B Train Layout

[nickhp]

Maybe I should be video taping the layout during the earthquakes we've been having to add some Japanese authenticity? 4.3, 4.8, 3.4, 3.4 and 3.0 in the past 2 hours. Spooky!

 

It's kinda funny, I worked quite a bit in Los Angeles and was always nervous about earthquakes, now I'm back in Kansas far away from the supposed earthquake hot spot that is California but find myself now in an area that has seen more earthquakes than the rest of the USA combined this year. Lack of fault lines means the shaking travels much further. The 4.8 epicenter was 130 miles south of us but did some major shaking here, and people a hundred miles further north felt strong shaking too. The previous 4.3 in Oklahoma was felt by people in Tucson, Az and somewhere in Illinois.

 

Time to sell up and rent!

Edited January 7, 2016 by nickhp

[cteno4]

Nick,

 

Ha 4s just rock Californians to sleep! 5s make em roll over. Takes a 6 to wake em up!

 

Jeff

Ex Californian

[nickhp]

USGS changed the value of the first quake from 4.3 to 4.7.  Since those two there have been another 12 magnitude 2.5 or greater in the past 4 hours for a total of 19 magnitude 2.5+ in the past 24 hours.  Not the sort of thing you expect in tornado alley!  At least you get some warning of tornadoes and can see them coming.  Just one more excuse to get away from this place, as though I really needed more reasons...

[kvp]

Imho they should just shut down the oil shale extraction. (hydraulic fracturing is creating artifical shallow level fault lines, then fills them with a low viscosity hydraulic fluid)

 

from the USGS site:
 

M4.8 - 32km NW of Fairview, Oklahoma

 

Time 2016-01-07 04:27:58 (UTC)
Nearby Cities
32km (20mi) NW of Fairview, Oklahoma
60km (37mi) E of Woodward, Oklahoma
75km (47mi) W of Enid, Oklahoma
107km (66mi) N of Weatherford, Oklahoma
156km (97mi) NW of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

Induced Seismicity

As is the case elsewhere in the world, there is evidence that some central and eastern North America earthquakes have been triggered or caused by human activities that have altered the stress conditions in earth's crust sufficiently to induce faulting. Activities that have induced felt earthquakes in some geologic environments have included impoundment of water behind dams, injection of fluid into the earth's crust, extraction of fluid or gas, and removal of rock in mining or quarrying operations. In much of eastern and central North America, the number of earthquakes suspected of having been induced is much smaller than the number of natural earthquakes, but in some regions, such as the south-central states of the U.S., a significant majority of recent earthquakes are thought by many seismologists to have been human-induced. Even within areas with many human-induced earthquakes, however, the activity that seems to induce seismicity at one location may be taking place at many other locations without inducing felt earthquakes. In addition, regions with frequent induced earthquakes may also be subject to damaging earthquakes that would have occurred independently of human activity. Making a strong scientific case for a causative link between a particular human activity and a particular sequence of earthquakes typically involves special studies devoted specifically to the question. Such investigations usually address the process by which the suspected triggering activity might have significantly altered stresses in the bedrock at the earthquake source, and they commonly address the ways in which the characteristics of the suspected human-triggered earthquakes differ from the characteristics of natural earthquakes in the region.

 

 

[nickhp]

Did a bit of work on the layout again today.

 

First, the mall roof was scribed, painted and a raised sub-roof added with plant machinery etc.  I just need to glue the roof down, add the black rear piece to the building and it is done.

 

Next, I made the base for the section next to the parking garage and the road section to cross to the island.  I think you can see my construction methods from the shots, basically sheet styrene base, styrene rod walls and sheet styrene sidewalks.  Tonight I masked off the sections and took them into the garage to be painted.  It's difficult to paint in 5 degree fahrenheit temperatures!  Had to bring the pieces in once painted otherwise they might not dry properly.  Once dry completely, I will install the sections with latex glue to the layout.

 

Next up will be completion of the crossing, work on the other crossing and then filling in the corner section.  Once I have the basics completed around the whole layout I will go back to add the detailing, such as weathering, adding greenery between the ballast and the walls, reinstalling the fencing I took down to avoid losing (since it wasn't glued in place yet).  I will also fill all the gaps and holes in the fascia and then paint the fascia.  Still plenty to do.

