# The Mayor of Lucasville has approved the railroad expansion



## L0stS0ul

My wife recently granted me some more space to expand the layout. I'm going to miss this little 4x8 setup but I'm really looking forward to all of the new space for scenery. Here is the before









And this is where I'm going with it. 









First step was to pull out all of the buildings and scenery. I don't yet know how the buildings and everything are going to fit in. I'll just wing that once all of the track is down.
















Now was the fun part. I pulled out the current siding and made sure the cross track would fit according to plan. It does and will work great. There is an electrical issue with the turnout that was used for the siding so I'll have to repair that before I can reuse it. The switch mechanism works great but there is no power to the curve section. Hopefully it'll be something easy. I started pulling up the ballast which is a not so fun task.









I found some rust on the track from the glue that was used to secure the ballast. I'll clean these pieces up before putting them back down. 









Next steps are to finish up the figure 8 and test everything. I'll also be re-wiring and soldering the leads instead of using lockons. Once the TV and speakers are mounted to the wall I can start the expansion out. I'm really excited to have so much room for doing scenery. That's the part I really enjoy.


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## Bill Webb

Looks like this will be a nice addition. Please keep up the pictures as you go.

Glad to see that the mayor was responsive but, come clean, what was the bribe? East Coast locations can require some "help" money, at least in some areas close to me.


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## L0stS0ul

I had to give up a lot of my hobby room to make it a more formal guest room. I now get 1/3 of the room for working on the trains/planes/heli's and I have to put up a wall to separate the two. I wasn't using all that space anyway


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## PatKn

Sounds like an exciting project. I look forward to following your progress. Thanks for posting.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Cool, nice to be granted expansion space!


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## Tucgary

WOO HOO, I have always admired your 4x8 and now look forward to following what you can do with 12 ft. Tucgary


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## Traindiesel

Congratulations go to the Mayor for her understanding of the need for expanded transportation and real estate. And also, congratulations to you for your fruitful lobbying efforts!

Enjoy your building process!


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## Guest

WOW, have the Mayor give it to you in writing, too good to pass up.


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## Marklx200

Traindiesel said:


> Congratulations go to the Mayor for her understanding of the need for expanded transportation and real estate. And also, congratulations to you for your fruitful lobbying efforts!
> 
> Enjoy your building process!


Hopefully this will get her re-elected.


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## Traindiesel

Yes, that may be good for all involved!


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## BWA

Nice layout, but, nowhere to park trains/cars. It's basically two mainlines.


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## L0stS0ul

I like them running and don't plan to park any. I want lots of action for when I want to but also have the ability to let 2 trains just run and run. Being able to switch the trains between the 2 tracks and reverse them was core to the design. I was going to keep that siding but opted to be able to reverse either way without having to reverse the trains was more important.

I have a plan to go thru the wall to a staging / repair area but that's going to be a ways out if I do that.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks for all the kind words. The mayor has been very supportive of this endeavor so far. Good thing she doesn't know how much money I have spent in the last year


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## Marklx200

L0stS0ul said:


> Thanks for all the kind words. The mayor has been very supportive of this endeavor so far. Good thing she doesn't know how much money I have spent in the last year


You think a mayor would keep better track of city funds.


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## L0stS0ul

Marklx200 said:


> You think a mayor would keep better track of city funds.


A mayor that keeps track of funds? I thought they were only good at spending it


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## Mark Boyce

I am glad the mayor gave you approval for expansion. I know you will like longer train runs. I know from experience that 4x in O gauge can sure be fun, but there are a lot more things you can do with the extra space! Looking forward to seeing how it progresses!!


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## L0stS0ul

I figured out what was wrong with that k-line switch. On the center rail leading out of the switch on the curve the short section had voltage but the longer section did not. When I pulled it apart a little I noticed one of the supports was broken but the bigger problem was the metal plate from the short section that connects the long section was sitting too deep for the two to contact. Putting it back together I could see voltage if I pushed down hard on the long center rail section. So I laid a thin bead of solder on the metal plate and then reseated the longer section gluing it down with CA. I'll have to watch this switch but I believe the issue will be resolved now. I love the look (and price) of these k-line switches but there is a lot to go wrong in them.


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## Marklx200

L0stS0ul said:


> A mayor that keeps track of funds? I thought they were only good at spending it


Sorry, I wasn't thinking.


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## L0stS0ul

I've made some progress on phase one. Cleaning up the track and servicing the turnouts took a long time. I think it will be worth it though. I want to get rid of the lockons and solder the leads directly to the track. I tested my iron tonight and it is not hot enough to do the job. I had to hold it to the track for more than 30 seconds before I could even get a bead down. The fastrack is not a problem but the tube track will be. What wattage solder iron is good for tube track?

I have learned a few things. 

1. when balasting tube track do not fill the inside up high. Only enough to make it look good. It's been a royal pain cleaning the track. 

2. test everything in stages. I've found 2 fastrack sections with issues that needed resolving. My 30 inch section had a broken center rail pin which was probably causing issues and another one was loose. I also found 2 issues with the k-line switches. It's so much easier to work on this stuff when it's not tacked down 

3. Clean as I go because this stuff gets messy fast and the mayor would not be happy with me


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## L0stS0ul

L0stS0ul said:


> I tested my iron tonight and it is not hot enough to do the job. I had to hold it to the track for more than 30 seconds before I could even get a bead down. The fastrack is not a problem but the tube track will be. What wattage solder iron is good for tube track?


I've answered my own question. I forgot I had a 100w/140w soldering gun in my tool bench from years ago. Gave it a shot and no issues.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Yep, the old Weller gun comes out for track work.


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## L0stS0ul

The smell that came off it when I fired it up was something else. I don't think I've used that gun for 10 years  Weller as well.


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## L0stS0ul

I've made some progress on the inner loop. I have everything completely rewired with 18 gauge wire soldered directly to the 5 inch tube sections at each corner. That then goes to a terminal block which is connected directly to the TIU. My back is killing me but I think it is well worth it. The switches are all working well and the engines look happy. I think I'm nearly ready to start the expansion. 

Only issue I need to fix is around the far tunnel portal. The 15 inch passenger cars and the atlas box car are hitting it. Not sure how I'll fix that yet.

Here's a quick video of the first run.


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## Lee Willis

L0stS0ul said:


> I've answered my own question. I forgot I had a 100w/140w soldering gun in my tool bench from years ago. Gave it a shot and no issues.


From the looks of the photos and the video you posted, it appears its all working well now. I use a small 40W iron for fine electrical repairs, but I've found, like you, that a Weller or something of equivalent power is the only thing that really works well for track repairs - sometimes sheer power is great. I have a 100/140W one I use on tube track, and ended up buying a 200/260W Weller when I installed Atlas - the solid rail soaks up heat and the higher power gun is great. On tube track it would be too much. 

Your idea of using Fastrack on the outside and the older traditional track on the inside is cool. I like it and it came out looking superb - very good show that video. Thanks.

BTW way, about the back pain. I'm sitting here now nursing a bad back that got so bad I had to stop in mid installation of a new parking lot on my layout. It's always worth it - but there are times when it's less worth it!


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## Bill Webb

Looks good. Now for the expansion. You are making excellent progress. The clean up should result in much better operation and makes your investment a lot more valuable.

Property taxes are due June 30 and you have some time for them but the road and improvement tax that the town council voted in at their last meeting (held in executive session) is gonna be a real killer since it is due March 15. &#55357;&#56834;


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## gunrunnerjohn

Looks good, just a "tweak" of the tunnel and you're all set.


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## L0stS0ul

Lee Willis said:


> From the looks of the photos and the video you posted, it appears its all working well now. I use a small 40W iron for fine electrical repairs, but I've found, like you, that a Weller or something of equivalent power is the only thing that really works well for track repairs - sometimes sheer power is great. I have a 100/140W one I use on tube track, and ended up buying a 200/260W Weller when I installed Atlas - the solid rail soaks up heat and the higher power gun is great. On tube track it would be too much.
> 
> Your idea of using Fastrack on the outside and the older traditional track on the inside is cool. I like it and it came out looking superb - very good show that video. Thanks.
> 
> BTW way, about the back pain. I'm sitting here now nursing a bad back that got so bad I had to stop in mid installation of a new parking lot on my layout. It's always worth it - but there are times when it's less worth it!


Thanks Lee, The use of the 2 types of track wasn't completely intentional but it did work out nicely. I was just using what I had on hand from a few purchases and my dad's old track from the 50's. Once I re-ballast the tube track it should look really nice together. 

It was a lot of work to clean everything up and get it wired properly but it will be worth it in the end. My 30 watt soldering gun was working but just taking forever. The weller really makes it a quick job. I do wish the table was higher but if it was my son couldn't enjoy it as much and my wife would not have allowed the expansion. So it's a double edge sword . I'm young but have been dealing with a broken hip and bad back because of it for the last 15 years. Finally got the hip replaced 2 years ago and can walk without the cane finally. Just have to take things in about 30 minute segments with the train table. Then onto the heat and massage chair to loosen everything back up. 

Next step is to fix up the tunnel and then pick up the plywood for the expansion over the entertainment center. I'm going to have to figure out how to make the expansion modular so it can be detached and moved separately otherwise I won't ever be able to service the back of the table.


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## L0stS0ul

I made some adjustments to that tunnel portal and things are better. I removed some structure about an inch back into the mountain and pushed the portal back. This has made enough clearance for my MTH 15 inch passenger cars and Atlas box cars which I normally run on that track. I've got a 15 inch MTH airslide hopper that just barely makes it but it's my widest and longest car. I don't usually run that on the track as I don't have much that size. I think I should be ok now. I need to run some of my longer engines thru before I call it fixed though.


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## Mark Boyce

Yes, your switch installation has come out very well. I used the Weller soldering gun on HO track years ago, though I can't offhand tell you the wattage. Looks like you are ready for the next step.


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## L0stS0ul

I've had a bit of a setback testing everything out. Turns out I really dislike the figure 8 as it for some reason makes the layout feel much smaller. The lionel 90 degree cross over is also not real friendly with a lot of my passenger cars. The collectors are getting hung up on it if I am going slow. I am also having an issue with both of the left hand switches with 2 of my engines. As the engines go into the curve of the switch there is a short somewhere which is causing a massive spark. I can see pitting on the rear collector of the engines and I can't for the life of me figure out what's causing it. Any ideas? My other 5 engines go over both without issue so I'm not sure if it's the engine or the switch. The right hand switches cause no sparking. Both engines that are sparking are MTH PS2 engines. A 4-6-4 and a 2-6-4.

So... I started thinking about how I could get rid of the figure 8 but still keep the track doing everything I want. Then I started talking with the Mayor and she made a few good points about where the table is and how I really shouldn't expand it out there as it would interfere with the TV. I think she also has some plans for the area where the table currently sits. I should not have taken so much time planning this out and not building :smilie_auslachen: She made a suggestion for a relocation but that new area only has space for an 11x4 layout. :rippedhand:

Well, I think I was up to the challenge. Here are the main goals

1. I want the outer loop and inner loop connected 
2. At least 2 train continuous operation. 3 if I'm actively running the table
3. I want to be able to reverse the trains from either direction inside the inner loop
4. I want a good amount of space for scenery 
5. I need to incorporate a bridge ( I did buy it)

So I came up with the following idea. It comes in a little smaller than the space which is good. About 10.5 x 3.6. Now to figure out how to get the current layout thru the door...


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## Big Ed

How come you have 2 threads going on this?
I thought I just commented on your new plans then I see another thread?

One way to fix your problem.......get a larger house, one with lots of room for the trains!


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## Mark Boyce

Yes, the current plan meets your new objectives. Seems like you will have to get someone to help you turn the layout on it's side to get through the door. But won't you be best to leave the width at 4 feet? Otherwise you will have to do a fair amount of demolition? Or did you just mean that the plan will easily fit on a 4 foot wide table?


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## L0stS0ul

The table is actually smaller than 4 feet right now and im not planning on changing that. I'm not going to cut it down but it will need to be turned on its side. When I built it I did think about making it modular so the entire area where the tunnel is can be separated I'll just have to cut thru the top piece of plywood. Going to try and do that today.

Ed, I didn't intentionally get two threads going. The one in the my layout area is the build thread. This one was just meant to be a funny little story about the upgrade. Posted the design twice since it was relavent to both threads. I'll let the one in my layout die now.


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## Big Ed

L0stS0ul said:


> Ed, I didn't intentionally get two threads going. The one in the my layout area is the build thread. This one was just meant to be a funny little story about the upgrade. Posted the design twice since it was relavent to both threads. * I'll let the one in my layout die now.*


That sounds terminal, must you say that here on the train site?


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## L0stS0ul

I've got the track all pulled up and I've cut the modular section off. Came out really clean. :appl: Should not be hard to fix when I get it back together. Now to get it moved into the other room and placed in it's new location so I can build the next modular section. Still debating to keep it the same height or to raise it up higher.


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## Mark Boyce

Wow, you were busy! Yes, get it to the other room then back to work. I like your rock work! Very convincing!


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks, It was my first try and I'm looking forward to doing it again. The rocks stopped taking pigment so even doing more washes won't do much. Next time I'll mix it a little thicker. 

I should have the table in the new room today. I think I figured out how high I'm going to make the table. We'll see if my idea works.


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## L0stS0ul

The table has successfully made the move with only 1 rock coming loose (a small one). While I was at it I raised the table up and put it on casters. I'll be working on it a lot in the coming weeks so I will need them. It's so much easier to move around now and with the extra space under it I'll have tons of storage and easier access. Not to mention my back is going to really thank me. Next step is to build the "final" extension and do a temporary laying of the track to test it all out and make sure I like it. Starting to get close to one of my favorite parts. Doing scenery.

But it will all have to wait cause I'm ready to go to sleep...:smokin:


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## L0stS0ul

I've got the end of the table that will get the extension trimmed and ready for the module. Each module is made with 1x6's forming the main box with a 1/4 inch plywood base top trimmed to the dimensions of the box. The modules are screwed directly into the main base with one set of 2x4 legs on the far end to steady it. I will then add another 1/4 inch plywood top cut to match the top of the other modules. Then a foam layer followed by the plaster cloth. I just need to get the wood and build it and that will happen this weekend. It's actually very light weight and very strong. 

It turned out that pulling the plaster cloth was much easier than I thought it would be and it came off very cleanly. I wish I would have known that when I was trying to pull up the ballast. hwell: Depending on how drastically different the new layout is I may just pull all of the flat area up and re-plaster it. It might be easier to start from scratch then add layers on what's already there. I'll be mulling that one. :dunno: This weekend should have the new construction complete and the plaster down and I should be ready to test the track layout. I'm getting excited to see it all run. I have a few different configurations of the inner loop in mind to test out to see which I like best and which works best with all of my equipment. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## L0stS0ul

Here is my current "winner" plan. I realized with my previous plan that I would severely limit the size consist I could run if I wanted to utilize the dual reversing loops. The size of the consist would be much smaller than I was running on the table on the old layout. I thought about it a lot and while it would be nice to be able to reverse either way without having to back the trains up I just can't figure out a way to do it in that amount of space and still have a decent size train. Plus I'm a bit worried about complexity of that center section. That many switches that close together makes me nervous.

So if I take away the need to reverse the trains either direction I can now have some sidings which could make the table more interesting. One siding would probably be similar to the one I had before and then a nice long one right in the front of the layout. I really think I'd like this one and it will be the first one that I try out once I have the table extended. I'm thinking the town will be on the left side and the right side near the mountain will be more of a train maintenance area. I think it could look really good.

I am really envious of you all that have so much space for the layouts. 11.2x4 is the largest I'll be able to muster. With a 5 year old I keep loosing space for hobbies and stuff


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## PatKn

L0stS0ul said:


> I am really envious of you all that have so much space for the layouts. 11.2x4 is the largest I'll be able to muster. With a 5 year old I keep loosing space for hobbies and stuff
> View attachment 153106


I think it's a nice layout and as long as it gives you enjoyment, it is doing it's job. :smilie_daumenpos: If you want to run longer trains, I suggest you look into any clubs in your area. There is a lot of advantages to belonging to a club. A bigger layout to run trains on is just one of them.


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## L0stS0ul

I've looked around but I don't see any clubs with active websites in the Northern VA area. I think there might be one in Fredricksburg but that is over an hour away. 

I have made progress on the table. I decided to go a little lighter weight for the third module since the rest of the table is complete overkill. It was built for a different reason originally. Once I have it skirted you won't even notice. I have the module built, attached to the main table, and I've been able to lay the foam. I can finally start to play with track layouts. I have 5 finalists to test out before I decide on the winner.


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## L0stS0ul

I've laid the track down and made sure everything fits. To my surprise I didn't need to do any special cutting. SCARM made it look like I would have 4 cut pieces of tube track but things ended up fitting pretty nicely. I did have to remove the upper siding as it would not clear the existing mountain. That siding would have been worthless. Next step I'll wire everything up and test it out. 

One question I did have. I am planning on using insulating pins on the transition pieces from fastrack to tube as I'll be using 2 Z-1000's to power the layout. The Z-1000's will both go into 1 TIU. Do I need to do anything special to faze the transformers or anything? Just wondering how that will work as a train goes from the fastrack section on one transformer to the tube track on a separate transformer.

Getting close to having this running and testing it out. It certainly looks a whole lot smaller than I was expecting :smilie_auslachen:


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## PatKn

The Z-1000 transformers should have a polarized plug. That should result in the outputs being in phase with no additional effort. You can test it if you like. With the transformers in phase, there is no need to isolate the outside rails. Only the center rail needs an isolated pin. The common leg (Black ot "U" on the transformer) can be common to all transformers (connected together).


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks Pat, I'll take a look. I believe one of my Z-1000's is from 2005 and the other one is new stock. Hopefully they are wired right internally. I've done some reading and I believe the main issue I would see is the engine would short going over the isolated section if they are not in phase. I'll definitely test this all conventionally with my cheapest engine first before doing anything else


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## gunrunnerjohn

You can check the phasing fairly simply, some of the older transformers were mis-wired, so it's a good idea. Connect the commons together and put two 18V bulbs in series between the two hot leads. If the bulbs light, they're out of phase.


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## L0stS0ul

I just tested that out and the bulbs did not light up. I plugged both into the same surge protector and then connected the negative of the two transformers together. The positive from the first bulb to one of the transformers and the positive from the second bulb to the negative of the first bulb. Powered on the surge protector and then tapped the positive lead from the second transformer to the negative of the second bulb and nothing lit up. Looks like it might be correct.

Also starting to play with potential layout of the buildings. I think I need a new passenger station and coaling tower as the ones I have look dinky. Not sure what to do up near the existing mountain. I have a lot of area to cover. I do like the maintenance bunk by the lower siding and the passenger station in the middle.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I figured it probably would be correct, that's just a quick check to make sure. Obviously, you should connect the same two bulbs across one and make sure they light.


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## L0stS0ul

I did check that as well  Both lights lit with just one transformer. 

I hooked everything up and put 1 drop on each loop to test everything out. I've definitely created an exciting setup. Maybe a little too exciting as it's really easy to mix up the switches but that should be a little easier once I have fixed voltage going to them. Everything is off track power right now and all of the switches want 12-14v to switch well which is a little hard to do. Now to start tweaking to get things how I like them..

