Tehachapi, BC

[ednadolski]

Hey Gary, that's looking really great!   I'll bet it's getting tempting to just grab a jig saw to cookie-cutter some subroadbed, and then tack down some temporary track to see how it looks with a train in motion!   

I think you should be OK with a 35-40 car train.  On my Loop I was able to run trains of 33-34 cars or so, and I had a steeper grade and some sharper curves in some places.  (I would have tried longer but length was limited by staging.)  It will to some degree depend upon the cars you are using, metal wheels and body-mount couplers are probably best practice.   I found that one Kato C-C loco could pull about 8-9 cars up my grade. For over 4 locos you might want to start thinking about DPUs (which you might want anyway if that's what the prototype uses).  (I also found that running slow trains down the grade really showed off the MT coupler pogo problem.)

What did you have in mind for the top height of the backdrop?   I just noted the way the curved garage door rails sort of stick out, so I'm not sure if those could get in the way of a backdrop.  Given the depth of the scene, you might want to consider completing the backdrop first, before starting any kind of benchwork.

On that right-hand side, you have track above and below the mockup track level, right?   What are the vertical clearances?

Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

Given the depth of the scene, you might want to consider completing the backdrop first, before starting any kind of benchwork.

Too late!  Benchwork has commenced.  The basic framework for the Loop shelf has been installed now, as seen in this birds-eye view:



and this slightly-below-eye-level view:



Notes:

* I'm really pleased with the overall scale of the shelf and I think the access points I'm leaving will work out fine.  These are indicated by the two ovals in the first shot.   I'm imagining that one or both will have scenery modules made for photo shoots.

* In the second shot you can see the general elevation rise from right to left.  The track enters the shelf from the right rear (right arrow in the shot) and leaves at the left front (left arrow).  The total elevation gain on the shelf is 7 inches (58" to 65"), and the total track length is 30', just under one scale mile.  Average grade is 2.1-2.2%.

* I'm still grappling with the details of how to support the Loop roadbed over the staging helix below.  I'm thinking the helix will stand on four legs in the big gap in the middle and the Loop roadbed will be supported over that and tied to the shelf bench.

* I am looking at plastic supply houses in the area to get some large styrene or ABS sheets for backdrop material.  That would fill the bill nicely for covering the garage door.  I'm thinking of bending the top of it to follow the door rails a few inches - just high enough to block the view of the door.  There is still plenty of space to access that area, for now.

Here's another shot of the right side of the shelf, with a proto-photo inset:



The wedge-shaped section in the front will support the abutments for the bridge over Tehachapi Creek in the lower approach loop.

I see in your photos you are juggling stored materials too, which I found slowed everything down when I will building my layout.  Once the bench work was in, all of that became more stationary.

You read my mind!  That is finally starting to happen, slowly.

More soon.  I love the holidays.   

-gfh

[DKS]

Gorgeous benchwork, Gary, nicely executed. I enjoy seeing creative design work, such as the arrangement for the bridge abutment.

As a curious aside, I find these images of the layout space strangely conflicting: my mind is conditioned to seeing garage doors inside unpainted, unfinished spaces (as in "real" garages), and so it looks totally incongruous in this setting.

[GaryHinshaw]

Thank you David.  And now to shatter your illusions of carefully crafted benchwork, I present Model Railroading with Clamps:



In order to make sense of the maze that is the Loop and the helix underneath, I laid out a bunch of "roadbed" with lath strips and clamped supports so I could see things better in 3D.  The Loop itself is a pentagon of strips roughly following the drawn-in oval.  This gave me an opportunity to check the height of the Loop crossing, which is currently planned to be 3", but I'm still able to tweak it up a bit if it seems operationally feasible.  Here is a quick grab shot of the crossing at about 3 1/4", with a block cut out to represent the approximate size of the Tunnel 9 portal underneath:



This works for me, and I'm pretty confident it will operate smoothly.  The final verdict on the height/grade will await actual roadbed with an actual train.  I might tweak it up a bit higher.

Cheers,
Gary

As a curious aside, I find these images of the layout space strangely conflicting: my mind is conditioned to seeing garage doors inside unpainted, unfinished spaces (as in "real" garages), and so it looks totally incongruous in this setting.

BTW, I'm so glad I took the time to finish this space before starting the layout work.  Even on a cold, wet night (of which we have many...) it's clean, warm, dry, and well-lit in there, and thus inviting.

[wm3798]

Gary,
When we laid out the Connellsville line on my new peninsula, it works out to about a 20" diameter loop with about 2-1/4" clearance at the crossover.  I think we held it to 1% all the way around, including a straight section of about 24" that passes under Thomas.

I'm handling 25 - 30 car trains with 2-3 diesels without any issues.

Lee

[chuck geiger]

Gary how about a blog?

[GaryHinshaw]

Gary how about a blog?

I've been thinking about that, but I value the feedback I get here and I wonder if I would get the same from a blog? (other than the occasional attaboy or what not).  I don't have enough experience to know, but I'd be curious to hear your experience.

