Cardigan Jct-New Brighton Soo Line FreemoN,, continuation???

[wcfn100]

Speaking of the Short Line (bridge), don't forget about the Ford Plant.  Lot's of switching there.

Jason

[wcfn100]

Another thing that comes to mind is that the SOO acquired the MN&S in 1982.  That line is pretty much nothing but switching opportunities.

Jason

[Jbub]

What are these module joint spanning tie sets called, and where can I find them?

(Attachment Link)

I'm betting they are PC board ties cut and gapped for the angle. The freemo guys use this technique for their module ends.

[CRL]

That’s possible, but I know I saw a similar product mentioned on TRW somewhere as a substitute for conventional rail joiners, but I can’t find the link for the website where they were sold.

[mighalpern]

CRL

those are called gapmasters found here  http://www.americantieandtimber.com/

Miguel

[soo]

Guys,
American Tie and Timber
http://www.americantieandtimber.com/4.html

Westward expansion,,,hell yeah,,you betcha. SOO had a helper district on Shoreham hill. And I have three dvd's from my era showing that..plus action at New Brighton. Shot by Mr SOO himself..Bob Rivard.

Guys, I really appreciate all the input.

Thanks,
 Wyatt

[CRL]

That’s them... thanks a lot.

[milw12]

Sometimes I drive under the Short Line bridge on the way to work, I've always wondered how to tackle a model of it. It's an awesome piece of engineering (and rivets), but I may be biased 

Lucas

[Cajonpassfan]

The five parallel yard tracks would look and flow even better with a bit larger radius on the south end. I think you have the room to match the 36' you have on the other end as is, or you could make the transition module a few inches longer to accommodate the S curve....?
Have fun,
Otto K.

[soo]

Otto,
I will see about that. I know what you are talking about,,it would flow better. I will doodle with 3rd Plan-it and see what I can come up with.
Laters,
Wyatt

[soo]

Well today I started on the new sections for layout.
Ripped all the plywood down for the sections, to include the top, frame, legs,and the end plates. I need one more sheet of 1/2" Birch so I can rip the rest of the frame pieces. I am going to stick with 2" pink foam. Never know when plans might change.

Went through all of the supplies,,I am short on fender washers and wingnuts..jeez

I am trying get work done,,because I don't know what my out of town work schedule is going to be in the near future.

Speaking of plans....I am steering in the direction of the Hiawatha Ave elevators. I just want more switching,,I will build empty fillers for the shows. ( if I ever get that far).
Hiawatha makes sense because.....I need a home for my gabillion covered hoppers..lol

Sitting down and thinking,,how in the$!#=%;;&& am I going to haul all of these???!??. Looking into a 14' cargo trailer,,, anywhere from 3500$ to 5000$. Probably just a pipe dream,,,but ya never know

On another forum,,someone posted diagrams of the car spots and directions how to switch and what goes where. The roadblock for me now is trying to figure out how all the track connects between the 3 elevators.

So that be it, I might work on it tommorow...who knows.
Laters,
Wyatt

[milw12]

Right on for going the Hiawatha route! You may find that even one of the elevators may be enough for switching if done like the prototype, but the whole stretch will be awesome.

It's a good feeling to start a project. I've done something similar on my current project, the 3/4 ply base is completely removable from the benchwork and fascia, held in with a known pattern/number of screws. That way when plans change I already have the benchwork done. It's like I'm finally learning after all these years 

-Lucas

[Specter3]

Lots of people rent the little uhaul trailers for the two-three-four times a year they need to transport the full kit somewhere. You can also rent a sprinter style van as well. Just depends on how many times a year you want to bring it all somewhere. Around here you can buy a decent old suburban for $3K. Gets 12mpg, but is extremely useful. Since I bought one 11 years ago I have had some sort of old burb all the time since(except for a short period of yielding to my wife’s desires, but she learned her lesson and we are back with a Yukon XL.(burb with makeup on) ). Oh and you can sleep in the burb.

[soo]

Lucas,, I hear ya about the elevators,, I just need to find out what order they are in to each other. And how all the tracks connect.

Specter, I used a 1975 burb to transport my modular n scale modules back in the 80's when I was in high school. Ahh, the memories. The whole trailer idea would be great,, I could use it for work,, there for a tax write off,, just need to convince the better half of the win-win.

Laters, Wyatt

[soo]

When we last saw our hero he was fitting a gallant battle with the evil and treacherous plywood, But our hero succeeded in ripping the plywood with the help of his faithful companions Hitachi and Milwaukee. Together they quickly dispatched the evilness.

We now find out hero in the month of April, of the year 2019, in the city of Troy,,,

The work continues, Seeing that I need two corner sections for the current layout expansion, I used 3rd Plan-it to draw the sections in question. Using the drawing as a reference, I then proceeded to draw a 1:1 version on the floor to verify that everything would work. The corners are basically 3' squares with the ends at 45 degrees and the mating face is 18" to match the existing sections.


Here we have a completed section minus the foam. The 3/4" Birch is not attached yet.. it is there for mock up purposes.



Here are how the legs will be attached. The plywood you see is the top gusset of the leg assembly, just being used for mock up. I decided to keep all the legs the same so there will not be a confusion as to what legs go with what sections,, any legs will work with any section.



Here is a picture of a completed leg assembly.


An under side view of the sections so you can see the construction methods used.



And now the mock up of how they fit together. These are stand alone corners for the home layout,, but at shows they can be arranged any way. I only have one side of the mating faces on, still need 45 the other two.


I did also build a regular 6' section also. So being three total built,, 4 to go. I need to add the 2" foam to these sections also. I have 2 1/2 sheets of the material,, maybe this coming saturday might be good.

That is all, Laters,
Wyatt