One of my MTH engines is having trouble coming off the curves on the fastrack switches. It's a 2-8-0 and the front truck keeps flying off the rails. Not sure yet what's causing it but the 4-8-4 has no trouble. Hopefully just that engine.


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## gunrunnerjohn

If it's a switchable 2-rail/3-rail model, I had one as well, it hated Fastrack and tubular track, but ran fine on Atlas track. Someone else owns it now, the front pilot would climb the rails, even on O72 curves.


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## PatKn

Looks good


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## Lehigh74

Looks like an interesting layout. Lots of switching options. I disagree about the size of the coaling tower. It seems like a perfect size for the layout.


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## L0stS0ul

It's the plasticville coaling tower and I've never been a huge fan of it. It'll probably stay until I can find something better that I like.

I have changed up the track plan and simplified it. While my initial try was fun it was a little too exciting and the trains jumping from switch to switch was not that enjoyable to watch. I think I've settled on a track plan that will simplify running but still offer everything I've been looking for. Funnily enough it is very similar to my original 8x4 track plan. I've tested it out and most of my trains run very smoothly on it. It looks like I'll be limited to about 10 cars per train which is pretty respectable. I've made it around without any issue with the 8 Menards coal cars and a caboose. It looks like 1 or 2 more coal cars would about top it out on the one turnaround. There sure are a lot of paths the train can take that is for sure. 






SCARM said I would have to make several cuttings but it turned out I only had to make one. The one between the 2 k-line switches connected to the fastrack switches. 

Now that I have selected the track plan that is right for me I'll pull all of the track up, figure out where I want the power drops and solder on some new wires. Then pull up the existing plaster up to the mountain so I can have a clean slate. Then cut out the lake area and build the new mountain so I can start plastering the whole thing. I really enjoy this part.


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## Mark Boyce

Sometimes a totally clean slate is best. We will continue watching to see how it unfolds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## L0stS0ul

I'm changing a lot so I don't want to deal with the existing black paint that is all over the existing plaster. Plus I have learned a lot about how I lay down the plaster so I should do a better job this time. I have been debating throwing the mountain away and starting over. I'm really pleased how that came out with the water fall and everything. I just really wish I had more than an inch of foam down there on the main layer.

I've been running trains over the setup all night. Hooked up the DCS system and I've even had 3 trains running. Had my first ever train collision that was totally my fault  Even with just one power drop per loop and the switches connected thru track power everything has been working well. The only issue so far is with some lighter coal cars and my MTH GP-7. When it is reversing thru the inner loop I had a consistent derailment of the car connected to the engine. It only happens in reverse and in this one specific spot so not a huge deal. I did notice some lifting of the track there so maybe once things are tacked down it won't be an issue.

Overall I'm really pleased so far. It's a fun layout.


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## L0stS0ul

I've been working a lot on the layout the past week and was forced to come up with a new track plan. The S curves in the previous plan started giving me a lot of trouble with some of my rolling stock when reversing the trains. I'm really glad I set it all up and played with it a while because at first things were going really well with that last track plan. I spent a lot of time toying with different layouts on the table with the main goal of getting rid of the s curves. There were a lot of them. 

Ultimately, I came back to my original plan from the previous thread before I had to move rooms and gave it a try. It turned out that it works awesome and so far all of my trains run problem free on it. I had to tweak it to be shorter but I was able to keep everything I wanted and now I've got a nice big area for a water fall and a stream with 2 bridges. 

I had to add another section to the table. A 13x26 box because the plywood I am using started warping badly and sagging. I've never had that issue before. To fix it I was going to add the box and since I really wanted some extra space I added on a few more inches to give me some clearance. Things look good :smilie_daumenpos:

I am having trouble with one of my fastrack switches. The red light on the controller is not reliably lighting. Green always works but the red only sometimes. Other than that the switch is working perfectly. It is currently connected via track power and shows itself in conventional and when using dcs at 18v. I am hearing some humming coming from it as well. The other switch is fine but I might be hearing humming from it too. Anyone know what would cause that?


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## gunrunnerjohn

The Fastrack issues sound like the limit switches inside the sw are having a problem. If they don't close at the end of travel, the little DC motor stalls trying to control the switch. They're at each end of the travel of the pie shaped gear that operates the switch track.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks John, I am planning to open them up and do your performance upgrade before I make this layout permanent. I'll double check it while I'm at it.


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## L0stS0ul

I've been running this new layout design for a few hours and I'm really liking it. Lots of fun switching trains from inside loop to outside and reversing. Makes for a lot of interest. I think I'm ready to pull up all of the track and start plastering everything and building the new mountain. 

Quick test video running 2 trains on the layout and switching tracks.


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## PatKn

Looks good. Glad you came up with something that you find fun.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Lookin' good, a successful venture!


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## 9daytonas

I like it!


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## L0stS0ul

The last few days I've pulled up all of the old plaster up to the mountain on the original layout. It turns out I was doing a much better job of it closer to the mountain and it was not as easy to remove as it was near the end of the layout :smilie_auslachen: I think I will keep it thinner as I plaster cast the new sections. 

I also carved out where the river and waterfall will be. I wish I could raise up the large bridge a bit to give some room below but I may have to fake it with paint. This is where more than half inch foam would have come in handy. I've also got the base form for the mountain is in place. The second picture is how I formed the original mountain and it worked out well so continuing with it. After placing the initial walls I realized I needed to move the inside curve walls in closer. Tomorrow I will head to the hobby shop and pick up some portals to play with and make the final adjustments. Hot glue and foam board does make it much more easy to change things until I put the plaster down. I know the inside tunnel clearance is good but the portals will be a little more interesting so close to the curves. Once I have the portals where I want and the main forms in place it'll be time to wad up newspaper and start plastering. Hopefully tomorrow night or this weekend :smilie_daumenpos:


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## L0stS0ul

Got some plaster down today. I was able to get the majority of the table but ran out and have a 12x12 square left. Good thing I ordered another 5 pounds of the stuff to arrive today. I have not even started on the mountain yet and I need to also get the inside of the original tunnel. I didn't plaster than one before I put the top on so that should be fun. I also ordered some lightweight hydrocal so I can start molding all of the rocks I will need. 

I picked up a set of the single track MTH tunnel portals and modified them the same way I did the double track ones. It gives me a 5 inch tunnel opening which should hopefully be more than enough for my largest train. I don't know why they don't make those things a little wider.

My back is killing me right now but not as bad as when I did the first table. I can see why people put these things up at bar height and not table height. :laugh:


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## Lehigh74

L0stS0ul said:


> I picked up a set of the single track MTH tunnel portals and modified them the same way I did the double track ones. It gives me a 5 inch tunnel opening which should hopefully be more than enough for my largest train. I don't know why they don't make those things a little wider.


Scenic Express makes Pennsy style portals that look a lot like the MTH portals. Single is 5" wide, double is 8 1/2 and x-wide double is 9 3/8". Keep that in mind for the next expansion.


----------



## L0stS0ul

That's great info! Thanks. I'll check them out.


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## L0stS0ul

I finished up plastering the old tunnel and started work on the new mountain. I've got the base form complete. I'm not sure I'm happy with the left side of the mountain at the moment. Probably pull that bubble off the top. I'm pretty happy with how the rest of it came out though. Should be able to do a lot of stuff with it. Time to start molding rocks like a mad man... 

I did remember to paint the inside of the tunnel before putting the top on this time


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## gunrunnerjohn

Maybe that bubble can be a camp site.


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## Shawn91481

I will be following this closely as I too am planning a layout with limited space.


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## L0stS0ul

A camp scene would probably look good there. Or maybe even the lionel hobo campfire scene. I really want to add more animated items to the layout. I love the tire wheel kid swinging one I already have. 

I did add a bit to it which I think takes away the odd shape it had. I'll be hacking things up as I add the rocks so I'm not to concerned about some of the bulges and stuff. I think it's a good base shape for what I'm wanting to do.


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## njrailer93

Are you gonna have any clearance issues with the single portal on a curve?i had to go double on mine


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## L0stS0ul

I modified the portals and I have 5 inches of clearance on the inside now. I tested it with my longest rolling stock and no issues there. It is something I'll be watching but I have more clearance with the rolling stock than I do with my double portals so I think I'll be ok. If not I'll just modify them again


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## L0stS0ul

While I'm working on the mountain and getting the base landscape design done I've started trying to figure out my wiring. I have 2 z 1000's connected to the inputs for track 1 and track 2. The track 1 out from the TIU will go to the outside track (green and blue) and track 2 output will go to the inside track (yellow and red). I will make sure the switches are all using the 14v accessory port from the brick that is running the track they are on. I've found the k-line switches prefer 14v instead of 18. As for the track sections I think this is how I will do it









Basically each color section will be it's own isolated block with no one section being more than 116 inches and most being between 80 and 90 inches. I plan to put power drops on the 30 inch fastrack sections and use the existing soldered drops I did on the 5.5 inch tube sections. That should power the whole layout.

I've read that for DCS it's best to isolate each section that has a drop so I will use insulating pins in the center rails between each section for the inner tube track. What is the best way to isolate fastrack? Do I just remove the center pin connections on the joining tracks? Do I need to put something between them?

I will be wiring it using the STAR pattern for DCS. Do I have to make sure all of the power lines from the terminal block to each track drop are the same length or does that not matter?


----------



## Lehigh74

The DCS O Gauge Companion says to keep the length of wire runs as short as possible after the DCS signal has been split (after the terminal block) and to do this by putting the terminal block in a central location. That would result in more or less equal length wires to each block, but I didn’t find anything else that specifically recommends equal length wires to each block.

On my layout, I didn’t make any attempt to make the wires equal length. Some are around 25 feet and some are around 10 feet. I don’t have any signal strength problems.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks, I've read differing opinions on the wire length. The terminal blocks are centered but the wire distances will be different due to the length of the layout. Just want to make sure I do this right so I don't have much mucking around to do once everything is laid down.


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## L0stS0ul

So I've been reading around, all over the place really, and it looks like my best bet to isolate the fastrack sections is to just lift the center rail on the two sections where I want the isolation and remove the pins between them. I don't want to destroy the sections by cutting the center rail so this should allow me to put them back the way they were should I ever pull this layout down. It doesn't look like Lionel's block sections have anything insulating between the center rails so I don't think I need to put a pin like I do on the tube track. 

Hope it is that simple. Will be giving that a try soon. 

I'm nearly done with the mountain. I've been molding rocks for a few days now and I have one side complete. Will hopefully have the other side figured out tonight or tomorrow night.


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## Mark Boyce

Pulling pins works. Also, I see some of the short pieces have a gap in the rails and on the underside there are jumpers you can slide off for insulating. Someone else will have to confirm if these come with the switches only or you can buy separately. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## gunrunnerjohn

They're 1 3/8" sections, they come separately if you want to buy them.


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## Mark Boyce

Thank you John! Those Fastrack pins are a bit more work to pull than the tubular ones are, so the sections you mentioned are an option.


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## L0stS0ul

I think I'll try removing the pins as it is not that hard to do. I have a few of the 1 3/8 sections but mine do not have the gap nor the jumpers under. They don't even have a bar connecting the two outer rails. 

I have made good progress on the mountain and the waterfall. I'd say about 3/4 of it is done but I have run out of rocks and need to mold a bunch more to finish it up. I'm still trying to figure out how much of the molded rock to put in the stream path and river path going off the layout. Pretty happy with how it has come out so far though. I'm using the same Woodland Scenic rock mold I used on the other mountain. Once you start breaking off pieces and creating custom shapes one mold can really go a long way. I think it's going to look awesome once I start putting paint on it.

It's pretty zen like doing this. Almost like building a puzzle but you control the pieces and you have no idea what it is you are creating lol. It's a lot of fun but takes a lot of trial and error to get it to look right.


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## Lehigh74

I recognize some of those rocks. I think I have the same mold.


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## L0stS0ul

It is a great mold with the one large rock, one medium, and 4 smaller.


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## Lehigh74

That's the one. I have a few others, but I use that one the most. I've used it so much that it's starting to split in places.


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## L0stS0ul

Before I completely tack down everything and start painting I did want to double check the tunnel portals for clearance with my largest engine. It is a MTH PS1 GS4 and it's always been close on my double portals. I'm happy to say it clears the modified single portals quite nicely. 

If I ever get a bigger engine I'll probably have to modify things again but I'll likely have to modify the double portals too in that instance. This should keep me going for a while though. The larger engines are pretty expensive 

I also figured out that I can modify the trestle bridge and remove the i-beams under it. Instead of the ibeam I'll put a column in the middle but it will be just for show as the extra support is really not needed. Now things will look good with water flowing under both bridges. Those k-line i-beams are pretty intense. Very heavy and very strong. 

A quick video of testing the portal clearances. I did have to adjust things around a bit but was able to get everything working. Now to start painting! :smilie_daumenpos:


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## L0stS0ul

After 3 evenings leaning over the table working on the mountain I think I'm done with the rocks and ready to start painting. It's amazing how quickly 2 hours flies by when filling cracks with tiny strips of plaster gauze. I think it is going to look really good once it's painted though.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> Before I completely tack down everything and start painting I did want to double check the tunnel portals for clearance with my largest engine. It is a MTH PS1 GS4 and it's always been close on my double portals. I'm happy to say it clears the modified single portals quite nicely.
> 
> If I ever get a bigger engine I'll probably have to modify things again but I'll likely have to modify the double portals too in that instance. This should keep me going for a while though. The larger engines are pretty expensive


Just barely, but just barely is all you need.

As far as bigger and more epensive lcomotives go also your track radius has to increase.


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## L0stS0ul

That is true. There are a few in the railking line that would probably not make it thru those portals but all of my current engines are fine. I'll just have to live with the fact that I can't have a big boy  It would look funny on this layout anyway ha


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> That is true. There are a few in the railking line that would probably not make it thru those portals but all of my current engines are fine. I'll just have to live with the fact that I can't have a big boy  It would look funny on this layout anyway ha


The MTH Imperial Big Boy can run o31 right? It may look toy like, but if I wanted it that wouldn't stop me.


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## L0stS0ul

I can't remember the color combination I used for the other mountain so did the best I could. It turned out a little darker but I'm hoping it might fade with time :smilie_auslachen:. Once I have the base color down on the whole table I'll figure out how I'll put the buildings and then see about adding some interest hills and stuff. 

I need to find some bush like foliage to put around the waterfall, base of the mountain, and along the river. I have a lot of rocks that I will use for the inside of the river. Maybe find some good stuff at michaels or something. The train store is way too expensive for stuff like that.

It's coming along. Just might be ready to start wiring things up in the next week or so.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> I can't remember the color combination I used for the other mountain so did the best I could. It turned out a little darker but I'm hoping it might fade with time :smilie_auslachen:. Once I have the base color down on the whole table I'll figure out how I'll put the buildings and then see about adding some interest hills and stuff.
> 
> I need to find some bush like foliage to put around the waterfall, base of the mountain, and along the river. I have a lot of rocks that I will use for the inside of the river. Maybe find some good stuff at michaels or something. The train store is way too expensive for stuff like that.
> 
> It's coming along. Just might be ready to start wiring things up in the next week or so.
> 
> View attachment 166377



Looks good to me. Are you going to use isolated rail signal blocks?


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## L0stS0ul

Yes, each block will be isolated. I've read that's the best thing to do with DCS. I'll probably put the siding on a switch as well so I can turn power on and off. If I park an engine there I don't want it sitting on a hot rail for hours if I can help it.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> Yes, each block will be isolated. I've read that's the best thing to do with DCS. I'll probably put the siding on a switch as well so I can turn power on and off. If I park a car there I don't want it sitting on a hot rail for hours if I can help it.


Awesome. It is coming along nicely and I think you have done well with the limited space.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks  I can't wait to have it all back up and running. I miss running trains but this will be so worth it.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> Thanks  I can't wait to have it all back up and running. I miss running trains but this will be so worth it.


I know what you mean. I look forward to being able to start my layout. I have to get the land grants first. So far lobbying attempts have failed, so for now I get to run Carpet Central.


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## L0stS0ul

From experience, when the mayor grants some land begin construction ASAP. I waited due to extended planning and lost lots of real estate due to redistricting


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## gunrunnerjohn

Your experience is valid, you need to use the available space as soon as it's offered!


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## Shawn91481

Duely noted!


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## L0stS0ul

It feels really good to get that base coat of paint down. I tell ya... Home Depot paint samples are the way to go. Plus I can get any color I like remixed at any time. 

I won a few auctions tonight so with any luck my new pieces will be here in a few days and I can start figuring out how I want things laid out. In the mean time I think I'll start working on the wiring, cleaning track, running wiring, doing GRJ's fastrack switch upgrade, wiring, soldering wires, running wiring, and finally wiring. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## L0stS0ul

While creating isolated fastrack sections I decided to be consistent in how I do it so I'll be using a 10 inch section with the pin removed connected to a 1 3/4 inch section with the pin removed. It wasn't hard to pry up each part and remove the pin. I have a ton of extra fastrack pins now 










Using the same isolation configuration will just make things easier down the road when it comes to parts. This does change how I'll wire things a bit so I came up the this new block diagram. This also incorporates the siding being isolated with a switch so I can turn power on and off. Do people just use standard toggle switches for that? Any recommendations on a switch? It'll have it's own drop from the block so the switch will just sit between it and the track. 

This is much better I think with the longest section being 120 inches and the next longest only 106 inches. I don't think I'll need more blocks than this for the layout.









I guess my wife has turned me into a more detailed planner than I ever was in the past. :smilie_auslachen:


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## Shawn91481

Funny how you track plan looks huge and your table looks tiny. Let's hope one day we can both have a whole basement to ourselves. Forgive me if this has already been asked, but what are your curves? 036/045?


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> While creating isolated fastrack sections I decided to be consistent in how I do it so I'll be using a 10 inch section with the pin removed connected to a 1 3/4 inch section with the pin removed. It wasn't hard to pry up each part and remove the pin. I have a ton of extra fastrack pins now .


Have you considered taking a Dremmel and simply slicing the rail? That said I'm not sure what it would do to the fast trak roadbed. I've seen it done on Atlas when it was already installed and the insulated rail joiners weren't an option.


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## L0stS0ul

I didn't want to permanently modify the track pieces so removing the pins was an easy option. To be honest it probably took the same amount of time to pull the pins as it would have to cut the rail. Maybe 15 minutes to modify 8 pieces of track.


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## L0stS0ul

Shawn91481 said:


> Funny how you track plan looks huge and your table looks tiny. Let's hope one day we can both have a whole basement to ourselves. Forgive me if this has already been asked, but what are your curves? 036/045?


When I step back from the table it does look small. Working on it and painting it feels huge  one day I do hope to have the whole basement. That would be awesome.

The curves are o36 on the fastrack and the inside curves are o31.


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## Lehigh74

Are you planning to use two TIUs? That’s a lot of TIU for your layout. I use one TIU for four 100 foot loops


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## Shawn91481

Lehigh74 said:


> Are you planning to use two TIUs? That’s a lot of TIU for your layout. I use one TIU for four 100 foot loops



It does seem like a lot of acessory power... but how much power do you need for trains? Is there a rule of thumb?


