New Layout - Construction Phase

Richie, That’s an easy process.  Thank you!  The old layout looks great!!

Thanks, Mark.

It was a tough decision to take down the old layout and do all this work (including taking down half a wall), but I wanted a bigger layout and really wanted a staging yard to store all my trains, so I could just pull one out to run whenever I wanted rather than taking trains on and off the layout.

It will be well worth it when it is done!  Sounds like a great plan!

Found some time to work on the layout in between taking the grandkids apple picking and doing some landscaping around the house.

You have done a very thorough job, Richie.  Yes all the steps you took are necessary I believe to have reliable Fastrack.

Thanks, Mark.

When you get to that stage and if you use this method, I got the two-gang terminal blocks at Del City Electrical. They might be slightly pricey, but they are hefty and about as well built a piece of small electrical equipment as I can remember.

https://www.delcity.net/store/...ocks/p_73274.h_73373 

We used barrier blocks galore like those at the power company I worked at in the ‘70s to ‘90s.  I forget the brand name.  Thank you for the link!

Was able to finish getting all the drops installed this weekend and also ran all the power feeds from each distribution panel (from the TIU) to the drops on each loop, so the track wiring is complete. All crimp connections were soldered for additional security and I'm getting virtually no voltage drop in either loop at any point on the layout, so I'm satisfied.

Fired everything up using Legacy and ran trains on both loops with no issues (except one derailment caused by a piece of cut-off wire insulation on the track that I must have missed). Next step is to fire up the Wi-fi unit and see if it works. I don't have any MTH engines right now (B&M BL-2 is on my hit list), but it should be able to load and run a Legacy engine.

I also disconnected all the FT switches from their wires and drilled holes underneath each switch on the main layout to run the switch wiring below the layout to a control panel. Next step is to be able to splice the wires back together.  I'll use 4-conductor telephone wire, but making the splices for four tiny wires times 8 switches is a PITA . I came across a crimp splice I had never seen before called a "jelly bean" which should make it easier this time. No stripping of the wires is needed. It has "gel" inside which supposedly seals the ends of the crimp and keeps moisture out and prevents corrosion - especially helpful in my basement.

Found some time to also start setting up my industrial area - not sure if the salt factory, seed 'n feed, and coaling station look too crowded.

Richie,

Great work.  I don’t like wiring, so it takes patience to put in enough connections and do it right.  Afterwards you will be so glad you took the time to do it right.

Picked up my new E-6 Atlantic Legacy steam engine at Charles Ro this weekend and it runs great, but was still able to get a little work done on the layout.

I started construction of the double portal tunnel using pre-made portals from Scenic Express and foam. I tried using expandable spray foam to create the mountain shape and it was ok to use, but I think I'll apply plaster sheets over it to smooth it out a little. I also used vinyl spackling on the top and sides of the portals to smooth out the transition to rest of the mountain.

I also cut, sanded, stained and started poly-ing my control board (sorry, no pics, yet) and I got 200' feet of round, black 4-conductor telephone wire to start splicing my switch wires back to the control board. My switches are mostly all command control, but I still like the look and feel of being able to throw switches.

Congratulations on the E6 Atlantic, Richie!

Thanks, Mark - I really like the whistle steam on the Atlantic  - very cool !

Was able to make some more progress this holiday weekend between my granddaughter's first birthday party and taking everyone to the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts (I believe the country's oldest continuous running fair).

I had sprayed my foam tunnel with expandable spray foam to get a basic shape for the top and sides of the mountain and then covered the whole mess with WS plaster sheets to get the shape I was looking for and painted it lightly with brown and olive green spray paint to get an accetable background color for the mountain. I then lined the inside walls of the tunnel with crumpled up aluminum foil which I hot glued to the inside and painted flat black to simulate the look of real rock faces.

