My N-scale still-to-be-named layout

[Ralph]

Nice looking layout! Lots of nifty scenes. Love the viaduct and illuminated highway tunnel (it reminds me of one going up the North Shore of Lake Superior past Duluth). Thanks for the tour!
Ralph

[ngaugingnut]

Thanks Ralph. Always great when our modeling can remind us of where we've visited.

I'll have to post a photo of the tunnel at road level - I've actually faked perspective to make the tunnel look like it is very long, when in reality it is only about 6 inches long.

[ngaugingnut]

Slow progress, but there is some to report. :hey:

Yesterday I finished my turntable bridge by adding timber crossmembers (just cosmetic) and weathering the whole thing with pastel chalk:

   

The bridge is made from an Atlas plate girder bridge that was narrowed and flipped upside down. A piece of sectional track was glued on top and stripwood used to make the deck.

Now on to the turntable pit, which I plan to route out of some hardwood. I will be using the Atlas manual turntable underneath as the mechanism. It's a rainy day today (after a few days of snow) so perfect weather for staying indoors and getting some work done on this.

[ngauger]

Nice!! Cant wait to see it on the turntable

[ngaugingnut]

Just a quick post for Ralph - here is the inside of the highway tunnel. At some point I want to redo it better - quite a few flaws now that I see it close up.

   
The arch is made from a Kraft Parmesan cheese container bottom. One of the three R's, reusing!

And the forced perspective is done by creating essentially a cone that comes to a tip at the back (the tunnel is only a few inches long) and the light cutouts actually get smaller and closer together the further into the tunnel you go.

And ngauger, I am working on the turntable pit and hope to post a few photos in the next day or so.

[Ralph]

Thanks Marc! That's brilliant! NICE effect.
Ralph

[ngaugingnut]

Finally some progress to report.

After a few failed attempts and a lot of head-scratching and , I finally found a good way to manually control my Peco turnouts from the fascia. I had read lots of posts here and elsewhere before I found the solution.

Drill a hole next to the tie:
   

Using a large paperclip straightened out, make this hook in the end of it. Don't use the ribbed paperclips - I found out that when you bend the clip at the ribs it breaks!
   

Now push it into the hole and rotate until the hook fits in the tie:
   

Underneath the layout bend the wire some more so that there is some extra leverage for pushing/pulling:
   

I used a dowel as a pushrod and a piece of plastic rod (actually a straw) with a hole drilled in it for the wire. The dowel is hot glued into the plastic rod and the wire is bend over itself for a secure connection:
   

[ngaugingnut]

At the fascia, mark the dowel to be cut to the right length. I pushed the dowel in all the way and then measured 1/2 inch out. I have not yet attached my actual fascia so I need a bit more length, otherwise 1/4 inch would have been enough:
   

I added a round knob (just twisted on for now) and a sticky note as to which way the turnout points when the red part of the knob is in or out. Eventually I will likely change the mechanism to a route selector based on Galen's article in April's MRH:
   

And to prove it works, here is the turnout (circled in red) in one direction:
   

And the other way:
   

I spent the rest of the afternoon rewiring the whole underside of the layout - I put in bus wires and fixed some feeders that I wasn't happy with.

Next post will hopefully be about my ambitious expansion plans!

[Russ Bellinis]

For your turn table pit sides, check out embroidery loops at a craft store. They make perfect circles, and come in various diameters. You can stack two to make the pit deeper if one is not deep enough. Cover the inside of the pit with plaster or what ever you prefer to use to simulate concrete.

[ngaugingnut]

Thanks Russ for that tip. I had heard of this and also of using speaker rings. Or a lid from an ice cream container, which I tried once.

What I ended up doing this time was to route out a turntable pit and trying to get things working. After a few frustrating attempts and not having much luck, I threw in the towel.

I'm planning on buying the Peco turntable to make life easier. Maybe one day I might tackle a scratchbuilt one again. Too many other things to get done, including planning my expansion.

