The Nomad Valley under construction

[tetters]

W00t W00t! Exciting stuff indeed.

Man, I gotta get off my arse and finish what I've got started so I can lay down some rail.

[nomad]

this is gonna be sweet! i cant believe that your handlaying all of those turnouts .i can barely handle my turnout kits :mrgreen: .--josh

Hi Josh. You said turnout kits. What are you using ?
I don't know as you would call mine handlaid, I build them at my work bench with pc ties. But, I don't use any jigs, just eyeball and track gauges, so maybe that counts ?
Hey Tetters, get to work .
I haven't seen any progress pictures in a while. But seeing you make those structures is worth the wait.

Loren

[Bigsteel]

i use the central valley kits in C70,they are pretty easy to build but a pain when your used to pre-built switches .they also come with super detailing kits for a working switchstand and rail plates (think thats what they're called )--josh

[nomad]

A little bit of progress to show off. Ties are stained and ballasted. Once they dry I can vacuum and start installing the turnouts and laying out the yard
Carpentry is also done, I hope. That was getting pretty boring.
The one picture shows where the switching lead will be, but I don't know. I planned on a river in that area and it really messes up the scenery possibilities. I might move the switching lead back on the other board, opening up that river area more. But I also like the idea of the switching lead having a small trestle or bridge over the river, so I can't make up my mind.
Thanks for looking.

Loren

[OBJack]

Excellent progress Loren, but then what was it you said.... "4 layouts in 5 years"....You should be finished and have it done in no time, ....and with your eyes closed.

Watching with interest.

Jack

[Russ Bellinis]

Loren, I would not worry about having the switching lead cross a bridge over a small river. I think it would really add some interest to the layout to cross a small stream with your lead. Crossing a large river with a lead would pobably not be prototypical, but I don't think a creek or small river would slow down a railroad from putting in a switching lead to a yard.

[nomad]

Thanks Jack.
This is the biggest layout I have built, so I think it's going to take a loooong time.
Hi Russ.
Galen was over today and we decided that switching lead needs to go away. It takes to much away from that area. Now to decide if there should be a water feature, a quarry or what. :?

Loren

[Russ Bellinis]

A quarry, lake, or pond could take up quite a bit of real estate. On the other hand a small stream can add a lot of interest while only taking up a ribbon a couple of inches wide across a layout and give you an excuse to put in some bridges or trestles.

[Steamtrains]

Lucky you....you got Galen nearby.....Down here there is NO ONE to bounce ideas around....
That's what you guys are for....

[nomad]

Lucky you....you got Galen nearby.....Down here there is NO ONE to bounce ideas around....
That's what you guys are for....

Gus, I didn't have Galen to talk to till about a month ago, before that all I had was you guys too, so I know the feeling :?

Loren

[nomad]

No picture to show, but I managed to lay 5 turnouts before my wife found me and needed something done.
But I am coming to a point where I need advice again.
I will be using manual turnout controls. Now, I can go the Gary S style

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but with the parts I have now I can not power the frog. I have two way light switches, and I would need three way, which I can not afford.
Or, I have dpdt ( double pole, double throw ) slide switches that would allow me to power the the frog. The problem here is that I can either mount them on the table top, which means I need to cut a hole in the table top for the dpdt to go in, and then cut a groove for the actuating wire to hide in, and figure some way to hide the wire, because I would mount the dpdt switch at the edge of the table. Maybe cover it with duct tape and paint it ?
The other possibility would be to mount the dpdt underneath the way Gary S. did, and figure out a way to throw the turnout with a rod going out to the fascia board. But the dpdt switches are mini's with a small button, so it would need to be a fairly small wire, which would flex.
Anybody have any ideas? Do you think the duct tape would work ?

Loren

[Russ Bellinis]

I don't think duct tape would hold up. With mini switches, I think I would try to use a small brass eye bolt that would go around the "handle" of a dpdt switch. Then just solder it to the wire used to control the turnout. The wire would continue past the point where it was soldered to bend and go through the throw bar on the turnout. The eyebolt would throw the dpdt switch only while the wire the eyebolt is soldered to would continue on to throw the points. 2 more eyebolts on either side of the dpdt switch that the cable runs through would hold the eyebolt tight on the switch handle so that the dpdt switch always is thrown with the turnout. I guess I didn't mention it, but the dpdt switch would be mounted under the benchwork.

[nomad]

Thanks Russ.
No matter how I look at it, I quess I am better off mounting the dpdt switches underneath.

Loren

[Russ Bellinis]

Anything that is mounted on the surface of the layout will be visible; and any switch, no matter how small, will be out of scale and detract from the layout.

[nomad]

Anything that is mounted on the surface of the layout will be visible; and any switch, no matter how small, will be out of scale and detract from the layout.

Loren