Losing Interest in Layout...HELP!

You have indeed put a lot into a small space!  My suggestion is to add an air conditioner and some power exhaust ventilation to the room to solve the environmental problem.  Next I would acquire a smaller engine, one that was made to run on O-27 track, perhaps an alco diesel which would solve your derailing problem.  Your curves and hills are too much for the 682.  One other option might be to try to bank the curve slightly where the engine is derailing.

Don't give up you have done a great job so far!

Your layout is a victim of trying to do too much layout in too little space, not an uncommon thing in O Gauge. I'm pretty sure taking one of the levels out and carefully reducing "S" curves could help, but even doing that would leave you with difficult grades necessitated by the height clearances needed in O Gauge running within a 4x8' footprint. Doing that would also reduce the number of vertical supports needed and help with track access in covered areas. Another possibility would be to reconsider the idea of an "Island" layout in favor of one that would put you in the center of the room with the layout running around the room on shelves supported by the walls (duck under required). In any event, you'll have to remove and rebuild in order to fix the problem. Sorry you got so far along before discovering this, but it is all part of the learning process.

Bill in FtL

That's a pretty neat layout. It will be entertaining for you and your daughter. Whenever you take on a project of this size - doesn't matter if it's a train layout or not - you will invariably hit a snag. Guys that build kayaks have a "Moaning Chair" in their shops where they can sit and sort things out after a glitch. You need a Moaning Chair. Just try a smaller locomotive. Color the plaster - whatever is easiest. That's what makes it look unfinished. Get it running and see if you like it. If you don't, no worries, it's just a toy train layout. You can have a lot of fun with 4 x 8. When we were kids, we all did.

Cheers,

Tony

 You have a lot going on in a small space. If your goal was to just make a display with just one continuous run you did a nice job creating as long a run as possible with many tracks hidden in tunnels. 

 May not be what you want to hear. You are running post war trains with a ZW. Nothing wrong with that. As you found out. Unless you keep the throttle up there in voltage. You won't make your grades. Yet if you don't back off you will be racing down the hills. Sort of like watching a roller coaster.

 Speed Control. Yes you will have to buy a new or used engine. Good deals can be had on MTH diesels or even small steam. These will run fine with your ZW but you may want to look for other options. These engines will give you 2 main advantages. They will traverse the layout at a steady speed. Up and down grades and around turns at say 5 smph. They also feature traction tires which will help in pulling the grades. Speed control will give you one big advantage. It will make your layout seem bigger. Plus with PS2 you will get sound as well. I'm not pro MTH. I buy from everyone and run only command control. I ran conventional years ago before DCS was released with Proto 2 engines so that's pretty much the only first hand experience I have. I ran post war earlier. All on the same layout with grades. The layout is now 28 years old. Lionel may have some nice options as well. 

 I'm sure this won't be your final layout. You have got this far and you have a good learning experience. It would be a shame not to finish it by adding scenery. You can only do so much in a small space. No matter how much you change it up it's  limited space. Let the train create the illusion of going somewhere at a slow speed rather than the layout.

Your issue is like a lot of other peoples's issue.  This is a cute display layout.  These are fun to watch.  However, the majority of people grow weary of watching the same train circle the same loop.  (Haters rain down!, sorry I digress) The same thing has obviously happened to you. 

When you design a layout (NOT arrange track to fill a space) toy or realistic, you need to incorporate three essential elements:  Plausibility, Purpose and Participation.  You may disregard Plausibility if your intent is to build a toy layout.

Purpose and ESPECIALLY participation are critical to maintain your and other's interest.  What does your layout do?  If it just circles with no turnouts (track switches) it makes it tough.  One purpose could be to have several operating accessories for toy layouts.  These are really cool!  

Another purpose could be hauling freight, passengers or a combination.  Regardless, you need some sidings to "deliver" or "pick up" commodities or a passing siding to allow trains to pass by one another in opposing directions or even one overtaking the other.  You need a "run-around" track to allow an engine the ability to get to either end of the train it is pulling.  Either of these would REQUIRE you do something.  That is good!

PARTICIPATION...the more you, and others, have to do, the more interactive and fun it is.  If you had a point to point track arrangement, you would NEED to control your train while it traveled from one end of the main line to the other, where you would NEED to "reverse" or "turn" it, via turntable or Wye track configuration, to return it to the opposite end of the main where the same thing would occur.

