jpv69 posted:I'm in late!!!
Bon anniversaire, Mark!
jpv in France
Merci beaucoup, JPV! 
(I hope I spelled that right. I took French in high school almost 50 years ago) 
C'est parfait!
jpv
It has been a while since I last posted here. Those who have followed may remember I wrote I wouldn’t get back to doing anything until after New Year’s Day. In the meantime, I did a little more thinking. Being tied up on other things gave time to reflect on the plan and what others have commented. I thought of a couple changes and tried my hand at depicting those on the SCARM plan.
As you may recall, I have the layout loosely based on the Blackwater Canyon (Blackfork Grade) of the Thomas subdivision on the Western Maryland Railway in the Steam-Diesel transition era, which happens to be the time I was born. Trains can travel from Elkins (the lower loop in the upper left of the plan and the staging yard with drop in cassettes for moving cars on and off the layout. It travels to Parsons on the sweeping turnback curve in the lower right. Then starts up the Blackfork grade through Blackwater Canyon finally ending up at Thomas on the top level in the upper left. The train will go under a portion of the town built on a hillside via the upper turnback loop. At this point I could say it is going back to Parsons, or pretend it is going down the other side of the mountain towards Cumberland.
This brings in an addition to the plan and addition to the roster. On the way down the other side of the mountain from Thomas there was a steep branch line called the Chaffee Branch. To handle bringing coal off the mountain, the Western Maryland bought Shay #6 in 1945 I think it was, the last Shay built, which is the Shay #6 that is now at Cass Scenic Railroad. I had an amazing opportunity to buy an MTH Premier PS2 Western Maryland Shay #6 from a Forum friend in December. So I have added the steep Chaffee branch to the bottom of my SCARM design.
One other thing about the SCARM design. Last year we added 054 curves at the big sweeping curve at Parsons on the right. However, 054 didn’t fit into the design we had for the stacked turnback loops in the upper right. Over the fall, I have thought of trying to fit those in. So, the SCARM design I am now attaching has nothing smaller than 054. Yes, it makes that upper right section wider, but this is the section I am going to make detachable and roll away from the wall for access as I made in the small room last winter.
One last note. I received notice that my first Mianne Benchwork kit was shipped today. This will take in the 12-foot wall on the left-hand side. I will then build the roll out unit at the top. If I like Mianne as much as everyone else does, I’ll buy two more kits to take care of the rest of the benchwork later. I have been pressed for money for this project and realized during the time I didn’t have a layout, I accumulated more engines, rolling stock, and operating accessories than I could ever use on this layout. You may have seen me posting items for sale over the last few months. I now have 3 steam and 3 diesel engines I can use on this layout. More than enough. I keep records on a spreadsheet for insurance reasons and see I have reduced my inventory by 40%. There were a couple hard decisions, but as soon as they were sold, I was happy they are in good hands.
So, let me know what you think. Yes, the SCARM design has flaws. I really butchered up the layers for one, but I think the concept will work. I have included a .pdf of my latest design because I can not find how to do a Capture in the documentation, and am tired of looking.
Thank you anyone who takes a look and leaves a comment or critique.
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Looks good Mark! Plenty of running room and plenty of switching opportunities! With room to add more!!
Jim
Looks good Mark.
Bob
Thank you, Jim and Bob!
Used to do a lot of hiking and backpacking around Thomas, Davis and Canaan Valley. I remember seeing tracks but don't remember any trains running there in the early 1980s.
Good luck with the layout expansion, It's great that you are able to pare back the rolling stock. I really need to do that -- have way more stuff than I will ever run at one time.
Glad to hear you have more benchwork on the way. That Western Maryland Shay is sharp looking. I like the plan with larger curves, it will give you more room for scenery.
Only thing to consider, which I’m sure you have already, is reach in the upper left area.
Keep us updated!
love the plan!
Mark, I moved all the track to the mainline layer except for the upper loop. That way you don't have to worry about layers when making changes, but can still turn off the upper loop to make working on the lower loop easier. I left the color-coding, mostly to make it easy to see the grade tracks, and fixed the disconnects.
I hope you realize you have very little mainline track left at elevation 0". However, even though SCARM won't allow switches on grades, you might still consider doing that during the build. If you put the passing siding and the grades leading to/from on a single grade, you can keep the mainline from the lower loop to Parsons at elevation 0" and begin a 2.6% grade from the apex of the loop all the way up to Thomas. The con to doing that is you won't be able to park cars alone on the passing siding because they'll roll downhill, but because you have grades between the switches, you won't be able to park cars anyway. The build would go much easier without all the grade changes needed just to put the switches on a flat surfaces. I think we talked abut this once before, so I just wanted to remind you.
