SP's East Portland "Produce Row"

[pdx1955]

Other than finishing the wharf bulkhead planking , I haven't done much in months. Working from home just makes the days just run into each other and weekends feel like weekdays, so I've lost a lot of desire to do anything. Having the work "cube" being in the same room as the hobby workbench doesn't help as I don't really want to spend much time in their either. Also, been re-evaluating long-term plans and it looks like retirement could be within a few years instead of 6-7 . To keep up the sense of adventure, there's a good chance that we'll sell the house, purge stuff and pack everything else into a shipping container and move to Portugal.

This leaves me in a kind of a quandary. I could ignore that future date, work along as usual, then crate everything up a la @SAH  and move modules over, but everything would likely stay crated for 18+ months. However spaces are smaller there and there's no guarantee of a good space without some work.

I also could sell and toss everything and start over , but that's likely to be in Portuguese HO (modeling what you see) as American equipment is much more rare and shipping from North America is super slow and super expensive with the steep custom duties. Plus with a "tear-down" date it makes it kinda defeating on being motivated on doing anything with the current.

I also spent the weekend coming up with a L-shaped TTrak plan that fits on two folding tables that still gives the overall operating scheme of switching, transfers and passenger ops albeit with about 50% of the roster, but manages to leverage the building and and bridges done to date . It would be a mix of Unitrak for the mains and re-used Peco for the spurs. This would also be crated up but smaller and could be setup after finding an initial place in six months or working on a module here or there.   
I'm leaning toward the TTrak option (also frankly working under the current layout with signal and other wiring/switch machines in semi-cramped conditions isn't really fun - as I've gotten older it is less fun), but doing a whole new chapter without the baggage is intriguing...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'm glad you see the brilliance of TTRAK for stuff like this.

I've been thoroughly enjoying it.

And it's a lot easier to throw in an airplane

[Philip H]

Not for nothing, but I'd be up for watching your Portuguese HO stuff grow and blossom as I'm a not really in the closet Spanish N scaler.

[pdx1955]

I drew up some TTrak  module plans and it looks like things will fit reasonably, so I've  decided  to head in that direction  and convert to that footprint . A lot of the stuff will transfer  over including frog juicers, signal detectors , and way bill boxes not to mention  the track for my non-unitrak areas. Still, there will be a good amount of equipment  sell off to reduce to more reasonable  roster size but to allow for plenty of variety  and flexibility and also gotta buy all that unitrak !. Eventually ,  I'll have these 2x4 and 2x4 section frames/ leg assemblies  to get rid of so ideally  these could be start for someone  else's  effort, otherwise  they  will be firewood. As hard as it is to rebuild  it, it's actually  quite  invigorating  thinking making this come together .

[MarkInLA]

I don't like flat, door layouts, 4X8 s, or any other train layout that naively puts all its tracks on a flat surface when in the end they wind up with awful riser type situations/concoctions for tracks to go up/down grade on it when all they have to do is learn the simple method of 'open grid' or 'L girder' benchwork which lends itself so beautifully to gradient construction !
!! BUT !!
~This beautiful, flat N scale layout is supposed to be all flat, and nuttin' but flat ! And that is 100% correct in my book !!! It's not depicting mountains, valleys, grades up/down..
It's a port and local industry depiction, where it's all flat on the 1:1 scale !
This is some great modeling here !! I'm back in HO 12+ yrs, but was in N 15 yrs prior to this, a member of the Belmont Shore MRRC, in So. Ca.
There is an area on it quite similar to this as 'The Port of Los Angeles'..!
M

[MDW]

I drew up some TTrak  module plans and it looks like things will fit reasonably, so I've  decided  to head in that direction  and convert to that footprint . A lot of the stuff will transfer  over including frog juicers, signal detectors , and way bill boxes not to mention  the track for my non-unitrak areas. Still, there will be a good amount of equipment  sell off to reduce to more reasonable  roster size but to allow for plenty of variety  and flexibility and also gotta buy all that unitrak !. Eventually ,  I'll have these 2x4 and 2x4 section frames/ leg assemblies  to get rid of so ideally  these could be start for someone  else's  effort, otherwise  they  will be firewood. As hard as it is to rebuild  it, it's actually  quite  invigorating  thinking making this come together .

Will miss this layout - was really enjoying following your progress.   I’m happy to know that you are keeping the same theme in a simpler TTrak version and can’t wait to see how this starts shaping up.   

