More Progress

Hi Everybody. Had a productive weekend. Finished up the sub-roadbed last night. Now the next step is to create the grade up to mainline height. This is going to require cross cut slots in the sub-roadbed so there will be a smoother transition into and out of the grade.



The top of the grade is just past the first riser. When I start to raise the roadbed I will need to add one more riser on the nearest  joist for the ends of the splines to be anchored on.

This bit of work is for the throw rod from the switch motor to the switch. The arrow is for when the homabed is glued down and covers the opening, the center of the slot can be located. The pencil marks on the right are for the slots locations when I start to cut them. I'll use my Makita cordless circular saw to make the cuts.

While watching the glue dry, I've been planning some of the many things that need to be done. One such item is the location of the power bus lines. I've thought of stapling them to the front of the risers, on top and bottom of the joists. I think I like stapling them to the front edge of the risers the most..

Yesterday afternoon I was able to get out to the garage and cut up a 1 x 6 x 8'  into splines. This was just the beginning of many boards to be ripped up into splines.

In the top photo, that single riser is where the coal trestle starts. I'll be using the trestle bents that my friend had made.

This is the mill before removal to my house. The trestle in the fore ground is were I'll get the bents from. Unfortunately for me, the wedge shaped building on the right can't be used. They are the storage warehouses for the mill and there's nowhere to put it for now. I mite be able to use parts of it for the oil dealership in Hadley. We'll see.

the First complete sub-roadbed

Well almost. The front spur still needs the outside spline on the rear side. Ran out of glue last night. I put two pieces of the Calif  Homabed in place just to see what it's going to look like. I bought both straight and beveled sides. I'll be using the straight sided here because the track will most likely be buried here. The extruded foam will be set in with it level with the tops of the ties. Once the track work is done in this location, I can move the mill structures back in set in their correct location and even start some scenery around the buildings and track. Easier when every thing is open.

I still need to continue further with the other end. With all the long pieces I used the ends are all in the same location, so I will have to stagger the splices the best I can. That end has to be longer so the top of the rise will be level with a smooth transition. To do this, I will be cutting slots every 1/4" and about 3/4's to 7/8's of the depth of the spline on the top side at the bottom of the rise and on the under side at the top. Then once the top is in it's location, I'll go back and fill all the slots with glue and some splice plates on the outside to be on the safe side.

I now have about 12,000 spikes to get started. I bought another 5000 from ME direct.

With this little stoppage, I'm going forward with the installation of the lighting. I will be using a 27 W CFIs at 5100 K for coloring. They will be spaced about 2 ft. apart. They will be screwed into ceramic lamp bases I got at Home Depot. These will be mounted on 3/4 X 5 X 5 pads that will be mounted on the ceiling. The valence will also be attached to pad.

Hey any body got more clamps? See ya next time.

Making Splines

Hi Everybody,

I started on Saturday afternoon making the beginning of the trackage by locating the first piece of the spline sub-roadbed. Only when I put the first strip on the tops of the risers none of the riser tops where in the same plane with each other. So I spent the afternoon by correcting all the risers. When I finished in the late afternoon all the risers were level with each other. So today I got started with the spline work.

I thought that would be a good place for the lamp but it wasn't so I moved it to the front of the benchwork. After getting this spline located I started with the riser futurist to the left. I used a 1/16" drill bit for the pilot hole and knocked in the first nail. I continued nailing the spline at each riser. I then began locating the outside spline on the outside spur the same way as the first.

The metal c-clamp in the fore ground above is the coming together of the two center splines. See how smooth the line of the branching spur is. Now the two splines are glued together from this spot to the end of the wood.

 The wood clamps are used to hold the two center strips together while the glue starts to set up. The clamp are easy to make. The two outside legs are the same wood as the spline with two more pieces sandwiched between them. A strip of masking tape holds it all together. The bolt and wing nut are used to tighten it all. As I begin to add on the outer pieces, I will add more wood to make a wider clamp. I made up some more clamps and added the other two pieces on the two spurs.

