Hidden Pass Junction RR < >

I have been tryin to post a YouTube video following the instructions provided:

1.access the video on YouTube

2. Select Share

3. Select Embed

4. Copy the code displayed

5. Paste it here

But this is all I have been getting:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GnDBTD3iN-8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

If you click on the underlined link, it works, but how should it be done so the opening frame of the video is displayed?

Thx!

Alex

Alex-

Thank you so much for the RRTrack file. That request was actually from my eleven year old son. He is very into trains and designing layouts. He is in the process of learning RRTrack software and fell in love with your layout. I am sure he will have many hours of enjoyment with your layout file.

We are planning our own layout in space that is very similar to yours, though a few feet shorter. We could never build something as complicated, but will certainly, I am sure get many wonderful ideas from your layout.

P.S. - I am so impressed with it too! He better give me some time on the puter!

Wippen,

Attached is another RR-Track version of the same layout. The only difference is that I separated the upper level and "L" tracks from the lower level and graded tracks. It is just a bit easier to see and to work on.

If you look carefully, you will see that each of the double mains has a double reversing loop. There is another reversing loop around the turntable, but that one is easy to spot.

So glad to see your son involved - that makes my day  !

Thanks!

Alex

Alex, your layout is spectacular... and what you have documented thus far is an inspiration to us all.  This is the first night I've actually read through your entire thread.  Thank you so much for sharing!!!

I have taken the liberty of pasting your youtube link into my post here so that the video displays directly within the forum.  When I created this post, I clicked on the vertical filmstrip icon that is two icons in from the right side of the editor toolbar.  And that opens up a dialog where you can either upload the video directly to the forum's server (based on the video file format) or simply point to an already uploaded file that exists somewhere else, which in this case was your Youtube video.

Enjoy everyone!!!

Thanks again for sharing your terrific talents with us, Alex!!! 

Best regards,

David

David,

Thank you for your nice comments and for posting the video link. I had not tried clicking on the filmstrip icon; I'll try that next.

I think a good portion of the enjoyment of this hobby is sharing what we know and what we do, and in the process we learn a lot as well. Unquestionably, the OGR forum is an excellent resource for this!

Thx again!

Alex

That is a beautiful layout, great track work and trestle....Thanks for posting the video.

Thanks for letting us follow along with your layout build. Lots of great ideas! Thank you for sharing!

Hi- Been trying to original your original post, but it is not coming up. Could you possibly re-post the specifics on track spacer gauges? Thanks so much for the idea.

Hi Alex, Im Jake, you've been corresponding with my father. I have a love for trolleys that hit back and forth between bumpers. I use N scale along with O gauge. I do not know if i should expect you to know this or not but do you know if N scale trolleys also hit back and forth between bumpers also? Or do they just have the ability to go on a track without ending.

Bridge to Rowena

OGR Run 256 Pg 60

Nice article on your Etieca  Valley

Wippen -

TRACK GAUGES

I can't find the original posting regarding the Track Gauges - it was back in April 2011, and is gone. Don may still have his material, however.

I made my gauges our of 3/4-inch, 13-ply birch plywood. They are 2 inches high and I used a thin kerf (3/32-inch) blade to cut the slots. I used a fine file afterwards to make the slots slightly wider as needed. The widest slots ended up at just a hair under 1/8-inch wide, and the gauges fit curves as well as straights. I used track spacing of 4-1/2 inches throughout the entire layout.

I could not have laid the track as I did without these gauges OR without scribing the curve radius on the surface. Using the gauges and the home-made large compasses, I was able to exactly match the RR-Track layout. I ended up cutting over 130 track sections, straights and curves, and I cut them exactly per the RR-Track design, and they all fit perfectly.

One thing I learned was that even when using sectional curved sections and joining them so there were no gaps, the resulting radius or diameter could be off by two inches or more from what it is supposed to be. Best to scribe the theoretical radius or diameter, and lay the track over that line.

Jake -

I do not believe that there are such trolleys in N-Scale. Many years ago, back ini my HO days, one of my sons was into N-Scale. He had trolleys too, but just the regular type. I did a quick Google search and did not find any.

F.Smaritano

Thanks! It was fun building the bridge and recording what I was did - just in case.

Thanks for looking!

Alex

Alex, what size hole are you drilling for the wire and #0x1/4 screw? Thanks.

400e,

I have tried different size drill bits, and have settled on No. 48 (0.0760), but 5/64 (0.0781) works well also - for 16 AWG stranded wire and the No. 0 screw; that is.

