# My practice board.....



## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Some advice I got from a "lifer" with the local model train group was to do a small set up first before going on to a big board. Great advice... I decided to build a 4 x 5 board for my grandkids (age 6&5). I wanted to build it bullet-proof as much as I could. Not get too fancy with the track, but more with scenery. The layout started out with one plan in mind and then morphed. The pictures below show the tunnel, the lake,... the river with a waterfall. On top of the tunnel will be an airport with a grass strip. On the side not shown is a freight station and a tunnel that comes down from the top level for cars. It has two train bridges, one trestle,... and it will have a foot bridge on the back side of the ridge to the airport.....and yes, that bridge on the lower level is made from Popsicle sticks ( I had to sacrifice myself and buy the BIG box of Popsicles  ) I am still in the carving stage and have found that a Kawasaki bench-top band-saw that is good for nothing,... is great for cutting foam. I found that the Oscillating Multifunction Power Tool that I picked up from Harbor Freight is a good tool to rough out foam. Sure beats the Hot knife from Dept 56.... One thing is for sure,... my board is going to be a WHOLE LOT bigger and better that I originally planned. Question,.... are re-railers worthwhile. I have one on the upper level and need to get one for the lower level. Keep in mind this is for small kids...


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Okay,... nother question,... the man bridge on the ridge to the airport gives the track almost 3 inches in clearance,.... that tall enough ya think?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Layout work looks great. LUCKY KIDS!!!

NMRA has HO clearance specs at around 3" for "classic", and 3 5/32" for "modern". You're in the ballpark, but do check what cars you plan to run.

http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/pdf/s-7_2011_02.pdf

On my layout, I screwed up ... I thought I had check height requirements on all of my bigger locos, and built my tunnel and overpass accordingly. All good ... that is, until I hooked up my caboose, and promptly had it's small wood-stove smokestack whack into the underside of my overpass. Dohh!!!

(I left the bridge/overpass, and chopped down the caboose smokestack!)

Cheers,

TJ


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

The old don't raise the bridge lower the river trick huh TJ?

I took off about a foot and a half off a box truck once, you'd think a 12 foot high something truck would fit under a 13 foot high something bridge wouldn't you? Not if you're driving a wrecker towing the truck from the rear. Big ooops.
Funny, it was one of the last RR bridges in Wakefield.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

A YouTube moment!


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

Looks good Robes! I'd get a couple of rerailers. I'm getting more for my layout as it doesnt really hurt to have a few extras. Since it doesnt seem you have any turnouts, I'd say put them before/after the tunnel and two up top for good measure. But that's my opinion.


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Yep,...that's what I am looking for,... some expertise. I have one in place, and another purchased. The back of the tunnel is open, but being this is for kids it doesn't hurt to give them a few spots to help set the cars.


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Okay,... using the same thread here,... I'm getting ready to put turf down and was reading that the "scenic cement" is a 60/40 mix of white glue and water. If this is so, has anyone tried this? Does it work?
I am a wood worker and buy glue in the gallon size,... so this would be easy...


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Thanks, you saved me from asking. I too was a woodworker and have several unopened 16 oz bottles of the Elmers yellow wood glue. It doesn't dry clear so that might be a problem but if yellow glue could be used that'd be great.
Otherwise I'll give them to a buddy.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

White glue and water mix is a tried-n-true scenery cement. Guys usually add a few drops of dish detergent and/or isopropyl alcohol to the mix to help break the surface tension and make application a bit easier.

TJ


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Thanks TJ, I had a feeling the white glue was the only one to use. 
So my buddy Eric will get a couple of bottles of glue and seeing he's a home brewer he's promised me a 6 pack of his finest!


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Robes said:


> I found that the Oscillating Multifunction Power Tool that I picked up from Harbor Freight is a good tool to rough out foam.


LOL, I got one of those too! That pic really helps me visualize what I want to try. Good stuff, thanks!


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Okay,... now I got the track down and pinned. I thought I had better test the track before putting ballast down. I have a couple of re-railers on each level and the question I have is how the deuce do you hook up a transformer to this piece. Are there jacks that you solder onto the wires to plug into them?









Not sure how to make the picture bigger. It is in my album on my homepage....


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Next question.... I have one rerailer that is code 100. The rest of the track is code 83. There is a slight bump where they join. Can I use a dremel and shave down the code 100,.... or use solder to smooth out the bump. While we are on the solder issue.... what are the up an down sides to soldering the track to make sure the connections are tight....


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Robes,

Usually those rerailers have press-down style clips. Bare and tin (solder) about 1/2" of the end of your power wires, then press down on the clip and insert the wire end through the exposed hole. Releasing the clip will close the jaw/hole to grab the wire. It's not critical that you tin the end, but it'll be a bit neater.

Bear in mind that you don't have to use those specific power points to bring power to your track. You can run leads anywhere ... some guys drill holes up from underneath their layout board, and then solder the wire to the underside of the track ... this yields a fully hidden look.

