Changes to the "Santa Fe Room" layout

[packers#1]

believe it or not, I enjoy laying track...and that's some beautiful trackwork! Very nice! And agreed, code 55 is leaps and bounds over Unitrak 98% of the time

[robert3985]

Hello all...
Actually had some time to lay the code 55 track on the upper level...went fairly quickly once I set up with all the tools in order.
I first soldered a number of sets of terminal joiners...I used solid 22 gauge wire and Atlass code 55 joiners. Then, after making certain the cork was level and blemish free, started applying Gorilla Glue brand gel CA in a thin layer on each cork section. I clipped two ties from each end of a piece of flex, then positioned the track, holding it in place with tack nails...then drilled for feeder drops. Slid on the feeder joiners, then repeated the process...I dropped feeders at every flex track join.
 i've run all my equipment over the trackage...beautiful!!!!

l...an amazing contrast...I have no clue what I was thinking when I considered just sticking with the Kato Unitrack!

Very interesting watching your layout come together Bruce.  It definitely has the "flavor" of the area already.

As to what you were thinking when you considered sticking with Unitrack...you just hadn't seen a side-by-side comparison at that point!

If you don't set up, run for a while, take down, set up, run for a while, take down...ad nauseum...then real code 55 trackage (Atlas 55 and/or ME 55/40) is 100% better than Unitrack for North American prototype model railroads. (Dedicated Kato Unitrack users, please don't consider that statement as a negative personal comment about your character, appearance or odor!!)

Just wait until you've painted, ballasted and weathered it.  You'll be amazed again.

By the way, I recommend real-rock ballast, such as Highball, or Arizona Rock and Minerals, mixed and screened so that only chunks between .018" and .020" are used...and all the bigger and smaller rocks (including dust) are screened out.  You can find the proper screens at www.smallparts.com

Once again, very interesting and great work!

[arbomambo]

Thanks...glad you can 'see' what's to come!...it's hard for some, based on these pics...as there's still no real scenery above track level, but once the lower-westbound track is in place and tested, scenery forms will start in earnest.
Arizona Rock and mineral is my choice for ballast...I used it, briefly, back in the 90's on a couple of Ntrak modules, and loved it!...I'll have to take your advice and sift it.
Truly, this had been a wonderful way to 'get back into it' after such a long hiatus away...at some point this coming weekend, I'm going to be finalizing the 'under-layout' wiring with terminal blocks and heavy duty wire buses...I want everything to be 'bulletproof'....also, even though this layout won't really benefit, I'll be converting to DCC...I'll use this layout as a test for that foray as well...a 'Surroundtrax' system would really work on this small layout!....I left plenty of areas behind the fascia available for speakers for just such a situation!
Thanks again,
Bruce

[superchief]

Bruce, the progress is looking good, I lurk on another forum and noticed your are also interested in Johnson Canyon area in AZ. I found it on google maps my following the 1911 track from Williams towards Ash Fork, in one of the curves you will "see" the scar from the orginal track and just follow it back east to the tunnel which is curved! The steel tresles are gone but you can "see" the dirt fills it is a neat area. I model Ash Fork on my railroad and use helper service thru the Johnson Canyon area. Keep up the great work. Gordon

[arbomambo]

Thanks Gordon, on two accounts....seeing pics of your layout a couple of years ago definitely inspired me, and I'm really interested in exploring the old alignment the next time I go out west railfanning!
I've got so many 'Santa Fe' projects on the work table (more engines to detail, as well as ATSF specific cars to model...but I'm really 'itching' to get some of the basic valley scenery forms roughed in; espewcialy want to start carving some of those big eroded rock formations! Also, I have to start compiling my color lists for all the various rock, sand, earth tones, not to mention all of the flora colors I'll need to replicate...I want to get those defined so I can mix and match latex paints to color the foam and sculptamold/celluclay once the scenery has been formed..a lot to do!
Thanks again!
Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all...
precious little time this weekend to work on trains...but found a little...I dropped 5 sets of feeders for the track already layed, and tested the connectivity of each by powering the track from each feed in turn...no problems and everything runs perfectly!...as it turns out, 5 drops are perfect; I can divide the loop into 5 seperate blocks by cutting gaps on each side of the drops-when I add DCC and surroundtrax to the layout, the 5 blocks will be set up into 5 seperate 'sound zones'-perfect for the 5+subwoofer set up!...I'll do the same for the lower/westbound track...5 seperate feeds and blocks.
There's not a hitch inthe track at all...a finger rubbed along the rail detects nothing but smooth, smooth rail...I've run all my equipment behind all my power...forwarsd and back, without a hitch.Using the flex allowed me to curve easements into the 15" radius, and also allowed sufficient straight track going into a 'reverse curve' srea.
I had some time to sit at the workbench and sand ties to place under the rail in the areas where ties needed to be removed when laying the flex.I'll fill the holes drilled for the drops with celluclay, replace the ties, and cut the gaps for the 5 blocks before painting the track.
 In the meantime, I put the latest purchases on the track and pulled them with some of the PA's to see how they tracked....2 ConCor ATSF chair cars (very nice and Santa Fe prototypes!), a couple of MT paired window coaches (These are going to be ATSF coaches, using Roberto Martari's beautiful sides), and 4 hard-to-find Kato sleepers (a Pine series sleeper-the sill needs to be modified to make it accurate for the Santa Fe) and three Valley-series sleepers in two-tone gray (various sliver stripes and lettering needs to be removed and applied to model them accurately for my 1957 year, I'll remove the sills on one of them)


