A move this summer effectively halted work on my recreation of CN's Waterloo spur running between Kitchener and Elmira, ON. Since the basement in our new home would require some finishing, I started thinking about building an Inglenook switching layout to practice techniques and to hopefully retain the interest of my eldest son. Somehow he doesn't understand how it can take months/years to build a layout. Go figure.
In casting about for prototype inspiration I came back across Trevor Marshall's insightful Achievable Layouts blog, and the CN Pine Street spur in Thorold, ON caught my eye. I realized that I could build the mill complex in full length in an 18" wide x 12' plus switching lead/staging length. The fact that my son played baseball just blocks away and I could easily investigate the location and take pictures and measurements of the existing buildings sealed the deal.
Taking inspiration from some British websites as well as the NC Sipping & Switching Society's waffle module construction, I build three very lightweight 18" x 4' modules using 1/4" luaun plywood topped with 2" foam. The modules are aligned with the S&S Society's 1" aluminium tube concept. Rather than handlaying track, I opted for 4 Peco #8 code 83 turnouts due to their availability and the handy over-centre spring which will dispense for any need for switch machines or ground throws, paired with Micro Engineering flex track.
I had a target of bringing the layout to a local trains show in early November, so to keep construction moving I printed out the Google maps covering the mill, sized to HO scale and cropped to 18" x 12', and laid them on top of the foam. This allowed me to lay the trackwork and buildings out with no guesswork. Here we see it on our kitchen floor:
The ground dimensions of each of the buildings were then cut to size from Gator Board and glued to the foam at the appropriate elevations. In tandem with photos on the fascia, I find it really helps me visualize the elements of the scene and works as a bridge to when I will have time to mock up some 3D buildings.
I also chose to dispense with conventional wiring on this layout and purchased a Tam Valley's DRS1 receiver and transmitter pair. For the sake of simplicity I installed the receiver, LiPo battery, and a SoundTraxx Sound Car decoder and speaker in a 50' boxcar with a jumper to allow operation with any of my diesels. All I have to do to make any engine in my fleet compatible is remove the truck pickup wires and replace them with a jumper that exits the endplate beside the coupler.
Going forward my plan is to remove the can motor and weights from a diesel that I figure I'll use most, for example a CN GP9-RM that gets used everywhere, and use that space to hold the battery and receiver while maintaining a DCC sound decoder and speaker. In this way I can pair it with multiple engines for variety and no one will be the wiser that the engine is not pulling, because it will still sound like it is.
There's nothing like a deadline to keep one working, and I managed to get enough done to take the layout to the Ancaster train show in early November. It set up extremely quickly, and trains were running through my laptop/Sprog/WiThrottle in no time.
The biggest attention-getter by far was the battery power, due to its novelty. The 800 mAh battery I used was good for about 3 hours of switching before being swapped out for a charge.
There was also interest regarding the modular benchwork, both in terms of the narrowness (18" does not sound like a lot of real estate, but it offers plenty of room for both track and scenery), as well as the trackwork across the joints. I used butt joints, and was brave (foolish?) enough to place a switch over a joint, with no issues experienced during the day's operation.
The modules are now in my basement awaiting the roads and ballast being added as the next step. I'm also going to try my hand at using photos on Gatorboard for the buildings. Stay tuned.
Robin Talukdar
waterloospur.blogspot.ca
