"ALL IN"

Nice space to work with. And with 3 boys, you can't help but have with that project.

Hey, I'm in western PA too.  If you guys need help with that big Hershey's bar just give me a call.

Anyway, what is the room size?  And do you have a track plan?  If so, can you post it?  Rough drawings are accepted.

Rick

Rick,

That Hershey bar is long gone!  If you look under my profile, the title "Asking for a little assistance" you will see the room dimensions and rough track plans by Ace and Stewart, this will give you some idea of what's going on.  The room is roughly 27.5' x 12-13.5'.

Darren

Hey, I am also in western Pa too.  Nice room size Darren.  I been down my basement checking my room size also.  Nice pictures of you starting your new layout.

I am interested in your track plans and not sure how to view them. What does Ace and Stewart track plans mean?  Is the a way for me to see your track plans you going to use.

Andy 

Andy, I had started a new topic in this section of the forum titled "Asking for a little assistance"  members, Ace & Stewart, both helped with the SCARM track planning software by designing layouts that fit into my available space, if you look at my profile you can find that older topic and see the layouts throughout the postings.

Darren

Andy, here's a link to that thread.

Looks like a great start! Looking forward to seeing your progress

Lets try this again

Darren,

Nice space, and the benchwork looks solid.

Looking forward to more photos!

Nice start Darren, looking forward to watching the progression.

I know, its been a long time since I have updated my progress, could come up with a thousand excuses, but whats important is that I'm back at it, working on the train layout with the hopes of having trains running, this Christmas, for the boys, and the big boy!

Darren,

You are a bench work building machine!  Looks great!

Keep up the progress.

That's a great room you have to work with, and the benchwork is remarkable. I can't wait to see it completed. 

Great bench work.  Looks sturdy.  Nick

That is looking like a real class act there Darren. Got to watch this project.

Larry

Thanks guys, I'm hoping to have all the sound deadening material completed by the end of next week.  I will do my best to keep the post updated with pictures.

Very nice!

Peter

I made some progress this week, I secured down the Homasote, and before the debate starts, I secured it down with drywall screws.  Mainly because I know me and glue, in addition to ease and timeliness.  This is the first time I have ever used Homasote so I will give the forum my 2 cents once I run a train or two over it.

Not building related but I did update my TIU this week also, another thing I had never done before.

Now I have to do some research on painting the Homasote, thinking of going with a flat black.

I am starting to build a new layout using my old postwar 027 track. I would like to have parallel tracks. I am using 42" curves on the outside, but how do I make an inside parallel track conform to the outside 42"? Do I some how use 27" curves and a few 1/2 straights. Any ideas. This is not fast track.

I haven't worked with that track in some time, but I think they made 0-36 that you might be able to find on some auction sites, used.  If not, you'll have to experiment with the curves and some variation of straight lengths, it will not be exactly parallel, but close.

I made some progress over the past few days with the cork roadbed.

Looking real good.

Darren,

This is the first I have seen your thread.

This looks serious!  I like your walk-in design, and you have a great space to work with.  Your wife must be very forgiving letting you build a layout on that nice carpet.

I see you have some DCS components there, and are using GarGraves with Ross switches.  I am thinking of doing the same when I start my next layout.  I have to reacquire some space.  One daughter is getting married next month, but the other one is the one who has all the stuff.  ;-)  I have a DCS but have not had much time to learn it this summer.

I saw you live in Western Pennsylvania, Beaver no less.  I live in Butler as my signature shows!  We lived next door to a Caruso family many years ago.  He had some nice postwar trains he setup at Christmas.  

I am looking forward to seeing your progress.  Many thanks for posting!

Thanks for all the kind words, I have been doing my best to keep the post as up to date as possible, this is my time of year to work on the layout so hopefully there will be many more posts and trains running soon enough.

Mark,

I have learned over the years that there are a lot of Caruso's out there, most of my family grew up in the southwest portion of the state.  This is my first layout with the Gargraves/Ross combination, so it will be a learning process as the layout progresses, but I enjoy learning new things.  And YES, I am very fortunate to have a supporting spouse and space to build a layout.

Gary,

I had used the foam roadbed in the past but I like the cork a lot more.  I can't wait to run the trains with the Homasote/Cork Roadbed combination.  I am hoping for a much reduced noise level.

Darren

Hi HJKSR,

It appears that the 027 track is sized based on the outside rail diameter. To have a symmetrical inside line on a curve of 042 with 027 on the inside, you would start with an 8" center rail to center spacing. This is by design of the track. To tighten that up to 4.5" to 6", you would have to put a small cut piece at 90º in the center of the curve.

Start a new post with your area or table dimensions if you want some assistance. Don't want to de-rail Darren's thread.

diagram attached.

Darren, nice work on the layout.

