# Chicago Valley Railroad. (6/15 Industrial Track Mockup)



## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Figured that an ongoing thread might be good impetus to get a railway done. My son has requested an HO scale realroad so we are going to build one. 

I'm essentially starting from zero as far as knowlege. I've got a variety of thrift store trains and tracks and a table, but a friend as promissed a digitrax system a couple of engines and most importantly plenty of advice and guideance so the future is bright. Any additional advice from you all would be appreciated.

I'll reahash a bit from my introduction post.
This is the 8x5 table I bought from Craigslist (Ad pics).
Should be big enough for a 22" inside loop and a 26" or bigger outside. 



















A couple of days ago I cleared out the corner of the attic where it will be . It's an 11 foot wide space but there's a 3 foot wide area behind the door that is limited to 4 feet deep, so I hope to one day put a small expansion there with a yard.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

At five feet wide,I wouldn't push it against a wall...pretty deep reach to work on track and scenery.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

I agree with that. I am at 4' 4", against the wall. I am pushing the limitation of reaching to the edge of the table at the wall. It is getting harder to reach over there, especially 5'. 

I would recommend to have L or U shape. Would either one work for you?


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## NAJ (Feb 19, 2016)

Looking forward to watching the progress, have fun!!!


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Thanks for the advice folks. 

Keeping it away from the wall permanently crowds the room a bit too much and there's not enough room for an L or U but I had already figured on castors and/or magic-movers so I can pull the table out as needed. I'm thinking that I'll probably go with castors on the back legs and on the front legs I'll put height adjusters. The floor slopes towards the middle of the room so I'll probably need that height adjutability. 

I figure the combination of castors and sliding a couple magic-movers should keep it pretty mobile.

Also, I picked a batch of foam (pictured below) from a guy on Craigslist this morning for $30. Normally I'd just dumpster dive at constuction sites for foam scraps, but I wanted big sheets for this project and this was alot cheaper than new. They've got some nicks and such but I am in no way worried. I think it's four 1.5", two 2", two 1" and a couple of offcuts. There's going to be alot of used stuff like this in this layout which will be built on a pretty tight budget.

Lastly, this morning I saw the great company logo for "Central Steel and Wire Company" and just had to take a picture. Though my unrealistic layout will have alot of elevation, I would like to stick to Chicago Industries and businesses.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Eilif said:


> Also, I picked a batch of foam (pictured below) from a guy on Craigslist this morning for $30. Normally I'd just dumpster dive at constuction sites for foam scraps, but I wanted big sheets for this project and this was alot cheaper than new. They've got some nicks and such but I am in no way worried. I think it's four 1.5", two 2", two 1" and a couple of offcuts. There's going to be alot of used stuff like this in this layout which will be built on a pretty tight budget.


That is a steal! Normally, for 1/2 inch foam board runs 12 bucks. 3/4 for 15 bucks in Texas. You get more for less! :appl:



Eilif said:


> Lastly, this morning I saw the great company logo for "Central Steel and Wire Company" and just had to take a picture. Though my unrealistic layout will have alot of elevation, I would like to stick to Chicago Industries and businesses.


Your table, your rules. Only be careful with the change of elevation, some locomotives can go up and down while other couldn't.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> That is a steal! Normally, for 1/2 inch foam board runs 12 bucks. 3/4 for 15 bucks in Texas. You get more for less! :appl: ...
> 
> ...Your table, your rules. Only be careful with the change of elevation, some locomotives can go up and down while other couldn't.


Thanks. Around here you can find a sheet of one inch for $10 but s till alot better used!

I appreciate the advice relating to elevation. I'm still not sure if I'm going to have much interaction between the higher inner loop and lower outer loop. I'm thinking of just one very long gentle slope to connect the two. What's a safe grade for most engines?


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

As you stated earlier that it would be unrealistic layout, you can go up to 4% grade. I had heard higher grade on other layouts.

