Goodbye theater, hello layout.

@David K. Simpson posted:

her than being a few pieces of cork short, the “east” yard is complete. Could have completely filled it with track but wanted the gap for the dispatcher station and some other junk that will sit in there. I’m pretty happy with it.

Lovely Lines, Great Lights, Great Dispatcher Station, did I say lovely lines? Very nice. Good work

It looks great, David!

@Former Member posted:

Re: St of Maine Potatoes...

I know METCA announced one of those last year. Is that it?

I don’t think so. The box was quite old. I could be wrong though.

Miggy and Mark, thank you.

The yard looks great David. Breaking it up with the gap and buildings in the center is prototypical in many rail yards.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

The yard looks great David. Breaking it up with the gap and buildings in the center is prototypical in many rail yards.

Bob

Thanks. East yard finished and promptly filled. Still have some west coast cars to move to the other end but that was enough for today. Took quite a while to get everything where it is now.

Wow, so summer came on strong and once we walked out of the train room we basically didn’t look back until recently. Got all the summer toys put away and we are ready to dig back in…..

Ugh…..

Our layout is YEARS from being complete and that’s perfectly fine with me. My problem is I already want to expand. I have no more room in the “train room” but being an idiot of necessity and lacking much self control or restraint, I’ve devised a plan that my now wife (as of October 13th) is while not completely understanding of, is not against.

I present my “theory of a plan” and ask, if not BEG, for guidance…

No drawings yet, just a fuzzy vision in my head. I want to come off of the outside of the layout with a single switch and then start up a grade that would not be normally traveled (as it won’t) and end up X number of inches from the ceiling. From there another switch will allow access into a “lower house loop” that will leave the train room, go through the kitchen, through the dining room, loop around and through what we call the “reading room” which is what most people would use as a family room. From there, back through the wall and back into the train room. There would be one way up and one way down which is fine as the “hill” would only be traveled to set up whatever train would travel through the house. Only in the train room would it be against the wall. In the kitchen, dining, and reading rooms it would have to be suspended from the ceiling. There used to be a train shop near me that had a ceiling layout that’s base was some sort of wire frame and you could easily see the train up there. That memory is where this is coming from.

Anyways, looking for inspiration and possible guidance as to if this is feasible or a nightmare I should run from. Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas to everyone!

You'd likely need a helix to get up above head height in any reasonable distance/grade.

Also, if you're going to hang it from the ceiling throughout the house, make sure it's high enough to clear your tallest common guest.  My grandmother has lots of hanging plants that my father and I hit our heads on all the time.

Hi David- welcome back. Sounds like you had a good summer if the trains were collecting dust.

I like the idea but you may be complicating things by trying to connect the ceiling to the layout. Have you calculated the distance and grade needed to reach the ceiling? I'm assuming a typical 8'0" ceiling? You would probably need top of rail 1' below the ceiling to have enough space to work and reach trains for service, derailments, etc.
It would be much less complicated to keep the two separate but have the ceiling line run through the train room for swapping consists when you want. A helix may be the better solution but even at 072 it would take up a lot of real estate.
Several members on the Forum have ceiling loops and provide more assistance. Suspending the track from the ceiling is a bit more complicated than attaching to the wall but it can be done with some basic hardware and lumber.

Here's an old thread from 2012

https://ogrforum.com/...c/recommended-grades

And from the Lionel web site

A generally accepted standard in model railroading is 1 inch of rise for every 4 feet of run. This convenient measurement works out to just over a 2% grade. Unlike the prototypes, the size of trains we typically run can usually handle this grade without any helpers. Grades of 4% (2 inch rise over two feet of run) are still manageable

Good luck and keep us posted.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

And from the Lionel web site

A generally accepted standard in model railroading is 1 inch of rise for every 4 feet of run. This convenient measurement works out to just over a 2% grade. Unlike the prototypes, the size of trains we typically run can usually handle this grade without any helpers. Grades of 4% (2 inch rise over two feet of run) are still manageable

The quote from Lionel is amusing, they must be using the new math!

They got the 2% grade calculation correct, 1" over 100" is 1%, so 1" over 48" is slightly more than 2%.

1" / 48" = 0.0208%

Now we get to the 4% grade calculation.

OOPS!  2" / 24" = 0.083%

Thanks for the info and link. I’ll do some reading tonight.

