What did you do on your layout today? (N scale)

[enodenlover]

It took several days but I finally finished the cutting, painting, striping and gluing in place of all the paved streets and roads. Also installed a few small details such as dead end street barriers and a diesel fuel pump at the bus depot. I wish I could post photos showing the progress on this layout as well as the micro-layout I completed back in March but I'm afraid my very limited computer skills don't allow for it right now. Hopefully one of my more computer-savvy friends will help me correct that problem in the near future.

[cteno4]

Ugh mor shop cleaning... hopefully things are back in shape with one last push on thurs! Wife wants to have it back so the one car can park most of the time. She has been nice the last 4 months as we worked on the club layout and I assembled the new table saw!

 

Now thinking of hiring a neighborhood kid to come in once a month and just vacuum, vacuum, vacuum....

 

I hope I can finish the framework girder system for the club modules as we have our annual meeting this weekend and would be fun to show off!

 

Jeff

[cteno4]

Ok big cleanup finished and back to working on the club layout! Got the frame girders and joists all cut and dadoed (guess that can be a verb). They came out sharp! There are three different sized L girders to have the layout expand as desired (from about 10'x5' to 18'x5' without the yard which can be 5'x3' or 10'x3' extension off the end of the layout) so these all needed dados in just the right places to make them all line up regardless of orientation of the girders. The girders are connected together with splice plates that will bolt to the ends of the girders. Joists then interlock with dados across the series of the long L girders. This interlocking frame then sits on top of centipede supports. Then modules sit on top of the frame. Each of the centipede legs will have an leveling bolt that can push up the frame if we are on uneven surfaces (we are either on super flat floors or really uneven ones!) Frame and centipedes collapse down into a duffle.

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Centipede-Work-Support-48-in-Steel-Saw-Horse-1-500-lb-Weight-Capacity/50408276

 

Hopefully Friday I can get all the splice plate holes drilled and the L attached to the L girder so I can take it all to the annual club meeting Sunday.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

Now that's a frame!

[cteno4]

So spent some time tonight verifying the girder splice plate design and production. In theory the design should be minimal and with two thumb screws lock two L girders into a tight and straight joint. But there is theory and there is the real world, so always test! Well tests came out swimmingly other than nailing the L onto the wrong way, so the thumb screw is a bit close to the leg. Won't screw that up in the Final! Really is a super tight joint and with the log set up on the drill press they should all come out identical.

 

Also bought a nice $6 tool, a threaded insert T wrench. In the past I had a contraption with a 1/4" bolt and some nuts and a block of wood and a socket wrench. Worked ok when I did a large number of Ttrak modules for the club, but 1 in maybe 8 would not threat perfectly perpendicular. The T wrench is perfect and made a little block to keep it perpendicular and it works like awsome sauce! Love it when you find the perfect tool for a job. I love threaded inserts and use them a lot, this is really great.

 

Now have to mount my new drill press fence. The new one extends out to 40" so great to drill the long frame piece ends and keep things square. Also is much sturdier than my old one and has a vacuum port just behind the bit so hopefully will keep chips out of the jigs.

 

Poco a poco.

 

Jeff

[ianlaw]

Jeff,

That's a lot of hard work... You probably need this for a large club layout. I have found that with light scales like Z and N you don't have to put too much effort into the woodwork for a small home layout. 

[medusa]

Swapped couplers on the new blue Koki... Arnolds out vs. Knuckles in. And I took a snapshot of the full train even if there is hardly any freight at the moment.

Upper right corner of the first photo hints you why I cannot have a full layout on our dinner table currently... :hmh:

 

Edited May 20, 2017 by medusa

[cteno4]

Jeff,

That's a lot of hard work... You probably need this for a large club layout. I have found that with light scales like Z and N you don't have to put too much effort into the woodwork for a small home layout.