Here is the link for set of piers by Atlas, that I had used back in 80's as I was only kid. It works pretty well for my Bachanan train set. It states 2.6% grade as instructed.

HO PIER SET
Item# 0080


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

You've got a great advantage in having a 5' wide
table and the foam to go onto it. 

You can't do better than the Digitrax DCC system
and DCC locos for your starter fleet.

The next thing would be to shop around for flex
track so you can begin to see what layout is possible
in the space you have. Get some push pins
so you can hold it in place temporarily.
You might be able to find used
Flex on Craig's list 'collectibles' or 'toys and games'.
Same with turnouts and most anything else you need
for your layout. That's what I did.

Don


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Good to know about the grades. I guess I'll try and stay around 2.5. For the rise, I'll probably just cut the foam and run it up the hill, though would it be wise to cut a strip of hardboard for the railway and put that on top of the foam so it's easier to get it more level and consistent?

How many degrees is a 2.5% grade? If I figure that I can cut myself a template that I can use with my level.

I've got some pretty big and good looking (once they've got a proper base and some paint) Tomy/Tomica Plarail bridges and I'll be using at least one of them on the layout.

As for the Flex Track I've got two pieces so far but I haven't been able to find any used around here. Seems fairly affordable though buying new. It's the switches (I'm thinking Peco?) that are going to take the majority of my budget I think.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Grade is easy to figure out. 1% grade means one inch raise, every 100 inches. 2% grade - 2 inches raise every 100 inches. 

Since the distance and height is known, you will need to calculate for Tangent as following:

Tangent: tan(θ) = height / distance.

Also, there is a link regarding grade calculator. 

Railroad Boy's Grade Calculator

For 2.5% grade, that would be around 4.36°.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> As you stated earlier that it would be unrealistic layout, you can go up to 4% grade. I had heard higher grade on other layouts.
> 
> Here is the link for set of piers by Atlas, that I had used back in 80's as I was only kid. It works pretty well for my Bachanan train set. It states 2.6% grade as instructed.
> 
> ...


Looking at this again, it might be just what I to bring the upper level down to the lower across the middle of the oval. 

Is 3" in height difference enough for clearance of lower train, rail and cork?


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

I've posted my initial 5x8 track plan below. It's basically a variation (I traced alot of it) on #39 from "101 Track Plans" book except that I've raised the inner loop up. The track radius curves for each loop should be weill within their radius as I copied those pretty close to the book

Blue- Upper line with 22"-23" curves which will be about 3" above the rest of the layout 

Red- Lower line with 26" or greater curves at grade level 

Green- Long incline of about 9 feet which comes to a 2.78 percent grade. Not exactly sure where it would have to emerge from underground yet.

Brown- Cliff or aproximate hill line. The sides are high and the valley is in the middle.

Dashed lines- aproximate area that tracks are underground/hidden.

Scale is: 1 Square = 4 inches

Sidings and such in the middle are aproximate, I haven't measured the exact turnouts yet. 

All in all I rather like it. My goal was to enable simulatneous operation of two trains and I hope the difference in elevation will create a nice separation between the two towns in the valley and on the plateau. I could even see building up a bit of a ridge to separate the two areas further. 

All right, now please bring on your suggestions and criticisms, anything to make this successfull.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Grade goes in percentage, not degree. 

I happen to have "101 Track plans" book but on #39, it looks completely different and it is for 5' x 10'. So which book version are you referring to?


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> Grade goes in percentage, not degree.
> 
> I happen to have "101 Track plans" book but on #39, it looks completely different and it is for 5' x 10'. So which book version are you referring to?


Oops, I'll correct the grade notation.

#39 is the one. I traced portions of it direcgly onto graph paper using my laptop monitor as a light table. As you noticed, I did alot of changes though.

-Shortened it by 2 feet

-Pushed the upper (inside) loop over the lower on the right side

-Did away with alot of crossovers since the tracks are now on different elevations

-took away the long edge siding and replaced it with a long slope.

-Simplified much of the interior sidings and such as I had less room to work with.