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## L0stS0ul

For the track I only need one TIU and I have it powered by 2 Z-1000's. One per loop. The outer loop blocks are connected to output 1 and the inner loop blocks are connected to output 2 on the TIU. I power the switches off the accessory port of the Z-1000 brick for the loop they are on. So the fastrack switches are on the accessory of the output 1 and the tube switches are on accessory of output 2. 

For all of my buildings and stuff I use a lionel CW-80, which I hate with a passion, but it works well for accessories 

I think I have more than enough power for the 2 trains I'm running. I like to have a lot of lighted passenger cars on this layout which is another reason for more power. One Z-1000 would be too little I think.


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## Shawn91481

All i have right now is a CW-80. But that will change in a few weeks when I upgrade.


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## Lehigh74

OK. I get it L0stS0ul. In the post 99 track diagram I thought TIU 1 and TIU 2 meant two TIUs, but it means two TIU channels.

Shawn – I think the rule of thumb is that you can never have too much power. Seriously though, here is an except from something I found a few years ago at http://www.sodigi.com/power_needed.htm
_Here are some general numbers you can use to determine how much power you will need: 
N-Scale Locomotives will require about 1/4 amp each to operate. 
HO locomotives using can motors or locomotives less then 10 years old will require about 1/2 amp each. 
HO locomotives older then about 10 with open frame motors may require as much as 1.5 amps each. 
S-Scale Locomotives will require up to 3 amps each. 
O-Scale Locomotives will require up to 3 amps each. 
G-Scale Locomotives may require as much as 5 amps each._

I’m not sure if the southern digital site is talking conventional or modern for O gauge. I always thought the conventional (open) motors require more power than modern can motors. A few recent product reviews in OGR for modern locomotives have around 18 watts at max speed and around 40 watts against a 2 pound pull. I was running up to 8 modern engines with a single ZW, but it would get hot when I ran than many so I added another ZW. 

If you have passenger cars with incandescent lighting, that can also take considerable power.


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## L0stS0ul

sorry about that, That diagram is for me to reference when I'm working. It is referencing the outputs of 1 TIU. I have the drops numbered on the blocks under the table. I usually do a really messy job wiring so I'm "planning" to make this clean and know exactly where everything goes. We'll see if I keep to that lol


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## Shawn91481

Lehigh74 said:


> OK. I get it L0stS0ul. In the post 99 track diagram I thought TIU 1 and TIU 2 meant two TIUs, but it means two TIU channels.
> 
> Shawn – I think the rule of thumb is that you can never have too much power. Seriously though, here is an except from something I found a few years ago at http://www.sodigi.com/power_needed.htm
> _Here are some general numbers you can use to determine how much power you will need:
> N-Scale Locomotives will require about 1/4 amp each to operate.
> HO locomotives using can motors or locomotives less then 10 years old will require about 1/2 amp each.
> HO locomotives older then about 10 with open frame motors may require as much as 1.5 amps each.
> S-Scale Locomotives will require up to 3 amps each.
> O-Scale Locomotives will require up to 3 amps each.
> G-Scale Locomotives may require as much as 5 amps each._
> 
> I’m not sure if the southern digital site is talking conventional or modern for O gauge. I always thought the conventional (open) motors require more power than modern can motors. A few recent product reviews in OGR for modern locomotives have around 18 watts at max speed and around 40 watts against a 2 pound pull. I was running up to 8 modern engines with a single ZW, but it would get hot when I ran than many so I added another ZW.
> 
> If you have passenger cars with incandescent lighting, that can also take considerable power.


Damn 2? That seems like a ton of power.... i plan on running 4 modern engines with 8 new MTH Rail King passenger cars (and freight but those are irrelevant to the power consumption equasion). I waa planning on using one 180 watt powerhouse with the cw-80 for accessory power. Not enough? Should I get two? Or will that get me started for now?


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## Lehigh74

I’m running everything with the 2 ZWs. Four tracks, switch machines, a trolley line, accessories and accessory lights. One 180 watt brick should be enough for four locomotives. If the passenger cars have incandescent lighting, that might tax it a bit, but I would try it with one brick.


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## Shawn91481

Lehigh74 said:


> I’m running everything with the 2 ZWs. Four tracks, switch machines, a trolley line, accessories and accessory lights. One 180 watt brick should be enough for four locomotives. If the passenger cars have incandescent lighting, that might tax it a bit, but I would try it with one brick.


Glad to hear it! The 180 isn't too expensive so adding another won't be too costly


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## L0stS0ul

I have had the worst luck with these fastrack curves. I've followed the tips on improving continuity and I've tested everything but I always get drop off on the corners. So no longer. I've connected the center rail all the way around the curve. That should fix it I think :smilie_daumenpos:

Every wire connection on this layout will be soldered.


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## gunrunnerjohn

That should do it!


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## Mark Boyce

Yes I have had similar trouble with Fastrack too. Your fix looks good!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Shawn91481

Awesome thanks for sharing


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## L0stS0ul

It really does not feel like (or look like it) it but I have made a lot progress. All of the fastrack is now down, sections isolated, center rails of the curves soldered together, and the wire distribution is now complete. It was nice to hook everything up and it work without having to do any debugging  I guess planning everything ahead of time and double checking wires before powering on really does work. Don't tell my wife I said that...

I feel like I took this same picture 2 weeks ago...









But this did not exist underneath the table all nice and neat









And this mountain was not there. This is my view of the mountain from the control panel area. I am really pleased with how it came out. Still a ton to do but looking good.









And a bunch of new buildings came in. I took a chance on some walthers buildings and I'm really happy with them. The little switch tower actually has switches inside and is lit. The other 2 small buildings are not lit so I'll have to add lights to them. I can also get rid of that awful passenger thing I had and replace it with this nice passenger depot. My wife is going to help me re-letter it to Lucasville. My son was really having fun with the little speeder tonight. The biggest disappointment is that lionel barrel shed. In the pictures it look like it was brown but it is clearly very red. I will have to repaint it. 









This gives me a lot of options. Still not sure how I'm going to lay everything out :dunno:. I need to get the inner track down tomorrow and start playing with building placement.


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## Shawn91481

I think they would all look good with some weathering anyway. 


So, I'm new to this whole wiring thing. Done some research, but never implimented it in practice other than a single lockon on 027 tube. I assume the power blocks (sheeshe already forgot the name) is to supply power for the every 4 to 6 feet of track?


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## L0stS0ul

Correct. The bus block is used distribute the power and DCS signal to each block section. Instead of using lockons I am soldering the wires directly to the track but you could use lockons in each location as well. This type of wiring is called star wiring and is recommended for DCS. I ended up switching some of the pieces of track I used and re-arranged things a bit but the outcome was the same. In reality I could have probably gotten away with 2 blocks per loop as I believe the recommendation is 1 block for 8-10 sections of track. On my original layout I only had 1 lockon per loop which worked but I did have some trouble with the engines responding to DCS commands from time to time. I think this will work well for me and keep that issue from happening.

Here's a little visual of how it will be wired in the end. This diagram does not include the switch wiring or accessory wiring. I have blocks for those as well.


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## L0stS0ul

Oh and I should mention this works great without the TIU as well. I use barrel plugs for the connections and if I feel like using the Z-1000 controllers, which sometimes I do when I'm running conventional, it's easy to unhook the TIU and connect the 2 z-controllers in an run the loops independently.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> Correct. The bus block is used distribute the power and DCS signal to each block section. Instead of using lockons I am soldering the wires directly to the track but you could use lockons in each location as well. This type of wiring is called star wiring and is recommended for DCS. I ended up switching some of the pieces of track I used and re-arranged things a bit but the outcome was the same. In reality I could have probably gotten away with 2 blocks per loop as I believe the recommendation is 1 block for 8-10 sections of track. On my original layout I only had 1 lockon per loop which worked but I did have some trouble with the engines responding to DCS commands from time to time. I think this will work well for me and keep that issue from happening.
> 
> Here's a little visual of how it will be wired in the end. This diagram does not include the switch wiring or accessory wiring. I have blocks for those as well.
> 
> View attachment 168178


Wow thanks. So you should run multiple commons (the groun wire that talks to the engines) from the control base as well?


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## L0stS0ul

Each power drop gets a common as well as a power drop just like if they were lockons. I only isolate the center rail between the sections. Also I have checked that the transformers are in phase so when I create the power blocks that transfer between power sections I don't have to worry about isolating the commons. Just the center rail. In the diagram the center rail is isolated between each different colored section. I pulled the center pins on the fastrack and use fiber isolation pins on the tube track.


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## L0stS0ul

The inner track is now laid down and wired up. I'm able to run everything conventionally with manual switching and power is smooooooth around the track. Very glad I took the time to plan out the isolation and do the wiring the way I did. I think it's going to make for some trouble free operation later on. Now to wire in the switches and tack down the track. Once that is done it's time to work on the scenery and building placement.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Nice wiring job, I suspect you'll have trouble-free operation. :thumbsup:


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## Guest

I'm enjoying following your progress on the layout. You're doing a very nice job.


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## Shawn91481

I like how you bucked the conventional wisdom and mixed track types. Glad all is operating as planned.


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## Mark Boyce

I agree with the neat wiring. Track is looking good too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks guys. It's coming along well but I did run into a snag last night. I have all of the internal switches wired up but one of them is having power issues. This switch has been a problem for a long time and it might just be dead. I have an 022 switch I can replace it with but I'll loose some space if I do that. Those kline switches are so low profile.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> Thanks guys. It's coming along well but I did run into a snag last night. I have all of the internal switches wired up but one of them is having power issues. This switch has been a problem for a long time and it might just be dead. I have an 022 switch I can replace it with but I'll loose some space if I do that. Those kline switches are so low profile.


Can you replace the motor? Or use it on your spur and just manually throw it?


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## Shawn91481

On a related, but off track (pun intended) question. Where does one get those power blocks? A few years ago I would have said Radio Shack, but I don't know of any still open.


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## Lehigh74

Shawn - You can get the barrier strips at Home Depot or Digikey...and several other places I'm sure.


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## L0stS0ul

I bought mine at home depot in the electrical area. Like $5 each. 

It's not the switch mechanism that's broken. The center rail does not hold power all the way thru the switch so slow trains stop.


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## chieftopcop

LOstSOul
What a neat layout,,,how many and what kind of switches are you using? A color code would be really cool with this one, that way us newbies could understand it easier.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks, I have 2 fastrack 036 switches, 3 k-line supersnap o31 switches, and 2 modern Lionel o22 switches. Basically whatever I could find cheap. My 4th k-line switch has always been an issue and I'm throwing that one away.

What do you mean by color code?


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## Big Ed

Looking good.:smilie_daumenpos:



I can only imagine what the layout would look like if the * Mayor of Lucasville gave you more room. 
*


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## Shawn91481

Just curious. Isn't 022 a little tight for even 027? Or are switches not as important?


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## gunrunnerjohn

022 switches are 31" diameter curves, the 022 is the type, not the curve diameter.


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## Shawn91481

gunrunnerjohn said:


> 022 switches are 31" diameter curves, the 022 is the type, not the curve diameter.


Duely noted.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I will continue to expand the layout as the Mayor approves it. It's not easy to get approval though and as I've learned I really have to take advantage quickly or I loose more space than I gain 

I pulled that k-line switch off the layout tonight. I tried a few things to fix it but just no luck. Every time a train went over it they lost power. So I replaced it with the O22 switch I had laying around. 

Then I got to testing everything and I found that the other O22 switch on the layout was not triggering the anti-derail feature on the strait section of the switch. After a lot of futzing and going through the repair documents I finally figured out that the cause was a missing insulator on the connecting strap for the curve section. The connecting strap was hitting the non-insulated section causing only the curve non-derail to work. Talk about a strange one. Learned a lot about those switches today though 

I was hoping to work on the fastrack switches today but I guess I'll do that tomorrow. At least everthing is now working great on the inner loop and fully wired.


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## L0stS0ul

One kind of strange thing that I ran into was with my lighted Passenger cars. I'm running my track conventionally right now and I found that while the passenger cars are going over the transition from the fastrack to the tubular track they are causing a power spike and signal crossover. If I bring the power on the section I'm coming off of down then things work as expected. I noticed it initially when I was pressing the wrong whistle button for the track the train was on but was still hearing the whistle every couple of seconds. Then, when I was running my PS2 engine, I noticed that it was speeding up and slowing down every time a passenger car was going over the transition. I'll have to keep that in mind when running conventional and transitioning between power loops.


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## PatKn

Not sure what you mean by a power spike and signal crossover. When a passenger car transitions between two different blocks the car will bridge the gap across the block. That is the rear pickup on one block is connected to the front pickup on another block through the common wiring through the lights. If one block is set lower than the other, the train will speed up, getting the extra power through the car. If you are using multiple transformers, make sure they are in phase.


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## L0stS0ul

PatKn said:


> Not sure what you mean by a power spike and signal crossover. When a passenger car transitions between two different blocks the car will bridge the gap across the block. That is the rear pickup on one block is connected to the front pickup on another block through the common wiring through the lights. If one block is set lower than the other, the train will speed up, getting the extra power through the car. If you are using multiple transformers, make sure they are in phase.


That was what I was saying. Not saying it is a problem but something I had not thought about. When the car is bridging the 2 tracks the signal on one track, like a whistle or bell press, will be sent to the other track too. It was just something I noticed


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## L0stS0ul

Last night I did GRJ's fastrack switch reliability upgrade and finished wiring them up. Now all of the switches are wired on running on 14v. Only issue I'm working out now is why several of my k-line passenger cars are causing a sparks to fly due to a short on one of the O22 and one of the K-line switches. Most odd is that for both switches it's only on the straight and not the curve. 

I also started working on layout of the buildings. I'm not liking some of my MTH buildings so much for this layout so I'm hoping to find a few other pieces that I can use in the near future. 

I'm fully running on DCS now and everything is working awesome. It's great fun running two trains and swapping them from track to track. Lots of options for running with this layout.


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## Pebo

Excellent......looking forward to progress pics!
Peter


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## Tucgary

Great to see you are up and running and happy with what you have built. I will be looking forward to more pictures. Tucgary


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## L0stS0ul

Some weekends you have to do what the wife tells you. So this weekend was spent working on the room I started more than 10 years ago that just so happens to now have my train table. It's a family trait that we get 90% done with something then let it sit forever. Maybe just not my family :smilie_auslachen: For me the project has been this guest room. I framed, floored, and drywalled it more than 10 years ago but the trim and stuff i never did get around too...

My son picked out this awesome blue for the walls in his bedroom and we had a ton left over so I thought it would look good in the train room. That turned into a paint/trim/finish that last 10%. My wife is happy that it's finally starting to look finished. I'm just glad to have a long standing item off my list imp:


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## Shawn91481

Some weekends? Lol I thought the Honey Dos were every weekend. At least in my house lol. Of course as a truck driver i save my weekends up for a whole week.


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## L0stS0ul

There is the normal honey do list and then there are those special projects that seem to never get finished  This is one of those special projects


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## Guest

The blue looks great as a background for the layout.


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## Mark Boyce

I agree with Country Joe!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks  My son has an amazing eye for color and it is a very pretty blue. It's actually darker than that picture shows. The lighting seems to have washed it out a bit in the pic. I really like that the smoke really shows with that as a background.


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## L0stS0ul

I've spent the last 2 weeks buying buildings and running trains and trying to figure out how I want the scenery to go. I've also been finishing up the rest of the room trim and other finishing things. I earned some good graces with the mayor and, now that everything in the room is cleaned up and I have promised to stick all of my boxes and stuff train related under the table, I might get a small bit more space. Not enough for a train yard or anything but it should make the layout more interesting. I've been finding the current one, while nice, is a little to symmetrical. It's essentially two loops after all.

If approved, I'll get to add about 20" x 60" onto the existing table. I'll have to battle for every little inch of space but I earned a lot of good will  The good news is that the planned update only adds on to the area I've not been able to figure out scenery wise and does not affect either mountain or river. I've also got a lot of the track that I'll need for it already.

On another note I have been a lot more error prone running the trains recently. No fear of crashes when they were two separate tracks. I've had one head on collision due to running the trains to fast and missing a switch. :appl:. No damage that I can see on that one. I always get nervous with MTH engines when they get jarred though. The second bad one was finding out the anti-derail on the fastrack switch is not fast enough for a train running 60 scale mph. At least not this one. Boy that train flew off the table and onto the floor. I don't believe anything was damaged too badly. A few scratches, a bent bell, and a bent truck on the tender that I was able to bend back. The engine seems to be running ok but I'll be watching it. I'll be making sure to slow down especially when running the switches from now on :smilie_auslachen:

Anyway, here is my idea for expansion out into the little bit larger space. I think it will make the layout a bit more interesting while keeping everything I originally wanted.


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## gunrunnerjohn

That's cool, the extra space will add to the enjoyment, and perhaps the excitement of trains meeting in the middle!


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## Shawn91481

Oh I like that. You could add a small yard if you made your inside loop smaller.


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## L0stS0ul

I was thinking about doing that and the first few tries at an updated layout were like that. Running the trains lately I've been finding that the inside loop is way to small for my liking and I would like it to take a little more time to run. I really want that loop bigger. I'm hoping the next expansion will be a yard of some kind  But it is unlikely for me to get any more space than that for quite some time. Of course the mayor has been quite generous lately even though she did take away a lot of space not to long ago and force a move. Going to take advantage of this one as it's available now and start building that's for sure lol


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> I was thinking about doing that and the first few tries at an updated layout were like that. Running the trains lately I've been finding that the inside loop is way to small for my liking and I would like it to take a little more time to run. I really want that loop bigger. I'm hoping the next expansion will be a yard of some kind  But it is unlikely for me to get any more space than that for quite some time. Of course the mayor has been quite generous lately even though she did take away a lot of space not to long ago and force a move. Going to take advantage of this one as it's available now and start building that's for sure lol


Giddy up! No time to waste!

Crazy idea. What about no inside loop? Use the yard for your second train. So build a train in the yard for train 2. Bring in train 1 to break down and send 2 out on the mainline.


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## L0stS0ul

If I really wanted a yard that would be an excellent idea . My priority lies in running 2 trains on separate loops tho so the yard will have to wait until the wife, er sorry mayor, gives up the entire room :lol_hitting:. 

I love having this thing just running and running while friends are over :smokin: Everyone from the 2 year olds to the 70 year olds love it. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> If I really wanted a yard that would be an excellent idea . My priority lies in running 2 trains on separate loops tho so the yard will have to wait until the wife, er sorry mayor, gives up the entire room :lol_hitting:.
> 
> I love having this thing just running and running while friends are over :smokin: Everyone from the 2 year olds to the 70 year olds love it. :smilie_daumenpos:


Excellent. Was just tossing ideas out so you can have your cake and eat it too. I am on the same page as you. Not a lot of room and two running trains are more important.


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## L0stS0ul

I have started on the expansion to the expansion. I had a little yard work mishap over the weekend that has left me with a messed up abdominal section but tonight I was able to move around and actually build some stuff. Tomorrow I hope to get the base board down along with the foam and figure out what I all need to get at the train store in the afternoon. It should be interesting. Since I've not been able to work on things I've had a lot of time to think and I've decided to simplify the layout a little more. It will mean that I will have to reverse the trains to move them in and out of the inner loop but real trains have to reverse so I'm ok with that  I think the reversing will actually make it more fun to run and the loops are much more interesting now so it should make for a more interesting set and watch layout as well. 

