Some small sectional switching plans

[steinjr]

Just two pics from my cell phone camera - showing two of the three stations on the FREMO modules that had been put up in the community center (they only used about 20 of their 140 FREMO modules for this meet, the september meet will have a lot bigger layout):





Smile,
Stein

[Svein]

(off topic) I've posted some of my pics in a Norwegian forum: http://forum.mjf.no/forum_posts.asp?TID=...p-hos-kmjk. Hope you don't mind me posting this, Stein.

Svein

[Fluesheet]

Well, I'm late to the conversation, but I couldn't not add as you were recently a big help on some questions I had.

Of the first three, I like #2 for three reasons: the flow away from the table that the extra depth allows you to do more convincingly, lack of a doubleslip, which I think are interesting, but seem too complex for this type of layout and last, the longer runaround tail on the right compared to design #1. #3 is out of the running due to the lack of a runaround.

So that all said, the newest design is very good for the depth; nice length runaround tails on both ends, and a little flow to the trackwork.

Another 2" of depth would make that same plan even better (but doesn't it always? )

[MrBill]

Layout's looking good Stein. From plan to action. i like it. The gently curving track with higher # turnouts makes a big visual difference on a narrow ISL. Keep the updates coming. -bill

[steinjr]

Progress has been slow (as usual), but at least I have gotten track bed and transitions down from the main to the industry spurs in, cut track to size, drilled holes for wires, and and played a little with backdrop sizes and building placement:

Some pictures:




Smile,
Stein

[steinjr]

Well, finally got the tracks wired up, and took my NW2 for a test run all over the small switching layout. Not too horrible - one high spot (bit too much solder on a feeder) and a frog which needs an independent feed instead of getting fed through the turnout.

Will fix that tomorrow - it's getting late here.

A quick video of the first car being picked up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ1qtwC4fqU

Today we also got the trampoline out for the boys - we hit 74 degrees Fahrenheit this afternoon. Sure looks like spring is here :-)

Smile,
Stein

[steinjr]

Well, seems like I fixed a minor track issues and dodgy feeds for a couple of frog - seems to work okay now. Only problem is that I am having fun switching cars again - making work on the layout come to a halt again :-)

Oh well - still three days left of the Easter vacation. Plenty of time to get a little more done on the layout.

Some pictures taken during switching today:

The 32nd street yard. Team track near left, Ser Bakery at rear left, the spur for Land of Lakes and Globe Manufacturing at far right.


A local turn, pulled by a GN RS3, heading down the main towards the 32nd street overpass, passing the spur for Hawkins Chemical (right)


Local backing up from 32nd street overpass, shoving cars into the Land of Lakes track. Hawkins chemical left, Soo interchange right.


Smile,
Stein

[steinjr]

Today has mostly been taken up with various Easter related activities with family, but I have gotten a chance to play a little with the small switching layout - here is a little movie of a 2-8-0 pulling a string of cars down the mainline of the 8-foot long layout:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NifvPwa9vAI

I got to fix the wheels of that white and green tank car and weigh it down a bit more - it has a tendency to wobble.

Smile,
Stein

[steinjr]

I couldn't resist the temptation to expand the baseboard a little on the left half of the layout - 10.5" just got to be too narrow a depth. So I added 1" along the rear of the layout to make a little more room for the industry flats, and added about 5" of depth along the front to leftmost 2 feet of the layout, put the building crosswise, and added another turnout to branch out at the front here.



I'll have to run trains a bit to see if I want a fork and two spurs here, or whether it would have been smarter to instead use the extra space along the front for a proper loading ramp along the track.

Smile,
Stein

[MrBill]

At least you're moving along. I need to get into doing some videos. That little siding with the crane doesn't look bad at all. Kind of breaks up all the parallel trackage you have going already. Down in Reading Pa. there was a very similar arrangement along 8th street behind the freight house.

[steinjr]

A little update on this project:

After doing several rounds of switching on my small switching layout, I decided to change the way the foreground industries connected to the main, to give me more temporary work space along the left side of the board while switching.

Old track schematic:


New track schematic:


New track plan:



Here is the switch list for the first planned operating session with the new track plan:


32nd Street Job, 17 September 1957
===============================
Engine: SW7 #25

Inbound
========
Gondola WP4401 - structural steel shapes - Barge terminal setout
Boxcar MSTL 53998 - MTY - spot Land O'Lakes, gate 3
Boxcar GN 19617 - MTY - spot holding track
Tank car DUPX 6046 - chlorine - spot Hawkins Chemicals
Tank car GATX 9876 - MTY - Barge terminal setout track

Holding track
=============
Boxcar MKT 90186 - machine parts - spot team track
Boxcar NP 40834 - packaging materials - spot Globe Mfg dock A

Barge Terminal Track
====================
Gondola RI 84214 - MTY - pull
Gondola GN 78665 - MTY - respot portral crane team track

Globe Union Mfg
================
Boxcar GN 19038 - appliances - pull

Land O'Lakes
=============
Boxcar EL 88159 - no instructions
Reefer GN 3486 - butter - pull

Team Track
===========
Gondola PENN 357621 - MTY - pull
Boxcar MSTL 53217 - MTY - pull

Hawkins Checmicals
==================
Tank car GATX 30883 - no instructions
Tank car KPCX 508 - MTY - pull


Smile,
Stein