A lot of people rarely, if ever, consider OPERATIONS into their layouts.  That is because novices and less experienced modelers do NOT design their layouts.  They track arrange--like a jigsaw puzzle--using their track pieces as puzzle parts and fill space.

For years model railroaders have had it "backwards."  They fill space with track and then try to figure out what they are going to do versus DESIGNING a plan, including operations, then arrange their track arrangement to compliment what they want to do.  People that plan in advance greatly enhance their chances of having a satisfying layout versus finding themselves with an unsatisfying layout.

If you want to be satisfied with your layout, it's entirely up to you.  Begin by asking yourself:  Who is my railroad (name?)  Where is it located? What is it's purpose?  How does it "survive (How does it make it's living?)?  CRITICAL QUESTION:  What are you and others going to be doing to interact with it?  Lastly:  Is my design: plausible, have purpose and offers participation?  That is Design (not track fitting) 101. 

There is a whole lot to think about designing a layout.  It will NOT happen overnight.  In the end, the layout does not have to be perfect or a rivet to rivet duplication of reality.  However, it does need to be satisfying and enjoyable for you.  You need to take some time and think about what it is you want to do and once you decide that DESIGN, DESIGN, DESIGN, your entire plan prior to doing anything.

Check out my OPERATIONS videos by clicking on my Youtube Channel link below the signature line.

Just about every layout and every hobbyist goes through cycles of interest.  My layout sometimes languishes for months without being touched.

With my previous layout, I made a similar mistake in the grades and curves:  one of my engines just could not climb the grade with any train.  So I tore it out and started over.  My current version is simpler, but it is reliable.  I submit that, for many people, reliability is far more important than they realize.  It may or may not be "operation" that you miss:  it may simply be that it's no fun to rerail the loco. Every. Time.

Consider making the room improvements suggested, and then start over.  Whether you want to operate or simply run your trains, make the pike and the trains reliable.

That's a cool track arrangement you've got there, however  I suggest you tear that layout down, and use the knowledge you've gained to make an improved version.  Painful, I know, but pretty sure you won't regret it.

I've been watching toy trains go 'round in circles since 1951.  I never tire of it.  It's a zen thang, has a wonderful stress relieving calming effect.  If I'd wanted to "operate" trains I would have put in an application with MoPac.

Also, a pretty cool solution for the varying up and down speeds issue of conventionally controlled trains can be found at this LINK.

Pete

IMO, you have done very well with the layout in a certain sense.  That which stands out to me is the aforementioned comment you may simply have the wrong engine for the track configuration.  A simple change of locomotive and use of a simple late model power pack like a Z-1000 may bring back some enthusiasm.  You WILL only be going in one direction as built. Period,

In helping folks build layouts I have found one of the biggest problem is them wanting to pour 10 gallons of water into a  5 gallon pail.

Cold hard fact is that certain engines and certain cars were never meant to run within certain constrictions.  Wanting to bully past that point can be self defeating.

IMO, a stand out problem is the engine and transformer.

If you are considering  a reconfiguration I would suggest to raise the sharp descending grade to the left of the ZW and connect it to  the track just below the tender.  The lower loop, just make it a simple loop with a trolley or hand car and run it opposite clockwise.  You have a display layout so enjoy it for what it is.  If you still want to trash it I will be by this afternoon to pick it up.

What you have made would make a terrific train store window display with E.O.B.  Nice job!

From a purely operational point of view, find a friend who will bring over a Lionchief PLUS locomotive to try on your layout. They have great cruise control and it even works to a good degree when run in conventional. Add to that the fact that they have traction tires and some of the diesels also have magne-traction and you might find success.

This is why one would join a club!

work on the layout when you want and run your trains when you want.

come check us out sometime.

Perhaps this will be the answer to all your troubles with this layout. Find a charity and donate it. Maybe the local Ronald McDonald house or a children's hospital. Finish it, get it running well, and chock it up to experience. You get a clean slate, and a tax write off as well as a warm feeling, and you brighten the day of some kids (who won't get tired of it).