We'll see. If I've learned anything recently it's a great idea to get track laid down and start playing with it to make sure you like it before settling. I've learned a ton of what I do and do not like doing it so I'm hoping this one will keep me entertained for a while. If not the mayor will have to give up the guest room


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## Shawn91481

That will teach you to do yard work! You can't let that get in the way of more important things. Like trains! 

Hope your health continues to improve. I like the expansion. Keep up the good work.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I think you're pretty well sucked into the hobby, there's no turning back now.


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## Mark Boyce

I agree with Shawn. Why would anyone do yard work with trains inside. lol. It is looking good! I have an abdominal injury from 20 years ago that keeps nagging me from time to time. Doctors say nothing to do but keep strengthening those muscles.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks 

I've got the new extension up there and I found all the track I needed locally. This was one of my cheaper updates. Only $45 in additional track needed and about $20 in wood and casters and stuff. This is just the first mock up to make sure everything will fit. It looks like it will. Sunday the new plaster cloth will be in so I'll be able to cover it and get it painted this weekend :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Tucgary

That's a nice annex of additional area. Maybe an industrial building of some kind to help pay the taxes and keep the Mayor happy.  Tucgary


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## Guest

Very nice expansion of the layout. A little extra space adds a lot to the layout.


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## Big Ed

More RR land, 20" x 60"?

You should have made it 40"out. 
Would she have pulled out a tape measure?
She might not have noticed.

I think that 2 more switches (or turnouts for the HO rivet counters) planted the right way and you could have had the reverse?
Even on the original plan (below) you had so it could reverse but you would have to back in to get back in. 2 more switches faced in the correct position would have fixed that too. Possibly one more? I did look real quick but I think you need 2.
This one,








In the above plan run your finger around as the train, start out at the top loop and go to the right (under the tunnels) then enter the inside loop. Once you run around and go back on the outside loop, you did reverse but you are then stuck in that direction. The only way back in is to back in?
Or maybe I am missing the reverse? Were you able to reverse it on this plan? I can see one reverse and then I see that you were stuck in that direction unless you backed in?
Your new plan is the same, 2 more switches placed right would let you enter back in and get back out.

I like the ideal of being able to change directions both ways, I got mine set up like that.
But with the 2 different types of track and the space limitations that might be impossible for you to accomplish?

And it is your RR, I just thought I would run it by you.

Now get back to negotiating for more space, take it while you can.
And add a little more then what she allocates.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks Big Ed, your insights are spot on. I will have to back in to reverse the engine again but I do like to watch the trains reverse too. It will be quite complicated to reverse both trains at the same time but even with the double crossover I was finding that difficult as well. I may only use that reverse on the inside track and not plan on the mainline ever reversing... For the time being  

I did figure out a way to put the second entrance to the inner loop but it required quite a bit more space that my wife has not allowed for yet. To be honest she's not too happy with the area I annexed already  If I had 5 more feet I could put another reverse loop going the other way and the entrance but I don't have that area right now. One thing I learned about how I like to run the trains is that i do not care for tons of switches all in the same area. The sound of engines going over the switches is not pleasing to me. It has also lead to my confusion and more accidents in the last month than I had ever had. Part of my thinking on this one is to reduce my chance of accidents  

It's possible that the next annex will net me 4 or 5 feet off the current bump out. If that happens the first things I'll be adding is the opposite reverse loop and the second entrance from the fastrack. 

We're thinking alike I'm just hoping for more space soon and trying to simplify my running for right now. Plus I have a 5 year old that likes to run the trains as well and it was getting far to complicated for him


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## L0stS0ul

You know how you have good days and bad days with trains. Well today was a bad day. I'm am so close to ripping this fastrack out and replacing it with tube. I wanted to run some trains on the new setup tonight so I hooked everything up and got rid of 1 of the blocks in the fastrack sections. So 3 blocks total. 

The first thing I notice is that the one fastrack switch that is left is not lighting up. Thought that was odd since it is powered by the aux on the brick. I started checking the brick power and then took my power meter around the layout. 19.1v all the way around until I get near the switch then it drops to 9v. Some more messing around, hours really, swapping out track and everything and the same issue. Drop to 9v at the same spot. So I reconfigured the track and now things look to be working. I put a train (locosound engine lol) on the track and start it going. It dies inside the bridge. WHAT? That section is made up of 2 30 inch tracks and 1 10 inch track that has the power drop for the block. There is no way this thing could be stopping there. Again the switch light is flickering on and off. 

Finally I realize I don't have a positive center rail power issue. I have a common rail power issue with this fastrack. I have no idea how to resolve it or what the devil is going on. The majority of my track is new at this point. Has anyone else had this issue? Any ideas how to fix it apart from soldering a wire on not just the positive but also the common? I even see sparks in some areas on straight sections. How is that even possible? My locosound engine is loosing power in 4 areas of the fastrack. I've pulled everything up and checked the wiring 10 times over. The only thing I can think is that the outside rail connection is bad on quite a few of my pieces

My inside track that is a mix of my dad's 1950's tube track and new tube track. No issues at all and I've not even tightened things up yet. 

Really hating fastrack tonight.


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## Big Ed

I never had any, but a lot of reviews says that there are connection problems with the track. A lot say that a bad piece will screw up the rest.
The same is said about the switches.

Take the track apart and test each piece separately?
Before you do that eliminate the switch from the table and see if it all works without the switch?

*It worked fine before the rebuild right?*

I would say you have a connection problem somewhere or a bad piece of track?

A lot of the reviews were complaining about buying new track and getting bad pieces right out of the box. 
The general consensus was that Lionel must have had a bad batch and were pushing it off on the consumer.

But like I said I never had any, and I don't think I will ever get any now.
I like the Lionel tube track, but if I started all over I would get all Gargrave track.


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## Big Ed

I answered one of my questions, 
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=32210&highlight=Fasttrack+problem


I would say *SELL* the Fastrack and get some more tube track. Just sell it as> As Is. 

Wouldn't the tube track take up a little less space?
Not much but a little?


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## L0stS0ul

Funny, I totally forgot about that thread. Now that I re-read it the problem is identical.I had to replace pieces back then and I might have just grabbed the bad ones from the box. I have a few ideas on how to fix them now that I'm a little more brave. If that idea does not work I'll be selling it all. I don't recommend anyone use fastrack. And to think this is what Lionel will only be producing from now on. Sad


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## Big Ed

Anytime you find something like that that is bad you ought to mark it somehow, in a spot that is not noticeable on the underside.
Or tag it with a sticky note.

Maybe that is what happened and you grabbed the bad piece?

In the thread I linked above, after you found the problem track it worked fine then right?

I have read about the Fastrack switches having problems too.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Any brand of track and switches can have a problem. I have hundreds of pieces of Fastrack, and I've never had a "bad" piece. There's nothing but rails and contacts, what can go bad? I have had abused pieces that needed a little TLC.

As for switches, Fastrack switches are as reliable as any other brand or type. I've spend lots of time getting tubular track switches working properly as well, certainly more time than with my Fastrack switches. One Fastrack switch issue I have had is the lantern LED burns out for apparently no reason. An LED should last forever, and they don't appear to have excessive current, so I have no idea what kills them. I had to replace four of the ten I have active right now, very odd. I'm thinking they may have had a run of cheap and defective LEDs.


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## L0stS0ul

Yeah I should have thrown those bad pieces away or marked them somehow. I did eventually get the layout in the post you linked working very well with most of the track using the normal track connections. I jumped 2 tracks from underneath that were still problematic. 

My issues from before were one of the reasons to isolate the corners and the straights as blocks. I wasn't having any issues with the previous expansion but it might have been masking it with the block setup I was doing. All power connections are soldered and on the curves I have a wire connecting the center rail of all curve pieces.









I removed a block from the fastrack and also disconnected the center rail connection on the curves for the test. This is probably leading to some of the issues I am seeing. Here is what the block setup looks like right now. 









This is not a lot of track so the fact that I'm having so many issues with the fastrack is extremely concerning. I've done the lionel bend the tab trick, I've soldered wires under the center rail between sections. I guess the only thing left to try is connect the center and outer rails on each and every piece and also solder the bars going between the outside rails. This is not something I would ever expect a kid to do. 

My planned block layout for the new setup is here. There is just no reason for me to be having these issues with so few pieces of track though.


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## L0stS0ul

Oh and I don't think I could ever sell my track here on these forums. All someone would have to do is look up my posts to see what I've been thru with them lol :rippedhand: I'll figure out some way to make it work.


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## L0stS0ul

It's going to take a while to go through all of the pieces of track and do this but it does look like it fixes it. What a PITA.

Soldered the outside rail bar tabs to the bar on every single piece









Outside rail and center rail connected thru the entire section.


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## L0stS0ul

Early tests indicate that wiring the track underneath has resolved my strange issues. It turns out those small 1 3/4 sections were really problematic for me. I solved that one by soldering wires to the rail tabs.









I then completed the larger section. Took a while but I think it will be worth it.









In all I had to make the following modifications:

1. Solder all outside rail bar tabs to the bars under each section
2. Connect each section to the next by soldering 18 gauge wire to the power and common tabs where available
3. On smaller section without the power/common tabs solder wires to rail tabs

I'm basically bypassing the existing fastrack connections. 

Here's a quick video showing no stalling or switch issues after the fixes. Keeping fingers crossed but this is night and day from what it was doing prior to the wiring underneath


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## Lehigh74

The Lucasville Line is looking better and better all the time. After seeing what you had to do to the fastrack, I’m glad I use Gargraves flex track.


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## RonthePirate

L0stS0ul, no hijacking here, just a statement.
My problem sounds like the one you solved.

I have had really bad luck with reduced power from curves, switches, etc. like you, but with 027 tubular rail.
Soldering the rails at the joints didn't seem to help much.
I solved 95% of the problem by running jumper wires to various sections of track I was losing power at.
I was careful to keep the jumpers within the same blocks as the original terminals.


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## L0stS0ul

It sounds like a similar fix. I've not experienced issues like that with my tube track but as GRJ says above all track types can have issues. Not sure why I've had the run I've had with fastrack but at least I now know what I'll have to do to fix it. I would not use it again that is for sure


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## gunrunnerjohn

I ran the Christmas layout on a 60+ foot loop of Fastrack with some extra sidings behind one of the couches, I had two power drops on it, and everything ran just fine.


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## L0stS0ul

I've got maybe 15 -20 feet and nothing but issues. You must have a much better supplier than I . I've always had the worst luck with stuff though. If it can go wrong it's going to go wrong for me.


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## L0stS0ul

I've been running the layout all night and I have to say it's a lot of fun for me. Everyone is looking for their own thing from each layout but so far, for the space I have, it's great and I've not had a head on collision  

Alas, issues for me seem to always arise. I really hope someone is getting some hints or tricks from this endeavor. I know I'm not an idiot so I imagine I'm not the only one having these issues. Anyway... 

I just mentioned how I've never had any issues with tube track. Tonight the breakers started tripping on the inner track. WHAT??? This stuff has been bullet proof for ages and all of the track is either new or my dad's well used 1950's track (which BTW is way stronger and more durable than anything from china). I couldn't figure out for the life of me what was causing the short. It seemed to always happen on the k-line switch that connects to the fastrack switch (both of my boxes for these call them switches not turnouts so that's what I'll call them) but only when switched to the curve. I inspected the switch and could not find anything that could cause the short. I even ran a single boxcar over it and removed the metal from the coupler pulls so they could not trip it. Still could not recreate the short but if I put a train on the table and tried to run it thru that section it would short and trip the breaker. Very strange. 

Then, as I ran a train back thru it with all of the lights in the room off, it shorted in a way that I could see a spark. It wasn't coming from the switch or any of the tracks on the section toward the fastrack switch. There wasn't even a car on the section that was shorting. It was coming from the curve right before the switch. One of the center rail insulators seems to be missing a part and if things hit just right it shorts out. There appears to be a little material there but not enough to stop shorting when there is some weight in just the right spot.

What material is used for these insulated sections? Looks like a really high weight cardstock or something. What's the best thing to use to fix it?


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## Mark Boyce

Can you just replace that track section? That is what I would do.


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## Shawn91481

Mark Boyce said:


> Can you just replace that track section? That is what I would do.


Agreed. Tube track is relitivy cheap and you are likely will just bend up the tie and making it unusable anyway.


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## gunrunnerjohn

They use what is called *fishpaper* to insulate those. As others have said, just replace it, that will be much easier.


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## L0stS0ul

ok I'll replace it  Thanks


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## Guest

I don't have tubular track anymore but as best as I can remember I used black electrical tape to create insulated rails way back when. After replacing the track section I would try to fix it for future use.


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## L0stS0ul

Turns out I was able to fix it. The insulator was not ripped like I thought. It was just folded under the track. Saw that as I was about to throw it out. Pried up the tabs and was able to adjust it. Going to inspect the rest of my track now cause that was strange.


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## Big Ed

L0stS0ul said:


> Turns out I was able to fix it. The insulator was not ripped like I thought. It was just folded under the track. Saw that as I was about to throw it out. Pried up the tabs and was able to adjust it. Going to inspect the rest of my track now cause that was strange.


It is easy to slip the tube out to fix them or to even replace the tube. Most tube track can be easily fixed.
Throw it out?!
One day you might need a 4 or 5" section, you could have cut that one to use instead of fixing it?
Old track can also be used in a scrap yard scene after you take it apart. Or put it on a flatbed for a load or cut up smaller and fill a gondola car with them for a scrap load.

Side note, if the price was right I bet you could sell the bad fastrack too.


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## L0stS0ul

Big Ed said:


> It is easy to slip the tube out to fix them or to even replace the tube. Most tube track can be easily fixed.
> Throw it out?!
> One day you might need a 4 or 5" section, you could have cut that one to use instead of fixing it?
> Old track can also be used in a scrap yard scene after you take it apart. Or put it on a flatbed for a load or cut up smaller and fill a gondola car with them for a scrap load.
> 
> Side note, if the price was right I bet you could sell the bad fastrack too.


Nice ideas. I have some rusty old track that I could probably do that with


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## servoguy

I have fixed many a section of tube track by bending up the tabs and doing whatever was necessary. I have made sections into insulated sections by removing one of the outside rails and insulating it from the ties. I have taken O-27 track and partially disassembled a curved section and changed the radius of the curve. 

To tighten up the clip that holds the rail, use a pair of slip joint ordinary pliers and put the pliers vertical to the track. Squeeze the outside of the clip and it will magically tighten up.


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## L0stS0ul

I've got all of the electrical issues resolved tonight. The engines are running smoothly around the layout at about 7volts. These are both ps2 engines but they were not smoothly running before. They would speed up and slow down at various spots. Now it's very consistent both ways. I think I'm ready to move on to scenery and get this layout finished for now


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## Mark Boyce

You cooking now! I like running trains nice and slow.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Very cool, I think you have it.


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## L0stS0ul

I hooked up the DCS system tonight and spent about an hour running the trains. I even had 3 trains on the table at once which was fun but not sure I want to do that all the time  Two is a ton of fun to run on it. Even my wife said the little extra space she gave up made a huge difference. I have a few more buildings I'm looking for and I'm starting to plan out the scenery. I think it's going to look awesome when done. 

I agree, on a layout this size slow is very nice  Makes it seem bigger than it is.


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## L0stS0ul

I picked up a few accessories over the last week. I think I've got what I need to fill out the town for now. I want a little park on the left side with the kid tree swing and the tug of war scene. Then a little main street with the guitar shop, train store, and ice cream stand. Inside the main loop will be similar to how it was before I thinking. Still have not totally figured that area out but once I realized I need to plan around a road system and not the track things got easier to visualize.

Too bad that burger stand is not going to work


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## Mark Boyce

What!!! You have to keep Wimpy's!!! I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today!!


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## L0stS0ul

Thought I would try running three trains at once. It worked out pretty well. DCS makes it pretty easy to get 2 trains running on the same loop. Kept the number of cars down to 7 each on the outside loop and 3 on the inside loop. Boy did it smoke up the room


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## Shawn91481

Looking good. Boy what a racket lol. Neighbors probably thought a real train was next door! I like the three trains
I would keep it that way.


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## PatKn

Real Cool! :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Guest

WOW, that's a lot of action (and fun) in a pretty small space!


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks! It's coming along well I think. I'm pretty pleased with how things are running and the track layout. I have an idea for a spur that I might create off the fastrack that won't require any more space. Still debating that one. I wouldn't be able to put any scenery around it but it would give me a spot to store some cars or something. 

I've moved on from the track plan now and I'm settling in on the scenery. I'm pretty happy with how things are sitting right now and I'm going to start creating roads. I think it will really start to come alive then.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> Thanks! It's coming along well I think. I'm pretty pleased with how things are running and the track layout. I have an idea for a spur that I might create off the fastrack that won't require any more space. Still debating that one. I wouldn't be able to put any scenery around it but it would give me a spot to store some cars or something.
> 
> I've moved on from the track plan now and I'm settling in on the scenery. I'm pretty happy with how things are sitting right now and I'm going to start creating roads. I think it will really start to come alive then.



Here's an idea. What about a shelf spur? Just an extension of track along the wall. It could even run behind/over the rest of the room.


----------



## Shawn91481

Country Joe said:


> WOW, that's a lot of action (and fun) in a pretty small space!


Agreed a lot going on in such a small space. I don't normally like that. It usually feels cluttered, but this layout isn't bad. Just feels like a busy urban/industrial area.


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## L0stS0ul

I'm going for a little country town that has a small train servicing area. I would love to have a spur that goes all the way around the room. The mayor has not approved that yet but it would be nice  This is what I was thinking about for the small short spur but I'm not so sure I want to add it as I'm not sure what it could be for.


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## Lehigh74

I have a spur about that length. I use it to park one or two engines. I have it toggled so the parked engines don't accumulate hours on their chrono while not being used. I'm thinking about getting a Menards shed to put there.


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## L0stS0ul

I was thinking I could put one of those there as well but I'm not sure if I have enough space. I think I would have to put the siding in first and measure it in order to find out. I'm also concerned about the height of it. Isn't it pretty tall to have at the front of a layout? I would love to have one. I know my other siding is to short for it


----------



## Lehigh74

You have a good point about having something tall at the front of the layout. It’s 6.5 inches tall. I’ve made the mistake a few times of putting something near the front only to remove it when it blocked the view of trains. The maintenance shed might be better on the other spur unless you have other plans for that area. Looking at the layout again, the new spur might make a good passing siding of you put another switch on the left side.


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## L0stS0ul

I've started on the roads and building foundations. The area near the reverse loop is close to being done. I used some cheap foam door insulation to outline the roads and foundations and then filled the area with plaster. The area closer to me I tried the pre mixed drywall mud. The plaster drys SOOOOO much faster but regardless of what you use it is a royal pain to get the surface even. The videos I watched made it look a lot easier 

I just need to sand the area near the reverse loop. I'll need one more coat on the area closer in the picture to even things out once it is dried. Then I can sand and get it painted. Currently debating how to do the railroad crossing. 