-Did away with the reversing line.

I guess once I was done with all the mods and erasures it is rather different from #39, but that was my starting point.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Oh, I get it. That is a lot of changes from that original layout #39. 

It seems that this is what you want it to look like, correct?

Only a problem is the river on the left, it can't go through because of the middle track inside the "hill". Other than that, that will work as unrealistic layout as shown. So far, I had checked for the grade on these tracks. It seems that didn't reach more than 2.5% grade, I think.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> Oh, I get it. That is a lot of changes from that original layout #39.
> 
> It seems that this is what you want it to look like, correct?
> 
> Only a problem is the river on the left, it can't go through because of the middle track inside the "hill". Other than that, that will work as unrealistic layout as shown. So far, I had checked for the grade on these tracks. It seems that didn't reach more than 2.5% grade, I think.


That's amazing!
Thanks so much, I really appreciate this. This is pretty much what I had in mind. The only differences are:
- I hadn't thought about putting rivers in. The brown was just the cliff/hill contours. 
-I was planning on keeping the blue line on a bridge across the back.

Seeing it in 3d I see a couple other tweaks worth making. If I sketch out a few changes on my drawing could you incoporate them into your model?


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Eilif said:


> That's amazing!
> Thanks so much, I really appreciate this. This is pretty much what I had in mind. The only differences are:
> - I hadn't thought about putting rivers in. The brown was just the cliff/hill contours.
> -I was planning on keeping the blue line on a bridge across the back.
> ...


Oh, I misread ya! I thought of rivers. Now I get it. Cliff! That makes more sense in your original drawing. Sure, I can do that for ya!


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## MikeL (Mar 21, 2015)

The advise I've received in this Forum has been great. I've listened to and followed all the advice given except one piece- and I'm somewhat regretting it: My maximum elevation is 4% (most people said I should go no more than 2.5% or 3% and I'm limited to 7-8 cars (including caboose) on my mainline  

Mike


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Construction has been delayed.
It's been raining cats and dogs over here and the foam is outside and wet and I've not got the space to bring it inside and dry off. I'm not worried about the water damaging the foam but, I'm going to have to wait until the rainstops and it's all had a day or so to dry off.

Two things I thought of that pehaps you all can advise me on.

1) It seems likely that if my son sticks with railroading There is a good chance that this is not going to be our last layout. Instead of gluing it down directly to the 5x4 plywood table sections Would it be better to glue the foam to to 5x4 hardboard panels and screw those to the table? 

Then if he wants to build a new layout I can take the foam and hardboard sections right off and sell/give/scrap them and easily start over with the same table surface without having to rebuild the benchwork. I can even go right down to the hardboard if I want to do an extra deep ravine or river and not be sticking anything directly to the table.

2) With a layout like this that doesn't have any reversing loops/options would it be a good idea to lose an industry and replace it with a turntable so I can at least spin my engines around? I do like the idea of an engine house and maybe also a repair building but I'm not sure I have space for both.



bluenavigator said:


> Oh, I misread ya! I thought of rivers. Now I get it. Cliff! That makes more sense in your original drawing. Sure, I can do that for ya!


Thanks!
I'll make some changes this weekend and put up a revised plan. I showed your initial 3d plan to my son and he loved it.



MikeL said:


> The advise I've received in this Forum has been great. I've listened to and followed all the advice given except one piece- and I'm somewhat regretting it: My maximum elevation is 4% (most people said I should go no more than 2.5% or 3% and I'm limited to 7-8 cars (including caboose) on my mainline
> 
> Mike


Thanks Mike. I'll definitley be going with the long, easy elevation. I'm still not sure I'll be able to do more than 8-10 cars without it looking silly and crowded, but at least it won't be due to engine power limitations on the inclines.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Eilif said:


> It seems likely that if my son sticks with railroading There is a good chance that this is not going to be our last layout. Instead of gluing it down directly to the 5x4 plywood table sections Would it be better to glue the foam to to 5x4 hardboard panels and screw those to the table?
> 
> Then if he wants to build a new layout I can take the foam and hardboard sections right off and sell/give/scrap them and easily start over with the same table surface without having to rebuild the benchwork. I can even go right down to the hardboard if I want to do an extra deep ravine or river and not be sticking anything directly to the table.


