The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

Three feet of ballast per day week:



I also applied the base coat of paint and permanently installed the road and grade crossing.  I use Rustoleum light gray automotive primer as the base coat.  Colored pencils are used for the street markings.  I’ll apply weathering to the road before applying Dullcote.  The Dullcote won’t be applied until I’m finished using alcohol as a wetting agent in this area:





DFF

[davefoxx]

@Dave V,

I thought I'd bring the discussion about soil back to this thread and not clog up the Weekend Update for those who couldn't care less.  Here's a post from the Seaboard Central 2.0 thread with my thoughts from way back when:

Under the few areas that have only a base layer of fine foam is a sandy color that, I believe, accurately depicts the soil of the sandhills of North Carolina.  Remember, this area used to be an ocean floor and/or a beach, so it is really sandy.  I have seen prototype pictures where the earth almost appears white at trackside in that area of North Carolina.  That light color showing through would be okay with me, and I think it would be prototypical.  It is a sparse, almost desolate, ecosystem.

Check out the picture in this link regarding the sandhills: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhills_(Carolina).  The picture on that Wikipedia site should be my goal.  Lots of pine trees and thin undergrowth.  To quote Buzz Aldrin, "Magnificent desolation."

Also, according to an article on North Carolina soils, located at http://www.ehow.com/list_6912779_north-carolina-soil-types.html#ixzz2H3X7crHq: "Sandhill soil is a loose, gray sandy soil, commonly found in the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), sandhill soil is typically found in ridges or hills and can range from 10 to 50 feet in depth. Oftentimes, the top layer of this soil is bleached white with underlying layers ranging in color from brown to reddish-brown. Because sandhill soil is low in organic matter and very dry, it is not well suited for agriculture. Naturally occurring plant growth includes longleaf pine, scrub oak and wiregrass. However, certain types of deep-rooted fruit trees, such as apple and peach, can be cultivated in this soil."  (Emphasis added.)

Cool!  The links in that post still work!    Saves me a ton of research.

DFF

[Dave V]

@Dave V,

I thought I'd bring the discussion about soil back to this thread and not clog up the Weekend Update for those who couldn't care less.  Here's a post from the Seaboard Central 2.0 thread with my thoughts from way back when:

Cool!  The links in that post still work!    Saves me a ton of research.

DFF

Ah, it's been a good decade plus since I lived in North Carolina...I guess I'd forgotten just how light the soil was in the Sandhills.  I lived in Apex, on the west side of Raleigh, and the soil there is that hard red clay.

[davefoxx]

Ah, it's been a good decade plus since I lived in North Carolina...I guess I'd forgotten just how light the soil was in the Sandhills.  I lived in Apex, on the west side of Raleigh, and the soil there is that hard red clay.

I used to live in Winston-Salem, and we had that red clay, too.  Brutal stuff on that day that I installed a couple of dozen fence posts in the backyard of our then-new house.

DFF

[packers#1]

Having grown up in the South Carolina Sandhills, just down by Georgia, I can confirm you’re going to see a lot of white, sandy patches all around. Other areas you can get some real dark, almost loamy type stuff, but the vast majority of the ground is going to be a lighter mixed sand type deal.

[davefoxx]

Thanks, Sawyer.  Good to hear from you!

DFF

[davefoxx]

With the trestle built, I was inspired to begin construction of the planned three-track staging yard on the Aberdeen & Briar Patch Ry.  You may be asking yourself why I built it so low.  I plan to install the same thicknesses of foam to bring the shelf up to the height of the track on the main layout.  That may seem senseless, but it will make it easier to install matching fascia on the layout and the shelf.  I used rugged angle brackets to hang the shelf on the wall (hidden by the scrap wood under the shelf) and carriage bolts/wing nuts to secure the layout to the shelf.  Plus, I screwed the layout to the wall.  It's solid.  Oh, and I would have made Lee proud, as I used scraps of wood and lauan plywood lying around the layout room to build the shelf at no cost.



This is my goal: one locomotive, three 50' cars, and a caboose.  Notice how I have the locomotive disconnected at left.  That's to show that I have sufficient room (hopefully) for the sector plate to allow the locomotive to cut off and run around the train.  With three tracks, I can have six freight cars here and a runaround for the locomotive:



DFF

[jpec]

Here's a link to a really sharp looking sector plate...not sure if you are on Facebook. I like the groups, I wish there were a way to shut off the news feed on the app.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/728920213839816/permalink/2508035165928303/

[Chris333]

Make the selector plate out of cardboard first to test the pivot point.

[Mike C]

Here's a link to a really sharp looking sector plate...not sure if you are on Facebook. I like the groups, I wish there were a way to shut off the news feed on the app.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/728920213839816/permalink/2508035165928303/

  Um there is a way . It's an app called Facebook Puirity . https://www.fbpurity.com/  . It's an easy download that will take care of a whole lot of their annoying crap !

[Point353]

  Um there is a way . It's an app called Facebook Puirity . https://www.fbpurity.com/  . It's an easy download that will take care of a whole lot of their annoying crap !

Does it eliminate the need to have a FB account and log in?

[Mike C]

Does it eliminate the need to have a FB account and log in?

 No you still need an account .

[Chris333]

fbpurity does make FB a little bit more tolerable. I have mine set up to block everything.

[davefoxx]

Current status on the Aberdeen & Briar Patch Ry's staging yard.  As stated previously, I installed foam to bring the shelf up to the level of the subroadbed.  However, instead of 1" foam for that surface, I have two layers of 1/2" MDF.  MDF is really smooth and makes a good surface for the sliding sector plate:



The sector plate.  I used a hinge pin for the pivot, which will be recessed into the sector plate once the track is installed.  A hinge pin to lock the sector plate into place while trains are running will also be employed- that's the hole at the right end of the sector plate.  I also built stops into the subroadbed, so the sector plate will stop at Tracks One and Three.  I was going to make the sector plate just large enough for a Geep, but I discovered I have that 3-1/2" deep recess in the wall cavity, so I extended the sector plate.  Now, there's easily room for a six-axle locomotive, and I shouldn't lose things in the wall cavity, if I run off the other end of the sector plate:



Track One, . . .



Track Two, . . .



and Track Three!



DFF

[Chris333]

Sweet! You'll have this layout ready to tear down and switch scales again in no time.