days how I adapted an old Lionel 275 Watt ZW AC transformer to do DC, it makes a great stop gap until I get my DCC stuff to convert everything.

Best Regards

Robert

https://oscaleoutdoors.blogspot.com/

That's a nice looking page you got there; am looking forward to seeing more of your work.

I can't help myself, but it looks like in the "title" picture the front wheels of both trucks of your Hudson are lifting off the track...

Mark in Oregon