That is what my layout was set up with two different color foam boards as following below:










You can see blue foam boards on the bottom, along with pink foam boards over the top. At the top of the blue foam board, it was considered as 0" elevation for me. If I want to dig a pond or deeper river, that is the blue foam for. That way, I do not have to dig into the wood panel. 

For putting the foam board on the wood panel, I use foam board adhesive, by Loctite, in chalk tubes. It is good bond but with good grip, the foam board can be removed from other form board, with little or no damage. These gray bits all over the "river", they are dried foam board adhesives. 



Eilif said:


> With a layout like this that doesn't have any reversing loops/options would it be a good idea to lose an industry and replace it with a turntable so I can at least spin my engines around? I do like the idea of an engine house and maybe also a repair building but I'm not sure I have space for both.


You can set up the turnable and the engine house, just that it would take up more space than just an industry.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Bad News and Good News.
The bad is that I've got to completely redraw my layout.
The good is that it's because I've got an extra foot to work with. I was told the table was 5x8. Just to make sure I decided to measure it before I started cutting foam. Turns out it's actually 5x9, which is about the size of a ping-pong table. Hence the green color and the seller saying they'd played ping pong on it later in life.

This is also going to keep the door from opening all the way, but I'm ok with that. I'm not going to carve out a corner of the door. Should also give me the room to put in the turntable and engine house without having to make as many modifications.



bluenavigator said:


> That is what my layout was set up with two different color foam boards as following below:
> 
> You can see blue foam boards on the bottom, along with pink foam boards over the top. At the top of the blue foam board, it was considered as 0" elevation for me. If I want to dig a pond or deeper river, that is the blue foam for. That way, I do not have to dig into the wood panel.
> 
> ...


An extra layer of foam makes sense. I'm doing that now.

The rain didn't seem to be letting up so I brought all the foam into the kitchen a couple days ago, wiped it down, spaced it out and let it dry. I"m in the process of making the double-layer foam base right now taking a break to let the first round of glue dry.

I'm going to completely redraw the table to the new proper dimensions and I should have a revised drawing for you by tomorrow.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Eilif said:


> Bad News and Good News.
> The bad is that I've got to completely redraw my layout.
> The good is that it's because I've got an extra foot to work with. I was told the table was 5x8. Just to make sure I decided to measure it before I started cutting foam. Turns out it's actually 5x9, which is about the size of a ping-pong table. Hence the green color and the seller saying they'd played ping pong on it later in life.


No worries! Glad that you found additional 5 square foot! More room for other items to be added!



Eilif said:


> This is also going to keep the door from opening all the way, but I'm ok with that. I'm not going to carve out a corner of the door.


Same here, I have door that is in the way of my layout. I had to make the table as big as possible.



Eilif said:


> I'm going to completely redraw the table to the new proper dimensions and I should have a revised drawing for you by tomorrow.


Can't wait to see your new drawing! Same here, I had done numerous changes on my drawing.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I hope you have access underneath to the track in that long tunnel!


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

There is a turnout buried in the middle of the tunnel. I would be tempted to figure out how to expose the turnout, especially if there is limited access.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> Can't wait to see your new drawing! Same here, I had done numerous changes on my drawing.


Been doing alot of foam gluing. Should have the drawing by Monday or Tuesday.



Lemonhawk said:


> There is a turnout buried in the middle of the tunnel. I would be tempted to figure out how to expose the turnout, especially if there is limited access.





gunrunnerjohn said:


> I hope you have access underneath to the track in that long tunnel!


No worries folks, The side and part of the rear of the mountain/plateau alont the tracks will be open (I might even have some storage area for trains and such) to be able to fix any issues that might arise.