I picked out a few spots on the sides of the mountain that looked like good candidates for a rock outcropping or rock face and painted them with successive light washes of yellow, brown and black water-based, acrylic paint and let dry. I then sprayed each side and the top (one at a time) with WS scenic cement and sprinkled a combination of green and yellow fine and coarse turf over the entire mountain being careful not to get too much of the turf on the rock faces/outcroppings. I then covered the mountain with bushes, trees, dead fall, leaves, lichen and rocks using WS scenic glue until I was satisfied with the look and sprayed everything with hair spray to keep in place.

The tunnel portals came as a large double wide opening, but I like the look of two separate openings. I had a small piece of an extra Pennsy wall that I didn't use that has the same design and color as the portals and cut a center divider to size and glued it in place at each end. I then added some black powder where each train comes out of the tunnel to simulate smoke stack exhaust and placed the finished tunnel on the track.

About the only issue is that it's large (about 40" long) and I think I may be getting a ground plane and/or Legacy signal loss issue because whatever train I place on the outside track intermittently stops about 80% through the tunnel, but doesn't when the tunnel is removed, so I'll have to figure that issue out.

Also, I cut, stained, poly'd and mounted the control panel with brass screws and washers and mocked up some switches in place. I first cut out the left side of the layout beneath the panel so I could mount toggle switches to turn the sidings on and off on the yet-to-be-constructed staging yard without having the plywood and foam in the way.  I also got started on wiring all the switches on the main layout (9 of them) to the panel and will finish that this week.

I also started laying out some of my buildings and structures. They pretty much filled my old, small layout but barely make a dent in this new one, so it looks like I'll be searching for building/structure deals in the upcoming weeks. Once the switch wiring is finished I should be able to start construction on the staging yard on the other side of the wall - possibly this week.

Started construction of the staging yard portion of the layout on the other side of the wall from the main layout. The framing actually went pretty quickly, I think because of the experience gained in building the main layout. I have to build to a 3/4" ledge/overhang in the half-wall, so that creates some measurement, calculation and cutting challenges (like different sizes of framing stock and having to notch end pieces, etc.). Drilling the wiring holes in the cross pieces also went quicker with a new 1 1/2" spade bit from Lowes. 

I'm ready to lay the plywood and foam, but I didn't realize I was out of construction adhesive (I like to use adhesive plus screws), so that will have to wait for this week. I also had to stop to wtach the Red Sox and Patriots !!

Some progress pic's attached.

Richie, It looks great!  Now I see where you are putting the staging yard.  Excellent way to arrange it given the nature of your space.

Thanks, Mark.

It's a little hard to see in the pics, but the outer main loop from the train room will curve to the left around the outside of the yard beginning to the right of the TV (there's an O-36 curve there) and then re-connect at the other end (just below the tunnel where there's another O-36 curve already in place). The sidings will run down from the top with a series of O-72 curves and Wyes similar to, but not exactly like the attached.

That looks great!  Thank you for the plan!

I wish I could take credit for it - but I believe Jan, Dave or Carl actually came up with the concept about a year ago and I then proceeded to butcher it in SCARM, but you get the idea.

Thank goodness for 30" FT pieces !!

Yes, I can't take credit for mine either.

Made some good progress this week. Got the yard framing completed and glued/screwed the plywood top and foam base down. I also painted the foam an earth brown and dusted with green and yellow fine and coarse turf from WS and sprayed everything down with scenic cement.

Started laying out some of the buildings and structures as well to see how everything looks. Even though I picked up some additional buildings like the Morton's Salt Factory, Lionel Coaling Station and Menard's Seed 'n Feed, it still looks pretty empty compared to my old layout. Will have to work on filling up the layout over the next few months as time (and money) permits.

Made the track connections at the top and bottom of the yard to the main layout and started laying out the switches and siding tracks. I should get that completed this weekend along with installing the extra power drops and wiring up the switches to the control panel. Have I said how much I dislike wiring - but it's got to be done, I guess. Then it's on to determining where the siding on/off connections will go so I can turn them on and off and ordering the toggles and then  wiring them up !