Plenty of great advice here so far. As a fellow member of the 4 X 8 club, I too was over ambitious with my track plan. This is my first O layout, I had HO growing up and probably was thinking in HO when I designed the plan.  I went all O27 and have been collecting engines and rolling stock from the various auction websites. I also learned quickly that larger engines will not make it around O27 curves no matter what you do. My PE Berkshire stays in the box except for when the Christmas tree goes up.  Regardless of that, I love what I built, I just have too many trains on the layout so its a bit crowded. I'm running all Post War and MPC/ modern stuff, conventional.

What you built is very nice. I agree with the other's that some sidings or a second loop would add more interest. Looks to me like most of your plan is hidden below the terrain so much of the time there is nothing moving on the board. Maybe cut the mountain open in another spot or two and add some trestles so that the train is visible longer.

Don't pressure yourself that it has to get done. When the time is right it will get completed.

Here's my layout early in construction.

If you end up doing a tear down, consider building one of the 4x8 Lionel Dealer Display Layouts.  Lots of activity and operating accessories in a small space. You can get the plans, parts inventory and wiring diagrams and basically build a turnkey layout. 

Seems like it would fit your needs for the available space and give you a toy train layout with the PW stuff you seem to enjoy.

FWIW. All of the posters express valid points. May I add from my experiences that not running trains everyday, but now and then, is OK.  After spending years on a redo project, its nice to do other things in the summer, and I have other interests that are great as well.  I spent a couple of months on part of a redo just working now and then in evenings and find I like doing that work as well as running trains.  Looks like you have a lot of inventive vision for creating scenic interest.  One thing that was  bothersome for me before my redo was the prospect of not running trains for a long time if and when I decided to pull the trigger.  I was going to be all in and have to sacrifice or continue to be disenchanted with the status quo.

Here is a bizarre thought, not a recommendation, for the layout scheme as is.  I like the things you have incorporated.  It appears that there is little room for industries but perhaps a whistle stop?   I would change the grades a little to make them more friendly and use the basic configuration for a narrow gauge presentation.  Smaller locos, narrower track, different gauge (HO?) 

One more thing, I know its hard to let go of a design you are invested in from experience.  But once I realized it just would not work, I was forced to start a new adventure.  Good luck on your adventure.

You've lost interest because you've worked so long on your vision and it doesn't work.  But there are solutions to your problem.  Did your train traverse the layout successfully prior to adding the plaster sheets?  If it did maybe it's a simple as an interference was created that now causes the derailing.  super O track was a nice choice, is your engine derailing on a joint?  Maybe the center blade has been bent.  If those are not the causes then I would try an engine swap.  When I first re-entered the hobby I had a 6x8 flat 0-27 oval with 4 switches providing two turning loops.  Simple enough.  The Lionel Wabash Cannonball starter set I bought to test my old trains with came with the ubiquitous 4-4-2 steamer. It ran fine.  Wanting to run NYC I picked up a K-line set headed by that company's MP-15 diesel.  That diesel made it around in on direction but as soon as it went through a turning loop it would derail at one of the switches.  Every time.  I went back to the dealer and he had no explanation.  i thought the two brands were in compatible.  The dealer let me trade the K-line set in for a bunch of Lionel rolling stock.  In hindsight two possible solutions were to add weight to the  lead truck of the MP-15 or a misalignment of the sliding points on the switch.  So there are solutions.  You've worked long and hard on what looks to be a very nice layout to watch trains run, which I believe was your intent.  Figure out the cause of the derailing, if an interference is your problem correct it, then get your daughter out there to help paint that valley.  If you need a new engine while you're getting a new one get one for her, if two are out of your price range, have her help you pick one out.  Get trains running while you finish it off.  Smoke, horns/whistles & bells add interest as do a few operating accessories you can add over time. 

DON'T GIVE UP.  Crank up the min-split, open that window, add a heather or de-humidifier, whatever it takes to help rid the mustiness.

The trouble is not loss of interest. Loss of interest is what happens when everything is going well, and yet somehow you are dissatisfied. Everything is not going well: your problem is discouragement.