In other news below you can see the chaos I have inflicted on our kitchen and the two double-thick 5'x4.5' bases drying.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

So here is Layout V2. I'm rather pleased with it and glad to have the extra foot of space but of course I appreciate the suggestions of more experienced hands.

Key.
-Orange is ground level
-Green is the long slow ascent/descent between the two levels
-Blue is the upper level 3" higher than the rest
-Brown is the ravines/cliffs/Mountain elevation line. Layout is raised on right and left with valley in between.
-Dashed line is underground
-Bridges noted with slashed boxesd
-Small red slash is a typo and may be ignored or considered possible location of a mountain goat herd.

Other details and specs.
-I did not measure the turnout angles for the interior stuff so things may have to be shifted about or some sidings eliminated.
-Bridges are all in 17" sections as that's the size of the Plarail iron and bridges that I'll be converting. 
-Though it isn't illustrated, the left side of the layout will be quite high and mountainous, probably with some kind of mining or gravel operation carved out of the side. 
-I'd like to use Peco #6 turnouts whenever possible even if it somewhat repositions certain sidings and such, though I'm open to suggestions where #6 is not ideal.
-Inner loop should be 22" radius. Outer loop at least 26"


Narrative.
Clearly this is a fantasy layout, but I think it does have some basic operational structure in that there are two areas, the mountains and the valley. In the Mountain raw materials are mined they are taken down to the industry in the valley and then can be taken back to warehouses in the mountains. Not sure why the warehouses are in the mountains. Maybe land is cheaper on the distant plateau? Maybe the warehouses are for mining equipment?

The Round house is just good fun. Something my son would enjoy, and a classic railroad element that I particularly like. I paired it with the yard so loads can be brought over, the engines swapped and/or turned and then the loads can be pulled away.

Quesitons..
1) Any reason not to use the bachman 22" easy track I've already got for the inner loop? I'll graft in Peco switches and will still balast it, but it seems like it could save me a few bucks and provide a bit of added rigidity when going over all the bridges and such. 

2) Is 3 bridges too much?

Thanks and I look forward to your advisements.


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## Nikola (Jun 11, 2012)

It's nice.

No problem using what you've got.

Personally, I would deep six two blue sidings on the left and at least one orange one on the right. It's a layout, not a display case. (My .02; build it your way!)


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Nikola said:


> It's nice.
> 
> No problem using what you've got.
> 
> Personally, I would deep six two blue sidings on the left and at least one orange one on the right. It's a layout, not a display case. (My .02; build it your way!)


I think you may have a point. Each square is only 4 inches, so things are kind of crowded there. I think I'll at least lose one on the left. I probably need to either loose one on the right side yard or squash them together next to the engine house.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

You can use Bachmann EZ tracks on your layout. For the turnouts, you can use either Peco or Bachmann "EZ Tracks." Only that there are more choices on Peco. They do have curved turnouts. Bachmann does not offer that. It is possible to use Peco turnouts with EZ Tracks. 

The turnout on the left side, where orange and green tracks meet, That is curved turnout for sure to be used. That goes the same without saying on the right side, where green and blue tracks meet. Only that Peco turnouts are not directly replacement of Bachmann turnouts. They have different dimensions. It is a matter of trials and errors. (Myself, I am using Peco turnouts and Atlas turnouts and flex tracks in code 100.) 

For Peco turnouts, be sure to get code 100, which is the height of the rail. That is what Bachmann EZ tracks are. Code 100 means 0.100 inch height rail. (Code 83 is the other one. Don't use this one unless you use Code 83-100 adapters.) 

In the railyard, it is not necessary to use turnout #6 because it is "low speed" area. You can use turnout #4. Other than that, turnout #6 is longer than turnout #4, which means it would need more space. 

