Newport & Rock Falls: Another Retro Micro-Layout

[glakedylan]

DKS...thanks for sharing your modeling...as always, your work is excellent.
it is fun following along.
and, thanks for adding to my lexicon...i appreciate the growing vocabulary!


sincerely
Gary

[wm3798]

6 March 2021. In addition to the other side of the quarry, above, I started the first stretch of mainline ballasting.



In other news, I retrofitted a pair of vintage Atlas gooseneck lamps with 0402 warm white LEDs, along with globes from old Miniatronic streetlights to make a pair of station parking lot lights. Everything was press-fit: the LEDs press-fit into the globes, and the globes press-fit into the gooseneck tubes. Kismet! Thus these lights are a microcosm of the layout as a whole: an aesthetic mix of old and new.

Those old turds polish up nicely.  It's fun to see those old primitive kits used as the core of a genuinely wonderful model.
Still working on some of mine.  You set a lofty bar.

Lee

[DKS]

Thanks, gents! Today I decided to get the control panel out of the way. I made the panel the same way I've been making them since the mid-1990s. After determining the final size of the panel, I cut it out of ⅛-inch thick black sheet styrene. I printed the artwork on plain paper, taped it to the panel, and made dimples with a center punch for all of the controls and indicators.



Then I drilled out all of the holes.



After printing the panel artwork on self-adhesive label stock and laminating it with clear film, I taped it to a window to let Mr. Sun show me how to align it on the panel.



Once I trimmed the label stock and opened up all of the drill holes, I was ready to start installing the controls. (The signal indicators, lower right, were simply colored with Sharpies.)



That's one packed panel!



Now I'm ready for the arduous task of wiring this little beastie...

[davefoxx]

That’s sick!  I love it, but I’m glad I don’t have to wire it.

DFF

[DKS]

Yeah, it looks like a lot for such a little layout. But the little layout has ten turnouts, ten uncouplers, and six power control regions (where power can be killed to park a loco). Plus lots of lights. Lots and lots of lights.

[bbeegle]

Very nice, what do you use for uncouplers? Thanks Brian

[DKS]

Very nice, what do you use for uncouplers? Thanks Brian

Minitrix Rapido uncouplers. Many of the ones on the layout are vintage, but you can still buy them.

[peteski]

Minitrix Rapido uncouplers. Many of the ones on the layout are vintage, but you can still buy them.

"Minitrix Rapido"?  Are they made by Minitirix,  Arnold rapido, or they are made by Minitrix and called "Rapido"?   

Do those actually work without lifting the entire car end off the track?

[wazzou]

It’s likely Minitrix uncouplers intended to uncouple Rapido couplers, right?

[DKS]

"Minitrix Rapido"?  Are they made by Minitirix,  Arnold rapido, or they are made by Minitrix and called "Rapido"?   

Do those actually work without lifting the entire car end off the track?

I should have written "Minitrix Rapido-type." And yes, they do work, fairly well. It's mostly down to how good the couplers are on the rolling stock--in some cases, the springs are too stiff, and then there can be problems.

It’s likely Minitrix uncouplers intended to uncouple Rapido couplers, right?

Yes.

[peteski]

Thanks for the clarification!

Yes, some of the Rapido coupler springs were quite stiff.  IIRC, that was on Life-Like, Lima,  and Con-Cor cars, but I'm sure there were others too.  Atlas, Minitrix, Rapido and Roco had soft springs. At least from what I remember.

[DKS]

Specifically, they are Minitrix 4969 (now 14969).

[DKS]

8 March 2021. Wiring, wiring, wiring... and I'm still not done. After test-fitting the control panel in place on the layout, I wired the commons into all of the controls, and then connected all of the layout wires to terminal strips to keep them under control. A whole day just for that!

[nickelplate759]

I take it the blue button is the drawbridge control?  Cool!

[DKS]

I take it the blue button is the drawbridge control?  Cool!

Yup