As my friend Trevor says "You never have enough clamps." I now will let the glue completely dry before I start adding the intermediate splines. This spline will run under the rail. It will be glued on using 3/4 x 3/4 x 3/4 blocks. I feel good with the start. Found two major mistakes, luckily before having more roadbed and scenery in place and corrected them. Both mistakes were because of wanting to get it done quickly.

Spikes & Tie Plates

Hi Everybody,

My order from Lou Cross arrived Wednesday. 17 pieces of code 100 rail for the sidings at the mill. A big batch of tie plates which have to be cut from the sprues. It's a good TV watching job. I've been cutting the tie plates for the code 125 from their sprues. I use a pair of flush cutting nippers to snip them off. There were also the components for the #6 switch located at the bottom of the little decent to street level with a street crossing right threw it. The photo below shows the two tie plate. The longer plate is the code 125 tie plate.

I went searching on the web for Micro Engieering's Micro Spikes. So far I've purchased 7000 spikes plus the 200 or so I had left over from the On2 layout. I know some people don't like these spikes because of the blunt end. I used them in building the On2 trackage. I found if the spike is turned so the wide edge of the spike runs with the grain of the tie, it'll go in easier. I also found that using a common pin with the head cut off and pushed into the end of a wood dowel or mounted in a pin vise to make a starter hole. I have a small pin vise that was difficult to drill with so I've used it instead. Yes it's an extra step, but the look of detailed track is awsome.

I will be starting to build the spline roadbed this weekend. I have the wood strips picked out. I'm also thinking this would be a good time to start installing the lighting for the layout. It'll be easier doing it now than when the scenery is starting to go in. Will also aid in the spiking. You never have enough light for that job. When I moved into my home, the contractor who did the remodeling on the inside had left a few sheets of brown wood grained paneling that I will use for the lighting valence.

Boy this is going to be fun!

Risers

What a beautiful day today with temps hitting the high 30's and low 40's so I headed out to the garage and started cutting the risers. After I cut what wood I had I headed for the railroad room and got to work.

These are the risers for the sidings of the Opielowski Woolen Combine Co. There are two sidings back at the corner which is the shipping/receiving tracks for the mill The three taller risers on the right are the siding to the mill coal trestle. This will also be the height of the main line and yard here in Barre. The fourth one in that group which is lower is the top of the grade coming up from street level. The risers with the clamps will be raised after the spline sub-bed is done.  After the grade is in place, then I'll glue the roadbed in place.

I have also started the planning of Tarra firma that will start filling in the open areas around the roadbed. I will be using the pink extruded foam insulation for all the scenery base. I got hooked on this method when I was working on an HOn3 modular layout years ago. To keep weight down we glued layers together and then shaped them. And that's what I'll be doing here. There isn't a weight issue here, I just like the way it works.

This weeks doings

Hello Everybody. There hasn't been much done on the Hampshire County lately. It has been so darn cold here in Massachusetts to work out in my unheated garage is just too much to spent time cutting wood for risers. And with over three feet of snow, moving around isn't any easier.

I have placed a big order with Lou Cross of Right-O-Way for some code 100 rail and track supplies along with some more code 125 track parts. As I am building to P:48, I have purchased frogs and guard rails from Red Cliff Miniatures. The code 100 is for an industrial siding at the end of the railroad. More of this will be shared in the design page.

I am having the sprockets and chain replaced on the drive tower for the RS-2. This is being done for two reasons. One, I'm changing the ratio to slow it down for better performance and the other because the sprockets are known for splitting. I have also replaced the Pittman motor with a high efficiency Maxon motor so I can use a Tsunami to control the RS-2. And ya know, even with our locomotives being bigger, it's just as hard to find a good location for the speaker.

Last week end was the Amherst Railway Societies Big Train show in West Springfield. I picked up a New York Central 9 panel gondola kit by Funaro & Camerlengo. They also produce a  NYC covered hopper that was used to haul cement that I want to get also. I've pretty much gotten all the production rolling stock I need. Now I'm concentrating on some of the high end kits that I want.

I have started the design page. In it will be the track plan and how I came about with it's design plus some interesting tidbits. That's it for now sports fans, so until next time, keep your wheels on the rails.