For the bridges, there is no rule for how many bridges to be placed. Mine has 5 bridges planned. Currently, I am working on third one.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> You can use Bachmann EZ tracks on your layout. For the turnouts, you can use either Peco or Bachmann "EZ Tracks." Only that there are more choices on Peco. They do have curved turnouts. Bachmann does not offer that. It is possible to use Peco turnouts with EZ Tracks.
> 
> The turnout on the left side, where orange and green tracks meet, That is curved turnout for sure to be used. That goes the same without saying on the right side, where green and blue tracks meet. Only that Peco turnouts are not directly replacement of Bachmann turnouts. They have different dimensions. It is a matter of trials and errors. (Myself, I am using Peco turnouts and Atlas turnouts and flex tracks in code 100.)
> 
> ...


Thanks! That makes alot of sense. I don't need a speedy turnout with a yard area.

I'm definitely going with code 100. I put together an amazon wish-list for my son for christmas and I added turnouts, curved turnouts for both sides, switching machines, swithes, etc. Hopefully the family will come through and supply most of our turnout needs as that will be by far the most expensive part of this project.

I'll use the EZ track I've got for much of the upper loop and flex track for the rest. I've got no problem modifying the ez-track if necessary to fit the Pico turnouts. I never miss an opportunity to play with my Dremel!


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Just got back from America's Best Toy and Train. It's like a wonderland in there. Picked up some loose curved 22" EZ track. 

Except for the curved turnouts I'm going all EZ track for the top (inner) loop and I'll do all Peco Insulfrog for the bottom. Updated the Amazon christmas list with all that plus the Atlas Roundhouse and turntable and various necessary switches and such for my son and will be sending it to the relatives tomorrow. 

Here's to hoping the family gets behind the Model Railroad vision!

Below is the foam base on top of the benchwork/table. It's now alot more messy and covered with the as-yet-unused foam chunks.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

*Treasures Part 1. Build-A-Scene!*

I've been building Sci-Fi Wargaming terrain for a long time. Usually made from junk as well as toys and other bits I pick up at the resale shop. The result is that I've bought virtually anything at the resale shop that that was cheap and could be related to structure building. I've been mining my many boxes of terrain supplies and have found quite a number of things that might be usefull on my layout. Since my wargaming is in 28mm (around 1/56-1/48) or 10mm (aprox N, 1/144 or 1/160) much of the HO specific stuff never got used. I'll share these treasures periodically here:

Treasures Part 1 Life-Like Build-A-Scene.
First off, here's a pair of Build-A-Scene. I remember wanting these as a kid. I think I even had one back then. These were still in the shrink wrap when I got them with everything intact! I'll probably not build them as per the box, but there's alot of good stuff in there for adding detail all over the layout. I defintiley think there will be some campers in my mountains and there could also be some construction somewhere in my layout. 

I also found a copy of "Basics for Beginners". I had one as a kid and spent many hours reading and re-reading it until the newsprint pages nearly crumbled into dust. Flipped through it just now and there's actually some darn good tips in there.

Lots more to come. I had no idea I had so many HO-scaled treasures in my terrain supply bins!


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Blue Navigator turned my second drawing into a track plan and rendering!

By starting the incline when the lower loop enters the tunnel he cleverly got the grade down to 2% So, rather than going with 2% I'm going to take advantage of that and do a 3% grade which should get me easily to 4 inches of elevation. 3% grade with the longer incline should easily accomodate the easements and comfortably get me to 4" tall.



















Might tweak it a few places once I've got the track but this is pretty much how it will look. 



















Very excited about this. Going to cut some foam this afternoon.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

Actually, I didn't set the grade to 2%. Just that the top loop was set to 3 inch. It just calculated to be 2% grade. Of course, by increase the top loop's height, it will increase the grade. That is fine as long as that's what you want.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> Actually, I didn't set the grade to 2%. Just that the top loop was set to 3 inch. It just calculated to be 2% grade. Of course, by increase the top loop's height, it will increase the grade. That is fine as long as that's what you want.


Cool.
Yeah, I'm fine with 3% if it gets me up to 4 inches. I stacked some foam this afternoon (pics tomorrow) and the difference between 3 and 4 inches seemed rather dramatic.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Here's the small progress I made a week ago on cutting some foam for the layout.