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Hey Mark
Looks great!
I glad you are back at it
Al
Bill, It has been a while since I read about when they stopped running trains there. It seems to me it was sometime in the ‘70s; but don’t quote me. Thank you
JD, thank you. The upper left is where the roll out section comes in. That will let me get behind when I need to. The stationary Benchwork will come out 30 or so inches. Then a slightly larger rollout section like I built last winter will connect to it. The smaller one now serves as a prototype for a better one, it is back a few pages where I tried to show how it works.
Dr. Joe, Thank you.
Dave, Thank you for the fixes. Yes I did have to stretch out the grade further! You have a good point about the passing siding. I don’t plan on parking cars and you are right if I did, I would have to make the whole siding flat. I have read pros and cons on switches on grades. Some say they cause derailments, others say they have never had a problem. I think it is worth a try to make a constant grade. It would be a lot easier. Thank you again for the SCARM work.
Al, Thank you!
Mark, I like the layout plans.
John Rowlen
Lookin' good, Mark
Looking great Mark! I cant wait to see you get started, but do us all a favor and take it easy! Don't want you going down do to a bad back! Plus you need to get that toe working again!
Thank you John, Carl, and Mike! I’ve been trying to take it easy with the back, and lift and reach smarter! The problem with the toe is I have to watch it doesn’t drag and my shoe catches on the carpet, ground, or even smooth concrete. I have gotten pretty good at keeping it up enough nearly all the time, but the therapist said he can hear me coming, flop, flop, flop!
very nice work...
Great to have you back at it, Mark, and the plan looks spot on.
Thank you, The Dude and Richie!!
I finalized the last roster sale this morning to raise funds for the Mianne and other layout building supplies. This one wasn't as hard to let go of as some others. I started cutting when I had to use the money I saved for the layout on car repair and dog repair. Then I saw the Shay, so by that time I had cut so much, I just kept going. I now have The Shay, a WM H9, and a PRR 0-4-0 switcher I want to re-letter for the WM. On the diesel side, I have a BL2 and an A-B-A F3 set that I want to repaint and upgrade from PS to PS3, I have the kits. I already upgraded the BL2. I do have a WM PS3 Hudson on preorder for the passenger train, so no order from the new Lionel catalog. That doesn't count the Christmas sets.
Mark Boyce posted:It has been a while since I last posted here. Those who have followed may remember I wrote I wouldn’t get back to doing anything until after New Year’s Day. In the meantime, I did a little more thinking. Being tied up on other things gave time to reflect on the plan and what others have commented. I thought of a couple changes and tried my hand at depicting those on the SCARM plan.
As you may recall, I have the layout loosely based on the Blackwater Canyon (Blackfork Grade) of the Thomas subdivision on the Western Maryland Railway in the Steam-Diesel transition era, which happens to be the time I was born. Trains can travel from Elkins (the lower loop in the upper left of the plan and the staging yard with drop in cassettes for moving cars on and off the layout. It travels to Parsons on the sweeping turnback curve in the lower right. Then starts up the Blackfork grade through Blackwater Canyon finally ending up at Thomas on the top level in the upper left. The train will go under a portion of the town built on a hillside via the upper turnback loop. At this point I could say it is going back to Parsons, or pretend it is going down the other side of the mountain towards Cumberland.
This brings in an addition to the plan and addition to the roster. On the way down the other side of the mountain from Thomas there was a steep branch line called the Chaffee Branch. To handle bringing coal off the mountain, the Western Maryland bought Shay #6 in 1945 I think it was, the last Shay built, which is the Shay #6 that is now at Cass Scenic Railroad. I had an amazing opportunity to buy an MTH Premier PS2 Western Maryland Shay #6 from a Forum friend in December. So I have added the steep Chaffee branch to the bottom of my SCARM design.
One other thing about the SCARM design. Last year we added 054 curves at the big sweeping curve at Parsons on the right. However, 054 didn’t fit into the design we had for the stacked turnback loops in the upper right. Over the fall, I have thought of trying to fit those in. So, the SCARM design I am now attaching has nothing smaller than 054. Yes, it makes that upper right section wider, but this is the section I am going to make detachable and roll away from the wall for access as I made in the small room last winter.