This will work out well though with the depth I've got. The MTH buildings now look like they have a nice sidewalk instead of that huge face on them. The lionel and k-line buildings will line up nicely. 

I scored a lot of over 100 people in an auction for less than $50 so this layout will be nicely outfitted with people once I'm at that point 

Getting there. Each step I learn something new...


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## Shawn91481

Excited to see the end result


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## gunrunnerjohn

I've used pre-mix drywall mud and the powder that you mix. The powder dries slower and is more "workable", at least IMO.


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## L0stS0ul

It must be really humid in my basement right now because the drywall mud hasn't even started to harden after over 12 hours. The powder stuff I had was dry within 20 minutes. I've got a dehumidifier down there set to 30%. dunno. I stuck a fan on it hoping it will dry up while I'm at work today.


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## L0stS0ul

I'm thinking the pre-mixed stuff I got from home depot had too much water in it or I didn't mix it long enough. I just got home and checked and now I've got massive cracks all over the place on the side I used that stuff. Once it has completely dried I'll do a layer of the plaster that I mix as that stuff seems to be much better... at least for me.

This is the second time I've had issues with too much water in the pre-mix. It is older, I probably bought it 6 months ago, but I did mix it up for about 5-10 minutes before trying to use it. The consistency looked right and in thin layers it dries nicely. The first time I had an issue with this stuff was when I was doing the rocks on the original mountain. I came downstairs to see all of the rocks had fallen.


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## Guest

L0stS0ul said:


> I was thinking I could put one of those there as well but I'm not sure if I have enough space. I think I would have to put the siding in first and measure it in order to find out. I'm also concerned about the height of it. Isn't it pretty tall to have at the front of a layout? I would love to have one. I know my other siding is to short for it


Don't be afraid to put a building in front of the tracks. I have a few on the front side of my layout. I find the buildings break up the view of the train and make it seem longer and more interesting. Of course, tastes vary, so I would suggest taping some cardboard together as a mock up building and see if you like the way it would look with the engine house there.

I tried to upload a couple of pics to show what I mean but the site won't let me do it right now.


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## Big Ed

Yes Joe, I just tried to upload 4 of my pictures as a test and it says that they are all invalid!:dunno::rippedhand:


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## gunrunnerjohn

If your powder mix isn't drying in 12 hours, even with fairly high humidity, there is something wrong with it. I've never seen that happen, even when mixed really thin and wet.


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## L0stS0ul

The powder mix is drying in less than 20 minutes. I wish I would have just used that stuff for the whole thing. I don't have a lot of time to work with that stuff though which is why I tried the pre-mix. It's the pre-mixed stuff I'm having issue with. I'm now at over 24 hours for a 1/4 (or less) inch thick section of the stuff and it's still wet. I've had a fan running over top of it all day and a dehumidifier showing 40% in the basement. Talk about strange! Plus its now cracked like crazy.

On top of that, due to the moisture, I've now got rust on the tracks lol. wonderful


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## L0stS0ul

What I'm workin with...


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## Guest

Big Ed said:


> Yes Joe, I just tried to upload 4 of my pictures as a test and it says that they are all invalid!:dunno::rippedhand:


Thanks Ed, I think it's a problem admin has to fix.


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## Guest

Here are a few pictures of the front of my 6x9 layout. I like the effect of having buildings in front of the track as it breaks the train up and creates viewing interest IMHO. Of course, opinions vary. Hope this helps rather than confuses you.


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## L0stS0ul

That is a nice effect. I like the idea of mocking it up with cardboard. The menards engine building is quite big. Maybe something smaller.


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## L0stS0ul

I fixed the cracks and started with the sanding. I have quite a bit more plaster to put down before I'll be happy with how things look but it's getting closer. Still debating what to do inside the tracks. I was thinking I could fill the fastrack section and then carve out the area for the wheels but for the tube track we're talking a lot of space to fill. Still cheaper than using ballast like I did last time I guess  I'll figure something out.

One thing I've been debating as well. The passenger depot. From where I sit it looks better faced the way it is but I can't help thinking, in the real world, it would be flipped the other way around so the larger platform is toward the train. Does it matter at all which way I have it?


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## gunrunnerjohn

Since actual passengers aren't using the platform, put it the way you like the looks of it.


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## Guest

I would turn the station around if it were mine but Rule #1 applies; it's your railroad and you can do as you like. If it looks better to you the way it is then leave it.


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## L0stS0ul

After much deliberation and inebriation I've decided to turn the train depot around 

The mayor has required 2 rooms be painted over the last 2 weeks so I've been pretty busy doing that. One room is the one with the ceiling train so I had to actually finish that project. While I completely love the ceiling train I hate caulking and painting the ceiling. It came out looking really good though so the mayor is happy. 

On the main layout I've been completing the roads. Layer after layer of plaster trying to get this thing smooth. Finally I thought it was and started painting the black top and of course that shows all of the imperfections that are still there.  Just going to live with most of them and move forward. Real roads are not perfect either. I also attached the little raised area in the one corner and painted that up. I think I'm getting close to ground cover and grass. How exciting.

I really think the area near the train depot with the plaster on the tracks has really quieted the whole layout down. I was running the trains tonight and the sound level was significantly lower. Not sure how one 4 foot area could do that but it seems to have helped. A welcome unexpected side effect 

























Funny I have not seen those 3 bumps in the road until now. The picture really made them stand out. Really hard to see in person


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## Shawn91481

Main street is looking awesome. Fantastic work getting all crammed in there.


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## Guest

The layout is looking great. Painting the roads black makes a huge difference.


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## Shawn91481

I agree with joe. Will you be ballasting the tube track?


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks! 

Yeah, I'll be ballasting the tube track. I won't be doing it like I did last time though. It'll be more subdued and I won't be using so much inside the track. Last time I brought it up really high inside and it made cleaning the track difficult. This time it'll just be enough to look like it's filled. 

I still have 2 raised areas to build in and plaster before I start laying the ground cover. Ballast will likely be the last thing I do.


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## L0stS0ul

We've got some company coming over so work on the layout had to be stopped. The mayor demanded it  She also demanded everything be cleaned up. So all of the boxes and everything were placed neatly under the layout and the skirting was added. I originally bought it before the expansion so it wasn't long enough to go all the way around but close enough. I'll get some more soon.


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## Mark Boyce

Layout and skirting look very good! You are doing well keeping the mayor happy! It will pay dividends multiple times over!


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## Guest

Looks great! The skirting gives it a finished look.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks! it really did finish it off nicely. Cheap painters tarp


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## L0stS0ul

Making some progress on the scenery over the past week. I picked a few small areas in the front to practice scenery making and ballasting. On my previous layout I made the ballast way too deep for the tube track so I wanted to see what it would look like a little more minimal. I really like how it came out and I'm using a lot less ballast with this method. 

I also tried out a method for weathering and striping the roads. Started with a single yellow line in the center. I'm not going for fully realistic but I have seen some country roads lined like this. I didn't make the road wide enough but eh. close enough  

A friend of mine has a 3d printer so I've started work on designing a switch box for controlling the building lights and animated scenes. I think the kids will really enjoy that and so will the kid in me


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## Mark Boyce

The ballast and roads look good!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## njrailer93

Looks like you are off to a great start can't wait to see the finished product!


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## Guest

The ballast and the roads look great. Very nice work.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks guys. We are having a lot of fun with it. 

We took our son to Mario's Trains in Winchester VA over the weekend. I've never been there before and the guys at the store were really nice. My son declared it his favorite train store in the area probably because he got to run the train on their layout for a while :smilie_daumenpos: They were really nice and have a good setup and stock. I didn't realize the majority of their engines were in another room otherwise I probably would be out a lot of money.

It was made completely clear to me that my son needs his own lionchief engine for the layout. The DCS system is awesome but for a 5 year old it's a bit much. The smile on his face as he ran the engines on the layout there was something else. I'm starting the search for the right one for him. At just 5 1/2 I don't think a full lionchief plus is in order but he does love that blue pacific in the latest catalog. Blue is his favorite color. 

The regular lionchief engines (not the plus) can run on a z-1000 right? I have 2 z's connecting into the tiu and then powering the 2 loops. Hoping I can just drop a regular lionchief engine on the layout and have it go. That would be awesome. 

I got a new phone that can take 4k video so had to give it a try and see how it does. Here's a little from the layout tonight


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## Mark Boyce

Layout looks great! Three trains running; super! Glad your son likes the trains!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Guest

I think getting your son a LionChief loco is a very good idea. A z-1000 is more than enough power for LC. 

After watching the video I want to go run some trains. Three trains running look great. Lots of action on a fairly small layout.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure about the voltage. The Z-1000's put out between 18 and 19v and I thought the LionChief preferred less than that. Maybe that is just for the plus.

It is a lot of fun running the three engines. With the consists as they are now I can get all three on either loop and I've even managed to reverse all three trains. It takes a lot of thought but it is possible and fun. Takes about 15-20 minutes to get all 3 engines turned around and going the other direction.


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## gunrunnerjohn

The LC or LC+ will run on AC or DC, the Z1000 is not a problem for either.


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## Shawn91481

For point of reference. My 7yo handles legacy very well. He doesn't know how to use the advanced features, but the whistle and direction control is no issue.


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## gunrunnerjohn

You'll cringe the first time he drops the CAB2 I'll bet!


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## Shawn91481

gunrunnerjohn said:


> You'll cringe the first time he drops the CAB2 I'll bet!


He's actually very careful. I don't think he wants to lose train privileges


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## L0stS0ul

I've never played with a CAB 2 remote or any of the Lionel control system remotes before. He did try using the DCS remote and he can honk the horn but that's about where it ends. The little wheel is to hard for him to scroll for speed and with a million buttons he just wants to press everything  The lionchief remote looks perfect and simple for his little hands. Sucks I have to buy a full set when I just want the engine. Maybe I can find an open box somewhere


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## njrailer93

Check eBay a lot of sellers split sets


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks for the suggestion. There are a lot of options on ebay. I've been burned badly in the past there so I'm pretty hesitant to buy but will keep an eye out. Still looking for the right one. The boy is very opinionated 

Today we took him to Walkersville Maryland for our first little trip on a real train. We've only ever seen them from the road or been on the metro before. He loved the experience and being on the little excursion really gave me a ton of ideas for the layout.


I was pretty stoked. I have that nickel plate road extended vision caboose by k-line so it was cool to see it in real life. 

































The little museum there even had a nice HO scale layout. 

























I've been really struggling with what to do in the little area outside of the town in the layout. Seeing the little creeks and shrubs and valleys while on the train made me thing a more foresty area would be nice .I'm thinking a little stream with a cuvert to go under the tracks starting near the far tunnel portal weaving between the 2 tracks. You can see the area in pink where I think the creek can go below.









The green areas will be built up creekbed/trees/shrubs and stuff. I really want that area to have more of a forest feel. I know that won't be cheap with how much trees cost 

I have been making progress slowly. Small sections at a time. I started with Woodland Scenics scenery cement and when I ran out switched to a 50/50 water to elmers glue mix. I have to say that I'm really impressed with the woodland scenics stuff. It's a lot easier to work with than the elmers glue mix and seems to bond the scenery better. 
















Finally, I started playing with the old waterfall. I started using the Woodland Scenics water effects to create ripples and add depth to the water. It was all flat before. This is the second coat, and it is still wet, so it will be interesting to see what it looks like when it dries. 









I did have to pull a switch up. The one O22 switch I have left on the table had a faulty anti-derail on the straight section. Turned out the screw mount had broken and the little peg was not touching the contact for the rail to trigger the anti-derail feature. I took the opportunity to solder the tabs on each connection to the bar like GRJ showed on the fastrack switches and fixed the broken screw mount. Now it's working great. Glad it went before I had that switched ballasted. 

Lots of little projects but it's been a fun week. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Guest

Thanks for the update. The waterfall looks fabulous.


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## gunrunnerjohn

That's looking great! I agree with Joe, the waterfall looks like you could get wet there! :thumbsup:


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## Tucgary

I really like your idea for a creek and forest. Gonna get my popcorn and watch this progress. The waterfall looks great.
Will the water from it connect to the creek? Tucgary


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## Lehigh74

Lost - If you have access to sedum plants, you can make a forest on the cheap. Lee Willis did a thread on it last fall.


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## L0stS0ul

Tucgary said:


> I really like your idea for a creek and forest. Gonna get my popcorn and watch this progress. The waterfall looks great.
> Will the water from it connect to the creek? Tucgary


I had not thought of that. I could possibly connect the new waterfall/river with the creek coming off the side there. I'll have to think about how I could do that. 



Lehigh74 said:


> Lost - If you have access to sedum plants, you can make a forest on the cheap. Lee Willis did a thread on it last fall.


I'll do a search for the thread. I don't think I saw that one. Thanks!


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## Big Ed

Watch eBay for tree lots.
They come up every once and a while you can get a bunch sometimes fairly cheap.

Or you can buy some that are made in China, they sell cheap.
Some are not bad, you might have to tweak them up a little.

Check it out.
( I tried to link from eBay, but it won't take!)
Search on eBay, O scale trees, the ones from China show.
Some are not bad looking.
There are other sellers from China that have deals too, I have not looked for trees for a while so off hand I don't know their seller names.
Some sold lots of 25 or 50 or even a 100 fairly cheap.

Though the selection they offer is better for HO scale.

Or like mentioned give a try at making some, you don't really need a whole lot your just doing back in that corner? I never tried.

Waterfall is coming along nice.:smilie_daumenpos:


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## Lehigh74

Here is the thread on sedum trees.

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=60682&highlight=tree


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks for the link to that thread. I don't believe I have seen those trees around here but I will certainly be on the lookout now  

All of these suggestions have been giving me lots of ideas and when I walk the dogs thru the woods my eyes are now on a swivel thinking "can I use that on the train table" or "that's a great look I wonder if I can do something like that"  

There are some good deals on ebay on the trees. Thanks for that too


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## Lehigh74

The sedum plants look like the photo below at this time of the year. They don’t get the pink flowers like the ones in Lee’s thread until later in the season…then you will see them covered in butterflies and bees.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks for the picture. I've not seen those around here but will be keeping an eye out for them. I checked a Virginia native plant list and don't see any native to the area but around here you never know.


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## L0stS0ul

I'm very visual so I wanted to see what it would look like with the buildings and everything in 3D so I've been playing around with Scarm while I wait for materials to show up. 

I've found a few building objects online but not many. A lot of older postwar stuff. I set out to build or find some of the buildings I have pretty close. Not trying to be uber accurate.









All but the first three from the left I created or heavily modified. I found those 3 on another site. 

















Here are the scarm files if you want to use them in your own project. 

View attachment Scarm Objects & Layout.zip


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## gunrunnerjohn

Your empire is growing, I remember when it was half that size.


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## L0stS0ul

yeah don't tell the Mayor  Someone around here has the signature along the lines of "I pray that when I die my wife doesn't sell my train collection for what I told her I paid for it" That's spot on lol


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## L0stS0ul

Reality and Scarm line up pretty well  Hopefully my materials arrive tomorrow so I can get back to working on the layout but playing with buildings has been fun tonight


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## gunrunnerjohn

That's a very interesting comparison! They do line up pretty well, that really is a nice feature of SCARM.


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## L0stS0ul

I'd like to take a minute to talk about my experience with trains. I'm new to trains. I grew up a navy brat in Norfolk VA loving airplanes. My dreams were of flying airplanes and trains were not something I was taught about. Over the last 15 years I've been doing RC planes and helicopters and spending a ridiculous amount of money doing that. It's a money sink if you've never tried it  

Two years ago my parents brought over a bunch of boxes of my grandmothers stuff after she passed. In those boxes were my dad's trains but I had no idea he ever had trains. As a kid the only thing I ever saw was this large model of a steam engine that actually built up steam and you could blow the steam whistle. My dad and I had talked about that train and I had mentioned I was interested in it and told him not to sell it on Craigs list. I didn't know that they had brought his other train set to my house. That Christmas we got to talking about his childhood and he started talking about the lionel train and I had no clue what he was talking about. He said it was at our house which blew me away.

When we got home after Christmas I went digging and found this box with the train in it under a ton of stuff. There was a lot of track, a Lionel 726RR Berkshire from 1952 (not working) with the cars that came in the set. He also had the Lionel rocket launcher with gantry, a Marx rotary beacon, and a Lionel operating freight station. After a ton of research and work I was able to get the rocket launcher, beacon, and freight station working again. It's amazing the craftsmanship of these old toys and the amount of information about them still available. Following the the diagrams I was able to get everything working just like new accept for the 726. 

Still waiting for the 726 to come back but everything else is working and ready.








With the help of the amazing people on this forum I was eventually able to get this engine running again. Without knowing anything I originally took it to a certified lionel shop and, to be blunt, they wrecked the thing. $200 down the tubes on that one. The shop owner was cool about it and has helped me a lot but the tech that was working on it knew nothing. At least I was eventually able to get it working again. Here's that thread if you are interested in the crazyness of that journey

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=26676

On to the present. I've moved on to DCS and my MTH engines and I love them. There is no way I could run 3 engines on this small of a layout without something like it but there is something missing. I'm so glad I made it easy to switch my layout back and forth between conventional and dcs. It is as simple as swapping the inputs to the TIU to some controllers and plugging in the z-1000's. It takes a second. 

I was running my conventional engines tonight. They are also my biggest engines. My J 612 and Southern Pacific GS-4. Then I decided to run my dad's engine. It's been months since it has been run. I don't run it much since it took so much money and time to get it working again. It was therapeutic to watch it run around the track tonight and I just let it run and run and run. Over an hour and it didn't even need any more smoke fluid while the other engine I had on the track took 3 or 4 fills. 

Memories is why I do this. I hope my son is gaining these memories. I wish my dad would have done this with me when I was a kid but I'm so happy to share this with my son. We still love aviation and go over to Udvar Hazy constantly to see what's new there but trains are a new experience for me and my son and it's cool that we get to learn about it together. It's something my dad loved but I didn't get to share that with him as a child. Now I get to share it with my dad and my son. It's very special to me.

Thanks for listening. Next posts will be about the layout 














That old train can really pull some cars. My MTH Hudson can't pull that consist :smilie_auslachen:


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## PatKn

Very nice story. Thanks for sharing.


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## Guest

Thanks for telling your story.

The 726 looks great running on your layout. The only bad thing about those old locos is that you don't have very good speed control. They seem to have only 2 speeds, fast and faster. Other than that they are excellent.


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## L0stS0ul

We have lights on the layout now. Well a few anyway. I wired up the easy buildings. They will all eventually be on switches but I really wanted to see things lit up. I did a lot of work on the new stream and the area where the tire swing and tug of war will go. I raised it up a bit and will try to make a park out of it. So far I'm pleased with it. Trying a few different things with the stream so we'll see how it turns out.


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## Guest

The lighted buildings look great. I've loved lighted buildings and accessories since I was a child, running a layout with the room lights off so the only light comes from the layout.


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## Big Ed

Just some thoughts I had while looking, it is your (*and the mayor's*) RR to do as you like.

I like lights too, one can never have too many lights.
I like darkening the room and lighting up all my lights and running the trains.
Try turning off the rooms lights and take another one? Maybe it wouldn't come out good because the lack of light?