I followed your previous thread about this layout. You are committed to running this engine on this layout, and for some reason it is not working even though it should. You know that there is only one way to fix it. You have to tear out a bunch of your work so you can see exactly what is happening and bend / cut / elevate / drop / route / reroute the track in this area until it works. Here you thought you were accomplishing something, and now you find that you have to go backwards. If you had started the do-over right away, you might be done with it by now, but you feel so defeated that you just can't make yourself start.

trrentschler posted:

Whenever you take on a project of this size - doesn't matter if it's a train layout or not - you will invariably hit a snag. Guys that build kayaks have a "Moaning Chair" in their shops where they can sit and sort things out after a glitch. You need a Moaning Chair.

This is so true. I have been working on my layout for five years, and have made many mistakes which have required do-overs, some minor, some not-so-minor. Sometimes I just don't want to deal with it. My "moaning chair" is the chair at my workbench. I enjoy servicing my engines so that is what I do when I can't make myself work on the layout. Or if I am not doing that, I flip through old Greenberg's guides and think about what I might look for the next time I go to a show.  I set up a loop of O-27 on a table and watch a train chase its tail for a while. Something that is both train-related and easy, and that keeps the fire burning until I can make myself go back to the layout and tear out whatever I did wrong and do it right this time.

coach joe posted:

You've lost interest because you've worked so long on your vision and it doesn't work.  But there are solutions to your problem.  Did your train traverse the layout successfully prior to adding the plaster sheets?  If it did maybe it's a simple as an interference was created that now causes the derailing.  super O track was a nice choice, is your engine derailing on a joint?  Maybe the center blade has been bent.  If those are not the causes then I would try an engine swap.  When I first re-entered the hobby I had a 6x8 flat 0-27 oval with 4 switches providing two turning loops.  Simple enough.  The Lionel Wabash Cannonball starter set I bought to test my old trains with came with the ubiquitous 4-4-2 steamer. It ran fine.  Wanting to run NYC I picked up a K-line set headed by that company's MP-15 diesel.  That diesel made it around in on direction but as soon as it went through a turning loop it would derail at one of the switches.  Every time.  I went back to the dealer and he had no explanation.  i thought the two brands were in compatible.  The dealer let me trade the K-line set in for a bunch of Lionel rolling stock.  In hindsight two possible solutions were to add weight to the  lead truck of the MP-15 or a misalignment of the sliding points on the switch.  So there are solutions.  You've worked long and hard on what looks to be a very nice layout to watch trains run, which I believe was your intent.  Figure out the cause of the derailing, if an interference is your problem correct it, then get your daughter out there to help paint that valley.  If you need a new engine while you're getting a new one get one for her, if two are out of your price range, have her help you pick one out.  Get trains running while you finish it off.  Smoke, horns/whistles & bells add interest as do a few operating accessories you can add over time. 

DON'T GIVE UP.  Crank up the min-split, open that window, add a heather or de-humidifier, whatever it takes to help rid the mustiness.

Coach Joe- I have a K-line MP-15 that was doing the same thing. I added weight over the front truck and solved the problem.

Loosing interest seems to be a symptom of a display layout.     I had it happen to me more than once.     I found if I built a layout for operation (in terms of switching cars) with some sort of system that required certain moves, such as car cards and waybills or a computer generated random (within rules) switchlist, the layout interest grew and evolved.   

also the around the walls idea is good.   You would only need about 12 inch height clearance from the track shelf to the one above, so you would not loose much storage, and get a lot more space for layout.    Around the walls always in a similar space always gives more layout than island type layout.    The down side of a duckunder, liftout, or swingout is not that big a negative.

Let the layout sit for a while. Then at some point in the future, when the mood strikes you and your enthusiasm rebounds you'll be good to go.

I second the suggestion to start over.  You'll never be happy with a layout that has operational issues, no matter how good it looks.  If you can't fix the issues with the current design, you need to take the lessons learned and plan a new one.

As far as waning interest, I think that happens to all of us from time to time.  I know I go through periods of time where I'll run trains every day, then not bother with them for weeks or even months.  On top of that, I float between O gauge and HO, with no permanent layout- it's either Fastrack, tubular or Unitrack on the floor.

Correcting problems is just part of the hobby.  Don't be discouraged.  Do a little surgery on the mountain and make a correction.  Your layout will be a family heirloom!   (I love the plan.)  Your little girl is probably picking up on your own disappointment.  Be happy and make a little change!  Next Christmas is only a few months away!

