Appalachian Southern

With a little time to work on the layout this morning, I made all the progress that I could, but I am still short two right hand turnouts. I will need to start building these now to make further progress. My experience with liquid nails is growing now and I can apply it a little more accurately and still hold the track securely.  I did a few checks with the long RC autoracks and they clear each other fine on the adjacent curves of the staging yard. It won’t be long and I will be able to wire up a few Tortoises and get the Digitrax system installed and functional. I can’t wait to run some trains in this ‘huge for me’ staging yard.

Staging Yard Progress Lower Level

Staging Yard Lower Level Alternate View

After some long days lately,  here are  a few  pictures of the layout. The homasote was installed in the upper and lower level staging areas.  I plan to lay the atlas code 55 track right on top of it.  The lights are working out well above the lower staging level. I was very pleased to say the least.  Not an inch of it is dark. The lights are so bright, it is almost difficult to photograph. The plan for today is to get to work on building several #7 switches so I can begin laying track as soon as possible.

Update 05/12/2009

A reader asked for the specifics on the lighting setup; here are the details.

I bought a four bulb florescent ballast and some low profile single lamp holders. Here are the part numbers:

Ballast: ADVANCE (4)F32T8 RS/IS Centium ICN-4P32-SC Instant Start Electronic Ballast

Lamp Holders: ADVANCE Model FRBP Medium Bi-Pin Lamp Holders Low Profile

I mounted each ballast that I would need under the bench work. There is a wiring diagram on the ballast. I ran the appropriate wires to the ends of each bulb, most of the wire had to be extended due to my bulb spacing. I ran a switched power lead to each ballast. One ballast for every four bulbs. Of course the one switch on the wall turns all the bulbs on. I will just continue this around the room as the bench work progresses.

Homasote Installed in Staging Upper and Lower

Lower Staging Area Lighting

What the Room Looks Like Now with Lighting

My performance at St. Luke last night went great, so I am thrilled that it is over and I can move on to a new piece of music.  It also appears that GM is headed for bankruptcy. In my opinion, this should have likely been the course of action before the government threw them billions of dollars in the first place.  Who am I to say though, I am just a taxpayer.

On a more positive note, my progress with the layout drawings continue to move right along. I am currently drawing in some of the major bench work support structure.  It is helpful to do this as the measurements can come right off the drawings for all the pieces that have to be cut.  People often wonder how I build so fast… the secret is AutoCad. If you don’t have to figure out dimensions as you go, you can move along much quicker.  Anyway, I hope you guys all have a good day and here is a photo of  my progress so far.

Oh… I almost forgot, tomorrow is my third wedding anniversary. I have got to take care of that today!

Layout Update