Gary,
When we laid out the Connellsville line on my new peninsula, it works out to about a 20" diameter loop with about 2-1/4" clearance at the crossover.  I think we held it to 1% all the way around, including a straight section of about 24" that passes under Thomas.

You must mean 20" radius, no?  2 1/4" over a 20" radius circle is ~1.7%.  Just to be clear, I want the crossing to be as widely separated as possible - consistent with reliable ops - to satisfy Ed N. 

-gfh

[sizemore]

Gary is on the money Lee, IIRC we nailed it in at ~1.75%.

The S.

[GaryHinshaw]

Another quick update.  I installed some more framing over the garage door to support the backdrop and roughed in the backdrop panels themselves.  The trick here was to leave room for the door to still open without having to dismantle a chunk of the layout. This required cutting off the backdrop at the height shown in this shot:



I'm thinking of getting a sky blue strip of cloth to hang from the ceiling to block the remaining portion of the door and spring hardware, but I'm still pondering options.

Here's a few shows of the progress made cutting and placing roadbed on the Loop shelf:





The latter shot shows a trainette for scale.  I'm liking how big the scene feels.  Next up is to really come to terms with the under-Loop helix framing so I can get permanent Loop supports in place.

-gfh

[nscalemike]

Yes, yes, yes!!!  I am liking this alot!  I'll be honest I don't know a whole lot about this area and I've had a hard time picturing your plan in my head but now that I see it shaping up I think it'll be the great signature scene.  I agree that you appear to be capturing the vastness of the prototype photos nicely.  Also, I'm not sure if I'd get hung up on the backdrop right now.  You may find it tall enough to pass in person inspection and any photos you could photo edit.

Can't wait to see the full sized train on there!

Mike

[ednadolski]

Hey Gary, this is really starting to shape up!    One thought on the backdrop, if you want to get a bit more height on it, you might want to consider curving those corners, maybe around say an 18" radius or so.   That ought to help create a bit more clearance from the door rails, and it would also eliminate some seams.

How have the grades worked out?   Those look to be a bit over 2% or so.

Ed

[Scottl]

Really nice bench work- soon all the clutter in the room will go under there and you'll be home free.  I would second the curving of the backdrop corners.  I was able to get mine down to about 10-12" radius with the 1/8" hardboard.  My backdrop is 16" and now that I am building a tall industry, I wish I had made the backdrop 20 or 24".   Hardboard is cheap in BC, I hear.

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks for the feedback.  RE the backdrop, I think I'm going to live with this for a while and see how it feels.  One thing I verified this weekend is that the two shelf openings give me good access in back, so future mods are definitely possible, at least until I get any delicate scenery on the shelf.

RE the grade, right now the risers are just clamped in roughly, and they are set to a more or less steady 2.2%.  Once I get more supports in place for the Loop I'm planning to tack the track in (pretty easy to do with ME 'flex' track) and run a few test trains.  At that point I'll finalize the profile, taking into account looks and reliability.

I spent a few hours this evening (morning, actually...) with XtrakCAD refining the helix trackage and benchwork, so hopefully I'll start cutting 'metal' on that this week.  After waiting so long to have a good home for a layout, it's indescribably delicious to see it take shape.   

-gfh

[conrail98]

Gary, if you are going to have backdrops on the sides, I'd square up another piece of masonite with the one in the back then use aluminum flashing to get the curvature back there. It'll go tighter then the masonite will without the need for watering it down to get the curvature. I experimented a little with my corners and that's the way I plan on doing it. Overall, it looks like the plan is coming along nicely,

Phil

[GaryHinshaw]

Hi Phil, I'm having kind of wacky thoughts about how to do the backdrops that may end up being cheesy, but I at least want to give them a try.  For the panels I just mounted, I'm going to paint them the same blue as the other walls and call that the sky.  (I may fade the horizon a bit with an overspray of thinned milky white.)  I'd then like to make "2.5 dimensional" backdrops by placing layers of mountain photos in front of the sky, mounted on thin stock, like styrene or aluminum.  Along the side walls these would be mounted on the 1x2 studs and stand off about 3/4" from the sky.  Along the backdrop panels, I'd probably mount them directly to the hardboard, but I would curve them around the corners like you suggest.  I'll try it with some quick & dirty stand-in photos to begin with, maybe something like this:



People familiar with the Loop will instantly recognize this setting.  In practice, I would cut the sky out of the photo, and maybe divide the mountains into 2 layers, then run them around the corners to blend with the side views.  Hopefully, being 5 and a half feet away, it doesn't need to be perfect, and because the back of the shelf is the downhill side of the topography, you won't really see the joint between the backdrop and the foreground scenery.  Then there will be the trick of color matching the photos to each other and to the 3D scenery...  I think I'll take a road trip this summer to take my own shots, so I get the angles and lighting I need.

Anyway, it may end up being cheesy, but it will be fun to try.

-gfh

P.S. There is an issue with curving the backdrop along the door rails.  Because the door is segmented, the panels cut the corner more than I appreciated before this weekend.  As is, these panels just clear the door, so I'd almost have to come straight out from the top, and it would then require a long horizontal run to block the view of the top, but that would block the lights over the shelf and make the scene feel claustrophobic to me.  Sigh.