The homosote cork combination will definitely be a quiet layout.

the homosote will suck up the first coat of paint, so put down anything cheap. Then the second coat will give you what you need. I tried primer the first time. It was a waste of good primer, it sucked up so much. Latex is fine.

I can't tell from the pics, but there is a lumpy side and a fine grid side. I dind't pay attention and put the lumpy side up. Good thing it was only a 4 x 8 then.

Keeps the posts coming. Looks to be a fun layout!

Darren,

Yes, and there are a few Boyces in Western Pennsylvania too.  ;-)

I have some GarGraves and some FlexTrak.  Separate ovals.  I don't know which way I will go on the new layout.

Have fun on your layout!

Awesome and it looks great. Do you have a track plan? And what size is this folded dog bone layout?

Daren

Great progress and really nice looking room

Enjoy

I finally feel like I have a model railroad in progress and not just another benchwork project that ends up getting tore down and rebuilt. 

I made some changes to the layout already, added a yard, moved the Roundhouse/Turntable "Future location".  Did some planning with sidings and structure location, which helped give me a better image of how the layout will look when completed.  I marked switch locations and started experimenting with laying Gargraves track.  I think I watched the Gargraves video three times and looked at every YouTube video out there, in addition to reading up on bending the flextrack as much as I could. 

As you can see I made my own bending jig with templates for the larger radius curves, the dogbone curves mainly use sectional curve track.

I hope to have the track completed sometime in October, I will post pictures when I get it done.

i bet you could drive a car across that bench work looks very sturdy.

Darren,

looks like it is coming along nicely.  Yes I wrestled with GarGraves flex for a couple of odd  bends around a protrusion from the wall.  Templates or jigs would defiantly be advisable. Yours looks good.

The layout is coming along and looking real nice.

Looks great, I will be following your progress. Rich

I have progressed to the point where we finally ran an engine around the layout.

A lot of time was put into laying all the track, and there is still more to do but the current budget says I have to wait.  Being that this was my first bout with Gargraves track, and with using flextrack of any brand, I must commend this forum for its invaluable wealth of resources.  I was able to do A LOT of research before embarking on this track project and with a little planning, having the correct tools, and a little patience, seeing that train run around the track sure brought a smile to my face, and my oldest son, the other two were already in bed.

I am having a few issues with wiring the stainless Gargraves track, but I will ask about that in another forum and see what I can find out.

Here are a few photos of the train layout, and you may notice a few changes I made and the addition of the future Roundhouse/Turntable area.

It is always important to not rush track laying.  Saves lots of later headaches.  I can relate to having to stop until funds are available.  What you have done looks good, and sounds like you did a good job with the success of your first run.  Thank you for keeping us posted.

Drill a hole in the rail, pass stripped wire into it and use a #0 screw. Ask about the Screw it method.

Look at the May 1, 2011 post for the Hidden Pass RR

Let me just say, "WOW, WOW, WOW"  I ran the three types of engines I have, note I'm classifying the steam into what I call large and small, and all you can hear after running them is the clickity clack of the wheels running over the rails.  

So "YES" I am recommending some sort of sound barrier if you are planning on building a layout.  I chose Homasote and it was well worth the money, just cut it outside, this stuff is messy and itchy!  There is no comparison vs running w/o a sound barrier.  I've constructed various layouts throughout the years, with 1/2 ' plywood, OSB board, etc. and I've had cork/foam roadbeds, hands down this is the quietest yet. 

I plan on using the rest of the month to work on wiring, so once I get something "solid" in place I will post what I did.  My oldest is already chomping at the bits to make a "youtube" video, so when he does I will post that as well.

Darren

Moonman,

I have never seen anyone drill a hole and attach wires to rails that way.  While some would say soldering is better, I like this method.  Even though I was trained as an electronics technician 40 years ago and have soldered a good bit, I always had trouble soldering wire to rail.  I am thinking of giving your method a try.  Thank you!!

Oh, thanks for the correction!!

Ingenerio1, thank you for sharing this method.  Yes, I was wondering about the source of the screws, but I am not ready for the permanent building stage yet.

Darren,

You have the beginnings of a great model railroad.  The well planned design, bench work construction and time taken laying the track will pay off huge with great running trains.

Keep us posted on your progress.  I've really enjoyed seeing your work.

Happy for you and your boys-just wish it was in my basement! 

Darren,

The benchwork and layout look great! Your Layout is coming along nicely. I'm also using Homasote. Keeps everything nice and quiet. Please keep the updates coming.

Andy

With the help of my wife, we painted the Homasote, YES, the wife helped, and I know, I am very lucky!  I also know I should have done this before I ever put the cork roadbed or track down, but I'm not always the most patient person.

I got some cheap paint and had them get it as close to black as they could.

I also couldn't resist setting out the buildings so I can see how they'd actually look on the layout.

