Thursday, July 18, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Soldering Rails for Fun and Profit
I ran into a problem on the upper level after I added the new turnout. I used a few short pieces of settrack that I had left over, but the track connectors had become so bent that they snapped off, and I couldn't extracted the broken half. The result was that two of the rail connections were just touching without any support, and I found that if I ran the locomotive over them, it quickly lost power after passing over the unconnected joints.
So I decided to experiment with rail soldering. For my first time, I think I did alright. It had been years since I last used a soldering gun. I put some damp sponges beside the joint to help soak up some of the heat from the rails, but I did end up melting some of the plastic ties. Luckily it wasn't catastrophic. It doesn't look great from close up, but the joints should be much less visible once the rail is ballasted, and most importantly, now the loco runs great over it. I still need to add the pocket track extension, which will need another feeder line, but for now I've tried out a new skill and fixed another problem.
In other news, I'm slowly adding green to the hills. I've also put a black base coat on the rolling stock.
So I decided to experiment with rail soldering. For my first time, I think I did alright. It had been years since I last used a soldering gun. I put some damp sponges beside the joint to help soak up some of the heat from the rails, but I did end up melting some of the plastic ties. Luckily it wasn't catastrophic. It doesn't look great from close up, but the joints should be much less visible once the rail is ballasted, and most importantly, now the loco runs great over it. I still need to add the pocket track extension, which will need another feeder line, but for now I've tried out a new skill and fixed another problem.
In other news, I'm slowly adding green to the hills. I've also put a black base coat on the rolling stock.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Kabayama Station Lighting Test
Installed two of the three planned lights for the station building today. I've also done some work on the station area, plastering the landscape and laying down some greenery.
The barred windows give a nice effect on the surrounding area!
A couple notes:
- these lights are incandescent and get very hot very quickly
- they will never be left on unattended
- each one will eventually be fixed in place, leaving lots of air flow and space around them
I think for the future I'll look into an LED system, I'd just feel much safer with lights that give off next to no waste heat.
The barred windows give a nice effect on the surrounding area!
A couple notes:
- these lights are incandescent and get very hot very quickly
- they will never be left on unattended
- each one will eventually be fixed in place, leaving lots of air flow and space around them
I think for the future I'll look into an LED system, I'd just feel much safer with lights that give off next to no waste heat.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Layout Tour and Plans
Since I'm restarting work on the layout, it's probably a good time to record the current status of different areas, and my plans for their future.
First, an overview image, unfortunately taken in very low light:
You can see the blur of a cat at the extreme right! Details on each numbered area follow.
1) "South" Tunnel Portal and Level crossing
Still a lot of work to do weathering the portal and filling in the greenery, but this area is looking much more "finished" than any other on the layout. I might later add a fence near the bushes between the open space and the road. The crossing will get some rural signage and the whole road still needs a lot of work adding to the surface.
2) Freight Yard
This was originally supposed to be the entrance to a yard, but when I gave up on the small extension idea, it turned into this. The crane fits in well here, and I'm pleased with out the ballasting next to the platform worked out. The platform itself is unfinished because I ran out of that size of balsa wood! The freight office needs some detail around the base, but it has a light installed.
3) Main Yard and Level Crossings
These crossings turned out much better than I had anticipated. Still needs more foliage around the tracks, and a lot more detail in the yard area: signals, lights, signs. The unpainted area in the back is a bit of a puzzle to me. Not yet sure what should go there.
4) Kabayama Station
One of the focus areas of the layout, and one of the last to be landscaped. I've roughed in the driveway road and small engine platform to the right. At the bottom will be the suggestion of a small park, with trimmed greenery and perhaps a low stone wall. The station itself is nearly painted, but still needs a lot of detail work. There will be three lights in the building, one for each of the interior room sections.
5) Bridge and Future Site of Kabayama Mine
I've removed the mine structure temporarily to give me some work area on the layout surface. I think this will be one of the last areas I work on, but it will be interesting to see how it comes together, especially working with resin for the small pond. As penciled in, the road will branch and cross the track before heading to a parking lot for the mine.
6) Girder Bridge
Just recently re-laid this track after adding the new turnout. Lots of work to do in this corner.
7) Switch House, Track to Upper Level, and "North" Tunnel Portal
One of the best views of the layout so far, in my opinion. The building is finished, with lots of greenery detail around the base, and a light installed. The portal still needs weathering, and there's a need for some signals to control the approach to the turnout.
