# AS&K RR



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

After watching many model railroad videos we've come up with a theme and how-to. We're going to go with a post apocalyptic steampunk theme in HO. We're also going to build on 6 foot folding tables for mobility. My last layout got destroyed when we had to move. That's not going to happen again. Plus we now live in an apartment. I'll be making wheeled racks we can slide the tables into for transportation. Our first section is going to be on 4 tables.

I work 12-14 hour days 5-6 days a week so progress is slow. So I won't be adding updates very often but here's what we have so far.

The first picture is the first of our "benchwork." I'm going to put 2" foam on the tables so I can dig down and to deaden the sound.

The next 4 pictures are our track plan. I find I work better with a loose idea of what we want then adjust and modify as I go.

The last is our current rag tag fleet acquired with a starter set, some swap meet stuff, and some stuff given to us.


----------



## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

It sounds like a source of many good ideas. However, you didn't include the photos.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

*Here they are.*

I had attached them but I guess they got lost in previewing and editing.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Vincent said:


> It sounds like a source of many good ideas. However, you didn't include the photos.


Thank you for letting me know.


----------



## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

wahoo another one to keep an eye on


----------



## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

*Before you go too far...*

Good luck and before you go too far...
Decide how you will align the tables and clamp them together, as floors are almost never level. 

I've added a removable section to my shelf layout which has two tracks crossing the split.
One track, I kept both ends short of the table and use a 6" piece of sectional track to connect the shelf rail to the new section rail.
The second track, I ran both ends right up to the edge of the table with about 1/16" gap, which is larger than I wanted.

As for the shelf-section connection, I have an overlapping metal piece solidly connected to the new section. When the shelf and new section go together, a hole in the metal lines up with a hole in the shelf, and I put a screw in. This way the new section cannot drift away from the shelf.

In the bottom of the picture you can see the 1/16" rail gap, I plan to ballast it all.
In the top of the picture is the removable track section, which I cannot ballast in the traditional sense. It also depends on rail joiners for power unless I add some flexible jumpers or under table power connection.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

*More on the plans*

Thank you Dennis for your words of wisdom. Definitely ideas to consider. With all my research I'm thinking about using plug in electrical connectors at each end of the tables. This will let me get away with only one power drop down for each track. I'm also planning on using c-clamp locking pliers to hold the tables together. As for jumping the gap? I keep going back and forth on the method. I like the 6" jumper track for ease of set up. I also like the nip the rails right at the gap for the look but I can also see me getting very frustrated with trying to get all the gaps lined up perfectly every time I set it up. I'm also thinking about getting adjustable foot pads so I can adjust for uneven floors. Everything will be attached so the whole thing can be be moved with minimum fuss, except for the actual trains of course. I'm thinking of using Velcro for the buildings for light replacement or adding interior detail later. All of this is subject to change as time goes on and I'm presented with better ideas.


----------



## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

If people put lift up bridges on layouts, how come we don't put small lift up sections where our modules meet? Wouldn't have to cut and replace track when we have to move it?


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

*First frame.*

I had spent many hours fretting over how to protect the 2" foam for the top of the tables. With moving the tables I could just see the foam getting gouged. I finally came up with this idea and today got the first one built. I also got the foam cut to size and started digging out around the edges of the foam.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

*We got a little farther.*

We got the foam glued in and the roadbed glued down. Now we need to get some more stuff before we can go any farther with the roads. I'm thinking things like track and connectors and wire might be a good place to start.  Meanwhile we'll figure out exactly how we want to do the landscaping and work on some other things we have.


----------



## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

wahoo i see road bed being installed.


----------



## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

Getting closer!


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

We got a little work done on our layout this weekend. My wife as able to finish her lighthouse, I added the cross ties to a bridge we were given, and deciding we didn't want the panels on the side we decided to use the material for a roof. My wife did most of the work on the roof.


----------



## Vincent (Jan 28, 2018)

Chaostrain, tell your wife that's the best-looking lighthouse I have ever seen.


----------



## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

Tell your wife very nice work.👍


----------



## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

That is probably one of the cleanest assemblies of a kit I have seen in a long time. The bridge is looking awesome, very sturdy looking. The roof.....excellent.
On a side note.....I think it is absolutely wonderful that your wife is involved in the layout as well. I could get no one in my family to share my layout. My ex hated my trains....


----------



## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Love the lighthouse.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Thank you for the kind words. You made my wife's day. I feel pretty lucky she wants to be my partner in railroading.