No progress this weekend as I was displaying with the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club in Warrenville. Did get some good stuff from a brief stop off at the monthly train show in Wheaton though. Will have pics of that later.

Anyway, here's the foam work, just some rough cuts, but I'm getting a good idea of how it's going to go together. I've pretty much decided that the drop in front of the blue foam will probably be concrete retaining wall with a bit of city on top. 

The loop of track is just something to keep my 6 year old son busy while I work. He did try his hand (guided by mine) at scoring and cutting foam board though and did pretty well!


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## NAJ (Feb 19, 2016)

Nice to see/hear that your son is involved. :thumbsup:

I only got back into trains after 40 years because of three of my Grandson's.
Makes it much more fun when the kids are involved. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

NAJ said:


> Nice to see/hear that your son is involved. :thumbsup:
> 
> I only got back into trains after 40 years because of three of my Grandson's.
> Makes it much more fun when the kids are involved. :smilie_daumenpos:


Indeed!
It's alot more fun. The truth is that if my son hadn't wanted a train layout this wouldn't have happened. I'm having alot of fun, but until now my model hobbying has all been focused on wagames terrain.

Really glad he did though. Building a layout is always something I've wanted to try and now I've got every excuse I need!


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Picked up a few things at the "Great Midwest Train Show" in Wheaton. Paid for early admission and raided the bargain bins. $5 coal installation (needs two repaired supports) and a few buildings and vehicles for $1 or less!
More to show including alot of scratchbuilding supplies , but these were the highlights.


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## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

That's great to hear that you had good bargains at the model train show. I always love to go there. I know that something is good to buy. I got 4 24' ore cars for a dollar each. Also, I got 5 34' hopper cars with opening bays, for something like 12 bucks. They are Tyco/Mantua cars, that were no longer being made. On ebay, they were being sold at much high bid. Once I watched one auction for 4 Tyco/Mantua hopper cars. It ended up at 134 bucks! So I know that it is worth a trip to go to the model train shows. I had went to three shows so far and I always find something good to buy at great price. In East, there are a lot of shows to attend. I would love to see that in Texas. I only go to two different locations, near Austin. It is important to save some money for the shows. 

For ebay, oh well, it is more like hit or miss buy. So far, I hit two great deals. They are lots of locomotives. First one was for maybe 75 bucks for 10 of them, including Bachmann DD40AX. Other one was for maybe 7 locomotives, along with few rolling cars, for 55 bucks, I believe. Two cars were Walthers auto rolling cars, which I know that they will go for more than 30 dollars each. Turned out that I found a hidden gem. One of these locomotives is Kato CSX, which is pricey. I checked and found nothing wrong with it.

Bottom two red cars, I believe that they were from Bachmann' auto triple deck rolling car.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

bluenavigator said:


> That's great to hear that you had good bargains at the model train show. I always love to go there. I know that something is good to buy. I got 4 24' ore cars for a dollar each. Also, I got 5 34' hopper cars with opening bays, for something like 12 bucks. They are Tyco/Mantua cars, that were no longer being made. On ebay, they were being sold at much high bid. Once I watched one auction for 4 Tyco/Mantua hopper cars. It ended up at 134 bucks! So I know that it is worth a trip to go to the model train shows. I had went to three shows so far and I always find something good to buy at great price. In East, there are a lot of shows to attend. I would love to see that in Texas. I only go to two different locations, near Austin. It is important to save some money for the shows.
> 
> For ebay, oh well, it is more like hit or miss buy. So far, I hit two great deals. They are lots of locomotives. First one was for maybe 75 bucks for 10 of them, including Bachmann DD40AX. Other one was for maybe 7 locomotives, along with few rolling cars, for 55 bucks, I believe. Two cars were Walthers auto rolling cars, which I know that they will go for more than 30 dollars each. Turned out that I found a hidden gem. One of these locomotives is Kato CSX, which is pricey. I checked and found nothing wrong with it.
> 
> Bottom two red cars, I believe that they were from Bachmann' auto triple deck rolling car.