Adding my two cents:  Frustration and potential loss of interest engulfed me over the last few years.  My 6x8 layout falls into same space arena as yours.  And I definitely tried to do too much with it.  In the last couple of months I've been watching every YouTube video I can.. videos posted by other O-Gaugers with small layouts. I've found a new life with a new plan.  Am in the process of an entirely new track plan, one that is simpler and will focus more on scenery than "how much action can I fit into this 6x8 space?".   The work you have done looks fantastic but if you fear the frustration over the operations in their current setup will not leave your mind, then I agree with the others and their suggestion to start again.  Best of luck!

My advice would be a bit esoteric and a bit practical.

For me, and I suspect many others in our hobby, the creative effort and its resultant satisfaction are a huge part of the enjoyment of our hobby. Taking a space - no matter the dimensions - and turning it into something enjoyable to see is very, very gratifying. And exciting.

To illustrate, here is a section of my layout that I had enjoyed for quite some time. Then, I needed something new there. So, I stripped the "acreage" right down to the plywood and reconfigured and recrafted every inch of it, as you can see. I am satisfied, now, and the adventure in getting there was very enjoyable.

However, I do not feel creativity can be forced. We either feel it or we don't. If you have run out of feeling good about having that layout, I'd say, select one of these two choices:

(a) Pack it up and put it away for the day the creative mood strikes you again.

(b) Strip that whole layout down to the baseboard, and start again at being creative with that space and your resources. If your creativity gets excited, you will be back in the hobby. If not, wait; it may strike you again.

FrankM, Moon Township, USA

Moonson: Your layout is awesome!

Desert Center CA, there's a lot of good advice written above. Not much I can add except to say don't sell or get rid of the layout. Not now. There's a good chance the bug will bite again some day and you will regret it. Whatever you decide to do, whether it is to repair/change the layout or tare it down and start a new one I wish you good luck.

not a bad layout, but I would have one line, flat on the platform, and maybe without switches. this will give you a line where there shouldn't be any trouble running. then you can work the bugs out on the rest. 

I think many of us have been at that point where we just wanted to give up. I have started several layouts that I never finished because I didn't like some aspect of them and it was easier to start over. The good thing is that every time we fail, we gain knowledge that will help on the next project. I have an 8x8 O-gauge layout I started years ago. It was too ambitious and I tried to accomplish too much with it. I got the Sawzall out and did some surgery and have something not as capable as I planned for, but something I can run my trains on. Now I just need to finish the scenery.

It is always a good idea to test your track plan and make adjuments before the plaster goes on. If your trains can only run in one direction and have to run at higher voltage to make it around, you need to make changes to your plan. Sometimes it takes a while to get everything tweaked. That is just part of tge process and is essential to avoid the situation you have now. Tunnel access hatches or cutouts are a good idea also.

It may sound like a lot of work to redo what you have done, but once you get started, it will go quickly.

I am a builder and not a runner. I get 75% done, see my errors, and tear it apart and start over. I am 68 years old so I better make up my mind, don't you think?

Have fun and don't sweat it.

Dick

Do not give up! Give it some more effort for your daughter. This will be a beautiful layout when finished with scenery and structures. And you will enjoy watching a train run through mountain scenery. You already have a large investment in time and effort. I would try to fix it. Yes, it is very complex with a lot crammed into a small space, which makes it more difficult to fix your problem. Here are my suggestions for the layout itself - starting with the easiest:

1) Buy an up-to-date small 0-4-0 steam engine switcher locomotive with traction tires and speed control. Run it slowly around the layout with just one freight car and a caboose. If that does not work:

2) Remove the plaster above the steep descending grade so that you can access the track. Bank the track progressively beginning at the middle of the downgrade and into the curve. Use carefully-sized shims and make sure that the transitions from one track piece to the next are as smooth as possible. Then fix the scenery but leave the track exposed. If that does not work:

3) Add as much length as possible to the table and extend the track onto the added section of the table. This will allow you to revise your track supports and make the descending grade more gradual - which should help. If you have to do this, revise the scenery afterwards so that the section of the track in question is exposed and the train runs in a "cut," rather than covering it beneath a mountain as it is now.

