# Bluenav's layout



## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Currently, I am working on the layout, that I had designed from SCARM. It was overdue already. For some reasons, I am trying to get pixes of the table after adding 4" extension on front of table. They kept breaking after transferring the pixes from my smartphone to my computer. 

I had printed the roll paper from the SCARM and laid them on the table. Still figuring out what's going on with my smartphone. If it kept breaking, no worries, I still have GoPro camera to use.



















More photos are coming!


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

As I made discovery, the foamboards are 1/2" thick but actually, they are more thicker than thought as I checked the thickness on all of the foamboards. Why is that?


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

I am able to grab another pix on my smartphone. Dunno what happened earlier...


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

This one shows added 4 inches to the side.


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

I can't really tell. What did you come up with for a final track plan? I'm very glad to see this one come to life, there's a lot of scenery opportunities on this plan.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Here is the copy of the final layout that I worked past couple months. 










Here is the link to the thread in the "Layout Design Forum" regarding my layout design - Final layout


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Working on the tunnel for an hour. Glad that it is not bad, just wish that blade is more longer to reach deeper into the foamboard. It is able to go into first two boards.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

More process with digging into the foamboards.





































Can see decline into the pink foamboard. Perfect 2% grade, could not go wrong with this method.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Complete digging into foamboards!





































Now cleaning all debris and bits. Going to lay incline/decline foams soon.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

Question, why did you cut into your foam and then put the woodland scenics stuff in it???


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

So that way, I do not have to deal with craving into the foam to make more or less 2% grade. It eliminates my guess work.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

Still not sure of what you are doing. I'll wait to see the final product.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Trying to carve a nice even 2% grade thru foam is not my choice either so I understand why you did it that way.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Working on assembling Woodland foams together.










Looking good 2% grade incline


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Nice job, good to see progress. I'm interested in seeing how this comes together. :thumbsup:


Thanks for "pulling in" your pictures, much better now.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Man that's a lot of work. Nice job!


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## pat_smith1969 (Aug 21, 2016)

I think JLC's question was more along the lines of why lay down 4 layers of foam.. then cut downt he foam to just 1 or 2 to put the WS inclines on it.. I think (I am guessing here) that he was wondering why not just start at layer 1 or 2 and build up only the sections that need to be higher.

Seems like 6 of one... 

I really like the layout and the foam ramps are looking good. Looking forward to seeing more done.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Me too......


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

IMO, it is much easier to cut into the foams and laying the WS inclines into the cut area, opposed to the laying WS inclines and cut the foams to fit them. 

WS inclines have fixed width that I cut into the foams, knowing how much I need to remove them. 

The bottom blue foam is considered as "hard deck." In other words, it was considered as level 0". That way, I do not have to cut into the wood board for river and make "bowl" with other materials that I do not want to mess with.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Laying with cans.









Trying to figure out how to join two inclines together into one. 

























Working on other parts









Cleared inclines for river.

















Another challenge joining

































Done laying inclines for now. Cleaned up a bit.









Now on way to laying the WS trackbed.


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Looking good! Are you sure there's enough Center to center spacing on that double curve? Looks really tight in the picture. Maybe looks different in person? :dunno:


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

Good point on the double curve spacing. I had to rip up some track and reposition it to get more clearance. Really ticked me off. Nice job so far looking forward to seeing more.


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## Chip (Feb 11, 2016)

Check it with real rollers, I THOUGHT I had enough clearance on the curves and some of my longer stock made a liar out of me, to my HORROR an expensive car and my DD40AX "clipped" going in opposite directions and POP! "LOOK, a flying 85' gondola"! Luckily, all survived.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Just a dry run before I start apply 1 part water/ 1 part glue. Hope that I am looking at right place for being "tight" on double curves. Is that at where I place the ruler at? 










It shows 2 1/2" center to center spacing.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Just read the previous post #23, I went ahead and checked my largest loco. It seems to be okay.


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## fredbon (Mar 4, 2016)

That's quite a strange scenic addition in the third shot.

Fred


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

That looks alright to me, It was hard to tell from the earlier photo.


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## pat_smith1969 (Aug 21, 2016)

HA!!! .. the dog has the look like "what is that guy doing now!???" and "watch me photobomb his shot!". 

