Scouting the Paper Trail

Scouting the Paper Trail

With the materials gathered in place, its time to get working. I use Empire Express for the Mac, and it has the option to print out your plan in a one to one ratio. I have a real need to get as much of this right the first time, so for me, printing out a paper copy and trying it on for size was vital.

The plan prints out in a series of single sheets,

Building up the overall plan in 1-1 is kind of fun, actually. Part puzzle work, it's nice to see it take shape in "real time"

The Paper Trail, cont.

Once the whole side (template) was put together, it was time to take a look at it from a spacing standpoint.

I pulled a car out of the storage box, and first checked to see if the RIP track was really going to work (I had concerns on it's length.

Good to see you back into it!

 Thomas,

So glad to see you back and straight into it, looking forward to catching up and seeing your progress on my nightly fix of MRH!

Like the "Empire Builder program" being able to print you layout 1 to 1, and will have to invest in something like this for when I begin laying track.

Welcome back, and keep posting with what will surely be another great construction blog...

Cheers,

Jason...

WOOT Scarp's back!

The track planning process is cool - I think several of the available and popular programs allow you to print plas full sized.  I should try it with my version of RTS to see if I can get the plans for the remaining sections of benchwork before I install them.

Looking forward to your continued adventures.

Scarpia Got his Chain saw taken away by Customs !!

So this Layout is for real. His fantastic tale of the chain saw is Behind him and what looks to be a switching Pike in the Sky peeks it head out of the shell and is taking it's first look at the new world.

Personally I can't wait to see what it grows up to be and being a modular layout I really think we have a great build in store for here at The MRH web site.

Good luck Scarpia and I'm really happy to see your back on track.

Do you have a track plan to show us or is that what were looking at ?

Any way you look at it good luck and Happy Railroading and really glad to see you back in the building zone.

Dan

Thought there was a track

Thought there was a track plan with the MRH article he cites in the original post.

"Real" layout

@ Dan, I'm not sure if I'll ever have a "real" layout - one thing I've learned is that I can't make any long term predictions....times just change too fast. However, there's no reason to not have fun with even the temporary ones!

@Joe  you're right, there was, but here's another copy.

@Micheal, I had intended the RIP track for just a single car that spur is meant to store cabeese  - (see track M9 listed above).

The Paper Trail, cont.

So back to work on the paper trail...with that leg down and things looking mostly ok, I printed out the next side, and started lining things up.

I started from the far end, and things began progressing nicely.

I wracked my brain what may have happened. Did I mis-measure when I drew up the plan? Was the room bigger than I thought? I realized that can’t be, as the modules fit perfectly, so it must be something else....

In the middle of the night, I woke up and realized I hadn’t changed the print setup scale back to 100% from 65% (I reduce it accordingly so I can print the whole plan on a single sheet for reference). Back to the printer, and a new set of pages came out, and the old one in to the recycling bin.

Now it fits.

With the right ones printed out, it was time to cover the entire layout plan. A couple of hours of cutting and taping saw the entire railroad covered with the printed plan, which, for the most part, lined up as it should. There were a few spots that would need some care while track laying, but overall the connections were good, and things are progessing as (mostly) planned.

Nice plan

That plan is looking very good, Scarpia. Lots of switching for sure.

Roy

Fast Track Templates

Thanks Roy - I'm hoping it will!

Back to work, with the template down and now on the module tops, I decided to go a bit further with my paper model, as again, I really need to minimize my screw ups due to a lack of supplies.

A visit to the Fast Tracks website let me download and print out the turnout templates that I'll be using (in this case, HO scale 5, 6, and the 6 crossover). With those in hand, I went ahead and pasted the cut out turnout templates into their locations, right on top of the printed plan (I aligned them by centering them along each axis on the track center line the plan indicates).

The double crossover was a feature I was determined to put into this layout, regardless of it's usability. Bryon Henderson had strongly recommended against it, and after some thought I agreed to removing a second one from the original plans I was working on. Basically I'm determined to put it in as I have the Fast Tracks Jig, and I want to make one - no other reason.  In it's planned location, there would be minimal space to put it to actual use, maybe just enough room to allow a single locomotive to escape, but that's about it. Yup, that's the end of the module to the right.

Mock me, will you?

All this paper work kind of got me thinking. Why stop with the track plan and turnouts?  If placing the turnouts on the layout plan was so useful (if even for identifying where the control rods will run to the layout front), what else should I be looking at? After all, I really cannot afford to screw this up too much - getting replacement supplies is not only a challenge, but expensive as well.

I turned to the building kits I brought with me. Foam core boards is one of the things I can get locally that isn't too bad or too hard to come by, and I decided to "build" at least my main structures out of foam core while still in this planning stage.