I like the blinking neon signs in the buildings, I can't see what they are? Are the 2 buildings one big establishment, are the 2 neon's related? Or are they 2 separate places of business?
In the sequence that they blink, it sort of reminds me of a RR crossing.
Maybe spread them out? Or can you slow one down?

How about a few runway marker lights?
Or some lampposts up at the airport?

Now........you need the mayor to allocate some more room.:thumbsup:


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks guys. Yeah I have a lot more to wire up still. More than half of the buildings are still unlit and I have 2 sets of yard lights to place around the area. Once I have all of the buildings lit I'll do a night time video. My son said it would be cool to get one of those night sky ceiling light things for kids for when the lights are all off. What a cool idea and I don't think they are that expensive

runway lights would be cool. If I made them dim enough possibly the use the same led light strip I use for my passenger cars. I'll have to see if I can do that. 

Those buildings are separate businesses and are not related. They blink in different sequences so sometimes it looks like they are in sync and sometimes not. I'll have to look and see if MTH offers a way to slow them down at all. I've not looked inside them. It is sticking out to me as well. I could also turn one of them off. I do remember seeing an on/off switch for the signs at least on one of them.

I really hopes she grants some more room. That's not going to happen until we no longer need that guest room tho


----------



## L0stS0ul

This lionel 90 degree crossover has been really making me angry. Last night a caboose got caught on it derailing several boxcars. It's a really bad design and anything with a collector gets caught on it.









I found some old k-line 90 degree crossovers at Nicholas Smith Toys yesterday and picked up both types to test out. I've never ordered from them before but I ordered yesterday and it was delivered today. Shipping was a bit steep but nice turnaround time. I got both crossovers for less than 20 before shipping.









The shadow rail one is too small to fit on the table without making some extensions but the K-361 is a direct replacement. Hope to pull that awful thing up tonight and replace it with this. I tested my most problematic cabooses and passenger cars and not so much as a hiccup going over it. Keeping my fingers crossed it solves my problem. I'm sure I'll find a use for the shadow rail one at some point


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Just fill in the blanks with a small non-conductive piece of material at the center roller line. Glue it in and the problem is solved.


----------



## Shawn91481

I think the direct replacement is the better choice. Even if the shadow rail piece had worked it would have looked strange compared to the rest of the track.


----------



## cos1953

GunrunnerJohn - please elaborate on fixing a 90-degree crossing, thanks.


----------



## L0stS0ul

A couple of projects tonight. I recently picked up a Lionel 6-18579 Milwaukee Road GP-9 Non-Powered B-Unit from the late 90s to go on my ceiling layout. It matches ok with my MTH 20-80004B Milwaukee Road GP-7 but the lights on this thing were out of control. So bright. I asked in another thread what the best way to dim them was and a diode was recommended. I have a ton of these 1N4001 Molded Plastic Case Rectifier Diodes 50V 1A that I use for my LED's so I gave it a go. 

Opening up the unit was no problem. 4 screws and the top came right off. The wires are connected internally using wire nuts which makes my job a lot easier. Trace the wire from the power collector, disconnect it from the light leads, and solder in the diode. Tested it out and the light is probably half the brightness. I may solder in another diode to bring the brightness down some more. It's still way brighter than the MTH engine but much closer now.

















Next I went for the 90 degree crossover. I had to pull all of the boxes and stuff out from the table and pull it out so I could get around back. Once done it was simple to pull out the old one and stick in the new one. Testing out my problematic cabooses and passenger cars shows no issues going over the crossover at even 3 scale mph. Looks like that issue is resolved for now. The k-line crossover is a lot noisier though. I hope that once it's ballasted it will quiet down a bit.

















One thing I did do before attaching the new crossover was to solder the tabs underneath for better electrical connection. It was pretty easy to do as it's thin metal. Here's the before









And the after 









The creek is coming along. :smilie_daumenpos: I'm using a combo of fish bowl rocks, black ballast, gray ballast, and left over ground cover from the scenery to fill it in. Once I have it as I like it I'll start adding the water. I think it's close. 

















I picked up this cool little animated scene along with the b unit. It's Mr. Spiff and Puddles. My son is laughing at the dog lifting it's leg as the man tilts his hat.


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## PatKn

Looks like you had a productive day. I'm glad the diode helped. Remember, the addition of the diode turned it from full wave AC to half wave DC. That cut the voltage effectively in half. The addition of a second diode will only cut the voltage bu the drop across the diode so you will not get as dramatic a change. I like the creek. Can't wait to see it completed. You can't have enough animation in a layout IMHO.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks for the tip Pat. Cutting the voltage with the diode really dimmed it a ton. Now that I've had it on the shelf I'm not as sure I need to go any farther. It also cooled the bulbs down a ton. When I pulled it off the track to add the diode it had been running for about 30 minutes and the top of the unit was extremely hot. Now it's nice and cool to the touch. I might actually put a few switches in as well to allow me to turn the lights on and off. 

We are a fan of the animations here even though these lionel ones look more S-scale than O-scale. I'd love to find some of the old k-line construction animations. I missed out when I saw some up for auction for $20 a piece. Now they are buy it now for 90 on ebay.


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## PatKn

We had a couple of K-line construction animations at the club. Both of them have dead motors now and we are looking for either replacement motors or new accessories.


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## L0stS0ul

I couldn't pass up that offer from Menards with the free Goodyear boxcar. I've been looking to fill out my Pennsylvania boxcar set. I have an older set from K-Line which are basically postwar size with crappy couplers. I was expecting these to be nicer but around the same size from everything I've read. They are much bigger.









The Mendards car is the bottom right with a k-line boxcar on the top left and a Lionel standard boxcar on the top right. The car on the bottom left is a KMT boxcar. I have 3 of these cars that I won in an auction and it is extremely close in size to the Menards one. In fact they look nearly identical in details.

















They even have the same mounting holes for the shell









The Menards car has a nicer undercarrige and coupler. No idea how much these KMT cars went for back in the day.

Very pleased with these cars and I plan to buy a lot more when funds allow and get rid of these old k-line and lionel cars. 

The Goodyear cars look nice with the Milwaukee setup too 









The PRR cars look really nice with my old 4-6-0 engine


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## gunrunnerjohn

The popular opinion is the Menards cars are from the KMT molds. They're a great value in any case.


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## L0stS0ul

I wasn't aware of that. I must have missed that in one of the threads. Expecting postwar or even k-line size so needless to say I'm extremely pleased. I do have an issue with a couple of them but I've already contacted Mark to see what we can do with them. I've got a couple with extremely bent axles. The rest are perfect.


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## L0stS0ul

I found a small issue with these Menard boxcars. On the center bottom of the boxcar is this decorative piece and on almost all of the cars I got today it is hitting the center rail on 0-31 curves. It nearly caused a derailment on my ceiling layout. Looks like it's easy enough to fix. The tab that it is connected to needs to be bent farther up towards the base.


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## L0stS0ul

I've been working on a few projects this week. I'm continuing to wire up the buildings and scenes. 

I did run into an issue with the Walther switch tower. It is a lighted accessory and when I originally tested it, it worked. Last night, once I finished wiring it up, it did not light up though. I took a quick look and there was no way to get the light bulb out. It wouldn't budge. So I decided to replace the lighting. A small single strip of LED's I use for my passenger cars, a diode, and a resistor later and I've got a nice light in the tower. The hardest part really was getting the old light out. I had to break some plastic to do that. Once it was out no real issue.

























I also realized it's been a while since I showed the under side of the wiring. I'm trying to keep things neat but it is becoming a bit of a nest. The main power blocks are pretty clean. The one of the left is for the fastrack and the one on the right is for the tube track. 









I have a lot more lighted and animated accessories on this layout though and the block for that is filling up quick. Even putting 2 - 3 accessories on each drop. In this picture I have a little more than half the accessories wired up. I think 2 more are now wired up. I took that last night. When I'm done all of the drops will have at least 2 or 3 things hooked up. I think I still have 6 yard lights, a freight station, and I want to light those 2 other walther buildings I bought. :thumbsup: 

One puzzling thing. I don't know why MTH built the controller for the beer freight station the way they did as there is no way to hide the wires. You have the 2 power wires coming into the right front and then 4 wires off the left front to the unit. I'm guessing 2 of the wires are power/ground for the station lights and the other 2 are switch/ground for the mechanism to hide the beer. Might have to find an alternative controller for that as it is UGLY. Here's what it looks like










And my power block for all of my accessories. May need more soon 









My temporary power shelf. 2 z-1000's running the TIU and 1 CW-80 for the accessories. Working well so far.









I picked up this k-line foot bridge to provide a way to get to the switch tower. I think it's going to look pretty cool there. Thinking an excellent spot for a fisherman :smilie_daumenpos:









Things are finally starting to look better. Still a ton to do but I'm pretty pleased. That river is going to use up a lot of money to fill though. Might have to find an alternative to Woodland Scenics realistic water for that. 









And yes I realize this would be an interesting railroad crossing to go over in a real car  I think I'd try to jump it Dukes of Hazard style...


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## PatKn

It's looking better every day.
If you are careful where you drill your holes you can minimize the exposed wiring on that controller.


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## Guest

The controller for the switchman is the same as the freight station. I wanted it near the accessory so I hid it in those trees. It kept it close, easy to use and pretty well hidden.









The LED light in the switch tower looks great.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Looks like a lot of progress, lookin' good.


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## L0stS0ul

Pat, I like what you all have done there. That is an awesome control panel. I'll probably end up doing something similar (I hope). While hiding it like Joe did is nice I really want switches and stuff for the kids to play with so they need to be on my control area. Seems strange to make the wires so front and center when it would have been easy for them to have the connectors on the back of the unit. Odd.

Over the last few weeks we've had a lot of kids over to the house from 5 to 12 years old and every single kid has had an absolute blast creating "scenes" on the layout. I picked up a lot of over 70+ people and items in an auction for like $50 a while back and they have been sitting waiting for the layout to be done to figure out. One of the kids saw the boxes of stuff and the next thing I know the layout is coming to life. Every single child was finding funny things to create and stories to tell. It was really really cool to watch. Hours of fun for the little ones. 

As I work on the layout I keep finding these little scenes the kids created that I didn't see before.

Like the dog peeing on the guy working on a building 









Or the prisoner about to be thrown off the top of a building

















And all of the people in the town going about their business









And then whatever this is  it's awesome :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Guest

The kids created some great scenes. I love the dog peeing on the workman. Little scenes like that really bring a layout to life.


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## PatKn

Letting the kids create scenes is a great way to introduce young people to the hobby. It's entertaining for us to see what they created too. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## gunrunnerjohn

The dog scene gets my vote.


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## Mark Boyce

I like the guy who climbed up all those stacked barrels best. They are all good! I'm glad you let the kids have fun with the layout!


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## L0stS0ul

It was a lot of fun just watching them. It was really clear that the DCS system is not kid friendly. I'll be looking to get a couple of Lionchief plus engines for when the kids are around. DCS is just a bit much for 5-6 year olds. Even the remote commander that I use upstairs proved useless as the kids would keep forgetting to point it at the base unit. They want to point at the engines. Things you learn I guess


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## Mark Boyce

Having just got DCS in the last year and a half, after a lifetime of conventional operation, I would tend to agree LC+ would be better for kids that young. I think youngsters would take to a simple remote, quicker than conventional. LC and LC+ is probably the ticket. I bought 3 or 4 conventional engine to save for grandchildren, then got a deal on a used Thomas with a remote. I am guessing kids would like that better.


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## L0stS0ul

I think it was Big Ed that asked for a night video so here ya go :smilie_daumenpos:

I finally have most of the buildings lit up so a night shot finally looks interesting. Only a few buildings left to go and some yard lights to bring the engine service area to life.


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## Guest

Thanks for the video. I enjoyed watching it this morning.


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## Guest

Excellent video! I love running trains with the only light coming from the layout.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Love the night running, very cool!


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## L0stS0ul

I've been working on the corner of the layout with the creek and woods. I quickly ran through the 30 extra trees I bought and the shop I got them at no longer stocks them. It's starting to look pretty good I think but I need a LOT more.

























Today we went to Michaels to get some hobby stuff for my son and I found a few items for really cheap. All told I think I spent $35 for the lot. Some of the foliage is a bit big but we'll see if it works at all. Trying to add some color to that corner.









They had some containers of rock which looks very close to ballast, for $3 a container. Looks about half the size of woodland scenics shakers. 









Then there was the moss. It's almost twice the size of the Woodland Scenics stuff and it's $4 cheaper. 









I'm also going to test out the ModPodge on the creek. We'll see how that does. I've never used it before and it's a ton cheaper than the Realistic Water. If it works well I'll get the bucket. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Guest

Looking very good, LS. It does not take much to chew through a lot of trees, but they make a huge difference to the scenery.

Love your progress.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks PTC, I'm pretty happy with it. Trying some new things so we'll see  keeping fingers crossed it all turns out good. If not more moss over the creek :0


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## Guest

The trees look great. It's amazing how big a difference they make.

The supplies from Michaels look real good.


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## PatKn

Boy, you've come a long way since starting this thread. The layout looks great.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks  Still a ton to do and having fun. I poured the Mod Podge in the creek last night. I've read it's not self leveling, and it's not, but it was easily moved around with a Popsicle stick and I didn't have too tough a time with it. Will be interesting to see how long it takes to clear up.


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## L0stS0ul

I've been on vacation for a few weeks so not a ton has been done to the layout. I did get 110 more trees at the train show yesterday to add to the layout so that's fun. The Mod Podge is taking an eternity to dry. It's been almost 3 weeks now and it's only starting to show signs of clearing. These are pretty thin layers too and I keep the humidity in the basement at 40%. 

















everything seems to take longer to dry down there though. I'm fine if it ends up being a little cloudy but I would like to see it clear up so I can see the bottom. At this point I'm not sure if I'll use it on the main water feature or not. 

I found an amazing deal on amazon for a lionchief plus camelback ($145 shipped) so had to snatch that up. It arrived today and is my first new generation lionel engine. It took a while to start smoking the first time. About 3 minutes from the time I started it around the track. I'm so used to the PS2 engines smoking like chimneys within 10 seconds so that was new. It's a good smoker but not PS2 level. Does anyone know if the backup light is supposed to work? If so is there a trick to it? Sticking it in reverse didn't turn it on.

It will take some getting used to but it is a nice looking engine. Can't really complain for the price :smilie_daumenpos:


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## L0stS0ul

Took a quick video of the first run on my layout. Took a chance doing a video without testing it first. :smilie_auslachen: Really nice feature to be able to use it on any layout running 18v.


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## Guest

Sweet loco!

The Mod Podge will dry clear however long it takes. I've used it a number of times and it dried in a week or 2 if I poured a medium layer. You may have poured it thicker than you think, but rest assured, it will dry and you'll be able to see the bottom.


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## Guest

Really some very nice work. The engine was an added benefit for what you have accomplished.


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## Shawn91481

Looks really nice. I've heard mostly good stuff about the Lion Chiefs.


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## Mark Boyce

The layout scenery looks great! The stream will really add to the effects when dry! The camelback looks great, and at that price; definitely a steal!!


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## Shawn91481

I am curious. Why Mod Podge instead of the traditional water options?


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## Guest

Shawn91481 said:


> I am curious. Why Mod Podge instead of the traditional water options?


There are a few reasons I prefer Mod Podge. 

First, Unlike resin, Magic Water and others, there is no leakage with MP. It is thick enough that it pretty much stays where it's put unless you pour a really thick layer. The only warning is to use acrylic paints and water soluble glue with MP since it is an acrylic product.

Second, there is no mixing as with some products so I can't screw it up. Just apply and wait for it to dry.

Third, it's very easy to create swells and ripples with MP. I haven't tried waves and don't know how it would work but waves can be created with acrylic gel which is thicker than MP.

Fourth, it's available at Walmart and craft stores and relatively inexpensive. Brushes and tools used can be cleaned with water.

The one thing MP doesn't do as well as the traditional water products is create dead still water.

If you have any questions I'll try my best to answer. I've used MP for water a few times and really like it. I don't mind waiting for the layers to dry and I'll use it on my next layout.


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## L0stS0ul

I decided to try it because of cost and many of the other benifits that Joe mentions. It's a fraction of the cost of realistic water and I wanted to test something cheap and see how it would go. I have a lot of water to do for the main water feature so I need a cheaper alternative. My water features won't be still so I'm not trying to do a calm area. If I decide to use it on the larger area then I will be doing it in much thinner layers that is for certain 

It was very easy to use though. No complaints on that part.


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## Shawn91481

Country Joe said:


> There are a few reasons I prefer Mod Podge.
> 
> First, Unlike resin, Magic Water and others, there is no leakage with MP. It is thick enough that it pretty much stays where it's put unless you pour a really thick layer. The only warning is to use acrylic paints and water soluble glue with MP since it is an acrylic product.
> 
> Second, there is no mixing as with some products so I can't screw it up. Just apply and wait for it to dry.
> 
> Third, it's very easy to create swells and ripples with MP. I haven't tried waves and don't know how it would work but waves can be created with acrylic gel which is thicker than MP.
> 
> Fourth, it's available at Walmart and craft stores and relatively inexpensive. Brushes and tools used can be cleaned with water.
> 
> The one thing MP doesn't do as well as the traditional water products is create dead still water.
> 
> If you have any questions I'll try my best to answer. I've used MP for water a few times and really like it. I don't mind waiting for the layers to dry and I'll use it on my next layout.


Thanks that was helpful.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> I decided to try it because of cost and many of the other benifits that Joe mentions. It's a fraction of the cost of realistic water and I wanted to test something cheap and see how it would go. I have a lot of water to do for the main water feature so I need a cheaper alternative. My water features won't be still so I'm not trying to do a calm area. If I decide to use it on the larger area then I will be doing it in much thinner layers that is for certain
> 
> It was very easy to use though. No complaints on that part.


I had assumed as much. How clear does it dry? Elmers is always cloudy. Somehow I envision a similar result.


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## Guest

It dries completely clear. These pictures are from my N scale layout a few years ago. You can see the bottom clearly. The white spots are where the MP wasn't completely dry when I took the pictures. They did dry completely clear but I was in a hurry to snap the pics and didn't want to wait another day.


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## L0stS0ul

That looks awesome. Hope mine comes out close to that


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## Shawn91481

Holy cow that looks amazing


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## Guest

L0stS0ul said:


> That looks awesome. Hope mine comes out close to that





Shawn91481 said:


> Holy cow that looks amazing


Thanks lost soul, thanks Shawn. It was really easy to create the river. I painted the river bottom brown, covered it with Woodland Scenics earth and covered that with a lighter layer of WS soil so that some of the earth showed through. I then added the talus. Some rivers in upstate NY are shallow with a dark dirt bottom and talus so I just tried to copy what I'd seen. I used the normal ground foam technique, wetting the foam with alcohol and dribbling on scenic cement. When that was completely dry I added the Mod Podge in thin layers and applied the final layers by stippling it on with a brush to get the swells. It's really easy, just taking it one step at a time and being patient.


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## L0stS0ul

The mod podge is starting to dry. I can see the bottom in a few areas  I must have made it much thicker than I thought. One thing that is clear though is that all of this water on the table will look AMAZING once complete. The reflections of passenger cars and cabooses look really cool as the trains go around the table.









