Newbie - District 22 - Downtown L.A. (A table top railway)

[torikoos]

Not sure if blogs are totally useless, there's a lot of crap out there of course, but there's a few great places too, like mine for instance :-) ha ha
just kidding, I've got a small readers base, but that's okay, it may grow, it may not, but I've got a 'spot' on the www, and if it serves a purpose for a few people, can be of help, then that's great, mission accomplished. That said, Big Blue is great! I've enjoyed my time here so far, and while I'm also a member of a few more 'specialist' forums, with a particular interest in a subject, this is a great place to 'hang' and see and learn things from al sorts of back grounds, and share a common love/interest/craze/obsession for (model)railroads.

Koos

[jonte]

Not sure if blogs are totally useless, there's a lot of crap out there of course, but there's a few great places too, like mine for instance :-) ha ha
just kidding, I've got a small readers base, but that's okay, it may grow, it may not, but I've got a 'spot' on the www, and if it serves a purpose for a few people, can be of help, then that's great, mission accomplished. That said, Big Blue is great! I've enjoyed my time here so far, and while I'm also a member of a few more 'specialist' forums, with a particular interest in a subject, this is a great place to 'hang' and see and learn things from al sorts of back grounds, and share a common love/interest/craze/obsession for (model)railroads.

Koos

You make a very persuasive case for blogs, Koos, and I shall look forward to viewing yours
I think I'll keep mine going for a little longer, but I'll keep it brief, probably with just the additional picture or two.
Am in process of updating this post, but had to abandon the first attempt as I didn't realise that the photos were 'too big' for publication here, so popped out to adjust them accordingly. Luckily I'd downloaded 'Irfanview' for use in another forum , so it was simply a case of jogging my memory :?
Anyway, done that now, so I'll get on with the task of posting them.
Thanks again for your interest, Koos, and I'll check out your blog once I've finished here.

Kindest regards,

Jonte

[jonte]

Hi again All.

Well here goes my first post on Big Blue which I intend to keep as concise as possible to prevent you moving on to something far more worthy of your valuable time. I just hope it makes sense.

To bring you up to speed and for reference purposes, there are four baseboards in total, each measuring 3' x 12", which I shall number 1 to 4.

Board#1 is a traverser which will probably carry four tracks (roads) to prevent grid lock during operation (if I ever finish it that is ). There's a picture or two of it under construction on my blog under the heading: 'A previous incarnation' <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/765-jontes-blog/">http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index. ... ntes-blog/</a><!-- m -->.

Board #2, is joined - yes you've guessed it - to board #1 and is the first of three scenic boards, the others being boards #3 & #4 respectfully. Beginning to bore myself now so here's a photo of Board #2 for your delectation:

   

This shows the general arrangement of things - a left handed crossover and lead to a long siding (team track?). There's a Kadee magnet buried in the underlay (foamboard, by the way, which has absolutuely no soundproofing properties which I didn't discover till I'd run the first piece of rolling stock across it - why did I use it? I'd loads of offcuts of the stuff left over from an aborted attempt to use it as the basis for constructing light baseboards which everybody seemed to advocate at the time - the less said about their robustness the better ). I didn't even reach the stage of topping them off before they began to bow

Just a further point before moving on: searching for a suitable plan for a switch style layout, with the proviso that anything suitable would have to contain a lefthanded crossover (after the blood, sweat and tears expended to lay, wire and operate them I had no intentions of dispensing with them) I discovered that it bore a vague resemblance to a plan entitled: Butley Mills, one of a number of plans published by the well known British railway modelling guru, Iain Rice, who I've since discovered has also had his works published on this side of the pond - it's just occurred to me that I keep using this term in the hope so I dearly hope that I don't cause offence, but if it does please let me know. Anyway, what was that about brevity??????

Moving on.

The crossover:

   

Peco Code 75 (Large radii) with the springs and containers removed to aid the use of my chosen method of point control - wire in tube. Why wire in tube? Well, it's cheap - I've done this on a shoestring budget - and it cuts down on the wiring - I also reckoned that if I practised hard enough, I could emulate the slow movement of those wonderful Tortoise units - again on the cheap - I can't believe I've even said that !!! Oh well, warts 'n all.....
I also took the liberty of reducing in length the diverging tracks of each point (switch) to facilitate a 6' way between parallel tracks. I'm pleased with the more prototypical look it imparts, however, this was at the expense of smoothness - this is just another example of me trying to run before I've learned to walk

The next two photos show the components of the wire in tube: incidentally, the crossover is controlled 'in tandem' by one lever only (from a Ratio signal kit) which, while extremely fiddly to put together, produced a rather pleasing result of which I'm quite proud - I really need to get out more.

