# My Layout Build - Start to Finish



## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Just getting back into the hobby after not touching it since I was much younger as a kid 15 years ago. Due to the room size and the fact that I'm renting and will have to move in the future, I stuck with a single 4x8 layout to make moving possible. I've started to build the table which has removeable legs. The layout surface will be 1/2 plywood with 2 1/2 foam glued to it in order to get below grade.



















Here's the proposed track layout:




























Thoughts? Comments? Love to hear them all. If you think something is wrong please let me know.


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## IlliniViking (Dec 13, 2009)

Welcome to the forum. Looks good so far. Is this HO? It looks like you designed the table for the plywood and foam to sit down inside the sides, will the top of the foam then be level with the top of the side? I like the layout, you have some good switching and some nice scenery. Looking forward to some more updates.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

IlliniViking said:


> Welcome to the forum. Looks good so far. Is this HO? It looks like you designed the table for the plywood and foam to sit down inside the sides, will the top of the foam then be level with the top of the side? I like the layout, you have some good switching and some nice scenery. Looking forward to some more updates.


Yup its HO.

Its going to be a 1/2 OSB with 3" of foam glued on top of it. 

I'll keep updating as I move along.


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## Gwpapa (Dec 6, 2014)

Your layout images are very similar to mine. I am out of town but will post a few photos of mine for you next week. I think we may have used a similar plan. I have running trains so I am much further along. Can't wait to see yours take shape too.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Gwpapa said:


> Your layout images are very similar to mine. I am out of town but will post a few photos of mine for you next week. I think we may have used a similar plan. I have running trains so I am much further along. Can't wait to see yours take shape too.


Cool. Excited to see pictures of yours. Just purchased 2" and 1" thick foam sheets. Going to be gluing them together to the OSB today or tomorrow.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Due to the fact that the foam sheet were rained on during the trip home, i decided to drill the holes for future wiring instead today. See photos for holes for DCC / Loconet wiring. The power bus will run on the outside of the table with other wiring more towards the center. Additional holes were drilled for signal wiring and 12V accessories to keep these separate and easier to troubleshoot. All wiring from the layout will run immediately to a terminal block then routed to its final location so the layout could be separated from the table. Will start to wire the DCC power bus loop on Wednesday when the terminal block arrive. All wiring will also have crimp spade terminals attached to the ends to help ensure good wiring. 




























After drilling two holes I decided to go with three holes to make it easier to troubleshoot wiring / ensure there is enough space for wires.


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## benny429 (Feb 14, 2016)

Looking good. Nice Mosin collection, too.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

benny429 said:


> Looking good. Nice Mosin collection, too.


Thanks. Thats another hobby of mine.


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## GK Trains (Aug 10, 2013)

Welcome to the hobby


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

SMarcus3

Good work. Drilling those holes in advance of top installation 
is a great back strain saver.

I did note you said DCC buss LOOP. It is highly recommended by
the DCC gurus to never create a loop with your buss. It may have
various 'arms' but each should dead end. I know this is counter
intuitive since the oval of track does itself make a loop but they say
that somehow the buss in a loop interferes with the digital
clarity.

Don


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

DonR said:


> SMarcus3
> 
> Good work. Drilling those holes in advance of top installation
> is a great back strain saver.
> ...


Thanks. Much easier to drill now than later for sure. 

Of course, my bad language. Backbone is better instead of loop. Below is my sloppy proposed wiring for DCC track wiring. Orange is the backbone and green is the runs to the track pieces itself. The purple boxes are 12 position terminal switches. 










I got around to gluing up the plywood and foam sandwich today for the layout itself. Using Alex Plus latex caulk. Hopefully it was all done correctly. Tried to do research before marching ahead. 

Plywood bottom layer.










Put glue in a zig zag to aid in drying and spread the caulk thin to help with drying time and adhesion.










1st 1" foam sheet laid down and smooshed down all over.










Spead caulk on the foam sheet for gluing of the second 2" foam sheet.










