Blackwater Canyon Line - April 2, 2025, Brick Street Extension Planning

@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.

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. 

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.

While I was at it, I discovered I can extend the base for the Sanky Wanky Coffee Company too.

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!

I've been working for the last 10 days, a little at a time, on expanding the town area into the aisle by 4 inches as was suggested.  I now have buildings moved back in approximate locations and trains back on tracks.  I cut 8 inch deep sections of the same plywood I had used for the lift ups.  Then I removed each of the lift up panels and removed 4 inches from the front of each.  This was necessary so that the bracket holding the new piece onto the old would lower behind the cross piece the lift ups rest on when lowered.

After both of the lift ups were finished and reinstalled, I added 1x2 bracing to the front of the lift ups.  I attached that to the left side of the roadbed as someone suggested.  I also did a similar extension for the Coffee Company building.  Now everything is nice and solid.  I just replaced buildings in a similar manner and added a house.  That area is probably too crowded, and one building will have to be removed.

Here is a better view of the clearance for the tracks emerging from under the right hand side.  The car carrier with pickups is my highest car.

Here is looking down the street again and looking at clearance in the backs of the buildings.

Thank you for looking.

I'd leave all the buildings onboard; remember, developed/occupied real estate is more tax revenue for the town!

Looks great Mark. You sure have been busy. I have a question though, how hard is it to lift out?

I am with Dave ibwould leave the buildings the way they are right now and let it sink in to see if you like them or want a change.

I like all the buildings together Mark. I think the more you have the more interesting the town becomes. Can’t wait to see tracks in the area! Thanks for sharing.

Mike

Mark I also agree with leaving the buildings as you have them looks great.

Thank you, Dave, Mike, Mike, Rick!

Well, it seems folks say leave the buildings!  Yes, tax revenue!  I was in one Allegheny River town on Saturday and observed how they had crammed so many old buildings into that narrow spot by the river, so I get it!!    Thank you everyone!

Mike g, here are some photographs showing one of the lift ups propped up.  I stuck the buildings on it with loops of painters tape so I could show you.  Lightweight and easy to hold up while I got the stick into position.  The photographs show the underside of construction, and yes I could stand to add some bracing to the plywood.  That will be easy to do.  I wanted to make sure the concept worked.

Here is a better view of the tracks underneath.  Five tracks.  From rear to front:

1. approach track to the grade to the upper level

2. lower level

3. yard track 1

4. yard track 2

5. programming/rip track

Did someone say, “more buildings?”  Here are some more.

Mark thank for the photos and the explanation on how it works.  It sure is looking wonderful!

Thank you, Mike!

I didn’t do much more, but got thinking of how I am going to scenic both ends of this upper level.  Two multi-track tunnel portals of some sort would be in order.  Here is a foam board mock up of one on the right.  Scenery in the form of a hill with a road will be to right of the portal.  I suppose I could extend a fascia of stone to the left of the portal to cover the open area to the left of the portal.  Something to consider.

I’ll address the left side under the Sanky Wanky Coffee building and bridge in the days to come.

@Mark Boyce Good job incorporating ideas from the peanut gallery!  Creating real estate is a fun surprise.  Here in Kansas City there is an abandoned Rock Island bridge over the Kansas River that is being developed into an entertainment venue - they created real estate by building overhanging platforms and a second level on the bridge.  Should be open this summer.  Your hinged access under the town is slick and looks easy to use.

Hhi Mark I like the idea of the wall on the left, you could have ivy running down the wall to make it more realistic.

Thank you, Dan, Mike!!

Dan, that’s a really neat idea for that truss bridge in Kansas City!  I live out in the country, 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.  I can’t imagine Pittsburgh politicians ever going for such an innovative idea!  😄. It certainly is food for thought for us modelers!

Mike, you are right, there has to be something of interest to break the sameness of a long wall.  Counting under the Sanky Wanky Coffee Company and the other tunnel to the far left, I have about 8 feet of space to consider.  Of course corners will help.

I'm sure you will get it looking great 👍

@Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Mike!

I didn’t do much more, but got thinking of how I am going to scenic both ends of this upper level.  Two multi-track tunnel portals of some sort would be in order.  Here is a foam board mock up of one on the right.  Scenery in the form of a hill with a road will be to right of the portal.  I suppose I could extend a fascia of stone to the left of the portal to cover the open area to the left of the portal.  Something to consider.

I’ll address the left side under the Sanky Wanky Coffee building and bridge in the days to come.

Mark,

You’re rattling my cage here, I’ve thought about closing up this space but haven’t come up with a plan; with three track clearances and the elevator track. Every time I look at  I get distracted.

The only shot  that I have of the other side isn’t very helpful. The local track is in front of the garbage truck. The two mains are to the right of the building. There are actually 3 tracks because the outside main splits in two just behind the garbage truck  

Mark, great work on the town.  As the head of the town fathers, you do need to ensure that the town has a sustainable tax base.

Thank you, Mike, Bob, Kevin!

Bob, yes I see that would be quite an engineering challenge on your layout!  I can see why you would get distracted.  Maybe you should just consider your layout to resemble the triple crossing in Richmond, Virginia.  There is a great staged photograph of it back in the Chessie-Seaboard-Southern days at the american-rails.com/triple-crossing.html Web site.  They have several staged photographs from different eras on that same page.  I was working in Richmond during that time period; mid '70s.  Unfortunately, I was only ever able to see one train at a time.  As they say; there is a prototype for everything.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you, Mike, Bob, Kevin!

Bob, yes I see that would be quite an engineering challenge on your layout!  I can see why you would get distracted.  Maybe you should just consider your layout to resemble the triple crossing in Richmond, Virginia.  There is a great staged photograph of it back in the Chessie-Seaboard-Southern days at the american-rails.com/triple-crossing.html Web site.  They have several staged photographs from different eras on that same page.  I was working in Richmond during that time period; mid '70s.  Unfortunately, I was only ever able to see one train at a time.  As they say; there is a prototype for everything.

Thanks Mark, I have a shot like that. I’ll have to dig it out. Also I realized after I posted that that I should have shown this scene as well. It’s behind the hideous post that I’ve been painting black for a year. To the left of the outside main.

Bob, yes that is a good view.  It reminds me of the film noir movies where someone is in a fleabag hotel and you keep hearing the cars from the El outside the window.  Is that how you spell the El?  That was how my town was going to look before forum members suggested the yard and put the town on the upper level.

Yes it does, and EL is spelled EL.

Great Job Mark with making the upper level, and I know you will do a fantastic job putting scenery on that deck.

Thank you, Myles, John!

I laid out the streets again.  Not much else to report.

Oh, I forgot the photographs.

You're doing a fantastic job Mark!