[ngaugingnut]

I am planning an ambitious two-level expansion to the existing 5 x 2.5 layout that you've seen images of in this thread.

So far I have been working on the benchwork, seeing what will fit. I will at some point flesh out the trackplan too - it will be fairly simple. In case you are wondering, I am trying to fit the layout over an existing "bar" - I've been using the bar counter and cabinets as my workbench. I don't want to remove the bar and hope to use it as a support for the larger upper level baseboards.

Here is an overhead view of the planned expansion (done up in SketchUp). The black areas are the bar countertops. The baseboard at the top left is my existing layout:
   

And a main view as it sits at the end of our rec room. The red bridges you see there are planned to be removable, although with a bit of finesse you could duck under them (I'm short, so 48" for me is doable!):
   

Now I have a few questions regarding some parts of the layout that I hope some of you can help me with

1) The critical point is this one. I need to bring the lower level at 38" off the floor (that starts at my workbench as visible staging) to the main level at 46" off the floor. With a 3 percent grade I should make it - however how would I scenic this area? The best way I can think of doing so is have the lower level mainline track go into a tunnel or disappear behind some type of viewblock (large building, low hill, dense forest, etc.):
   

2) The upper level on top of the bar will be two inches higher than the surrounding top level. Should I keep the baseboards all at 46" around the back wall as I have done and use track risers to gradually raise the track from right to left 2" or stagger each baseboard by 1/2" or so?
   

3) Finally I plan to have a harbour with car ferry on top of the bar. I plan to drop the baseboard by 1.5 inches - does that seem feasible?
   

If it helps to have other views of the Sketchup model in order to answer my questions, please let me know what view you need me to post. Or I can post the model file somewhere for download if you want to orbit around the model yourself.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give. Can be criticism too - let me know if I am off my rocker with some of my ideas!

[ngaugingnut]

Sorry forgot to mention a few things as I was rushing to post the previous post during my lunch hour yesterday:

- the gray walls on the back end and left side are the knee walls of the basement - Height is 36.5 inches, hence 38 inches minimum for the lower level. I'm now thinking that perhaps the lower level could be higher and still allow room for medium height scenery and buildings between the shelves. This would reduce the grade needed to get to the top level (hopefully to 2 percent). And give me more space on the workbench/bar counter underneath the lower level (maybe only 3-4 inches though). I'll try that out in Sketchup to see if that might work.

- general trackplan would be to have a single-ended staging yard on the lower level above the counter with a single line going to the upper level possibly with a few sidings to industries (some modelled as flats on the backdrop). On the upper level there would be a double track mainline with some crossovers for trains to pass each other. The section above the counter would be a city scene with possible separate trolley or interurban line in the city branching onto the upper level shelves for a ways. I'm thinking of having a wye on the 4'x4' section to tie together the 5x2.5 layout, the bridge and the upper layout shelves. I'll sketch up something quickly and perhaps post it later today as this might help to explain my vision.

Again any thoughts on the general benchwork are greatly appreciated!

[Ralph]

I gotta try that paper clip turnout control!
Ralph

[Mr Fixit]

Just a quick post for Ralph - here is the inside of the highway tunnel. At some point I want to redo it better - quite a few flaws now that I see it close up.

[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
The arch is made from a Kraft Parmesan cheese container bottom. One of the three R's, reusing!

And the forced perspective is done by creating essentially a cone that comes to a tip at the back (the tunnel is only a few inches long) and the light cutouts actually get smaller and closer together the further into the tunnel you go.

And ngauger, I am working on the turntable pit and hope to post a few photos in the next day or so.

Looking at your wonderful vehicle tunnel, I had a case of deja-vue.

I could have sworn it was the vehicle tunnel from 'Back to the Future' [# 1 I think] and I was looking for Marty and his Hoverboard escaping from Biff, just before Biff runs into the truck carrying horse manure.
Or maybe I watch waaayy to much TV.

Mark