Do you have any of those 90' passenger cars? I would test with one of those just to be safe, but it looks good from what I can see here.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

Just to be on the safe side I would go 2.75". It looks like you have the space to do it. After my screw up I went to 3" where possible.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Actually, I have two of these - Walthers 89' enclosed auto carriers rolling stock. DD40Ax is an inch longer than these. Tried to take pix of them together at one shot but closeup of them, does not look right, due to depth perception does not look right from one whole shot. 

The enclosed auto carrier is near 12 3/8 long, without the kadee couplers.

Front end









Rear end









Will take a shot later on after laying trackbed on the bottom curve and see how it looks like. Should be okay to me.


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## pat_smith1969 (Aug 21, 2016)

that is one huge loco.. nice


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Still working on the layout, here's updates.

First laying the trackbed, looking good.









More trackbed being laid.

















Double turnouts - getting the best of me but I got it down.









Getting there.









Completed laying trackbeds.









Testing the tracks as I am laying them.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Right now, I am checking for the bridges to be built over these crossings. 

For the long incline in the middle of the layout, I believe this one fit the bill.








Only the problem is the at the top of the incline, it is going right (as in CW direction). Will figure something.

Possible this is the solution but it is HUGE... thoughts?









I could go with the trestle but time period would be wrong. I am going for modern era, along with these diesel locomotives.

Rarely seeing something like this...


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Looking good!

Mark


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## pat_smith1969 (Aug 21, 2016)

How about a metal trestle bridge like this one?









The metal bents give it a modern twist and the trestles still have that coolness factor.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

I kinda like that metal trestle.......


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

I like blue's truss bridge, its strong looking and built for trains. That spindly metal trestle just won't hold that Challenger! Trouble is I really like bridges and if I had a nice ravine to cross, I'd have that spindly trestle in a minute! But for a low river crossing its the truss! You can't really go wrong no matter what!


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Yea, nice metal trestle but I do not think that it would be used to go across the river. Across the river, there is usually concrete tiers supporting the bridge.

For the nice strong truss bridge that I posted, it is Keystone Viaduct in PA.

Here is the link to the Keystone Viaduct.

Plan to do more research on this bridge. Nice historical bridge. Need to find out how long it would be in HO scale. it looks like that it is 150-200' long. Will find out more later.


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## Overkast (Jan 16, 2015)

Great progress bluenav! And great find on the Keystone Viaduct bridge. IMO, Pennsylvania has some of the *BEST* railroad terrain and history around. I'm always fascinated by the old bridges / viaducts architecture and the twisting, winding rail lines and how they contour the terrain and criss-cross all over each other.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

I must agree. I guess I had a huge railfan hidden inside......then I got a train set, and omg......that hidden railfan came bursting out. Call me weird, but I even enjoy pictures of empty tracks....lol.....


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

It would be nice to have known measurement in the photo. Only that the rails were missing. If it is there, we will have known measurement. 

Only that it is funny to have "1/2" on US railroads. 4' 8 1/2" seems strange to me. Wonder why they need 1/2 inch in there... That got my attention!


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

British rails are different? I mean, other than kilometers and meters.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Actually, UK railway use the same guage as we do because of George Stephenson chose 4' 8 1/2" - actually 1/2" for free movement to reduce binding on curves (I found that in wiki). 

Since we buy trains from UK, we use their gauge and accepted it as standard gauge. That explains how 1/2" play comes in.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

bluenavigator said:


> Actually, UK railway use the same guage as we do because of George Stephenson chose 4' 8 1/2" - actually 1/2" for free movement to reduce binding on curves (I found that in wiki).
> 
> Since we buy trains from UK, we use their gauge and accepted it as standard gauge. That explains how 1/2" play comes in.


Interesting. Did not know that. I didn't even know the British invented railways.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Now I am having a dilemma. Should I build the bridge first or complete the whole laying the rails first? 

Right now, I have one temporary bridge setup. My concern is to remove the track to put up the actual built bridge.









Also, I left my DC controller on the trackbeds, forgot about it. Turned out that it actually depressed the trackbed and left the footprints! Would they will be back to normal later on?


