HO somewhere in Appalachia.....

[LIRR]

[LIRR]

Started work on the staging yard....

[LIRR]

I successfully wired the first one for 2 location operation. I can throw the switch from the train room side (on the other side of the wall to the left) or from this staging yard side.  I also got the bipolar LEDs to work right on the first try. It may not sound like much, but I absolutely hate anything to do with wiring.....

[davefoxx]

I wondered what all of those wires coming off the Tortoises were.  Kudos!

DFF

[LIRR]

Only using number 1and 8 for now. Soldered them all on the bench and wired to a terminal strip so if I decide to power the frog later I’m good to go with the terminal strip

[LIRR]

Been working on the other end of the staging yard. This section over head is removeable to get to the furnace (to the left).  There’s 3 Tortoise machines installed. These are wired such that i can throw switches standing here at the staging yard, or in the train room behind the wall in the background. All wires go to terminal strips. The staging yard terminal strips are connected to the train room terminal strips by the dangling 4-wire cables coupled together. I can remove this entire section in under 10 minutes if need be.



The bad news is the direction indicator bi-polar LEDs. I was only able to get 1 pair for this end. The pair is installed, and has worked perfectly for a day or so....red/green lights reverse when the switch is thrown from either side. But this was with temp wiring between the terminal strips. Then when I replaced with the permanent cables, lights only reverse when i use the DPDT on the staging yard side. When i use the train room DPDT, switch is thrown but the lights don’t reverse. Puzzling. I quintuple checked all connnections. For now i assume one or both LEDs is FUBAR, because turnouts work as intended from either location.  When i am able to purchase the remaining LEDs i need, i will but 2 extra and swap these out and see.

[LIRR]

I also repositioned the video cameras for the staging yard

[LIRR]

Well, it’s been about two years since I started the HO layout, so consider this my 2nd annual State-of-the-Layout update.

I completed the continuous run track around the furnace through the wood shop. Half the bench work in the wood shop is the original N scale staging yard, the other half is semi-permanently installed. I can remove it (or reinstall it) in about 10 minutes if I need access to the furnace or water heater. Staging yard is about 90% complete. I’ll have a four track double-ended staging yard & possibly a single stub track as well. I’ve installed Tortoise machines, wired for two-location operation. I can throw switches from the train room side and/or the staging yard in the adjacent room. LED indicators on the train room side. I plan on a UTP for throttle plug-in back here, as well as an additional EB1 circuit breaker for staging.

Masonite fascia installation is complete (but not painted) all around the visible layout. View blocks are installed down the peninsula, separating sides of the layout. I’ve painted them and the room walls a light blue. I have installed one photo-backdrop from LARC. I made another by assembling photos I printed on an office copier. 

About 90% of visible track ties are individually painted with varying random shades of light brown, grey & mud. Time consuming, but worth the effort for me.  I added a crossover in the visible yard area for shorter run around moves. Haven’t started ballasting yet.

I’ve settled on a non-specific section of the Southern, as I accumulated 5 Bachmann locos – DCC & sound - and was able to purchase 5 decorated SOU shells from Bachmann. I also have an Interstate RS-3, also Bachmann. I bought all on-sale from Walthers via my LHS. They may not have all the detail of the “finer” locos, for instance, no grab irons (neither individual nor molded-on) on the hoods, not as many DCC sounds/functions, but the run beautifully (as slow as 4 scale mph) and for half the cost, you can’t beat them. I can add detail later on if I want. 

I have about 75 freight cars, that should just about do it. About 35 Accurail twin hoppers for the coal action. Others are mostly Walthers Mainline with a few Athearn, KATO and 5 Atlas pulpwood cars. So far I’ve converted all but about a dozen cars to Kadee 158 couplers. Contemplating North American Rail Car air hoses. Haven’t done any weathering yet.

I’ve scratch built a few more structures. A feed mill is about 90% complete. A small depot about 75%. A small restaurant based on my N Scale McGowans Family Restaurant is about 75% as well. A second coal tipple with truck dump is about half finished. The tipple is from scratch, truck dump portion is a Walthers kit. I have a Walthers Planing Mill ready to kit-bash. Finished a deck bridge for a second river crossing scene.

I have floral scenery all along one side, from the upper coal tipple, past the river crossing, around the corner and half the end of the layout. I have a bucket of dry, sifted dirt ready, gathered some dead leaves for the ground cover. I’ve completed about 40 scratch built pine trees; I have another 25 or so ready for painting & static grass application. I’ve also completed about 50 dead deciduous trees, made from some dead weed I found. They don’t look that great individually, but bunched together they make a respectable looking stand of trees. 

So, all in all, I think it’s been a good year.

[LIRR]

Staging yard...

[LIRR]

Started work on the roof of the restaurant ...

[LIRR]

Started working on scenery to hide the track-thru-the-backdrop.

[LIRR]

[Ed Kapuscinski]

It looks like a Mike Confalone project... which is quite high praise!

I'll say this though, you might want to check your colors/greenery to be sure that the part of appalachia that you're into matches up. Different places have greenery in different areas in strange regional ways (like green lawns with dead trees).

[DKS]

[LIRR]

thanks, Confalone's work is the guideline for my layout