Conrail Ft. Wayne Line and Lordstown Secondary Layout

[conrail98]

Valence and upper shelf construction commenced on Sunday thanks to the Eagles sucking:



It went up easier then I thought it would, leveling everything out and all. The plan is to put a 1x# on the front edge to help hold a piece of masonite up for a small valance. I really want the valance just so I can store things above the layout and somewhat frame the layout, not much more and it would also be only around the walls, the peninsula won't have it. I was a little worried about the height but it's just over my head which means it should be ok viewing the main layout,

Phil

[davefoxx]

Good job.  Now, can I talk you into taking it down and putting up a four-foot high sheet of Masonite pushed up to the ceiling?  Then, when you put the shelf/upper valance and the benchwork in, your backdrop will already be in place, it will not have to be cut around the valance and benchwork, and you will not lose items on the shelf falling down in between the wall studs.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[w neal]

And not just that. Before you get much more up, please consider putting something up on the floor joists, like say even a cheap chipboard. Something to protect your layout from dust, etc. It sucks to stop layout work and devote more to room preparation, yes, but you'll be so glad you did.

[conrail98]

I will most likely velcro up a strip of masonite there like a few others in my operating group have done just for the reason you suggested Dave. I'm not going to put anything up on the ceiling. I get what you are saying, but I'm not figuring out how to do a ceiling covering of any sort with then positioning lights and being hamstrung by that. I may paint it all white, but that's about it. This area is below our living, aka my office, so any floor traffic above will be minimal. And without a ceiling, I won't run any risk of a tax assessor seeing the basement and going livable space because you've "finished" the area. That's the one thing people who recommend sealing off a layout area always seem to forget. Thanks for the suggestions though,

Phil

[conrail98]

So after sleeping on it and then taking another look this morning, I decided to remove the shelves and put up some masonite strips I had from the previous benchwork. Luckily, they were just the right height to go from the bottom of the standards up to the header 2x4 so I used them instead of buying more/cutting the larger pieces I had. First thing I did was take a few 1x3s and screw them below and touching the standards from before. I then laid the the hardboard on top of them (working alone) and screwed in the hardboard:





Once that was done, I went about putting the standards back up:





and then the shelves themselves, realigning so the fronts line up this time and one doesn't jut out from the other:



I must admit, it does look better that way. Luckily I have 3 more strips this wide which will give me the coverage I need, lest some corner work, for the other 2 walls,

Phil

[wazzou]

So, with the caveat of my less than clear understanding if this is part of your layout on these shelves or the lighting valance and the layout is below...
Doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose of having the Masonite in place if you're only going to cover part of it with those shelf brackets?
I think if it were me, I would have those things below the shelf to have a clear backdrop.

Now if this shelf is the valance above your layout, then forget everything I just said.   

[conrail98]

Now if this shelf is the valance above your layout, then forget everything I just said.   

This is what it is. Here's a mockup image of how I'm doing it:



Phil

[bdennis]

Phil, Just been reading your blog.
In your blog your latest plan is single deck yet the picture above is double. Are you changing to double again?

I like the new plan.. I will probably use queues from it for my next layout and subscribe to the KISS principle, as I was looking at something complex and need to tone it down a bit.

[conrail98]

It's still single deck. I'm doing this for shelving above the layout,

Phil

[bdennis]

Phil,
Ah OK thanks for that.. I like the idea of extra storage in the RR room..
After I posted, I re read the info above and thought that you may be doing that.

Do you have a copy of this plan in Anyrail format? I think a slightly modified version (narrower room) would work a treat for what Im thinking.

Thanks
Brendan...

[bdennis]

Phil,
One quick question. In looking at the plan, I dont see a run around on the branch line up to International Paper / Landmark.
Given the industries have the turnouts in a different orientation, this will make the switching of those towns difficult. Unless you fowl the main line back at Wooster.

Or, is the intent that West bound trains on the main will go down the spur and switch one industry and east bound do the other one?

[conrail98]

Runaround is on the main, you'll see a crossover just before the branch's switch. it works out to about 100" of a "siding". The other option is to prototypically do this with engines in each direction, separate to switch out each and re-MU before going back to the yard,

Phil