Two Worlds RR
Hi all,
I'd like to share with you the start, progress and re-start on my eclectic HO scale layout.
A rr modeller since I was a child, I've been interested in US-themed rr's since the early 1990's. SoCal/Cajon Pass and the Santa Fe /BNSF transition era was to be the theme for my layout, had I not fallen into a great appreciation for the south of France and the French railways.
How to accommodate all of this in a single layout?
Well, I tried. One side of the layout has 2 levels, on top there is Southern California (inspired by Pelle Soeborg's layout), on the bottom level there's France with a small town and its station, and the hidden staging.
The other side of the layout hosts a Cargill grain elevator which could be either in Europe or in the US, depending on the operating sessions.
It may sound a bit confusing, here are a couple of screenshots of the preliminary plan.
The basic structure was up when I found out humidity and moss were damaging part of a wall, and reaching that spot for fixing it required taking down 3/4 of the layout.
See the far corner on the left? the most inaccessible one of them all...
I tried to think positive: that was my chance to re-do the layout structure.
I decided to use plywood instead of solid wood. And most importantly I decided to go modular so that if we ever move I just need to use a wrench, not a chainsaw.
And, as of last weekend everything you see in the above photo has been disassembled and I put together the first 2 modules. There will be a total of 2 single-level and 4 double-level modules.
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On the previous structure I focused on speed, I just wanted to lay some tracks and start running trains. (wrong approach, I know)
On the new modular structure I'm focusing on a precise and solid benchwork, taking my time and doing things properly. So far I'm very happy with it.
Next weekend will be fight-the-moss day, once that's taken care of I will continue with the layout.
Oh, I forgot to mention I live in NW Italy!
Ciao,
Guido
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Double deck in place
As of last weekend, the 4 modules making up the double-level part of the layout are built and bolted together. The boards for the bottom level and the hidden staging are in place, and the neoprene roadbed is in place.
Next step, I'll start laying the hidden staging tracks.
Cheers,
Guido
Layout base supports
Interesting conceptually, but I am really interested to know what the metal base is. From here, it looks like shelf standards but self-supporting.
Did you make it or can you buy it in Italy?
thanks
It's Ikea! Well, it was...
It's something you could buy anywhere in the world. Ikea Broder was an awesome line of legs (40cm or 60cm long), vertical studs (1mt or 2mt tall) and brackets (short and long), strong and pretty cheap, they stopped producing it in 2011.
I bought aenough for my layout around 2010, and only found out it was out of production when I looked for more in 2013. They're difficult to come by on eBay, I found a guy about 100 miles from me who was selling some but was asking an outrageous price.
Update
After a couple of months of standby, I can finally show some progress on my layout.
I started laying the tracks in the hidden staging yard. And, most importantly, I defined the electrical system for the staging yard.
Following the suggestions from another thread on this forum I'm making 2 control panels, one at each end of the hidden staging, with a button to turn on/off each of the 3 tracks. This way if I mistype the address of a locomotive I don't risk making a big mess.
The same panels will also carry the push buttons to set the itineraries. Press 1 (1st track) and it aligns the switches to enter/exit the first track. I'm using dcc, and a frind of mine noted this is a very "analog" way of doing things. But, I like to keep things simple, and I don't want to have a pc running all the time to control switches, track power, etc.
All hidden switches are powered using Peco pl-10 switch machines. Some turnouts are Peco (very sturdy and reliable), some are Piko (cheaper, but with a few twicks can be made reliable too. And the Peco pl-10 fits on the pretty easily too).
Guido
suggestion...
Consider editing the image properties in your posts and setting the width to 750.
- Bill
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Modeling the BNML in HO Scale, Admin for the RailPro User Group, & owner of Precision Design Co.
Done! Thanks Bill
Done!
Thanks Bill
Wow!
Thanks for posting this! Seeing it has given me several different ideas on how to build lower track staging on my new layout that I was having trouble designing!
Tim Latham
Mississippi Central R.R. "The Natchez Route"
HO Scale 1905 to 1935
https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/blog/timlatham
With the wife and son gone
With the wife and son gone for the weekend the layout saw some big progress.
The hidden staging is complete and, well, hidden! The benchwork for the top level is in place. Each section is hinged at the back so that I can access the underside or the hidden staging, and I will use screws to hold them in place.
The idea is that I can reach the hidden staging from blelow, I left enough space to stick my head through, but if anything major should happen I can loosen the screws and lift a portion of benchwork for easier access.
For those interested, you can
For those interested, you can take a look at the base module structure I used. Here's a 3D pdf:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14716476/Base%20Module.pdf
In the last few days there was more progress: the last module is in place, it will carry one end of the removable bridges, and I started laying the tracks at the exit of the staging yard.
The roadbed for the hidden tracks is 5mm-thick neoprene, the visible tracks will use cork.
The removable bridges are a laser-cut structure I designed, there you only see one end. The bridges span about 20", from one side to the other of the access aisle.
Despite the heath wave, work
Despite the heath wave, work is proceeding.
Track laying on the hidden staging yard is complete (I just need to cut the tracks across the last 2 modules), and I started finalizing the structure for the top level.
Here you can see the exit of the hidden staging, the track on the left will go to the bottom level station.
This one shows the top level. On th eright, the end part of the top level. Just before crossing onto the corner module the double track line starts descending. The grade has a break on the conrner module where there will be a grade crossing, then it starts descending again.
That's all for now!
Enjoy your summer,
Guido