The New Layout

Looks like a hoot.

Keep us in the loop.

Lionn - Thank you for sharing. The layout looks great - and would offer a lot for operations.   I particularly appreciate the lower yard & train terminus / passenger platform. Can you share what program you've used to generate the track plans? I have not seen anything like that before - in terms of the actual file images - and it looks fantastic.     

To Great Lakes RR,

Thank you for the reply. I tried to put a lot in what space I have.

The layout program is Atlas SCARM. The other 3D images are from a software I use for business called 'Tradesmens Software'. It is used for masonry estimating. 3D CAD based.

I exported the SCARM file to BITMAP, Converted the BITMAP to pdf, converted the pdf to tiff and imported that into TSI, scaled and positioned. Easy right?...lol

Spent lots of time staring at a computer screen. Planning, planning, planning...Now I'm sawing, drilling, fastening, making noise and sawdust.

DL

@Lionnnn posted:

 

Bench work is 2x8 girder with 1x4 flange and 1x4 open-grid on 16" centers. 5/8" B/C plywood and 1/2" homestead.As an old carpenter, I couldn't resist overbuilding some. 

DL

Gotta say... I have seen hundreds of layouts bet never saw one constructed using 2x8's.  Yes it may be just slightly overbuilt.  But it is your layout and you are FREE to build it your way.  

BTW - I love your trackplan.

Have you considered access to the center of the layout?

Donald

The 1 x 4s under the 5/8" may wind up walking and talking.

As long as you are going super heavy duty please consider ripping some 3/4' birch-maple 3 1/2" tall for your 16" centers.  Those 1x4 sticks of dimensional lumber strike me as your Achilles heel.

In keeping with your battleship build I would go with Advantech decking.  Smooth, flat, unable to absorb moisture.  $30.??  per sheet, 84 lumber.

Being wall bound on at least two sides working on this pike will be a young man's task.

The 8" joists combined with the 4" cross members with be a significant obstacle when working from underneath, a 12" reach up!  Might bite you down the road.

If you are  going to stay with the 8" joists you may want to bridge them to restrain their natural movement over time.

I did have a friend with an 9' platform which was very awkward to work on so I cut a river up the center so he could walk in.

To SantaFeJim,

Yep! Just slightly overbuilt. I figured it couldn't hurt with myself and someone else crawling around on it. Beefy.

Attached are after today's efforts.

Thanks for the compliment on the track plan. It's been on the drawing board for a long time.

DL

To 3Rail,

Just posted photos of today's work.

I am building it in two long sections. What I call the 'Upper Grid' is shown in a few photos.

The girders and the open grid are now complete for the upper section.

To answer your question about access, yes, there will be 4 hatches.

DL

To Tom Tee,

Hey Tom Tee! See the photos just posted. Thanks for the tip on the Avantech decking. I'll surely check into it. And thanks for posting those photos.

I'm rigging a 4 wheel moving dolly with a seat and backrest for the work underneath. I placed 2x6 legs at 5' centers so I don't think I'll get much sag.

Thanks to everyone for the interest. As I am just getting started, I know there will be hurdles and challenges. Thanks for the support from all the collective experience.

I foresee this layout to be first rate. Taking my time.

DL

@Lionnnn posted:

So here it is. Don't have a name yet although it could be called 'The Crowded and Specific Railroad'. haha

The concept is running passenger trains. The station in the lower goes around to the top and feeds into the outbound main line. After a few laps, switching to the reverse loop and onto the inbound mainline eventually heading back into the station. A second train from the station and the process starts again. A third loop (in yellow) for a short line freight or whatever. Still tweaking the center pass-through yard.

I am just getting started with the bench work, but progress should go pretty quick. Overall size is 22'-6" X 12'-4"

Bench work is 2x8 girder with 1x4 flange and 1x4 open-grid on 16" centers. 5/8" B/C plywood and 1/2" homestead.As an old carpenter, I couldn't resist overbuilding some.

I going with Atlas 3-rail as I like the solid rail.

Anyway, I crammed about as much railroad as possible into the space I have available!  My sincere apologies to the hard line prototype guys for not adhering to strict operational protocol, but I just want to sit back with a cold one and watch the cool brass I've been collecting chug around the pike.

Looking forward to feedback.

 

DL

I can't find fault with anything you're doing.  And I whole-heartedly agree with your ultimate goal!  