Rich B. recently mocked up some buildings on his Chainsaw as he posted, and I think this is a fantastic idea. Mocking mine up should let me identify clearance issues and the like, long before I get to the actual assembly stage. I had identified a number of buildings that I wanted to use (and brought with me), and these include

Branchline Trains Laser Art

• Single Stall Engine House
• Creamery
• George A. Nickel's Supply
• Crosby's Coal
• Trackside Shed Kit

Campbell Scale Models

• Covered Water Tower
• Coaling Station
• Corrugated Warehouse

Creative Laser Design

• Lyndon Freight House
• Frank J. Schultz & Son
• Vern's Repair

FOS Scale Models

• Tower Two
• Shaw's Live Bait

Railroad Kits

• B.J. Scott Lumber Company

The knowledgeable reader will immediately identify that none of these kits have are representative of the Barre branch prototype; many are typical of the New England area, and one is actually from a Central Vermont Railway structure. 

The short answer is it isn't important to me to create an exact replica of the Barre branch, as much as it is to gain some experience and build some structure kits that appeal to me.  The fact that more than few should fit the visual representation I’m looking for, is an added bonus.

Now, to go get some foam core...

Foam core in hand

With foam core in hand, I grabbed the George A. Nickel's kit from Branchline off of my pile.

_{source:http://www.branchline-trains.com/laserart_structures/trackside/ho_images/nick_2.jpg}

I first checked on line to see if I could find some plans to print out, but to no avail  - I ended up having to take apart the kit and use the parts to cut rough copies from the foam core.

An hour later, here's my rough version of George A. Nickel's Supply.

One of the things I'm liking about the mock up process is that is allows you to move things around, and try different options for building sites, in addition to just checking for mundane items like track clearance.

I had envisioned this building as one part of a two piece structure, along with the B.J. Scott Lumber company on the other side of the siding, so I think it's worth it to play with the location a bit.

Hmm, this might work...

Oh no!  Scarpia has become a

Oh no!  Scarpia has become a real live FOAMER!

Charlie

3d

I like to think I'm just doing advanced virtual 3d Modeling...

Oh... I thought you were at

Oh... I thought you were at the Barre-benchwork stage...

Charlie

Charlie

So what's wrong with being a foamer?

So what's wrong with being a foamer? Or don't you like songs like 'foamer in the dell?'

Irv

I like foamer in the Dell

I like foamer in the Dell better than foamer in the Toshiba...

Charlie

Good to see the small model

Good to see the small model cars through the window!

"In the middle of the night,

"In the middle of the night, I woke up and realized I hadn’t changed the print setup scale back to 100% from 65% (I reduce it accordingly so I can print the whole plan on a single sheet for reference). Back to the printer, and a new set of pages came out, and the old one in to the recycling bin.

Now it fits."

Did this realization also resolve your earlier concern about the length of the RIP track?

Tom Hillebrant

Masking Tape Corners

Scarp-

Another great post!  Thanks for sharing it.  I have to ask however because I'm jealous of your mockups;  how do you do your corners with (what looks like) masking tape?  I know you mentioned the technique when I was struggling with my mockups but seeing it "in person" it looks a lot easier than the struggles I had gluing things together. 

How do you keep your corners square when adding the 3rd and 4th side to the models?  I have visions of things flopping around on me making a mess as I sit there cursing at the whole process.  Anything you can do to illuminate would be appreciated.

Keep up the good work on the best blog on this site!

~rb

Hello Green Mountain Boy

Scarpia, Boy was I ever surprised to read your article 22 Stories up. You see, as it turns out, I was born in Barre and graduated from Spaulding in 1969. Joined Navy, saw a bunch  of the Middle East, and Med and retired from Navy in 1990. Was in Florida at the time, and since Vermont did not have any bases close by, decided to stay in Florida. Do miss Barre, though. Fall of the year and Christmas time especially. Anyway, just wanted to touch base with you. Stay in the A/C over there; heat is brutal in the Middle East!! Ron Landry 

RIP and Tape

@Tom, no, sadly the part with the RIP was printed at 100% from the get go. It will fit one car at the moment (barely), and I may just have to live with that, but it's in the back of my head about how to even get another inch or two. I may have gotten lucky, see below.

@Rich. What you're not seeing is masking tape along the inside corners. I tape the inside first, get all four walls in place (even with the wigglies), than tape the outsides as I square it up. As you can see, I'm not stressing on the appearance that much - I just need close visual representation of what's going in.  One thing you can do if you're concerned about floppy corners, is drive toothpicks into the joint from the outside like re-bar, than cut them flush. That can help hold the joint in proper alignment.

Barre

@ Ron, Hey ron, you left the woods about the time I was born...it's funny though, how paths can be similar. I grew up on the Warren side of Roxbury Mountain; big trips for us were to the Barre-Montpelier Road for Harry's, and if I could talk my folks into it, to Coins & Hobbies in downtown Barre. The Quarry was always a favorite school field trip too.

And I ended up at NAS JAX for a while as well...

Don't expect a life like representation of Barre though with this - that's not my aim at all. I'm going to try and represent some things, like Allen Lumber, but nothing exact.

It is hot here, but it is now starting to cool down - we were able to go out for a nice walk last night, it was only 99, and there was a pleasant breeze from the water. I'm looking foward to the "winter" weather!