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Well from an upholsterers point of view, those impressions look pretty deep, pretty set in. You could try hitting it with a bit of steam, if it is a foam like material, that could puff it back up. If it's not a foam, then I would say filler maybe?


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Regarding the indentations in the foam, I think I'd try to use a hair dryer to apply a bit of heat and see if it would relax back into its original shape. If that doesn't work, I'd let it sit several days to see if it will spring back on its own. If that doesn't work, then I think I'd cut it out and replace it. The main worry that I'd have with filling it in is that over time it might try to push back out to its original shape and then push the filling up with it and disrupt the track.

Regarding your question about bridges, I think it depends on the length, type, and complexity of the bridge. You can't go wrong by building the bridge first. If you have a short simple bridge, its likely that you could slip it in under the track later. I suppose that a stick built old time trestle bridge could be built after laying the track too.

Mark


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Since the bridge may be a long term project I think a temporary bridge is the way to go. The important thing is to get the track levels right and putting in the temporary solves that problem. Later when you figure out what the bridge is you may be able to tuck it under or just cut out the temporary, but you know that the track on either end does connect with no kinks nor will you have to "adjust" the approach height! Most people built the bridges from the deck down then fill in under the foundation, just the opposite of real bridges.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

I have 4 bridges to build. They are ranging from 8" to 15" long, overlapping the ends of land. How far does the bridge go over the edge of the land?


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## Chip (Feb 11, 2016)

I'm putting them in "as needed" since I have no plan. The black one is "load bearing" and the grey one is purely for looks and "hangs" from the track itself.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

I like the interest and detail that bridges bring to a layout, nice.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

At this point, I had decided to go for one bridge as test phase. Right now, I am trying to create bricks for the wall of the brick arch bridge. Just to see if I like it for the shortest bridge. Not easy project!


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## pat_smith1969 (Aug 21, 2016)

I think those bricks look really good actually. I cannot tell if they are to scale or not but they look good. Gotta be easier than what I am planning for bricks..

https://www.etsy.com/listing/294550...l&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=bricks ho scale&ref=sr_gallery_1


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Oh, they are way off scale. Just a test and figure the best way to make one..

Each brick is about 3/8" (.375") thick. It seems that I am supposed to make it about 1/5" (.200") thick. Now on way to refine the design.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

pat_smith1969 said:


> I think those bricks look really good actually. I cannot tell if they are to scale or not but they look good. Gotta be easier than what I am planning for bricks..
> 
> https://www.etsy.com/listing/294550...l&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=bricks ho scale&ref=sr_gallery_1


Haha that's funny. I was thinking of doing the same thing but in N scale.


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## Chip (Feb 11, 2016)

Whatever the scale the technique is looking fantastic! Looks like a "cinder block" kind of material. I'm going to need a "retaining wall" along my grade and this looks like a good option, keep it coming!


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

A little better and at the scale.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

I may have asked you this once before.....but what foam are you using to carve your walls?


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

I am using the pink foam that I had cut out from my layout. Still working on different techniques, on making the lines.


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## Overkast (Jan 16, 2015)

bluenav, I like how you're painting a white base coat first and then it comes through looking like mortar after you apply the gray to the bricks! Very smart.

How are you liking working with the pink foam? Is it difficult? I use the Woodland Scenics modeling foam and it seems to take the impressions from the pencil a bit easier / more forgiving (whereas I think the pink stuff tends to tear more b/c it's more dense).


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Indeed, it is difficult because of its firmness. Pencil would not make good lines. I had to use tiny 1mm wide screwdriver to make lines. It is not effective as I hoped for. I tried metal ruler, old credit card and laminated member card with no success. They work but not making good result as I had hoped. 

I had searched the Internet and found suggestion to use the pizza roller cutter. I thought that it was great idea so I went for it. Not working, due to that rolling blade being dull over the time that it was used. I ate lot of pizza! Can't help that they were darn delicious!

So far, I found the best technique by using X-acto knife, to cut into the foam, just slightly, maybe 1/16" deep or so. Then I use thick T-pin to make grooves into the cut lines. I had tried to use T-pin only without using the knife cut into the foam. It is not working as it is making rough lines.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

I have a carving set from my woodworking. I would love to try the pink foam, but I can't get it here. No hardware giant has it (Home Depot, Lowe's) not much call for heavy duty insulation here. So I just got a chunk of craft foam from Walmart, going to give that a try. I have pics, I'll post progress so far soon. But that will be in Serenity, NV. thread.