One area that has been bothering me is the spot between the tracks at the train station. I was looking at an old K-Line passenger station I had and it looked like if I took off the roof and cut down the supports underneath I could get it to fit. So I gave it a try. I've run my lowest engine and cars over it and so far so good. I think I have it low enough. I'm not sure if I want to leave it the silver or try and paint it a wood color or something. I do need to find some street lights or something to go on it that is for sure.


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## gunrunnerjohn

It's coming along very nicely! :thumbsup:


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## Guest

The platform between the tracks looks fabulous. It really dresses up a problem area.


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## Mark Boyce

It all is looking very good!


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks, I think it does fix up that area pretty nice. I've not decided if I'll paint it or not. I'm not really feeling the silver but not sure what color would look good.


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## Shawn91481

L0stS0ul said:


> Thanks, I think it does fix up that area pretty nice. I've not decided if I'll paint it or not. I'm not really feeling the silver but not sure what color would look good.


I would think that a platform like that would be made of concrete. You might lay down some hazzard lines and"Keep Back from approaching trains" zones and maybe even cross walks.


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## L0stS0ul

Shawn91481 said:


> I would think that a platform like that would be made of concrete. You might lay down some hazzard lines and"Keep Back from approaching trains" zones and maybe even cross walks.


Those are some great ideas. Thanks! The kline base is molded to look like wood beams. I guess i could get away with a concrete color there though. Definitely going to add the zones and cross walks. I had not even thought of that


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## Shawn91481

Woodbeams? Hmm.. I cannot imagine a railroad using wood like that in a long term application. It would require too much maintenance for a part of the railroad that has a slim to none profit margin.

But, you should definitely do what you feel is right for you, and if you want wood or feel keeping a wood texture gray is weird by all means.


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## L0stS0ul

I've not done much over the last few weeks with the layout. Does anyone else get into the running phase and just keep spending hour after hour running trains and never get anything done? That's what has happened to me recently. I'm probably 60% done with the layout but I just enjoy running the trains so much that what is left of my free time is spent running trains. I guess it's a good problem to have  I'm always thinking about what I should be doing but never get to it  

The modpodge is finally starting to show signs of drying. The creek is now completely clear accept for the larger area around the curve but I am starting to see the bottom even there. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks it will be completely clear.

I think I'm an MTH guy at this point. I just do not enjoy running the Lionchief plus engine that I got. Thankful that I didn't pay much for it. I guess I have been spoiled by DCS and what these PS2 engines can do. My son does prefer the lionchief plus controller but that is the only thing positive I can say about it. If I do buy any more engines from lionel they will be for the ceiling layout that I don't run so much as set a speed and let them go for 6-7 hours.


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## PatKn

Trains are meant to run and the layout is meant to be enjoyed. Enjoy yourself running trains until you get the urge to add to the layout again. That is why this hobby is never boring. There is always something different to do.


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## Guest

I do the same thing. I work like crazy to get trains running and basic scenery in but then I spend a lot of time running trains and completing the layout goes very, very slowly. If you're having fun running trains don't worry about making progress on the layout. You will get to it eventually. My model railroad motto is, "If you're having fun you're doing it right." It sounds to me like you're having fun.

You must have poured the Mod Podge much thicker than you thought. It's taking a very long time to dry. The good thing about it is that it's forgiving. You don't have to rip it out and start again, you just need patience. A lot of patience.


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## Lehigh74

LOstSOul - I’m definitely an MTH guy. But I do like the LC+ camelback that you turned me on to. It doesn’t have as many features as an MTH engine, but mine smokes pretty well, looks pretty good, runs just fine on my DCS layout and maybe best of all, it doesn’t have the stupid MTH wireless drawbar. I’ll be looking for some P&R rolling stock at York.


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## Guest

I'm also an MTH guy. I have DCS and 3 Railking locos but I also have 3 LC+ locos and like them as well.

I agree Lehigh, I much prefer the LC+ drawbar to the MTH wireless drawbar.

Oh, I don't have a Legacy system and don't plan to buy one at this time.


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## Shawn91481

Country Joe said:


> I'm also an MTH guy. I have DCS and 3 Railking locos but I also have 3 LC+ locos and like them as well.
> 
> I agree Lehigh, I much prefer the LC+ drawbar to the MTH wireless drawbar.
> 
> Oh, I don't have a Legacy system and don't plan to buy one at this time.


Two legacy locos here and both aren't responding to my Legacy controller. My Lionmaster Challenger has already been sent to Lionel. It came back and Lionel said it ran for several hours no problems. I guess I need to call Lionel and troubleshoot this. Oddly my Legacy Sd70 and TMCC SD90 run perfectly. I wish I had went MTH. Their stuff just seems to be better quality. I have a string of Railking MTH passenger cars and a trio of railking MTH tanks and they are superior to everything lionel has with the exception of their very high end cars.


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## L0stS0ul

The LC+ drawbar on my camelback is nice. I only have ps2 engines and plan to keep it that way from the nightmares I've heard of the ps3 drawbar. 

I'm really glad I paid as little for it as I did. It'll be the engine my son gets to use. My negatives include


The remote feels cheap. It's easy for kids to use but I feel like I'm going to break it
Each click of the wheel seems to change speed by 3-4 scale mph. Not necessarily a negative but something that has annoyed me. Some jumps seem to be a lot larger than others. 
While it smokes ok I'm not a fan of the effects. No smoke in neutral and no surging or slowing down effects. My MTH engines have very clear puffs all the way up to 50 scale mph but the lionel looks like a PS1 engine at 20 scale mph. I could be wrong but I don't think I've ever heard a break squeel from the engine. Maybe I didn't try breaking hard enough.
I hate the beeping it does before the remote is linked. It's not needed as the startup sound is the sound for connected
No functional backup light even though it's molded in on this engine.
While I appreciate the simulated fire in the fire box on my engine you can see the red from the sides of the engine and it looks like a constant flicker which to me does not look very good. 
The crew talk gets old quick as there are not a ton of options. I don't really enjoy using it on the lionel engine while I use it all the time on the MTH engines.

The positives

Setup was non-existent. Just dropped it on my layout and it worked
Good puller. No problem pulling 20 Menards boxcars/coal cars with a k-line caboose.
It's a unique looking engine with nice details
Remote is good for kids

Just my opinion after having used it for a while now. It's not a horrible engine and it's a good puller but when compared to what I've been used to I don't think I could justify buying one for the full price. For $140 I think I got a great deal that my son will enjoy playing with.

All that said though I am planning on one more purchase in the LC+ line. The LC+ pacific in Christmas colors will look great around the ceiling layout for Christmas time. I'll be watching for a bit of a deal on it though. I plan to run it non stop at slow speed and won't be using the smoke with it so I think it fits that use case better for me.


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## L0stS0ul

The modpodge finally dried :smilie_daumenpos: It took forever but I think it looks pretty good. I think I will be using it on the new water fall but I will be making very sure it is a lot thinner than I did it on the creek. Other than that I have a TON of trees left to put on the layout. Something like 150 more trees I think. It's starting to get that foresty feel I was looking for. Almost ready to move to the back of the layout to work on scenery


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## Shawn91481

Wow looks fantastic


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## gunrunnerjohn

You've done a fantastic job on the layout, great work! :thumbsup:


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks  It's really coming along. Hope to start work on the waterfall this week.


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## Guest

The layout looks fabulous! The first time I used Mod Podge I also put it on too thick. As I recall it took over 2 weeks to dry completely.


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## Lehigh74

Looks good. But you better slow down. Pretty soon, you'll be done and you'll have to ask the mayor for another extension.


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks  By my count I think it took 7+ weeks to finally become no longer cloudy. The larger area of water by the bend is where it was taking forever to no longer be cloudy. It's actually still a little cloudy but it's hard to see on camera. I believe I poured it around 8-14 so that's quite a while to dry. 

I wonder why things take so long down there. I have a dehumidifier and it's set to 40% and a humidistat shows around 45% in that room. When I ballast the track it usually takes 2 days for the glue to harden. I was having quite a time of it with the roads too. Odd.


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## L0stS0ul

Lehigh74 said:


> Looks good. But you better slow down. Pretty soon, you'll be done and you'll have to ask the mayor for another extension.


If we don't get a visitor to the house this winter that uses that room you can bet I'll be pleading for the rest of the room


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## T-Man

It looks just Great! What a difference! I hope you enjoy it for a while before you tear it up again!  

May I suggest a waterfall of clear silicon placed on wax paper to form. Then streak it for turbulence.


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## L0stS0ul

T-Man said:


> It looks just Great! What a difference! I hope you enjoy it for a while before you tear it up again!
> 
> May I suggest a waterfall of clear silicon placed on wax paper to form. Then streak it for turbulence.


Is there a preferred kind of silicon? I've read that a few people have had yellowing or even almost bronzing with some products. I used the woodland scenics water effects for my first water fall and I wasn't too happy with the effect. I am looking for something else to try.


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## Mark Boyce

Lehigh74 is right! You work fast and you work well. The layout looks great!! The mayor has a real gem in her employ!!


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks guys  I feel like it's going so slowly but it has come a long way in the last 6 months. The next big project is the waterfall and mountain. Really looking forward to getting that fixed up to see how that part of the layout starts filling out.


----------



## PatKn

Boy the layout looks great! :thumbsup:


----------



## T-Man

Not sure about the yellowing, I prefer the clear gasket cement for cars. Maybe stuff made twenty years ago may yellow or exposure to gas or oils

Here on post 71 on page 8

If you want a short version


----------



## Lehigh74

The silicone caulk does yellow with time, but it makes a good waterfall. I used GE caulk and in a few years it started to turn yellow. Maybe the DAP caulk doesn’t. When I redid that part of the layout, I left the silicone on the wax paper. If and when it yellows, I’ll replace it.


----------



## L0stS0ul

*Making Progress*

Now that my little LED light diversion is out of the way I have started back in on the layout. I'm working on the areas around the waterfall and river. I wanted to make the house near the waterfall be the home for the switch tower operator so I made a road to the house which then leads to a path over the river and to the switch tower. I'm really pleased with how it's coming out. I also have a small path that will eventually go all the way from the rear house entrance, over the tracks and thru the woods, to where the kid on the swing is. Still playing with how best to make a worn path. 

I also got the MTH operating passenger station wired up and mounted the controller near the switches. I still think they could have done a more control panel friendly mounting situation with that but it's working out well. I think I'll need to get a better accessory power source as the CW-80 is causing the lights to dim a lot when the cargo is raised and lowered. There are quite a few lights on this table on the accessory circuit now. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an accessory power source that is better than the CW-80 but not too expensive?


----------



## Lehigh74

Those are some nice shots of some great scenes. For a worn path, I sprinkle some WS earth blend over the fine turf. For cheap accessory power, how about a 1033 (90W) or a 1034 (75W).


----------



## Todd Lopes

Really looks fantastic. Stellar work. Congrats!


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## Guest

Outstanding work, L0stS0ul! There is so much to see and it looks natural, not over crowded.


----------



## PatKn

The layout is looking fantastic. You've come a long way since this thread started. :thumbsup:


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## Guest

Very impressive work. Really looks good.


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## L0stS0ul

Thank you. Still a lot to do but it's getting there. We have the most fun "planting" the trees. My son loves picking out stuff and finding a spot.


----------



## Tucgary

I have followed along since the beginning and you have certainly created a fine layout. Details are where it's at and you have become very good. :appl: Tucgary


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## Mark Boyce

Everything looks great on your layout! I agree that it has really come a long way!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## gunrunnerjohn

Lehigh74 said:


> Those are some nice shots of some great scenes. For a worn path, I sprinkle some WS earth blend over the fine turf. For cheap accessory power, how about a 1033 (90W) or a 1034 (75W).


They don't have as much true output power as the CW-80. I'd be looking at a KW or ZW if you want to step up in power at a reasonable price.


----------



## L0stS0ul

Interesting, In with my dad's original train stuff was a beat up KW from when he was a kid. I have no idea if it even works. The power lead was cut years ago. Maybe it can be fixed up. He said he cut the power leads for a high school science fair project back in the late 50's. Not sure what he was doing with it but that was the last time it was used.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Other than the power cord and a couple of handles, it looks complete to me. I suspect it'll probably work as well as it did in the 50's. Henning's has the handles, you have a broken one.

KW Parts Search at Henning's Trains


----------



## L0stS0ul

Very cool, I think you just gave me a new restoration project.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. The mayor thought it would be a good idea to outfit the town with a 3D printer and it is awesome. This thing is a great price and for the type of stuff I'll be printing, like people and little accessories for the layout, it's the perfect size. It can print things roughly 6 inches by 6 inches square. My first test print on medium quality is much better than I was expecting. It took about an hour and a half to print it out and it's about 2 inches by 2 inches.


----------



## Guest

That is a fabulous addition to your layout. Let us know how you do with it.


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## Guest

You can get very creative now. Nice addition.


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## Big Ed

Put some blinking LED's in the eye sockets and mount it on a water tower or into the side of your mountain.:smilie_daumenpos:

On the front of a locomotive?


----------



## L0stS0ul

I think I could add this scull to the front of an engine for a halloween feel  I'm going to have a lot of fun next halloween with that for the ceiling train.

I took the first stab at printing out a person. I think it came out well. I found a ton of models of 3D scan's of people and tried to print one out about scale size at the highest resolution. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to print a 1.5 inch figure and it cost me less than a buck in filament. A little cleanup and some paint and he'll look really good.


----------



## Guest

The figure looks good but it's hard to see the details. I look forward to seeing him painted.


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## L0stS0ul

I tried to get a close up picture but it is hard to tell without paint. Once he's painted you will see it a lot better. I'm really impressed with the quality of the print considering the model was scaled down by nearly 90% from original. It won't need much cleanup at all.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I've been really enjoying this 3D printer. I've gone from printing useless things to much more practical. Yesterday I printed out a template tool for bending component leads for through hole circuit boards. Now I don't have to guess  Plus a ton of other useless but fun stuff like a Han Solo blaster. 

While I continue to enjoy the printer I have made a little progress on the layout. Mainly ballasting and grass down at the moment. I think I'm getting close to pouring the river as the river is starting to look good and take shape. I put together a less than 4 minute video walkaround of the layout. I think I may actually finish this iteration within a year. Then I get to figure out what I do next


----------



## Magic

You sure did a fine job on that layout.
Looks great.

Magic


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## PatKn

Nice job. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Guest

Thanks for the fine video. The layout looks great. :smilie_daumenpos: I'm trying to design my new layout and you've given me some ideas.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I'm glad you all liked it. I think I'm going to try printing a steady cam for my phone to get rid of the shakes for my next videos  I'm really pleased with how the layout is coming along though. I have a number of things I would do differently if I were to start over from scratch but overall I've managed to work around the issues. 

Looking forward to this layout chapter to be over so we can just enjoy it and play with it. Then the next one can begin. I don't think the mayor is going to let me have any more space so I'm thinking the next plan will need to be multi level and most likely require that I tear this whole layout down. We'll enjoy this one for a good while before that happens. It'll take me a long time to design that new layout


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## L0stS0ul

I've have had the MTH tunnel portals that I had to chop up to get to work clearance wise and there have been a few things about them that bother me. Now that I have a 3d printer I thought I would see how hard it would be to fix some of these issues. 

The first big issue is that I get a lot of light inside the tunnels and there is just foam in there that I've painted dark colors. It bothers me and I've been looking for a cost effective way to at least hide the first few inches of that area. I thought I would try making a subway tile face that I could glue inside and paint stone colors. The first one came off that printer a few minutes ago and I'm quite happy with it. I did a fast print so it's not as high quality as it could be but I think I'm going to just print the other ones with the same settings. It came out really good and I think it will look even better once painted. It took about 2 hours to print and cost about 75 cents in plastic. I might actually make the next one about an inch wider.

For the tunnel portals I'll have to come up with a modular design so I get get the internal specs that I need so the trains don't hit. The max size I can print is 6 inch by 6 inch so it will be at least 4 sections with a center spacer to get the right width. Slowly getting better at this 3d software...









__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


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## Mark Boyce

Looks very good, and the price is right!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## L0stS0ul

I'm making some progress on the tunnel portal. Nearly at the base shape I want and I've split it up into printable pieces. Now to skin it with some stone bricks and print the first one out.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I did a really fast print to test the sizing. It came out perfect and I've already decided on a new way of connecting the parts that will allow me to print it without supports. That will save a lot of filament. Really pleased with how it's coming along.


----------



## Guest

WOW, that's great! Your 3D printer is really cool and a great tool. The new portal and interior wall look fabulous.


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## L0stS0ul

I am really loving the printer. It opens up the possibilities for the layout that is for sure. Once I have the portal ready I'll post it to Thingiverse so others can download and print as well. I'm trying to find clever ways to hide the seams. Found a good way on the base.


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## PatKn

If you make the whole portal stone the seems could be hidden in the grout lines.


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## Mark Boyce

The portal looks great!


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## Marklx200

I'm trying to find clever ways to hide the seams. Found a good way on the base.

Perhaps some sort of keystone on top


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## L0stS0ul

Some good ideas. I'll see if I can do that.


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## L0stS0ul

I printed out one of the bottom sections with the stone to see how it would turn out. I've changed the connector to be an insert that gets glued in to ease printing. I'll also be removing the bottom so this part can be printed upside down without supports which will make it come out cleaner. This is on the printer good setting and it took about 9 hours to print 2 of them. There is a lot of detail here. Good news is I'm pretty happy with the look and strength at this quality so I might even decrease settings a bit to speed up printing. Plus I ran out of white and had to use my neon green


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## 89Suburban

Holy mackerel very nice.


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## HeyChris

Nicely done

Sent from my Non-Zack Morris phone


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks  It's my first real model so I'm learning a lot and having some fun. I'm pretty much done with the top section now and it's nearly ready to print. I've added some support and made some modifications to reduce filament. It looks like each portal will end up costing me ~$9-$10 each to make and take about 20 hours to print one. I can fit the entire portal on my 6x6 print bed. Then, once printed I get to paint them. In the end I'll have some tailor made portals made just for my mountains that all match. 

If I take the stones off and go with a plastered front it cuts the print time in half to ~10 hours and ends up costing about 5-6 dollars a portal. All of that stonework really adds to the print time and filament 

Still have to figure out how best to mount that keystone. Right now it's not part of the model but floating over it. Might just be able to glue it...

Now that I'm thinking about it this would probably do awesome in plaster. Maybe my next step is to make a mold and cast it. Then I can reuse the casting parts to make the double track portals. hmmmm I've never tried that before...


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## PatKn

Coooooool.  You're making me wish I had a 3D printer.


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## balidas

L0stS0ul said:


> If I take the stones off and go with a plastered front it cuts the print time in half to ~10 hours and ends up costing about 5-6 dollars a portal. All of that stonework really adds to the print time and filament


Yea but that stonework looks sooooo beautiful! That's some great work. You've given me some ideas for some things I've been wanting to do.


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## gunrunnerjohn

You've opened up a whole new dimension for modeling your RR. Next, you'll be printing locomotives and rolling stock!


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## Mark Boyce

It looks absolutely great!!


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## daschnoz

I looked on Amazon. That printer is sub $300. Filament is not expensive either.

