First up was connecting a

First up was connecting a code 83 No. 6 crossover, and a code 83 No. 6 right hand turnout. Ties are glued to the homasote.

The cross over anchors one end of the yard. The main line is on the bottom, the top leads to the arrival track and yard (both to be code 70) to the right, and the switching lead to the left.

The wood ties were left purposely long at this stage.

I marked out lines on the ties with pencil, and than trimmed them with a sharp blade.

With these in place, I can finish placing the ties in this section.

After assembling another couple of turnouts, I than ran the ties along the main that join them. As I have the quicksticks, I'll use them on the next couple of turnouts and just leave two aside for measuring and patterns.

All of the No. 6 code 83's are done, and spaced out. I've begun drilling holes, and continuing to lay more ties along the main line - here is the first curve, behind the turntable pit.

These are the quick sticks under the turnout - I chose to modify the Fast Tracks process for my application, as the turnout is not glued to them at this time, but the ties are glued to the roadbed. This became quite tricky to do, but worked out as long as I was careful with the application of glue. You can also see in this shot that the mainline is complete all the way down. (well the ties are down at least.

And a view from the other end.

Good stuff.. Are you planning

Good stuff..

Are you planning to put up a backdrop? Easier now then later.

Chris

Great work

Scarpia,

Great work.  And lots of photos.  Thanks.  This is all a tremendous encouragement to me; I tend to slump down in a chair when I get home from work.  Your posts are a good reminder that I can do little stuff and subassemblies that add up to a big whole.  Keep it up.  Thanks again.

Question:  in the last photo it appears that the lighting wiring is romex running through holes in the metal framing.  If so, by all means, protect the romex.  There are plastic bushings available that snap in, and will protect the romex sheath from abrasion (and potential short:  2000 +/- watts of energy can do lots of damage.)

Backdrop and Power

Chris, I'm not sure on a backdrop at this time, due to it's chainsaw nature. I probably should though, just to do it.

Don, thanks for the heads up. The Romex carries power for the internal lighting; I'm careful with electric, but I was under the impression that between the internal and external insultion of the wires it woud be fine. I'll look into the grommets.

Per the small work, this method kind of requires it - I've found it better to work on both ends at once, at least as far as laying ties goes, to allow the glue to dry sufficiently. It takes me about a half hour to load up two of the tie template sets (each about 2 feet long) and put them down, as I almost always have to wrangle one or two into position. By the weekend, I'm hoping to be able to begin staining this part of the mainline.

Don, thanks for the heads

Absolutely not!  Don is quite right.  Get the insulators for the studs or use armoured cable to wire in metal studs.

Stymied

Work on the layout this weekend was stymied as my rail order arrived, incorrect. A simple picking error led to me getting weathered instead of un-weathered rail, not great for soldering turnouts.

While I wait for the correct rail to arrive, I installed the two TCS T1 decoders into a pair of life like proto 1000 RS-11s.

Fortunately for me, they had a great link of model specific installation photos. The installation was a snap; everything worked the first time. That was truly a first for me, and I was pretty excited. The soldering experience I've picked up from the Fast Tracks switches is really paying off! These locos run very well, very smooth (even at low speed), and have a lot of pulling power. Once weathered, and the plastic sheen turned down, they should be real work horses. I was able to consist and run them easily.

I also assembled three packages of Sergent couplers and only managed to lose about 4 springs and no ball bearings. These too are getting easier to put together with added experience. With those put together, I was able to not only Sergent equip these RS-11s, but another 8 cars in my fleet (I'm replacing hork hooks first, than going back over the Kadee compatibles).

I switched a couple of small trains last evening just for kicks, and there are a couple of things I've noticed now with the Sergents that I have them and have begun to use them.

The first thing is I love how they uncouple. I find that I am NOT fighting with the uncoupling process, simply reach in, hold the wand on top of the coupler, and reverse the loco, and voila. And right where I want the car.

The second thing I love about them is how they don't uncouple. Once they are mated, they stay hooked, no accidental disconnects over delayed magnets, etc.

The third thing is they way they look. Not only do they look better, but they make trains look better, as the coupler gap is smaller, and this is not a problem even over short turnouts and the one piece of 18" radius sectional track on my test layout, on locos like the RS11s and 50" cars.

The fourth thing I like is how they install, other than fighting with the spring (but you get better with experience), installation on almost anything is easier than with Kadees, as the height is not as vital.