8) Upper Runaround Track
Something I should have planned on from the start, since getting any number of cars into the siding at the left is too difficult without it. Lots of room here for small details around the tracks.
9) Future Engine Pocket Track
Another view of the girder bridge, the track will be extended over a small cantilevered extension to allow the engine and 1-2 cars to clear the turnout. In fantasy land, it's the connection of this small local network to the larger railway.
10) Future Freight Drop-off
Intended as a place to leave cars to be picked up by inter-local trains coming in from outside the layout. Might end up leveling the area next to the siding and adding a platform and some buildings, but I don't want to block off the back area too much.
First, an overview image, unfortunately taken in very low light:
You can see the blur of a cat at the extreme right! Details on each numbered area follow.
1) "South" Tunnel Portal and Level crossing
Still a lot of work to do weathering the portal and filling in the greenery, but this area is looking much more "finished" than any other on the layout. I might later add a fence near the bushes between the open space and the road. The crossing will get some rural signage and the whole road still needs a lot of work adding to the surface.
2) Freight Yard
This was originally supposed to be the entrance to a yard, but when I gave up on the small extension idea, it turned into this. The crane fits in well here, and I'm pleased with out the ballasting next to the platform worked out. The platform itself is unfinished because I ran out of that size of balsa wood! The freight office needs some detail around the base, but it has a light installed.
3) Main Yard and Level Crossings
These crossings turned out much better than I had anticipated. Still needs more foliage around the tracks, and a lot more detail in the yard area: signals, lights, signs. The unpainted area in the back is a bit of a puzzle to me. Not yet sure what should go there.
4) Kabayama Station
One of the focus areas of the layout, and one of the last to be landscaped. I've roughed in the driveway road and small engine platform to the right. At the bottom will be the suggestion of a small park, with trimmed greenery and perhaps a low stone wall. The station itself is nearly painted, but still needs a lot of detail work. There will be three lights in the building, one for each of the interior room sections.
5) Bridge and Future Site of Kabayama Mine
I've removed the mine structure temporarily to give me some work area on the layout surface. I think this will be one of the last areas I work on, but it will be interesting to see how it comes together, especially working with resin for the small pond. As penciled in, the road will branch and cross the track before heading to a parking lot for the mine.
6) Girder Bridge
Just recently re-laid this track after adding the new turnout. Lots of work to do in this corner.
7) Switch House, Track to Upper Level, and "North" Tunnel Portal
One of the best views of the layout so far, in my opinion. The building is finished, with lots of greenery detail around the base, and a light installed. The portal still needs weathering, and there's a need for some signals to control the approach to the turnout.
8) Upper Runaround Track
Something I should have planned on from the start, since getting any number of cars into the siding at the left is too difficult without it. Lots of room here for small details around the tracks.
9) Future Engine Pocket Track
Another view of the girder bridge, the track will be extended over a small cantilevered extension to allow the engine and 1-2 cars to clear the turnout. In fantasy land, it's the connection of this small local network to the larger railway.
10) Future Freight Drop-off
Intended as a place to leave cars to be picked up by inter-local trains coming in from outside the layout. Might end up leveling the area next to the siding and adding a platform and some buildings, but I don't want to block off the back area too much.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Light it up!
Bought a simple Hornby lighting setup, and after adding another turnout to the upper track, tried it out.
Looks great so far! Very easy to set up. I mounted the bulb on a stand of leftover plastic sprue, and used sticky tack to hold everything together. It wires in to the transformer, has a little dedicated fuse, and a separate switch to disable all the lights.
Looks great so far! Very easy to set up. I mounted the bulb on a stand of leftover plastic sprue, and used sticky tack to hold everything together. It wires in to the transformer, has a little dedicated fuse, and a separate switch to disable all the lights.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Continuation
It's been more than six months since my last post, as lack of money and the requirements of my career suspended work on the layout. Things are more settled now, though, so I can finally get back to work!
Here's a shot of the layout as it stands right now, with most buildings removed. I plan on adding another turnout to the upper track to make a runaround track, otherwise I just have to continue adding ground cover, and finishing the building models.
Here's a shot of the layout as it stands right now, with most buildings removed. I plan on adding another turnout to the upper track to make a runaround track, otherwise I just have to continue adding ground cover, and finishing the building models.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)