Rick McClellan's Northern Division

Discussion in 'Divisions' started by Rick McClellan, Jul 15, 2008.

  1. Rick McClellan

    Rick McClellan 2009 Engineer of the Year

    Keith Robinson came over last night and we put the finishing touches on the |-|Tulsa Cherokee Sub staging yard. Except for the entrance switches, the track, bus, feeders are are in. This allowed us to get some |-|Ash Grove Sub benchwork in above the staging yard. We are now in a position to get in the balance of the |-|Ash Grove sub and start building Nichols Jct.

    I have a few photos to show the progress. The first photo is a shot of most of the Tulsa Cherokee Sub staging. It also shows the Ash Grove Sub benchwork above. The second shot illustrates my highly advanced engineering skills and the early stages of design of Nichols Jct. I found that despite countless hours drawing and redrawing track diagrams, it's hard to beat laying the track down and seeing how it all fits. Or doesn't fit. The third pic shows the Ash Grove Sub curve into Nichols Jct. The fourth photo shows the entrance to the Tulsa Cherokee Sub. Switches will be installed when the Cherokee Sub is installed.
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 27, 2010
  2. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Rick, thanks for the updates. It's nice to see a landmark spot like Nichols Junction coming to life. Will you be modeling the train order office there?

    Best Regards,
     
  3. Sirfoldalot

    Sirfoldalot Frisco.org Supporter Frisco.org Supporter

    As to be expected, Rick, looks like #1 grade work. Hopefully, some day I will get to see it in person. I wish that I could enlarge your latest photos - but I cannot make them larger. Did you do something different in your posting of them?
     
  4. Rick McClellan

    Rick McClellan 2009 Engineer of the Year

    Problem corrected, photos available for viewing. Thanks.
     
  5. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Rick -

    Thanks for the fix. I wanted to blow up pic #2 to study your advanced engineering techniques!

    Lookin' good! You have quite a Frisco railroad empire going down there.

    Ken
     
  6. Sirfoldalot

    Sirfoldalot Frisco.org Supporter Frisco.org Supporter

    Thanks, Rick, for the quick fix. Just realized that with years of wood working I had not thought to use plywood for the bench work grid. Sometimes simple (no warping) things just are overlooked.

    I cannot wait to see that crossover in action! If you get a train to traverse that, I have to see it in action! LOL
     
  7. Rick McClellan

    Rick McClellan 2009 Engineer of the Year

    The mainline track on the Ash Grove Sub is now in along with the initial phase of Nichols Jct. so I took a few photos of the progress.

    The first photo shows the Ash Grove sub above the Tulsa Cherokee Sub Staging look north. I am not finished with this portion of the Ash Grove Sub. At present, it is open running until I find something to put in here like the grain elevator at Elwood, Ash Grove or something else. I tried to shoehorn Lockwood in here but I couldn't do it justice.

    The second picture shows the same section of the Ash Grove Sub looking south towards Nichols Jct. Until we build benchwork in Springfield, this single track will serve as Springfield staging.

    The third shot shows the initial phase of Nichols Jct. looking east. The track to the left is the Ash Grove Sub. I plan on handlaying the turnout off of the Ash Grove Sub to the passenger main, the diamond and the turnout from the passenger to the Cherokee Sub. The double crossover at Nichols will be commercial Atlas turnouts. Springfield Yard will be just beyond the hole in the wall. klrwhizkid sez he is coming over next week to help get about half of the SY benchwork in. This is cool.

    The fourth picture shows the relationship between Nichols Jct. and the Cherokee Sub Staging. A single loop desending line will connect Nichols with Tulsa. It may be a wicked 4% grade but three powered units can handle a 30 car train upgrade.

    The final shot is Nichols looking west and the Ash Grove Sub bending NW towards Elwood. You have probably noticed that I use plywood for subroadbed and foam for the scenery areas. The foam can be carved easily with my 99 cent steak knife. You will also notice that I put all the foam and the poultry netting in place before operating. Even the best operators can have a derailment so installing some landform (immediately) was an absolute requirement.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 3, 2010
    geep07 and Ozarktraveler like this.
  8. Iantha_Branch

    Iantha_Branch Member

    Great to hear some progress from ya. Two questions: How is Lamar coming along Rick? And I forget, which one is Nichol's jct?
     
  9. Sirfoldalot

    Sirfoldalot Frisco.org Supporter Frisco.org Supporter

  10. Rick McClellan

    Rick McClellan 2009 Engineer of the Year

    Springfield Yard construction is underway and I have a few photos as evidence.