The one drawback is coupling; the couplers do have to be aligned to couple successfully. This requires a bit of experience (and I'm getting better, so it's becoming less of a problem). Kadees couple easily most of the time, the Sergents do as well only if they're aligned, but will do so on tight curves. This became more apparent and more work when making new connections, ie a different locomotive or car connecting than what was there previously, which requires alignment. On my test layout the yard is in the middle of a 4x8, so reaching in to align things wasn't the easiest, but you do get better as you go. With a more shelf like (narrower) layout that I'm building, this will be much less of an issue.

Besides the Sergents, I also upgraded the wheel sets on any car that didn't have metal wheels. I've used the Intermountain metal wheels, and I like them.

Well, that's it for now. Cheers!

Some of the layouts I operate

Some of the layouts I operate on have remote locations where not being able to couple reliably could be a problem.

Is the coupling issue a problem on straight track? I am thinking of a few industries in particular where I pull the cars out.. then push them back using delayed uncoupling so I don't have to reach in..

Chris

Problem may be the wrong word

Problem may be the wrong word - it's just the way they work. To answer your question, it's not relevant if the cars are on a curve or a straight as the couplers don't self center, and they stay in the aspect they were in. If they were to the right on a curve, they will be to the right on a straight section. If they're centered for connecting on a curve, they will not be aligned correctly for a straight.  So you still have to verify that the couples are aligned, just like the real guys.

Your consideration on the inside of the industry is a good one, and I could see that as being a real pain in the behind. This maybe in a large part because layouts are designed to take advantage of the Kadee systems; retrofitting Sergents may cause a lot of operational headaches.

On my own test layout, I have delayed under track magnets so I can set out cars at the coal dealer from across the table; now I need to be on site.

Naturally in designing a new layout, you can work around those issues from a design standpoint, such as having a removable roof for the industry.

On the American  Flyer layout that I operate on, we have to do the same thing - make sure cars are aligned, and the knuckle is open - so it maybe less of an issue from my perspective.

First Look on Sergent couplers coming in Issue 3

As part of the testing we've been doing with Sergent couplers, you notice that the couplers are not self-centering the way Kadees and clones are.

As far as doing a delayed action uncoupling by hand, the process is the same. You uncouple the cars, then you move one coupler off-center so the two coupler faces no longer mate - the "thumb" of one coupler pushes on the "palm" of the other coupler. Then you just push the car in place and pull away - just like you do with Kadees.

Looking forward to that article

I'm looking forward to that article, Joe.  

One other comment pertaining to the Sergents is car weight, I have a lot of underweight cars (a scale and weights is rapidly climbing on my to get list), and with metal wheelsets, the couplers don't set even when aligned due to lack of resistance of the car. Its clearly a weight issue, as if the same car is in a block it hooks up fine.

I know car weight is important for operational reliability, this is just reinforcing that  fact.

Yard Ladder

Well after a long delay, my code 70 rail finally arrived. It was time to dive right in! 

I quickly assembled a turnout, but couldn't find my .015 solder, and used some other stuff. Big mistake. While it worked, it's damn ugly. I've decided to keep that turnout as a template, and picked up some new .015 solder at Radio Shack.

Well, I can never leave well enough alone, so I decided to make the entire yard ladder one giant turnout. Yup, one single piece of rail runs from the left hand diverging stockrail, all the way up.

Here it is about 60% finished. I put in the frog first, in order to make the whole unit a little more structurally stable

another view (note the wire grommets!)

I need to be more careful picking up ties...

The whole thing took about 5 hours to complete. I took my time with this, and didn't use bad pieces of rail that were miscut, etc.

When done, it passed all electrical tests

And hows it work? Well, here ya go! 

That looks great!

That looks great! Very encouraging to see you making trackwork like that so quickly after starting up with hand laying!

Was keeping that outside rail from being kinked or damaged as you did each turnout an issue?

Chris

Was keeping that outside

I didn't even consider it! Now that you've mentioned it, of course, I will probably have problems with the next one!

Nose to the grindstone

I had some time today and yesterday, and managed to get a fair amount of work done.

With the yard ladder in place,and I was certain on how it fit, I felt comfortable enough running ties for the yard.

Besides ties, I also go another 3 turnouts put together, including the two in the lower left corner of this picture.

Looking back from the yard entrance. You can see another completed cross over to the upper right. After this, just one more cross over, and the yard turnouts are done.

Close up view of the ties that are in place.

Looking good!