   

   

Just one more and I'll leave you all in peace. This was one of the first 90* crossings I built for 'The Patch' a few weeks ago using all Peco Code 75 rail, purloined from one or two spare lengths of flexitrack. As you can see, the result is rather coarse to say the least, therefore, the ones used on the layout - which are of later construction - use Peco for the running rails and Code 75 Bullhead rail for the check rails which drastically slims down the appearance.
In the upper corners are the home made jigs used to construct the crossings and home made crossover which completes the runround loop and appears in my blog (will post some photos of it in situ in next couple of days). Simply made from bits of styrene and merely perform the role of maintaining 16.5 mm gauge between rails. To position the check rails, I simply wedged a short strip of PCB between check rail and running rail prior to soldering. Gaps a little wide, but 'Chessie' doesn't seem to like anything tighter

   

Anyway, that's all for now chaps - are there any lady members? - apologies if so.

Hope it's not too longwinded :oops:

More soon,

Jonte

[jonte]

Incidentally, for those who've yet to visit my 'blog?!!', here's a brief video of the 90* crossings in situ with the little 'Chessie' running back and forth to test it (apologies, no running around available just yet!).

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0j1eX2wcpg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0j1eX2wcpg</a><!-- m -->

Regards,

Jonte

[jonte]

Here's a fundamental question: what should I be using to cut my track?

I've Xuron cutters for actually cutting off pieces of track from a 3' length, but what's the best for cutting breaks in points etc.

For instance, I need to cut a length of track after laying and soldering it across a baseboard joint so that the boards can be separated. On the previous board, I used a cutting disc (Dremmel?) in my modelling drill, but would prefer a finer cut. Additionally, as the disc and drill body are in line, the cut becomes angular as the it gets deeper becaused the drill body prevents the disc from being kept perpendicular to the rail. I hope that makes sense.

I've previously tried a modelling saw (blade screws to the handle) but found it refuses to cut. By the way, I don't know the make of the discs I've been using as they came with the drill that was sold as the hardware store's own brand.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Jonte

[shortliner]

Jonte - one of theUK stores - Aldi or Lidl ( I think the first one) does a version with a flexible drive shaft - that will let you get down virtually "flat to the rail" Note you can also buy one from Dremel(UK), but it will cost a bit more!

[jonte]

Jonte - one of theUK stores - Aldi or Lidl ( I think the first one) does a version with a flexible drive shaft - that will let you get down virtually "flat to the rail" Note you can also buy one from Dremel(UK), but it will cost a bit more!

I see. Obviously the angle is a problem then.

Thanks for the advice Jack.

Best wishes,

Jonte

[dave_long]

Hi Jonte
Best of luck with the project, I'm also new to ho and building a small Miami layout there is a thread on here but its a little sparse at the moment while boards are finished being built which will be tomorrow hopefully. The tube in wire work looks pretty neat. I've not put anything on rmweb but I too have just started a blog for this project and more modelling once this layout is built which will be by June as its due at a show. My blog (see below) has a little more info but not as much as I would like yet but over the next few days quite a bit should appear. Its alway good to keep several different media forms going as you never know who reads what, you could get lots a viewers from here than say rmweb or vice versa or people who search google may find your blog before a forum, you know where this is going etc.

There are Xurons in production now that allow cutting rail in situ, not like the standard cutter Xurons which just take a piece off the end of a rail. Places like tools 2000 or squires will sell you a bendy mini drill fitment.

regards
Dave

[torikoos]

Another great tool to cut rails with is the razor saw, as sold by Atlas, they're cheap as 'chips' ;-) If you can't get the Atlas saw from your local shop or your internet shop (modeljunction in the UK is one of the better ones), then you could try a shop that sells European outline, and ask for the Roco saw, it's the same saw, be it a bit more expensive due to the branding..
What I do , as it's sometimes hard to get the start of the cut with a saw, cut a tiny bit with a dremel and a disc, and then gently go through the rest with the atlas razor saw, a straight neat cut is the result.

Koos

[jonte]

Hi Jonte
Best of luck with the project, I'm also new to ho and building a small Miami layout there is a thread on here but its a little sparse at the moment while boards are finished being built which will be tomorrow hopefully. The tube in wire work looks pretty neat. I've not put anything on rmweb but I too have just started a blog for this project and more modelling once this layout is built which will be by June as its due at a show. My blog (see below) has a little more info but not as much as I would like yet but over the next few days quite a bit should appear. Its alway good to keep several different media forms going as you never know who reads what, you could get lots a viewers from here than say rmweb or vice versa or people who search google may find your blog before a forum, you know where this is going etc.

There are Xurons in production now that allow cutting rail in situ, not like the standard cutter Xurons which just take a piece off the end of a rail. Places like tools 2000 or squires will sell you a bendy mini drill fitment.

regards
Dave

Hi Dave
Thanks for the compliment. Your extremely kind.
I recognise your blog; I remember thinking I'm not the only one who makes virtual tours of overseas industrial areas :!: . Incidentally, how do you download the street view images?
I'd like to show the folks what this looks like today <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bobsgardenpath.com/AlleyInColor.html">http://www.bobsgardenpath.com/AlleyInColor.html</a><!-- m -->. This is what I'd intended to model - the atmosphere is overwhelming and I just had to build it. However, it raised the age old problem of how do you model a railroad only alley displayed at maximun height, without the buildings on one side obstructing your view. As I pointed out earlier on another forum, snapshot views between gaps in buildings or through open warehouse doors would eventually become frustrating, so I've had to have a rethink. The reason I mention this is because as soon as I saw this, I had to find it. Being so far away, Google was my only hope, so I spent two or three nights 'roaming' the streets of downtown L.A. until I eventually found it, and I'd love to show a 'then' and 'now' picture of the two. Just a quick line on how to download the image would do.