Here, the PA's round a curve along the edge of the towering canyon bluffs, heading eastbound on the upper track (of course, at this point, only I can see how the bluffs will frame the layout...this scene won't be duplicated, the rest of the train will be hidden around the curve-I designed the layout's bluffs to hide the smallness of the radius on the upper level-foreground rock formations will help hide the radius of the curve; the whole curve can't be seen from any viewpoint of the layout.



These views show the view from ground level, facing the wash and gap spanned by the deck girder bridge-future views will show the ground level Westbound track




Hope these pics load as Photobucket is not co-operating this evening!Thanks for looking,
Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all...
had a little time to start roughing in the canyon forms; I was quite fortunate to be able to score (at no cost!) some walk-in cooler and freezer insulating foam that was left over during one of our new store construction jobs...it makes building 'up' the canyon go much quicker! It's not quite as dense as the blue and pink foamboard, but it's pretty close...I'll still use the blue and pink for the detailed rock, but the white foam provides a great foundation. After installing and shaping the basic forms, I'll start carving and adding the unique rock strata.










Thanks for looking,
Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all, and Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm using a wee bit of free time to trial the carved rock formations that help identify this canyon and NEEd to be represented on the layout...
Some of you may remember the test piece I constructed from blue/pinf foam to determine the feasibility of carving the foam (it was based on a New
Mexico formation in the Rio Puerco/Black Mesa area of New Mexico, noth of Laguna-McCartys)



and, although successful in proving my idea, I wasn't happy with the obvious glue joints between the stacked layers of foam...I've decided to eliminate that by stacking the foam vertically and carving the entire formation in a flat sheet...a knife and hot wire tool can be used to define horizontal sedimentary and layered strata (as well as paint)...to create more depth, I'll use three layers of foam-this will give me quite a bit of relief.
I'll post some more pics shortly...photobucket is giving me fits!
Bruce

Here is a rough carving of the 'innermost' layer of rock...a pic of the formation to be modelled is on the screen in the background

 

this is the first 'draft'...I'll carve much more detail into the foam later.

[arbomambo]

Here is a pic of the middle layer...



and the two layers sandwiched together to give a rough idea of what I have in mind....




and a pic of the area where this particular formation will reside....



I will add a third, 'outermost' layer of rock...really, more like individual pieces, rather than and entire length of foam...
once the layers are glued together, I'll carve even more relief into the formation before gliuing in place...once I'm satisfied, I'll use sculptamold and celluclay to blend the base into the scene....
these type of layered, eroded rock formations will just 'out' from all of the canyon hills/walls...in my mind, the most difficult part of the process will be getting the 'coloring' correct!

Thanks for looking,
Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all...
So very little time to model during the holiday season...only in tiny bits and pieces...divided between rolling stock builds and layout scenery....

Here are a couple of shots with one of the basic rock forms 'roughly' in place...I've determined that the carved foam will suffice as the basic form...with sculptamold/celluclay additional relief...the foam can be carved only 'so' much...I can't get a true 'rounded' edge...the celluclay will allow me to really 'wind' and 'water' erode the rock formations....





