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

[railsquid]

This is only (in principle) a double-track loop (upper level) and a single-track loop (lower level), with an incline linking them (tunnel on the left), I think one or two large bits of removable scenery covering the whole shebang should do it, when I get round to it (I've been staring at this corner for months and only recently realised how to solve it ).

[Pauljag900]

Ha ha,I know what you mean buddy,mine is all away in boxes atm but I keep trying to work it out on the trCk planner and in my head or on paper but it s impossible really,you need to have it all there in front of you.

i did come across something from woodland scenics called a shaper sheet,it’s like a mesh that bends to the shape of whatever you put it against and can be removed and re used,you may have seen it,

its woodland scenics-c1178,May be worth a look mate👍😀

[gavino200]

12 hours ago, railsquid said:

This is the bit of the layout which looks clever on paper but involves lots of curves crossing at shallow angles and also a gradient, most of which I want to hide in tunnels, and oh it's all very close to the wall and there will be 11 (!) individual tracks entering what will be some sort of landscape feature and bits of it will need to be partially removable for access.

 

I think I've got the first part sorted in principle, though it will be topographically fairly implausible.

 

Tunnel planning by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

I like that Greenmax tunnel portal in the middle. The arch is a nice shape. 

Edited December 17, 2017 by gavino200

[cteno4]

We can call Gavin tunnel brain now.  ;-p

 

jeff

[Pauljag900]

So,here we go again.With some mobility issues I was finding it dificult to maintain my current layout properly as it needed minor dismantling to clean properly,So with all this in mind and not wanting to get to a point where I can t use it or look after it I ve decided to change it again.The other reason is that my priorities have changed,it was always about making a nice layout and trains were always secondary,now that I have a few nice trains I want to see them running more and use the layout to display them.

i ve spent hrs and hrs on anyrail and came up with some weird and wonderful ideas but there was always an issue of one sort or another why it would nt work for me.The main thing for me is to have access for cleaning the tracks,the area I have is more or less 8x8 feet.I made a wish list of what I wanted on it,three heights but no inclines or declines,three stations 8 Trains running and as many sidings as possible.ideally I wanted a U shape but with the double viaduct radius it just was nt possible,so I accepted the fact that Somewhere I would have to crawl under or devise a lift out section.In my experience the Trains very rarely stall on the normal running track,it s always on the points or in sidings where they do nt get used very much,so I decided,if possible to put all this at the front where I could reach them.So this is what I came up with,a little boring as it s basically square loops,but space and wish list meant that I ve really got limited options.Despite the boring loop track plan it does give me what I wanted,three stations at three heights,8 Trains running,24 passenger trains and three freight trains to the side,it also gives me maximum viewing as I can see virtually all the tracks from the front,meaning I can display my trains on the layout.With the road plates the total depth of the front board  is 4ft 2ins,but I intend to make them on a shelf section that can be removed,this then makes the front section 3ft 4ins deep so I ll be able to reach all the tracks and points from there.The only downside for me at the moment is the lack of running length on the double viaduct but there may be a possibility that I can extend it over the tram layout but I can t work that out until I have all of it in place,it will depend on the positioning of the track support piers in relation to the buildings and tram track,tho one way around it would be to glue the track together and custom make piers form styrene tubing.It would also mean modifying the station area to a terminus rather than a through station and also custom building a viaduct to accommodate the point and track leading into the station.

 

initial plan

 

with viaduct extended

 

Any thoughts or comments welcomed,good or bad,but keep it polite please😂😂😂😂

[keiichi77]

You will have to forgive the mess but I started to plant a forest on my fake mountain to hide the shinkansen tracks.  I didn't want to make it a full tunnel in case of derailments, and this makes it much easier to clean the tracks. My layout is mounted over 5 feet off the floor so unless your really tall you would never notice anyway.  I am still working on a tunnel portal for this end, eventually I am going to make 15cm of tunnel interior.  What you see took 4 large bags of Woodland Scenics clump ground foam, 2 more bags should finish the mountain.

 

 

This is the far end of the mountain scene, it will have 2 Shinkansen tracks, underneath them are 2 local lines (the tracks closest to the bridge start to descend and run under the base the shinkansen tracks are on, they are accessible by large holes cut in the base plywood for easy cleaning ), the bridge is a third local line that runs on the surface and finally a 2 track tram line (the tunnel closest to the shinkansen elevated track) that will someday have an auto reversing tram, the tram will go in on one track auto reverse and come out on the other. The top of the mountain is not glued down to allow for easy cleaning of the shinkansen tracks and will someday have a temple on it. 

 

[railsquid]

The Squidlet (aged not-quite-3) saw this picture and was most concerned that debris is blocking the tracks in the left-hand tunnel portal.

[railsquid]

Tunnelling work-in-progress.