Keep the photos coming.  Its really getting me motivated to want to get started on mine.  Only a few more weeks left before I order my FastTracks jig!  Lots to do in the meantime, though.   

Last set of turnouts

I'm finally done with the turnout construction for this section - This is the last of the turnouts - not a true cross over, but instead the diverging rails of the right hand No. 5 lead into the main route of the left hander.

They in turn are fed from a code 83 No. 6 off the mainline.

With that done, I started laying cross ties.

And, of course, I ran out of crossties, I'm going to estimate I'll need another 1000 to finish up this area (2000 already down). They also seem to be in short supply at the train shops - does anyone know why? Even Fast Tracks is out until June!

With the ties down, I started soldering and feeding the frog wires on the turnouts. I first drilled a hole, than soldered a 12 inch piece of wire to the bottom of each frog. 

I'd like to get the rest of the electric prepped (holes drilled, etc), so I can begin painting the ties this week. Yup, you heard me right- I'm not staining the wood ties (although I may stain them first in case of chipping), but I'm going to paint them and the turnouts per Tim's method. Per that end, I finally broke down and ordered an airbrush compressor from  Micro Mark (I've had an aztec for 4 years, only used it once....)

Why everybodys out of sticks

according to a couple Hobby shop owner friends of mine that specialize in Railroading only They Say:

Everybody is hand laying track from Z to G!! For the past 7 years it's become harder and harder to get the import track shipped to the states. Now alot of Model railroaders have gotten back into hand laying track. Go to almost any Hobby shop in the U.S.and you will find they don't have a very large supply of anything in the way of track and the separate rails and ties are the same. The first 4 months of this year none of the manufactures were expecting the rush on Rails, ties and ready made track. Now the stock piles are depleted and they have all but run out and are back into production to fill all the unexpected orders. give it a month and the shelves will be full again. The 2 owners both said the same thing when the economy takes a dump the Model railroad industries booms and supplies become scarce. Everybody is home building railroads.

Dan

ties---How about CVT

Central Valley Model Works has tie strips in stock.

I used to handlay with wood ties & PC ties, but after starting to use the CVT plastic tie strips, I'm not going back to wood.

I find that they're easier to lay, and the detail is incredible.  All this started after viewing Joe's switch assembly forum on Siskiyou Lines.  I did a price comparison versus bought switches.  It was an easy decision.

CVT

I plan on getting a couple of CVT turnouts the next time I put down track, which will be after this section. Per the wood ties, my friends at Caboose Hobbies were able to come through with a bag that will let me finish this area.

Thanks for the reminder!

Ties

Scarpia have you tried Kappler Mill & Lumber Co. They sell scale lumber and ties in almost every scale.

That's actually what's being sent

That's actually what's being sent from Caboose Hobbies, so I'm interested in seeing how they compare. They're a bit more expensive than ME though, 1000 ties is just under $20, which is about 25-30% more expensive. I guess in the long run though half a penny per tie isn't a big deal.

i must say, and I'm sure this is no surprise to anyone, that Caboose Hobbies has been really nice to deal with. I know there maybe cheaper dealers online, but they're knowledgeable and very helpful.

Now they just need to advertise here....

Backdrop and Power

I had some time yesterday, so I took Chris's advice and got a back in place.

I picked up a piece of 1/4 inch hardboard for the background and fascia. Here is the background in place along the lower lever. The "cleats" you see are where I intend on attaching the cardboard strips. I'll paint above those.

More Background Work

I  broke out the new airbrush compressor, and hit the backdrop along the middle 80%.

After a coat of white, and than blue and gray drifting in an out along the top edge (I dont intend on this being a major focal piont, just an accent), I decided to cut some cardboard strips. to represent the back side hills.

Attached with hot glue, the edge was a bit closer to the track than I had hoped. In this case, it will work ok

But for the next section, I added another piece of cardboard to push back the hill slop a bit, and added masking tape over the grid. I think this picture does a better job showing the hills and back drop. Note that the slope is steeper than I would like, but with a limited depth, well, there you are.

Distance to backdrop & fascia

Yes, this serves to illustrate for me exactly what Joe was trying to tell me when he warned me about planning track that is too close to backs and edges.  In planning I see it can be misleading, where you think you have left plenty of space but when you go to do the scenery you wish you had left more room.  Something I'll have to keep in mind.  In much of my early planning I had spacing that would require a near vertical contour for the landscape between backdrop and track.  Not so bad if the area is rock but not really desireable in most cases either.  Thanks for the reminder.