Well Richie, you know I don’t like wiring either.  Also, I like your quick ground ant turf method, though mine will be more complex since the idea is that mine will look like West Virginia.  The track looks good so far.   I know what you mean about a layout looking a bit empty, but that gives you the opportunity to add as you can.  I never had a layout with more than one town, so I’m looking forward to populating two towns with buildings and details myself 

Thanks, Mark - I agree it will be more difficult for you to replicate WV landscape than what I've done, which is pretty much generic - although at different times of the year you can find just about any scenic look somewhere in the country. In New England, it changes 4 times a year and runs the spectrum from mountain tops to seacoast, so who's to say what looks right or not. Plus, so much of the layout gets eventually covered by track, trains and structures that sometimes the landscape exposure ends up being minimal.

I had planned to stuff as many sidings as I could in the yard, but now that it's partially up I think I will limit it to 8 tracks plus the outside loop and add buildings and "yard" structures - like an engine house, too.

You are right.  A layout with a West Virginia setting could be of a town on a river bottom that is crammed with tracks and buildings.  Our layouts can be anywhere in our minds, even imaginary!  Imagine that!!

The tracks for the yard have now been completely laid out and connected to the main part of the layout at both ends. In addition, one of the sidings also goes all the way through to a switch connecting to the main layout.

Drilled holes for all the switch wires which now hang beneath the layout waiting to be connected to the switch controllers. I also mounted the additional terminals for the power drops (5) to the yard and connected the track sections to the terminals and then wired the terminals to the distribution panel for the outside loop that the yard is part of. On testing with a DVM, the yard and sidings all have good power with little or no voltage loss. 

I placed a yard light tower and the Lionel yard tower on the layout, just so it didn't look so empty. I'll start connecting the switches tonight and then order the on/off toggles for each siding to place in the control panel and wire them up.

Richie , the good looking yard won’t look so bare when you have cars and engines on it.

In between watching the Sox win the world Series, I got all the FT switches spliced and wired up to the control panel and working - all 18 of them !! Thank goodness for "jelly-bean" crimps !

One of the O-72 switches kept jamming, so I took it apart and discovered that the grooves on the fan-shaped plate were not spaced evenly which was causing the pinion gear on the small electric motor to jam. I did a little light sanding and cutting on the plate and the gear and added a little diff lube from my r/c racing days and it works perfectly now.

Next up will be mounting and wiring the toggle switches for all the sidings.

I didn't expect the Sox to handle the Dodgers so quickly, but that is why they play the games.  I had no favorite.  Once the Pirates are out of it, I really don't care who moves on.

Nice lineup of switches all lit up pretty!!

Thanks, Mark - there'll be a piece of molding (probably stained and poly'd 5 mm thick sanded plywood from Lowes) along the inside edge and all around the layout when I'm done to clean it up and I used small (#2 X 3/8") brass screws to tighten the switches down - they give it a nice "old fashioned" look.

With the Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics, we've had a lot in the last 15 years or so.

Well I go back to the days when the Pirates were the only winners in Western Penna.  Then the Steelers, now the Penguins have been the powerhouse here.  My preferred sport is the Pirates, and at least they made it back over .500 this year.  Barely!  

Spent the day on Saturday wiring the toggle switches for eight (8) sidings. Soldered a 14 gauge wire to each 1 5/8" section of FT after removing the wire underneath and then ran the wire to the appropriate tab on the switch where it was also soldered on.

I purchased lighted toggles on Amazon - about $2 per switch as I recall. Each switch has a red LED light at the end of the toggle. I also have a lighted bumper at the end of each siding, so I can tell which siding has power, both from the lighted bumper and the light on the toggle switch.

The toggle switches are rated at 20 amp but are for 12 volts dc - and we use 18 volts ac for command control. The switch itself would probably work ok, but the LED would more than likely burn out after a short while because it's too much current, so I installed a 1N4007 diode between the ground tab on each switch and the ground wire running to the tab on each switch. After measuring and drilling the holes in the control panel to mount the toggle switches, I then assembled all the switches on the bench by soldering a diode to each ground tab and then jumpering all the positive (yellow wire) and negative (green wire) tabs together in "gang" fashion. I then took the whole assembly over to the control panel and pushed each toggle up through the holes and tightened everything down.  I then ran 18v power (both positive and ground) from a transformer distribution panel terminal to one of the middle switches (for even distribution) to power all the switches, LED light and track.  You can see how it works from the attached photo. The open tab on each switch is where the wire from each siding ultimately gets connected.

