Mark, you've come a long way in 5 years. You are inspiring me to keep going with mine, be it ever so slow.
John
Here are a couple videos as Youngstown Bill requested.
The first video just shows a pan of the view as I walk in the door of the train room to give a lay of the land.
This one is a video inside the layout main operating area is of the RailKing Western Maryland Pacific #204 pulling a 4-car train of heavyweights. I started the video with the train running below the camera to give a bit of continuity from the first video. The semi-scale RailKing train doesn't look too bad as it passes scale engines and cars. These are the only semi-scale models I run on the layout.
Here is the Altoona Model Works Branchline Station kit as it stands now. The instruction sheets are very well done. I'm following it exactly as directed. So far it is a simple box of Masonite sheathed with thin clapboard siding sections. It has gone together well with Ailene's glue as suggested in the instructions. The next step is to paint the shell, the roof sections, and the doors, windows, and trim. I'll use Western Maryland gray with red trim.
And now for something completely different!
As an aside, I took a few shots of the CN (former B&LE) train going past the Cleveland Cliffs (former Armco) plant as I was going into the Rite Aid pharmacy. There were two engines on the point, and two engines pushing. This is the end of the train, and all the hoppers are still lettered BLE. I finally got photographs that show road numbers of some engines to look up what they are. I can't tell one modern engine from another. These are both SD70M-2, engine numbers 8804 and 8827 on the end.
(And no; I am not standing beside my car. My car is at least 15 years older.) 
Attachments
@BlueComet400 posted:Mark, you've come a long way in 5 years. You are inspiring me to keep going with mine, be it ever so slow
John
Thank you very much, John!!!
Great progress Mark
You and GRJ always aspire me to get back at my layout. 
I was busy in November preparing for winter; I live in NH. I spent December in Canada, visiting my family. Now, I'm ready to get back at my model railroad.
Mark, the video is really nice. You have a lot of action with the railroad, town etc.
Keep inspiring us!
No one ever expects the B&LE!
Thanks so much for the video! I'm jealous that you can run some trains! I can't wait to get to that point.
Great catch on the trains! I didn't know Cleveland Cliffs acquired a plant in Butler. I also didn't know CN came down here.
Thank you, Keith, Bob, Steve, and Bill!
Keith, That is good you can settle down for the winter and work on your layout!!
Bob, I guess there is a lot you can do on a layout to make it seem like a lot of activity before you get real scenery started.
Steve, A often see B&LE, now CN, trains in addition to the Cliffs diesel, and the B&P on my side of the Connoquenessing Crick with Pennsylvania Route 8 in the foreground from that old, rather run down shopping center. We live high up on the hill above it, and we frequent Rite Aid, Dollar General, and Ace Hardware. I usually don't get a chance for a good photograph, though.
Bill, I know it is hard to wait on building a layout while you have to prepare a room. You are doing it the right way. Get some basic backdrop on that Masonite before you get to building too much benchwork. I was fussing with backdrop standing on my two-step platform reaching over to get the backdrop secured, and as can be seen in the videos, places on the backdrop still need work.
Yes, Cleveland Cliffs acquired Armco/AK two years ago, I believe. They also got the main plant in Middletown, Ohio. CN acquired the B&LE 5 to 10 years ago I suppose, but it has only been the last couple years that I am seeing their own power instead of the older B&LE engines. They still operate a yard just north of Butler and interchange with the B&P there near the B&P shops easily seen from US 422 and Pennsylvania Rt 68. There is still a lot of railroad action for a town of 13,000. Then they head south to North Bessemer at Unity Junction east of Pittsburgh. If you are on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, you can see the end of the yard there a mile or two east of the Turnpike and Bessemer Allegheny River crossing. I grew up in the rural part of the county along the B&O, but CSX now runs few trains since they bought the P&LE water level route.
Thank you everyone for looking and commenting!!
@palallin posted:No one ever expects the B&LE!
Our chief weapons are fear and surprise.......
Nice videos Mark. As I'm watching it occurred to me that the grades are workable on the 11' wall. When I get to rebuild one day, my longest dimension is 12'. Two-level operation is a must have for me.
Bob
Looking great Mark!! I miss going to the Bessemer yard! Really miss watching the Union RR too!
Thank you, Bob and Pete!
Bob, The grade against the wall is 4%. The SCARM plan showed it at 3.7%, so I used Woodland Scenics foam risers. Then I tapered the grade at the top and bottom for a smooth transition, making the grade less there. You should be good to go in 12 feet. One engine can pull a normal train up the 4%. I needed a helper only when I ran a 10-car hopper train up the grade, but extra engines was the whole point of the exercise. I wanted to double head on the point and have a rear pusher for fun! The other grade was a little less on SCARM, then I lengthened the tangent tracks making for a slightly longer run over the trestles lessening the grade slightly.