2" foam sheet laid down to make 3" of foam. I lightly clamping the whole thing together and letting dry for at least 24 hours.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Also thinking of doing some layout modificaitons as shown below. Thinking of doing this modification so there are multiple trains facing both directions (CW and CCW). Only the industry buildings are shown. Unknown decorations in the open area. Thoughts?


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## Chip (Feb 11, 2016)

Command signal just needs to go out. No complete circuit is needed for a Command bus.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

One of the fun features of DCC operations is that you can have Clockwise
and counter clockwise trains on the same track. Sure does make for
the need to set the beer down ever so often though.

Don


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

If you didn't use caulk that is specifically made for foam to foam, you are going to have to wait much longer than 24 hours for it to dry, like maybe a couple weeks or so. The caulk needs air to dry. Foam board doesn't have much air flow at all. Also, caulk that dries hard may break were as pliable caulk will with stand any table flexing.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

D&J Railroad said:


> If you didn't use caulk that is specifically made for foam to foam, you are going to have to wait much longer than 24 hours for it to dry, like maybe a couple weeks or so. The caulk needs air to dry. Foam board doesn't have much air flow at all. Also, caulk that dries hard may break were as pliable caulk will with stand any table flexing.


What do you recommend? I saw Alex Plus recommended on a variety of other sites for this use.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Got around to start the DCC backbone wiring today. Loop will be 16 ga wire with 16ga runners to ever piece of track. All runners will be connected to a terminal block which is daisy chained back to the DCC controller. 

Half of the daisy chain completed on the terminal strip.










Over half completed. After this is done its hung in the table supports. 










Attached.










Overall view of half of them completed.










I want to finish the rest of this major wiring before putting the layout top onto the table.

Stay tuned.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

So the caulk seems pretty dry and adhering nicely. There is 2 sections that lifted up a bit but no biggy. I do like that if I even needed to seperate anything with it it can be done. I've ordered additional terminal blocks and they should arrive tomorrow and started to trace out the layout of the track on foam board which is a bit challenging but went well. Used a stick with holes drilled out at all the common radi to make the big curves easier to draw.

Definitely coming along. Still deciding what DCC Locos to buy. 

Stay tuned.


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

smarcus3 said:


> Also thinking of doing some layout modificaitons as shown below. Thinking of doing this modification so there are multiple trains facing both directions (CW and CCW). Only the industry buildings are shown. Unknown decorations in the open area. Thoughts?


The first design was better for operations to be honest


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

/6 matt said:


> The first design was better for operations to be honest


Yeah I can see that . Maybe I should just accept the yards being both the same direction but much longer. Thanks for the feedback.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Another question for you guys with much more experience, due to the size of the layout and the min radius of 18" on the inside and 22" on the outside do you guys recommend running passenger and freight or just freight? 

So I finished the DCC track backbone wiring as shown below










I also redesigned the layout again  Thoughts on it? Going to have magnetic decouplers on each branch line.


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

Well I can tell you my limited experience. I have some old athearn bud cars (I think from the 80's) they are full length 70' passenger cars and they run on 18" curves. Do they run well? No. I think the majority of my problems stem from the fact that they are not weighted and they have subpar plastic wheels. The rest of the problems stem from me running 70' passenger cars on 18" curves lol. That said, they derail a lot and look goofy doing it, but they do it. I would say shorter length passenger cars would work fine.

As for your new plan, I think you lost even more ability for operation because you can no longer switch freight cars from point a to point b. Also you now have 2 perfect ovals and as a consequence have lost a good bit of realism vs when your inner loop wasn't a perfect oval. In the end its your layout so don't listen too hard to me.

Do you still have the original save file?


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Gotcha. Let me try and bring back the older look with the ability to have a yard for the outer loop to stop derailments. Shouldn't be too bad since I have all the different layouts saved.

Appreciate the feedback.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Came up with this, but I want to make the freight yard larger I think. Allows the one yard to access the larger radi outer loop directly. Smaller yard can be utilized by freight.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Changed slightly to utilize 22" switches for all switches to help reduce derailments for all trains. 