I was also extremely impressed with your XtrkCad designed track plan, so much so, I downloaded it and a quick tutorial on how to use it (posted by some benevolent soul) so that I could make one of my own.
This is the result:
   

You've made your point quite well about blogs, and I as I said earlier, I shall continue to revisit my amateurish effort from time to time. Like Koos', your log is extremely professional full of attention to detail and well thought out. I could easily while away more than the odd half hour or so rummaging around in there - when I should really be modelling I can see that with your knack for detail, your layout will be well worth waiting for and I shall eagerly await any updates. Perhaps when you get onto the exhibition circuit I could pop along and see it in the flesh.

Thanks also for the pointers re the tools. I need to sort this sooner rather than later.

Anyway, regards for now Dave, and I look forward to seeing those completed baseboards.

Jonte

[jonte]

Another great tool to cut rails with is the razor saw, as sold by Atlas, they're cheap as 'chips' ;-) If you can't get the Atlas saw from your local shop or your internet shop (modeljunction in the UK is one of the better ones), then you could try a shop that sells European outline, and ask for the Roco saw, it's the same saw, be it a bit more expensive due to the branding..
What I do , as it's sometimes hard to get the start of the cut with a saw, cut a tiny bit with a dremel and a disc, and then gently go through the rest with the atlas razor saw, a straight neat cut is the result.

Koos

Hi again Koos.

Love the blog/website. Only a brief visit last night to familiarise myself with the layout; most impressed. Will pop back over the next couple of days or so. In the meantime, determined to make some headway with tracklaying, so I appreciate your post about the razor saw - which is what I've got (couldn't remember its name ). Sounds as though it's the Atlas blade I need, although I shall heed your advice about starting off the cut with the Dremel.

Regards for now and thanks for your support.

Jonte

[shortliner]

Jonte - the fastest and best way to capture anything on your screen is to use this <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=775">http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=775</a><!-- m --> (FastStone capture) this is the last free version, but there is a much newer version (6.7 which is free for 30 days, and then costs $19.95. Well worth the outlay <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm">http://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm</a><!-- m --> and a tutorial <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.faststone.org/FSCTutorial.htm">http://www.faststone.org/FSCTutorial.htm</a><!-- m -->
Jack

[dave_long]

Hi Jonte
Thanks for the kind words.
Xtkcad is quite a useful bit of kit for the price It can get a little fiddly with colours covering the track but you'll soon work out how to get around that.

To be honest in response to shortliners post above I only ever use the printscreen button on your keyboard and paste into 'Irfanview' (google it) image processing software you can use paint but its a little too basic in terms of resizing and decreasing the file output size. There are many other image software programs you may have one installed on your machine like photoshop elements, paint shop pro, or camera software if you have a digitial camera. Paste in, crop the image and then resize, save to computer and post.

If your pretty handy with a computer then you could try this (its the next step up from my xtrkcad layout image) http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=169 plus it was a great layout thread have a good read if you havent already!

I have had the same issue as you've got now though, I have buildings in front of the track that will block the view, although I've managed to move things around and come up with my own version of downtown Miami that wont entirely block the view, plus I've got a partial road in front so the track is even further back. Its tough to get the right compromise but I'm sure you'll be able to sort something out, Shortliners tip sounds interesting though.

I'm going on a bit now.
rgds
Dave

[jonte]

Jonte - the fastest and best way to capture anything on your screen is to use this <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=775">http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=775</a><!-- m --> (FastStone capture) this is the last free version, but there is a much newer version (6.7 which is free for 30 days, and then costs $19.95. Well worth the outlay <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm">http://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm</a><!-- m --> and a tutorial <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.faststone.org/FSCTutorial.htm">http://www.faststone.org/FSCTutorial.htm</a><!-- m -->
Jack

Thanks Jack - I'll download the free version later and give it a whirl. If I get hooked, I'll fork out on the faststone (got to keep an eye to the pennies presently and there are some box cars for sale that've caught my eye which will involve much pandering to the boss ).

Your help as always is much appreciated.

Jonte

[jonte]

Hi Jonte
If your pretty handy with a computer ......

Oh how I admire you chaps who are!

My dexterity with all things electronic tantamounts to asking my daughter or her young man what to do (he's been threatening to give me an old Photoshop package for the last few weeks - I shall have to hold him to it now!)
Like so many of us, I guess I'm just too lazy to have a go - however, once I see the benefits of something, I'm up and running so never say never (for instance, looking forwarding to testing out Jack's latest suggestion . This is probably why mine must be the only silent railroad on this site (analogue :cry: ) Perhaps one day I'll be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.

Will be interesting to see your solution to the obstructed view problem we discussed.

By the way, Dave, feel free to go on as long as you want; I'm also afflicted. However, you appear to have something useful to say

Thanks for getting in touch,

Jonte