In the South
#46
Russ Bellinis Wrote:...City of Commerce was a small farming area until after WW2 when it started to be built up. The result is that I don't remember seeing any brick buildings in the City of Commerce...

Russ, that is an interesting information. With the right details the "shoe box buildings" might be used starting some time after WW II as far as the area is new build. Otherwise some kind of transition from brick to concrete tilt up should be modeled.

I have no intention to build something like that. I got the Santa Fe GP9 with zebra scheme for a possible future layout somewhere in Kansas with all over wheat, wheat and more wheat and lots of country elevators. But that is far future!

btw. By term "shoe box buildings" I do not mean concrete tilt up buildings only. I do see a lot of industrial building based on vertical steel I beams with a skin of corrugated steal. That "skin" has often parts of plastic etc. Older and smaller buildings are made of larger brick and often white painted. However the single stones (about 1/2' * 1') are well visible. I mean in general buildings erected after WW II without any kind of architectural art. Just plain functionality.

Tetters, thank you for the kind words.

ps. some steel added and some steal removed....looks much better now Goldth
Reinhard
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#47
Reinhard, as promised the link to the LAJ layout -, now the site is back up - but slow at the moment -

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#48
shortliner Wrote:Reinhard, as promised...
Thank you. We came back last night and I will have a closer look during the next days.
Reinhard
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#49
I did change my mind and try to place a building with a curved front following a track in the right wing triangle area. It looks like a very comon practice in Vernon to place buildings following tracks to optimize space use. That practice could have been invented from model railroaders.

The building at the right hand of the photo got the loading ramp partly stripped off and is no longer served by the track. That permits an enhanced operation following the LAJ prototype.
The right track is inbound, the middle outbound and the left of the three curved tracks is the run around and main track. That is a "micro implementation" of the LAJ A yard. That A yard is used to serve the industry on the layout. It is feed from the hidden staging yard with BNSF and UP transfer trains. BNSF GP60M and UP GP15-1 will be used for that purpose. Looking forward to get some Atlas Genset for that purpose.
The industry is served by GP30u and GP35U and CF-7. Some details and decals are on order to modify the GP30/35 to match the actual BNSF 2536, 2648 and 2447.

I do not plan to do a major rebuild of the layout for a better Vernon/LAJ match in the next month. Instead I will implement as much LAJ aspects into the freelance layout as possible as some kind of a testbed.

[Image: Img_0366.jpg?t=1286568792]
Reinhard
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#50
WOW,very nice layout!!!kinda what i'm going for in my switching layout.Thanks for the inspiration. Big Grin
Don Shriner
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#51
Reinhard, there are quite a few buildings that curve with the tracks here in Houston too. A quick peek in GoogleEarth of the area, following whatever RR tracks you come across, will yield some interesting results.
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times
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#52
Modern times GP60M and NRE 3GS21B Genset

[Image: Img_0358.jpg?t=1286478727]

[Image: Img_0360.jpg?t=1286478634]
Reinhard
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#53
An P2K GP30 has been modified to become an approximation of the GP30u permanently running at the LAJ. I did not disassemble the drive to mill some space in the front weight to install functional light in the short hood. It is dummy only. I was scared to death putting a hole in the nose for the new lamp assembly. It is not perfect but it is not ruined either.
Same procedure will be done with an Kato GP35 to become GP35u 2536 or 2648 also running permanently at the LAJ.

[Image: Img_0361-1.jpg?t=1286568038]
Reinhard
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#54
I am thinking to sacrifice most of the staging yard behind my desks to gain some more industries to be switched.

The "old" staging consists of four double sided tracks (1-4) and two stub tracks (5,6) that can hold an engine and two cars. I use it to feed the scenic part on the other side of the room with six different trains.

An alternative I have currently under test is shown below. Staging has been reduced to one track (5) only that can hold two trains. It will be separated and hidden by some industry (red line) that is served by track 3 and 4. Track 2 is the main and track 1 is a siding and possible run around.