Hmmmmmm...:sly:



Did the software come with the printer, or was that something that you needed to purchase separately?


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks guys. It's a ton of fun that is for sure. 



daschnoz said:


> I looked on Amazon. That printer is sub $300. Filament is not expensive either.
> 
> Hmmmmmm...:sly:
> 
> Did the software come with the printer, or was that something that you needed to purchase separately?


I'm really impressed with the printer for the price. It comes with it's own slicing software and printer management software. XYZ Printing also has a free modeling program but I've found it's really simplistic. Windows 10 has a built in 3d program called 3D Builder and that's what I've been using to create models. It is compatible with this printer so I can print directly from 3D Builder but I usually use the XYZWare program that came with the printer. 

Before I go on the wild trek to print out this really complex model portal I've cleaned up the "plaster" version and I'm going to build a full one first to make sure it's all working. In 6 hours I'll have the 2 bottom supports and the 3 connectors printed. By tomorrow morning I should have the tops printed and can take a look at it all assembled. Assuming this one goes well I'll be posting it to thingiverse soon.


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## balidas

Is this good for a novice to use or would there be a learning curve?


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## L0stS0ul

I've had it for about a month now and this is my true first model. Everything I've been printing has been from http://www.thingiverse.com/ which is an awesome place to find models for just about anything. Making models there is a learning curve for sure. 

Printing models you find online though there is no real learning curve. It's very similar to setting up an ink jet printer. This was one of the reasons I got this one as it has a completely automated calibration. i know people that have built printers and used other models and the calibration is what is so difficult. Not with this one. Hit the calibrate, it does it's thing, and you are ready to print. 

Really impressed with it. The only downside is that you have to buy the filament for the printer. While it is slightly more expensive I've had a lot more successful prints due to the matched filament. I wish there were more colors though.


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## L0stS0ul

It came out pretty good. It took a total of 19 hours to print and used ~40 meters of filament. The bottom pieces snap in to the top pieces really nicely. I don't even think that would need to be glued. The top pieces will need to be cleaned up a bit due to the supports that need to be printed. They pull right out and it cleans up nicely but it does leave some support remains that need to be filed to get it to the correct size. I may just print a center support a little smaller so no cleanup will even be needed other than to pull the supports. There is a bit of a gap but I think that can be cleaned up pretty easily with some putty.

I'll get it put together after work tonight and see what it looks like on the table


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## 89Suburban

Wow, very nice.


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## gunrunnerjohn

It came out nice, but 19 hours? How much did the material cost to print that?


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## L0stS0ul

3d printing is a lot slower when you up the quality. I printed it at a .2mm layer height with a medium infill which is a "good" setting. If I had chosen .3mm it would be closer to 10 hours total but the layers are much more visible once painted. I can go higher quality with a .1mm layer height but that really ups the build time. I just get it going when I go to sleep and when I wake up the parts are done  

A spool of filament is ~$22 for 200 meters on amazon prime shipped. Best price I've found for the davinci mini spools. To print all of the parts was somewhere between 45-48 meters so it cost roughly $4.50-$5.00.


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## balidas

Very nice. So all those little lines, those are the layers you are talking of?


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## L0stS0ul

yeah those horizontal lines are the actual layers. The lower the layer height setting the higher the surface quality. 

The other thing you can set is the infill which determines how solid a block is. Any vertical lines that you see in it are from the infill and those are not on the surface. I printed this with a transparent filament. Depending on how strong you need a part you can set the infill to be anywhere from hollow to solid. I usually do a 10-15% infill in a honeycomb pattern for something like this.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Not that bad a price, and you get exactly what you need to fit.


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## L0stS0ul

There are other printers out there that can use any of the filaments out there and you can find them a bit cheaper. I'm paying extra with this printer for the ease of it all and the tested filament. So far have have had only a few bad prints and all of them were user error. Either I didn't calibrate the printer after changing the print bed tape or I forgot to put some glue down. 

Speaking of errors I made an error in the model. Somewhere along the line I added 8mm to the height of the lower pillars. Not sure when I did it but it did require me to pull out the dremmel to cut off that bit so I could test it. The portal looks really good and, while it's just snapped together right now and works fine, I'll definitely want to glue it together permenantly. I've got an idea to completely hide that center seam so I'll be working on that tonight. I think it's going to look really good. I've also built the expander so it'll work on a dual track setup as well for the other end of the table.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I've been looking at a lot of pictures of train tunnel portals and I actually found one that looked a lot like what I already had. It had a date on it and then as I started to look more and more I saw a lot more pictures of tunnel portals with dates on them. Also some really cool portals that look like castles and stuff. Anyway this got me thinking and I thought I would give a little date plate a shot as an add on to cover the seem. I wanted something that I can glue onto the front so you can't see it at all. This should do it.

This little part will only cost about 2 meters and an hour of print time at the same quality as the rest of it.


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## Lehigh74

Adding a date to the tunnel portal is a nice detail touch. You could also add the railroad name (PRR, NYC).


----------



## Lee Willis

Wow. Really fantastic. If you turn the portal 90 deg when you print it the faint lines will be horizontal and look more like an effect of the construction: when painted very much like the faint lines left by wooden forms built to hold concrete pourings until they harden, etc. 

Whatever you do, stay with this 3-D printing. It only gets better as you learn and can do more.!!


----------



## L0stS0ul

Lehigh74 said:


> Adding a date to the tunnel portal is a nice detail touch. You could also add the railroad name (PRR, NYC).


That's a really great idea. I'll have to see if I can make a model of PRR. 



Lee Willis said:


> Wow. Really fantastic. If you turn the portal 90 deg when you print it the faint lines will be horizontal and look more like an effect of the construction: when painted very much like the faint lines left by wooden forms built to hold concrete pourings until they harden, etc.
> 
> Whatever you do, stay with this 3-D printing. It only gets better as you learn and can do more.!!


Thanks Lee, If you are talking about the vertical lines those are actually internal to the structure. I used transparent filament and those lines are the byproduct of the infill setting. Once painted you won't see those at all. There are horizontal lines that are on the exterior but they will be very hard to see once painted as I printed it pretty high quality at .2mm per layer.

The 3d printing is a lot of fun and as I get better at modeling things will really open up. So far the hardest thing has been getting the measurements right. I know how many mm I need everything to be but translating that to the software and knowing how deep the walls are is what's challenging.


----------



## daschnoz

If you make the center section of the portal as a modular add-in (for double portals or wider), how are you going to hide the seams (since there will now be 2 seams and they won't be centered)?

Just an idea here -- Perhaps make a flat section for about 6"-12" (scale) at the apex of the arch so it looks like the center section is framed at each end by a single, rectangular piece of stone.

--------------------------------------------------------

You're printing cost is about 1/3 of what you would pay for a something that is ready to go out of the box, but you still need to paint and finish it. So from the standpoint of the added finishing effort, the value of using a 3D printer is a toss-up.

BUT, you can customize your stuff to look exactly like you want it to look. That flexibility alone makes it worth it.

Maybe I need to put one of those printers on my Christmas wish list.


----------



## L0stS0ul

This is where I wish the printer was larger and print that upper section in one piece and not have the center seam at all but then it wouldn't be modular. Something to think about for sure. 

--------------

I agree, for the tunnel portals it's not as cost effective but I can make anything I want and it is tailored to my layout. You should see the horrible hack job I had to do to those MTH portals to get them to work. I've probably spent more on material already than buying new as I've printed quite a few prototypes but that's where the fun is. I can make things that don't exist and how I want them. 

Think about buildings though. The sky is the limit. I'm already thinking about how I either modify that k-line gas station with addon modules or make a new one completely to replace it. Some of the kits I've seen online for gas stations are either way to big for the area I have or well over $100.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I ended up going with the roadname which made my son very happy when he got home from school :smilie_daumenpos: I think it came out pretty good. I did try to do the PRR logo but at the size I have here it did not print very clearly. I decided to go with the larger text of the road. 

I have made this version available on thingiverse. You can find it here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2084060

Once the gorilla glue is completely dry tomorrow I'll blast it with some spray paint and see what I'm working with. It's a little hard to tell with the clear filament.


----------



## Guest

Outstanding job on the portal. It looks fabulous.


----------



## Lehigh74

The portal looks great with the roadname and date. For the next one, you should use the year that your son was born.


----------



## cole226

that's too cool!:thumbsup:


----------



## L0stS0ul

Lehigh74 said:


> The portal looks great with the roadname and date. For the next one, you should use the year that your son was born.


That's a cool idea. I could put the birth years of my dad, his dad, and my son and mine on the 4 portals. I really like that thanks


----------



## Lehigh74

L0stS0ul said:


> That's a cool idea. I could put the birth years of my dad, his dad, and my son and mine on the 4 portals. I really like that thanks


If you ever want to expand again, don't leave out the mayor's birth year. On second thought, make the mayor's date 21 years ago and make a new one every year.


----------



## L0stS0ul

Yeah  that was the first thing my son said. Where's mommy's year. I guess we need another mountain :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## Spence

Nice job on the portal. :thumbsup:


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Very neat, I have a question. How long did it take you to design the portal. Printing time isn't so important as you don't have to hang around for it.


----------



## L0stS0ul

I have not really been keeping track of how much time it took. I had the basic shape in about 30 minutes and then there have been a few iterations as I figured out the best way to connect everything. All told maybe 4 or 5 hours with most of that working on how best to hide that center seam. I've also been learning how to use the software at the same time. Things would go a lot faster now if I were to start over from scratch.

The stone version took a good while as I had to size and place each and every stone  I really should have finished the smooth version before I went ahead and did that as the dimensions are now slightly updated. I'm really happy with how the smooth version looks though so I'm not so sure I'll ever fully print the stone one. It looks awesome but will require a lot more time and filament to print. 

My son loves the portal I just finished gluing so much he has commandeered it for whatever his imagination is coming up with right now. He wants me to leave it the color it is so tonight I will start the printing process for the first 2 portals that will go on the table. I'll be printing them in white so it won't take as much to finish them.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

I don't know if you already told us, but what software are you designing these with?


----------



## BWA

Interesting stuff.



> modify that k-line gas station with add on modules


Once you have one wall (or, object), either from a kit, or printed, it is far cheaper, and, way faster to either resin, or plaster cast more of them than to print them.

Printing 10 of those tunnels, would take 200 hours. I could resin or plaster cast thousands of them in that time. For only a couple of bucks apiece....

Best use of a machine like that is the prototyping part. Once you have a single part, casting is by far cheaper and quicker to make more....


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Yep, we were casting bridge segments at the club the other day. I think we got four or five on Monday evening in a couple of hours.


----------



## L0stS0ul

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I don't know if you already told us, but what software are you designing these with?


For the modeling I've found that the 3d software that comes with windows 10 is the easiest to use. It's called 3D Builder and it's installed by default on all of the windows machines that I have. 

There is a tool from AutoDesk called NetFabb that is great for preparing models for printing. It's free for personal use and after I finish a model I open it in that stuff and run the automated repair on it. That fixes things like holes and bad triangles and stuff. I don't know that software too well so I just use it for the clean up. 

Finally there is the slicer. This is what takes your model and turns it into what the printer can print. I've been using the XYZWare software to do this for me as it's what came with the printer. It's been really good so far. There are commercial ones that are more than $100 but I've not gotten to the point where I need anything like that. 



BWA said:


> Interesting stuff.
> Once you have one wall (or, object), either from a kit, or printed, it is far cheaper, and, way faster to either resin, or plaster cast more of them than to print them.
> 
> Printing 10 of those tunnels, would take 200 hours. I could resin or plaster cast thousands of them in that time. For only a couple of bucks apiece....
> 
> Best use of a machine like that is the prototyping part. Once you have a single part, casting is by far cheaper and quicker to make more....


I agree. For these portals, if I was making more than 2 single and 2 double, I would make a cast and go that route. I looked around for the materials to make a cast and on amazon the cost is more than that of the filament. If I had it on hand it would be a no brainer. At low quantity it's cheaper to just print it but once I start doing more than a few I'll start looking at casting. I've always wanted to try it that is for sure.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Harry Hieke is a master of casting, he could certainly give you some pointers and probably direct you to the materials to do the job a lot cheaper. It shouldn't cost a bundle to do a few parts.


----------



## BWA

Casting is pretty easy to learn. A 45.00 starter kit would probably make 10 to 20 portals, or, a couple of portals, and, a whole whack of other stuff. 

Mold life varies, I've destroyed molds in 1 pour, have also gotten as many as 50 pulls from a single mold. Average life is 25-30 pulls....

Did it for 15 years professionally, making slot car parts, mostly wheel inserts. Poured nearly two hundred thousand of them in that time...


----------



## balidas

L0stS0ul said:


> I ended up going with the roadname which made my son very happy when he got home from school :smilie_daumenpos: I think it came out pretty good. I did try to do the PRR logo but at the size I have here it did not print very clearly. I decided to go with the larger text of the road.
> 
> I have made this version available on thingiverse. You can find it here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2084060
> 
> Once the gorilla glue is completely dry tomorrow I'll blast it with some spray paint and see what I'm working with. It's a little hard to tell with the clear filament.
> 
> View attachment 276937


That looks damn good! You did a great job! So you're saying the filament you used is clear? because it looks blue to me & that colour up against the mountain looks real good.


----------



## L0stS0ul

balidas said:


> That looks damn good! You did a great job! So you're saying the filament you used is clear? because it looks blue to me & that colour up against the mountain looks real good.


It's a transparent filament with a blue tint to it. XYZ printing sells a number of the transparent filaments.


----------



## L0stS0ul

The first white portal is out of the printer. This is right off the printer on a "good" setting. Total print time was 20 hours. I've got it down to only the top pieces requiring supports. I show what the supports look like right off the printer and they come out pretty easy with a pliers. Just grab the start and pull and it comes out like a ribbon. Not a ton of cleanup to do as it is usually only attached to one side. I have the keystones printing overnight. Starting with my birthdate and my sons  Tomorrow morning I should be ready to put the keystone on the first portal that will go on the table. Now to go research how to weather an item :smilie_auslachen:


----------



## L0stS0ul

Yes, I think learning how to cast parts is definitely in my future  Anyone have a good site for info on the best method to cast a part like this? I've been reading up on it and it looks like there are a few different ways. Making rubber molds vs silicon molds vs other types of molds. Any tips would be appreciated.


----------



## BWA

Go to Smooth-On products.

Mold Max 30 or 40 is what you want for the Silicone Molding rubber.

Smooth Cast 305 pouring resin.

And, a bottle of black tint.

A 1 gallon paint pressure pot.

Compressor from a dead fridge.

This will get you started.

I'll answer questions as you go....


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## L0stS0ul

Now that I'm mostly done with my tunnel portal project I'm shifting focus to the other area of concern. That gas station my son wanted and the k-line one I got that just does not fit on the table. It needs to have a canopy I think so I made one up real quick to give it a try. Came out surprisingly good for the first prototype. My most complex print to date but I'm starting to get a hang of what I can and can't do with the printer. This one took 3 false starts to get a good print out due to model errors I made.

I think I'm going to move the gas pumps closer together and add some bulk to the roof of the station. Then probably add a path for wires to go in for some LED lighting in the canopy. My wife wants a nice logo on it as well so I get to give that a go too 

I gotta admit BWA, ya scared me with that shopping list  I'm sure I'll get to casting eventually but I think I'll stick to the printing for now.


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## 89Suburban

That came out nice.


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## Guest

The roof and pumps look great.


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## Mark Boyce

The station does look great!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BWA

Nice job, pumps look a little short.

You don't need the pressure pot or, the compressor to get started, they just make life better/easier once you get rolling.

The rubber and resin should be under a hundred bucks, and, will do a lot of casting.

Or, just get the rubber for under 50 bucks and cast with plaster..

Lots of ways to skin cats.....


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## L0stS0ul

I agree the pumps are small. I just wanted to get an idea of what it would look like on the table and the ideas are starting to flow. I realized I needed to start with the outline of the station in my modeling software so I pulled out the calipers and started taking detailed measurements. Now I have the base outline of the station and I can start to really customize the parts to fit nicely onto the existing base. I'm really getting excited for what I can do now that I'm seeing it in the software.


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## BWA

LOL, kid with a new toy syndrome.....

Sorry to say, there is currently no known cure...


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## L0stS0ul

Yeah, it sure is a new toy  I've been making everything from train table things to modules for my son's (and my) nerf guns. Even some lightsabers  too much fun.

I'm still working on the gas station. This is prototype 2. I'm not too happy with it so I'm going to redo the roof line. I do like the overhang and the gas pumps though.









I'm trying to go for something like this. It would be nice if the car ports were not on either side of the entrance. Making it a little harder to get what I want.


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## L0stS0ul

Well, I'm bailing on the gas station for the time being. I just don't think I'd ever be happy with it as the k-line base gas station, I just do not like. Plus this item is smack dab in the middle of the layout surrounded by more detailed pieces. I've been looking for a diner for a while and today at the LHS I saw the lionel one up close and was really blown away by the detail. I decided that is what the layout needs right now. I'll revisit the gas station when my 3d modeling skills are more mature. Probably too big of a project to tackle right off the bat. 

I think the diner will look awesome here.


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## L0stS0ul

Some nights you just wanna run trains and tonight was one of those nights. Decided to go for the night shots. I really can't believe this thing is down in my basement and I made it.


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## Guest

The night shots look great!


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## mopac

Those night pics look great. Thanks for showing. Pics always inspire me to get my layout going.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Very cool, I love night running. That's probably why I have the obsession with lighting.


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## balidas

I also like night runs. Good show!


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## Mark Boyce

Very good lighting! Even with cataracts, I think I could read a newspaper by them!!!


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## Bill Webb

Really looks nice. I like night pictures done well better than daytime. Imagination can fill in a lot more. Thanks.


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## L0stS0ul

It's been a while since I posted an update on the track. I have not made much progress due to a Halloween project taking over for the last 8 months or so. Now that the project is done I plan to start back in on finishing up the layout. Still, it's been a ton of fun and a very problem free layout. We run it constantly and it just works. I'm really glad I took the time to add all of the power drops.

For anyone interested the Halloween project was to print an entire Ghostbusters proton pack for my son with lights and sounds. I learned a ton about the arduino platform with this project that will really open up the things I can do on the layout. I can get 3 arduino nanos from Amazon for less than $15 and I've figured out how to power them from track power easily. Now to figure out what to do with them and what I want to automate 

For those interested here's how the pack ended up. I think I knocked it out of the park :smilie_daumenpos: I've shared everything on github and there are already a few other people building one based off what I did. Pretty cool https://github.com/CountDeMonet/ArduinoProtonPack









And a little video showing the arduino lights and sounds. I'm pretty proud of it


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## PatKn

Very Cool :thumbsup:


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## tjcruiser

Holy SH*T!!!

That's AMAZING!!! Ghosts be-gone!!!

Awesome job!!!


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## L0stS0ul

Thanks  It was a really fun project to work on and I think it came out really well. Now on to finishing the train table.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I'll bet he was a hit with his proton pack!


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## L0stS0ul

I've never seen him strut around like he did that night. It was really funny. Plus he won a few costume contests


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## gunrunnerjohn

If he didn't win a costume contest with that rig, the contest was fixed!


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