Update but little Progress

For the time being I'm not sure where I will be living in the fall, so work on the physical layout has stopped for now. I have had some time to think over the layout, however, and assuming that wherever I end up building the Taihoku 1937 layout I have a similar amount of space, I've revised the plan to the following:

It now incorporates a great number of sidings, as well as a reverse loop that makes use of the wooden bridge. I'm not sure if there will still be a river running through the middle; it depends on how it looks when I mock it up.

Also in the meantime, I've returned to Blender to try modelling more structures and scenery from the era. I plan on updating the older models, and attempting to create the main, pre-1937 station in Taihoku.

Greenmax No. 12 Railway Signal Box

Nice, simple little building. The base will get some weathering treatment and more small details in the future. I decided to paint it "faded green" rather than the flat brown that's used in most images. This looks more "railway" to me somehow.

More on these structures: JNS Forum

Layout Table Progress

Added the legs to the basic frame today. I went with a very cheap set of tools, and at least where the screwdriver is concerned, it was not worth it as the head has stripped after only a couple dozen screws. Below you can see my hand saw and drill; the drill is fine, but it's impossible to make any kind of straight cut with the hand saw, at least not without some kind of cutting jig.

The legs are bolted on, and it took me a couple tries to figure out how to line up the holes correctly but I finally happened on a method that worked perfectly. I will add some cross braces to the legs, as well as a temporary shelf for storage below that will sit on the cross braces.


The yard extension is assembled but not yet bolted on. I think I will need some support for it since the bolts will not be enough to hold it securely to the rest of the layout. For now the framework is serving as a worktable and storage space for my Dreadfleet set!

Framed

The basic frame is together! Our new kitten got in on the supervision action.

Restarting from Scratch

One great thing about a hobby is that you can do it when you want to, and put it aside when you don't. Another is that you have no deadlines and no requirements; you're completely in control of your project. After putting together nearly the entire baseboard and track for my layout, I realized that the design I had used had some serious drawbacks. There was only one passing track, the 'town' area was very cramped, and there were some small track design issues that I really should have caught, like putting a short straight section between two otherwise continuous curves.

So I tore it all up and started over with a new design. I put some thought into what I actually want to do with the layout, and realized that a point-to-point, rather than a loop, is fine because I find that putting trains together in a yard and sending it off somewhere is what is enjoyable about operations. This new layout fits into a corner, has a good-sized main yard, a small dockside yard, and three industries along the way. It also incorporates the wooden kit bridge, in addition to four additional bridges! There are some pretty dramatic elevation changes, but the steepest grade is still about 2.5%.

I'm going to try using open benchwork, as well as making the legs bolt on so one day I can try to move the layout to a new location. This is the current plan in Google Sketchup. The extension piece for the town year will be bolted to the main frame and the track pieces fitted together so it too can be removed if necessary.

Overall I am really looking forward to putting this new plan together. I am currently painting the first of my buildings, the signal house, and will post some pictures of it when it's done.

Testing Continues

Waiting on some paints to get started on the buildings. Set up the layout to test the upper level, supervision cat supervised.

New Structures

Received three new structures in the mail from Japan: a rural station, signal/switching tower, and a station master's building, all by Greenmax. The detail of the parts looks great, although I'm not sure if I will end up using the bases for the smaller two structures. I am very skeptical about using the included fences - they end up being some like 1x1m in N scale, far too bulky to look realistic. I should be able to start assembling them on the weekend.

Picked up some more wire and some terminal blocks, hopefully I can improve the wiring situation underneath the layout. I also bought some quick disconnect terminals for connecting the power pack to the layout, but they don't feel as quick to disconnect as advertised, plus I have no idea how the wires are supposed to be attached to the terminals; they are also labeled as "solder-free".

Got to visit the Hockley Valley Railroad recently, which has a great couple of HO-scale layouts and an amazing indoor G-scale layout set partly in the modern era and partly in the transition era. I would encourage anyone in the area (Alliston; in Southern Ontario, north of Toronto) to check it out, the owner is extremely friendly and helpful. They have a great selection of Canadian locomotives, although they seem to specialize in HO and G scale rather than N.