After I drill the hole and insert the No. 16 AWG stranded wire (26 strands of No. 30AWG), I use a pick to separate the strands to make it easier to start the screw.

Let me know if I can be of further help.

Thanks for looking.

Alex

Thanks, beautiful job and a boatload of info. Where did you get the screws at?

400e,

From Micro Fasteners. I tried different head configurations (button head socket, slotted, and phillips pan head) and these worked best for me:

Product No. SMPPK0004

Pan Head Sheet Metal Screw - Phillips

Size: #0 x 1/4

Finish: Black oxide

Price: 100 for$ 4.30

 http://www.microfasteners.com/...products/TWSSMPP.cfm 

While at their website, look at all the other stuff they have . 

And Thank You for your nice comment! 

Alex

Thank you, for saving me from experimenting with bit sizes and screws, I want to use this method on my Atlas switches.

Here is one of the areas I have been working on - around the turntable. Not done yet, but is getting there. All the tracks are fully operational (powered one at a time, with a rotary switch), and the indexing still is manually aligned (two speed) waiting for the automatic indexer (Dallee) - Thanks, Patrick.

 Birdseye view -

Challenger ready to go into the shed.

Railroad workers house -

MTH 4-6-4, Legacy 4-8-4, Legacy 4-6-6-4, MTH 4-8-8-4

Older gentleman sitting and admiring the engines - and a couple of fellows having a talk -

Thank you for looking!

Alex

Alex....WOW!!  what a great job you are doing!  Can't wait for you to get here at the end of April to start on my layout scenery...

Alan

Alex,

As usual....lookin' good.  Very envious.

Hi Alex, that look's beautiful as always.

Can't wait to see it finished.

Alex I just received my turntable from CSXAL this week.

I just started the install and wanted the thank you for all

the info you post here, because it helped me so much.

I used a lot of your method's for this install.I will post

all photo's when I'm done.THANKS AGAIN, ALEX

Alex did you get the challenger back yet.

THANKS ,ALEX

Alan, Roger -

Thank you - I have learned a lot and I am still learning from your fine work, and maybe it is beginning to show  .

Alex -

It is a nice turntable for sure - very well built, and runs so smoothly . . .

I have had it up and down (hatch opened and closed) many times in the past few days. It seems that just a minute after I raise it and button it up, I see or remember something else that I need to do that requires access 'through the TT hatch'. It is such a big hole that it is the nicest access I have in my layout. Don't hesitate to post or to email me if you have any specific questions.

Yes! I received the Challenger and it is runing fine again. I will now update that thread. (Completely forgot about it - thanks for reminding me.)

Thx!

Alex

 Here is a picture from two days ago.

Yes, the carts are working even better than we expected.

Glad to share what I am doing.

I finally made one of the several hatches I will need. This one is 14 x 18 inches, and although it is OK, the next one will be 14 x 20 inches. I used a Ø1” closet rod that I had, and it works well. Also, I will space the two supports further apart, perhaps 3 inches instead of just 1-1/2 for better stability. As they are they hold the hatch fine, but when raising it and lowering, it vibrates somewhat, and I hope further apart spacing will help.

The pictures should show what I did, but if you have any questions, p-lease let me know – I also have drawings.

The hatch lowered, in place.


The hatch raised and turned or swung.


Birds-eye view.


Underneath – hatch lowered.


Support detail.


Support with hatch raised.


Will have more pictures tomorrow.

Thx for looking.

Alex

Hope you don't mind but I am gong to have to steal your idea here and use it on my own layout.  Great job.

Glad to hear that the idea may be useful to you as well!

A couple of hints:

(1) Make the tube long enough to allow you to stand under the hatch without having to rotate it out of the way. I made one long and one short (because the tube I had wasn’t long enough to make them both long), and the longer one is nicer to use as I just raise it and stand under it. The shorter one requires that I raise it and then rotate it; no big deal but not as easy.

(2) Coat the tube with wax or something similar so the tube slides easily; it makes a big difference.

Good luck!

Alex

Thanks for the tips.  I will post some photos as I build.  Heading to the lumber yard this week to buy some wood for the benchwork.

Dale,

I you like the looks of the track over the roadbed as opposed to just over the Quiet Brace, then yes, and screwing the track would be fine if the screws are long enough to go into the QB most of the way.

However, if your concern is noise primarily, you really do not need anything between the QB and the track; the QB alone is quiet enough! (In my opinion, that is.)