----------



## VegasN (Mar 14, 2016)

As well you should.....:smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

*More stuff*

My wife found a lot on facebook market for $20. I think it was a pretty good haul. The engines don't run but the two big ones try to. A little tlc should get them going. The switcher needs major surgery. There are several cars. The one sitting on the bridge has hopper dump doors that open when passing over the dump point on the bridge. Then the other car with the rubber bands goes with the dump site it's sitting on. There are two electrical contacts on the other side for activation. Some repairs needed there. Then there's the station and light tower, both needing a little work. A bunch of track. I was going to use 6" sections for crossing from one table to the next but since I got all this I think I'll just use the 9" sections. A box full of signs, power polls, track elevation trestles, and a few other miscellaneous items. The hoist which I'm toying with the idea of using it to lift over a sea wall to load ships. The powerpack which seems to be working just fine with the testing I did on it. Oh, and a basket to carry it all in.

She also found the 3rd table for the benchwork.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

*Another freebie.*

Thursday night on my way home from work I was able to pick up another free find on craigslist. It also came with 3 more flex track and 5 cork roadbeds. The flex track is copper and the sectional track is nickle/silver. The platform is very well built. It measures 6'X4'. My wife took one look at it and said we could use it as a practice layout. Good idea, baby! It will also be nice to have a little one to mess with and run trains when we can't have the big one set up.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

*Practice Layout*

I got to do a little train time lately. Two weeks ago I worked on cleaning up the track. It had a lot of corrosion. Last weekend I put the cork roadbed down. Then today I put the track back down. Yeah, the cork is off a bit. I've always done flex track before. When I was in the theater we had the saying a mistake well covered is art in it's highest form. I guess this will me a chance to see how good of an artist I can be. I took the hooks off afraid our On30 Christmas train might hit them. The total cost so far? Zero. This is gong to be our Christmas layout this year then it will be our test layout for landscaping and whatever before we do it on the main layout. No theme. Hmm, that's got me curious for the final results. Whatever it turns out to be it should be interesting.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Today I have met with success. I have an old steam engine I've been working on trying to get to run. I also have an Athern GP9 that only tried to move. Today I hit both their commutator with some CRC electrical cleaner I found in my garage, turned the motors to wipe the brushes, then wiped them with Q-tips to get the dirt off. Now they both run great.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

A couple of days ago I was able to get more track. I got all this for $10 off of Facebook Market.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

It's been a while since I really had anything worth mentioning. With still trying to get things in order to move no real work has been done. I have been diligently watching craigslist, fb market, and Ebay for those great deals I could actually afford. In the past month after years of searching I've reached 3 major milestones in gathering supplies. 

First, I got a 'I just want to get rid of it' deal and now have more than enough track, including switches, for all three planned sections of the layout. Second someone was giving away 2 folding tables so now I have all the tables needed for all three planned sections. And third with these three coaches for $62 including shipping that I got today I now have all the coaches and steamer needed for my long black train. Yes, they're OO gauge but will run on our HO layout. You know the devil, he can't quite get it right.


----------



## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

I like your style, budget railroading. Your doing even better than me on that part! Should be interesting to see the results.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Wow, it's been a long time, but I finally get to revive this thread. I now have that ear worm I'm so Excited.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I bought this last September on the cheap off of ebay. It did the herky jerky when I tested it. I cleaned it but it still did it. I said later days and packed and stored it for moving. A couple of days ago I unpacked it to find it's working flawlessly now. It's going to be a great test engine for testing track. I did add a 3rd 85' box car and it pulled all 3 just fine.

My Little 0-4-0 - YouTube


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Today I took advantage of the good weather, now that we got some, and put the folding table legs on our 4'X6' test layout. I then goofed around with some of the track to see how the straight would work on it. I want to take all the track up, solder them together, then try gluing it down with Elmer's wood glue. I want to solder the joints to hopefully eliminate all the issues I had with it when we used it for a Christmas layout. I never had anywhere near as many issues with my N scale layout that I'm having with HO, and N scale was my first layout.


----------



## GTW son (12 mo ago)

I have that same power pack on my Diorama, great DC unit and its probably as old as I am.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Progress, yeaaaa! After getting what was left of the track off the table, I tried soldering them together. It wasn't working very well. While trying to figure out why I finally heard the telltale sound of an electrical short, my 50+ year old soldering gun was giving up the ghost. I had my wife order me an $8 soldering iron off of Amazon. While waiting I cleaned some track joints. The soldering iron came in, I tried both outsides of a track joint, ahh, much better. While waiting for a clear day I finished cleaning and soldering what I could. Today we finally had a day without rain and/or snow so I took the opportunity to lay the track. I set up the table in my north yard with Henry VIII the wonder dog pulling guard duty.









I had been able to get all the solid sections for each end soldered so it made for easy gluing.










Once the glue was set, I was able to mount the rest of the track. I did make one adjustment by straightening out one side. As you can see the fit was no longer exact.