The advantage is obvious, more industry to serve. I am also eager to do some scenery on the today flat gray painted staging area.
The problem is the lost staging space. I am afraid the layout lost it's operating concept. Where are the trains coming from and where are they going to? With only one (long) staging track (track 5) I "need"only two engines to run the operation. The old staging was good for six! engines.
May be I will put some hidden staging in the back of the other part of the layout too when I do the next mayor rebuild?

What is your opinion?

[Image: stage1.jpg?t=1287081588]

A quick photo. Two trains one ofter the other on the left most remaining staging track, track 3 and 4 with two cuts, empty track 2 and the right most track 1 with another train.
[Image: Img_0372.jpg?t=1287083629]

Technical remark:
The area (staging yard) behind the desks does not permit to have anything under the layout. The tracks are old ROCO like Kato with ballast. The turnouts are DCC controlled and direct feed from the rails. The area has a separate DCC booster connected by a 2-wire control cable with the DCC controller. The switches are controlled as set of points by the DCC controller (Intellibox).
I have to stay with the turnouts and the way they are controlled (and I like it). But I can get rid of the tracks and replace them with standard Atlas flex tracks. The Atlas tracks will be layed on cork to get the same elevation as the ROCO turnouts. That will give some flexibility and open the possibility to get tracks 1, 2 and 3/4 more close together (e.g. 2") and gain some space in front of track 5 to build a "very" thin industry to hide track 5.
An older photo (track 6 straight) of the right hand part of the staging yard
[Image: IMGP3729.jpg?t=1287082887]
Reinhard
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#55
I gave it a try. Had to simplify the track plan to get a track distance of 2" with the ROCO turnouts. The space in front of the staging track at the wall should be sufficient for some slim industry hiding the track at the wall.

[Image: Img_0374.jpg?t=1287163072]
Reinhard
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#56
As always, Reinhard, you are constantly thinking and dreaming up new ways to make the layout better. I've said it before, but it would be quite interesting to turn you loose on a big layout! I certainly do like what you have created in your layout room. A very nice "man-cave" for sure.
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times
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#57
Reinhard,Why not use a flat background building along the wall?

As a example..While this is N Scale these flats are available in HO.

[Image: 007-12.jpg]
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#58
Brakie Wrote:...Why not use a flat background building along the wall?...

The ROCO tracks are too ugly to be used on a scenic layout. The fixed track spacing of about 3' is also a severe problem with the limited space. Four tracks would also not match the LAJ situation in Vernon. It might be a LAJ yard (A.b or even C) but where would be the outside world feeding the yard?

I am quite happy because I lost two transfer trains in the staging yard but I won an entire new industrial area to be served by an additional LAJ job from the other side of the room. The UP and BNSF transfer trains are quite simple. They go to the inbound track, uncouple go to the outbound track, get the prepared cut and leave the yard. The two LAJ switching jobs are more complex. They sort the new arrived cars, serve their industry (job 1 = old part, job 2 = new part) by delivering new cars, collecting old cars and bring them back to the outbound track of the yard. That is a lot of switching work until the next transfer comes in.
Reinhard
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#59
Gary S Wrote:...t it would be quite interesting to turn you loose on a big layout! ....
How about the docks of Galveston 1930 with an option of 1950?
Reinhard
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#60
Work has started on the north industry district. First raw buildings are erected. The right most building front is the old backside of the "open building" some time ago discussed here. I will try to reuse it here. Btw. all other buildings not currently on the layout have been scraped last week. The space used in the cellar by old building was no longer acceptable.
[Image: Img_0384.jpg?t=1287836007]

The corner got a custom fit building that is also limited in it's hight as the window runs over it (German windows are different from US windows, they are one part to swing and/or tile). The rear track is the "one track staging yard" running hidden through all building. Therefor all buildings have some way to remove the roof or the entire building in case access to the track is required.
[Image: Img_0385.jpg?t=1287836165]

Further work on the layout might slow down somewhat because my summer off time is over and I will be back to work (mostly home office) on Monday... Looking forward for the 1.st April 2011 to start the next six month summer off periode Big Grin
Reinhard
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