Frisco River Division - Cape Girardeau Southwestern

Looks like you are doing a great job Keith, I am very excited for you. I know you been wanting this for a long time. I am glad to see you "Get IT Going" I can see the soldered on ties, but cannot see any spikes in the other ties.

 

If you don't count the cost of the jigs, and tools, then each turnout comes out at about $11.00 each. But cost is not the main deciding factor; in the end you have a turnout that cars glide through and are electrically superior. Incidentally, I spent $421 on all the tools and enough rail, pc ties and wood ties to build 15 Number 4.5 turnouts initially, but knowing that I would probably build around 40 to 50 of them. Also, I have access to jigs and tools for other sizes in the local community of modelers. I am borrowing Number 6 jig and tools from my friend Stephen Priest and have already built a couple of those.

There are no spikes, I am using Pliobond contact cement to attach the rails to the wood ties per FastTracks prescribed method. It holds very well. I will probably spike some, but not all, following in Louis Houck's footsteps, especially on the MoP spur since that was all originally the Cape Girardeau Northern, a Houck line.

 

No spikes or fish plates, yeap that's a Houck line....Roger

 

Exactly why I had to modify flex track to appear more rickety on the Zalma Branch. Wish I had handlaid the track.
Keep the photos coming, Keith.

 

Beginning Sept 12, I will start having regular, weekly Wednesday work sessions on my layout. I will be enlisting the aid of the vast reserves of layout building manpower here in KC, so it will go pretty fast. I will post updates on this layout thread. The area of first bench work construction will be the Cape Girardeau riverfront up to Sloan's Creek and then Cape Rock and the MoP spur into western Cape (background right on first picture).

 

Sounds like Louis Houck!

 

I appreciate the homage to a great man. I somewhat fit the profile but slightly better financed...

 

No quick and shoddy trackwork on your layout! I’ve read about Houck passenger trains making folks get off and walk across some of the bridges. That’s scary!

 

Today, big work session. Model railroading friends Mike Borkon and Don Ball came to the house for lunch of homemade pasta sauce, spaghetti and mostaccioli, and Parmesan/garlic bread before helping me get bench work on a roll. Late in the afternoon, Don and Mike had to leave. Stephen Priest and Rick McClellan came by for a pasta dinner and then worked until about 8:30.

 

Keith, I very much appreciate the cleanliness and orderliness of the layout room pre-benchwork. It's something I should have done before I started building, and something I hope to remedy with my new go-around.

This Swampeast Missourian is really looking forward to seeing this layout plan come to life.

Nice to see that Rick's hard at work. Tell him we missing seeing his peanut butter avatar.

 

Oh, what you don't see...

 

I see no peanut butter any where!!

 

Rick must have finished that huge jar of Peter Pan creamy Caroline and I gave him .... but that was a few years ago!

Ken

 

Here's a better look at what will be the duck-under to get to the MoP Spur in western Cape. The table top is 52" off the floor. Supporting the span is a 2" wide strip of 3/4" plywood at both sides. Once the wiring is complete, a span of masonite will be fastened to the support strips parallel to the table top. This will protect backs and heads ducking under the span. The last picture on post #71 is the vertical surface protected with masonite as well. On top, there will be a 18" high view block 17 3/8" from the front edge of the benchwork made with 3/4" plywood fastened on edge to the tabletop. It will add rigidity as well.

 

Significant progress tonight; Rick McClellan came over and we got the track laid out for the MoP Spur west of the William Street Grade crossing. The small yard is where the MoP Freight House will be. I have spots for SEMO Building Supply Co, Polack Hide & Fur (scrap yard), Riverside West Lumber Company, Missouri Utilities Pole Yard and Todt Steel, Superior Electric Corporation, L.H. Landgraf Lumber Company, the MoP Freight House and yard, and Energy Coal Company. Next I will pull the track and glue all but the switches to the benchwork using DAP Dynaflex 230 Adhesive Caulk. I will drill holes in the benchwork for actuator rods for all the turnouts so I can use Blue Point Switch machines, Tortoises, R/C servos or MTB MP-1 Switch motors. I will spike down the turnouts.

 

Looks Great Keith. But, I see no peanut butter anywhere!