Thanks!
I've only attended two train shows since getting back into the hobby, but they've both been amazing for a bottom feeder like myself. The Wheaton show is monthly and I'll probably go every month. Buildings and bags of parts for a dollar, Box of Plasticville for $10 that just happens to have a working lionel transformer in it, etc, etc. There seems to be an absolute TON of cheap rolling stock. I even picked up a few basic Life-Like Cars (because they had the Chessie system that my dad likes) for one dollar each!

Sounds like a fantastic find with those hoppers. Once Christmas has passed, I'll probably go hunting for some for my coal mine-to-power plant industry. I'll keep my eyes open for the Tyco/Mantua examples.

Haven't messed with Ebay much yet. I may in the future if I can't find what I want at a show, but much of what I'm buying at shows is the same as it would cost for shipping from ebay!

As for the red autos, you're very close! They're Life-Like Cars that were sold separately and as part of the 2 tier auto rack. I'm also using one as the scale control in my HO-or-H-NO toy car scale comparison topic.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

*Upper loop Mock-up and Treasures part 2 Vehicles.*

Turned out half of the curves I thought were 22" was actually 18". Luckly between some used 22" pieces and some steel 22" ez track I got who-knows-where I was able to complete a mock of the 22" upper loop. It's not runable as it's just a quick snap-together and not fully supported. 

Still, it seems to line up perfectly with the track plan, so next I'll trace out the locations of the tracks and the foam blocks. Then I can start cutting the foam back a bit more precisely and put the last 1" layer on the pink side of the layout.

Treasures part 2. These are some of the little bits I've had hanging around. The Micro Machines biker that just happens to be HO scale, army Jeep and the blue monogram car are bits from my childhood. the two resin delivery vans (anyone got any spare wheels?) and the motorcycles were more recent resale shop finds. I really like the idea of having a few motorcycles on the layout.


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## WIrailfan (Mar 6, 2016)

Looking forward to seeing your progress. I like the elevation changes....that's something I wish I'd worked into my layout lol! Btw your coal installation is part of a much larger structure from Walthers, the New River Mining Company....I have it on my layout. :thumbsup:


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Thanks!
Good to know about the coal installation. I actually have that exact kit on my wishlist for the layout. I had no idea it was so big and now I want it even more.

Question about the kit itself. With my space it'd be easier if I could put it over a pair of curve tracks instead of 3 strait tracks. Do you think that If I changed the supports to be one in the middle creating two bays instead of 3 it would fit comfortably on a 22" curve?

As for elevation, it was kind of a must for me. I know it's not entirely realistic, but I love it and it will to allow me to have 3 distinct areas/towns: mountain mining on the left, power plant and yard in the center valley and a small bit of city raised up on the right.


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## NAJ (Feb 19, 2016)

Eilif said:


> As for elevation, it was kind of a must for me. I know it's not entirely realistic, but I love it


I have track that goes no where, being realistic is not a necessity.

You said it right, "but I love it" and that is all that matters.

Your railroad, your rules!!!


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Did some aproximate measuring to make sure things would work out then I removed the upper level foam and track mock-up and laid the first bit of cork for the lower level. It's a 26" curv, though the back quarter will probably be closer to 25"








I realize it isn't much but this is the first bit of cork I ever laid down. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it might be and I'm ready to do some more when I can get a bit of free time.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Reviving this thread. The railroad has been slowly growing. The two outer loops have been laid out. 
I've put down a mockup of the Industrial area track work that makes up 2/3 of the inner area.








I've listed the locations of all the corresponding industries on the blog:








Chicago Valley Railroad. Track Arrangement Mock Up


Quick Layout update. The two outer loops are finally down and connected. I've left most of the straight's on the inner loop unglued. I've...




chicagovalleyrailroad.blogspot.com


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