4) Another alternative is to extend the table into the room (to the left of the transformer) as much as possible and use the largest track radius that you can on the descending grade. Again, don't cover that section of the track with scenery.

Not sure these suggestions will work, but I think it's worth trying.

MELGAR

I really like your layout, but it may be too much for the space you have. Possibly the easiest solution, as others have suggested; buy a modern locomotive with cruise control. 

It's a pretty common mistake to get overly ambitious with track plans.  We envision our trains traveling through mountains, across deep gorges, chugging up and down hills and all sorts of things like that.  Like was stated earlier to keep it interesting over a period of time our railroads need to have a purpose.  I can see you have the skills so just find that "Moaning Chair" and collect your thoughts.  At the end of day you'll come up with a workable solution.

Good looking layout. What I would do is scrap the grade. I have had a grade on a small layout and took it out because of the same issue. It's too small a space. Put the one level up and keep the mountain and then do the lower level with a couple of sidings to do some switching. It will take a little revamp,but it will be worth it. You have some good ideas,don't get discouraged.

Original poster here.

Thanks to all for the friendly advice and support.

Ogrrforum member Moonman/Carl was kind enough to email me what I believe to be the ideal solution...

Standing at the ZW transformer, there are essentially three curved levels of track to the left side--please see photos in my opening post. The middle of these three levels needs to be extended by at least one (most likely two) sections of straight track before & after the curve as well as one or two straight sections in the middle of the curve, which means enlarging the table @one foot in both length and width. This is the easiest way to remove the difficult grade that causes derailing without affecting clearances above or below, and while it will add time to the project, it seems that this modification will allow the train to run in both directions. The most difficult part is that I made tall trestles (see photo in original post) in the corner in question for a frozen waterfall to flow beneath; I will have to blow up most of this design to accommodate the extended train track passing through.

By lengthening this track section, I will be allowing for a gentler grade. Hopefully this will be the answer to my problems!

...except for the musty smell in the dank back room of the garage. There is a mini-split air conditioning unit that I have run on both the a/c as well as the dehumidify settings, but to no avail: I still detect the faint sensation of mold in my lungs after I leave the garage. I have tried the DampRid® product with no success. Can anyone offer a remedy for the mold smell, which I cannot stand? 

Thanks again to all for the advice, and I sincerely appreciate everyone for taking the interest in my project.

Attached below is the solution offered by Moonman.

Good luck on the rebuild.

On the split AC- have the coil cleaned and change the filter in the unit. The unit should be able to handle dehumidification with no problem. My guess is a cleaning will help. Maybe have the system charge checked to make sure its running properly.

Bob

Desert Center CA posted:

Since I was a kid in the 1970s setting up the postwar Lionel trains from generations past around the Christmas tree every year, that distinct electrical smell from the overworked 1053 transformer was like timeless magic to me, and I always dreamed of the day that I would craft my own utopian "winter in the mountains" layout in a huge basement.

Over the years and through many moves across the country and back, I resolutely dragged the boxes of train stuff with me. In 2011 we were fortunate to welcome a daughter who, before her 3rd birthday, was able to correctly identify by name the caboose, box car, tanker, hopper, and tender in my 682-led consist around the Christmas tree. Though I don't have a basement as I'd envisioned, I walled off the back 16' x 12' section of my double-long garage, added shelves for storage, stuck a mini split A/C on the wall, and started engineering in 2013 the somewhere-lost-in-the-Mountain-Time-Zone layout that I had always imagined.

The biggest layout that would logistically fit in my newly-created train/storage room was 4' x 8' so I built a table using 2" x 4"s and a sheet of 3/4" 4' x 8' plywood for the top. Maybe I was overly-ambitious with my design; I can't imagine there are many 4' x 8' o-gauge layouts with more track footage crammed onto it than this one. From mid-2013 until this past October, I slowly but steadily built the skeleton for the layout that features a very intricate section that winds, drops, and rises--largely hidden--beneath a mountain. It turned into a much longer project than I'd anticipated, but I had always been driven by the idea of someday soon having something that I could get away to and let my mind wander, and more importantly, something that my daughter could be proud to say that her dad built.

