Seaboard Central 2.0

[Rich_S]

Success! 

DFF

Looks great Dave. Are you planning on any basic scenery or just leaving it as the plywood pacific?

[davefoxx]

Probably plywood pacific, for now.  I really didn't put much thought into this unto the sudden brainstorm last weekend that led to an impromptu trip to the home center for materials.  Time will tell.

DFF

[Rich_S]

Probably plywood pacific, for now.  I really didn't put much thought into this unto the sudden brainstorm last weekend that led to an impromptu trip to the home center for materials.  Time will tell.

DFF

Dave, What I was thinking is paint the plywood an earth tone, to seal it, then maybe some very basic land forms and grass. Basically it's just visible staging, so don't get carried away. Kick the idea around and see what sticks 

[davefoxx]

That's what I had sort of thought about, but I'm afraid that will clash with the scenic portion of the layout.  My initial thought was to paint it black, as Marty McGuirk did on the staging on the Carolina Central, i.e., off-stage.  But, that might be too much here.  I dunno.

It will get a Masonite fascia to hide the raw edge of the plywood and that block of 1"x4" where the cart clamps to the layout.  That will also conceal and protect the AR1 and Hex Frog Juicer that are/will be mounted to the bottom of the plywood.  I might have enough scraps of Masonite left over, so that I don't have to buy a new sheet, helping to keep this project under $100.00.

DFF

[davefoxx]

My rolling reverse loop/staging is closing in on being called finished.  I've got the three slide switches installed, so the Atlas Code 55 switch points are no longer flopping around.  The only real task remaining, not counting the installation of a fascia and other esthetics to the table top, is to power the frogs.  I have an extra Hex Frog Juicer in my inventory, so I just need to get out the soldering iron and run the wires.

So, here is the HCD layout with the folding staging and the rolling reverse loop/staging set up.  The staging platforms may not be pretty, but they really add to the flexibility of ops and capacity without taking up a ton of floor space.



Thanks for stopping by,
DFF

[BOK]

Nice layout and equally nice staging, Dave.

Thanks, for sharing.

Barry

[MichaelWinicki]

Very nice Dave!

So you have an operational plan for the pike?

[davefoxx]

I'm slowly trying to figure out how to operate the layout.  Remember, there's two railroads with a third as an interchange.  I have a basic idea how the roads interchange with each other.  But, I really need to research the industries and ladings, to figure out the car movements.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I'm working on fascia today.  Luckily, I had enough scraps just big enough to cut all four pieces.  Only three are shown being installed below.  The fourth was still being cut when I took this picture.

You may notice the different heights of the fascia.  The thinner profile will allow me access to the top shelf underneath the layout.  The thicker profile matches the height of the fascia on the HCD portion and gives me an area to clamp the two sections together when the rolling reverse loop/staging is connected to the layout.



DFF

[Rich_S]

Dave, The fascia gives a very finished appearance to your rolling reverse loop / staging cart, well done.

[davefoxx]

Since I tore down the expansion to the Seaboard Central 2.0, I have been toying with the idea of what to do with the HCD portion.  I've already stated that before I build any new layouts, I would finish off the layout room and build a shelf-style N scale layout (or N and On30 layouts!) around the walls.  But, because of life getting in the way, I know that I won't be getting to that anytime soon, which is why you've seen work on the HCD over the past few months and the addition of the folding staging yard and the reverse loop/staging cart to make up for the operational loss of the expansion but with much less floor space robbed.

But, here's the interesting part of this story.  I have a four-year-old daughter, who at least twice recently has approached me in the layout room and asked me if she can have my layout when I build another.  I was pleasantly surprised by her question, but what made her think I would possibly be getting rid of the layout?  We haven't had that discussion.  I told her that she could absolutely have the layout before I otherwise disposed of it.  It just goes to show how we may underestimate the intuitiveness of children, and I couldn't be happier if my daughter turns out to have a hobby that we can share.   That would be awesome! 

DFF

[jmarley76]

It just goes to show how we may underestimate the intuitiveness of children, and I couldn't be happier if my daughter turns out to have a hobby that we can share.   That would be awesome!

My five-year-old daughter is in charge of moving and changing out the automobiles and trucks on the layout. She does a great job; occasionally I find cars in strange locations, a fun reminder she has her hand in it, too. 

[Hamaker]

My five-year-old daughter is in charge of moving and changing out the automobiles and trucks on the layout. She does a great job; occasionally I find cars in strange locations, a fun reminder she has her hand in it, too. 

On the rare occasion my ex-wife visits me, she does the same as your five year old daughter.  She's considerably older than your daughter.  If she has any desire to be involved with the layout, I wish she'd weather all the buildings as she did so well on previous layouts built when we were married.  She did a fantastic job !

[jmarley76]

That's actually impressive! I have a hard enough time getting my wife even near the train room door...

[davefoxx]

I returned to Aberdeen and finished up the ballasting on the track realignment I did a few weeks ago.  It's a soupy mess right now.  Hopefully, tomorrow it'll dry, and the turnouts won't be gummed up too bad.



DFF