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## pat_smith1969 (Aug 21, 2016)

Hey Bluenav
I have come across two techniques in my endless browsing of the internet. The first is to use a lead pencil and draw the bricks several times until the dent gets fairly deep.. then go over those marks with an exacto.. then go over them with a pencil once again to widen the crease

The other method might be of more interest. Draw out the bricks with a pencil, not going very deep.. then go over those lines with a hot solder tip. The heat will melt the foam somewhat and should make nice bricks if you use a fine solder tip. 
The video I saw did say to make sure you have good ventilation as foam gives off some nasty gasses when heated.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Complete making lines on bricks









First coat of white base









Done grey wash









Pretty interesting lesson for me.


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## pat_smith1969 (Aug 21, 2016)

That looks great BlueNav
I have seen people kinda beat up the foam with a rock right before painting.. it is supposed to add some distressed looking bricks.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Looks really nice, BlueNav. Did you use a knife to score the morter lines or did just a pencil tip do it?

Mark


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

It came out real nice, it looks really good.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

:appl:I think whatever technique you are using......it's working. Just keep doing what you are doing, so far it has been amazing work!:appl:


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Thanks everyone!

@Pat - yes, that's what I did with crushed aluminum foil on this one









On smaller scale, I haven't try it yet. 

Done quick run on second one, with same technique. The only thing that I missed is to make grooves on the arch stones. Anyway, it is a test before doing the actual one.









Waiting for the acrylic paint to dry.









Done with white wash.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

Nice, I like it good work.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Outstanding.......as always!


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Hello everyone! I am back! Yea, been missing in action. Actually, I had covered the train layout since last Thanksgiving Day. My boy had to move in my home, due to that he need to find new job as the last job was being unstable and not making enough money to make everything to meet for his family. As he and his family had to move in with me for a while, The only room available was my train room. So I had to cover the table until then.

Of course, I worried about the damage on the table until he got out of the room. I checked the table. Only damage was the stains, made by couple drink spills. Of course, I told him not to place anything on the top of the train table. At least, they are very minor and not touching the area that I would have to remove. They are in the area where they would be covered by materials that I would use for the landscape.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Welcome back!!


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Thanks! Will be very busy tomorrow for sure. Lot of things to be done...


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Good to hear your layout came through the interruption and you're ready to continue working on it again. Looking forward to seeing your progress. I'm curious to see your brick/stone work that you've started.

Mark


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

I worked on the first bridge in the front. got both sides made. Looking good so far. Weather will be done later on. 

As I put the first side, I noticed that it is a bit curve, not exact straight. No problem at all. It is doable. I need to add a bit of form for the bottom tunnels to be carved later on.









As I tested with the wood platform for the track to be laid of, it would not fit so I had to carve a slot inside the wall, to allow the wood platform to be inserted.



























Fitting the other side to the bridge. The bottom two tunnels were trimmed to be flushed with the other side.


















More to come as the glue is drying right now.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Wow.....very patient and meticulous work my friend.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

Looking good in the nieghborhood.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

More work on the bridge. Looking so far.





































I was searching for the top view of the brick bridges and could not find one close enough to view the pattern. So I was juggling between two different "brick laying" designs. I went with the top one since it looks more realistic.


















Completed the first bridge. Looking good so far.









Color is off but will work on it as I do the weathering in the future.

Now off to work on the tracks to go across that first bridge.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Great looking bridges. Did you carve those out of the xps foam?


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

VegasN said:


> Great looking bridges. Did you carve those out of the xps foam?


Yes, I made them from the pink insulation form (XPS). Have to be careful as I made the grooves into the foams and not letting the fingernails touch them as the cutting is being made. The fingernail can leave "dip" mark if I was not paying attention.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

bluenavigator said:


> Yes, I made them from the pink insulation form (XPS). Have to be careful as I made the grooves into the foams and not letting the fingernails touch them as the cutting is being made. The fingernail can leave "dip" mark if I was not paying attention.


