jeff train: To-Do list

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þriðjudagur, 28. júlí 2015

Post op sessions To-Do lists�.

After the last few posts with "big dreams/big plans" time to get back to reality.
Several pieces of a couple of puzzles have to drop into place before I do the 'big WRJ re-do' I blogged about.
But the last two op sessions did reveal some issues/glitches that need to fixed. AND, I want to continue working on the rest of the layout (you know, the parts I don't intend to tear apart anytime soon).
First, and most critical of these is a Walthers Code 83 curved turnout at the north end of Waterbury. It has worked okay - early on problems with some Rapido passenger cars were traced to out-of-gauge wheel sets. These were replaced with Reboxx wheels and it seemed to alleviate the problem. But in the last two sessions the issue came back with a vengeance and now just about every passenger car, most steam engines, and even some freight cars, are derailing in this turnout.
After the session a careful check with the standards gauge revealed the issue - there are several points along the length of the point rail where the gauge is tight.

Shouldn't be too much of a surprise - the point rails are "straight" and the closure and corresponding stock rails are curved. How COULD the gauge possibly be constant?
So this one has to replaced.

At the same time this end of Waterbury yard has code 70, Walthers code 83 and Peco code 83 all coexisting - less than reliably. The entire ladder is going to come out and hand laid curved code 70 turnouts are going in their place.

Of course this is the only place on the layout where the track is still laid on styrofoam - so the question is "Do I suck it up and replace the sub roadbed with plywood and relay all the track?" (That means redoing the track/ballast and wiring, and maybe some of the scenery so it's not a simple answer)
I suppose I could relay the turnout on the foam and see if it works. (As a practical matter securing turnout controls to the foam - especially through the 2" foam - can be somewhat problematic.) What I DON'T want to do is stick with the foam then find I still have reliability issues and get to relay the track a third time�..

The other "to-do" items are much less intrusive. Actually, most of them are "administrative" and paper work in nature.

föstudagur, 29. mars 2013

To-Do List - Spring Update

Back in mid-October I blogged about my then current layout to-do list.

In the interest of keeping me honest, here's the current status:

1. Improve the layout lighting throughout the room. Investigating several options.
Complete. We ended up adding a number (ten) two-tube fluorescent T-5 fixtures. The difference is huge!

2. Realign mainline track on one side of peninsula (there's a strange track alignment that the guys suggested looked odd enough to be reworked. Of course, this will require some modification to the foamboard surface of the layout, but shouldn't be too bad) - (Estimate 2 evenings)
Modifying the mainline was easy, but this project got a little out of control, and I ended up moving a hillside, extensively reworking the scenery behind Waterbury, adding two new rivers, and several hundred trees. All in all, this task has taken considerably longer than the estimate, but it's been far more involved than simply realigning some track.

Track work is completed, and most of the rough scenery is completed. This project was deferred to finish up the layout wiring. Currently, I need to complete a second river side mill building in order to do the final scenery contour in this area.

3. Add coal trestle siding to Everett. Again this will require some modification to the terrain, and some track modification. To fit the coal trestle siding in place may require lengthening the passing siding slightly and handlaying a turnout on the south end. - (Estimate 4 evenings)
Complete - All the track is in place in Everett.

4. Essex Junction trackwork - Three more turnouts to handlay - then the remaining spurs need to be installed. - (Estimate 4 evenings)

Complete

5. Drop feeders in WRJ yard - (Estimate 1 evening)

Complete

6. Feeders in Everett, Essex Junction, and north-end staging - (Estimate 3 evenings) (Note: includes running a new length of buss wire).

Complete

7. Bridge street overpass (abutments, bridge, and track needs to be complete so I can get to the WRJ passenger station area - (Estimate 2 evenings)
Complete

8. Install yardmasters desk in WRJ (John Paganoni is building this for me, but it will need some time to install - (Estimate 1 evening)
Desk complete, needs to be installed.

Of course, I also got the entire mainline in, extended the north end staging yard, and got the entire railroad wired with three DCC districts. Some of these tasks are thanks to the help from a great group of fellow modelers.

This may look like I have nothing left to do on the railroad. Nothing could be further from the truth! I'm not ready to create another "to do" posting, but wanted to close this one out!

Next to-do list will focus on the tasks I want to get accomplished for a test session and for the upcoming MER Convention open house in October.

þriðjudagur, 16. október 2012

To-Do List - Mid October Progress Report

A few weeks back I blogged about my current layout To-Do list. So, in the interest of keeping things honest, here's my progress to date:

1. Improve the layout lighting throughout the room. Investigating several options. There may be an article here.
Not sure there's an article here, but we have installed 4 four-foot fluorescent fixtures - and have four more (at least) to install. This is a group project, and I'm working on scheduling a second work session with some local modelers to wrap this one up.

4. Essex Junction trackwork - Three more turnouts to handlay - then the remaining spurs need to be installed. - (Estimate 4 evenings)
One turnout remains, along with some siding track.