 

tunnel-trains by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

tunnel-portals by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

tunnel-overview by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Clearance through the double-track tunnel portal on the curve is extremely tight for double-decker Shinkansens...

[bill937ca]

4 minutes ago, railsquid said:

Clearance through the double-track tunnel portal on the curve is extremely tight for double-decker Shinkansens...

 

Could you make your own tunnel portal to give more generous clearance? 

Edited December 20, 2017 by bill937ca

[railsquid]

20 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

 

Could you make your own tunnel portal to give more generous clearance? 

 

If it proves necessary I'll have to. We'll see how it goes.

[railsquid]

More tunnel construction and clearance testing on all sides.

 

tunnel-test-e4 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

tunnel-test-e4-side by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Looks good but I don't think I'll be running any of those big North American double-stacked container trains ;)

[Kiha66]

Not quite the layout, but I figured out that I can fit n scale trains on my display shelves  (which are for HO and O).  Anyone know the width of Tomix track?  I'm thinking of attaching some to the bases so I can have the lights on while displaying it. 

[railsquid]

7 minutes ago, Kiha66 said:

Not quite the layout, but I figured out that I can fit n scale trains on my display shelves  (which are for HO and O).  Anyone know the width of Tomix track?  I'm thinking of attaching some to the bases so I can have the lights on while displaying it.

 

The standard track is 18mm on the underside (according to my 100 yen shop metal ruler which is handy for cutting things but may or may not be 100% accurate).

[Kiha66]

2 minutes ago, railsquid said:

The standard track is 18mm on the underside (according to my 100 yen shop metal ruler which is handy for cutting things but may or may not be 100% accurate).

 

Thanks squid!  I may have to do some modifications but that means it should fit.

[medusa]

During the holidays the dinner table has a quite tight schedule but I managed to get a time slice today...

 

  To the North!

 

I had to test my Tohoku background... like it much more than the other one. Unfortunately, on the photos there is daylight glare on most of the background posters.

 

Edited December 26, 2017 by medusa

[Pauljag900]

1 hour ago, medusa said:

During the holidays the dinner table has a quite tight schedule but I managed to get a time slice today...

 

  To the North!

 

I had to test my Tohoku background... like it much more than the other one. Unfortunately, on the photos there is daylight glare on most of the background posters.

 

I like it. For what it’s worth I think it makes it look more personal,I mean that’s the effect you d kinda get if you were looking into the sun?. Good effort as far as I m concerned mate👍👍😀

[serotta1972]

That looks awesome!  I noticed that ground is much greener this time of the year! :)

[cteno4]

Got all the holes drilled and the support L girders assembles for the new JRM club layout. Luckily the electric heater got the garage up to 50 from 30! Also bought a cheap pair of ski bibs that keep the legs toasty now! 

 

Jeff

[Drunkenclam]

Mrs Clam promised me I could have Boxing day to work on the layout. Instead got dragged into driving her to Bicester for the start of the sales. 

So the only thing done was swapped the incorrect painted body on the Yamanote line carriage. So she has repromised me this Saturday.  

 

We will see. 

[Pauljag900]

do nt get too upset clam,i doubt you re on your own mate ha ha

[cteno4]

Take along tomytec kits to build while waiting in the car!

 

jeff

[Drunkenclam]

No chance. Had to push the pram. At least I left my wallet at home. It wasn't too bad when Osbourne models were still in Abingdon as used to pop in. But no good since they moved to Devon

[nah00]

On 12/26/2017 at 5:01 PM, railsquid said:

More tunnel construction and clearance testing on all sides.

 

tunnel-test-e4 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Looks good but I don't think I'll be running any of those big North American double-stacked container trains ;)

 

I feel like this particular portal would be so much better if it were just a few mm wider...took the longest time to get the clearance right on the one I have on a curve.

[medusa]

On 26.12.2017 at 5:09 PM, Pauljag900 said:

I like it. For what it’s worth I think it makes it look more personal,I mean that’s the effect you d kinda get if you were looking into the sun?. Good effort as far as I m concerned mate👍👍😀

 

 

No, it's just the glossy finish of the print which reflects the daylight. Visually the effect isn't so strong as it appears on a photo.

[railsquid]

On 28/12/2017 at 10:36 AM, nah00 said:

 

I feel like this particular portal would be so much better if it were just a few mm wider...took the longest time to get the clearance right on the one I have on a curve.

 

I bet it's one of those Greenmax designs from way back when double-decker Shinkansens weren't on anyone's radar. It's tight but it will do, especially as I don't run those Shinkansens much.

 

Current state:


tunnels-painted by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

The other end will need one custom portal, fortunately that will be aligned away from the front of the layout. Need to work out what shape of hill to cover the roof with next.

Edited December 29, 2017 by railsquid