Michel

[coldriver]

I'm sorry to hear the layout's coming down just when it's getting good! 

[OldEastRR]

Another lamenter over the layout's demise. I really liked the track plan and the realistic sense of a railroad embedded in the heart of a city, not just running past one.

[pdx1955]

Thanks guys! At the risk of sounding like a soap opera, I was lamenting going this way considering the work done so far and that it was starting to look like something more especially getting into the scenery aspects, so I took a deeper look into square and cubic footage. For example, even though the TTrak option above was only 50% of the square footage of the current layout surface, actually setting it up is over 80% of the same space as island style plans are not as efficient as around the wall plans. I could make the current fit into a 12.5 m2 room which is quite doable looking at a number of floor plans in flats and houses, the modular option would take at least 10 m2 and would require a wider space.

I also looked at how much space the current layout would take up boxed (including bundled backdrop sections and leg assemblies) and found it would fit, along with my existing TTrak NP modules, supplies, tools, and everything else N within a palletized crate format. It also is somewhat less than 100 cu ft which is less than 10% of a containerized solution, which I think is ok, as that was my major point of concern that it would take up too much volume in the shipment relative to everything else. I'm already going to liquidate the Lionel collection, and take a hard look at other accumulated supplies which shrink the overall "pile."

In my looking the modular concept, I determined that the DCC, booster, aux power and lighting (although the WS JustPlug system will require the Euro version of their power supply) will work directly with 230V/50 Hz other than needing adapters or pigtails,so I don't have to do anything there. Peco, Vallejo paints, WS, Evergreen, Microscale is readily available, so there's no issue for projects in the future. Major US manufacturers equipment are available as well from Euro sources, so I won't need to worry about missing out in the future. The issue will be obtaining smaller detail parts and things from cottage manufacturers - so my have to bite the bullet on shipping if I need it badly enough or keep shipments less than $25 (not always possible).

So, given everything that I know at this time, I think I'm going to continue on with the current layout. I'll keep the TTrak plans as I could always go to that or sometime else in the future. Since I can't take with me any solvent-based materials, over the next few years I will need to work on using that stuff up by ballasting the rest of the track, getting the ground layers done, painting streets, pouring the river. I will abandon a few projects to simplify things (e.g. doing the Shasta Daylight is too much work...rather do the Cascade as I have much closer prototypes on hand versus a lot of stand-in's) and I will consolidate and slim down as I go.

I did have a successful test of using Unitrack conversion pieces at my fiddle yard joints when I had to remove it to allow for some furnace maintenance. I had to take off a piece of the original "key" blocks to allow the section to slide in more diagonally (as the tracks are on the bias) , but it snapped in easily without any bumps or gaps... Yeah! As we get closer to spring it will be nicer to work in the garage, so I'll be able to make some real progress. I'm also going to get over my mental block of doing modeling work in the "office" - gotta decal a dozen SP prototype tank, stock, box and hogfuel cars, plus kickstart work on a number of new buildings.

Onward!

[MDW]

Great news that you are going to keep & eventually move the existing layout.   Portland is a great modeling subject and you have been nailing it so far.   By the way, You will be surprised at how easy it is to source some of your familiar & favorite modeling supplies overseas and you’ll also find all kinds of cool local stuff..... you’ll also get used to overseas shipping charges .

Michel

[OldEastRR]

Yay! One of my favorite TRW "big" layouts is going to continue. Maybe 2021 WILL be a hell of a lot better than 2020 ...

[pdx1955]

My first application  of "industrial  hard packed earth" on the layout mixing a full application of dirt and heavy  sprinkling  of non-sanded grout with my fingertips over a glue painted base. I'll  glue it down further after this dries and after I add some turf accents on the edges.

[pdx1955]

The terminal area got its first layer of earth and the surrounding  tracks ballasted tonight. I also got the pier deck glued to the bents  and it is ready for the rails and planking. Just out of sight I also sanded down the cork leading up to the wharf so the approach is ready to receive track. The sculptamold  is finally  dry on the bridge embankment  in the photo and on the wharf approach so these can be blended in next.

[OldEastRR]

So glad this layout got a reprieve. Otherwise we might be reading about another retro mini-layout being started in its place. Not that there's anything WRONG with them ... 

[MDW]

Awesome progress..... can’t wait to see this scene come to life.

Michel