Cool. Thank you. I have some areas that will need a brick wall, and I am not finding anything commercially that is going to work for me.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

VegasN said:


> Cool. Thank you. I have some areas that will need a brick wall, and I am not finding anything commercially that is going to work for me.


The grooves are 3/16" x 3/8" as I find that it is to be perfect rectangle size for HO scale. So for N scale, half of that size.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

More progress on the second bridge as I did the kitbashing on two different bridges into one longer girder bridge. Seem that it does not work because the curve is too great to go through the bridge as it is not wide enough. I am pretty sure that the trains will hit the side of the bridge. Might need to cut it in half and make it into multi-grider bridge.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

I think you will have to cut the bridge to conform to the curve. You will probably need to make a template or two to get a good fit. good luck, nice peogress btw.


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## Overkast (Jan 16, 2015)

Love the brick and culvert work on the first bridge bluenav! I especially love how you made the culverts see-through to the other side (something I neglected to plan for with mine). 

That second curved bridge is a tough challenge... I'll be interested to see what solution you come up with for that!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

If you don't have an NMRA gauge, you should definitely get one. It will tell you how much clearance you need. I found it really helpful to have when building my layout. Especially with tunnels and rock faces near the track.

Mark


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Mark VerMurlen said:


> If you don't have an NMRA gauge, you should definitely get one. It will tell you how much clearance you need. I found it really helpful to have when building my layout. Especially with tunnels and rock faces near the track.
> 
> Mark


Yes, I do have NMRA HO scale gauge. I believe that it is the side of the gauge for the clearance from the center of the track, correct? 

I had used it on the Atlas Snap turnout as being modified to remove the points on the rivets.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

bluenavigator said:


> Yes, I do have NMRA HO scale gauge. I believe that it is the side of the gauge for the clearance from the center of the track, correct?
> 
> I had used it on the Atlas Snap turnout as being modified to remove the points on the rivets.


You'll notice that it sort of has the profile of a cross section of a locomotive. You hold it upright perpendicular to the track (the text should be readable right side up). It will have dimples for getting the proper rail to rail distance and these will hold it up on top of the track rails. You can then slide it along the rails and check clearance. If the gauge hits anything, so will some locomotives and/or cars. If it clears, you're good.

Mark


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Completed kitbashing on the grider bridge as I had to cut the Atlas bridger apart and remove the floor part, using both sides only, along with the other grider bridge parts. It is looking better. Definitely, it will need one supporting pier, where the bridge "bent"


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Fantastic job!


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

As I worked on the second bridge, I realized that the NMRA gauge would not do its justice. That is because of the "overhang" area where the long cars would go over, especially on the "inner" side. So what I did, I used the Walthers 89' auto carrier (as it is the only longest car on hand) and used it to see if it would clear the "inner" side. It went through without hitting anything.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Awesome! Congrats!!


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## Overkast (Jan 16, 2015)

bluenavigator said:


> As I worked on the second bridge, I realized that the NMRA gauge would not do its justice. That is because of the "overhang" area where the long cars would go over, especially on the "inner" side. So what I did, I used the Walthers 89' auto carrier (as it is the only longest car on hand) and used it to see if it would clear the "inner" side. It went through without hitting anything.


I did the same exact thing to test every curve and clearance on my layout... bought a used autorack for $13 as my tool 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

bluenavigator said:


> As I worked on the second bridge, I realized that the NMRA gauge would not do its justice. That is because of the "overhang" area where the long cars would go over, especially on the "inner" side. So what I did, I used the Walthers 89' auto carrier (as it is the only longest car on hand) and used it to see if it would clear the "inner" side. It went through without hitting anything.


Are you saying that the NMRA gauge didn't work because the actual car would hit while the gauge said it shouldn't? Or are you saying it was just easier to use the car? If there are significant number of cars that don't adhere to the standard, that would be good to know and would render the gauge pretty much useless at least for car clearance issues.

Mark


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Mark VerMurlen said:


> Are you saying that the NMRA gauge didn't work because the actual car would hit while the gauge said it shouldn't? Or are you saying it was just easier to use the car? If there are significant number of cars that don't adhere to the standard, that would be good to know and would render the gauge pretty much useless at least for car clearance issues.
> 
> Mark


That is correct. From what I had checked so far, NMRA gauge is only good for straight line minimum clearance. 