    The first photo is the west end of the yard looking east. The bowl tracks will vary from 20-22 ft down to about 15 ft. The R & D tracks should be about 35 ft. This should accomodate the main purpose of the Springfield Yard which was to add and cut blocks from through trains. The Division St underpass will be about where the plywood top starts in the photo. The distance from the doorway to the breaker panel at the end of the room is 44 ft.

    The second photo is the east end of the yard and we still need some plywood top here. It is about 30 ft from this point to the wall. Keith is admiring our work and tingling from the splinters we caught in our hands. One of the great side benefits of our work is NO LEGS on the layout so we will be able to nap under the layout when the carpet is laid. For those wondering about the doorway, I will create a tempered hardboard cover for it and paint it the same color as the backdrop.

    The third photo show the door I made for my water supply entrance to the house. Not beautiful but it does cut down on the attention drawn by the hole and all the piping, valves, insulation,etc. I will paint the bottom section buff to match the lower colors of the walls.

    Special thanks to Keith Robinson for giving me 6 hours of hard work and ingenuity yesterday. I think there will be paint and track in SY before today is done. I can't wait to see a 30 car train sitting there.


    Keith's note: The two of us are benchwork-building machines as friscofriend (Bob Hoover) will attest. I appreciate the opportunity to hone my building skills in preparation for building my own benchwork.
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 15, 2010
  11. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Rick, things are looking great. I recall your advice about carpet in the layout room. As it turns out at the new house, there was sufficient carpeting left over at our new house to make for both a comfortable place for crews to stand, and for napping under the layout if I can swing what you guys did in Photo #2. It looks like you cantelivered the 30" wide section?

    Keith, I propose dubbing thee "The Benchwork Dynamo."

    Best Regards,
     
  12. Rick McClellan

    Rick McClellan 2009 Engineer of the Year

    Yep we cantilevered 30" wide benchwork. same as Rosedale and 19th St Yard. It is very strong, stable and straight. Not sure I would recommend cantilevering anything wider than 30".

    All dubbing shall be done with a 1" x 4".
     
  13. Sirfoldalot

    Sirfoldalot Frisco.org Supporter Frisco.org Supporter

    Only have a one word comment - Impressive!

    How about a photo of the construction of the cantilever?
    What I mean is .. does it have an angle support, or is it just attached to the wall?
     
  14. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    We shall wait until Keith has finished his benchwork and yours, too, lest the knighting cause irreparable damage.
     
  15. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Sherrel, when we say the benchwork is cantilevered off the wall, we mean that the rear rim of the benchwork box is fastened to the wall with screws running into the studs and the outer section is actually cantilevered off of a diagonal brace that butts the wall and connects to one of the cross-pieces of the box.
    Take a look at the pictures on the following links for some idea, in lieu of a good picture of the brace.

    http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=9860&d=1262274834

    http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=9868&d=1262299624
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 16, 2010
  16. FriscoFriend (Bob Hoover RIP 4/12/2018)

    FriscoFriend (Bob Hoover RIP 4/12/2018) Passed Away April 12, 2018 Frisco.org Supporter

    When you are in the same room with these two you need to put on a pair of goggles, stand back (in my case sit down), and watch the sawdust fly. It's a sight to behold!
     
  17. SAFN SAAP

    SAFN SAAP Member

    Great work! I wish I had that size room to build a layout. I'd be in train heaven! Keep it up and don't hold back on the pics! I'm a regular pic guru and I love 'em! Wish I was closer to you guys so I could participate with you. I'm an excellent carpenter.
     
  18. Sirfoldalot

    Sirfoldalot Frisco.org Supporter Frisco.org Supporter

    That is exactly what I was asking about. Thanks!
    Yes, 30" is streching it!
     
  19. Rick McClellan

    Rick McClellan 2009 Engineer of the Year

    A few more photos . . .

    The first photo is under SY showing the cantilever bracing. This mounting system is surprisingly strong even though we are using 1"x 4" lumber.

    The second photo shows the west end of the yard looking east. You will notice that SY is cleverly disguised as a staging yard.

    The last photo is about the middle of the SY bowl looking west. Nichols Jct is through the doorway on the right.
     

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  20. SAFN SAAP

    SAFN SAAP Member

    Great work! I love watching this build. I dream of having a room like that for trains! God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll have it! Keep up the great work. Love the wall portal.
     

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