Great start

Great start! What kind of wood did you use for the ends? Is this HOn3?

cool

I like it nice style

Looks somewhat like the old

Looks somewhat like the old Gumstump and Snowshoe RR.  However, your grade from 0" to 4" looks to be somewhere near 6%, not allowing for vertical transitions between the switches.  With smooth vertical transitions, I'm betting your ruling grade will near 8% as designed.  Hope you take this into account with your plan modifications because that grade will be very tough for any model to climb.

Chuck

Construction

Hi @Verne;

The plywood is high grade 5 layer plywood, to keep it stable. I was in HOn3 for years, but I have moved to Sn3. I have a collection of PBL 2 and 3 truck Shays, Heislers and a Climax. Good luck with your new HOn3 layout.

@PRR1950-CAW

The track plan has been re-designed a few times since the sketch above. Yes I realize those grades would be too steep, even for a Shay. On my old layout my grade was 1 inch rise per 2 feet. The Sn3 Shays would chug up this grade with no problem.

--Bill B.

Grade not so bad

The 0-4" is over 7.5 feet is looks like. That's 4.4%

The 4" to 6" is over 11 feet and works to 1.5%

Certainly in the range of logging roads.

Nice Carpentry

Well done on the carpentry!

I like the inclusion of a wye in the plan, it will prove to be useful to keep the interesting side of the shay in view.

Are you going to leave it free standing, or attach it to a wall?

Very well thought out

This looks like a very well thought out project with simple yet interesting enough operations to keep an operate busy for quite some time, especially with the speed of the equipment. I am also a big fan of modular model railroads, for if you want to display or have to move you are not having to throw anything away.

I look forward to updates on your progress.

Thanks for the feedback

Yes, I am still in the carpentry phase. I hired a professional carpenter and used quality wood to help me with the construction. Hopefully these modules will be used over and over again. The modules are free standing and will not be attached to the wall. Once they are bolted together, they are quite sturdy. They will be in a spare bedroom, so I did not want to chew up the walls. Plus when I move in a few years I can unbolt the modules and load them into the moving van.

Logging railroads normally had a Y or a balloon track to turn the engines. A lot of times the tracks were temporary in the camp areas and once the area was played out, they moved on. So they had few permanent structures. Many of the camp buildings were on trucks and moved by rail from camp to camp.

It is a good chance that scenes will change over time as the big trees are cut down and smaller trees are planted. The only area that will be permanent will be the 6 foot module with the mill and machine shops.

As my track plan matures it will have a lot of winding switchbacks to gain elevation and a few abandoned areas where the rails have been pulled up but the ties are still there.

I am limited by the 2 foot depth, so I plan on using some HO structures as forced perspective. (I model in Sn3 which is between HO and O scale, not too big, not too small)

I also plan on having some drop down scenes and/or rollaway scenes that can be attached to the modules during operations. The Y might be moved to a dropdown, that will be lifted up and supported with folding legs during ops. The modules will also have a skirt all around to keep all of my mess hidden and things neat and tidy.

--Bill B.

This is excellent!

There was quite the discussion a week or so back concerning the state of exhibition layouts in North America versus some of the other nations with large model railroading contingents. Would be great to see this at a show. Please consider lugging the setup to a show to exhibit it for all to see. If all of your wiring will be contained within the base than you could just set it on banquet tables at the show.

Bill,   Very nice i like what

Bill,   Very nice i like what your doing.  I would like to see more pictures of your bench-work and how the back looks and how you did the top valance.  Craig

Progress update

Money well spent

For that kind of quality I'd say that it was money very we'll spent. Looking forward to see the progress.

Wow! I just looked at the Flicker page..............Charlie's layout is spectacular.

Corner module progress

The corner module will tie the other modules together. Things are coming along.

--Bill B.

A little more progress on the corner

A little more progress on the corner. Things need to be square and true.

Continued progress of the corner module

Continued progress of the corner module.

I did shadow boxes also

Hello, I started my On3 layout about six years ago, and decided from the start that I would use shadow boxes. I realized I could not fit everything into my space of 14x22 feet in O scale, so I decided to model my favorite scenes. Each shadow box has a dedicated scene. For instance, I wanted a big curved trestle and that went into the corner box. Each box will represent a certain scene or mile marker on the railroad. So when you are at the trestle you are at mm 16 on the line, you go into a tunnel and come out into the next box which is a 12 foot long mountainous scene and you are at mm 31. This has worked out really well, I will try to figure out how to post pictures here. OK I have tried to include a short video of my loco running thru the two shadow boxes discussed above. Hope this works. I can further explain how I made them etc if anyone is interested. JD.