5. Drop feeders in WRJ yard - (Estimate 1 evening)
All the track in place in White River Junction has feeders installed.

6. Feeders in Everett, Essex Junction, and north-end staging - (Estimate 3 evenings) (Note: includes running a new length of buss wire).
About half complete

7. Bridge street overpass (abutments, bridge, and track needs to be complete so I can get to the WRJ passenger station area - (Estimate 2 evenings)
No additional progress.

8. Install yardmasters desk in WRJ (John Paganoni is building this for me, but it will need some time to install - (Estimate 1 evening)
Desk complete, needs to be installed.

It's going to be a busy fall as I also have to prepare for the clinic I'm giving at the Fine-Scale Expo in Strasburg in October and the MER Convention the following week!

Clinic preparation requires building up some foreground trees to various levels of completion and a small diorama to display them. Luckily, all the stuff for this will eventually wind up on the layout - but trees and such aren't going to fix the lighting in the room nor will they get the layout operational.
This took A LOT longer than I anticipated. Although I enjoyed doing the clinic, I think it's fairly safe to say I would have completed all the other items on my To-Do list if clinic preps hadn't taken all my free time for almost three weeks. With them out of the way, I can resume progress.

þriðjudagur, 4. september 2012

Cross me a River ....

I spent some time over the weekend correcting the strange jog I had in the mainline on the peninsula opposite Waterbury (Item #2 on my "to do" list).

This could have been a simple matter of straightening out some roadbed and relaying one section of flextrack, but a little mission creep came to visit - and I ended up working up an entire river crossing scene - oh well, it will take longer than the two evenings planned, but the result will be another "finished" scene.

Inspiration for this scene comes from a number of places in New England, including this planned crossing of the Blackstone River by the prototype Southern New England Railroad -

Since I couldn't locate a commercial set of abutments that worked with the Walthers single-track truss bridge, I made up a pair of abutments from styrene and painted them to resemble concrete. Then I test fit the bridge in place:

Although I usually choose foamboard for hills and other terrain features I find it difficult to use to for taller landmasses. These two hills are the tallest on the layout, so I chose to use the old standby cardboard web with plastercloth shell. I find it easier to build the hills "up" than to stack a bunch of styrofoam and go through the labor-intensive process of cutting most of it away.

Here's an overall view of the scene as it looked Monday morning.This scene will require a LOT of background trees since the hillsides will be covered in trees with some rock outcroppings peaking through them. Next step is plaster cloth and installation of rock molds:

sunnudagur, 26. ágúst 2012

To-do List Progress - realigning mainline

In a previous post I mentioned there were several things I wanted to get done on the railroad before moving forward with plans to start test operating sessions in the fall.

The first of these to float to the top of the To-Do list was a realignment of the mainline on the window side of the peninsula. Somehow I'd ended up with an odd little "jog" in the trackwork - it wasn't horrible but it just didn't look right.

The plan for this locale has evolved over the two year history of the layout. There will be a one or perhaps two spurs leading to older industries, things that are only switched occasionally by a wayfreight a couple of times a week. There will also be a bridge, a rock cut, and a small country store and perhaps a gas station. A very simple scene intended to place "something, but not much" between the miles of open country running.

Here's what the odd track alignment looked like when I started this morning (Apologize for the mess, I simply piled stuff out of the way:

I assembled a painted a Walthers single-track through truss bridge and started on the abutments (from styrene.) I also reworked the track alignment. It may be hard to see, but this is what the new alignment will look like. You can see the old alignment if you follow the blue lines at the end of the cork roadbed in the center of the picture. (Note: the code 100 flex is simply pinned in an approximate location at this point):

I expect I'll have to handlay the turnouts to get the track flow right. Once the abutments are complete I'll carve the riverbed and install the bridge.

Progress is good. More reports to follow.

miðvikudagur, 22. ágúst 2012

To Do List - August 22, 2012

I seem to make lots of to-do lists. I don't do nearly as well as getting the things on that list complete, but that's another story. I could be a wise aleck and say "Item 1: Complete layout" - but that wouldn't be very sporting.
Bernie Kempinski had an interesting approach - to showing his progress in various areas. You can tell by looking at his chart which aspects of the hobby he prefers . . .

Here's my current To-Do list:

1. Improve the layout lighting throughout the room. Investigating several options. There may be an article here.

4. Essex Junction trackwork - Three more turnouts to handlay - then the remaining spurs need to be installed. - (Estimate 4 evenings)

5. Drop feeders in WRJ yard - (Estimate 1 evening)

6. Feeders in Everett, Essex Junction, and north-end staging - (Estimate 3 evenings) (Note: includes running a new length of buss wire).

7. Bridge street overpass (abutments, bridge, and track needs to be complete so I can get to the WRJ passenger station area - (Estimate 2 evenings)

8. Install yardmasters desk in WRJ (John Paganoni is building this for me, but it will need some time to install - (Estimate 1 evening)

It's going to be a busy fall as I also have to prepare for the clinic I'm giving at the Fine-Scale Expo in Strasburg in October and the MER Convention the following week!

Blog posts for the next few weeks will cover these in more detail.

Before you make fun of my to-do list, what's on yours?