I'll post pictures of the whole assembly when I have a chance, but it works great.

Sounds good Richie!

Thanks, Mark.

I thought the detailed explanation might prove useful for anybody else trying to set up a layout using sidings and lighted switches - like when you get back to your layout !! 

Definitely, Richie!  You never know on this Forum who will see what you post and say, That is just what I need to do!!!

Hitting the homestretch …… finished the installation of the toggle switches into the control panel. Pretty straightforward once the pre-wiring of the switches was done, but had to run a lot of wire to all the sidings. The thin wood in the control panel gave way as I was drilling one of the mounting holes causing the drill to slip and creating a big hole, but it patched up pretty well and I used some oversize washers to help hide the gaps. I also picked up an inexpensive label maker and made a couple of labels for the toggles.

All the sidings, except #6, have a lighted bumper at the end to also help distinguish what sidings are on/off. As you can see from the pic's, siding #6 actually connects back to the main line at both ends. However, I cut the track near both ends and put it on a switch, so I can use the center portion to store a train or rolling stock without the siding being "on".

I'm in the process of painting all the legs white and staining and finishing the molding and should get that completed by next week.

Richie C. posted:

Hitting the homestretch …… finished the installation of the toggle switches into the control panel. Pretty straightforward once the pre-wiring of the switches was done, but had to run a lot of wire to all the sidings. The thin wood in the control panel gave way as I was drilling one of the mounting holes causing the drill to slip and creating a big hole, but it patched up pretty well and I used some oversize washers to help hide the gaps. I also picked up an inexpensive label maker and made a couple of labels for the toggles.

All the sidings, except #6, have a lighted bumper at the end to also help distinguish what sidings are on/off. As you can see from the pic's, siding #6 actually connects back to the main line at both ends. However, I cut the track near both ends and put it on a switch, so I can use the center portion to store a train or rolling stock without the siding being "on".

I'm in the process of painting all the legs white and staining and finishing the molding and should get that completed by next week.

 

Nice work! 

Wow Richie!  You made quick work of that yard!  It looks good populated by rolling stock and lights where they should be.

Thanks, Matt - it's been almost a year and I'll be glad when the construction is finally finished and I can focus on hooking up accessories and running trains !

Richie, the layout looks really nice!  I, for one, completely understand when you talk about construction finally being over and moving on to the point where you can run trains/add details and enjoy the layout.

Darren

Mark - you're right - layouts always look 100% better when filled with trains, rolling stock and lights. I already had most of the stuff shown in the pic's, except for the Legacy SF A-B-A set, MTH Premier B&M BL-2  and the B&M tank car, Hood's Milk and grey B&M hopper, so it wasn't hard to fill the yard up. I did also purchase a Legacy Atlantic E-6 (on the other side of the layout) since starting to take down the old layout last February and I have a Legacy Southern/UP SD-40t-2 still on order. I also have my original K-line UP Big Boy and Legacy Rio Grande GP-9 and the WM A-B-A set (my first CC trains) in the stable and I'm still waiting for my Legacy 2-6-0 Mogul to be returned from Lionel. As I recall, you have a fondness for WM loco's. That should be enough engines for me for awhile.

Once construction is complete, I plan on taking my work table out of the main layout room and installing some aluminum shelving to house whatever else I end up with. I'll re-locate the work table to another part of the basement playroom.

Darren - thanks, like you say, it's always a good feeling when you finish a project. Once the molding/trim is up next week, I'll take a video or two and post them with some more still pic's to complete the construction.

Richie, I like your selection of motive power a lot!  You select early diesels and steamers that I would choose in my favorite livery!  Yes, we modelers like to see our yards almost choked full of cars!!