One last note. I received notice that my first Mianne Benchwork kit was shipped today. This will take in the 12-foot wall on the left-hand side. I will then build the roll out unit at the top. If I like Mianne as much as everyone else does, I’ll buy two more kits to take care of the rest of the benchwork later. I have been pressed for money for this project and realized during the time I didn’t have a layout, I accumulated more engines, rolling stock, and operating accessories than I could ever use on this layout. You may have seen me posting items for sale over the last few months. I now have 3 steam and 3 diesel engines I can use on this layout. More than enough. I keep records on a spreadsheet for insurance reasons and see I have reduced my inventory by 40%. There were a couple hard decisions, but as soon as they were sold, I was happy they are in good hands.
So, let me know what you think. Yes, the SCARM design has flaws. I really butchered up the layers for one, but I think the concept will work. I have included a .pdf of my latest design because I can not find how to do a Capture in the documentation, and am tired of looking.
Thank you anyone who takes a look and leaves a comment or critique.
Mark,
Ultimately, I don't think you will regret the decision to downsize your roster and put the money to a different (and better) use. I have done the same thing, with an emphasis on eliminating excess rolling stock. Fortunately, I have not accumulated a huge excess number of locomotives (7 total). I think the new layout will support the simultaneous operation of two switchers (B6sb and S-2) and 4-5 mainline trains. Those not operating will at least fit in the Staging Area without fowling the mainline.
Best,
George
Young Mr. Brown arrived with a long brown box on his shoulder and said, "Here's 60 pounds of wood for you." I was expecting it from Tim Foley. I bought the CL02-24 kit which will fit in nicely along the left hand side of the layout. I'll build it with the angled section on the left hand side of the kit. Then I will be able to but the roll out section for the stacked return loops right up snug.
Annie has just finished the sniff inspection as I was getting the phone out to take her photograph. She gave final approval!
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NICE Mark looks like you & Annie are going to be busy tomorrow... 
Mark, looks like you picked a good weekend to stay indoors to assemble the benchwork, good luck.
JACK
Great news Mark! I see you will be busy! If its snowing that's a good thing, no reason to go outside! You, Momma, and Annie can stay inside where it will be nice and warm!
Brian, Jack, Mike, Thank you!! I already have all the leg assemblies and one of the 2' x 4' sections made. Building benchwork sitting in a chair! Hard to beat!
At this time we are still a bit above freezing so we are getting rain. The forecast is for the temperature to start dropping around midnight and snow all night and morning. I will have to go to my parents' empty house tomorrow afternoon or evening to check on the heat in the pump house. 
If you go out Mark, Be careful!
Wow, that was quick! Stay home and finish the benchwork.
Mark we are in the same boat! Lots of flooding in our area and now we are heading to below freezing temps. Everybody be careful and stay in unless you just have to go out! Mark you can put your bench together!!
Jim
Good advice Mike and Bill!!!!
carsntrains posted:Mark we are in the same boat! Lots of flooding in our area and now we are heading to below freezing temps. Everybody be careful and stay in unless you just have to go out! Mark you can put your bench together!!
Jim
Jim, I got a good start already!
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Annie not to sure of your new project. Have fun assembling the bench work.
Annie always has to inspect everything. Yes indeed, she was not sure. I missed getting a her with her head cocked sideways.
This evening I completed the corner section of the Mianne benchwork. I test fit the middle 4-foot piece between the two sections I built, and it will all fit nicely. I'm not connecting the two ends together yes, so they will be easy to move since we are going to change out what is on the shelves underneath first.
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Looks good Mark! You can even ride your incline bike while you run trains!
That’s right Mike! I’ll stay in shape running trains. I can finally get back to it after the back sciatic problem! It hurt too much the last couple months
Mark Boyce posted:Annie always has to inspect everything. Yes indeed, she was not sure.
This evening I completed the corner section of the Mianne benchwork. I test fit the middle 4-foot piece between the two sections I built, and it will all fit nicely. I'm not connecting the two ends together yes, so they will be easy to move since we are going to change out what is on the shelves underneath first.
Mark so you are leaving the shelving there? How wide is the miane bench plus the shelfing? I'm trying to figure out if I want to narrow the 4ft section of my benchwork to 3ft .. I cant reach the back of it. BUT if I do I will lose 10 or so square feet of layout? After final getting to add that 16 square feet of room soon.
Jim
Looking good!
Peter
Looks good Mark. How do you like working with the Mainne product? It sure will speed up the benchwork building process!
Andy
Looks good Mark. Guess your wife really needs to start clearing the books and other stuff now.
Bob
looks good Mark ! glad you are feeling better !!