Great layout plan and the 3-D rendering really stands out! Looks like pretty solid bench work too.

I would add addition crossing points between the Red/Blue/Yellow lines.  It is a complex path one needs to follow.

Jan

Mr.Lion, 

You may wish to have all four wheels on your scooter buggy to be swivel. 

I  first use two fixed and two swivel but soon found that one way or another I got stuck against a leg. tt

I have an old 4 wheel dolly with all swivel wheels. I just have to rig some kind of chair/back-rest to it.

Just finished securing the first half of the bench work to the 2 outside walls. Nice and solid now. Keep from any bumps derailing trains.

This coming weekend, I'll complete the bench work. The girders and grid framework anyway. Plywood and homasote gets delivered next week.

Finally figured a way to have the layout design printed from the SCARM generated layout rendition. The scale was slightly off so they will reprint it. (5) 3' wide x 22'-6" long sheets. Only cost me $70!

More photos after the bench work is done.

DL

I'm impressed by your design and construction details. I'm all for bumbling around in a busy switching yard myself, but the idea of sitting back and watching the trains go by does sound appealing. It's been a long time since I've had anything other than a point to point, but I used to run a long freight train on a loop of track and read a book listening to that shushing/clacking sound of wheels over rails. 

Here is the latest progress. The girders and grid are complete, fastened and secured. Holes for the wiring at 12".

Wednesday the electrician will install dedicated circuits for the transformers and train stuff, lighting, power tools, TV screen and A/C.

The latest progress...

Some nice planning you got going on there. 

Where are you going to put the car?

That's a nice plan and the construction certainly will allow anyone to crawl on it.  I like the SCARM plan you had printed out.  I printed mine on 8x11 sheets on my inkjet printer.  Of course there weren't that many sheets since the layout is only 11x8 with the whole center not printed since it is access.  For a garage sized layout, you did it the smart way.

Who did the printing for you? Hoping to do the same. Really looking forward to following your progress.

To JackO,

Thanks for the interest and reply.

The printing was done by an outfit called 'Accent Imaging'. Problem with them is they have only a 30" width so I had to seam 6 sheets. Also, there was no overlap so I had to line the sheets up edge to edge. Difficult to say the least. If you are going to print your layout design 1:1, I suggest finding a printer who has a wider format like 60"+.

DL

To eddie g,

Haha. Unlike so many, we are a one car family.

DL

To Mark,

Thanks Mark. The real work is just beginning.

More photos soon.

DL

To E-UNIT-79,

Thank you.

Planning, planning, planning. Then, work, work, work.

Stay tuned... Much much more to come.

DL

So, did you do this drawing or did you have someone do it and print it?

If you know some 'out-of-work model railroad elves' let me know. 

The 'drawing' was generated with SCARM by yours truly. (It has taken many months of planning and re-drawing to get to where it is.) I then exported it to an emf file and ultimately converted it to a digital pdf and sent to a commercial printer. The scale on the first draft print was slightly off so they had to re-scale and re-print it. If anyone out there is thinking of going this route, definitely check the scale of the print when you receive it.

I rolled out the sheets, positioned and seamed them together. I used a piece of masking tape every 2' or so to 'tack' them together. Once it was 'right', I used a quality clear tape to carefully bind the full length seams. If I did it again, I would find a printer with wider capability like 60" or more and include an inch or so of overlap (maybe 2 seams instead of 5).

Next, I cut the printed template to mark where to 'cookie-cut' the homasote and plywood for the various grades in elevation. I taped the template to the homasote as I proceeded to maintain correct location. (see the latest photos)

More to come...

DL

DL, I'm an 'out-of-work model railroad elvf'.   Forced retirement.  However, I don't have a magic sleigh to get me to wherever you live!!    

That is the same procedure for taping I used on my 8 1/2 x 11 sheets I printed on the home inkjet.  The photograph shows one shelf of the layout, with a stack of prints on the far left shelf.

Mark,

You have a lot of patience! When I first hit print preview 1:1 on SCARM, there were 425 total pages! I thought, 'no way, no how'!!

DL

DL,   Considering the 4' x 6' center of the layout is open walk-in, I was able to get it down to a little over 100 pages.

Mark

Congratulations on your progress!  The air conditioning will be a great relief!!

After a year of planning and 6 months of hard work, there are trains running!

I say you have made great progress in a short time!  The videos are great!