I have run my trains silently (just like in the old HO days) and they are very quite indeed with the track directly over the QB. I used 5/8” plywood, the Quiet Brace over it, and fastened the Atlas track with Atlas track screws, which go through the entire thickness of the QB.

Here are a couple of pictures of a cutoff section of track just to show how the screw penetrates the QB. 

Good luck!

Alex

Thanks for all your help Alex.

I may go without the road bed.  If you made road bed out of the QB cutting the edges at a angle and just put the QB under the track,would it be just as quiet as QB over the entire layout?

Dale H

Dale,

That is what I did where my dual-main was more or less by itself, as for the graded track sections. I used the jigsaw with the knife edge blade set at 30° to cut the QB road bed, and it looks great, and yes - it is quiet.

I started doing this (the angled cut road bed) in other areas, but then realized that it would be easier to have the surfaces even for the buildings and other scenery items I wanted to add, so I covered (almost) everything with QB.

Here are three pictures taken when I started this phase of the project - almost a year ago already!

Alex

Thank you Alex

I may use a combination of the 2 methods. Your pics and advice are most helpful. Here are some shots of the bench work I have now. The layout runs through a tunnel between 2 rooms. I also will want to make a rock like layer as you did to transition the 2 levels. Are yours styrofoam?

Just purchased 30 sheets from Carter Lumber in Chardon Ohio. Price was $8.88 per sheet. The nearest Menards carries it but it is special order and would have taken 2 weeks. Will post on progress.

Dale H

One last question for someone who used the Quietbrace. Is it scewed to the plywood or glued down?

Thank you

Hi Dale....

If I may chime in here.......  I have been using the Quietbrace product for over 20 years.  Many years ago it was called Black Board and was used on the exterior of most new house construction much like foam and other products are today.

I covered entire areas with it on my layout to reduce the level of noise.  Because of the coating that is applied to the product, I soon found out that just laying it in place, through its own weight, it adhered to the substrate....no glue or screws needed.  I have never had any movement problems.  There has been much discussion over the past several years here on the forum about where to glue or screw this product...  If you screw it down, you MAY transfer a certain amount of  any vibrations (noise) to which those screws may be subjected and I would suspect the same of gluing it. 

If you limited your gluing and or screwing to the edges only, you may reduce the noise transfer though I doubt there will be much since the quietbrace is very good at absorbing vibrations.  MORE IMPORTANTLY.....when you screw the track down, only use screws long enough to go into the quietbrace but not into the substrate material below it.  Hope this helps....

Alan

Thankyou Alan and Alex for the heads up on this material and your time to answer my questions..

This material looks very promising. It reminds me a bit of the material used for expansion joints for cement. Just from observation it seems to be a more effective sound deadener than Homasote also lighter and easier to work with and the cost is about 1/3 the price of Homasote. Half inch Homasote at HD was about $27.  I knocked on the layout plywood with my hand and then knocked on the layout top with Quietbrace over it,a really big difference. This stuff really does not transmit sound.  I may also make a skirt using this material to deaden the noise further.  The layout is in a big building without carpeting so noise is an issue. As far as screw holding ability I screwed a #4 in about a half inch and picked up the hole sheet with the screw head. Where I live this material is not that common so I took a nice ride with the wife to buy some. Will do some cutting and fitting tomorrow. Was thinking of a few dabs of latex caulk to keep it from sliding and maybe just a few screws in the smaller pieces. This should be sound friendly since caulk is pliable. I may have to piece in some complicated curves with smaller pieces.

Dale H

Dale,

(I was gone for three days visiting Judy's family and did not have access to the forum.)

Alan is correct as far as the QB staying in place. However, when I used small sections of QB as for a roadbed, I used two 1" nails at opposite corners of the QB section to make sure it would not shift. Since I screwed the track just to the QB (second picture of my post on March 17, above) I needed a secure base to hold the track. Using an adhesive to secure the QB to the plywood, OSB, or similar top surface as you suggested would also work fine.

BTW, your bench work is looking superb. Do you have a track plan, maybe an RR-Track or similar rendition? I (we) would certainly like to see it.

Also, your layout certainly appears to be of the sort the warrants its very own thread on the forum. Of course I don't mind having it within my layout thread, but it is 'hidden'. I think that a lot of our forum friends have already seen my layout (this thread), may not look again and unknowingly and regretfully could miss yours! 

Good work!

