Appalachian Southern

I admit it, I used the Dremel tool today without safety glasses. One of the dumbest things in the world you can do, and an easy way for a nasty eye injury. I, of all people, should know better.

Earlier, I cut the rails so that the drop gate / through-bridge could open and close. It worked marvelously. The staging lines got a little longer today. The now infamous MPLX test car saw another day of action with the index finger motive power. An extremely productive couple of hours this afternoon.

Functional Walk-Through

MPLX 1048 Test Car

Atlas code 55 finally made its way onto the layout today in the staging area. I figured I would do the complicated part first.  I haven’t cut the track at the gate yet. The adhesive is still drying.

First Code 55 Atlas Track Laid on the Layout

Atlas Code 55 N Scale on Drop Gate

#7's Ready for Tortoises

Having only a little time this morning to work on the layout, the final steps were completed prior to laying the first sections of Atlas Code 55.  Some cutting made the walk-through bridge / gate look much better.  You can see in the pictures below, the track lines are now drawn in.  A three inch piece of 1/8 Masonite is invaluable for drawing curves as long as you can find a friend or spouse to help you hold it in place.

All of the lines for the staging track turned out really well. They are located on 1-3/8″ centers.  The six foot metal ruler I was using is also proving to be invaluable for drawing the straight sections of the staging area.

The next step will be to start laying some track. If everything goes as planned, the first sections will be installed this evening. My wife has to work late, so this will be the perfect opportunity to get it done.

Modifications Made to Walk-Through Gate

Guidelines to Use When Laying Staging Track

Staging Area (Lower Level)

Bridge Locking Device (One of Two)

The Look of the Staging Area Prior to Track

This afternoon I am preparing to start laying the track in the staging yard.  I am a little reluctant to start before I draw the return loop at this end of the staging yard. I need to make sure the main line switches are in the appropriate position. Where did I put that piece of string….  I have a hard time finding things sometimes.

Anyway, the track centers worked out to be 1-3/8″ in the staging area. The 19″+ radii  inside the  staging yard will work nicely with this spacing I suspect. I staged a little scene for myself this afternoon. I thought I would share it. Here you can see the #7 switch I built using the Fast Tracks jig. I think it turned out great. Many more of these have to be constructed before this staging area is complete

Have a good afternoon everyone.

Laying Out the Staging Yard

I was kind of bored this afternoon so I built this #7 code 55 switch.  I am going to use wooden ties to finish it off, but I need to order some. This is one smooth turnout.

I am kind of stuck with the layout track work drawing right now.   I know I would like to make my staging yard double ended, but I am not sure how to accomplish that at the moment. Maybe it will come to me soon. Here are a couple of pics. Take care.

#7 Code 55 Frog Close Up

Code 55 #7 Turnout

Just so you guys don’t miss it, I scanned and re-sized several images of the layout plan and placed them all on a new tab at the top of the page. Be sure to check these images out. They are zoomed in and higher quality now.

Last night I mounted my first DS64 stationary decoder on the layout in preparation for wiring.  I also ran the first section of bus lines from the digitrax system to my track drops. Rail A will be my red bus line and Rail B will be the black bus line.  All the wiring I did for the tortoise switch machines turned out to be a bad idea, so I removed all of the solder joints and will be starting over with that today. Some of the connections need to go different places rather than all to the same location.

Here are some photos:

DS64 Stationary Decoder

Bus Lines Attached to Track Drops

Bus Lines Attached to DCS 200