We picked up some "sky" blue paint and that will be the next project, to paint the tan wall around the layout blue.  I'm going to leave the green wall alone for now.

Darren

Darren, that made a big difference! You can visualize the scenery. On the sky blue, paint a test area and go away for a while. Then come back and get a first impression. getting the shade that you like will be a pain.

I went with Tibetan Sky from Sherwin Williams in egg shell. I looked at the sky on a perfectly clear sunny day and chose what I thought was the color just above the trees on the horizon. It's very light, but it reacts to lighting changes. Oh, I also put their commercial white primer product on first to get exactly the shade that I wanted. The undercoat definitely impacts the color of the finish coat.

Darren,

It is certainly coming along nicely!!  You are doing a great job!

It's going to be a great layout.  Keep at it!

Great progress!

Peter

Great and very fast progress! What is the size of your layout? Has the project design to post because I really liked your layout!

Hi, great to follow this layout!  Do you have a track plan or photo of the track plan that you could share?

Also, what is the distance from the floor to the top of rail for both levels?

Did you pick that height based on your height or some other factor(s).

Thank you.

Looking good!  Keep us posted.

Darren it is looking great keep up the good work!!

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Leandro, I had actually started the layout benchwork last October or November, but with three kids it is not always easy to find the time.

Abuelo, I had a few fellow forum members assist me with a track plan, using SCARM, which I modified and am still modifying.  If you scroll back to page 1, I think there is a link to that post.  I started with pencil and paper, and it has evolved from there, but even my modifications start with that same formula.The lower portion is 38" and the upper is 48".  I wanted to be able to work under the benchwork without hitting my head, LOL.  

Darren

Until I looked I had not realized how long it had been since I posted an update, shame on me!  I made some changes to the far loop.  I wasn't happy with two similar loops so I divided them into one upper and one lower.  This division made the main line over twice as long, an added some additional scenery with tunnels, and as you can see from the pictures I added an upper track which will run separate from the main line.

Darren:

You are my benchworking hero.  Thanks for posting these.  I'm going to do some similar work this weekend and you've inspired me.

I have a question: What sort of fascia will you be putting on this curved area?

Will this go all the way to the floor and be curved?

What are your thoughts in this area?

Thanks again for sharing.

Steven J. Serenska

Darren,

Thank you for the update on your layout progress.  It looks like it is coming along nicely!  Yes, time does fly when we are having fun with trains!!  

Question, how wide are your aisles?  Personally I don't need very wide aisles, as I'm pretty skinny for a guy in his late 50s, but I don't want mine to be too narrow for visitors.

I just read and viewed this thread from start to finish for the first time--it's terrific.  Looking forward to more updates as your work progresses.

Thanks for sharing.

This is one of those threads that I can hardly wait for a new update!

You're well on your way now!

It is shaping up to be one fine looking layout.

Thank you all for the encouragement.

Steven, I'm still planning that area, but I was thinking of using masonite down to the main framework, then skirting from there on down.  This way the skirting is at a uniform height all around the layout.  It's all still "up in the air" for that end of the layout.  We'll see, it may be modified as I come up with better ideas or see something that sparks my interest.

Mark, the original aisle width was another one of the reasons I changed that end of the layout, I had to turn sideways to get through there.  It is now, at it's narrowest point, about 22", and then widens out to a more comfortable distance.

Darren

Thank you Darren, 22 inches is good.  Yes, I want to make sure I don't have to turn sideways when I build my next layout either.

Darren - just found this thread and WOW what an inspiration!  Can't wait  for your next report. I am also in the process of setting my layout up after several years of putting it on the back burner, but this Christmas it is going be running one way or the other.  I really like the dark color you put on the Homasote, can you share what color and brand it is?  Thanks...

Mike

Hi Darren,

Well done. Do you have a track plan that you can share with the forum?  What size are the curves on your layout?

Mike,

I purchased the paint from Home Depot, it is Glidden brand, I asked for a cheap flat paint and to make it as close to a flat black as they could, I am happy with the results, especially for $13.

George,

Unfortunately I do not, if you browse through this post from start to finish I think there is a link to another post in which forum members used SCARM, and designed a layout from my original drawings, but I have strayed from that, for various reasons.

I figured I would post some pictures of the layout before Christmas.  I decided to keep the Roundhouse and I have purchased a MRS 28" turntable, expected to be here mid January (Yes, I am excited!)  You can see the upper loop trackwork is almost complete, a few switches and benchwork odds & ends to finish up.  I have to "cut-in" the siding switches and finish the yard/turntable area trackwork, I still need more track.  It's a work in progress, but the plan is to have some scenery started by this time next year.  Hope everyone has a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Darren

I just love your layout!  The design, train room, lighting, and long straight sections make for such a nice looking display of your trains.  Should be fun to operate also !

