Free-moN Staging Yard - 16"x10'

[mcjaco]

That 2-6-0 is sweet.  Now I've got images of a NWP bash project in my head!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Been working on the 12" x 8' folding storage yard that attaches to Effett Yard.
Some progress picts over the last week:











All the turnouts will be controlled by slide switches.
The slide switches for the cross over (end of runaround) needed to be fitted partially under the track, as there's not much space.
Tracks are at 1 1/4" centers.

Here's the clearance when folded up:



Ar 5" wide, should fit in the car 

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Also been building the small but very handy 45 deg. modules.
At 2' across at the widest, they just fit a 22" radius curve with a couple inches of straght at each end.









That last pair will have industries along the spur, so when connected it's a short runaround and large industry, but if separated there'll still be an industry on each end.
We'll see how it works in practice 

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Took out all the 1/4" bolts & t-nuts ("Mr. T" nuts?) I had been using as levelers on all my modules, chopped 4" off the ends, and installed Rockler levelers:





The Rockler levelers require about 2" sq. space for install, thus the cleats around the bottoms.
[screw split one (D'oh!), which is why it's still being clamped]

For anyone doing modules, I highly recommend the Rockler levelers.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5217&site=ROCKLER
At $17 for a set of 4 they're bit more expensive than bolts, but man are they awesome and make height adjustment a snap (or twist).
MUCH easier than bolts!
And as we're doing more shows in the near future, ANYTHING that makes setup easier is easily worth the money.

Also finished building the endplates for Effett Yard:





Which makes the module much easier & safer to transport, as well as occupy a smaller footprint in the car (YEAY!).
Can also stack things on top! (Yeay!)  So more room for more modules!

[cont.]

[M.C. Fujiwara]

On the 45's, I installed pockets for single legs using my patented "no screw" method of spreading wood glue in the center of the surfaces and CA at the edges.  The CA cures quickly and holds everything in place while the woodglue emulsifies and cures.



As single units, the 45's don't need legs: clamping to a larger module with legs on each side is enough.
But if you use two or more 45's in a row (as either a curve or a snaking straight) then the legs take the pressure off all the clamps to hold it up.

Originally I was envisioning one 45 to have an abandoned crossing across the rails, but then I remembered all the structures and trees I have left over from Mt. Coffin, and so built this little wayside stop:







For now the water tower is removable with two long spikes holding it in place, but that might get perminantly affixed, depending on packing space on Sunday.
Still needs bushes and tufts and details, but it's nice to see Mt. Coffin live again (or at least pieces of it, like the Creature in Frankenstein).

Only a couple of days until the Coast Div. meet and lots of tasks to finish before then.
Today will be dropping feeders and wiring up the folding storage yard.
Woot!

Thanks for looking.

[Chris333]

Who makes that water tower?

[Zox]

MC, that's a good find on the Rockler levelers. Most levelers don't have nearly that much range.

As an aside, some people I know (including myself) use eye bolts:



It's much easier to stick a screwdriver through the eye on these and spin, than it is to use a wrench on a regular bolt.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Who makes that water tower?

Think it's a JV Models "Branchline" Water Tower.
It was the only kit on the whole Mt. Coffin layout, and it probably took me 3 times as long to build it than all the scratchbuilt structures!
Now that I've built one, though, I can see it's actually pretty easy to scratch one.
(Like I did the legs on the metal WT on Effett Yard.

That's sweet-looking benchwork, there, Zox.
Yeah, eyebolts work well, too.
But when the modules are set up and have their weight on them, and then you're going around to each leg twisting small bolts....
The Rockler levelers rock, especially with over an 1 1/4" of travel either way (I set mine at 5", which is in the middle) and they're sooooooo easy to grab and twist, even with a lot of weight on them.

I just got tired of twisting bolts all the time, especially when setting up in my garage, which has concrete sections as flat and level as moon craters.
And since I'll soon have enough modules to create a complete loop around the garage, and since I'll be setting that all up myself  , I wanted to go easy and hassle-free.

I do like those angled legs of yours (yes, I'm admiring your legs) and the cross-bracing.
Are those (easily) removable for transport?

[Zox]

I do like those angled legs of yours (yes, I'm admiring your legs) and the cross-bracing.
Are those (easily) removable for transport?

Yes; they attach under the module with four eyebolts (for toolless setup/takedown) and "scissor" into a compact package for transport:



This was designed as a possible alternate leg design for Baltimore Area NTrak's oNeTrak modules. Their standard modules are only one foot deep, and have "trestle-style" legs that are attractive but rather bulky to transport. Here's my test module, just sitting in place at a BANTrak setup to see how well it would blend in:



The legs are remarkably stable, given that the cross-bracing is just 3/4"x1/4" screen molding. In fact, I built the first example with much heavier bracing, and had to do the lighter version just to see if it would work, because the "trestle" effect looks much better with the lighter braces.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Very cool, Zox.
Thanks for sharing!
I shared the picts with our Silicon Valley Free-moN group.

Here's the other 45 I'm scenicking.





Same deal: needs bushes, tufts, etc. (that's today) but you get a sense of the scene.
Think I'm going to leave the creek dry, though I can always put some water in later.
And at some point I might cut the concrete culvert out and install an old A-frame trestle.
We'll see.

Now to figure out where the short is in the storage yard!

[Philip H]

Dude, that's a serious culvert!  I did a couple stream restoration projects in the PNW with culverts that big, we usually slcied out the bottoms and added gravel to make a natural bed.

Did you raid the Orange Store's plumbing department for the pipe?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Yeah I'll probably add more rocks along the bottom and into the pipe at some point.
The "pipe" is a section of a cardboard tube that I think was used for giftwrap, painted with a mixture of cheap craft paints and Durham's Water Putty.
Still needs some weathering.

[dnhouston]

Very nice work!  I never envisioned

when I first saw