This past autumn (2016), I finished laying the Rigid Wrap plaster sheets and looked forward to moving into the home stretch...and maybe even in time for Christmas: applying a thin layer of plaster of Paris; laying in some craggy rocks via MTH rock molds; adding snow goop; filling in two "frozen" lakes & a waterfall, and then finally dotting the whole thing with 80 spruce & maple trees and a coating of white powder.

Problems.

I discovered a fatal flaw at a key spot just behind where the ZW transformer is located. It's there where the track comes out of an unavoidable nearly 10º drop before it shoots out of a portal across the "valley" of the layout, and then enters into another portal to climb a bit more and finally exit out of portal #4. At this low point, my earlier clearance tests showed that keeping the transformer throttle at 13v allowed my train & abbreviated constant successfully run through the layout: any less voltage wouldn't allow the train to make the climb--the layout can only run in 1 direction as it is--and any more would cause derailing. Somehow when I got it all together, however, my 682 loco was now derailing out of the downgrade every time.

Every. Time.

Since that moment back in the fall of 2016, I have not spent even 1 minute on the layout. Instead of the familiar sweet smell of 1950s transformers that inspired me as a kid, the garage area has a distinct musty/moldy odor, thanks to the sopping wet Rigid Wrap plaster sheets that took a few days to dry out in the poorly-ventilated space.

It's a sense of sadness and mild failure I feel as my nearly 6-yr-old daughter no longer asks when the trains will be done. Even though "THIS will be the weekend I get into it again" is always in the back of my mind, I'm coming to grips with the fact that I just don't have it in me anymore to tinker further in the dank storage area. Stay the course and hope that someday inspiration strikes me again? Offer it as haul-it-off-for-free on Craigslist to another projecteer and liberate the room from both the mental and physical boat anchor?

Any/all advice welcomed.

 

I like this lay out the concept is outstanding it's always hard to fit track and keep things interesting on a smaller layout.

As I look at it I see a hump in the downgrade at the white block left of the transformer and again at the block just to its right just before the transformer. I think if you massage this out the problem will rectify itself. This may require some demolition of the tunnel to get some working space.

Bogie

Desert Center CA posted:

Original poster here.

 

...except for the musty smell in the dank back room of the garage. There is a mini-split air conditioning unit that I have run on both the a/c as well as the dehumidify settings, but to no avail: I still detect the faint sensation of mold in my lungs after I leave the garage. I have tried the DampRid® product with no success. Can anyone offer a remedy for the mold smell, which I cannot stand? 

 

That's a tough one. Mold never leaves until you treat the source.

Hello, and thanks again. It isn't a mini split-related issue; the unit was put in brand new at the end of the summer, and the filter is clean. When I put the dripping wet gauze sheets on over the course of 2 weeks or so, it took each sheet a few days to dry. As a result, all of my storage boxes seem to have a whiff of mold. Depressing.

It seems to me that if things are taking as long as you say to dry out, you have an air circulation issue.  I see a window in one of your photos.  Does it open ?   That would be a small bit of help.  Another is wet plaster.  It naturally has a musty oder when it's setting up, so that's not helping your nose.  Any cardboard stored in a damp space will absorb moisture like a sponge.  You have to remove it into the sunlight to dry it properly.  

Clorox bleach is your best weapon against mold.  A mixture of bleach and water should be used to wipe all of the surfaces in the room down, including the walls and ceiling.  You won't want to hear this but if the room is as damp as you say, I would check behind the drywall.  It sounds to me like the room is just in the wrong place and possibly getting too much moisture from the exterior.  

I have a small damp basement.  I installed one of those Radon type fans on a humidistat.  It runs quite a bit in the warmer weather.  I've also installed a vent on the air conditioning system to allow some of the conditioned air to enter the basement. It helps a great deal.  

Well Sir the first thing I do is recharge the battery's of the sole.  I like trains all kind. So when I get shoved on a dead track I go ride steam. The fresh air and people around me do it ever time, These are just suggestion.

Hope it helps.

Neil C Black

Nothing wrong with taking a break from a hobby. I would recommend getting a Lionchief Plus NW2, The Burlington Northern would fit well with snow theme. Give it a try, i have found it to be a very reliable and stable on the track engine, you can run it without rewiring and it is the most affordable of the Lionchief plus line. it is a post war engine remake. Sometimes a new engine, or one that really enjoys a layout and fits can bring back the enthusiasm.