I think you'll be happy you kept the roundhouse area, the MHRs TT will look great there.  A TT is on my 'must have' list of layout requirements because of detail projects, locomotive storage on the layout and it adds an interesting area for visitors to view.

I just discovered this thread too.  Very nice looking layout and done in a relatively short time compared to most of us.  Can't wait to see more progress.

Art

Darren,

I want to come over and play!!!

You're doing a great job! Keep up the good work and don't forget to document the progress so we can see your layout OGR magazine.

Darren,

Nice progress this year! Looks like you'll be running for the holidays!

I noticed in one photo that the lighting changes how the sky color looks when it is more direct. Keep that in mind when planning the scenery and effects.

Best wishes for the holidays.Best wishes for the holidays

What a great layout.  Merry Christmas.

Very nice, I've just finished reading the entire thread.

Doug

SUPERB!!!

It arrived and though it took longer than I wanted (Nobody's fault, just couldn't get to it due to kids being sick and work) The 28" Millhouse River Studioz Turntable is installed.  I know it has been stated before, but Alan is an excellent person to deal with.  You know when your happy with the box the turntable arrived in, your going to be happy with what's inside, and I am very pleased. 

I have a lot more work to complete before it is operational, but, to me, this was the most difficult step.

Darren

Class act going on there Darren. That's going to be a very nice looking layout. Keep the fun going.

Larry

Darren, It is looking great!  I am glad to see your wife approves too!

Darren love seeing the progress any chance you have a layout drawing in SCARM.  I have three kids and a similar space I would like to see an overall view.

Thanks

Darren, Thank you! Layout is looking awesome. Keep me posted and if you have any questions please drop me an email or call.

This layout keeps getting better!  

Love seeing the progress!

Awesome Layout!  i really like the layouts that you can walk around the end!

Darren

Nice progress on the layout.

I think the roundhouse will be great with Als turntable, nice selection.

Let us know if we can be of help with the build.  We have updated the instructions for the roundhouse since the kit you have.  You may find these helpful

http://www.korbermodels.com/Services___Links.html

Looking forward to seeing more post you have a great looking layout there.

Darren!

This is amazing! Thank you for the inspiration!

Thanks everyone, I got the Turntable wired and running today.  Very impressed, even had the family playing with it this evening.  I had a few more yard items arrive this week so I will be spending most of my time working on the yard area with trackwork and wiring.  I will post some pictures, hopefully by next week, of some progress.

Rich, the completion of the Roundhouse is also on that list, as is working on the other Korber models I have to build.  Thank you for sending the updated instructions and the kind words.

Darren

Darren I was reading before that you had a bunch of ScaleTrax that you were going to be using on this layout.  It looks like you went with Gargraves? Any chance you still have that MTH track and would you be willing to sell any of it?

Will,

Sorry, I do not.  I sold all of it to get the money to buy the Gargraves track and Ross switches.

Darren

I have been hard at work trying to improve the wiring for the layout and haven't got much else done, but I wanted to snap a few pictures to let everyone know where I am with the layout.  I am finding that there is more and more I want to do, so I am trying to prioritize by working on the layout functioning properly first, then aesthetics second.

Darren

Ah, yes, the nitty gritty stuff. I follow the same path build, operate, make it look nice.

It's looks better each update.

Coming right along!  It looks great and you've made a lot of progress since your last post, even if you don't realize it!

Keep up the great work.  Can't wait to see a video of trains running!

Well, it has been a LONG time since I posted anything about the layout.  From Spring to Fall our family is busy with sporting events for the boys, Baseball, Hockey, etc.  So this is the time of year when I can get some work done on the layout.  I took a few steps back, but I think it will produce results that I will be much happier with in the end.  You will see from the pictures that the top level is no longer, there is a new area under construction for a trestle bridge, and all of the MTH buildings have been removed and will be placed together as one big city scene, instead of being scattered.

I have a large list of tasks ahead of me, and I will do my best to keep the thread updated.

That is not a layout... its a railroad! Nice work.

Gotta love a guy with the bollocks to cut the sheetrock so the right of way can continue...

Ted

Darren,

after simmering on the layout and running the trains, what caused your dislike of the elevated line?

Ah, it was a distraction for a long corner shot!

Welcome back!

I wondered where you've been and how the layout was progressing.  I've missed your updates as this is one thread I always look for when I"m logged in.

Just my opinion, but I like it much better without the upper level.  The trestle will look awesome.  Can't wait to see more 

Looks great!  I'm looking forward to the trestle too!

The top level was separate from the rest of the layout and served no real purpose.  I'm constantly trying to make each section of the layout have some purpose besides just filling up space.  Bottom line I wasn't happy and I think the changes will produce much more realistic scenes. 

As I "knock out" my list I will post pictures of the progress.

Thank you all for the kind words and support.

Darren

Looks great!  Can't wait to see more!