@Mark Boyce posted:@pennsyfan Bob, I ordered a roll of conductive tape, and it arrived today. Thank you for the tip, and I'll be posting how it works out for me in upcoming days!!
Mark Glad to help, looking forward to results.
I am not ready to try the conductive tape Bob @pennsyfan suggested, but I did get the streets laid out. I stuck with my initial street width of 4" with 1/2" sidewalks. I cut Bristol board to 5-1/2" width, intending to put 1/2" strips on top for the sidewalks. Here are some photographs.
Notice in the first two photographs some gray playground equipment near the flagpole. Our older daughter 3D printed them on their new 3D printer. They didn't tell anyone about it, and she made objects for each person's interests as gifts. She is still learning, so some of mine need to be reprinted, but some good ones are the playground, baggage carts, crates, tents and small campers for the campsite, an outhouse, doghouse, etc. They are all 1:48 scale. The people didn't turn out as well. She calls them spaghetti people. There is also some fencing and Jersey barriers. I'll get a photograph of them, unpainted and setting at the end of the street.
Attachments
Mark,
One item of possible concern that you should check - at the lower right in the first photo, there is a building with a wood platform whose left corner is right at the end of a curve. Please run some cars past that corner of the platform to make sure they clear. Very nice buildings.
MELGAR
Mark,
It looks good, but I want to second the remarks of several of the other guys regarding proximity to the curve. Even if you have Shorty passenger cars, I think you will find out that several of the buildings will be struck by the cars as they pass on that relatively sharp looking curve. Even some freight cars may prove problematic. It doesn’t look like you have any clearance ,at all, at least in the first aerial shot.
I think the layout i Of the buildings and the street is great, But I’m not sure how many of your engines and cars will make the curve without taking out a building or two. I hope that I’m wrong, but…
Rubin
Looks great, Mark! And the 3D printing - pretty good, too.
George
I like those buildings Mark. Looks good.
Mark, I was reviewing the last SCARM file I have for your layout. I think you have enough room to add 4 to 6 inches of upper town. At 6 inches the total reach would be 36 inches to the window. A little long but the add could be a drop in so you could easily move it out of the way if necessary. (Kind of like a pop up section.) I do think the you should have wider sidewalks and more curve clearance. Just put in a rectangular section inside the curve.
As I recall the plan was to have 042 minimum curve on top. Not sure what the top flex track curve came out to be. Guessing 3 inches would be plenty for what you are running. Jeff
Is the watch tower new? I thought you had a picnic scene there awaiting a few pine trees. ?
Thank you, Mel, Rubin, George, Tom, Jeff!
Mel, Rubin, you are correct, the church is close to the track. I slid it out a bit and here is a view with an 18" passenger car. Yes, still pretty tight.
The sidewalk could be right up to the building, though I don't really like it.
The rest of the buildings aren't really close. Yes, this view is by holding the smartphone over the dryer looking through the window with my wife's curtains at the top. I'll come back to that when I reply to Jeff's comment below.
Jeff, I ended up using 054 curves on the upper level and all over the layout except for the yard lead which has 042. I made the top level top 32" deep just like the original lower level. The front edge of the track is about 26" from the edge of the layout. I could extend the front edge 4 or 6 inches and reach the back of the area I'm scenicing. If I need to access the track behind the buildings, I can slide out the dryer for access through the window. I did that to wire the track and switches. I'll take a good look at how best to extend the town out a few more inches. Thank you for your observation and suggestion.
The fire tower has been there. I have some campers there and am planning to plant trees. So many things to do. 
My daughter who did the 3D printing gave me the sasquatch and the produce stand. I just put them there for the time being, and may move them, though the 'squatch would still be fun approaching the campers. 
Attachments
Taking Jeff’s suggestion, I mocked up an extension by slipping Bristol board underneath the lift up panels. Six inches is too far for me to reach at a height of 50”, but 4” works out well. Now I just need to decide how to best attach the extension and then move things around.
Attachments
While I was at it, I discovered I can extend the base for the Sanky Wanky Coffee Company too.
Attachments
Mark, the idea is to have the section easily removable, but big enough so that a house can be completely on the section. 1/2 on 1/2 off is no longer easy to remove. A couple of cleats attached under the stationary section which extend 1/2 to 3/4 out can provide a base to set the extension on. You will probably need an iron "l" bracket on the right side. Do not make this harder than it needs to be. For power I use stereo banana plugs and 16 gauge lamp cord wire. Easy to remove, easy to plug back in.
FWIW - One of our student researchers started a company called Electron Inks. They moved to Texas several years ago. They developed an ink pen which laid down conductive lines. I always thought about using that stuff for wiring buildings. They used to sell an experiment kit for school kids to learn electronics. Kids would draw circuits on paper and apply battery power. The company is still there, but I am not seeing any of their products being available at the moment. Would be something to consider in addition to conductive tape.
Thank you, Jeff. Yes, doing it easy and making sure buildings don't straddle a seam would be good. I have some material here I can use. The stereo plugs would be easy to unplug. Good idea. I have heard of pens that make conductive traces, but have never seen one for real. That certainly would be easy.
Mark, I have fallen behind on your progress and am now catching up. Life gets in the way of our hobbies sometimes. I love the town progress, I think the street and sidewalk dimensions are spot on. I am going to use these on my town. You will come to love the 3D printing. Nothing has changed the way I model and construct my layout like learning the 3D printing aspect. Don't give up on it. And having your daughter help....Priceless. You can literally make whatever you want with free online programs, and free online stl files, many of which on OGR! Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
Mike
Mark, The work looks amazing. I will have to take an evening, make a cup of hot chocolate, and get caught up on your progress.
John Rowlen
Mark, your making things look great! I like the movement of your building and the extension of your bench work! Sorry i didn't comment earlier but will do the best to keep up to speed on your post! Keep up the wonderful work and don't forget to take some time to run your trains!
Guys....the idle chit-chat was deleted. How many times do we have to ask you guys to stay on topic? If you want to talk about your diseases, aches and pains, the weather, etc., do so via private messaging!
Thank you, Mike, John, Mike!