Alex

Hi Alex

I am more of a toy train guy. My layout at home is carpeted. On parts of this one I may do the same thing. In the other room I may try to  do more realistic scenery but I am not good at this. It is more of a toy train display layout allowing trains to run automatically on timers without a lot of operator attention. The trains will run between 2 rooms with dog bone patterns to allow for the wide curves. On the perimeter on each of  2 levels there is room for double track O-120 K-Line Shadow rail. I purchased this when K-Line went under and have been waiting to use it for a while. On one end I will make a simulated switch yard where 3 trains per loop will be staged and be dispatched one at a time conventional using relays. Also I will use a soft start system with relays for realistic operation,automatic bell and whistle operation.. Only 1 train per loop will run at a time to reduce dueling sound systems. So 3 trains per loop on 4 loops would make 12 trains on the perimeter. Maximum train length would be 18 feet with a block system about 22 feet long per block.. I have an 8 car B&O 21 inch K-Line passenger set I want to convert to LED lighting and run so that is how I arrived at the length.  I could make one of these loop with a total of 6 trains with a passing siding running in alternate directions. However this may be asking for trouble as I am not sure how reliable turnouts are as far as derailments. Electronically it could be automated without issues. I was looking at the new Ross tubular O switches but am on the fence about doing it.

Then I have room inside for a 5th loop,O96 and some trolley lines. I may do a passing siding on this with 2 or more shorter trains running in opposite directions..

In the area where I live in western Pa, the building sits between the old B&O and WM lines the track right of way is cut through rock. (the parallel WM is now a bike path across the Castleman river) I was hoping to simulate this by filling in the area between the 2 levels. As I said I am not a scenery guy but would like to learn to do this. Below that is the picture of a 1920s bridge that is scheduled to be replaced in April. Through the trees on the right is an old school building,circa 1908 that I have been restoring for the last 10 years. That is where the layout is going. I Dont mean to hijack your thread but I learned a lot reading it and what I am doing is a bit similar so I thought I would post some pics. As for the scenery and bench work I am nowhere near the skill level of you guys. The bridge in OGR is incredible craftsmanship.

Dale,

Honestly, I think your layout looks great, you have a clear idea of what you want it to be, and you most certainly are going to fully enjoy the fruits of your endeavor!

Learning to do the scenery will just take some experimentation, and as you alluded, this forum provides a world of ideas. Just a few days ago I tried one of the tricks provided by Jim Policastro in his last article in OGR Run 256, and it worked better than I had hoped. The trick was to lightly brush an off-white or similar color paint, using a dry brush, on surfaces that are supposed to be rocks.

I had added some rocks croppings to one of my otherwise relatively flat walls, and I just could not get them to look like rocks. I did as Jim suggested, and voila! All of a sudden the rocks looked like rocks. (Or at least they look much better, as the picture below depicts.) BTW, I have used many of Jim’s hints, including the use of Structolite, and I can’t thank him enough. 

Watching and emulating the works of Jim, Rich, Dennis, Alan, Elliot, Patrick, Alex (the other one), Roger, and of so many others is what makes this hobby so much fun.

Please, do keep us posted on you progress.

Thx!

Alex

It has been a while since I post an update, but that does not mean that I have not been making progress - I have.

One of the areas I have been working on is an empty space right up front, under the second level, adjacent to the main yard. I was going to simply put some sort of retaining wall an let it go at that. But it seemed like such a waste . . .

So I made a subway shopping center, the Hidden Pass Mall. It has a small loop of track using Ø36 curves and 40" straights. It is controlled by a DZ-1220 for scheduled stops and annoucements, and the subway is a single car.

Here are some pictures. (Click to enlarge)

Future site - 

Track table is 38" x 84" 1/2 OBS and 1x2 frame. Materials I already had.

Pink Foam to make it the proper height for the passengers to board the subway car.

1/4" Foam Board and Google Images of store fronts.

Cutouts for the lights to shine through. LED's behind the stores and also in front, at the top.

Arches made out of pink foam.

How it looks now -

Another spaced properly used!

Thanks for looking.

Alex

Hi Alex, I see you have been quite busy,

I must say the scenery is very nicely done.

I really like the whole thing especially the store

fronts and the station. Alex when you put your hand's

on something it just is so professionally done as always

Totally awesome.

THANKS FOR SHARING, ALEX

I'm looking forward to meeting you at york in October.

Alex,

This was fun to build.

I forgot to mention that it is hinged, so it is easy to remove to work on it. I installed three pins on the side opposite the hinge side, so I just pull those three pins, allow the board to swing down (another advantage of a high layout), slide two blocks under it, pull the two hinge pins, and it is free to slide from under the layout.

Thanks for your nice comments.

Alex