Appalachian Southern

I have identified a new plan that I am excited about. The plan that I found is copyrighted so I will have to make my own changes before I post a copy.  I hope to have at least a rough draft posted by tomorrow.

I just reinstalled my old copy of AutoCad 2006 on my PC. Now to get back into the swing of things.

I just wanted to give everyone an update.  I realized a day or so ago that I was capable of much better results than those that I was getting. You know how it is, each time you do something, you get better. I can see that in everything I do. I don’t have an unlimited amount of floor space for my N scale layout, so the one that is there has to be perfect. The results that I was seeing were far from perfect in my eyes, and I just can’t compromise my heart to settle with less than the best that I know I am capable of.

So, I am done with foam sheeting products. It certainly doesn’t do it for me like it does for some.  I am perfectly content with life without any foam on a layout ever again.

I made a mistake here in that I depended on someone too much to help me understand what I was looking for. I got exactly what I asked for, but it was my fault for not asking for the right thing.  It is all my fault completely, but I will move on and be happy with my decision.

I have had second thoughts about layouts before, just as I did this one.  I know what I want in my mind, I just have to translate that to bench work somehow. It is often easier said than done.  I have learned several things:

1. scenery is not my bag of skills, I will have to be content with other facets of layout building for the time being
2. I love building bench work, but it has to be cookie cutter style as that is my preference
3. I don’t care for single level layout. I have visited the other extreme with too many levels (3) and this is too much. Two levels are perfect
4. Code 55 matches what I want in a layout
5. Custom built turnouts appeal to me.  Atlas code 55 switches have some fundamental issues that I don’t like
6. I want to facilitate running long trains
7. I enjoy working with a helix and the elevation changes that one permits

So,  I have used this experience to better define what I am looking for and will build. It is never enough for me just to be satisfied.  I just can’t do it. It has got to be the best I am capable of or I just can’t tolerate the investment of hours we all put into our layouts.

The good news is that I am not taking a two year break between layouts again. I am jumping right back into working on a design that will work for me. I enjoy this hobby and I had some great experiences while working on version 2. Building the double truss bridges was the highlight, and learning to really work with my airbrush(s) was just as rewarding.  Not to mention I really love the methods I am now using to wire my layouts as demonstrated on the unnamed yard. I really learned how to mix plaster well by NOT mixing it. But, that being said, plaster molds are not the solution to the worlds problems; especially in excess.

Just to be clear, yes I do have a clean slate (train room) now and salvaged everything except the foam and the plywood under it. I did remove the existing bench work from the room and will be starting again soon.

Version three will be much like the Owens Valley Sub. You can find the link to the left.  Pastoolio has some great ideas that I want to implement in my layout to be.

I will keep you updated as I progress. Thanks for all of your comments.

I am going to remove the blue foam and plywood, and restart with a cookie cutter approach the way L girder benchwork was intended to be used. I don’t like the place I am at now, and the only thing that is going to fix that is backup up a bit and redoing a few things.

I have decided that I just don’t like how this mountain is working out. I am going to take it out and rework a few things on the layout.

Today I have reached the end of placing molds on this mountain. Right now I realize that I have an awful lot of blending to do. But, maybe a fresh set of eyes in the morning will be more optimistic.  Enough for today.

I think on the very top of the mountain, I am going to smooth plaster out over the area and use this area for tree planting and undergrowth. I hope it turns out ok. I have worked very hard on this.

If you are reading this, I would great appreciate your comments. Thank you in advance.

After completing the yard work on Sunday, I started working on the opposite side of the backdrop. This area is where my three double track truss bridges will be located. As you can see I have cut out for the river and I am hard on work on the mountain that borders the river. I do believe that I have purchased all the plaster and hydrocal in a 25 mile radius. It will be miracle if I don’t clog up the plumbing. This stuff is messy to say the least.  A times it is all I can do to put up with the mess.

These are just some progress photos, the mountain needs a lot of fill work and blending and many more molds need to be poured. It is progressing but slowly. I figure this will be a grand scene on the layout once it is all finished. I am learning as I go here. I have never tackled a project this large. Your comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Mountain in the Making

Courtesy of the Postal Service

Making a River and Trestle Crossing

I have good news to report this morning. The wiring in the yard is complete and all the tortoises and DS64 stationary decoders are functional. Even though it seemed the wiring would never end, it concluded this morning. It makes me very happy to be able to move on to something else now.  I was like a kid running the CSX GP38-2 this morning. I even got a little adventurous and pulled MTLX 1048 through the turnouts. I was thrilled to find no problems with the track work!  I haven’t soldered my rail joints yet, but that can happen any time now.

I have attached some photos of the completed wiring and the first locomotive and the MTLX unit.  Overall, I think my background painting is going to work out well. I didn’t have to edit the photo at all.

CSX 2733 GP38-2 & MTLX 1048

Finished Wiring Switches 9, 10, 11

Finished Wiring Switches 5,6,7,8

Today, I spent many hours wiring tortoises and DS64’s. It was a long day of soldering, building LocoNet cables and wiring in general. I managed to get through 10 of the 11 turnouts / stall motors in the yard I have been working on. I will redo #10 tommorow as I got a little sloppy with it. Sometimes you just have to know when to call the day. I pushed myself too hard to get the entire yard wired today, but it was just too much. I am happy about the progress and the realization that I will finish the electrical portion of the yard tomorrow.

On a more positive note,  I was able to run the first locomotive on the layout today. It was a CSX GP38-2. The track work seems to be solid, but only the addition of some lighter weight rolling stock will confirm this. But, it all looks promising.

Stay tuned for tomorrows update, which will include some photos.

Last night I wired my first Digitrax DS64 / Tortoise combination. Nothing really spectacular about it, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Digitrax DS64 / Tortoise Wiring

The first thing you need to do is test the operation once you have it all hooked up.  When testing, you need to see if you got lucky with the polarity on the frog and you need to see if the switch is moving the right way when compared with the command you are giving on the DCC system. Just make sure the thrown command gives a thrown condition and closed gives a closed condition. Use a volt meter to test the two conditions on the switch itself. Measure between the frog and the appropriate rail to make sure you see your DCC track voltage on the selected route. If you see zero on the meter, you have the wires on pins 2 and 3 of the tortoise reversed. Simple enough to reverse them. I had to do the same.

A DS64 should be powered with the AX power inputs and a 12V DC supply, but this is just a temporary setup with rail A and B power.  Nothing wrong with this setup, but with multiple DS64s running on rail power, you will reduce the operating capacity of your layout.

I was happy to get the first one working without too much difficulty. I was also able to get my UR91 module installed last night and operate the switch wirlessly from the DCC throttle. That was cool.

All this isn’t as fun as running trains, but all neccesary steps to a functional DCC layout. All the good fun will come soon.  Here are a couple more pictures of the night’s accomplishments.

One Turnout Controller Wired and Functional

UR91 Radio Receiver Installed

I don’t want to come across as a “how-to” writer. I am just sharing with you guys the discovery process I went through when figuring all of this stuff out. I am not proclaiming to be a DCC expert.  See you all tomorrow for the Friday post.