Also installed the foam layout top overtop of the table. Had to use a random orbital sander on the sides of the foam in order for the top to fit snugly in. Definetly coming along now. Believe I'm going to order roadbed, track, some additional rolling stock and a DCC Sound steam locomotive to get started. All track will be wooden tie gage 83 rail. Switches are 22" radius. Believe I'll be going 100% freight service for now with the possibility of passenger service on the outer loop. 



















Really appreciate all the feedback I've received so far and the support.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Created a benchtop super hot knife foam cutter which I posted to another thread if anyone is interested.

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?p=937754#post937754


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Got around to laying most of the foam roadbed and a few pieces of track. This went down much easier than expected with the Alex Plus Latex Caulk. 
















































I also glued down a few pieces of flex track just to be able to test out the DCC controller and Locomotive. See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quPrID6f3_Y and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO2LFe4caHk


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Got the loop glued down so I could at least get something moving around at least. Seems to be working very nicely so far. The steam on the Broadway Limitied Loco is definetly sweet and the sound + Rolling thunder is a big difference from 15 years ago. Plus being able to have so much control over the train + sound effects really is showing lots of benefits for DCC even with just one loco on the layout let alone when there are several. 

Tomorrow I'm going to add additional track feeders so each piece have its own feeder as per my plan. Perhaps this weekend I'll get the rest of the roadbed and track down. I have one feeder with 16 or 18 gauge wire, and moved to 22 solid ga wire so its smaller and less obtrusive. 

It will be several more weeks until all the supplies come in for the switch panel meaning the switches will be manually thrown for a while. 










Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

smarcus3 said:


> What do you recommend? I saw Alex Plus recommended on a variety of other sites for this use.


People recommended Alex Plus to bond foam? 

Alex Plus is great to seal between wood and drywall, and sometimes even sealing between wood and metal to a lesser degree. Using it as an adhesive for foam is a bad idea. I would have brushed on contact cement, or WeldBond white adhesive. Even PL Premium would be a great option. Nothing will EVER move with that stuff holding the foam. There is a very good chance that the Alex Plus will never dry, nor bond properly. The foam will shift when you start running trains over it.

-J.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Got the second loop completed today. Finally in the grove and the track is definitely laid a bit better than the outer loop but the outer loop is running nicely with the loco in forward or reverse at full speed. The track is completed adhered to the roadbed and the roadbed to the foam. 

See photos below of the progress.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Had to rip up a small section of track as I forgot to add a switch for the near switching yard. However, since its all glued down it was very easy to separate it from the road bed and replace. Once that was completed, it was pretty fast laying down the roadbed and then the track. Put magnetic decouples under all spur lines as well.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Had to rip up one side of my inner loop as it was derailments. Definitely learning the right technique though after some initial tests when it was drying it seems pretty derailment proof. Went around 20 times without a single one so I'm going to be fixing the other derailment area soon. After that I'll keep running for another week before ballasting.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Inner loop now seems to be working awesome. Right now the outer loop seems to be working well. I'll make a determination to replace if it causes any more issues in the future. But for now everything is down and wired. See below:


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Got around to wiring up the control panel / switches / turnouts for half of the turnouts. The first half seems to be working great.





































I created the circuits and have the diagram if anyone is interested. Just ask and I'll upload it. 

Thanks.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Got around to soldering up the other control board; however I'm missing some headers which will arrive tomorrow. See photo below of the board minus some headers. Also used liquid electrical tap on the rest of the LEDs/switches to help prevent shorts.


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

Very seldom do I see wiring jobs like yours!
Picture perfect! I wish mine looked that good.
Love the white wire protectors. That's what gives a ultra-classy look there.

You can bet I (and probably others) will copy your style on wiring.


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## smarcus3 (Feb 15, 2016)

Thanks for the compliments. I'm a professional engineer and I guess it shows. If you guys have any questions let me know. I'd be glad to help. Learned tons myself and would like to pay it forward


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