For the curve line, it is ideal to use longest car to determine if the clearance is good.


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## Overkast (Jan 16, 2015)

bluenavigator said:


> That is correct. From what I had checked so far, NMRA gauge is only good for straight line minimum clearance.
> 
> For the curve line, it is ideal to use longest car to determine if the clearance is good.


Kind of makes sense if you think about, since manufacturers release new / different rolling stock all the time... which means NMRA would have to constantly keep fluctuating the size of the tool accordingly per different curve radii and train car lengths...


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Overkast said:


> Kind of makes sense if you think about, since manufacturers release new / different rolling stock all the time... which means NMRA would have to constantly keep fluctuating the size of the tool accordingly per different curve radii and train car lengths...


I kind of thought of it the other way around, that manufacturers would release new cars designed to operate within the boundaries set up by the standard. Otherwise what good is the standard? I guess we now know that at least for car clearance issues, its of no use.

Mark


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Aren't the NMRA Standards kind of like the U.N.? It only matters if you are in it?


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Weathering in progress... I feel that I am missing something for weathering... However, it is looking good so far.


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## jlc41 (Feb 16, 2016)

Looks good so far.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Looks pretty darn good to me.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Just completed the bridge and the pier and end supports. Glad to see that the main loop was completed. Right now, I am working on laying the tracks to complete the main loop.










I am starting at back-to-back turnouts since they have to be in right place for wiring and centerline of the track bed.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Looks great! 

Mark


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

That will be absolutely gorgeous when it gets landscaped.......can't wait.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Got a bit of track down, not completed loop yet. I stopped at the point, where the wye turnout was supposed to be laid down. Only that it has riveted points, which I disliked. So it is going to be modified to have these ugly rivets removed and clean it a bit.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Completed the track on the mainline. Hooked up all the wires. All ground wires soldered to the main common bare wire under the table. Got all positive wires together. I got the little switcher running the full loop several times. Seem that the switcher is going a little too fast. I am using old DC transformer - MRC Throttlepack Model 500. It was set to 10% and went down to almost off.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Yep, that looks like your locomotive is running a bit on the fast side. But it is a nice video that shows your layout. Congratulations on getting your main loop up and running. BTW, what camera system are you using to get this locomotive view?

Mark


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

I am using GoPro Hero 4 Session. It was configured to 720/30fps/Wide. I just taped the back of the camera on the front of the switcher.


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## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Cool.....time lapse....awesome!!


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Since it is getting more colder outside, I turned my attention to my layout. Been a while since I worked on the layout. I went ahead and worked on adding foamboards for left end of the table. Here are some pixes that I had worked so far.




























As you can see plenty of place for the access to the tunnel from under the table. I am considering the area on left side of the auto carrier.


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Nice to see you making progress. :thumbsup:


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Right now, I am at the point of starting to shape the hills on left side of the table. I had been checking around for putting something like Plaster of Paris or Hydrocal. I do not want to use too much of that material. It turned out that Hydrocal is pricy in 1/2 gal packages, comparing to plaster of paris, which is much more heavier. 

I noticed that it is cheaper to get 5 gal of hydrocal than 1/2 gal. Just wonder how much 1/2 gal of Hydrocal would yield to. 

I would like to duplicate the rock wall from the picture below. Here is interesting thing, I noticed that the hill was "cut" for the highway to go through, by remove the rock vertically. Notice these vertical "digged" lines. 









I was inspired with that idea from the image at Model Railroad, April 2016 issue, below.


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

The rock "cut" you have pictured is done by drilling vertically through the rock and then inserting a charge into it to blast it away. This would be interesting to model.
I used plaster of Paris on the Moose Jaws, and I also have used Hydrocal in the past. Both work fine, but I found the Hydrocal difficult to work with due to the faster cure time.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

time warp said:


> The rock "cut" you have pictured is done by drilling vertically through the rock and then inserting a charge into it to blast it away.


Thanks for that information. Now I get a good idea of how to duplicate this. Drill holes into the plaster and throw blackcat firecrackers in the holes and blast them away! LOL


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## time warp (Apr 28, 2016)

Excellent idea!


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

I agree, can't wait for the video! What could go wrong! Is how they did it in real life!


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