Hope to really get into the scenery after the holidays!
Thanks for looking!
Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all...
I haven't updated this thread, simply because I've haven't done anything of progress on the actual layout until now..any precious little modelling time has been spent at the workbench on rolling stock and locomotives...
I've been down with the flu for a couple of days, and finally decided to bit the bullet and actually do something on the layout!...to this point, I hadn't actually laid any of the track on the lower/westbound line through the canyon.
I really don't like laying track...ugghhh...seems odd considering it's the main component in a model railroad...I just find it monotonous...especially soldering terminal joiners! I had purchased a large amount of Atlas Code 55 flex a few years ago, so I have all the track I'll need for the foreseeable future. I drop feeds between each section of flextrack, and I solder my own terminal joiners; for me, it's easier to drop feeds this way and replace ties after gluing the track. I like having feeds every 30 inches; when I eventually convert to DCC, I'll have plenty of electrical continuity. I'll also be able to cut gaps between feeds and create separate blocks for a future surroundtrax system (This little layout is perfect for such a system).
For such a small layout, these is a ton of work to do to get the scenery to the detailed state I want, but nothing can proceed until track is down, tested, wired,and painted.
 Here are pics of the first 4 sections of flextrack down...








and the other side....I have a LOT of work to do here!



Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[Philip H]

Bruce,
I like the flow of those curves.  You may hate track work, but you're obviously dedicated to doing it right.  Do you solder your feeders to the railjoiners, or do you do after track installation?

[arbomambo]

The rest of the track is down, wired, and tested!
I can now run trains both ways!...I still have to replace the ties I removed from the ends of the Flextrack with spare ties sanded to reduce height so they'll slip under the rail. Then I'll spray the track a rail brown, then weather slightly.
I have so little time to work on it, that I've gotten in the habit of mocking-up items on the layout to give me an idea of what I'm trying to achieve; here, I quickly printed a couple of  pics of girder bridge panels with ATSF emblems and white-glued them to the foam I'm using as a stand-in for the girder bridges to come. The lower/Westbound track will have a ballasted deck timber trestle over the wash in the foreground...two more ballasted deck timber trestles will span washes on the other side too...
 Here are some quick pics of progress with the track down and two trains running.
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[arbomambo]

Hello all...
knowing that I don't have too much time for the layout, I did a few things to improve the look cosmetically until I DO have more time (I'm thankful that I finally completed track laying on the Westbound line!)
The layout had undergone a number of concept changes since I first put foam on door-from trackplan to area modelled. What has helped me to visualize areas I want to model is using mock-ups as stand ins for the actual features that will be on the layout...some will recognize the 'test piece' butte residing on the left side of this portion of the layout-standing in for the topographical feature that will eventually be there.
Also, a foam and paper girder bridge and abutment are standing in for the more prototypical pieces that will eventually be on the Eastbound line; even a couple of foam bents are holding up the Westbound trackage where a ballasted deck timber trestle will reside. I even cobbled together a rock formation that will reside on the near side of the approach to the girder bridge from scrap foam in a few minutes at the workbench just to see if it will work for the permanent formation to come (it works great and is a great way to use all of the foam chips from previous landform building). There will be another rock outcropping on the opposite side of the track.
  Anyway, while the layout waits for me to add more and more, the bare white, pink, and blue foam really sticks out like a sore thumb and prevents me from really being able to visualize the scene and give me the feel of the area.
So, without doing any actual modelling or landscaping, apart from roughing out the basic shapes of the right side mountain and the dry wash, I simply painted all the bare foam on this side of the layout with my base earth color. It's only temporary, of course, and the final color hues will be much more varied, including the various colors of the basalt formations which will be thrust from the eroded hills, and be the signature feature of the layout. I even painted the visible areas of 'route 66' a gray color (the roads aren't even roughed in yet, but their locations are fixed.
 Having everything in an earth color serves a number of purposes: it allows me to get the feel for the area, it reminds me of the look i'm trying to achieve, it gets rid of the hideous white, pink, and blue foam, and it helps when I photograph locos and rolling stock. Of course, as soon as I start the scenery process, the effect will be ruined, but it is easier on the eye when I'm in the office/hobby room.
Here are some photos of the layout this morning to give an idea of where the layout is at this point. I have a PA powered Eastbound, and an F3 powered Superchief running on the Westbound trackage. It's nice to see two trains running on opposite tracks in the same frame-the main reason I eventually chose to model the Kingman Canyon area.
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce

[packers#1]

Now that is gonna look wicked awesome when done; heck it looks great now!