Modular Nickel Plate Road in Bellevue

[Dave V]

M1s would work.  Not as common as other types out west, but they were around.  N2 2-10-2s were found out there too, but that's a big kitbash.

[seusscaboose]

So Dr. Dave just helped me out

I was on the fence about the M1

But if I can quasi justify it to be in Bellevue on the interchange track then I can assign it to a job and use it in an Ops session from staging to Bellevue

[btrain]

Thank you Dave for the advice!

It's been a busy past two weeks on the layout. With the help of my grandpa, a former GM dye maker, we were able to assemble the frames with 1" by 3" lumber and 1/4" birch plywood for the top. The second photo shows the dimensions for the six modules, while the third shows my cat inspecting the workmanship with all modules together.

I've been debating the design for the legs, if I should go the Modutrack route of connecting the table tops. The corner legs are the only ones that might give me problems, and I was contemplating about just having it connected to the nearest leg.

[btrain]

After Eric suggested that I add the PRR connection and the W&LE district, I was having some reservations. I knew the PRR would fit, but I didn't think that I would have enough straight track for the Route 20 underpass and the depot. With a little bit of goofing around today, I was able to stick a No.5 switch to interchange with the W&LE and put in a 90* diamond. Here is the updated portion of what the town of Bellevue will eventually look like, along with a photo of NKP 765 going through the area this past fall.
For all the Nickel Plate fans out there, what was this interlocking tower called? I've seen both Bellevue and Wheeling tower from timetables and photo books.

[seusscaboose]

Nice!

Also I found a pic of the prr interchange showing a J

So the M1 will need to be a stand in

[chessie system fan]

I appreciate that at no point is the track parallel to the tabletop.  It makes the design much more interesting.

[btrain]

It's been another busy weekend on the layout. Yesterday I painted and assembled the Walthers Art Deco Underpass that will be Route 20 through downtown. Today, I put section braces on the corner legs, the legs themselves are copied off the Modutrak standard ones.

I also played around with 1 1/2" foam on one module. This is the Bellevue town segment again with the overpass put in its place. Basically, until I get some more kits built, the jewel cases represent houses that will face the tracks on the diamond side of the module (South Buckeye Street), with a small neighborhood on the other side of the tracks from the station. Where the blue and white fuel truck will be a gas station, and across from it will be a diner, both of those will face Route 20.

This week I'll be cutting the foam for the table board tops, and glue 1 1/2" of wood to the edges of where the tracks meet at each module. Once the diamonds come in from MB Klein, I'll be able to put my gandy dancers to work on the cork roadbed and tracks! 

[seusscaboose]

what are you going to use for the tower?
you realize there is a pic of it on page 27 of the recent (Winter 2017) NKP Magazine?
do you subscribe?  better put... are you a member?  if not... SHAME ON YOU

[seusscaboose]

on another note... if you're going to scratch build it...  monstermodelworks and n scale architect offer supplies needed
(no affiliation with either)

[btrain]

Haha, yep, member #3707 reporting! I just became a member of the NKPHTS this past fall! 

Thank you for the scratch building tips, I was looking for an N scale brick sheet at the local hobby shop and was very disappointed by the pattern from Plastruct (but thank God they make stairways).

[seusscaboose]

excellent!

[btrain]

Still waiting for the final pieces of track to arrive, so I took advantage of the warm weather here in Ohio and painted South Boulder Works H-10-44 and American Model Builders 1200 series NKP caboose. Next week, I hope to have both decaled and completed.

[seusscaboose]

Ahh yes
The Beetle

Bellevue had lots of them scurrying around

[btrain]

It's a slow day at work, so I've been rethinking about the east side of the layout. I've alway been a bit smitten with the small depot at Kimball that was shared with the NKP and the B&O Sandusky branch. I've redrawn the track so it still includes the Central Erie Supply grain elevator (AMB Silex elevator with Rix grain silos) and general store (Blair Line), but added the B&O, the interchange for it and a single track into staging, this way I'll won't become lazy and just run two trains in a loop around the layout.
The "HI" in the drawing is actually the station code for the Kimball passenger depot and the "L" shaped freight depot is not prototypical but is the Linden, IN freight depot from RS-Laser.




For the passenger depot, would anyone have any scratch building or kit bashing tips? Here's the only photo of it that I can find online.

[btrain]

Achieved a milestone a few hours ago. The first train rolled over the Route 20 underpass and stopped at the Bellevue passenger station. All the track on the first module is soldered, and has a few kinks and rail surfaces need to be smoothed out before I lay down the cork. I'll wait one more week for the liquid nails to cure before I start carving the foam dip for US 20.




I've also been putting my decaling and painting skills to the test with the South Bolder Work's H-10-44. It's a great model. The chevron stripes on the end provided a bit of a challenge, but bman suggested to use Microscale's 1/16" yellow stripes which worked beautifully after they were applied.



The last thing that I've been working on is a mock-up of Wheeling Tower. Thanks to Google maps and several online photos, I drew up a rough plan and shrunk it in a photo copier so I could make a 3D block to see if the tower would fit in the corner.



I also want to give a shout out to the NKPHTS as a great resource! The photos and plans they have in their collection, helped alleviate a lot of the anxiety I had about this project!