The week building continues the helix and staging yards are first. The helix is a 2 and 1/2 turn on a 1.7% grade with the outside radius bing 37 inch and the inside 34 inch. But wait for it.... yes through a wall one side in my wood shop and the other in the layout room. Here are a few photos.

Mike

Six months in the new house and the layout is started! Just an update on the progress.

Hope you enjoy

Mike

• Two version of the New Colorado Front range RR

• The New Colorado Front Range

• Colorado Front Range RR...Foreground trees!

• New Foreground trees

We are getting closer to a finished plan had a great idea about the staging track from a friend that will make maintenance easier and help with the grade. this new plane will get the visible grade on the layout @ 1.1% and the ruling grade in the helix @ 1.7%. Not sure about Palmer Lake have another idea that I am kicking around for that space but still the same basic track configuration. (additional view in post)

Mike

Four days of drawing, going over my list of what must be on the layout and what I could drop from the layout. Here is what I come up with so far. The layout will have freight and passenger service in 1959. the Joint line is South of Denver going to Palmer Lake. The Colorado and Southern is north of Denver to Longmont. 

For me when starting a new railroad (this will be my 14th) I like to start with the bench work. What will fit in the space, how big are the aisleways, setting minimum mainline radius for the layout. As I model the prototype i then work to fit that into the space I have set. The nice think about a large layout is moving a inch or two here or there I can do as long as I keep my minimums. so with that thought here are two idea I have for the new space one with the thought less is more.

Well we made are move across the country and here is a  look at the new site of the new Colorado Front Range.

New Video on how I make my foreground and a look at the street run in Longmont Colorado on the layout. Hope you find it helpful.

Mike

I sure that wire armature trees are nothing new, but I used latex to coat the wire. This makes the armature still flexible even after 3 year. Here are some of the trees on Atwater street in Longmont on my layout.

Just a short video with all the working parts working together to make the wig wag work.