 

Yeah it's been an evolution with the club layouts from simple but clunky, bulky and a lot of work to setup and transport to one that is much more compact and easy to setup in a variety of situations and environments and transport efficiently... having things that must break down and travel well adds a lot more to the equation. We do shows in a wide varieties of places so have to basically have it self contained and be able to deal with an uneven surface and no tables or other supports provided (we just make sure there is a roof od some sort!) A little bit of careful woodwork can make things easier in the long run. Also a portable layout gets a lot of abuse over the years.

 

But it was amazing how the very similar structure, just sized up to bigger modules and wirh more stationary base worked fast to make Renato's good sized 8'x9' layout. Still had to make it so he could handle it easily at home to set up and rearrange if he desires and also transport it home in the SUV!

 

Actually in the last 15 years it's been 3 club layouts and 8 or so small to medium layouts for members and a scad of Ttrak modules. The ones that have gotten a bit more attention on the platform have held up well over the years and lasted. One coffee table layout went thru three owners so far as folks moved away. Along the way it got classed up with pretty veneer, shapely legs, and pate glass top along with a nice pull out drawer to hide the control panel and power packs. having the shop helps make nicer stuff with not a lot more work or cost. Baltic birch 1/2" ply is cheaper to use for framing than the cheapest dimensional lumber and is much stronger, easier to work with, lighter, and looks nice even on exposed edges,

 

Jeff

[nah00]

Swapped couplers on the new blue Koki... Arnolds out vs. Knuckles in. And I took a snapshot of the full train even if there is hardly any freight at the moment.

Upper right corner of the first photo hints you why I cannot have a full layout on our dinner table currently... :hmh:

 

koki-1.png koki-2.png

 

To be completely honest it doesn't look unrealistic, you see lots of empty Kokis (sometimes more than loaded ones) on freight runs except for something like the Super Green Shuttle Liner. 

[Pauljag900]

Been working on the other side of the mountain module and wanted try try and hide the corner of tracks so decided on a small farm and with the help of a few tall trees was able to get just enough height to do it.Just waiting for a few detail bits to finish off.The down side was due to space limitations,as usual,the only way I could fit in an access road was to have an imaginary one across a rd bridge.

Next to do is the small village and station.I bought the tomix mini platform set to see what it s like,fits just nice for what I need so need to get another one.

A couple of pics from either end.

https://youtu.be/NqyuSSbHfno

Edited May 28, 2017 by Pauljag900

[bill937ca]

Looks great Paul!

[cteno4]

Excellent Paul!

 

Jeff

[Kiha66]

Wow, great job Paul! I really like the bridge from the temple, it makes you imagine what might be beyond the edge of the layout.

[Drunkenclam]

Nothing much to report, Just wiring the track feeds when I have time. I must be getting somewhere as I have now run out of blue and white wires.

Ok I did test sections of track that had power with just a motor car.

[Pauljag900]

Cheers for the comments gents,appreciate them all

[Drunkenclam]

Is the Stella fridge full of tasty refreshing beverages,

[Pauljag900]

Of course,it gets very warm out there

[serotta1972]

Very nice Paul! Lots going on in that mountain of yours. Love watching the trains running around. When will the little people start arriving to enjoy the mountain and visit the Shrine?

[Pauljag900]

Ha ha,today the shrine is closed to the public because of a visiting party and they re all on the bus!

Edited May 29, 2017 by Pauljag900

[cteno4]

Got the crowds in the bag so to speak, eh Paul?!

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

Ha ha,yes Jeff,you could say that

[Rmsinsd]

Lights!

 

I've started hooking up lights on my little town. Tomytec & Kato buildings, Unitram, LED lights, more wiring than a bowl of spaghetti. I'll post more shots when all the lights are connected!

[JR 500系]

Wow looks really great now thanks for sharing! I love how the lights enhance the looks of the layout! 

 

Just one question, on the fore-front, are the 2 cars facing the same direction? it looks like both have their tail lights (RED) lighted... If so, it looks like an accident is about to happen with the yellow car turning right....   :P

[railsquid]

There's also one blocking the tramlines - maybe a bosozoku race in progress?

[Rmsinsd]

Heh! I just run the trains. The cars have to look out for themselves! All the streets on Unitram are one-way, so yeah, you see tail lights.