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Frequent poster 820 posts David Calhoun Frequent poster 820 posts
David Calhoun
PROGRESS!! The railroad is coming along with the bulk of the work almost finished. I started out by laying out sub-roadbed of luan on which paper templates of the trackplan were laid out and taped down to check the fit. After that, center lines and outlines of the track were drawn with magic marker so cuts, where necessary, could be made before firmly affixing it to wood risers at 2 inches in height to provide elevation relief where wanted.
 
Risers were installed and salvaged foam insulation sub-bed from the old railroad was put in place with a caulk type glue. The luan support base was screwed firmly  to the risers and insulation was raised to meet the luan where necessary. Some areas will have the su-roadbed angled down slightly lower than the main line. The foam insulation only needs to support lightweight track (no switch machines) and light buildings and scenery - hence the choice instead of wood everywhere adding weight. All but 5 of the switches are ground throws which means that I don't have to drill holes and attach switch machines underneath that have to be supported.
 
All the rough edges will be hidden by either fascia or scenery and necessary drilling for power wires and lights will be a minimal problem. There is (measured) plenty of room for the buildings I have selected, including the ones on the front face where the track "dips down" to a lower level siding. On the far right, near the bridge crossing to the other half of the layout, there will be a coal company with track supported by 1" high piers allowing for coal to fall to bins under the track.
 
After the hiatus for a real train trip in Switzerland in June and a visit to Hazel Jennings and Daniel in San Francisco, cork roadbed (pictured) will be installed and track laid and wired. First train is on schedule for early September.
 
bench_2.jpg nchwork1.jpg 
 
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nchwork5.jpg nchwork6.jpg nchwork7.jpg 
 
nchwork8.jpg nchwork9.jpg chwork10.jpg 
 

Chief Operating Officer

The Greater Nickel Plate
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Les Staff WEUSANDCORR Regular poster 220 posts
Les Staff WEUSANDCORR

Lookin good there

Lookin good there

Les

WEUSANDCORR est 1976     The C&NW is alive in Oz  the land Down under
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David Calhoun Frequent poster 820 posts
David Calhoun

Thanks

Finished basic sub-roadbed yesterday. Ordering switches and track for arrival iin early July when we'll begin to lay track and wire power. Am really pleased as the paper layout helped immensely with the final product - something I didn't do in the first layout and regretted as I had to "improvise" buildings and scenery that didn't quite fit. Now, there's plenty of room for tracks, buildings and scenery that will look good and actually look natural.

What C&NW era are you modeling? If the club has "extras" you might want or need, I'll see if we can get together on  helping you out. Drop a line and send some pictures too. . . 

Chief Operating Officer

The Greater Nickel Plate
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