I think you could file down the ends of the 100 to mate in height with the 83. I'd use a flat, fine file, rather than a Dremel. I think the flat file would provide for a more gradual, controlled taper. I'd run the taper for at least an inch of so of length.

Your other option -- if you choose to solder track sections together -- is to shim the abutting 83 track sections up a bit in way of where they meet the 100.

All of that said, do you really need to use the rerailer section? Nothing inherently wrong with having one, but some guys would balk at the non-protypical look. I have one on my little HO layout, so I'm not being critical. There's no pure right/wrong here.

Cheers,

TJ


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

I soldered my wires on the 027 (Christmas) layout because it gave me piece of mind that it was solid and would not come off. I think I am going to do the same thing here...solder right to the track. I plan to run the wires straight down through the train board. 

I think I will file the two ends to meet, but that is a good suggestion on using a hand file and smoothing it over an inch ...or more of length...

I have four re-railers on this set up because it will be a Christmas gift for my grandkids and I am trying to make this as "kid friendly" as I can. Here is a a picture as it stands today...


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Nice... :thumbsup:

...it's amazing how much interest the elevations add to your layout. It's also more interesting to run the trains when you need to adjust the throttle for grades.

Greg


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Smart thinking, then, to have multiple rerailers with the grandkids in the mix. I agree with Greg ... multi-level setup looks nice.

Have fun!

TJ


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

On top of the mountain,.... there will be an airport,...complete with runway lights!!
There are two separate tracks,.... but each one on a level (you can't get to the top from the bottom). These kids are 7,6,4 and there is a 2 year old,... but he can just watch for now. I am making a covered bridge (out of Popsicle sticks) that will cross the ridge to the airport. The trestle that goes over the road from the upper level to the lower level is also made out of multi-layered Popsicle sticks.... What can I say,... I like Popsicles.....


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

choo choo said:


> Nice... :thumbsup:
> 
> ...it's amazing how much interest the elevations add to your layout. It's also more interesting to run the trains when you need to adjust the throttle for grades.
> 
> Greg



There are no grades?



Robes said:


> On top of the mountain,.... there will be an airport,...complete with runway lights!!
> There are two separate tracks,.... but each one on a level (you can't get to the top from the bottom). These kids are 7,6,4 and there is a 2 year old,... but he can just watch for now. I am making a covered bridge (out of Popsicle sticks) that will cross the ridge to the airport. The trestle that goes over the road from the upper level to the lower level is also made out of multi-layered Popsicle sticks.... What can I say,... I like Popsicles.....



I like the multi level, what happened did you ever finish this?


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Sort of.... I'll post a picture tomorrow. It is done and looks great and functions,... but my son said to hold it for a few years until the kids are old enough to respect it (and he is right about that). So,.... I just keep making more and more and more improvements to it. It is a practice board and the more I read and learn I add more cools stuff. Right now I am starting to wire it so all the houses light up AND so do the runway lights!


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Okay,... here is where it stands as of today. Most of the landscaping is done,... the lake, river and water fall came out pretty good. The grass runway is on the second level between the houses. My next foray is going to be wiring the houses to light up and to put in lights on the grass runway.
I get way more time to do stuff like this in the winter months,... and it has been a long long summer....









More pictures on my home page....


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Robes said:


> Okay,... here is where it stands as of today. Most of the landscaping is done,... the lake, river and water fall came out pretty good. The grass runway is on the second level between the houses. My next foray is going to be wiring the houses to light up and to put in lights on the grass runway.
> I get way more time to do stuff like this in the winter months,... and it has been a long long summer....
> 
> 
> ...


From the size of your picture it almost looks like a custom cake that Carlos made up from the famous Carlos bakery in Hoboken, NJ :thumbsup:

Did you ever watch the TV show about his cake builds?

Yours look like vanilla frosting, my favorite.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Are the buildings and bushes edible?


The picture needs to be a little bigger unless your hiding something then it is OK.


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

not sure how to make the picture bigger,... can I edit the word "thumb" in the code for something like "small" or "medium"?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You need to upload it in a larger resolution, it looks like you uploaded a thumbnail and not the actual photo.


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Here is the other side with the waterfall..


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanx for the help GRJ....


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's more like it.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Did you ever see the show I mentioned?
He makes some amazing cakes.

That was a compliment to you.:thumbsup:

http://www.carlosbakery.com/

Google Carlos cakes he makes up, it is a TV show.


Here is a sample of one, a full size to scale NASCAR cake, everything is edible. You should see some of his other creations.
Where is he from? New Jersey of coarse.:thumbsup:











Some more creations here for you to check out,
http://diydilettante.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/when-the-cake-boss-met-the-cookie-monster/


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

I was just trying to get the most bang-for-the-buck out of the size of board I had. I wanted to try some sculpting,....lake/river/waterfall and landscaping. I was just making it up as I went along. I still need to wire it. The table below it is going to be MY table and it is 3 times the size of this one. The little one has to be able to go out the hurricane doors and down the steps at my sons house,... the big table doesn't!


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