The Very Last White River and Northern Railroad

[DKS]

That connector looks like a strip of PCB that’s had one side cut at 1/2 point, and other side cut at 1/4 in from each end, then snapped & folded together at each point to form an inverted T.

Correct?

Very close, although that's just half of the connector. No snapping and folding; it's just three pieces of PC board. Two are glued back-to-back, then soldered at right angles to another piece with a break cut in the copper. A fourth piece, likewise with a break, has two strips of brass bent into L-shapes with splayed ends soldered to it.

OK, more progress today. After I decided to include the animated gas station, the first task I had was to replace the drive motor. The original was a pager motor that unfortunately burned out at some point. I'd used the tiny double-worm drive so it would be totally self-contained—I'd planned on making a diorama for it that had no room for a large drive. Now circumstances were different, so I replaced the original drive with a healthy-sized gearhead motor. I was really sweating this, as I haven't done this sort of work in years, but thankfully it all came together quite easily—it was almost spooky how smoothly it went, even down to finding the perfect gear that also fit perfectly (with a little help from some thin-walled brass tubing).





Now the station has a home where its animation and highly-detailed, lighted interior can be appreciated. Now I just have to finish detailing it, and then painting everything...





At some point I'll post a video... bigger fish to fry first.

[LKOrailroad]

Drats. Now I have to build one of those. Very cool.

[Chris333]

I spy narrow gauge?

[DKS]

I spy narrow gauge?

Correct. Modeled as abandoned, tho...

[DKS]

"Big" news today, as in the layout got a bit bigger. Although initially I strongly rejected suggestions to expand the layout, I confess I did relent and conjure a extension: I added four inches along the front so I could do a token bit of urban modeling. The big pain in doing this, however, was having to extend all of the turnout controls, but that's the price to pay.



This allows me to flesh out the town of Augustine, which I imagined might look something like this:



The industry in the lower right corner might look something like this:



First I built the lower half, and added all of the turnout control extensions; plus, I added a new turnout control for a new turnout added to the plan.



Then the top level went on, and has to sit under weights until it's fully set.



A number of structures will get shuffled around as a result, the benefit being more "negative space" elsewhere on the layout.

[wazzou]

Good decision provided it won’t interfere with switching and uncoupling too much.
I like it a lot.

[LKOrailroad]

Mauviel ?

[Chris333]

I imagine the blank area between the Mill and Bearcamp to be the best spot when the layout is further along.

[pdx1955]

I like the addition ! By having the mainline  a bit further  back it allows for some peek-a-boo views between  buildings, fences, trees, etc. and allows for a more realistic scene.

[CRL]

I’m guessing this new extension had a negative impact on dinner given all the pots & pans are otherwise occupied.

[ChristianJDavis1]

I’m guessing this new extension had a negative impact on dinner given all the pots & pans are otherwise occupied.

You underestimate the extent of his kitchen collection and ingenuity; if he can solder LED's with a blowtorch, I'm sure he can make a grilled cheese with one, too.

[dem34]

You underestimate the extent of his kitchen collection and ingenuity; if he can solder LED's with a blowtorch, I'm sure he can make a grilled cheese with one, too.

You'd be surprised at how good blowtorch grilled cheese is. That was my family's staple during Sandy.

Some great progress here, making sure I take some notes.

[Hawghead]

I think the expansion of the city scene will go a long way to preventing the railroad from dominating the layout and make it more just a part of the whole thing.  Looking forward to seeing more.

Scott

[wm3798]

If you filled the pots with water, you wouldn't need all of them.

Lee

[railnerd]

This allows me to flesh out the town of Augustine, which I imagined might look something like this:

Is that actually Wolfeboro, NH?

-Dave