N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[Dave V]

True statement, but the Peco code 55 will still couple perfectly with the Peco code 80 because the total rail height including the buried rail on the code 55 is the same as the code 80. Therefore, you could use a shorty turnout on your code 55 layout. Just bury the excess rail in additional ballast/dirt to disguise it. Maybe blacken the lower rail web with paint also.

If code 80 rail is an important part of the aesthetic and Peco makes the correct radius for him in code 80, why should he use the code 55?  I'm confused. It would end up being the only code 55 on the whole layout. The project itself is named in the title... "N Scale High Rail." Code 80 is essential to the retro-early-N-scale vibe as I understand it.

[wm3798]

True.  Most of the track plan was built using various brands of snap track, including Atlas, Trix, Arnold and even ConCor.   If I wanted to use c55 anything I would have.  I still have a hugestockpile of Atlas from my old layout.  The early posts in this thread that lay out the ethos of this entire project are recommended reading.
Thanks for your note just the same.
Lee

[CRL]

True.  Most of the track plan was built using various brands of snap track, including Atlas, Trix, Arnold and even ConCor.   If I wanted to use c55 anything I would have.  I still have a hugestockpile of Atlas from my old layout.  The early posts in this thread that lay out the ethos of this entire project are recommended reading.
Thanks for your note just the same.
Lee

Agree. My comment was more related to @nkalanaga prior comment. The Peco code 80 & 55 will join smoothly together. The Peco Shorty code 80 turnouts are a true snap track style turnout in that it’s a radius type turnout. I have a couple on my old NTRAK corner quarry module and they still work perfectly even though they’re buried in dirt scenery. They’re right at home on your retro layout.

[wm3798]

A little progress at the PawPaw end of the WM loop.  After the turnouts were replaced, I went ahead and installed the grade crossing.  Who knows what scenery will bloom behind it once the glue dries!

[Rivet Miscounter]

You should put the old retro "sidecar" switch machines back next to the Peco's.   

Those Bachmann geeps look "Hi Rail great" after your touchups.   Love the progress!

[wm3798]

Repaired the Connie with a siderod from the @DKS collection.


Back in business!

Lee

[wm3798]

With all this work being done on the B&O/CSX line along the Potomac by the Bobs, I decided to get cracking on my modest representation of the Potomac Valley.

Tonight I worked on "The Ditch" adding the towpath and C&O Canal along the valley floor.



Next I can work on getting some water into the river...

Lee

[wm3798]

Ballasted the last 12 inches of double track, which involved dealing with the PawPaw turnouts, at least partially.


Tomorrow when the glue dries I'll tidy it up a bit and get the Tortoise machines ready to cover.
With what, I know not!
Lee

[nkalanaga]

The one on the creek bank:  Maybe a small shed, maybe with a couple windows and a stove pipe, with a pile of coal?  Put some scrap foam around the moving parts, and a piece of plastic wrap over that, and you should be able to build a removable scenery piece custom fit to the location.

For the other one, at the base of a hill, maybe a large painted foam rock?

[wm3798]

Already done.

Prepping the other side for the obligatory switch tower.

Lee

[nkalanaga]

Looks good.  Looks like the early years of N scale as well - keep it simple, don't cover the actual moving parts at all!

[wm3798]

The old MRC Berk is fired up and ready for the annual trip to the North Pole.  Got your ticket?


And Helpful Hi Rail Holiday Hot Tip...



A small drill and a bit of wire can turn all those surplus cabooses you've accumulated over the years into...



A clever and memorable Christmas gift!  They'll never forget who gave it to them, and you'll free up space in your caboose drawer for road names you care about!

Merry Crimble, Hi Railers!
Lee

[DirtyD79]

Turning old model train cars into Christmas tree ornaments does look like a pretty cool idea.

[dem34]

...

...

Do I smell a way to rid the world of High Speed Metal and make a dime in the process?

[wm3798]

Well, it's that time again.

Time to hit the "Pause" button.



We've had an offer we can't refuse made on our house in Easton, so it's time to pack up the train room once again and head for the hills.  The good news is we have at least an intermediate place to land at my place in Berkeley Springs.  The bad news is, just as this house is getting finished up and is now pretty pleasant to look at and to live in, we'll be rolling lock, stock and barrel into another work project.  That and we'll be downsizing from 2700 square feet with a garage to 1600 square feet and a storage unit.

My house is pleasant enough, but it's still largely unfinished, and needs drywall finishing and flooring pretty much throughout, except in the powder room and bedroom that we've finished.  It has a functional kitchen, but nowhere near a complete kitchen, and I still need to build a deck to add that most pleasant of amenities.  Our ultimate goal is to finish it up and make it available as a vacation rental to generate some welcome revenue, with us moving our residence to a propertly we're developing near Boone, North Carolina.

So lots of stuff is going into storage, including a fair piece of the model railroading stuff.

The Hi Rail layout will be going into, let's call it "active storage" at my friend John's house near Annapolis, along with the rolling stock, so I'll be able to visit and play with it on those occasions when I'm crashing at his house (most of my work is still on the Eastern Shore).  The Newport and Rock Falls will be coming with me, and carefully stored to keep it out of harm's way in regard to sawdust and drywall sanding.  A small selection of retro rolling stock will be kept on hand for those occasions when I have the itch to run something... and the time   I'll also enjoy adding to my TTrak module collection, for which I've already been granted on-site storage upstairs.

In the process of sifting through the rubble I'm sure I'll come across a few things I can sell, I already have the box of stuff that came back from N Scale Weekend unloved.  So if you have something Retro you've been dying to have, let me know, I might have a spare I can part with.

The big move will be happening in late April, so I've got some time yet to enjoy the layout, but as things get packed up around it, that will become increasingly tenuous.  Especially since I have to paint the wall behind it!

So, thanks once again for coming along for the ride as I've explored this nostalgic corner of N Scale Model Railroading.  I'm not 100% sure what will come next, but with all the work I have to do between now and then, I'll have plenty of time to think about it.

All the best,
Lee