New Layout Progress

[steammodeler]

Your making excellent progress Lynn. That wiring is very involved. Steady and sure you have come a long way from the planning stage.

[wickman]

Thanks Bryan thats a great idea. I'm not sure yet if the wires are going to run along the rear of the layout tacked to the legs or from under the bench. I'm slowly getting it organized in my fat head.

[beaser]

Lyn
looking very good. Try setting some nails with just the tips in the wood to act as a routing guide for the wires. It makes for a tidy way of bundling wires. When all the wires are in then either lace the cable with twine or tie wraps.

You can also buy tie wraps with a  scew tab or even use velcro wraps.

[wickman]

Bin a busy weekend and as ussual it took me twice the time to learn something than a normal person , but got it done no matter.
Spent the weekend figuring out the staionary decoder setup. I also soldered all the feeds to the edge connectors which then slip onto the tortoise switch contacts.
Figured out a bit of a board setup and also made up a couple positive and negative power bars to feed the ds64's and what ever else will need the power off the dc power pack.
So here's a few pics its not quite as organized as I like but its a good start and will be mounted away from the super chief with one loconet coming from the super chief loconet to one of the ds64 loconet plugs then all the ds64 's will be changed together as shown.
The computer will also have a loconet connection , the puter makes setting up much much easier.
Before you say anything all those wires which are connected to the tortoises will have to be stapled up under the bench work in an orderly fashion of course.Its a beginning.






Each turnout will have a number written on the bench corresponding to the ds64 switch to be thrown

[wickman]

Here's the pics I said were coming I cleaned up best i could for time available.
Tortoises are installed on all these turnouts.All the drop leads are soldered on and dangling below,tonite I hope to run the main level buss wire.
Then I get to run some trains for a bit. By first of next week the rest of the flex track and roadbed will be in.
This pick is of lower right area entrance to staging is connected and path to where incline will go is shown


well you know ...helping specs

Shows the passing siding and on the far left will be the spur to mine and tunnel and up the incline

The run over to the left loop and industrial area

arrows depicting turnouts to industries installed

end of reverse loop and beginning of passing siding

[wickman]

Update on progress:
I have all track layed from staging yard entrance all the way around to big balloon on left side including the passing sidings ( moved one turnout a bit to get longer passing siding). All the tortoises are installed on the track I laid. Just waiting for the postman to come with more roadbed and flex track.Pics coming real soon .

[wickman]

Thanks Guys
I just completed the getting the roadbed under the track for the main line  run from the staging yard 0 elevation track all the way around to the left hand reverse loop, just have to nail down the track. I'm waiting on more flex track and roadbed and I can start on the rest, I was fortunate enuff that all the turnout points just happened to NOT BE under any croos members , so the tortoise mounting will be a breeze.

[steammodeler]

That layout is really comming together Lynn; Good stuff!
Those structures will really make a nice setting for your operation. 

[beaser]

I use a tramel which is a yardstick with a hole drilled at the 1" mark and from the 18" to 36"  marks, every 1/2". Nail it down, subtract and inch (the hole is at the 1" mark) and scribe your radius. I always underscribe the radius by 1/2" and draw the tangent  at the full measurenment. that was i can draw an easement.. the easement reduces your co efficient of lurch. (big words excite me   )

To better visualize what i can do i made some subroadbed patterns out of foamcore at 32, 30, 28 and 26 inch radius.

We all do thinks differently but in the end most of us change our minds a few times, t'is the nature of the beast.

[wickman]

Well just an update I bin laying track but found after beginning I wasn't happy with a few things so I edited the plan a bit and may even take out the TT as most of my steamers are very large although I do have quite a few diesels that may be happy using it. So anyway I took out the stub end yard to free up some area and simply incorporated another siding so this way blocks of cars can still be dropped off from an east bound and picked up by a west bound and vicey versy.I'll decide when I lay the track in that area whether I'll keep the cross overs or not. I tweaked the left side of the layout and added a passing sidingand removed the outter perimeter track so now there's just the one  this also will probably be changed as I go.. The more track I lay the more I'll get a better idea of what I like. 

[wickman]

That'a an ambitious layout and you've made amazing progress.

What I'd really like to see is your take on the tortoise install method. I know you used the self adhesive velcro pads and thought a separate thread and some verbage would be of great benifit to all.

NP Bryan good as done http://tracksidemodeler.com/index.php?topic=951.0

[MrBeasleigh]

That'a an ambitious layout and you've made amazing progress.

What I'd really like to see is your take on the tortoise install method. I know you used the self adhesive velcro pads and thought a separate thread and some verbage would be of great benifit to all.

[wickman]

 

[wickman]

Here's the update on whats been accomplished.

Next step is to print out the main bench plan and start laying it out.

[wickman]

ok guys as  here's is the final plan 
By the way the grey matter is roadway ( yes I know what it looks like )
the perimeter rail starting in the lower left is a 3% grade going up then leveling off at the top left inside then declines from the top right to just below the sawmill then there's a 2% grade rail inside of that doing the same . And lots of bridges 


Here's the below bench staging yard

What will run this layout
- Digitrax super chief 5 amp with 3 controlers tethered
- I have On Guard reverse mods for the staging yard and main level reverse loops
- 42 tortise switch machines
- all peco turnouts with springs removed
- bd20 block detectors for the hidden staging yard and decline to staging yard
- Kadee Delayed Uncouplers
-Atlas Turntable with motor
-DS64 Stationary Docoder turnouts
-AHD-PS4 two controls, will give power for 4 power districts

What I have completed
-I have 2 more tortoise switch machine to put in the staging yard I have to finish spiking down the track and put a catch mit for the decline test run the track and onto the upper level 






This is the already made mountain tunnel that will hide the stageing yard decline entrance
It's a left over mountain from the previous layout


And the mountain where the mine will be placed it will have to be modified a bit as the mine tracks are going to change


fsm 170  super sawmill


forestlumber

stuffysbrewery


cimarron mine

Here's the actual mine that I have 75% completed


rollin sawyer chemicals


jeffries point


campbells richmond barrel manufacturing


majestic hardware and feed


dpm papa wheelies


dpm harlee and son


icing platform john allen design


emporium seafood


duffys coal foxrun diorama


freight depot


campbells ayer's chairs factory


barnstead lumber and starkeys coal



I completed the installation of tortoise switches and started fine tuning the track , all the bus wire has been run and drop leads soldered to bus wire power district.

Once I get the rest of the rails nailed down for staging and the layout room cleaned up I will take some pics of the benchwork.