I filled under the floating track with foam roadbed, and voila, it's run time. The end sections are steel and the two flex-track are brass.









Here's the maiden run. I'm running my 0-4-0 test engine. Obviously the track needs some cleaning and tweaking, I didn't take the time since I was racing against the rain clouds moving in.
Maiden run on our newly rebuilt practice track. - YouTube 

For fun I added a few freight cars to the same engine.
Maiden run on our rebuilt HO test track with freight cars. - YouTube 

I'm looking forward to getting it running smoothly then seeing how artistic I can be by hiding all the mistakes, and I got a bunch of them to practice on. When I was in theater in college one of the directors always said when someone corrected a mistake, "A mistake well covered is art in its highest form."


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Finally had a nice day that I could pull out our practice layout and work on it. I went around with my soldering iron tweaking joints and did some cleaning, then ran a couple of trains. The track needs some cleaning with more than just alcohol and cotton tips, but I couldn't find my track cleaning block.

Here is our 0-4-0 with a few freight cars:








HO 0-4-0 on our test layout.







youtube.com





And here is our long passenger train on the layout for the first time:








Long HO passenger train first time on our test layout.







youtube.com


----------



## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Chaostrain said:


> Finally had a nice day that I could pull out our practice layout and work on it. I went around with my soldering iron tweaking joints and did some cleaning, then ran a couple of trains. The track needs some cleaning with more than just alcohol and cotton tips, but I couldn't find my track cleaning block.


This post makes me feel better about what seems like a constant battle of tweaking joints on my layout!!! Glad I'm not the only one!


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

With having a long streak of dry days, I set our practice layout up out back of the house. It gets afternoon shade, so we won't be roasted alive to mess with it. It's doing pretty good considering I've taken it down and moved it around a few times.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

I decided to test all of our engines we still had in storage. I used our practice layout in our backyard before the weather turned bad and I had to put it away until next summer. I was surprised at how many of the engines ran great considering most of them were free and had been stored in our garage for a few years. There are 13 in total. I accidently double tested one.


----------



## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

Can’t believe that many of those engines were free, Half of them look brand new! Love the old steam engine and passenger car!


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

BigGRacing said:


> Can’t believe that many of those engines were free, Half of them look brand new! Love the old steam engine and passenger car!


Yeah, a guy who lived in my area at the time had posted he didn't want to diesel, only steam and was giving away his diesel locos. I said I'd love to have them. I was very surprised at how many there where. They're all DC which is perfect for me.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

I decided to take a look at why my free diesel switcher wasn't running. I pulled the body off to discover a motor and gearing setup like I've never seen before. This is an old Lima switcher built in Italy. I found a loose wire and loose plate. It took me a little bit to figure out how was all supposed to be, but I think I got it. I think the metal clip is an incandescent light bulb holder, I might replace it with an LED, I'm going to have to study up to see how to do that. It looks to me like all it needs is a good cleaning and a little soldering. It's going to be fun and educational working on it.


----------



## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

I have 2 of those switchers in the Santa Fe logo also. I think mine are a little newer or different.








I want to convert them over to DCC in the near future so Ill be watching this with interest at how your looks inside and what you did to get in running in DC...good luck with your project. Did I mention I like anything Santa Fe? LOL!


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

SF Gal said:


> Did I mention I like anything Santa Fe? LOL!


Let's see, SF Gal, the Santa Fe big 'L', I think you might have mentioned once or twice or ? lol

Here's the motor torn down. I'm surprised at how easily I got it cleaned up, put back together, and oiled. You can see the brushes at the bottom of the picture. I'm going to direct wire the motor to see if it runs, it's only one connection and will be easy enough to splice in a light if it does.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

Okay, I got it running. Here is the wire I soldered on. Not a very good job but I figure this is where I'll be splicing in for lights.









And here I'm testing it. Whoo hoo, it runs. Okay now for the figuring out lighting.


----------



## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

I notice you are having to give it a push to get it rolling...why? Is the gears a bit tight which the motor cannot overcome without a tug? Leaking lube on the armature or dirty track?


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

SF Gal said:


> I notice you are having to give it a push to get it rolling...why? Is the gears a bit tight which the motor cannot overcome without a tug? Leaking lube on the armature or dirty track?


I haven't had a chance to check into it. The track I cleaned before running the engine so I'm pretty sure that's not it. At least now I know how to take it apart. I'm still tickled it runs, though.


----------



## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

I finally took a look at my HO Lima switcher. The excess gear oil had gotten into the motor. I took some CRC electronic cleaner on a cotton swab to clean up the commutator and brushes. I had two black tips and a gray one by the time I got done. Now the engine starts moving on it's own in both directions and I can run it at a lot slower speed than before.

Little HO Lima switcher starts on its own now. - YouTube


----------