 

Cheers,

 

NIck

Edited January 10, 2016 by nickhp

[katoftw]

Looks great.

 

When you were cutting up the expensive multi level Aoshima carpark, did you think to yourself, "What am I cutting this up for?" haha

[nickhp]

I bought the kit with the express intention of cutting it up so it wasn't an issue. I don't know about it being expensive, I think I paid about $35 for the kit which is pretty cheap.

 

Cheers,

 

Nick

[Blobby]

I can't take credit for the plan, I found a layout plan I liked on the web and pretty much based this layout on it.  It is not an exact copy since I used Kato track instead of Tomix, and the scenics are quite a bit different.

 

The photo below shows the basic plan.

 

I am not at all bothered by the length of the b-trains.  I take modeling too seriously and so this was a perfect way to take things a little less seriously.  In fact, I am enjoying the b-trains so much I am selling all other model trains and just focussing on b-trains.  I may keep a bit of British OO stock but everything else is going on that auction site...

 

The roadway was made using 40 thou. styrene sheet, I added the kerb using additional styrene.  I then used a mini blowtorch to heat up the styrene to make a gentle curve in 2 places.  I then glued this onto the layout using superglue.

 

I will post more photos as I get more done, the ones I took during the construction were on my iphone and are not very good quality. 

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

Hi Nick - You don't by any chance still have a link tto the original tomix trackplan do you?

[nickhp]

There never was a track plan posted, I just noticed the track was tomix, had information on the size of the layout and was able to reverse engineer the plan that way. I don't think I have the xtrkcad file I created any more since I went the Kato route.

 

Nick

[kvp]

If you tell me the size that you would like, i could possibly draw a tomix based trackplan using the buildingless image of this layout as a template. ( http://www.jnsforum.com/community/uploads/monthly_09_2013/post-627-0-30443300-1379190757.jpg )

[Blobby]

If you tell me the size that you would like, i could possibly draw a tomix based trackplan using the buildingless image of this layout as a template. ( http://www.jnsforum.com/community/uploads/monthly_09_2013/post-627-0-30443300-1379190757.jpg )

Hi KVP somewhere round 1500x750 - for full length rolling stock rather than b trains

[kvp]

I posted it in my thread, not to pollute this one further:

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/8244-layout-ideas-and-attempts/page-5?do=findComment&comment=128840

[nickhp]

A little progress on the corner.  The inner area is virtually complete - and is now glued down.  The crossing area is ready for gluing down, but I will probably do that after the train show. 

 

More updates after the show when I can get to making more progress.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

 

 

[keiichi77]

Love this layout, the extra detail really makes the setting great.

[Marcin]

Amazing road!

Edited September 13, 2016 by Marcin

[nickhp]

Thanks!

 

The layout has been under wraps for a while, been downsizing and so this layout has been tucked away.  Will get it back out over the weekend and finish up the last remaining scenics, which honestly I don't have much of left to do.

 

That said, I did have some free time over the past 4 weeks and started another layout...  I guess I will have to start a new thread on that...

 

Nick

[nickhp]

So this layout is going to go on sale at the local train show this weekend...

 

Sad to see this go but with my new layout really being more in line with what I want to do with b trains, there is no point leaving this to gather dust!

Edited July 15, 2018 by nickhp

[kami_illy]

hi nick. 

 

do you have photos of the finished layout? would be real cool to see them.

 

i really like this one. it looks great and also it inspired me to plan (and hopefully build) my own shorty-layout. i can imagine that you are sad to let it go but on the other hand it will make someone else very happy. 

 

[nickhp]

I will be finishing this layout up and will post photos here.  The layout will be for sale at that point.

 

The Kato buildings alone are worth $600 given current eBay prices, track was over $200 and the rest of the scenic items used over $300.

 

If someone wants to make me an offer, please contact me via PM.  I could deliver/meet as far as Kansas City/Oklahoma City/Colorado (in July, August or September).  Given the small size it will easily fit in the back of a SUV or pick up truck. 

 

This makes a great layout for B Trains and is well built and runs without any issues given the aligned and soldered track connections.  2 controllers are all that is required to be ready to run trains.  Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Nick

[Kb4iuj]

The NMRA Convention is going to be held in Kansas City on Aug. 5-12, 2018 you might find somebody who'll take some that off your hands.