More Shadoe Boxes

Let me see if I can post some photos of my shadow boxes under construction. I have a table saw which helps a lot. All the lumber is poplar which you can get at Lowe's. It does not cost much more than pine and its a much more stable lumber, nice and straight and tight grained. I used 1x4 for the bottom and upper frame except for the front upper and lower pieces which are 1x6. I used two 1x3 pieces for each corner, glued together in and L shape. I did biscuit all the joints together for strength. For the top I used basic 1/4 inch thick plywood. The reason I used the 1x6 is because I wanted to be able to cut the bottom front piece in a random up and down contour to simulate the ground. On the top, I did a 45 degree bevel to the bottom of the upper piece, and to this I glued 1/8 inch masonite. The masonite angles into the box and keeps the lights that are screwed to the bottom of the plywood top from blinding you. I also cut dado joints every two feet into the front and back pieces, on the inside, to accept cross braces. This provides rigidity so the box wont rack or twist, and also for risers etc. I painted the boxes black, and had my mom make curtains out of black sail cloth that extend from the bottom edge of the front piece down to the floor. So when the box is lit up, it almost looks like it is floating. Your eyes are drawn to what is inside the box, a trick I learned from museums. The only mistake I made and would change is the 45 degree bevel on the top front piece. Because it angles back into the box, it blocks a bit of light. Next time I will angle it the other way and have the angled piece extend out into the aisle. It will still shade your eyes but not block the lighting in the shadow box. Ok, lets see if I can get some pictures here.  

Hey JD,

Hey JD, yep, you are one of the inspirations for building a shadow box layout. I like how the eye is drawn into the scene.

I have not seen your layout for a while, I think the last time I was down there, I was with Jake Johnson and you were having a birthday party.

Create a BLOG and let us know what you are up to.

--Bill Beverly

Hey Bill, I didnt know this

Hey Bill, I didnt know this was you. Your boxes look very good. Im going to tear this one down and redo it. It was my first layout and I made some mistakes. Plus, the daughter is finally moving out and her room is right next to the garage! Since we (my wife) have decided to stay here in retirement, I told her I am taking over that room and tunneling thru the wall. I like how you went to the extra expense and used quality wood and quality construction. I have always believed in that....most guys use the cheapest wood or scraps they can find and then put thousands of dollars of models on it. It does not cost much more to use wood like poplar or good plywood.

The thing I want to correct on my boxes is at the top front. I beveled it and have the six inch piece of masonite going into the box. It blocks light from getting to the very front edge of the box. While at O Scale West I saw the McKenzie brothers portable Sn3 layout, and their light blocking piece faces outward. Big difference and improvement! I notice that you have your piece coming straight down, so you should be fine in that regard also. I will check into how to start a blog here and post my progress when I start the do over. It should be in a few months. Keep up the good work!! JD.

Update on the corner module

This is a picture of test fitting the backdrop on the corner module. The modules are designed to fit through the bedroom door which is 28 inches wide with the door open. In order to get the 4 feet by 4 feet corner module through the door, the back drop needs to be removable so it can be turned on its side. The other modules have a non-removable backdrop.

--Bill B.

River bridge

River Bridge

Hi @wp.lives

Even though this will be based on the WSLCo, it will be more of a free lance. As I play with the track diagram it seems to change by the day. 

Not sure how much of a vertical elevation I will actually have. I normally keep the elevation change to 1 inch per 2 feet. I need at least 3 inches of track clearance for the engine to pass under the bridge at the Y. The Kickitat Shay has a tall stack. So I might have to do some switch backs to gain elevation.

I only have 2 feet on depth to the layout. I wanted the modules to fit through the bedroom door, which is 28 inches with the door all the way open. The backdrop structure is 3 inches, so 24 + 3 = 27 inches, which give me a inch to spare through the door. I want to be able to remove these modules when I move. (Lessons learned)

--Bill B. 

Whatever you do.....

try not to move that wye out of the corner...... I love it right there. Great focal pont!

MIchael

Corner