So I’m sure most have done something similar, but I’ve found a “spot” in the room where I have a chair and has basically become the command center. It’s where I typically sit when I’m doing most things. I’ve added a switch to the mainline and built a spur that leads to this spot, so I can back a loco or car right to this spot and work on it.

what I’m looking for is something to make the rails level with the work area, so that if a loco or car are not there, it’s flat, and the laptop, or whatever can sit there without the raised track. Kind of like the base of the roundhouse (which is where I got the idea). It’s a plastic channel that the track sits in and the head of the rail is level with the “ground”. Or maybe like the same scenario as a road crossing.

Any ideas or products you can point me to? I can also 3d print if that opens any possibilities. Here’s a bad pic of the area I’m talking about. The track the 73 is on leads to the “service area” I’d like to make flush.

If you can find hardboard in 1/4" and 3/16" thicknesses, strips of each on top of each other give almost perfect rail height.

Thats perfect. I'll have to check home depot or lowes.

Be very careful of how you power this area and/or what you place on the "flattened" area.  Without "power off," anything metal you place there may create a short circuit unless the railheads are well below the hardwood level.

Chuck

Agree 100%. It's already on it's own switch as it is also a dedicated "programming" track.

Well, we’re buried in snow, the wife doesn’t feel good, and I was bored, so it was time to build and play. I’ve wanted a longer passing siding, and since the top part of the layout was only two feet wide, I decided I could spare another foot and extend the small passing siding I had along the left side and wrap it around to the top. I made the extension out of shelving as to not have to recreate or build more structure. Sure, you can’t climb on top of the extension, but it seems plenty strong for what it is.

The extended passing siding easily held 22 cars and a Lionel Veranda with tender. This lets me bring the Hudson out from its hiding place behind the big bridge as well.

David, the long passing siding is an excellent improvement!

@Mark Boyce posted:

David, the long passing siding is an excellent improvement!

Thanks, yes it is.

Looks great!  Congrats on the progress!

@Fridge56Vet posted:

Looks great!  Congrats on the progress!

Thanks.

Nice! Finding these little additions and tweaks are fun! And it adds a whole new dimension to operations.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

Nice! Finding these little additions and tweaks are fun! And it adds a whole new dimension to operations.

Bob

Absolutely. I always either needed to place that train somewhere else (in the way) or break it up in the yard before.

You could fit two tracks on that extension, twice the fun!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You could fit two tracks on that extension, twice the fun!

Possibly even 3, but one problem I ran into when making this layout is that all board space is taken by track so there isn’t t much room for buildings or anything. This extension actually looks very clean and open with just the one track.

I left lots of space for scenery overall, but for my yard spaces, I put them as close as possible so I had parking.  I'm very happy that I added major yard space, that was a serious lack before.  I have thirteen yard tracks in two different areas, and I don't intend to worry about much scenery in those areas.

@David K. Simpson this is a great thread!

I don’t know why I hadn’t seen it earlier - a lot of good posts and ideas.  I wish you continued good luck on the layout.

@Carl Peduzzi posted:

@David K. Simpson this is a great thread!

I don’t know why I hadn’t seen it earlier - a lot of good posts and ideas.  I wish you continued good luck on the layout.

Thanks! It’s been quite the journey so far.

I’ve been working like crazy, but feel like I haven’t updated this as I should. Not a ton of progress but here’s update 1 of 2.

Started decorating the eastern end which I have since the beginning wanted to be winter. It’s rough, but it at least is a step in the right direction. The end plan will be to have the CP holiday train parked in the lower wrap around siding. Shop tracks will house the CSX “derail train” with the crane and a switcher. Shop will have whatever.

Update 2.

From the beginning I wanted an Amtrak presence somewhere on the layout. Made a few deals and ended up with a beautiful F40PH-2 and an AEM-7 along with about 15 Amtrak cars. A few weeks ago I added the long passing siding and tonight I moved the siding “out” and put in the MTH dual platform passenger station. With doing this, I can have an eastbound and westbound train both serving the station at the same time. Either can stay parked at the station while the other makes the long “loop”.

Very nice looking, David!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Very nice looking, David!

Thanks. I thought I would get a lot more done this winter but I guess not. Oh well, it’s not like I’m on a timeline.

well, I’ve failed at updating progress as it happens, but that doesn’t mean nothing has happened. I got sucked into the world of 3d printing and between that and randomly changing things on the layout, I’ve been quite busy.

So anyways, here’s a quick video overview as well as a full lap behind an Amtrak train.

Fun fact, if you’ve sold something to me you’ll probably see it somewhere in the second video. I’ve bought quite a few items from the great forum members.