The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Let me tell you all the things you did wrong:

[davefoxx]

Let me tell you all the things you did wrong:

Haha!  I bet you'd be right.

DFF

[Dave V]

Let me tell you all the things you did wrong:

Starting with building benchwork?   

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Starting with building benchwork?   

Lol, no no, I gave a pretty exhaustive list there.

[John]

I'm with you Dave, since changing out my fluorescents for LED's the overall lighting is much better, brighter, more even and it seems to bring out the colors better.
Wish I had done it sooner.

I had an interesting experience .. I picked up a couple of boxes of LED lights at COSTCO to put into some of the shop lights I had hanging in the basement .. Almost all of the fixtures overheated the LEDs, and 3 of them melted on the end where the electronic circuit is .. they are the FEIT models

[CRL]

Yeah, it’s not a simple swap of bulbs to go from fluorescent tube to LED tubes if your original fixtures are older.

[davefoxx]

I had an interesting experience .. I picked up a couple of boxes of LED lights at COSTCO to put into some of the shop lights I had hanging in the basement .. Almost all of the fixtures overheated the LEDs, and 3 of them melted on the end where the electronic circuit is .. they are the FEIT models

@John,

I'm sorry to hear that.  I didn't even try to retrofit the previous light fixtures in my layout room, because (1) they were installed haphazardly by the previous homeowner, and (2) the LED fixtures that @Ed Kapuscinski suggested were at or less than the price of retrofitting.  I also reduced the amount of wiring in the layout room by ten or fifteen feet!

So far, so good with the new fixtures.  I have fifteen fixtures up with zero defects to date.  I'll admit that it's early, though.

DFF

[wm3798]

Scrap Romex = new boxcar!

[John]

@John,

I'm sorry to hear that.  I didn't even try to retrofit the previous light fixtures in my layout room, because (1) they were installed haphazardly by the previous homeowner, and (2) the LED fixtures that @Ed Kapuscinski suggested were at or less than the price of retrofitting.  I also reduced the amount of wiring in the layout room by ten or fifteen feet!

So far, so good with the new fixtures.  I have fifteen fixtures up with zero defects to date.  I'll admit that it's early, though.

DFF

It's not that big of a disaster . most of the old fixtures were 10-15 years old, possibly longer .. I picked up 16 of the same bulbs you and Ed put in, and they provide a lot more light for less than half the wattage, and produce a lot less heat in the ceiling .. I'll take the unused LEDs back to COSTCO for a refund ..

[mu26aeh]

Most of the older fixtures you're looking at having to replace the ballasts in them for the new lighting.  Most times, might as well swap out the whole kit and kaboodle.  Find someone who wants the old fixtures.  That's what I did when I replaced all the fluorescents in my basement.

[nkalanaga]

Finally made it back!  That two-piece leg is a neat idea.  I wouldn't have thought of that.

[davefoxx]

Continuing efforts on the folding staging yard.  First task was to bring the tracks up to the very edge of the layout, so I cut back and added small sections of track to do so.  By the way, T-pins make great end-of-track bumpers. 



Also, cork roadbed has been installed, and the shelf tweaked to make the track level where the shelf and layout meet.  Track installation has started with the crossover turnouts being glued down.  The masking tape is providing the necessary clamping until the glue dries.  I set the crossover at a distance from the end of the shelf, so that a pair of SD40-2s can run around its train.



Eventually, the shelf will get Masonite sides that will keep cars from going off of the end/sides and onto the concrete floor below.

DFF

[wm3798]

On the several moving parts I had on my layout, I found the best method to ensure track alignment was to fully install the track across the break, glue it, ballast it, and really get it secured in place, then go back with a Dremel and cut the rails. Even on the engine terminal, where all the cuts were skewed at an angle, they snapped right into place when I had to drop the leaf.  Same with the bridge to staging.

I'm sure being the precision guy that you are, and by using the enormous track that your new lifestyle affords you will net satisfactory results, I think my method is virtually foolproof. 

Lee   

[davefoxx]

You’re absolutely correct, Lee, and I probably should have tried it that way.  Unfortunately, though, the cork on the shelf was probably a millimeter too high, which I adjusted most out by playing with the hinges and sanding the cork.  That sent me down the course I took, to try to get the rails aligned.  It’ll work in the end, though, just with a little more effort. 

DFF

[davefoxx]

The project is far from finished, but my impatience led to the first train to venture onto the staging shelf.  It may not look like much (only five or six cars on the shelf, depending on car length), but this shelf corrects two issues: (1) the entire train shown (with room for one more car) can now be turned on the wye, and (2) with use of the crossover, the power on a nine-or ten-car train can run around and switch the yard.  Significant improvement to ops on both counts.



DFF