Pete, I knew right away from your profile name "Little Giant" that you are interested in the P&LE and this area. Yes 1035 miles is a little far to go railfanning. I have only watched trains at the Bessemer yard on video. Thank you for joining in on the discussion!!!
Since we moved back to the area in '95, we first lived close to the Bessemer & Lake Erie yard and Buffalo & Pittsburgh shops north of Butler, then bought my wife's grandparents' house on the hill south of town almost overlooking the Armco/AK Steel/Cliffs plant. They do a lot of switching there too.
@Mark Boyce posted:Bob, The grade against the wall is 4%. The SCARM plan showed it at 3.7%, so I used Woodland Scenics foam risers. Then I tapered the grade at the top and bottom for a smooth transition, making the grade less there. You should be good to go in 12 feet. One engine can pull a normal train up the 4%.
I can't believe that's 4%. It looks reasonable. People always say 4% isn't a good idea but that looks fine to me!
Did you just set the transition as you felt necessary? I haven't seen any rule of thumb or anything for getting up to the grade.
Bill, Since the prototype Western Maryland Railway Black Fork Grade is over 3.5%, 4% seemed the logical choice. Way back 5 years ago, I tested my engines pulling cars up various grades I mocked up on the floor. As I recall all the engines could pull trains of the lengths I would use on this small layout up even steeper grades. Perhaps those who are saying that is too steep are pulling trains of 10, 20, 30 cars up long grades on much longer layouts. Then I could see they could get in trouble.
The transitions were really trial and error. On past layouts, I used the old cookie cutter method of cutting the plywood and putting in risers to make any grade I wanted with automatic easy transitions from horizontal to the grade. On this layout, since the SCARM grades were near 4% and my carpentry skills are digressing, I copped out and used Woodland Scenics 4% foam risers. The problem with them is, you have to taper into the grade at the bottom of the grade and then back out to horizontal at the top. I had one steam engine that kept shorting out at the bottom of the grade, and front wheels would lift off the track at the top of the grade. I did so much cutting and shimming, it would have been easier to go back to the cookie cutter I learned back in the old Kalmbach Publishing book, 'HO Railroad that Grows' that I just about wore out when I was a teenager in the late '60s and early '70s. If I build another layout, I'll go back to the plywood cookie cutter method for sure!
I feel like the warnings I've read were to stay under 3% but I also found up to 5.5% worked ok and still looked good.
I thought it might be something like this I'm more nervous about working up to the grade than the grade itself!
Bill, I just laid a long board on the floor, then propped up one end with blocks of wood, and laid straight track on it. I put an engine with so many cars an the track, applied power, and tested it out.
As has been said time and time again on this forum and other places, it is ultimately your railroad; do what you like and what works.
Good morning, Mark, the videos are great! You sure have come a long way from the time I joined the forum! Everything looks like it's going to be a fun RR to run and when you get the scenery done, I bet it's going to look outstanding! Thanks for the update and I will be being PMing you with a question about your video!
I hope you have a great day and are staying safe!
Mark,
Good idea on the testing methodology and likewise, the advice on transition also makes a lot of sense. Common sense applies. I can recall as a kid being able to pull my three passenger cars with a magnetraction Hudson up a steep grade of Lionel trestle since I had to do so in a short distance - I believe it was probably a 4x10 or so layout. I also did so with a short freight. But I do remember it wouldn’t work if there were curves involved or if I began adding more cars. The takeaways from that is it depends on what you want to accomplish. So using your advice, include curves and a typical consist in the testing, and if it works, you’re set! If you have plans for something more, then think twice?
Bob
A variable to keep in mind is that a curve on a grade adds significantly to the difficulty an engine has pulling its train. I had to rethink my previous layout because there was a relatively gentle grade on a curve, and one of my engines just couldn't make it up the hill pulling more than 2 cars.
Thank you, Mike, Bob, Steve!
Mike, I’m glad to see you aren’t shoveling snow. It is cold, but no snow here. I’ll be looking for your message.
Bob and Steve, you are both right about curves hindering pulling power. I knew that going in, but didn’t test it. I was fortunate to get away with it here. So, Bill definitely keep it in mind. I appreciate Bob and Steve mentioning it, so I don’t lead you astray!!
Hey Mark, I forget to mention the other day that I finally got in watching the two videos you posted above. Yeah, it took a bit to get them in because of how active things were this past weekend(Go Steelers). I really do enjoy a nice slow steam locomotive just going through the motions(as it were) climbing up and coming back down. Also working on that Altoona Model Works Station, brave. I have not even started working on my New Haven Signal Tower. I just don't seem to have the time to sit down and work on something that will take a bit. I think I need to pick up some supplies still that I haven't got around to picking up. Ugh. Everything looks dang good so far Mark.
