Hello forum, it has been a while since I posted progress on my layout on here. Yotube is a wonderful thing. If you wish to see the lastest of my layout check out my channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/railfanfromiantha Now for my main point. Back in July I went to a 4x8 layout. Back in september I got a box full of sectional track for $6 on ebay. It only had like 2 working snap switches and a wye. But thanks to a kind donation from klrwizkid. I know have a yard and some sidings. The yard is 5 track and made up of #6 switches. Then on the other side there is 2 #6 turnouts to 2 grain sidings, 2 for a lumber industry and a snap switch that goes arond to a turn table next to the yard. Also I have some new addtions to me Roster since my update post in July. Purchased from El boboh is a GP38-2, a 60' auto parts box car and a gon, a cylindrical hopper purchased from Rick Mcllelan (hope I spelled that right, I'm not a good speller. I is a rednek) and 2 rail boxes from klrwizkid. LAst weekend I got some stuff on ebay. Today I recived my 3 4427 PS-CD high side covered hoppers. Thursday I got my new switcher, a MP15DC form Atlas. I got the decoder installed and running and I love it. I wish I would have bought bob's back at convention, but I wanted the GP38-2 more. I have had lot of fun putting this together, but I still have a ways to go before it's done. When I finish getting al the track working I will start on scenery. In fact I have already started one expearment with scenery. It involves kitty litter being ballast. So any way here are picutures.
Re: Redesinged layout Good start! Sounds like you're already thing about an operations-friendly design. Let's see more! Glenn in Tulsa
Re: Redesinged layout You are off to a good start, glad to see you are making progress. I highly suggest that you skip using the kitter litter. For one it is way out of scale for what you are doing and two and more importantly it will interfere wit hthe operation of your trains and turnouts. This is just a suggestion. Also never ever buy any Kitty litter at a modle railroad meet. You might get a surprise when you get it home. Please don't ask me how I know. Ha ha. Bob
Re: Redesinged layout I didn't plan on using it on the whole layout. I planed on using the WS ballast. Remember that post I had about ballast? I plan on using a fine grade mixer of mostly light gray, with a little buff and cinders mixed in. The reason I will use it around the turn table is this: I plan to use the tracks coming off the turn table as the service facility (duh). When I worked on equipment out in the shop I learned that when there is an oil spill, cover it up with kitty litter becuase it will absorb it. So I will use it there to look like they needed it for the oil spills. And it didn't interfear with the train. On the small section of track I have working I put a little bit in and worked it around and it works ok, but yes it is rather large.
Re: Redesinged layout I finished the first hopper. It turned out prety good. I didn't add all teh detail parts. Most of them were small enough I didn't want to mess with them. And Bob, there is a picture included of my kitty litter ballast. Here are some descriptions. 1. is a birds eye view of my new MP15DC with first covered hopper 2. close up of it 3. a front shot of the switcher and hopper 4. The first hopper sets with the other 2 that haven't been finished by the Iantha Shop workers 5. Is a over head shot of the piece of track with kitty litter ballast 6. a close up
Re: Redesinged layout It's looking pretty good, Ethan. In my opinion, a mill/grain elevator is always a good standard industry to be modeled. Keep up the work!
Re: Redesinged layout Ethan: Awesome job! You are really getting the idea of how to make things look prototypical. Just one more thought about the kitty litter. Bob failed to mention that it may tend to get up into your gearboxes over time and ruin your locomotives. An alternate suggestion would be to go out and find a chat road in your area (you probably read the posts about chat) and put it on a hard surface like a concrete siderock and beat it with a hammer until it is the consistancy and size that you like. You can get uniform size pieces by sifting it through a screen. Another option for realistic scenery that doesn't cost anything is to go down by a creek near your house and collect some rocks and sift them. Just a thought or two.
Re: Redesinged layout Ethan - You've made some really great progress. The Frisco covered hopper is really cool - saw many just like it in my "teens and twenties"! I also must compliment you on the placement of the grain elevator at an agle to the main track. First off, though you see a lot of grain elevators that are simply on a siding, parallel to the main line, there are (were) many out there that I've seen the are placed at an agle off of the main line - probably for a variety of reasons. From a modeling perspective, this mixes up the alignment of track and industries - makes the view of everything a little more complex and busy. You also accomplished something else: the angle of the siding and the height of the elevator completely block the view of the curve. There's a model railroading term for this, but I can't think of what it is right now. Anyway, there's an illusion of a train going, or coming, around the elevator from somewhere further away. You've inspired me, and given me some ideas, with what you've done so far. Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming! Bob McKeighan Lenexa
Re: Redesinged layout Thanks all! Mr. Hoover, I think I will be taking out the kitty litter. I did a test of a pile on a piece of card board. Once it was "dry" it was still a lot darker than it origionally was and it seem to split up into sections to make bigger rocks. I'll probably use concrete (plaster) in stead of kitty litter around the turn table. Mr. McKeighan, Thanks for pointng out the fact that it makes the layout look busier and the efect of a train coming or going in the distance. I never noticed. I put it there like that so I could fill up the most amount of cars possible. I have the spurs/sidings or what ever you want to call them set up like this: #6 turn out, 18R curve and some staights, that is what caused the angle of the elevator. BTW I built the second hopper in less than half the time of the first one. I went to build the second one and I found that a very important part was messed up. So I need to have dad call walthers and have them send me anther part.
Re: Redesinged layout It's only ok on my layout at my grandparents place. I have a nice layer of "Snow" between litter and track and I clean my tracks often. If it dose get up in my gear boxes I'll just clean them out or replace them if need be. Ship it on the Frisco!!! Murphy Millican
Re: Redesinged layout Ethan, All I can say is your layout is much better with better equipment than my first layout. And my second layout. And my third layout. Not telling anyone what number my present layout is.
Re: Redesinged layout That would be considered my 5th layout. Like I said before, I have had fun building it. At a stage in in the layout were I don't have much motivation to work and that's wiring/soldering track.
I have decided that the number of layouts I have built will be a secret like I have done with my age. And IQ. And speeding tickets. And divorces. And . . . .
1. And you guys are the ones that kept me going with the frisco 2. I'm glad I have inspired some to get going on a layout. As rick said I built this with operations in mind. The limitation with my power track was the switches. The only turnouts you can find for them is a snap switch w/ 30 degrees of 18R track splitting off, and one of mine didn't even work. That's why I have a yard and 3 industry tracks on the layout. That leads me to my next point. I don't get why people buy trains and just let them set there so they can look at them. The way it works in my head is this "If I spend 100+ dollars on a locomotive I might as well run it." but that is just the kid in me I guess.
Right on. I don't buy equipment (only) to look at it. It has to earn its keep on the railroad. Hey I am still a kid too but don't tell anyone.
SOme people buy locomotives for the purpose of following their dream of railroading and as a favorite past time, those are model railroaders. Others purchase railroad stuff to collect (like Baseball cards and die cast cars if you will) just to collect them, the older they are but newer they are the more money they will be worth someday, those I like to call investors!
